I read this book over 20 years ago & have read many books since then but this is still a favorite. I have given copies as gifts & have several copies of my own just in case one is lost. It seemed so incredibly insensitive for her husband to ask her to give up her glamorous life & move with him to "The Outback" but then I don't know the entire situation. Perhaps she was wanting to do just that & waiting for the opportunity. How sad that she didn't write a sequel but hopefully one of her daughters will someday. I would highly recommend this wonderful book & also think it would make a fantastic movie.

I read this book when it first appeared, then later after having lived in Australia(1980-1984.)and having experiences of my own there. It is a haunting book - her struggles to find the right balance of being a strong woman who knew past successes, to blending into a society where none of this was appreciated or accepted. The choices she made sometimes for the sake of her new marriage and happiness in her new environment. I know she gave it her best shot, and she came away a wiser person for it. I want to read this again, and to share it with my book club. _

I just re-read this book, after having read it about fifteen years ago. I remembered what a strong woman Anne Baxter was and how she gave up a glamorous life in Hollywood simply to be a wife and mother. Little did she know what lay ahead of her at Giro, her new home in Australia. She put up with so much to make a home for her new husband, her daughter Katrina, and the two babies she was to have by Ran Galt. I re-read the book because I felt it would mean more to me, just having returned from a visit to Australia. Anne and her family lived in a very remote area of the bush. It amazed me just as much the second time to see how willingly she gave of herself to make the marriage succeed. The way she totally turned her life around and tried to live as an Australian was incredible to me. She was one very tough lady. I enjoyed the book also because it is extremely well-written. Anne is an intelligent, perceptive person who writes equally well whether describing the scenery or the emotion she was feeling. Never is there a lull in the telling. She also weaves in something of her relationship with her famous grandfather, Frank Lloyd Wright, and something of her film-making experiences. I would like very much to read what transpired in Anne's life from the book's ending in 1963. I would bet that, from that time on, she lived life on her own terms.

This is one of those tall and not too wide reference books. I have another one that I like to look at but have seldom cooked out of. This is supposed to be a book of "light" sauces and dressings - but you'd never know from the nutritional analysis. I felt that most of the recipes were not of the light variety. Although they looked good, I wouldn't be using them. I returned my copy of this book. If you are more of a food voyeur than a cook, this would be a great book to have. I am much happier with the copy of The Complete Book of Dressings (by Paulette Mitchell) that I also ordered, kept and reviewed.