This small-sized book (7 1/4" x 6" x 96 pages) has me thinking that it was trying to be a mini-coffee table book. It claims to be "A fiesta of firey, flavorful recipes", but 1/3 of it is a discussion of the history, use, and growing of chile peppers. Now don't get me wrong, I found this interesting. I just wish they could have gotten more that 38 recipies in it. Most of the 38 tend to be "Mexican" in flavor, which disappointed me because I really was hoping for a more "international" look at chile use. It was a good try, but not as good as I had hoped for. It would make a good introductory book for someone who wants to try more spicy foods, but if you already have a cook book in your library that covers this topic, you probably want to give this one a miss.