Pirate Patty Reviews

Forward by Roy Blount, Jr.

In the middle of the night on March 11, 1980, the phone rang in Julia Reed’s Georgetown dorm. It was her boss at Newsweek, where she was an intern. He told her to get in her car and drive to her alma mater, the Madeira School. Her former headmistress, Jean Harris, had just shot Dr. Herman Tarnower, The Scarsdale Diet Doctor. Julia didn’t flinch. She dressed, drove to Madeira, got the story, and her first byline and the new American Gilded Age was off and running.

And so begins this collection of essays from Julia Reed. A Southern Treasure.

I remember the Scarsdale Diet and the shooting of the doctor and the trial. Such drama! With one century ending and another beginning, Julia gives us a look at so many people, places, and food! Those hot olives!!

So many of her best profiles. One of which we just lost today as I write this. Andre’ Leon Talley. A veritable who’s who of the time. The Bush family, Madeleine Albright, and so many more. Dining at favorite restaurants, what food was popular as well as the fashions of the time.

Her writing style is relatable as well as hilarious at times. This is one of those books that you find yourself reading again. As a Mississippi former resident, I loved this book. The South at its finest.

NetGalley/August 23rd, 2022 by St. Martin’s Press