I was fascinated by all the earlier books by Mrs. Batmanglij but her latest book has a special place in my heart. I cannot do enough to highlight this book's difference from the majority of other cookbooks that are out there.

This is not only a flawless book with a vegetarian approach, but its approach is one of great originality: The beautiful recipes are accompanied by even more beautiful pictures and stories of the land and its people. It leaves us with so many great choices to try, designed to fit any situation: Georgian Stuffed Tomatoes for a warm a fall evening, and Sweet and Sour soup for a cold winter night.

Unlike many other cookbooks, this book takes us to the world it is borrowing its recipes from: the Silk Road, a world where different culinary cultures are and have been connected to each other, crossing the mountains and deserts of Central Asia to connect East Asia and the Mediterranean. In a way not known to many of us, the Silk Road was an important cultural crossroads and this book celebrates that.

Get this book, and you will not only have gotten a great cookbook with recipes of wonderful tasting recipes covering a great part of the world, but you will also be exposed to a beautiful culture - more so a mix of many cultures- that you will be able to see through the beautifully placed stories and pictures.