It’s also in the running, along with entries from 22 other countries, for the worldwide prize, to be announced at the Feb. 11 ceremony.

The first-ever Paris Cookbook Fair runs the next four days, and most of the major French—and other European—publishers are supposed to be represented. It’s an ambitious event.

TFGW hasn’t been released outside the U.S., so, yes, the translation rights are available. Anyone have any ins with French or Spanish publishers?

I can’t believe I ever put the book down. Admittedly, the topic sounds like hard going, but this is so well-written and so balanced in its treatment that it is, improbably, a real page turner. It has everything: fascinating characters, devious deeds, wit, suspense, science.

That posting prompted the L.A. Times’ “L.A. Unleashed” animal-related blog to note later in the day, “We’re hard pressed to think of a more controversial food than foie gras…” before it sums up the issue and quotes Virbila’s conclusion:

“‘Guaranteed, you’ll think and think hard before you take that next bite of foie.’ (Coming from a food critic, that’s saying quite a lot.)”

Also today on her “Eat All About It” blog, Rebekah Denn posted some thoughts about the book (”I admire how thoroughly Caro embraced ‘the moral whiplash’ of his research, uncovering revealing facts on all sides”), including parts of an interview with me, and previewed my July 14 appearance at Words & Wine in Seattle. Denn previously wrote about the book for The Christian Science Monitor.

Very nice to see that people are still reading this sucker.