"The Cheese Chronicles" is an insider's look at the burgeoning world of American cheese from one lucky person who has seen more wedges and wheels, visited more cheesemakers, and tasted more delicious (and occasionally stinky) American cheese than anyone else. Liz Thorpe, second in command at New York's renowned Murray's Cheese, has used her notes and conversations from hundreds of tastings spanning nearly a decade to fashion this odyssey through the wonders of American cheese. Offering more than eighty profiles of the best, the most representative, and the most important cheesemakers, Thorpe chronicles American cheesemaking from the brave foodie hobbyists of twenty years ago (who put artisanal cheese on the map) to the carefully cultivated milkers and makers of today.

Thorpe travels to the nation's cheese farms and factories, four-star kitchens and farmers' markets, bringing you along for the journey. In her quest to explore cheesemaking, she high-lights the country's greatest cheeses and concludes that today's cheesemakers can help provide more nourishing and sensible food for all Americans.

Steve Jenkins, author of the celebrated "Cheese Primer," calls this "the best book about cheese you'll ever read." "The Cheese Chronicles" is a cultural history of an industry that has found breakout success and achieved equal footing with its European cousins.

The Book of Cheese is the first book of its kind to be organized not by country, milk type, or any other technical classification. Instead, it maps the world of cheese using nine familiar favourites, what author Liz Thorpe calls the Gateway Cheeses. Liz takes readers on a journey from basics like Swiss, Blue, and Cheddar, to explore more adventurous types. For example, if you love Brie, Liz shows you how to find other Brie-like cheeses, from the mild Moses Sleeper to the pungent Fromage de Meaux. Liz's revolutionary approach allows food lovers to focus on what they care about: finding more cheeses to enjoy. Also included is the best information you'll ever find on pairings, storage, cooking with cheese, and cheese plates. Illustrated throughout with gorgeous photography, The Book of Cheese will quickly become not only your favourite book on this mouthwatering food but the only book on cheese you will ever need.