IN 1995 Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dunguid published a cookbook that defined a new genre. "The first of its kind," raved The Boston Globe. "If you buy only one cookbook this year, make it Flatbreads and Flavors" (USA Today); "a certifiable publishing event" (Vogue); "a rich and rare effort" (The New York Time). It received not one, but both major cookbook awards the year it was published.

And now, they're done it again. That depth of passion and experience and the unique ability to convey richness of place and taste that the authors brought to Flatbreads and Flavors, they bring to Seductions of Rice: an essential book about the world's most essential food.

Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid traveled to the major rice-eating regions of the world and experience firsthand dozens of varieties of rice with unimaginable subtleties of taste, as well as the staggering array of foods that traditionally accompany them. In Seductions of Rice, they bring it all home--hundreds of delectable dishes from the world's greatest rice cuisines, illuminated by stories, insights, and photographs. Chinese stir-fries served with steaming rice, smoky Carolina low-country pulaos, Japanese sushi, Indian thorans, Thai salads, Turkish pilafs, Italian risottos are shared not just as recipes, but as time-honored traditions.

But Seductions of Rice is more than a collection of fabulous recipes surrounded by a wealth of precious information. It is more than an enthralling journey with photographs--taken by the authors--of peoples and places, many of which we can barely imagine. It is a "new" way of putting food on the table that is as old as the ages.

You will marvel at how food this simple can taste this good and be so satisfying--Thai sticky rice with grilled beef salad, Indian basmati with curry, Cuban black beans and rice, Louisiana gumbo, Persian kebabs with saffron-tintted rice, Spanish paella, Mexican rice pudding. Hundreds of recipes from around the world attest to the adaptablilty of this endlessly appealing food. Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid understand our yen for these vibrant flavors and have writtten a book that satisfies our every craving.

A New Way to Eat - The Rice Way

After leafing through these pages, it seems inconceivable that we haven't been eating this way--the rice way--all our lives. Here is a stunning book that takes us on an extraordinary adventure, and on the way it just may change forever--happily and healthily--the way we cook.

With a depth of passion and experience, and an ability to embrace and convey richness of place and taste, the authors of the groundbreaking Flatbreads and Flavorsand the later award-winning Hot Sour Salty Sweetembarked on a far-reaching excursion to find the world's most essential and satisfying food. Along the way, they experienced firsthand dozens of varieties of rice, offering unimaginable subtleties of taste, as well as a staggering array of foods to accompany them, all providing a simple way to get flavor and variety on the table.

Seductions of Riceis the glorious result: two hundred easy-to-prepare dishes from the world's great rice cuisines, illuminated by stories, insights, and more than two hundred photographs of people, places, and wonderful food. Cherished dishes--Chinese stir-frys, Spanish paellas, Japanese sushi, Indian thorans, Thai salads, Turkish pilafs, Italian risottos--are shared not just as recipes, but as time-honored traditions.

Seductions of Ricewill change the way we eat, the way we prepare and appreciate our food. It's as easy as putting a pot of rice on to cook!

Jeffrey Alford is a photographer, writer, world traveler, and great cook. His first book, Flatbreads and Flavors: A Baker's Atlas, won the 1996 James Beard Award for cookboook of the year and the IACP Julia Child Award for best first book. With Naomi Duguid, he is also the author of HomeBaking, Seductions of Rice, Hot Sour Salty Sweet, and Mangoes and Curry Leaves. Alford's articles and photographs frequently appear in Food and Wine, Eating Well, and Gourmetmagazines. His stock photo agency, Asia Access, is based in Toronto, where he lives with his wife and partner, Naomi Duguid, and their sons, Dominic and Tashi, when they are not on the road. Their new cookbook, Beyond the Great Wall, chronicling travels in remote areas of China, will be published in 2008. Naomi Duguid is a photographer, writer, world traveler, and great cook. Her first book, Flatbreads and Flavors: A Baker's Atlas, won the 1996 James Beard Award for cookbook of the year and the IACP Julia Child Award for best first book. With Jeffrey Alford, she is the author of five subsequent well-received cookbooks: HomeBaking, Seductions of Rice, Hot Sour Salty Sweet, and Mangoes and Curry Leaves. Duguid's articles and photographs frequently appear in Food and Wine, Eating Well, and Gourmetmagazines. Her stock photo agency, Asia Access, is based in Toronto, where she lives with her husband and partner, Jeffrey Alford, and their sons, Dominic and Tashi, when they are not on the road. Their new cookbook, Beyond the Great Wall, chronicling their travels in the remote areas of China, will be published in 2008.