I've read numerous books on cheese recently, and this must be about the most comprehensive. It's no wonder this is a book recommended by cheesemongers. It starts out by digging deep into the science of cheese, including why it is healthy, methods of making, what flavor truly is, sources of cheese, how to describe and assess cheese, and the injustice America has dealt to raw milk cheese. The tone is very breezy, never academic, making this fun and accessible for a layperson such as myself.

Now, after the initial science emphasis, it gets into stuff that's even more fun: the cheese. What is out there worldwide, where to find it, how to pair it with drinks and other goodies, various arrangements of cheese plates, and on and on. The authors highlight different artisan makers to not only understand how the cheese is made, but the psychology and the joy behind the process. My edition of the book is an older one, 2009, and I sadly recognized several makers and cheeses to no longer be in existence (and who knows how things will play out after this year of 2021), but most were. It's fun to read about Rogue River Blue being spoke of in superlative terms, knowing that it just recently was declared best cheese in the world; that grants the authors of this book all the more cred.

As a cheese lover, as a wannabe connoisseur, this is definitely a reference book I am keeping on my shelf. It embodies the kind of specific knowledge that a person can't readily find online. I imagine I'll be going back to these pages many a time in the future. ( )