Apples

Frank Browning's Apples is fascinating. Until I read the book, I never knew the complexity of growing and marketing apples, nor did I fully realize the richness of the apple's botanical heritage. Where I buy apples, my choice is the usual six varieties; the passion of this book reawakened my experience, not long ago, of a bag of winesaps purchased at a farmers market in New York State. If you love apples too, you'll be inspired and frustrated by this book. Beware: it has some botanical sections that are highly technical; these could certainly have benefited by some illustrations or charts. Nevertheless, a culinary book like this one that leaves a lingering taste in your mouth is well worth opening.Food writer Elliot Essman's other reviews and food articles are available at www.stylegourmet.com

Browning's journeys through the world of apples are exhaustive, lyric and compelling. If you like NPR, or the old New Yorker, you'll love this book on the fruit of English Yeoman, Thomas Jefferson, French Nobelmen and Johnny Appleseed. You will never look at a grocery store Red Delicious the same again.

Frank Browning perpetuates my belief that journalists are writing the best gardening and plant books. Gardeners are not typically interesting writers and there is such a proliferation of mediocre gardening books on the market. "Apples" is a delightful book. Anyone who wants to grow apples or simply go to the grocery store and buy apples would be enlightened by Frank Browning's book.