Austin American-Statesman from Austin, Texas • D4

By Russ Parsons Los Ange es Times i 1952, a middle-aged American woman living in Paris responded to a complaint about the poor quality of American-made kitchen knives by one of her favorite magazine writers and sent him a couple of French-made ones from her neighborhood store. If you believe history turns on speci moments, you could say that impulsive act of generosity was the start of the American culinary revolution. The housewife was Julia Child, and if her the Art of French and accompanying television shows the catalyst for the change in American attitudes toward cooking during the 1960s, they were certainly its most recognizable symbols. The writer was Bernard DeVoto, and though he is largely forgotten today, in the 1950s he was one of the leading public intellectuals, a historian, author and longtime columnist for magazine, when that really meant something. DeVoto answer the letter himself, of course; that was left to his wife, Avis.

And for that we can be thankful because her gracious thank-you letter to Child led to a long correspondence, which has been captured in Joan marvelous new book, Always, If Child was the mother of the modern American interest in cooking, Avis DeVoto was its midwife. the one with the publishing back ground who steered the novice author through the perilous shoals of the book world, cheering her on when she needed it, connecting her with publishers and editors, offering astute criticism, even copy editing text, testing recipes and sending American ingredients to Child overseas so she could test with the same materials her audience would be using. In the process, what began as a polite correspondence between well-bred ladies of a certain class blossomed into a kind of frank intimacy in which Child reveals sides of herself that were known to only a few of her closest friends. While it can pretty safely be said that there are few people in America today who heard of Child, it is also true that there are very few who actually have an idea of who she was as apart from her cookbooks and shows. Until the 2009 movie in fact, possible that the iconic image of Child was Dan impersonation on Night which hilariously distilled the essence of her loopy, semi-hysterical TV personality.

Nora marvelous movie revealed a bit more of the person behind the caricature, but ultimately, it was just a tease compared with found in book. The real Child was infinitely more complex and much more interesting. Through the letters we see her grow as a cook and as an author. She begins tentatively, but her instincts are spot- on. She tests and retests, measuring, weighing and timing everything repeatedly to make her recipes as accurate as they could possibly be.

She sends early drafts to friends in the States for testing and takes their comments seriously. Most of them anyway, but beneath the clubwoman gentility, we get a sense of steel and drive when it comes to points she believes in. And make no mistake, book come easily. It took more than 10 years from the time she started work on it until publication in 1961 (when she was almost 50). And along the way it passed through two other publishers before finally finding a home.

Certainly the worst moment had to be in 1959, when the nished manuscript was rejected by one publisher for being too encyclopedic. I am deeply depressed, gnawed by doubts and feel that all our work may just lay a big rotten Child mourned. I would hate to take what I consider to be the guts out of our book. I suppose the only thing to do is to go along as we have Just as interesting is the far subtler picture that is painted of these two women, the times in which they were living and the friendship that grew between them. What begins as a very polite very quickly becomes and then As Always, Julia The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto Joan Reardon, editor Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; $26 NATIONAL BEST-SELLERS THE NEW YORK TIMES FICTION 1.

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of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Jeff Kinney Rankings for the week that ended Dec. 18 for hardcovers and paperbacks combined. Books statesman.com austin360.com ST WC SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011 D4-5 Be the critic Want to write your own review of a recently published book and possibly see your review printed in the American-Statesman? put together an online database where you can post your book review and nd reviews by Statesman critics and other readers. Go to statesman.com/books and tell the world what you think about a new book read. so no need to waste an evening on an awkward, star-crossed rst date.

What could possibly be better, faster, or a more reliable indicator of shared values and interests? Science suggests an old-fashioned, traditional encounter. Consider: As the current population approaches 7 billion people, fair to say that humans have a natural knack for pairing off. We have evolved to recognize myriad nonverbal cues and social signals about compatibility and long-term potential with someone by spending time together. And in the end, our intuitive abilities to recognize a good match are still our strongest asset. Although courtship styles vary across cultures and regions, until recently they always involved being in another as come to describe it.

And a reason why this is important. Close proximity provides the opportunity to employ all of our senses to determine whether he or she would make a suitable partner. Such an encounter not only provides reliable information about factors like health and hygiene, but scientists have evidence that it can even reveal clues about genetic code. Although these assessments occur at a subconscious level, they guide our relationships, encouraging us to pursue a well-suited match. For example, have you ever kissed someone only to realize that your romantic feelings have changed? If so, not alone.

According to evolutionary psychologist Gordon Gallup of the University of Albany, 59 percent of men and 66 percent of women say they have ended a budding relationship because of a bad kiss. And believe it or not, our sense of smell may be at least partially responsible. Recently, scientists have discovered that another natural scent may provide clues about his or her DNA or reproductive status. Biologist Claus Wedekind found that women are most attracted to the smell of men with very different immune systems than their own. Why would this matter? Potential offspring would express a higher level of genetic diversity for immunity, giving them an advantage when it comes to survival.

It is one of the techniques to help us decide whether mating with a particular male might optimize the chance of having healthy children. Sheril Kirshenbaum says kissing employs all the senses. Continued from D1 KISSING: Consciously or not, a person can learn more from a quick up-close meeting than an online pro le Consciously or not, a person can learn more from a quick up-close meeting than an online pro le Men depend on their noses as well. A breath can tip him off about her reproductive status because hormones uctuate throughout the month, in uencing body chemistry. At menstruation, a woman sheds cells lining her mouth, which can lead to excess bacteria and in turn bad breath when she is least fertile.

Both genders also make judgments based on another voice, which may hint at reproductive potential. Voice can indicate levels of the sex hormone testosterone, as do observable physical characteristics like a square jaw. Meanwhile, even possible that silent chemical compounds called pheromones draw us to one other. The science on pheromones in humans is hotly debated among experts, but a growing body of research suggests that men appear to be most attracted to and protective of women at the peak of their reproductive cycles, during ovulation. Should two people nally come together in a romantic kiss, they will be able to employ all of their senses.

Cheeks flush, pulses quicken, breathing can become irregular, and pupils dilate (which may explain why so many of us close our eyes). The little bumps on the tongue called papillae sample the other taste. Noses gather information, and bodies are sensitive to touch. This information is processed both consciously and subconsciously, sending a cascade of associated chemical signals to the brain to assess compatibility and determine whether to take things further. In other words, we may not always be aware of it, but spending time with a person offers a lot more detail than a carefully worded website pro le possibly could.

Glancing at specs over a computer barely brushes the surface of the insight about short- and long-term compatibility gained by meeting him or her in the real world. Dating online causes subscribers to inadvertently weed out good matches based on very limited information. In a sense, singles looking for love there are ying blind. As a result, a great deal of time and energy may be invested in getting to someone over the Internet who would be obviously inappropriate in person. But all is not lost in the virtual world.

A positive exchange there frequently leads to a date of ine, where both people quickly discover the truth about each other and their romantic potential. And there is also one big bene When two people spend time chatting before meeting, a rst date may feel relaxed, boosting the likelihood that things will go well. So even though the Internet makes rst impressions overly complicated, it also serves to bring more people from a diversity of backgrounds together. And in the end, a net positive in my book. By Sarah Pekkanen special to the washington post For a comic mystery romp, Fannie latest book, Still Dream About has a lot of talk about suicide, incest, cross-dressing and vicious backstabbing.

But hey, who says those are bad things? Flagg, the author of Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop and a half-dozen other popular books, has filled this charming novel with quirky characters, led by a former Miss Alabama. Maggie Fortenberry knows how to tie a scarf in 40 different ways, adorns her signature with smiley faces and has never gotten a parking ticket or cursed in public (no word on whether those last two are related). Yet, at 60, Maggie, an unmarried real estate agent, is dissatisfied with the trajectory of her life. mourning the loss of her dear friend Hazel Whisenknott, a 3- foot-4-inch burst of energy who once answered a question about her mood by saying, feeling a little more short-statured than height-challenged Although Maggie is close to the perpetually dieting Brenda, a fellow real estate agent who aspires to become mayor of Birmingham, Maggie feels she have anyone or much of anything to live for. As she painstakingly plots the details of her death, she looks for ways to make it easier on others.

Not wanting Brenda to be shocked, Maggie gives her a hint, confessing that she has been feeling depressed. But Brenda wrests away control of the conversation, demanding to know if she looks a big fat Tootsie Roll in a Later, when Maggie asks if she has ever thought about Brenda wonders if she should get her stomach stapled. role in the civil rights movement pops up throughout the book, and its history of segregation is arguably the reason life began a downward spiral: Antagonism toward Alabama ruined her chance to be named Miss America. clear that love of her hometown is mingled with quiet shame for this particular part of its past. But Maggie gets distracted from her deadly plan when she and Brenda discover a skeleton stuffed into an old trunk and a person from her past who suddenly reappears.

By now clear that Maggie, who grew up in an apartment above a movie theater, deserves a bright Technicolor ending. Readers will root for her to get one. Sarah Pekkanen is the author of Opposite of A mystery lightens up darker days I Still Dream About You Fannie Flagg Random House; $26 Fannie Flagg What: When: 3 p.m. Saturday Where: BookPeople, 603 N. Lamar Blvd.

Information: 472-5050; www.bookpeople.com Fannie Flagg CALENDAR re A dingS Rock Reads! 7 p.m. Tuesday. Documentary screening of Bonnie Ice cream and popcorn provided. Mike Cox, author and award-winning journalist who writes the Texana column, will speak about the Texas Rangers. Round Rock Public Library, 216 E.

Main Round Rock. Free. 218-7000. Roberta Grimes. 2 p.m.

Saturday. Author of Fun of will sign copies of her book. Barnes Noble, 2701 Parker Road, Round Rock. Free. 600-0088.

By Joe Gross a merican- tatesman taff Now that 2010 is, quite literally, a thing of the past and 2011 is upon us, take a look at books looking forward to this month. of by Daniel T. Rodgers (Harvard University Press, The Princeton historian takes on the atomization of American culture, moving from the mid-century consensus around such ideas as the role of government, racial identity, sexuality and economics to now, when everything seems up for grabs all the time. In his first large work since Crossings: Social Politics in a Progressive Rodgers picks apart the late 20th century, exploring how we got here and what it all means. as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy by Greg Lawrence (Thomas Dunn, Following quickly on the heels of Jackie: Her Autobiography in comes another tome about the working life of one of the most famous people on the planet.

After the death of her second husband, shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, Mrs. O. landed at Viking Press in 1975, then went on to Doubleday, where she was a working editor for decades while remaining one of the most famous people on the planet. Cloud: A by Annie Proulx (Scribner, $26): Proulx best-known for winning the Pulitzer Prize for the novel Shipping and writing the original story pens a memoir about life in the West by someone from the East. Word has it that it is, in some ways, Proulx Builds Her Dream House (in but expands into so much more.

Spaceship Wasteland: A Book by Patton by Patton Oswalt (Scribner, $24): The buzz is oddly deafening for this of essays, something along the lines of way better than you possibly think it could Oswalt has built himself into an increasingly indispensable comedian; it would be quite a coup if he turns into a Calvin Trillin-class essayist as well. Memory by Mira (Free Press, $25): A memoir (and no, not quite out of that publishing trend yet) about a woman, her sister and their schizophrenic mother, whose grip on reality plummeted such that the girls were forced to assume new identities. Many years later, a severe head trauma forced to re-examine her life, relearn old skills and reconnect with her mother, who held a remarkable secret. Panic Virus: A True Story of Medicine, Science, and by Seth Mnookin (Simon Schuster, Mnookin, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, chronicles one of the galvanizing issues in contemporary public health: the link or lack thereof between the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism. a story of the intersection between hard science, the media, rumor, the Internet and the idea of truth in an age of distrust in everything.

Father at by Ron Reagan (Viking, New Reagan Revolution: How Ronald Principles Can Restore by Michael Reagan with Jim Denney and Newt Gingrich (Thomas Dunne, President Ronald Reagan would have been 100 on Feb. 6, so no surprise that the shelves are soon to be flooded with Reagan books. These are merely two. son Ron offers a memoir of life with father; Reagan other son Michael pitches policies for a new generation (with a foreword by possible 2012 presidential candidate Newt Gingrich). by Rodney Crowell (Knopf, On the eve of his 60th birthday, the Texas songwriter delivers a memoir of life in Jacinto City and the way it made him the artist he is today.

Inferno: The U.S. Navy at by James D. Horn scher (Bantam, $30): The Austin writer, literary agent and Naval historian delivers his tale of the campaign for Guadalcanal, and the battle fought for it. Mortals Sleep: Unpublished Short by Kurt Vonnegut (Delacorte, $27): There are few phrases more dangerous to a reputation than but this is unseen work from one of the giants of the 20th century American letters. Even if not his best, we should probably read it anyway.

912-5925 i January, books take us back to show us how we got here JO gr OSS TH re A der est As the formality passes, we witness a friendship and, eventually, a sisterhood being born. Despite the fact that they were raised on opposite coasts, both women had roots in upper-middle-class New England (Child was from Pasadena, but her family was old Massachusetts, and she attended Smith College). In their early correspondence, they discover several common friendships, and a shared sort of bien-pensant political liberalism that, while common among their Ivy League friends, was distinctly at odds with the mood of the country and particularly with own family. am, of course, to my family in California, who are Old Guard Republicans of the blackest and most violently Neanderthal Child wrote. nice step-mother wrote me the other day saying please not to write anything more to my father about either politics or Charlie Chaplin, as it upsets him too Indeed, some of the most striking passages in the letters describe the level of McCarthy-era paranoia.

must warn you to be careful what you say about DeVoto wrote in 1953. and I can say what we damn well please, and we do. But Paul husband and a federal employee) has a job. And he could lose it. The situation is just as bad as that.

beginning to realize what it must feel like to live in a police In fact, Paul Child was called back to Washington to face questioning, though he did manage to keep his job. Through everything that transpired in those 10 years successes and failures, news and gossip, births and deaths their friendship deepened. Some of the letters take on the resonance of a plainsong kind of poetry. After Bernard DeVoto died quite suddenly while out of town, his widow wrote: feel shock so much as complete emptiness It was as if he had stepped down an open manhole. I feel he just went off into space.

And I feel in the most curious way cheated of all that anguish. quite describe what I Though the Art of French was de nitely own work, along with her co-authors Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle (who helped in varying ways), no mistaking how much she came to rely on Avis advice. It was DeVoto who guided Child from the small publisher she had started with to the much more commercial Houghton Mif in, and then years later after they rejected the book, she hand-carried it to friends at Knopf, where it was eventually published. In fact, at one point Child had proposed dedicating the book to her. you have taken all this time and devotion and energy to promote something by people you only know through two pieces of cutlery, rustable at that.

But how nice it is that one can come to know someone just through correspondence, and become really passionate The recipe for friendship In a Aug. 21, 1978, photo, chef and cookbook author Julia Child displays a salade she prepared in the kitchen of her vacation home in Grasse, southern France. ASSOCIATED PRESS Collection of letters shows bond between Julia Child and the woman who brought her creation to market The recipe for friendship Collection of letters shows bond between Julia Child The recipe for friendship.