I had read a recent article indicating that this book was among a handful essential to an understanding of Paris in the 1920's, with a focus on cafe life and cuisine. The articles contained in this book are undoubtedly very sincere. However, I personally found several of them to be stilted and generally uninteresting, and even though I have a strong interest in the subject, they failed to hold my attention. In my opinion, Liebling's articles like "Just About Money," "The Afterglow," and "Passable" are among the better ones.