Books Recommended by Anthony Bourdain
Under the Volcano
Malcolm Lowry
Source: "One of the truly great books." - Anthony Bourdain
Prune
Gabrielle Hamilton
Source: "A fucking masterpiece." - Anthony Bourdain
Total Chaos
Jeff Gold
Source: "[This book] is everything." - Anthony Bourdain
Ways of Escape
Graham Greene
Source: "A book I’ve read many times but keep coming back to." - Anthony Bourdain
Adios, Motherfucker
Michael Ruffino
Source: Anthony Bourdain's answer to "what’s the last book that made you laugh?"
Rice, Noodle, Fish
Matt Goulding
Source: "The world needs [this book]." - Anthony Bourdain
The White Album
Joan Didion
Source: "I wish I could write like [this author]." - Anthony Bourdain
The Quiet American
Graham Greene
Source: "I re-read it frequently. Particularly when visiting Vietnam." - Anthony Bourdain
How to Live
Sarah Bakewell
Source: "A book I love." - Anthony Bourdain
Essays
George Orwell
Source: "The font of all wisdom. [The author] is right about nearly everything." - Anthony Bourdain
Ripley's Game
Patricia Highsmith
Source: "Elegant, deliciously immoral entry in series of sociopath as hero." - Anthony Bourdain
The Man Who Lost the War
W. T. Tyler
Source: "I particularly like [this book]." - Anthony Bourdain
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Hunter S. Thompson
Source: "The book that probably influenced me more than any other." - Anthony Bourdain
The Devil All the Time
Donald Ray Pollock
Source: "[The author] was a revelation when I first read [this book]." - Anthony Bourdain
You're Better Than Me
Bonnie McFarlane
Source: "Rejuvenating, excoriating genius." - Anthony Bourdain
Something to food about
Questlove
Source: "[The author] gets to the heart of the matter." - Anthony Bourdain
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
George Higgins
Source: "The best, most realistic crime novel ever. Best dialogue in a crime novel ever." - Anthony Bourdain
Naked Lunch
William S. Burroughs
Source: "Filthy, dangerous, depraved groundbreaking. And funny as Hell." - Anthony Bourdain
Crash
J. G. Ballard
Source: "Violent. Twisted. Hilarious and beautiful." - Anthony Bourdain
Agents of Innocence
David Ignatius
Source: "Very, very good." - Anthony Bourdain
True Grit
Charles Portis
Source: "A masterpiece." - Anthony Bourdain
A Brief History of Seven Killings
Marlon James
Source: "Incredible." - Anthony Bourdain
Eating Viet Nam
Graham Holliday
Source: "This is—and will remain—an essential account for anyone considering travel to Vietnam." - Anthony Bourdain
The Rogue's March
Peter F. Stevens
Source: "I particularly like [this book]." - Anthony Bourdain
Between Meals
A. Liebling
Source: "[The author's] memoir of meals in Paris before and after the war, and it’s fantastic." - Anthony Bourdain
The Wind in the Willows
Kenneth Grahame
Source: "A classic I loved as a child." - Anthony Bourdain
My Last Supper
Melanie Dunea
Source: "[The author] managed to convince a goodly number of the world's best, and best-known, chefs to let it all go." - Anthony Bourdain
Dancing Bear
James Crumley
Source: Anthony Bourdain tweeted about this book.
Thrown
Kerry Howley
Source: "An absolutely wonderful exploration of the poorly understood sport of MMA." - Anthony Bourdain
