Tony Gemignani’s The Pizza Bible is a must-read for any pizza aficionado. Not only is it a great cookbook, but it’s also a great coffee table book that houseguests will enjoy looking through.

The beautiful hardcover edition looks and feels like a (cute!) pizza box, and the pages show Sara Remington’s artistically-photographed shots of a great assortment of pizzas. The book was heavier and lengthier than I expected, though it was a nice surprise, since many recipes, tips, and food-preparing tricks are packed into the 320 pages.

Reading through the book, my favorite recipes were La Regina, Quattro Anchovy, St.-Germain BBQ Chicken, and After-School Ciabatta Pizza. The ingredient list at the beginning of the book is helpful for cooking newbies, giving the reader a nice background on things such as the varying forms of yeast and different types of flours. Gemignani also includes helpful tips throughout the book, such as preparing fresh mozzarella or blending ingredients without a mixer. The cooking directions are written in a very detailed manner. The Pizza Bible is more than just a cookbook, and it gives snippets of history lessons on the various kinds of pizza.

Before reading the book, I was not familiar with the differing styles of pizza, so The Pizza Bible definitely expanded my knowledge of the pizza craft. I roughly knew what “Chicago” and “Neapolitan” pizzas were, but now I have a much better understanding. If you already love preparing pizza, this is a fantastic book to add to your collection. And if you’re only a beginner chef, this might be the book to get you hooked on pizza making!