THE ART OF EATING

Collected works of an artist in food, whose gastronomical creed long since captured my imagination. From Serve It Forth, in 1937, to An Alphabet for Gourmets (1949) her books on food (five of them) have been unorthodox, tempting the "second imagination that dwells in the palate", ans supplying a treasure trove of recipes. Fadiman in an introduction defines her as a "superb writer"- "an inspired cook", and gives a thumb nail sketch of her personality, with all its contradictions. A sampling here and there revives the delight of first reading.