Photo credit: Michael Lionstar
Alex Prud'homme has covered a lot of territory in his writing. He has written about terrorism, he has written about hydrofracking, and he has co-written Julia Child's autobiography (the classic My Life in France). His latest book is a return to the world of Julia Child entitled France is a Feast: The Photographic Journey of Paul and Julia Child.
With such a wide range of writing credits, you might wonder what Prud'homme recommends in reading. See his picks below, and look here for the latest celebrity favorites.
Alex Prud'homme's favorite reads of 2017
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An Odyssey by Daniel Mendelsohn
A father/son adventure story -- physical, intellectual and emotional -- that entertains and informs. The classicist Daniel Mendelsohn invites his father, a cantankerous 81 year-old computer programmer, to attend his seminar about Homer's epic at Bard College. Then the unlikely duo board a cruise ship to retrace Odysseus's journey around the Mediterranean, a voyage that is as much an examination of their personalities and family history as it is an exploration of literature and the human condition. Smart, funny and poignant.
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Hue 1968 by Mark Bowden
The author of
Black Hawk Down recounts the pivotal battle for the city of Hue during the Tet offensive in 1968. It was the bloodiest engagement of the Viet Nam War, and though American troops "won," Hue proved the turning point that led to their ultimate defeat. Bowden interviewed people on both sides, to great effect, and weaves a dense but compelling narrative about a battle that was a microcosm of the entire conflict.
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32 Yolks by Eric Ripert
A bittersweet memoir by Ripert, the chef of Le Bernardin, the four-star seafood palace in New York. For him, cooking was not only a savior from an unhappy childhood, but a means of creative expression and a path from rural Provence to Paris to Manhattan. Though it is a variation of a classic tale (his hazing by chef Joel Robuchon is alternately shocking and absurd), and it doesn't address Ripert's Buddhism or his success in NYC, this book is touching and well told.
