I’m by no means a foodie, but the pure passion for and enjoyment of food that Bourdain had makes me want to be one. This book is stressful in the watching-The-Bear way, and informative in an undercover-spy way. Bourdain’s voice was singular—leaping off the page and ringing in your ears. He feels at once like an insider and an outsider. I’d argue there’s no way this would be published today (there’s a lot of  dated stuff about women in particular), but I imagine it was very accurate for the day, though hopefully not as much anymore. No matter what, Bourdain’s offbeat charm and provocative voice are sorely missed.