As a wine enthusiast, Francophone and pseudo-foodie, I was eager to get an advance copy of Au Revoir to Food, Wine and the End of France. Because it was not a finished version, it was rife with typos and missing information, which made it hugely challenging to get through. However, you folks will be buying the final copy, so you won't be stymied by those issues.

However, the book is so heavily researched and full of specific tidbits of information that it gets bogged down in the details. I had a hard time keeping track of the many chefs Michael Steinberger interviewed and restaurants he visited. Too many facts, dates, names, etc. In one way, that information seems relevant and possibly necessary, but as I was reading this for my own edification and not a school assignment, I would have preferred less data. It does read somewhat like a textbook in many areas, and it is laborious to get through, typos or no.

When Steinberger instead tells anecdotes, gives his impressions of the chefs and other experts (quite a few probably won't speak to him again!), and shares their input on what's wrong with French cuisine (hint: mostly a bureaucratic government that seriously gets in the way, coupled with a society that's become too busy to appreciate good food), the book becomes far more readable and enjoyable. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of French cuisine: the history of French cuisine, the impact of the economy and the government's policies, the famed/dreaded Michelin Guide, the role of racism in the restaurant business, the wine and cheese industries, the threat from Spanish and other foreign cuisines, infamous chefs such as Paul Bocuse and Alain Ducasse, etc. No stone is left unturned, and it is a thorough treatise of the topic.

If you are a culinary professional or layperson with a deep interest in the topic, you would gain a lot from reading this book. If you are merely curious or just have an above-average interest, you are probably better off reading one of the many articles that resulted from Steinberger's book publicity tour (there's one on NPR's Web site). I do have a deeper appreciation of how tough French culinary artisans have it over there, and quite a bit more disdain for their government than before (and I am a serious Francophone who wants to live there), but I felt like this a real chore to get through and wouldn't necessarily recommend it.

The last time I looked at this site there were about 20 reviews. I don't know where to start and I haven't even finished more than a third of the book! But reading these reviews begs a response from a non-American (because all the reviews I have read so far are by Americans). As an Australian who has lived 10 years in Paris (and in the UK and in San Francisco) I consider myself fairly open to other views and cultures. But the amazing narrowness of views expressed here and by the author is indicative of what is wrong with America today (apologies if there are some new reviews with alt viewpoints).
First, not a single one of you (Americans) has apologized for inflicting McDonalds on the world, not to mention on France, which should be considered a crime against humanity. One has to state the obvious, that no culture or people are going to be able to resist the billions of dollars of advertising such multinationals invest. This fastfood phenomenon is clearly a significant part of what is making the modern world unhealthy yet it seems unstoppable. In Australia McDonalds is often the top advertiser on TV by value and they are relentless--their top PR person recently explained their strategy of making an unprecedented 120 different ads in a single year. They also invest hugely in acquiring the best sites. Nothing can resist this onslaught. As to pleading that McDo single-handedly and purely out of their community spirit is bringing about opportunity for ethnic minorities in France.....purlease. Next they will claim they are the reason why Obama is president! And MacJobs are going to save world youth!

I can also correct Steinberger's slight twist of the history of the burger chain in France--at least as I remember it from when I lived there. The author claims McDo took over the franchise when the local French franchisee was failing. Actually it is the opposite--France was the only market in the world where McDo decided they did not want to directly own the franchise operation since they judged it was unlikely to be very successful. But it turned out to be successful and then they went to court to recover the franchise and the name (the then owner still exists as one of the other big burger chains in France--the signage changed overnight in the early 80s). Also with 75 million visitors each year, the early days were survivable without necessarily relying solely on persuading French to try them. There are entire industries in France that rely upon American tourists. How many of these reviewers have visited McDo in France, and thereby undermined the very thing they would at other times claim they come to France for?

Second, while there is some truth to the remarks about the wine industry, it is a rather strangely twisted story. Consumption of wine has indeed fallen more than 50% but that is considered a success by most people, except perhaps some wine makers--but even that is probably not true. It is a consequence of both prosperity (drinking less but better wines) and strong public policy to reduce consumption of poor quality wines that caused excess alcohol-related disease (liver etc) and social problems. Coincident with this drop of production of poor quality wines has been an improvement in quality of all wines, and yes, in no small part due to influence of the New World (including the Aussie Flying Winemakers). If there is a wine crisis it is still that too much is produced and unlike several decades ago, it is a surfeit of better quality wines rather than the cheap rotgut of old. But France remains number one or two (with Italy) in the world for wine consumption, production and export so a little perspective here (and to toot my chauvinistic horn, tiny Australia is 4th in export trade, USA is 6th and please watch the Mondovino DVD and decide whether you want an American--or even Australian--corporate takeover and blandizing of the wine industry).

Third and possibly the most significant issue I take with Steinberger is the basic premise of the argument. He explains well the tyranny of the Michelin Guide and it is interesting that many top chefs are now trying to disengage from it. But Steinberger seems to be part of this tyranny--of "expert" opinion. I don't know whether I am convinced that what happens in the top few percent of restaurants that strive for "exceptional" cuisine, actually flows down to the rest of the industry. For myself, while I have been to many a fancy restaurant (almost always with foreign visitors and on expense account--you see the problem?) I am not sure I have ever been to a starred one. And I honestly do not feel deprived. I am not in the least interested in either reserving a year in advance and then paying a month's salary for the experience (though neither of these things is the truly key factor, see below). Thus I will never know how good Gordon Ramsay (at Versailles--all the easier to rip off those dumb American tourists that flock there) and other celebrity starred chefs really are.

My advice to visitors was always: first, Paris is not the greatest eating experience in France but secondly, avoid rated restaurants--who needs the queues (lines), the hassle and the cost--and instead just seek out what looks authentic and appears to have mostly local clientele rather than tourists. The faltering status of bistros and brasseries is serious but in fact just recently the TVA tax has been reduced to the same as takeout food so let's hope...(is it possible Steinberger's book had some influence; kudos to him if so). But most of all get out of Paris because in my opinion the astounding thing about France is the overall dining experience of provincial cuisine freed of all the pretension of pleasing critics or the tourist trade. I am not totally convinced this part of French cuisine has fundamentally changed much at all. The notion that nouvelle cuisine is what introduced the whole thing of fresh and local ingredients is highly suspect. I mean what were restaurants doing before (when refrigeration was less common) and did all those food markets spring up since the 70s, I don't think so. If one reads MFK Fisher (Dijon, now there is a town to eat well in! and just 40 mins on the TGV from Paris), Elizabeth David or even Julia Child, it all seems to be there from much earlier last century, long before the experimentalists (nouvelle etc) and foodie industry got going. The difference between Child and David is instructive about the American approach--to eating and life in general. The JC books are mere recipes while David wrote more a guide to the philosophy of the sensual arts of cooking and eating. It is good that Americans have Child to read but they would be better off learning deeper lessons from Elizabeth David or Fisher who get to the true heart of the matter.

I suspect what Steinberger is documenting is actually a world trend that, despite the wild success of people like Ramsay and Ferran Adria (and save me, this nonsense of hitech will pass), the notion of dollar-, novelty- and celebrity-based restaurants may be at its peak. It makes snese that it burns out first in the country where it began. It relies upon the loose money that has now been partly wiped away by the American experiment in utterly irresponsible capitalism, and on the gullible food tourist, and the critic industry of which Steinberger is a part.
I could write a book on it, but the most egregious part of his book is the ludicrous and shallow -and utterly American--analysis of why France is "in decline". Well, they are commies aren't they? I doubt that he would quite write the same stuff today. Still the sixth largest economy in the world. Best nation for healthcare five years in a row? World's best public transport? Number one in low-carbon economy. And still, in my opinion, vastly better cuisine and day-to-day eating by most citizens than the USA or most places. Are not you Americans surely getting a tiny little clued-in that it is not so good to allow the top 5% to own 90% of your country's wealth and that this obsession with the greatest or best or most expensive, and constant craving for novelty is a bit/lot unhealthy--like knowing the cost of everything is different to understanding the value of something.
Finally my advice to Americans who want to enjoy France--ok after you have "done" the adult Disneyland of Paris--rent a Gite for a month in almost anywhere in the country (South and Southwest is my fave but not Provence which has been ruined by Americans --oh, ok also Germans, Brits etc.), and throw out your bloody guides, turn off the Blackberry and chill. Just try the different local restaurants and use your nose in the bigger towns etc. Visit the food markets, vineyards and sure the chateaus and cathedrals (but they all look alike after a while and that is not what you will remember) and replace the Dan Brown/Stephanie Meyer for Elizabeth David. Maybe you might overcome your crippling cultural heritage!

Based on the books titles I expected some sustained argument that there really is a problem in France. We get some anecdotal evidence, which I don't dispute. I wanted to have a bit more on what the actual problem is in the author's mind. However, after a couple of chapters I realise that we are not going to get more depth on that issue. Instead we get a collection of rewritten articles about various food topics. The essays all describe some kind of decline of French food. I call this a biased sample. There surely are restaurants on the rise as well. Talking to them might have given the author a more nuanced picture.

The author has maybe over a ten year period interviewed a number of people in French gastronomy and there are some interesting bits of information for the person really interested in French haute cuisine. The essays are mostly very readable as long as you don't expect a detailed analysis of the decline of French food.

The book is a very easy read, but I would not recommend it generally.

I got this book because my wife spent a number of years living in France and I thought she would find the cultural story interesting, and I would learn a bit more about the culture she lived in. I realize I was a bit naive in that hope. Not that this is a bad book--or rather not that it's a bad book for a particular audience. I was hoping it was the sort of book that has a narrow theme, but in that narrow theme invites a broad audience to learn, to grow, to understand, giving insight into the broader cultural forces at work on this particular issue.

That's what I was wanting, and I shouldn't judge a book based on my expectations. So, while I was disappointed, that doesn't mean this is a bad book. Rather, it's a bit "inside baseball", no doubt quite interesting for those people who have a lot more background with, interest in, and opinions on the state of high cuisine in France and elsewhere. For those who do, no doubt this will be extremely interesting, and insightful. I didn't feel like I had the experience or interest to stay focused on the various issues and topics and people involved. The writing was not particularly inviting to the outsider, even as it is certainly well-written.

I was interested in the topic of this novel the food, Love and France of course, but it wasn't what I tough it will be, any way the story is good but sometimes for me was boring, maybe by the title I was expecting something different.

I am not a foodie, nor do I drink, but I am an affirmed Francophile in the realm of perfume, and an avid reader of, well, everything. So, this little review is for the general reader.

Like many books I've read recently about fine cuisine, culture, and history tied together, this book is best read in a non-linear fashion. For me, not a connoisseur of all things French, it could not hold my interest enough to stay with it. But, that does not mean it is not an entertaining or good book. It will be a book I will return to, reading it as one does a series of good magazine articles, not chapters. It reads this way, as one other reviewer commented.

I found the book to be most compelling when Steinberger wrote about his own experiences. The difference between his personal narrative and his reportage is striking. The first is bristling with his love of food, wine, and France, even in its "decline." The second is a bit dry for those who are not as in love with this history as he.

But, all in all, I can recommend this book to the general reader. In spite of reports that French cuisine and culture is in its death throes, Steinberger entices the reader to visit, and taste and see for themselves if this is indeed true. Still, the allure of France beckons, and not because Steinberger put makeup on the dead corpse. His reporting is non-partial, even if his feelings are not.

By Bill Marsano. Just over a decade ago, in "France on the Brink," the British reporter and francophile Jonathan Fenby examined the decline of a great nation through a variety of lenses, including her cuisine, scandal-ridden politics, stumbling economy, subsidy-dependent agriculture and extravagant welfare policies. Comes now Michael Steinberger, who focuses intently on France's declining cuisine--and uses it as a lens to view a wider catastrophe: "the end of France."

And he does a wonderful, absorbing job of it, too. Many worthy writers hoping for a James Beard Award or some other gorgeous gonfalon this year may now be wishing they'd published their books last year or held them back until next, because Michael Steinberger has put a lot of them out of the running. More over, he's done it with the sort of book that is rarely well done: the foodie's tour. Such books--"Munching Through Italy" or "Feeding in France" or whatever--are usually not much in the writing department: Take away the word "succulent" and most begin to labor. Not this one. Steinberger writes and writes well--he's brisk and sharp and slyly humorous, a pleasure to read. I suspect that's because he's not crippled by a narrow specialty. He may be Slate magazine's wine columnist, but he has covered economics, finance, sports and more for many other publications. Another flaw of Foodie Tour books is excessive enthusiam: The authors love to go somewhere and gush. Not Steinberger. He loves France and her cuisine and culture right enough, but he's pretty damned mad because they're going to hell in a market basket.

Restaurant standards are falling? OK, Steinberger hears out chefs who whine that no one wants to work any more, but notes that restaurateurs in general ignore the muslim population as a source of ready, job-jungry manpower. (And he give an excellent inside look at the tyrant Michelin.) Will raw-milk cheese disappear? Maybe, but more likely because of crippling laws and liabilities than giant commercial competitors. Winemakers are allowed to weep soulfully ("without wine, it would be a desert," says one), but Steinberger exposes their failure to sell their product (even to Frenchmen!) and their thirst for European Union subsidies, which is at some times pathetic (all Europe pays for French wine it doesn't get to drink) and at others fanatical (enter CRAV in Google--and stand back). He travels and dines all over with Alain Ducasse and many other chefs; notes the rise of Japanese chefs in France and French cuisine in Japan; finds restaurateurs daring enough to hire foreign chefs; wants desperately not to believe in the downward spiral but is honest enough to admit that French culinary culture is fossilized. He makes the lover's inevitable error of re-visiting a restaurant loved long ago (and is utterly, brutally crushed: "the parking lot hadn't changed a bit . . . . sadly, that was the high point of the visit"). My favorite part was the chapter on the success of McDonald's. (Among "best places to work in France," what the French call "McDo" is in the Top Ten. Who knew?) This will reduce doctrinaire foodies to foaming tantrums because it is infuriatingly fair.

Steinberger manages to do all this, and more, and entertainly and informatively, in a mere 225 pages. He seldom wastes words. A rare virtue, that, and it left me hungry for more.--Bill Marsano is a veteran travel writer and a James Beard Award winner.

As a longtime columnist for outlets as diverse as Slate, Food & Wine, Saveur, the Financial Times, and the Economist, Michael Steinberger is something of an enfant terrible when it comes to food and wine. Steinberger can leave targets withering at his wrath and those who agree with his blunt honesty will likely find little to criticize. Many recall him becoming persona non grata following his Slate article "Grape Rot: The New Wine Spectator's Distinct Aroma of Fishiness." back in 2002. Steinberger continues in a similar vein here, and much like Benjamin Wallace's "The Billionaire's Vinegar," "Au Revoir" criticises what the food world holds to be sacrosanct: French cuisine. Steinberger criticism of French cuisine serves as a metaphor for the broader ossification and decline of French society and culture over the past twenty five years, the period following the Trente Glorieuses.

As someone who has read much on France, many of the thoughts and observations Steinberger expresses are ones that have crossed my own mind and which I've read elsewhere. Whereas once French cuisine set trends and initiated innovations it has now become rigid, inflexible and frozen in time. Whether restaurants, wineries, bistros, fromageries or farms, France has ceased to be cutting edge and instead is in a decline that appears to be accelerating at a frightening pace. Steinberger points out many of the usual suspects for this decline but uses illustrative examples to make his point, and to make that point quite persuasively. Indeed, Steinberger's writing and arguments are concise and most persuasive. Rather than focusing solely on the restaurant world, Steinberger takes a broadfield socio-cultural approach that incorporates economics, sociology, history and politics in looking at what has lead France to this place. The result is, sadly depressing and patently true. No matter how much I wanted to dispute or denounce his observations they are painfully obvious for all to see.

Quite unintentionally I read this book at the same time as Susan Pinkard's equally wonderful "A Revolution in Taste: The Rise of French Cuisine" and found them to be appropriate bookends for each other. Pinkard traces the emergence and evolution in French cuisine (and France's society and culture) and Steinberger charts its zenith and decline. Ultimately the decline of French cuisine and society is hardly surprising; the same thing is occurring elsewhere as the pace of life changes and evolves, and in that respect Pinkard and Steinberger both make the same prescient observations: changing circumstances resulting in changing tastes. As Steinberger proves French society cannot hold back this sea change in individual tastes and preferences, chef and restaurateurs will have to adapt and change with the times or find themselves out of a job. In the end there is no salvation for preserving things in stasis. If you want to enjoy the old style of French haute cuisine you had better hurry before it is time to say au revoir.