Robert F. Moss, AmazingRibs.com Editor And BBQ Historian

The Meat Buyers Guide: Meat, Lamb, Veal, Pork and Poultry by NAMI (North American Meat Institute) 8th Edition

Edited by NAMI (formerly NAMP), this is the definitive reference on all the different cuts of meat, with charts, excellent photos, a glossary, and nutritional info.

Catching Fire, How Cooking Made Us Human by Richard Wrangham

In the book “Catching Fire, How Cooking Made Us Human” (Basic Books, 2010), Richard Wrangham describes how cooking changes the chemistry of food and how that made it easier for proto humans to chew, digest, and extract energy and nutrients. It also includes insight for us who love to hang out at the grill.

Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan

A short paperback that you can easily swallow on a short airplane trip, Pollan, the author of such important books as the Ominvore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food, and The Botany of Desire, summarizes what he has learned about good eating habits in the form of “rules” which he describes in a few sentences.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan

This may be the most important book about food since Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle drew back the curtain on the Chicago stockyards in 1906. Both books take an analytical and critical look at how food gets to our table. The New York Times named The Omnivore’s Dilemma one of the 10 best books of 2006.

The Science of Good Food by David Joachim and Andrew Schloss

The authors explain what ingredients are made of, how they behave when cooked, and how various methods work. A very thorough A to Z encyclopedia of food science.

Keys to Good Cooking: A Guide to Making the Best of Foods and Recipes by Harold McGee

From the country’s foremost expert on the science of cooking, Harold McGee, Keys to Good Cooking is a concise and authoritative guide designed to help home cooks navigate the ever-expanding universe of ingredients, recipes, food safety, and appliances, and arrive at the promised land of a satisfying dish.