The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food
by Judith Jones
List Price:
Our Price: $8.94
You Save: $16.01 (64%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.82 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Judith JonesEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-10-23
ISBN: 0307264955
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Knopf
Book Reviews of The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food
Book Review: Part memoir, part travelogue, part cookbook
Summary: 4 Stars
The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food belongs on your shelf with Frances Mayes' Under the Tuscan Sun and Bill Buford's Heat. It will awaken your senses and make you long for a crusty bread, an artisan cheese and a fresh peach.
Author Judith Jones is a longtime editor at publisher Alfred A. Knopf Inc. and a lifetime epicurean. It would be a mistake to dismiss Jones as "just a cookbook editor," even though her authors include Julia Child, Marion Cunningham, and Lidia Bastianich. She's responsible for publishing The Diary of Anne Frank, and she edited the work of Anne Tyler and John Updike, among others.
It's apparent that her two loves, great literature and food, converged in a special way when she worked with Child and the other chefs. Jones gives her readers a glimpse into how she brings a cookbook to life as well as how she coaches a cook into a writer. Giving each chef a unique culinary viewpoint with the food and a unique voice as a writer was Jones' primary focus.
Starting with a childhood of bland English and New England fare, Jones recounts how she was born wanting more. More flavor, more variety, more goodness. After college and WWII she lived in Paris for several years where she met her late husband Evan Jones. Together they explored the food of different cultures and brought the best of it home to New York, then Vermont. They also excelled at finding the best local food available.
Personal details are sparse. Readers craving gossip about why she and Evan never had children or whether their relationship played a part in his divorce will be disappointed. But foodies who want to know if she really ate beaver liver and tail will get their answer.
Jones concludes the book with recipes from childhood, later discoveries including French and Asian favorites, and her newest passion: cooking for one. Pictures of Jones, her husband, and many of her authors are sprinkled throughout.
The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food is part memoir, part travelogue, part cookbook and is easily more than the sum of its parts.
Armchair Interviews agree
Biographies & Memoirs Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in "books I just finished" (all genres)
The Tenth Muse: My Life in Foodby Judith Jones
Knopf; Published: 2007-10-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.66
Price in other shops:
The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madnessby Elyn R. Saks
Hyperion; Published: 2007-08-14; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.98
Price in other shops:
After Diana: William, Harry, Charles, and the Royal House of Windsorby Christopher Andersen
Hyperion; Published: 2007-06-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.64
Price in other shops:
A Charmed Life: Growing Up in Macbeth's Castleby Liza Campbell
Thomas Dunne Books; Published: 2007-10-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.87
Price in other shops:
A Stew or a Story: An Assortment of Short Worksby M. F. K. Fisher
Shoemaker & Hoard; Published: 2007-07-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops:
Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipesby Maya Angelou
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2007-10-09; Plastic Comb; Book
Best price: $9.98
Price in other shops:
Made in Italy: Food and Storiesby Giorgio Locatelli
Ecco; Published: 2007-11-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $37.80
Price in other shops:
Passed Down Through 4 Generations: Victoria Taylor Murray's Favorite Family Recipes: How it all Beganby Victoria Taylor Murray, Joseph E. Taylor
PublishAmerica; Published: 2006-02-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $24.44
Twice the Temptationby Suzanne Enoch
Avon; Published: 2007-08-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.00
Price in other shops:
A Secret Love (Cynster Novels)by Stephanie Laurens
Avon; Published: 2000-07-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.67
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Alice Waters and Chez Panisseby Thomas McNamee
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2008-02-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.43
Price in other shops:
The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef's Craft for Every Kitchenby Michael Ruhlman
Scribner; Published: 2007-11-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.51
Price in other shops:
Backstage with Julia: My Years with Julia Childby Nancy Verde Barr
Wiley; Published: 2008-04-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.47
Price in other shops:
My Life in Franceby Julia Child, Alex Prud'Homme
Anchor; Published: 2007-10-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops:
The Discovery of Franceby Graham Robb
W. W. Norton; Published: 2008-10-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.61
Price in other shops:
The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears at the World's Most Famous Cooking Schoolby Kathleen Flinn
Viking Adult; Published: 2007-10-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.86
Price in other shops:
Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiterby Phoebe Damrosch
William Morrow; Published: 2007-10-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
Roast Chicken And Other Storiesby Simon Hopkinson
Hyperion; Published: 2007-09-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.60
Price in other shops:
Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and DrinkRandom House; Published: 2007-10-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $17.83
Price in other shops:
The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolutionby Alice Waters
Clarkson Potter; Published: 2007-10-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.02
Price in other shops: