LOT OF 2 ROBERT JAMES WALLER BOOKSFREEBIE : THE RECIPES OF MADISON COUNTYINCLUDES THE FOLLOWING TITLES:1. The Bridges of Madison Countyby: Robert James WallerHARDBOUNDSynopsisOne warm 1960s summer day Robert Kincaid walks into the quaint Iowa town of Winterset to photograph its beautiful old bridges for a photo essay for National Geographic. Asking directions at a local farmhouse, he meets Francesca, a beautiful farm wife whose family is away at the state fair. They fall deeply and immediately in love. For four days, they revel in one another's beauty and the magic that they bring to each other. When it comes time for him to leave, Robert wants her to go with him, but she makes the painful decision to stay with her family. After Robertos;s gone, Francesca keeps track of him through his pictures in National Geographic. She notices the careworn lines of his well-traveled face, the medallion around his neck that bears her name. After he dies, his ashes are scattered near the bridge they photographed together, and she receives a box of his personal effects. When she dies, she leaves them to her children, along with three volumes of writing which contain her story of their love. True love shines in this spare, simple story. Not literary so much as classic, the love story of Robert and Francesca is as universal and eternal as Romeo and Juliet.2. Slow Waltz in Cedar Bendby Robert James WallerHARDBOUNDOnly little old ladies with blue permed hair need be wary of Waller's second foray into fiction: this time around, his saccharine tale of middle-aged lovers gets to sex scenes right away. When Michael Tillman, an Iowa economics professor with a rebel streak, first lays eyes on his colleague's wife, Jellie Branden, he immediately wonders ``how it would feel to grab a big handful of her hair and bend her over the dean's kitchen table.'' A few pages later--still in the first chapter--he is fantasizing about stripping Jellie naked and flying to the Seychelles. Though it takes a while to consummate their passion, Jellie is an iconoclast too: like Mike, she smokes and wears jeans to faculty parties, and she is pretty good in the sex fantasy department herself. But Jellie has a Dark Secret (no surprise to the reader when it is revealed) and Michael must go tearing off to India to try to locate her when she runs away from Cedar Bend. Waller's attempt at academic satire is a dud, but he renders the Indian settings quite effectively. An encounter with a tiger is just the sort of sentimental flourish that fans of The Bridges of Madison County will get teary-eyed over; and there's even a coy reference to Robert Kincaid to evoke the earlier novel. To the main question--will this book please Waller's fans?--the answer is a resounding Yes. FREEBIE:3. The Recipes of Madison Countyby Oxmoor House, Courtney A. WorkHARDBOUNDTwo Des Moines women, Courtney Work and Jane Hemminger, an illustrator and food consultant respectively, were selected for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become food prop caterers for the food scenes in the Warner Brothers film, The Bridges of Madison County. Knowledgeable in the culinary habits of Iowans, Courtney and Jane chronicle their experiences in Madison County on these pages. The authors present here each of the recipes they prepared, along with Courtney's illustrations depicting intimate scenes from the film. The dishes that Francesca prepared for Robert and the "comfort foods" she made for her family are juxtaposed with menus updated for today. These appealing, innovative, kitchen-tested recipes will tempt the palate of all who seek passion in their own lives. Whether it's 1960's cuisine from a steamy Winterset, Iowa, or quicker, more healthful fare from today, you can create delectable flavors and entrancing scenes - and maybe even turn up the heat in your own kitchen.