From the James Beard Foundation:
Beard on Food, which describes the places, people, and pleasures that Beard associated with food, is compilation of a series of newspaper columns that he wrote in the early 1970s with the help of José Wilson, his friend and former editor of House & Garden. In the introduction to the book, William Rice wrote, “the genuineness of James Beard’s lifelong passion for food and cookery is reflected throughout the volume.”

Book history:
1974 published
2000 revised with an introduction by Julia Child and a foreword by William Rice as part of the James Beard Library of Great American Cooking series, while longer having a subtitle
2007 new cover and a subtitle added back, foreword by Mark Bittman added
2008 released as an e-book
2012 new cover

note about the author:
Books would be released not only as "James Beard", but also "Jim Beard" and "James A. Beard". "Jim Beard" is what his books were first published under.