A sampling of new and favorite books.

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	Hungry Planet, What the World Eats FOOD •  2005 •   • 288 PAGES As in their mind-expanding, gorgeously photographed and provocative Material World, Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio once again present diverse families around the world, this time focusing on what people eat. The photographs themselves (of 30 families in 24 countries with a week's worth of groceries arrayed around them) are fascinating -- and the accompanying sidebars and statistics on food habits, diet, and economics are just as riveting. With essays by Michael Pollan, Alfred Crosby, Carl Safina and others. (WLD65, $40.00)
	Material World, A Global Family Portrait CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1995 •   • 255 PAGES An inspired idea, this book documents 30 families around the world with all their possessions arrayed around them. Each six- or eight-page photo-essay includes biographical notes, economic statistics and commentary. The cumulative impact of the photographs, biographical and social detail is fascinating -- and an excellent lesson in social geography. It includes a particularly good chapter on a Bhutanese family. With 370 color photographs. (GEN02, $25.00)
	South Wind Through the Kitchen, The Best of Elizabeth David FOOD •  2006 •   • 383 PAGES A selection of recipes and essays, chosen judiciously by Jill Norman, from David's nine influential books, including Book of Mediterranean Food and French Country Cooking. With 200 recipes. David writes equally as well and insightfully about culture and society as about the food itself. Julian Barnes provides the introduction to this edition. First published in the 1950s. (MED30, $18.95)
	The Accidental Connoisseur, An Irreverent Journey Through the Wine World FOOD •  2005 •   • 262 PAGES Oh, what a quest -- and what great fun. Osborne journeys across the world to places like Provence, Tuscany and Sonoma on an animated quest of what makes wine and what makes it good. He stops by New York, San Francisco, Paris, Florence, and Rome to see what people are drinking. He meets plenty of interesting characters along the way (like Robert Mondavi), revealing much about the pleasures of wine (and travel!) We're hoping for a southern hemisphere sequel. (TVL31, $14.00)
	The Oxford Companion to Food FOOD •  2006 •   • 976 PAGES Davidson's masterful, entertaining encyclopedia, 20 years in the making. The book has already claimed pride of place (bumping aside Larousse Gastronomique) on many a cook's bookshelf. Well worth browsing, this refreshingly opinionated, quirky book is also a pleasure to read. Organized A-Z (and much of it written by Davidson himself) the book covers everything: ingredients and foodstuffs, national cuisines, famous chefs and food writers. The second edition. (REF07, $65.00)

	The Food Lover's Guide to Florence, With Culinary Excursions in Tuscany   • GUIDEBOOK  •  Miller polled neighbors, friends, cooks and ordinary folk for this delectable guide to 125 eateries, organized by neighborhood. (ITL841, $14.95)
	The Oxford Companion to Wine   • REFERENCE  •  Over 3,000 detailed entries make this wine guide thorough enough for the connoisseur and engaging for the novice. Includes history (and plenty of anecdotes!), terminology, information on wine regions, and illustrations, plus a judge's list of wine qualities and weaknesses. (REF15, $65.00)
	1080 Recipes   • FOOD  •  The indispensable Spanish classic cookbook, translated into English for the first time. (SPN353, $39.95)
	A Cook's Tour, Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines   • FOOD  •  In this deliciously funny book, Bourdain eats his way around the globe on a quest for the perfect (or perfectly odd) meal. From fried Mars Bars in Glasgow to cobra hearts in Cambodia, there's nowhere this wise-cracking chef won't go and nothing he won't try. (TVL90, $14.95)
	A Hedonist in the Cellar, Adentures in Wine   • FOOD  •  Having mellowed slightly from his days depicting the drug-fueled parties of 1980s, Jay McInerney has become a celebrated wine writer and his collection of essays on vintners, varietals and other pleasures from the grape is a pleasure in itself. (GEN402, $14.00)
	A History of the World In 6 Glasses   • FOOD  •  A high enjoyable chronicle of the prestige, power, politics and pleasures of key beverages through the ages. Standage argues that the drinks that have mattered, since the Stone Age, are, in chronological order: beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and cola. Each chapter is a vivid history of politics, prestige, colonialism, commerce and society. (GEN333, $14.95)
	A Late Dinner, Discovering the Food of Spain   • FOOD  •  A resident of Spain for the last 15 years, Richardson searches out the diversity and delight of Spain and its food in this engaging account of travels in search of a meal. (SPN344, $24.00)
	A Life Uncorked   • FOOD  •  Hugh Johnson weaves together anecdotes from his life experiences with wine in this entertaining and informative tour through the wine world. Organized as an autobiography, Johnson provides his expert perspective on the joy and fascination of wine around the world. (GEN360, $34.95)
	A Movable Feast, Ten Millennia of Food Globalization   • FOOD  •  Kiple (Cambridge World History of Food) shows the history of civilization through its stomach in a series of illuminating essays on the spread of agriculture and transformation of how and what we eat over the last 10,000 years. (GEN389, $27.00)
	A Stew or a Story, An Assortment of Short Works   • FOOD  •  Essays on people, places -- and of course food -- mix with delightful fiction in this delectable Fisher feast. (TVL131, $15.95)
	Apricots on the Nile, A Memoir With Recipes   • FOOD  •  Rossant's piquant tale of waiting out WWII on the Nile in Cairo's Garden City with her father's extended Egyptian-Jewish family. With recipes. (EGY213, $12.00)
	Arabesque, A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, And Lebanon   • FOOD  •  Roden leavens 150 well-chosen, classic recipes of North Africa and the Middle East with scraps of history, culture and tales. With 93 color photographs. (MED99, $35.00)
	Around the World in 80 Dinners, The Ultimate Culinary Adventure   • FOOD  •  The entertaining, enterprising cookbook writing duo include memorable meals -- with recipes -- in a whirlwind, 10-country odyssey that takes them to Bali to Australia, New Caledonia, Singapore, Thailand, China, Southern India, South Africa, Provence and Salvador, Brazil. (WLD142, $24.95)
	Art Culture and Cuisine   • FOOD  •  In a gastronomic history of early Western civilization that is both scholarly and witty, Bober looks at cooking in the art history and archeology of Turkey, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, and medieval Europe. She asks fascinating questions about our relationship to cookery and even includes a few ancient recipes. (GEN444, $25.00)
	Beyond the Great Wall   • FOOD  •  The globe-trotting duo weaves their own tales of travel with contemporary politics, commentary, carefully documented recipes and stunning photographs for this sumptuous overview of the food and culture of Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Yunnan and other far-off regions of ethnically diverse China. (CHN475, $40.00)
	Biba's Italy, Favorite Recipes from the Splendid Cities   • FOOD  •  Ms. Caggiano focuses on regional, seasonal food in this omnibus cookbook (featuring 100 recipes), menu planner and travel guide to Rome, Florence, Bologna, Milan and Venice. Nicely produced, this handsome sepia-toned book includes recommended restaurants, cafes and markets in each city. (ITL777, $29.95)
	Blue Trout and Black Truffles, The Peregrinations of an Epicure   • FOOD  •  Wechsberg, a frequent contributor to The New Yorker and Gourmet, writes with sly humor of glorious European food in the South of France, Austro-Hungarian delights and Czech sausage in this tasty collection, originally published in 1953. (EUR238, $16.00)
	Choice Cuts, A Savory Selection of Food Writing from around the World and throughout History   • FOOD  •  A witty collection, organized thematically, with a rich selection of writing by the likes of Liebling, MFK Fisher, Escoffier and Alice B. Toklas. (GEN253, $16.00)
	Consider the Oyster   • FOOD  •  The inestimable Fisher's ruminations on the oyster, a delightful essay full of recipes and bits of trivia. (GEN273, $11.00)
	Curry, A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors   • FOOD  •  This cultural history with recipes is appetizingly organized as a menu (biryani, vindaloo, chai, etc.). Curry explores the origins and spread of Indian food and the interplay between Muslim, Hindu, Portuguese and British traditions on the Subcontinent. (IDA319, $15.95)
	Eater's Digest, 400 Delectable Readings About Food and Drink   • FOOD  •  Bodger includes in this culinary miscellany such tasty bits as what to have in your pantry, where to buy kitchen supplies online, the hottest peppers, and irresistible trivia (quick: name five rock bands named after food). (GEN366, $19.95)
	Extreme Cuisine, The Weird & Wonderful Foods That People Eat   • FOOD  •  An illustrated (!) compendium of the (strange) things people, mostly rural and mostly in developing nations, eat. With recipes. (TVL84, $21.95)
	Families of the Vine, Seasons Among the Winemakers of Southwest France   • FOOD  •  A delightful, informative portrait of a venerable winemaking family in Southwest France and the stylish, savory wines of Clos Triguedina, by an American chef who lived in the region. (FRN479, $13.95)
	Feeding a Yen, Savoring Local Specialties from Kansas City to Cuzco   • FOOD  •  A captivating, enthusiastic collection of essays on the subjects of food, life and local specialties. This slim book includes Trillin's priceless riff on bagels as bait to lure his daughters home from the West Coast, his quest for the best ceviche with Douglas Rodriguez, and 11 other ramblings. (WLD40, $13.95)
	Food, The History of Taste   • FOOD  •  Editor Paul Freedman and diverse scholars celebrate the history and pleasure of food in this richly illustrated history, illuminating the gustatory pleasures of classical antiquity; contributions of the Islamic World the Arabian desert, Persia, and Byzantium; the cuisine of the Middle Ages and Renaissance; cross-cultural exchanges upon the discovery of the New World; the ascendance of France and fine dining; and evolution of modern agriculture and contemporary restaurant dining. (GEN395, $39.95)
	How to Eat Around the World   • FOOD  •  Sterling takes particular joy in describing his more bizarre encounters with exotic foods in this entertaining gourmand's world tour. He covers everything from table manners to drinking around the globe to what he calls "The Holy Trinity of Cuisine" (China, India and the West). (TVL87, $12.95)
	M. F. K. Fisher Among the Pots and Pans, Celebrating Her Kitchens   • FOOD  •  Fisher's biographer serves forth the essence of the great cook, writer and traveler with these carefully chosen excerpts and recipes. (GEN442, $24.95)
	Ma Gastronomie   • FOOD • COMING IN JUNE  •  Point's classic of modern French cuisine has been brought back in a handsome hard cover edition. (FRN740, $40.00)
	Making Sense of Wine   • FOOD  •  A thoroughly engaging guide to the production, selection and pleasure of a good glass of wine. Journalist and food writer Kramer tackles corks and glasses and cellars, food grapes, geography and taste with admirable clarity. (GEN286, $12.95)
	Mangoes & Curry Leaves, Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent   • FOOD  •  In this latest book the roving, food-loving authors (Hot Sour Salty Sweet) travel the seven countries of the Indian Subcontinent: Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, collecting not only 200 recipes but also engaging tales of the people, history and adventures. With color photographs of food and places throughout. (IDA320, $45.00)
	Pork & Sons   • FOOD  •  A blend of cookbook and travelogue, Reynaud explores the rustic world of French pork and the farmers, butchers and chefs who participate in its preparation - from the slaughterhouse to the dining room. With 150 recipes. (FRN730, $39.95)
	Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink   • FOOD  •  This dectable compilation of entertaining, substantial essays, fiction, and cartoons on the pleasures of food and drink from the pages of The New Yorker over the last 80 years, includes contributions by Calvin Trillin, Joan Didion, Anthony Bourdain, John Cheever and Roald Dahl, among others. (GEN453, $29.95)
	Spice, The History of a Temptation   • FOOD  •  Turner wonderfully evokes the romance, lust and mystery of pepper, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, cloves and ginger in this lively cultural history of spice. (GEN334, $14.95)
	Tastes of Paradise: A Social History of Spices, Stimulants, and Intoxicants   • FOOD  •  An intiguing cultural history of coffee and chocolate, spices, tobacco, spirits, drinking places and rituals, all presented with gusto. (GEN364, $14.95)
	The Art of Eating   • FOOD  •  A 50th anniversary edition of Fisher's influential memoir on the pleasures of food (and family and travel and life). It includes Serve it Forth, Consider the Oyster, How to Cook a Wolf, The Gastronomical Me, and An Alphabet for Gourmets. It's all pure pleasure: the prose, the settings and, not incidentally, the food. (TVL91, $22.95)
	The Battle for Wine and Love, Or How I Saved the World from Parkerization   • FOOD  •  Traveling through the ancient vineyards of the Loire and Champagne, to Piedmont and Spain, she goes in search of authentic barolo, the last old-style rioja, and the tastiest new terroir-driven champagnes. (GEN438, $23.00)
	The Best Recipes in the World   • FOOD  •  A how-to culinary tour of over 40 countries, from the exotic (the Balkans) to the expected (France, Italy). It gives full weight to Asian cuisines as well. With over 1,000 recipes, many of which can be prepared in under 30 minutes. (GEN116, $29.95)
	The Devil's Picnic, Around the World in Pursuit of Forbidden Fruit   • FOOD  •  An entertaining, enlightening journey through the world of forbidden pleasure from gum in Singapore to coca tea, bull's testicles, baby eels and Cuban cigars (in San Francisco). (TVL83, $14.95)
	The Nasty Bits   • FOOD  •  Further outragous culinary adventures by the rogue chef and traveler, organized according to taste: salty, sweet, sour, bitter and umami -- Japanese for unfathomable. (WLD74, $14.95)
	The Oxford Companion to Italian Food   • FOOD  •  This endlessly informative, indispensible guide, organized A-to-Z, covers dishes, famous chefs, history and culture, cooking methods and more. (ITL867, $35.00)
	The True History of Chocolate   • FOOD  •  This scholarly history of pre-Columbian chocolate by these married archaeologists reveals chocolate's origins as a ceremonial beverage in ancient Olmec and Maya society. The Coes trace the treat's evolution from a food of the gods to the salons of Europe down through the masses to Hershey Pennsylvania. (CAM57, $21.95)
	The Tuscan Year: Tuscan Life and Food in an Italian Valley   • FOOD • FAVORITE  •  An intimate portrait of life on a Tuscan farm, as seen primarily through the robust food, and a Longitude favorite. Romer captures the goings-on in the countryside, and especially in the Cerotti kitchen, where traditional Tuscan rural food is prepared with loving care. Every chapter includes concisely described recipes. (ITL131, $14.00)
	The Vinegar of Spilamberto, And Other Italian Adventures With Food, Places, And People   • FOOD  •  An account of the author's travels and love of Italy, its food and culture. (ITL662, $15.00)
	The World Atlas of Wine   • FOOD  •  Not just an authoritative guide, this stunning world atlas includes hundreds of photogaphs and illuminating local and regional maps. (GEN244, $50.00)
	The World of Wine   • FOOD  •  A handsome boxed set of Hugh Johnson's acclaimed The World Atlas of Wine and The Story of Wine. This two-volume set also includes a CD of Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2006. (WLD67, $85.00)
	The World's Greatest Wine Estates, A Modern Perspective   • FOOD  •  Robert Parker's personal picks for 175 the best vineyards in the world, from classics in France and California to up-and-comers in Australia and Austria. With 175 color photographs and 25 maps. (WLD60, $75.00)
	Thirsty Work: Love Wine, Drink Better   • FOOD  •  An entertaining, down-to-earth guide to choosing and drinking wine by the wine guy at Jamie Oliver's London restaurant Fifteen. (GEN342, $24.95)
	Liquid Jade, The Story of Tea from Wast to West   • HISTORY  •  Barbara Hohenegger takes in the tumultuous history of tea and the tea trade, a 5,000-year journey from Japan and China to the British Empire and beyond, in this captivating history. (ASA54, $24.95)
	The Spice Route, A History   • HISTORY • NEW  •  John Keay draws on ancient logs, traveler's accounts and maps for this rousing history of trade in cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, pepper, gums, resins and other costly goods from antiquity to the 17th century. (ASA52, $16.95)
	The Taste of Conquest, The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice   • HISTORY  •  A history of the world when pepper, cinnamon and cloves were as valuable as gold, and Venice, Lisbon and Amsterdam all jockeyed for control of the global market. (EUR279, $25.95)
	As They Were   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  This marvelous collection of autobiographical essays by the celebrated, much-adored Fisher covers her life, family, food and adventures from Whittier, California to the south of France. (FRN705, $14.00)
	Between Meals, An Appetite for Paris   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • FAVORITE  •  Liebling captues with stylish prose his coming-of-age in Paris in this elegant memoir, which is also a tribute to French cuisine. (FRN32, $14.00)
	Clementine in the Kitchen   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  This sweet tale of a transplanted American family and their endearing French cook evokes the traditions, character and food of rural France in the years before WWII. Clementine eventually accompanies her new friends back to America, where, happily, she finds love. (FRN455, $13.95)
	Climbing the Mango Trees, A Memoir of a Childhood in India   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • NEW  •  An actress and food writer, Jaffrey combines her warm tale of coming-of-age in a sprawling homestead in Old Delhi with 32 recipes. (IDA327, $14.95)
	My Life in France   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • NEW  •  Child's characteristically ebullient record of Paris and Provence, her many friends, family and memorable meals, in the years after WWII. (FRN596, $14.95)
	No Reservations, Around the World on an Empty Stomach   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  A companion to Bourdain's popular Travel Channel show, this behind-the-scenes journal is packed with photographs, advice and spirited commentary. (GEN403, $34.95)
	Untangling My Chopsticks, A Culinary Sojourn in Kyoto   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  In this beguiling memoir, Riccardi writes with verve of cultural encounters, bewilderment and discovery in Kyoto. If you've ever parted the drapes of a Japanese restaurant to face a room full of people and blank stares, you'll really appreciate the book. With 25 recipes for traditional and less traditional Japanese dishes. (JPN135, $12.95)
	The Mango Season   • LITERATURE  •  A marvelously evocative novel of life in South India, in which the prodigal daughter returns home. The pleasure and importance of food in the novel (which includes recipes) underscores the tension between modern and traditional. (IDA257, $13.95)
	The Measure of Her Powers, An M.F.K. Fisher Reader   • LITERATURE  •  A fat, judicious selection of M.F.K. Fisher's writings, which spanned a lifetime and chronicled adventures (culinary and otherwise) in France, Switzerland and Italy, on shipboard and in her native California. (CUL01, $22.00)
	The Botanist and the Vintner, How Wine Was Saved for the World   • SCIENCE  •  In this witty book Campbell interweaves a dramatic tale of the devastation of vineyards in 1860's France with French cultural history and a tale of the mad scramble by scientists (along with witches, priests and mystics) to discover the cause and cure. The French were none too pleased that salvation (as well as the disease) came in the form of American root stock. (FRN497, $14.95)
	Vanilla, Travels In Search Of The Ice Cream Orchid   • NATURAL HISTORY  •  A lively account of travels to the vanilla-growing regions of Mexico, Madagascar, Réunion and Tahiti on the trail of the prized orchid, its history, cultivation and allure. Ecott is a BBC journalist. (GEN339, $14.00)

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