Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child
Noel Riley Fitch's savory new biography,Appetite for Life, reveals a woman as  appealing as the good food and serious cooking she popularized. As a California girl and Smith College  undergraduate, Fitch writes, Julia McWilliams was notable for her high spirits and voracious appetite.  Performing intelligence work in Asia during World War II, she met Paul Child, and their marriage of   mutual devotion and affection endured until his death in 1994. His postwar assignment took them to  France, where she discovered her true calling.Fitch reminds us that Child championed fresh ingredients at a time when frozen foods and TV dinners  dominated American supermarket shelves, and that she demystified haute cuisine with her earthy humor  and casual attitude toward mistakes. This affectionate portrait of the remarkable Julia Child reflects her  fervent belief that the pleasures of the table are a natural accompaniment to the pleasures of life.