This is not just another cookbook. I would never do that This is a book with recipes like Shark Fin Soup and Gooseneck Barnacle Finger Food. This book goes beyond recipes, it tells you why the directions work. It teaches you the theory behind the recipes. It isn't just for women. There are guy recipes in here, too. With guy directions, things a man can understand. A girl says: beat the batter with a whisk until tiny beautiful bubbles start to come to the surface. A man says: Beat the hell out of the thing with anything, maybe a screwdriver, until it starts to bubble like a bottle of beer you just opened I tell you how and in which foreign port I happened upon these different recipes. It adds an exotic flavor to your meal. A story to whet the appetites of your family. It doesn't matter if you are afloat or stuck on hard, unforgiving ground, this will soon be your favorite cookbook, not only for the recipes but to read to each other at cocktail time