Passionate about steak, award-winning food and travel writer Mark Schatzker sets off in a quest for perfection in the art of cooking beef. His odyssey takes him thousands of miles through eight countries, and sees him tuck into more than 100 lbs of steak. He gasps for air on Texas feedlots; dodges the descendants of prehistoric aurochs inFrance; encounters grass-fed glory in Scotland and ferventlocalism in Italy; debunks the myth of beer-massaged cows in Kobe; and admires Argentinian grilling savvy.Schatzker also discovers that, whilst there's a lot of steak around, there's not a lot of great steak. To determine why this might be, he meets with ranchers, chefs, experts on flavour and animal welfare and even chemists and historians. Some key issues that emerge include breed integrity, marbling, grass versus grain feed, slaughterhouse conditions and industrial practices designed solely to maximize output. Finally, he has ago at raising a cow himself ...In humorous, lively and highly informative prose, Schatzker pursues his obsession with admirable thoroughness.This illuminating study of steak and its discontents as well as its many delights will resonate with avid and casual meat-eaters alike, and will even make vegetarians go 'hmm'.