Dearie

The Remarkable Life of Julia Child

By: Bob Spitz

Narrated by: Kimberly Farr

Length: 25 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

The definitive biography of Julia Child - with access to Julia's diaries and letters - written by the author of the best-selling and critically acclaimed The Beatles and timed to Julia's 100th birthday.

From Pasadena to Cambridge to New York, Washington, D.C., India, Ceylon, Paris, Marseilles, Santa Barbara, and Maine, Bob Spitz re-creates an extraordinary life. He takes us beyond the image of Julia as the tall, eccentric woman with a funny voice who taught America how to cook, to establish her as a genuine rebel and beloved icon, a woman who redefined herself in middle age, helped to change the role of women in America, set the standard for how to create a public personality in the modern media world, and altered the way America eats and thinks of food. There might not be a Food Network or even a PBS if Julia had not blazed the trail.

Spitz chronicles Julia's friendships, her struggles, her heartwarming romance with Paul, and of course, the story of the publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and her triumphant TV career. A thorough, surprising, affectionate, and extraordinarily entertaining account of a truly remarkable life.

©2012 Bob Spitz (P)2012 Random House Audio

Amazing

Wow her life was more amazing then I could have ever thought. 🙂 what an amazing lady.

Delicious!

"Dearie" is a feast to be savored and as satisfying as freshly baked bread slathered with sweet creamery butter!

Please get this book!

I very much enjoyed hearing the life of Julia Child, things I had seen before in movies or TV were good to review and all the tidbits behind it. I very much wish I could’ve seen her, meet her, but I can be inspired to know her through her recipes and through this book, Great material great narrator this will be a book I’ll come back to

Julia: Her life, her era, her personality

This book was lengthy but never became boring. Although cooking was Julia's passion and predominated her life, she was a daughter, wife, sister, friend, and woman, and the author of this well-written book brought out each facet as well as her views and personality. He also presented Julia in the context of the world in which she lived, and I learned more about the politics and lives of women in her era. I was surprised to find that the book helped me to better understand my own mother and realize that her cooking, which I thought was awful, was due to the unavailability of foods and produce that I take for granted. A delightful read or listen!

AWESOME book

Would you listen to Dearie again? Why?

I did - listened to the entire book twice.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

The humor was great. Julia was really a one of a kind.

Great reading about an iconic chef!

I grew up on Julia Child's cooking shows. I still remember so many of her shows that have become Iconic in the food world. Her passion, different voice, and determination to do things her way were unique on TV. She is probably single handily responsible for the popularity of so many cooking shows today. Her cooking books still sell respectable every year.

The book tells her life in a lovable, interesting, and no holes bared manner. Beginning with her background within a rich family, where she and her father we vocal on opposite sides of the political spectrum. Though tall and gangly, she loved men, life, and socializing with all the interesting and important people that she could connect with, usually while eating a meal together.

Julia crossed the world to become part of the USA spy world during World War 2. Her organizational and writing skills kept her in the center of all the government's secrets. These same skill, including the need for perfection is what made her cooking skills and cook books sell millions.

She, and her husband, Paul, were a very devoted couple. Both came from the US Government overseas network. Both loved all things food. Both were perfectionists in what was important to them. Both loved all things French.

Though I've read about, and watched Julia over the years, I found this book eminently readable and fascinating. If you're a foodie at all, this book is definitely for you!!

Truly a Remarkable Life

Reading this book about Julia Child has been such a pleasant, gradually developing treasure! I was drawn to this book because I have long enjoyed the Julia Child that I knew from the PBS shows and was eager to learn more. This book goes back to the very essence of what helped her develop into the Julia that her fans came to love. I liked her before I read this book, and now I am utterly amazed by her! What a journey! What a spirit! What an inspiration! This book presents a Julia that I never would have guessed existed!
This narrator puts just the right touch of emotion into her reading, so that even though the book is long, it never feels tedious; and sometimes when she is quoting Julia it actually sounds like I hear a little of the timbre of the real Julia’s voice!
Most biographies I have read focus on certain portions of a person’s life, but I feel that this is the most thorough account I have ever read about one person...in one book. I truly feel as though I have known Julia!

intriguing story, but long

what a life she lived. last few chapters made me yearn for an editor, but still an impressive work. narration was fine.

How the 20th Century Shaped This Remarkable Woman

I have read every biography of Julia Child published and this is THE one. This biography is a history of 20th Century America and how it shaped this remarkable woman. Beginning with the founding of Pasadena, Calif. in the late 19th Century as a backdrop for the family she came from through to her return to California's Santa Barbara coast at the end of her life - with a whole lot of living in between.

More interesting than I could have hoped for

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is a great book for the audio media. I listen during a long commute and I am transported to other countries and cultures....the descriptions of food are mouth watering.

What about Kimberly Farr’s performance did you like?

Her French is fantastic.