Jason Epstein, the legendary editor and publisher of Norman Mailer, Vladimir Nabokov, Gore Vidal, and E. L. Doctorow, among many other distinguishe...
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Jun 26, 2011
Chris
rated it: 
Really 2 1/2-3 stars.
A review from "Newsweek" on the cover says, "An unpretentious chronicle of an extraordinary life well lived." Unpretentious? Um, I don't think so. Epstein, an editor with Random House, has worked with some of the finest writers including Norman Mailer and Nabokov and edited Alice Waters's cookbooks, a definite name dropper. Unpretentious he is not. We hear he went to Columbia at least twice, he has a penthouse in Manhattan and a house in Sag H More...
A review from "Newsweek" on the cover says, "An unpretentious chronicle of an extraordinary life well lived." Unpretentious? Um, I don't think so. Epstein, an editor with Random House, has worked with some of the finest writers including Norman Mailer and Nabokov and edited Alice Waters's cookbooks, a definite name dropper. Unpretentious he is not. We hear he went to Columbia at least twice, he has a penthouse in Manhattan and a house in Sag H More...
Aug 14, 2011
Evelyn
rated it: 
OK, full confession: I'm a a sucker for gastro-memoirs. I love reading about food, food prep, meal consumption and even menu planning. If the author has led a really intriguing life, and/or eaten amazingly diverse and even oddball foods in interesting locations, even better. And if there are a few accessible recipes thrown in, including some things I might even be able to duplicate, or at the very least learn from, my reading experience is complete.
Jason Epstein, who for many years was More...
Jason Epstein, who for many years was More...
Jul 14, 2011
Trish
rated it:
I read this a couple of years ago in one or two sittings. It is a wonderful summer read: literate and memorable. Epstein, once a titan of the publishing world, has such a wide range of interests, friends, capabilities, that reading this book is like sitting in his kitchen, chin in hand, the sun slanting in, while he talks and putters, making a tarte, perhaps, or a blueberry pie. That he makes it just a little differently from your mother's is just curious, not catastrophic. I don't know quite w
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Sep 23, 2011
Melise
rated it:
I got this book from the library--I tend to scroll through the listings of e-books available at the library and just randomly choose books that I think might be interesting--what the heck, they are free and I can always delete them with a click of the button--I don't even need to return to the library!
Anyway, I selected this book, started to read, and then realized that I had read the book once before. As I read through it for the second time, I enjoyed all the same things I enjoyed More...
Anyway, I selected this book, started to read, and then realized that I had read the book once before. As I read through it for the second time, I enjoyed all the same things I enjoyed More...
Jan 07, 2010
Kristen
rated it:
This is a very small book, not only a thin one. But although I was thus warned that it would be brief, it was still disappointingly so. Epstein stays away from outright gossip, for which I am grateful, but I really could have used more anecdotes. Easily a third of the text is (tasty) recipes, most involving lobster. There's also a pretty creepy story about a lobster dinner. I will definitely need to try adding duck fat to a burger. There's a chapter on M.F.K. Fisher (recounting her own memoirs;
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Dec 09, 2009
Keri
rated it:
This book was a great interim nonfiction between the classics. It was short, funny, and all about great food with great people. Jason Epstein has lived the kind of life and known the kind of people that made reading this book a little reminiscent of "A Moveable Feast" which is maybe my all time good food/good people book.
The recipes are super interesting and written in a conversational style. They lean heavily to seafood specific to the Northeast, but I will definitely rem More...
The recipes are super interesting and written in a conversational style. They lean heavily to seafood specific to the Northeast, but I will definitely rem More...
May 11, 2010
Catherine
rated it: 
Epstein was an important figure in the publishing industry. I’m pretty confident that assisted in his book getting published.
He offers a few brief thoughts on some well-known people who are his friends or acquaintances and pads out the book with unstructured recipes and very few details about his personal life.
There wasn’t enough substance to be book worthy for me. It was a super quick read but overall disappointing.
He offers a few brief thoughts on some well-known people who are his friends or acquaintances and pads out the book with unstructured recipes and very few details about his personal life.
There wasn’t enough substance to be book worthy for me. It was a super quick read but overall disappointing.
Dec 18, 2009
Alyce
rated it:
This could have been so much more. Epstein enjoyed an interesting life as the editorial director of Random House and he can be quite entertaining. He really shines when he is describing old New York, Maine, and the Cape, or sharing anecdotes about his interaction with the likes of Gore Vidal and Norman Mailer. But even if you are able to overlook the hackneyed food "facts" and ambiguous recipes, the redundancies may drive you mad.
This editor is in desperate need of an editor.
This editor is in desperate need of an editor.
Aug 08, 2010
Emily
rated it:
for food and publishing/literary nerds. i doubt i'll make many of the recipes (heavy on the lobster, the oysters and the frying) but it was a great read. glimpse at the bygone days of the book business (martini lunches not mentioned but implied; jackie o and gore vidal make appearances). i really wanted to go to some of these parties.
Mar 31, 2010
Adeline
rated it:
Reading his recipes is like listing to him talk at a dinner table. A quick read, with some good menus and a publisher's who's who in the food writing world. On a few occasions, mainly the east coast seafood bits, his food experiences really hit home for me. Creating a yearning for steamer clams that has not been satiated yet.
Aug 11, 2010
Amanda
rated it: 
So pretentious! The author clearly states that he's writer and not a chef, but he sure does command you to cook things like a chef. I understand that this is a memoir, but Epstein clearly lived a privileged life that he is quick to brag about. His writing style was to abrasive for me to even finish the entire book!
Jul 11, 2010
Anuradha
rated it:
This book is filled with good recipes, each one accompanied with background details of childhood memories, friends/family who shared the meal, and where many of the ingredients came from. A treat to read about someone who enjoys the process of acquiring, cooking, and eating good food!
Dec 29, 2009
Jane
rated it:
The review in the Washington Post made me want to read this book, but it's for a different reader than my humble self! This man knows important people and cooks important food (mostly seafood) using recipes I'd never dare try. O well!
Oct 04, 2010
I wanted to like this, I really did, but it was such a very difficult read. Not really something you can sit down and read - I think it functions more as a recipe book (without measurements?). This is all very strange considering he's a well-known editor.
Jan 07, 2010
Jamie
rated it:
Jason Epstein lived a life I would love to live. It was different era. The book left me wanting to know more, though. There are some nuggets, including my new favorite quote (by J.T. Peete): "Pray for peace and grace and spiritual food, for wisdom and guidance, for all these are good, but don't forget the potatoes."
Nov 17, 2009
Herzog
rated it:
Epstein is from another era. He and Gore Vidal toured Europe with a driver. The anecdotes about Alice Waters and Wolfgang Puck were interesting, but the recipes were rather unrealistic to me.
Mar 16, 2010
April
rated it:
Interesting essays. A recipe comes with every one, but you'd better like fish, and I'm not a huge fan. About 75% of the recipes involve fish, so it was not as much fun for me.
Jul 06, 2011
Tim
rated it:
Needed more memoir and less recipes (or at least more accessible ones - or at least more acknowledgement of how far beyond the Lean Cuisine pale he was taking us).
Dec 24, 2009
Sarah
rated it:
Not well-written! This was basically boring, and even though I like informal recipes, I couldn't get through the recipes either. Quite disappointing.
Feb 21, 2011
Barbara
rated it:
This slim memoir captures quite a few memorable meals and includes recipes and a bit too much name-dropping for me.
Apr 26, 2011
Doug
rated it:
I remember almost nothing from this small and rather insignificant book.
Nov 30, 2009
Donna
rated it:
It had such a great review in Newsweek that I got a copy right away. Sadly...I really had to force myself to finish it. I thought he had a few little stories that were nice....but his writing style was very boring. I was not even tempted by his recipes.
Nov 08, 2010
Paige
rated it:
I only read about half of this, mostly because it was boring, a bit because the author sounded kind of pompous to me. I guess this is the trouble with autobiography.
Apr 08, 2010
Autumn
rated it:
This book felt very much like a vanity memoir. The author name drops and gives the reader a number of unnecessary recipes, but doesn't have much to say about publishing, or food, that hasn't been said better before. No narrative, no poetry, no panache.
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