WHAT IT IS: Seven Asian countries - China, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - star in this large, handsome cookbook assembled by California restaurateur Mai Pham on behalf of the Culinary Institute of America.

PRAISE AND QUIBBLES: This work is the second cookbook spawned by a "World of Flavors" conference sponsored by the institute in 2007. You'll find 125 recipes from 40 top chefs and food figures from around the world. Essays offer the essentials about each cuisine and important food staples. Recipes are clear and well-written, but you have to know the basics of Asian cooking - how to toast spices, for example - to use this book most effectively.

WHY YOU'LL LIKE IT: Given its globe-girdling scope, this book cannot be considered the authoritative source for any one cuisine; rather, it offers a foretaste of what each culture and each cuisine is about. Pham does a good job pulling the book together into a coherent whole. It's fun to compare and contrast the various cooking traditions.- Chicago Tribune

- Chicago Tribune