Stand Facing the Stove: The Story of the Women Who Gave America The Joy of Cooking

In 1930 Irma Rombauer's husband killed himself, and to help make ends meet she decided to write a cookbook. The Joy Of Cooking was initially self-published, but went on to sell 14 million copies over 60 years, and became the most influential American cookbook of all time. The crucial factor in this unexpected success was Rombauer's lively voice as an unpretentious amateur. America's home cooks were desperate for down-to-earth instruction and they could relate to Rombauer's strong personality. Anne Mendelson chronicles Rombauer's life and work and that of her daughter, later co-author and successor, Marion Rombauer Becker. She offers too a view of the evolution of American cooking from the mid-19th century onward, and of the impact of Rombauer's joyful contribution.