List $27.50

Written by Ruth Reichl - Audio book narrated by Ruth Reichl - Abridged Nonfiction - 4 RETAIL EDITION COMPACT DISCS - 5 hours

Publisher, Random House Audiobooks (April 2005)

Listen to an audio clip NOTE: You will need RealPlayer Basic to listen. It's FREE !

NOTE: RETAIL EDITIONS are packaged in attractive, compact cardboard or jewel-case shrink-wrapped boxes, with full-color art.

Includes an interview with the author and recipe cards!

Garlic and Sapphires is Ruth Reichl's riotous account of the many disguises she employs to dine anonymously. There is her stint as Molly Hollis, a frumpy blond with manicured nails and an off-beige Armani suit that Ruth takes on when reviewing Le Cirque. The result: her famous double review of the restaurant: first she ate there as Molly; and then as she was coddled and pampered on her visit there as Ruth, New York Times food critic.

What is even more remarkable about Reichl's spy games is that as she takes on these various disguises, she finds herself changed not just superficially, but in character as well. She gives a remarkable account of how one's outer appearance can very much influence one's inner character, expectations, and appetites.

As she writes, "Every restaurant is a theater . . . even the modest restaurants offer the opportunity to become someone else, at least for a little while." Garlic and Sapphires is a reflection on personal identity and role playing in the decadent, epicurean theaters of the restaurant world.

About the Author: Ruth Reichl is the editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine and the author of the bestselling books Comfort Me with Apples and Tender at the Bone, which was a James Beard Award finalist. She has been the restaurant critic at The New York Times, New West magazine, and California magazine, and the food editor and restaurant critic at the Los Angeles Times. Reichl lives in New York City with her husband and son.