I can't see why anyone would give this book a low rating. I borrowed this well-worn book from our local library and found many great recipes. One of my frustrations with bean recipes is that they usually start with 'a can of' and if you want to use dried you need to work backwards first. Although there are some canned recipes here, I loved that there were many recipes that started with dry goods. There are also recipes using fresh beans. At the front of the book there is a listing of many different types of beans along with descriptions and cooking times. Some recipes are vegetarian, and some are not. Only one bean dessert that I could see however. Highly recommended. :) ( )