When my colleagues and I planned the conference upon which this book was based, we wanted to make sure we would come to understand why Hurricane Floyd wreaked such devastation upon Eastern North Carolina in September of 1999 so we could better inform the public as to the causes and remedies. What we found was that many of the disastrous consequences could have been avoided. A series of freakish natural events, combined with thousands of political and individual property development decisions over a 50 year period, converted Eastern NC into a giant bathtub with many of its key drains clogged. Some have described the flooding that occured as "Biblical" in nature. And it can happen again unless community leaders show the courage to make the necessary modest and reasonable changes to their respective communities. This is a book from which scientists, politicians, agency personnel and the general public all can benefit. It is based on research in the physical, environmental, and social sciences as well as "on the ground" experiences. All net proceeds go to projects for improving our understanding of the impacts of hurricanes.

The many flaws in this book originally led me to give it 3 stars, but the more I look at other sources for the same information, the more I realize that for all its annoying qualities, this book really does appear to be the most comprehensive work on this subject. As such, I have to recommend it more highly, simply because you're not going to get the same infomation in any other single book. Be prepared to work hard for the knowledge, however.

"On Food and Cooking" is a very comprehensive work that contains a lot of very useful and interesting information. It also contains a lot of less useful information, random historical musings, and general digressions. As a result, the useful/interesting information density is much lower than I'd like, particularly given the general "verbiage density" of the text. Perhaps part of the problem is that I've gleaned too much of the information already from other sources, so that I feel like I'm wading through a lot of common knowledge to get to the bits I care about.

The book goes into a fair amount of historical detail about various ingredients. It doesn't focus on the historical aspects enough to be a "history of food" book, though, and the historical perspective tends to detract from the scientific content ratio simply by increasing the overall amount of text.

Also, there are many variations on ingredients, food safety issues, etc., that were not considered significant in 1983, but which are more relevant today. There's no discussion of salmonella in the section on eggs, for example, and no discussion of things like the impact (or lack thereof) of RBGH on milk quality. The effects of organic methods in general are given short shrift. I have observed various quality differences in organic ingredients relative to more conventional ingredients (both for better and for worse), and had hoped for some quantitative discussion of what the physical differences are, and why.

Compared to "The Science of Cooking" (my most recent read on the topic), this book doesn't cover some of the physics and organic chemistry as well, but it does go into better detail on some of the more biologically oriented topics. For example, osmotic pressure, the process by which salt and sugar preserve food, is covered fairly well in this book, while it is never directly mentioned in "The Science of Cooking".

I also wish there had been better organization of the material in the book. "The Science of Cooking", for example, is organized like a textbook, with well-marked side bars and tables, allowing you to easily skip to (or over) information that may or may not be relevant. "On Food and Cooking", however, is organized more like a novel, making it difficult to use it for reference, and complicating efforts to skip over material that is not of interest.

Also, some sections (for example the discussion of cheese) assume too much knowledge about the basic processes, making it sometimes challenging to correlate the underlying chemistry with actual kitchen mechanics. In general, the book has very few examples of "kitchen experiments" you can try yourself to develop an integrated sense of the qualitative and quantitative aspects of cooking. There are many discussions, for example, of the effects of pH on various processes, but little discussion of ways to manipulate the pH using different ingredients to help balance flavor against the needs of the chemical processes.

I still haven't found the ideal source for this sort of information. "The Science of Cooking" is at least concise and very clear in what it does cover (which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 3), but as I look back and compare it to "On Food and Cooking" again, I see some of the major holes in that book (which doesn't deal with the role of pH in cooking at all, for example). And so, my search continues.

Have you ever had pause in your culinary dabblings to ponder the origins and workings of your everyday food? Have you ever sat in a pile of flour and asked yourself why you failed? A cookbook is a recipe for disaster and Harold McGee has the cure. Explanations to clarify the tricks and traps of the fine art of cooking, and colorful histories to keep you occupied while your bread rises. This book is more than entertainment for every cook or chef, and even the die-hard microwaver. You'll return to the kitchen wiser, armed with knowledge and ready to eat.

This is not a cookbook, but it IS a remarkably accessible guide to the history of cooking, the chemistry of cooking and the literature and lore of food. If you are at all curious about why things happen when you cook or bake, you will be delighted with this magnificent work.

Mr. McGee is a fine writer who makes the science understandable and the lore entertaining.

At nearly 700 pages, the book contains a good index, a bibliography and about 200 illustrations; it is organized into three parts: foods, food and the body, and the principles of cooking.

I read and _loved_ On Food and Cooking. Brilliant. I kind of expected an addendum to the first, but alas, 'twas not so. I was just a bit disappointed, but I think it was mostly my expectations. Bonus points for an expansion of the Maillard reaction.

The Curious Cook, the follow-up to the award-winning On Food and Cooking, which was called a "minor masterpiece" by Time magazine, continues to translate into plain English for home cooks what scientists have discovered about food. Harold McGee puts to rest countless time-honored culinary myths and answers questions about the hazards of salmonella in mayonnaise and hollandaise sauce, how you can retain the green in salads, guacamole, and pesto, and how to keep tender meats from becoming tough when braising, as well as the relation of certain foods to heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease. Filled with literary and historical anecdotes and packed with fascinating scientific lore, The Curious Cook is a must for every kitchen library."Some works are so original they defy classification. Such a book is Harold McGee's The Curious Cook." -Los Angeles Times "A thoroughly charming and extremely useful new book."

But you don't become a good cook by reading cookbooks