AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 PLATES Compiled by Rashmi Uday Singh Photographs by Sheena Sippy India Book House Price: Not listed Pages: 160

Anyone who has read Anthony Bourdain, the rock-and-roll chef who writes like Luca Brazzi, will sympathise with vegetarians. The enemy of everything that is good and decent in the human spirit, he rails. An affront to the pure enjoyment of food, he declares. Perhaps Mr Bourdain, who has a soft spot for eating exotic flesh such as live cobra hearts and poisonous blowfish, should read Around The World in 80 Plates, a gentle gourmet's guide to food without violence. It will tell him about how good food can be a leap of faith, a tryst with creativity, and yes, his favourite word, even a bit of risk, without the slaughter of a few species.

PICTURE SPEAK
NOT SO HUMBLE: Hemant Oberoi's potato dish, Khara Papeta	FUSION BITE: Black Rice and Palm Sugar Pudding by chef Cheong Liew	COLOUR PURPLE: Ramsay's stack of cheese, tomatoes and aubergines

A mother's tribute to her late son, the book is a novel concept. It retraces the footsteps of Vardh- man Jain in his culinary experiments. His mother Meera Jain, who belongs to the family that owns The Times of India Group, has not only commemorated a youthful zest for life by commissioning this book but also paid homage to the ritual of eating, so quotidian and yet such an adventure into the unknown, accompanied by some great travellers.

Here is Gordon Ramsay, his trademark temper in check, whipping up a quick treat-stacks of aubergine, goat's cheese and cherry tomatoes. There is Anton Mosimann, who wears his Michelin stars as lightly as his pioneering status as originator of Cuisine Naturelle, dishing up a neat wild mushroom goulash. And hey, isn't that Cindy Crawford's favourite vegetarian recipe, a rustic pasta salad? Yes, go ahead, just imagine the gorgeous one preparing it barefoot in her kitchen and banish husband Rande Gerber from the dream.

More than that, the book is a mouth-watering journey into possibilities: from curried cauliflower with scallions and golden raisins (yes, even that humble vegetable can be transformed with a bit of curry powder, a pinch of red pepper and cilantro) to the lowly parmal, mutating magically with some chopped chillies and coriander. The ingredients are chosen with care and yet not impossible to replicate in a globalised market where asparagus is as accessible as aloo and avocado lies cheek by jowl with the poor pumpkin.

The ride is sometimes dizzying in its transcontinental exuberance. There's risotto done best by Charlie Palmer in New York, a yellow dal tempura by Thomas Laberer in Cape Town and roasted and grilled vegetables with couscous by Mumbai's very own Conde Nast-consecrated Rahul Akerkar. The 120 recipes and 20 menus are effervescent in their barrier-shattering and genre-defying combinations as well: blueberry with gnocchi and mango with mangosteen and sago. The tastebuds are stretched as is the mind. A good thing it doesn't always acquire a permanent resident status in one's pot belly.

J. KRISHNAMURTI: A LIFE By Mary Lutyens Penguin Price: Rs 695 Pages: 753

Lutyens' comprehensive biography of Jiddu Krishnamurti comes out in a single volume-right from his early days when he was spotted by Annie Besant to his becoming the "Teacher" of the times.

SRI LANKA: VOICES FROM A WAR ZONE By Nirupama Subramanian Viking Price: Rs 350 Pages: 227

After seven years of reporting from the island nation, Subramanian tells the little histories of the people-those who have suffered in the years of strife-as well as the grand political narratives of the government and the ltte.

THE MASTER STRATEGIST By Ketan J. Patel Hutchinson Price: £9.99 Pages: 240

Patel, head of the Strategic Group at Goldman Sachs, calls for principles in business deals and peace corps in the age of technological marvels. An idealist's trip to realise the greatest good for the greatest number.