This book contains more than 350 recipes in all categories of cuisine. These have been collected, distilled and refined over the past forty years by Professor James B. Gerhart of the University of Washington, Department of Physics, an avid cook and gourmet whose skill and judgment in domestic food preparation is legendary among family and friends. A detailed bibliography citing nearly a hundred sources is provided. (When was the last time you saw a cookbook with a bibliography?) Dr. Gerhart states in the preface, the included recipes "...are based on the recipes cited in each case, but they are modified to fit my taste, to simplify them, to adapt them to Seattle's excellent market. Many of the sources are not easily accessible. Some recipes come from friends. A few are original." Plentiful help and practical advice is provided throughout, making this an especially good book for novice cooks. An index comprising 19 pages is included, and this is available to preview among the sample pages at www.lulu.com.