<p>Julia Child entered the lives of millions of Americans with her bestselling cookbook, <i>Mastering the Art of French Cooking</i>; her popular and long-running cooking show, The French Chef; and her beloved memoir, <i>My Life in France</i>. In this intimate and revealing biography, based on exclusive interviews and scores of private letters and diaries, Noel Riley Fitch leads us through her incredible life.<br> <br>We travel with Julia from her exuberant youth in California to her raucous days at Smith College; from her volunteer service with the OSS during World War II to the day she met Paul Child, the man with whom she would enjoy a fifty year marriage. We're with her when she takes her first culinary course at 37 and discovers her true calling; when she begins work on her landmark cookbook and suffers the rejections of most publishers in New York. And when finally her vision strikes a chord with a generation of Americans tired of bland cuisine, we're there to share in the making of a legend.<br> <br>Julia Child became a household name by resisting fads and narrow conventions, by being the quintessential teacher and an inspiration to modern women, and by doing it all with her trademark humor and aplomb. <i>Appetite for Life</i> is her truly remarkable story.</p>