compete with the internet. For my tastes this involves instruction, innovation and inspiration (that wasn't supposed to come out alliterative...). I don't need another book full of basic recipes, I have google for that. It is far easier and cheaper to google "traditional buttermilk biscuits" and let the search algorithm and reviews pick the best classic. Books like Ratio (hey, didn't you write that?) teach me how to create, not assemble. What happens if I swap out the 2 parts liquid with a mixture of bourbon and water, for example? I'm generalizing, of course. I love 'classic' cookbooks too, they certainly have a place in my kitchen, but the internet has been the biggest influence on the new books that I buy. For me, what makes a cookbook successful is two things: 1) Does it inspire me to cook? 2) Does it teach me something or make something more clear? The Ratio did both. It took the fear of baking bread for me -- a process I'd done for years, but had enough mystery in it that I was afraid to deviate from the recipe at all. (Thank you, Michael!) And it made me want to experiment. There were lots of 1/4 lb cakes while I experimented with techniques for pound and sponge because I just couldn't believe the difference the technique made in the exact same ingredients. (I had more fun in my kitchen after The Ratio came out than I've had in years.) For a normal "recipe" book,