I really enjoyed this book. My only criticism? Something I already knew and somewhat expected...Anthony Bourdain uses too many five-dollar words. Not having a background in either French or cuisine, there were a LOT of words that I had to look up in order to understand...not usually an issue I have with the books I read. His writing can be a little crude, but then again...if you know him from his television show this should not be a surprise. His stories are entertaining and reading the book actually made me want to cook more and learn more about cooking - I consider this a good sign that the book is doing what it ought to. It's a book that I would very easily read again and I will definitely be looking to read more of his works.