Herbs & Spices: The Cooks Reference
Comprehensive and helpful, this book is gorgeously laid out and a pleasure throughout.

Japanese Cooking: Two Cookbooks Reviewed
Two recent books, Washoku: Recipes From the Japanese Home Kitchen by Elizabeth Andoh and Harumi's Japanese Cooking by Harumi Kurihara, promise to teach you all you need to know about Japanese home cooking. But they're worlds apart in their approaches and their success.

Mexican Everyday: Spicy Riffs On Mexican Dishes
Rick Bayless' book is meant to complement the PBS series but you don't have to watch the tv show to get the most of this book -- highly recommended for Mexican food lovers.

Books on the Spice Trade and Food History
Reviews of some excellent books on the subject. Included: Spice: The History of a Temptation, Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices, Nathaniel's Nutmeg, True History of Chocolate, Vanilla: Travels In Search of the Ice Cream Orchid, Salt: A World History, Bittersweet: The Story of Sugar, and History of the World in Six Glasses.

Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels through the Great Subcontinent
A hefty coffee-table book that you will use in the kitchen. Part travelogue, part cookbook, part photo-journal: it's a must-have for the cook's shelf.