SEAFOOD OF SOUTH-EAST ASIA: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE WITH RECIPES. By Alan Davidson.

(1972) 2003 2nd edition. 8vo paperback with flaps (173 x 246mm). Pp368. B/w illustrations, map, extensive bibliography.

A species by species guide to the fish, molluscs and crustaceans of the Indian Ocean, Indo-China and the East Indies, with comments on the palatability of each. Includes seaweeds, dolphins, dugongs, and a range of subsidiary vegetable ingredients. The second half of the book has a long section of recipes. "A remarkable combination of zoological catalogue and cook's bible." New, revised edition. This American second edition was published simultaneously with the British second edition. The two differ only in the title page and cover design. Davidson was a career diplomat who joined the Foreign Office after wartime service in the RNVR. Much of his writing explores the cuisine of the places he worked in. His first published book (with Giorgio Bini), Mediterranean Seafood, began life as the privately issued Seafood of Tunisia and the Central Mediterranean, written for his wife while living in Tunis. Davidson also had a spell as ambassador to Laos.