About the book: Len Deighton (mystery author) explains his cooking philosophy in the foreword: These fifty cookstrips were designed to illustrate basic French home cooking. Some strips illustrate a technique, some a process, some a category of dish. They were carefully selected to give the maximum number of permutations; these fifty strips will enable you to prepare about five hundred dishes. I'll give you an instance of this: the recipe for a savarin is not included here because there are not enough variations you can wring out of it, but mousse, soufflé and crepes pay off with dozens, perhaps hundreds, of possibilities.
Deighton mentions My cookstrips were invented in order that my expensive cookery books did not get soiled with flour and gravy marks. See an example of the cookstrip format made famous in the London Observer (comic book-like recipes format with abbreviated words and pictures) below:

The really important things are all here; Strip 8, 'White Stock' - that's a pretty dreary page, and Strip 18 - that's another complete drag, but it's essential to understand and try out these things if you are going to understand French cooking. This book isn't a magic wand that can be waved over the stove; some steps will require practice and sometimes the first attempt will be short of perfection - it won't be a disaster but it will be less than perfect.
Even the best of French chefs make an experimental crepe to test the consistency of the batter.

I haven't invented anything here; I have selected, analysed and presented the finest recipes available. My contribution has been to explain them as simply as possible.
You may feel that certain distinctions I have made are dogmatic. Cooks are seldom dogmatic; rules are often broken by cooks who feel - rightly -more interested in flavour than rules. I have drawn boundary lines so that reasons behind the methods are easily understood and remembered. These rules are the rules of the masters of French cuisine. Obviously it doesn't affect me whether you fry the ingredients of a daube or a blanquette but you might then ask me why they aren't called a braise and a fricassee and I'd have no answer.
This book is only intended to tell you the rules of the game; you are the best judge of when to stick to them.
Other books by best-selling author Len Deighton include, The Ipcress File, Horse Under Water, Funeral In Berlin, An Expensive Place To Die, Only When I Larf, Bomber, Bomber, Close-Up, Spy Story, Elevan Declarations Of War, Yesterday's Spy, Catch A Falling Spy.