I am a fan of food and history. This book has the perfect blend of both. This is not merely a book about food, cookery, with some light touches of history. It goes so much deeper, into the culture of the Chinese people, the recent global changes, and really reflects on humanity as a whole. Excellent story telling, beautifully told in a way that when I read it, I felt like I was sitting at the same small kitchen with white tiles, slurping noodles, watching out at the countryside. I loved it so much I bought a second copy to give away as gift, and since I could read Chinese, I also bought the Chinese edition to do a comparison.