Loved this book! Nothing very complicated - just lot's of simple twists and extras that make basic cooking turn out great. Adds a lot of polish to basic techniques w/an occasional smirking remark about American culture. A nice section on salads and soups. A very detailed section about vegetable preparation. Many things that I can do (a few that I can't, but can aspire to like how to flambe). My family has noticed the difference- they don't dread when my turn for cooking comes up: Nicoise salad, stuffed artichokes, and "properly" roasted chicken. Really a nice book of how to cook rather than just reciepes.

Julia does a great job in this book of recipes pulled from a larger, earlier version of meals for six. I've only tried two of the recipes for a dinner party, but both were huge successes. The Chocolate Bombe was the hugest hit--rich, delicious and beautiful as well. My friends were amazed when they saw the cake and said it looked like it was straight out of a restaurant. Mrs. Child isn't lying when she says that it's dramatic, but the funny thing is that I didn't find the recipes that complicated per se, just a bit time consuming. Once you get used to the pace of things, it goes faster.

I'd highly recommend this book, as the other recipes look equally delicious and worth the effort. Using this cookbook makes me feel like I've been in the kitchen for years (and I haven't). You probably can't go wrong with anything in the cookbook!

This book was for me a primer. I enjoyed cooking, knew a few basics, had the time and desire, but lacked experience to put together elegant, imaginative, satisfying and most important, delicious meals for special occasions. In spite of its ambitious menus with fancy hors d'oeuvres and desserts, this book was a patient teacher.

The cooking instructions were friendly, but detailed enough for anyone to get first rate results, even the first time. I committed to heart a few of the basic recipes, like the poached pairs and the caramel sauce, that I found myself making over and over again on whims. It helped me gain confidence to experiment; I applied the candied orange rind confetti from the book's orange slices and blueberries, to grapefruit sorbet and created a new hit. That led to experiments with the details of other courses and finally the menus themselves.

Julia's "Menus for Special Occasions" is an important resource in my kitchen. It's a constant inspiration. I recommend it for any who does not already have it, or its earlier incarnation as two separate volumes: Julia Child & Company, and Julia Child & More Company.

I have just finished reading this wonderful book. It is a story of a doctor discovering what lies beyond the science of medicine - so personal and so powerful - something one calls upon when science fails to heal. It is something that every doctor has to face and to acknowledge sometime during his or her career to be able to keep on going.
It is a combination of life experiences and reflection over the meaning of each of them. It is a personal journey that every doctor has to encounter to understanding what it takes to become not just M.D. but a healer.
If you have a friend who is considering making medicine a life long career, please give him or her this book to read. It will give them a good idea of what they are getting themselves into but, most importantly, it will help them to see that there is something else hidden beyond the power of science and once they discover what it is, they will be able to survive any hardship of this profession.

I'm a Julia Grice fan from way back and this book kept me turning pages just like her other books. She takes a topic that is scary, and a young girl who is cute and appealing and feisty, and really makes you pull for young Dani. Julia's books always go fast and I had to stay up half the night to finish it, despite my husband telling me to come to bed! All of Julia's mysteries are good.

This is a sweet retelling of an old tale,but what makes it prticularly good are the charming illustrations by Julia Zanes. Both my six year old and 10 year old daughters love it and we've given several copies as presents this winter.

I am 14 years old and i thought that this book was great. At first, I expected it to be only for little kids. But, me and my friends thoroughly enjoyed it. I know, and all of my friends agree that I had the best slumber party ever because of that book! So, in other words, go out and buy that book. It is awesome.

Charlotte Doyle's book, illustrated by Julia Gorton, focused beautifully on the concept of twins but also indicated that the 2 children were individuals. They tussled over the teddy bear but came together when they lost the ice cream cones, and when they enjoyed the swing and the bath. The book is a good learning tool focusing on counting (one/two) and colors (white/blue).

It's like a musical piece - overture, fast and slow movements, resolving in a tender lullaby with two sleepy heads. Perfect for reading before bed.

An avid cook I only recently was won over by the legendary Julia Child. And I have to say that "The Way to Cook" is one big, beautiful cookbook. The huge tome is filled with full color photographs of not just completed dishes (the so-called "beauty shots") but detailed shots of the step-by-step techniques needed to prepare the often complicated recipes--a feature I found extremely helpful.

I really liked this book, but I have to say the title is a real misnomer. This is NOT a book for beginners who want to learn to cook (for that I'd recommend "The Betty Crocker Cookbook" or maybe "The Best Recipe" from "Cook's Illustrated), it's an advanced course for wanna-be gourmets. If you don't love to cook, or don't enjoy making "fancy" dishes (though there are a few "basics," this book focuses on Child's forte, classical French cooking that's pretty enough to serve in a restaurant), then this cookbook isn't for you. But if you're ready to expand your cooking horizons, I think this title is perfect.

One more note ... a fan of Martha Stewarts television cooking segments I noticed that a great number of the techniques that Martha promotes come straight from Child. Something I never realized before reading "The Way to Cook."

I got this cookbook as a Christmas gift four years ago after taking cooking seriously for four years. The knowledge Child imparts took me to another level of understanding good food and good cooking.

I don't consider myself a gourmet. I am a good home cook who appreciates delicious, hearty food and I gravitate towards these types of dishes and chefs. By the time I read The Way to Cook, I'd already owned and read three or four cookbooks (all from the Silver Palate ladies) and I didn't learn about the process and intellectual thought of cooking until Child. Wow. She truly brings everything to its most basic point and then, tell you how to treat the food. Additionally, the book is organized well; written in a straightforward manner; and the recipes are simple to follow and delicious to eat.

True, this is more continental than it is American, but I think if you could only have two or three cookbooks, this would be one of them. The others would be Cook's Bible and Joy of Cooking (new ed).

One warning, like most cookbooks, the food is rich, so if you're on a diet, eat breakfast, make this for lunch or an early dinner and don't eat anything the rest of the day!

I have had this book for several years, and it's dawning on me how important a work this was, because I use it every time I make certain dishes. For example, I always use it to make rice (who can remember whether it's 2 cups of water or 1 1/2?) and also for hard boiled eggs. These are the types of things that other cookbook writers take it for granted that you know, but which are crucial to the success of the recipe and which Julia Child considers important enough to devote several pages to. I find this book to be an essential tool in my kitchen.

I admire her ability to explain, in common sense terms, how to achieve basic cooking recipes (she calls them "Master recipes"), and how to incorporate them into more complicated recipes. This makes the book useful for beginners as well as more experienced cooks.

She especially handles the subject of cooking with meat and poultry well, offering a wide range of dishes with an international, yet traditional flair. Many of the recipes are reminiscent of her televsion show, "Julia Child and Company." They have a sort of 60's trendiness to them, which makes them fun and evocative of food one's Mom used to make, while at the same time not being out of date. You just sort of expect that there will be a fondue recipe or two, plus a few "chafing dish" preparations!

The pictures are very helpful, as are the instructions that are drafted in laypersons' terms. Her recipes are basic standbys, nothing particularly fancy, but everyone needs at least one of those types of cookbooks in their kitchen. A tour de force for Julia Child, who seems to get better with each succeeding effort.