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Stand Facing the Stove: The Story of the Women Who Gave America The Joy of Cooking
A New York Times Notable Book
496 pages, Hardcover
First published November 15, 1996
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240 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
March 25, 2025
This was an interesting, eye-opening account of the Rombauer family and the making of the Joy of Cooking cookbook. Sometimes it was a bit too much detail for me, but who knew there was so much behind-the-scenes drama in getting that cookbook out into the world??? I thought the daughter, Marion Rombauer Becker, was very interesting in her own right.
October 7, 2014
This week I made Devil's Food Cake Cockaigne, a lush chocolate cake that I hadn't thought about for several years. The occasion was my daughter Elin's birthday, and while we'll be celebrating with joint party in a few weeks time, it seemed that Friday was a good night for a mini-fête. Four year old Jeanne particularly liked sprinkling little candy stars on top after the cake was iced, but apart from that I was a little disappointed.
Not sure if that is due to changing ability to taste things or to a more developed appetite for exotic food. Whatever the cause, it made me start thinking of The Joy of Cooking, the first good cook book I ever got, and the delightful biography of the book's authors, Stand Facing the Stove: The Story of the Women Who Gave America the Joy of Cooking by Anne Mendelson.
Left a widow with a small legacy, Irma Rombauer decided to collect recipes and publish a cook book for women like herself who found themselves at the beginning of the Great Depression with the necessity to cook for their families for the first time in their lives. Some of them literally did not know how to boil water, hence the step by step directions which included "stand facing the stove." Aided by her daughter, Marion Rombauer Becker, Mrs. Rombauer created a cook book that became one of the most successful ever. It did not bring her the fortune that it should have, though, which is one of the most fascinating portions of this biography.
Stand Facing the Stove appeared shortly before the book was completely revised by Mrs. Rombauer's grandson with the aid of a host of professional cooks. It removed much of the lively commentary that made earlier editions such fun to read. I remember thinking bah humbug when I saw it, and when I went looking for cook books for my kids when they started out on their own, I sought out earlier versions. The 1964 version, which is the one I have, gave me many evenings of entertaining reading when I was putting a lot of energy into learning how to cook well because I had discovered that eating well is, next to love, the greatest pleasure in life.
But I guess my taste for chocolate just isn't what it was. For the next birthday, I'll seek out some other dessert, I think.
Not sure if that is due to changing ability to taste things or to a more developed appetite for exotic food. Whatever the cause, it made me start thinking of The Joy of Cooking, the first good cook book I ever got, and the delightful biography of the book's authors, Stand Facing the Stove: The Story of the Women Who Gave America the Joy of Cooking by Anne Mendelson.
Left a widow with a small legacy, Irma Rombauer decided to collect recipes and publish a cook book for women like herself who found themselves at the beginning of the Great Depression with the necessity to cook for their families for the first time in their lives. Some of them literally did not know how to boil water, hence the step by step directions which included "stand facing the stove." Aided by her daughter, Marion Rombauer Becker, Mrs. Rombauer created a cook book that became one of the most successful ever. It did not bring her the fortune that it should have, though, which is one of the most fascinating portions of this biography.
Stand Facing the Stove appeared shortly before the book was completely revised by Mrs. Rombauer's grandson with the aid of a host of professional cooks. It removed much of the lively commentary that made earlier editions such fun to read. I remember thinking bah humbug when I saw it, and when I went looking for cook books for my kids when they started out on their own, I sought out earlier versions. The 1964 version, which is the one I have, gave me many evenings of entertaining reading when I was putting a lot of energy into learning how to cook well because I had discovered that eating well is, next to love, the greatest pleasure in life.
But I guess my taste for chocolate just isn't what it was. For the next birthday, I'll seek out some other dessert, I think.
July 27, 2016
If you think that writing and publishing this cookbook was a "piece of cake," you may find this book a shocking insight as I did. If you use "Joy of Cooking," the long and tortured history of its various editions finally going to press in will leave you amazed that it was ever published at all. And if you think of the Midwest mother and daughter who wrote it as compatible and mild-mannered, you are in for some big surprises.
Mendelson researched this book for over 10 years, which makes it dense with facts. Some sections seem non-chronological, in that first she tells the story from one perspective, then backtracks and tells it from another. Though sometimes she gives us too much information, the research is monumental. And who would imagine the story of a cookbook would be so complex and dramatic?
The story begins with Rombauer family history within the German community of Cincinnati in the Victorian era. Numerous themes are explored: ethnic community pride and its annihilation during WWI America, changing economics eliminating hired kitchen help in most households, suicide as an economic motivator, and parental dissatisfaction with grown children.
After self-publication of the first edition of "Joy," themes revolve around popular types of home-cooked foods and how they changed throughout time, and resultant writing of new editions with a diverse and sometimes petty and loathsome array of publishers, editors, family members, lawyers and friends drawn into the project (or refusing to be drawn in).
The first edition of "Joy" was published in 1931, and consisted of recipes collected by Irma Rombauer, a non-cook. The book is expanded and several other editions published by Bobs-Merrill, who engaged in copyright abuse and intimidation tactics. Many are the conflicts--between Irma and daughter/collaborator/co-author Marion, between publisher, illustrators, and authors, between Irma and family members. Both Irma and Marion develop health issues that make them fight for their lives, and in Marion's case also for the last and best edition.
This book is a great read, even though a few chapters in the middle seemed to backtrack--I would have liked more integration or fewer facts at that point. Still, it is utterly amazing the detail included--the Preface states the enormous and contradictory records that Mendelson fine-tooth-combed in which to write this fact-dense volume.
By all means read it if you use "Joy of Cooking," you will gain a new perspective on the sectional organization, the descriptions and the unique style in which the recipes are written (bold blocks of ingredients separated by plain text instructions on what to do with each block). And if you've ever wondered what "Cockiagne" means in your "Joy" recipes, the answer is most delightfully revealed here. (HINT: the book also tells about how cooks never read cookbook Forewords!)
Mendelson researched this book for over 10 years, which makes it dense with facts. Some sections seem non-chronological, in that first she tells the story from one perspective, then backtracks and tells it from another. Though sometimes she gives us too much information, the research is monumental. And who would imagine the story of a cookbook would be so complex and dramatic?
The story begins with Rombauer family history within the German community of Cincinnati in the Victorian era. Numerous themes are explored: ethnic community pride and its annihilation during WWI America, changing economics eliminating hired kitchen help in most households, suicide as an economic motivator, and parental dissatisfaction with grown children.
After self-publication of the first edition of "Joy," themes revolve around popular types of home-cooked foods and how they changed throughout time, and resultant writing of new editions with a diverse and sometimes petty and loathsome array of publishers, editors, family members, lawyers and friends drawn into the project (or refusing to be drawn in).
The first edition of "Joy" was published in 1931, and consisted of recipes collected by Irma Rombauer, a non-cook. The book is expanded and several other editions published by Bobs-Merrill, who engaged in copyright abuse and intimidation tactics. Many are the conflicts--between Irma and daughter/collaborator/co-author Marion, between publisher, illustrators, and authors, between Irma and family members. Both Irma and Marion develop health issues that make them fight for their lives, and in Marion's case also for the last and best edition.
This book is a great read, even though a few chapters in the middle seemed to backtrack--I would have liked more integration or fewer facts at that point. Still, it is utterly amazing the detail included--the Preface states the enormous and contradictory records that Mendelson fine-tooth-combed in which to write this fact-dense volume.
By all means read it if you use "Joy of Cooking," you will gain a new perspective on the sectional organization, the descriptions and the unique style in which the recipes are written (bold blocks of ingredients separated by plain text instructions on what to do with each block). And if you've ever wondered what "Cockiagne" means in your "Joy" recipes, the answer is most delightfully revealed here. (HINT: the book also tells about how cooks never read cookbook Forewords!)
December 2, 2012
I thought I had read all of the worst written books of all time, but I was wrong. Now, I think I have. This one is now right up there, with other worst reads. 'Pedantic' is the first word that comes to mind, when speaking of Mendelson, or this book.
The first clue arrives early on, when Mendelson comments upon 'the generation' the Joy of Cooking was written for--its audience: " ...more occupied with high-flown talk of cooking as an 'art', one of the signal delusions of our time." Credited as a food historian, she finds cooking tiresome, time-wasting, and lacking in creativity, and references to cooking as art to be delusional. Why is she doing this for a living???
It is clear early that she holds herself, as an author, a true artiste, writing ABOUT cooking, far above the merely stumbling, lucky, Rombauer women, who cooked, for better or for worse, at times. It is then quite clear that she views cooking as an inferior, highly overrated field. Her rambling about most people having chefs, or "domestics" to cook for them was bizarre, at best. One has to wonder why she wrote this book, other than to capitalize upon the cookbook's amazing popularity and longevity.
"Food Historian" seems a grandiose term for this author, who deeply, truly needs a serious editor--an English teacher editor, preferably. Taking a grammar class might improve her writing. The sentence structure is deeply convoluted, as the author presumably tries to impress with her authority, skills, and great intelligence. I had to read one sentence three times, and then once aloud to several people, only to realize why the sentence made absolutely no sense--it had no subject, just unrelated clauses, and a verb.
I could find no record of Mendelson's educational background, only a brief, overly laudatory, Wikipedia listing of awards she has won, and books she has written. I had no interest in looking beyond that simple bio, as having read this book, I am pretty much 'done' with this author. If you are interested in reading about her topic, the Rombauers, as I was? Read ' Joy of Cooking' itself. Skip this book. It is NO joy.
The first clue arrives early on, when Mendelson comments upon 'the generation' the Joy of Cooking was written for--its audience: " ...more occupied with high-flown talk of cooking as an 'art', one of the signal delusions of our time." Credited as a food historian, she finds cooking tiresome, time-wasting, and lacking in creativity, and references to cooking as art to be delusional. Why is she doing this for a living???
It is clear early that she holds herself, as an author, a true artiste, writing ABOUT cooking, far above the merely stumbling, lucky, Rombauer women, who cooked, for better or for worse, at times. It is then quite clear that she views cooking as an inferior, highly overrated field. Her rambling about most people having chefs, or "domestics" to cook for them was bizarre, at best. One has to wonder why she wrote this book, other than to capitalize upon the cookbook's amazing popularity and longevity.
"Food Historian" seems a grandiose term for this author, who deeply, truly needs a serious editor--an English teacher editor, preferably. Taking a grammar class might improve her writing. The sentence structure is deeply convoluted, as the author presumably tries to impress with her authority, skills, and great intelligence. I had to read one sentence three times, and then once aloud to several people, only to realize why the sentence made absolutely no sense--it had no subject, just unrelated clauses, and a verb.
I could find no record of Mendelson's educational background, only a brief, overly laudatory, Wikipedia listing of awards she has won, and books she has written. I had no interest in looking beyond that simple bio, as having read this book, I am pretty much 'done' with this author. If you are interested in reading about her topic, the Rombauers, as I was? Read ' Joy of Cooking' itself. Skip this book. It is NO joy.
September 17, 2020
Many readers would give this two-stars. It is dense with enmity between two authors and their publisher. And, really, who loves reading about contracts and dastardly deeds?
For me, it was a nostalgic retrospective of my own joy of cooking. When I married in 1978 I was given four cook books, the sum of my culinary resources: The Joy of Cooking, The Betty Crocker Cook Book, Better Homes & Gardens Cook Book, and Adele Davis's Let's Cook It Right, all mentioned in this book. The only cook book from that era on my shelf is The Joy of Cooking. The decision to use line drawings in Joy instead of photographs — which date a book so decidedly — was brilliant.
Mendelson delves into the history of American cooking. Decades ago I typed all of my husband's (German) Granny Jo's heirloom recipes into a cookbook. There be oleo, condensed milk, canned fruit cocktail and cream of something soup. With that background, I happily tracked with the Chronicles of Cookery chapters.
I enjoyed getting to know St. Louis and the German-American culture better. The connections were entertaining. Irma von Starkloff (our Irma, of course) had a brief tumultuous romance with Booth Tarkington! When the family visited Germany they met Mark Twain. When in Paris, Irma hadlunch with Louisette Bertholle and Julia Child!
There were little inlets of recognition. Does my herb garden have its roots in Joy? I recalled repeatedly looking up the meaning of Cockaigne, a designated word that indicated a Rombauer/Becker favorite. And a chuckle remembering when 'foreign' cooking meant borsch, chop suey, minestrone, Italian meatballs, and goulash (all of which I've made back in the day).
On a wistful note, I had associated the Rombauer/Becker combination with the traditional church potluck milieu I was raised in. To read that Marion was a stated atheist was a dampening splash of water, reminiscent of reading that Julia Child was an ardent abortion supporter.
In those personal reading intersections that never fail to delight me, I chortled that I was reading Stand Facing the Stove, Range (a book about being a generalist) and The Last Battle concurrently. (Chapter 11 in SFtS is "The Last Battle.")
Now I'm primed to read through Joy of Cooking!
For me, it was a nostalgic retrospective of my own joy of cooking. When I married in 1978 I was given four cook books, the sum of my culinary resources: The Joy of Cooking, The Betty Crocker Cook Book, Better Homes & Gardens Cook Book, and Adele Davis's Let's Cook It Right, all mentioned in this book. The only cook book from that era on my shelf is The Joy of Cooking. The decision to use line drawings in Joy instead of photographs — which date a book so decidedly — was brilliant.
Mendelson delves into the history of American cooking. Decades ago I typed all of my husband's (German) Granny Jo's heirloom recipes into a cookbook. There be oleo, condensed milk, canned fruit cocktail and cream of something soup. With that background, I happily tracked with the Chronicles of Cookery chapters.
I enjoyed getting to know St. Louis and the German-American culture better. The connections were entertaining. Irma von Starkloff (our Irma, of course) had a brief tumultuous romance with Booth Tarkington! When the family visited Germany they met Mark Twain. When in Paris, Irma hadlunch with Louisette Bertholle and Julia Child!
There were little inlets of recognition. Does my herb garden have its roots in Joy? I recalled repeatedly looking up the meaning of Cockaigne, a designated word that indicated a Rombauer/Becker favorite. And a chuckle remembering when 'foreign' cooking meant borsch, chop suey, minestrone, Italian meatballs, and goulash (all of which I've made back in the day).
On a wistful note, I had associated the Rombauer/Becker combination with the traditional church potluck milieu I was raised in. To read that Marion was a stated atheist was a dampening splash of water, reminiscent of reading that Julia Child was an ardent abortion supporter.
In those personal reading intersections that never fail to delight me, I chortled that I was reading Stand Facing the Stove, Range (a book about being a generalist) and The Last Battle concurrently. (Chapter 11 in SFtS is "The Last Battle.")
Now I'm primed to read through Joy of Cooking!
October 8, 2011
I really wanted to like this book, since The Joy of Cooking first taught me to cook more than the basics. The book clearly shows the immense effort Anne Mendelson put into researching the times and culture that produced Irma Rombauer. Unfortunately, the book spends too much time on the world around Mrs. Rombauer and not enough on the lady herself and the great book that is her legacy. I only read the first third of this book before giving up, but it's a 500 page book. I would have much preferred to read 166 pages just about the origins of The Joy of Cooking, and less about the class structures of immigrant life in the early United States.
August 29, 2012
This book could have been so much better. Too much detail about the battle between Bobbs-Merril and the authors of the Joy of Cooking.
Such an amazing time--and so many changes took place in how food and cooking was viewed.
I cannot recommend this book except to the overly detailed oriented reader.
Such an amazing time--and so many changes took place in how food and cooking was viewed.
I cannot recommend this book except to the overly detailed oriented reader.
Currently reading
September 5, 2011Loving Mendelson's style and appreciating further insight into my cult-fave, the Joy of Cooking.
August 16, 2025
I agree with other reviewers who say this book is a marvelous exploration of the incredible tribulations that went into making this iconic cookbook. But. It is also overly detailed and often tedious to slog through. I'm glad that I read it, and I learned a lot, but it would have benefitted from a stronger editing job.
July 20, 2022
I really loved this book - the lack of 5 stars is because there was a little too much on the legal issues for my taste. But so enjoyed the social and personal histories!
June 4, 2015
I have been a Joy of Cooking user and fan for the past 30 years. So I was eager and excited to read this book. The author did an excellent job of writing and researching the topic of this book. Having said that, I didn't really enjoy reading it. I found myself disliking the main characters. That made finishing the book feel tedious and uncomfortable. I respect the accomplishment of writing and publishing the Joy of Cooking. I don't like or respect the people themselves though. Their character is acrimonious, Petty, and generally self indulgent. I definitely did not enjoy reading about the numerous family squabbles and quarrels with the publishers. That may be what happened, but it doesn't make for pleasant reading. I can tell the author had a great amount of respect for the people she wrote about. I do not mean to say she is a bad writer. I think she did a good job. My reactions are about the people themselves.
November 23, 2014
This biography of the authors of The Joy of Cooking ( and really, of the cookbook itself)Has much to recommend it, but it is SO LONG and detailed that it really requires some trudging to get through it all. There's a lot of interesting material here - my husband's family is from the St. Louis area, so the tie-in with the St. Louis German community was interesting to me, and the complicated history of the publication of the book itself has some fascinating moments -- but Ms. Mendelson has apparently never met a detail she felt could go unreported ( seems to be a trend among biographers; I have the same reaction to Walter Isaacson and David McCullough sometimes)and that can make for some very slow reading. WHile she can certainly turn a phrase on occasion there are times when one more detail on publication-related litigation is one detail too many. Pick this one up only is you havfe plenty of time.
August 12, 2015
The Joy of Cooking is such an iconic cookbook in America, I really wanted to learn how the mother-daughter team came to write it, so I was really looking forward to reading this book. While the main thread of the story is fascinating, the author goes off on too many tangents, that, while interesting, really distracts from the main story at hand. I think this book could have used a really good editing job to tighten the story and make it more concise and to the point. The author spends so much time with the background details that reading the book becomes a rather tedious chore.
July 3, 2008
Part biography and part critical exegesis of the development of American cooking, this excellently researched and well-footnoted book deserves a place on the shelf alongside The Joy of Cooking. Try teasing apart the engaging personalities of the authors of Joy from the elegant and witty prose of Ms. Mendelson; I don't think it can be done. Fully as enjoyable as it is erudite, and that's saying a lot.
January 25, 2010
Read this for my culinary history reading group in Dec. 2009. At least, I tried to read it. I got through the first 150 pages or so by the time the group met, but didn't finish it. The author clearly had a wealth of information, and perhaps the discussion of writing "The Joy of Cooking" was good, but I didn't get that far. Basically, too much of what might have been a good thing.
September 15, 2007
I love the Joy of Cooking, so what's not to love here? The most interesting thing, to me, was that a grad school classmate and fellow librarian's grandfather was their evil editor. Not even six degrees of separation between me and Irma Rombauer!
July 4, 2008
Interesting look at the evolution of a best-selling cookbook, written by a non-cook. Also covers culinary history and trends of the 20th century. A bit too long, and reading the ancestral family history of the main character dragged, but a pretty well-told story.
July 30, 2009
This book could be so interesting, if it was shorter. Author did a great job of researching this story, but it all gets bogged down in minutia and character analysis. All the details make it boring and difficult to pay attention to.
March 10, 2013
If you're a wicked crazy foodie like me and know all about the various editions of Joy (the classic -- 1975; the flop: The "new" Joy, which was about as big a hit as new Coke), you will enjoy this biography for sure.
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July 8, 2013I couldn't finish it. So much minutia. A classic case of an author who feels she has to include every tiny fact that she's uncovered during her research. Ironic in a book about the publishing world - this book was crying out for a good editor.
April 21, 2015
The author has written an amazing book. Congratulations to her. Anyone interested in the history of food, etc, should read this. Included is an excellent history of food and food practices in north american in the last 100 years. Illuminating.
March 16, 2016
Combines three of my interests ... cooking, books, and copyright! Part biography, part publishing history of Joy, and part history of American cookbooks ... not always easy reading, but worth the struggle.
February 15, 2008
I feel less like I'm reading a novel and more like I'm reading a history book. Not really a bad thing, just not what I expected.
April 22, 2008
I started this book, but was not really able to get into it. After reading a few chapters, I gave it up. It's pretty dry and I'm one who loves biographies.
Currently reading
September 21, 2010Being from the St. Louis area and descended from it's early German immigrants PLUS being a huge fan of The Joy of Cooking makes this book a page turner for me. Enjoying it so far Lots!!
July 11, 2011
A real American story...
August 6, 2017
Holy shit this book took me forever to read. Highly recommended if you want a microhistory of one particular textbook.
May 9, 2013
Combined history of the cookbook, the authors and 20th century domestic life. Too wordy.
October 24, 2013
used library hardback in great shape
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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April 25, 2016Couldn't finish this one; too dry and dense. May try again. Only once put a book down and didn't finish; this makes twice.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews