Book Reviews
CultureWatch: Provence, 1970: M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard, and the Reinvention of American Taste
Jill Norgren Reviews: Luke Barr gives readers a thoughtful contemplation of post-World War II cooking history along with a delicious slice of foodie gossip ... Just below the surface of its telling lurk fundamental social and moral issues well worth contemplating when the last page is read. Who gets to eat? What is the relationship between food and economic status? Why did middle class Americans fall so hard for classic French food in the 1960s? And what makes a cuisine "ethnic? more »
Culture Watch Reviews: Teaching Girls About Women’s Political Gains Crucial For Progress
Nichola Gutgold writes: Preserving women's history and reminding our younger generations, especially girls and young women about it, is crucial for continued progress. The sad truth is women who have run for the United States presidency are frequently left off the history pages. Researchers found that one in four children believed it is illegal for women and minorities to hold the office of president. more »
Culture Watch: Historical Memories, Both Collective and Individual, in Three Compelling World War II Books
Serena Nanda writes: Central to all three is the importance of women in keeping their families together under the most agonizing conditions of exile in Germany and France during WW II. Although similar in setting, narrative and characters, each book provides different perspectives on history, demonstrating that historical memories are both collective and individual. A love affair with "the enemy" is central in each story, causing us to deeply reflect on the impact of war on human relationships. more »
The Late P.D. James, Writing Within the Conventions of a Classical Detective story and Regarded as a Serious Novelist
P. D. James Q & A: What is the difference between the detective story and the crime novel? The reader can expect to find a central mysterious death, a closed circle of suspects each with credible motive, means and opportunity for the crime, a detective, either amateur or professional, who comes in like an avenging deity to solve it, and a solution at the end of the book which the reader should be able to arrive at by logical deduction from clues presented by the writer with deceptive cunning but essential fairness. What interests me is the extraordinary variety of talents which this so-called formula is able to accommodate. more »