content: Even if you have no desire to prepare French food, this book will mesmerize you with its chatty conversational style. You feel like you're sitting on a bar stool in Richard Olney's kitchen, soaking up every word, and wondering when James Beard and Julia Child are going to drop in for a cup of cafe au lait. With character and wit, Olney walks us through the art of French cooking --- some aspects simple, as the title hints, and other areas a bit more complicated. But all-in-all, you'll be transported to a culinary world you knew existed, but in which you've never been included so intimately. 5 stars.