4.5 for the non-Italian, almost perfect. The only reason I did not give it five is the same issue others have mentioned, the lack of specific measurements on certain things: "glug of oil"... Is that a tablespoon? I normally wouldn't have a problem with this as I tend to cook by feel and mood, but some ingredients, like eggplant, are sensitive to the amount of moisture added so I can see this becoming a problem. Even if you have other Italian cookbooks do give this one a shot. Jamie's passion for the people, the landscape, and the food are so exciting, he really draws you in. Oh, and not to mention the photos are probably the best I have ever seen.

I like Jamie. He, like Bittman and Pepin, is also focused on fast and healthy meals, but he's a bit sloppy when it comes to measurements. What constitutes a "small bunch"? How much is "some"? I mean, once you've got your bearings in the kitchen, you can probably sort it out, but if you're a new cook you might be intimidated by this "cooking by feel" method. However, I mainly checked this one out of the library for the amazing-looking Italian pizzas, and I'm looking forward to trying some of his unusual ingredient pairings. Plus baking your own pizza is cheap yet impressive. (Just gotta find me a damn marble slab... gah!)

Oh: If you like Jamie, I would also highly recommend his iPhone/iPod Touch app. It's only $4.99, and totally worth it for the videos that'll teach you how to not be afraid of buying (and eating) fish, and how to work your knife skills, and that kind of thing, along with some of his fast, fresh recipes. He'll also convince you that you MUST HAVE a mortar and pestle. Really. (P.S. You can download it here: http://www.jamieoliver.com/20-minute-...)

I painstakingly hand copied a ton of excellent sounding recipes from this book. I wish I owned it, but the library copy will have to suffice for now. I especially loved all the little stories in there and definitely gravitated to wanting to try out recipes from my Sicilian heritage as not much has been passed down to me from my family. Also, kind of funny, but several pictures of the Sicilian men totally have some of my dad's facial characteristics including his nose. So now I know where that comes from.

I don't know how easy it would be to make recipes from this...

Some delicious food .... Jamie clearly loves Italy and it shows in the passion and flavours of his recipes ...

Full of interesting information and tips and excellent recipes. One of the better Italian cookbooks on my shelf.

didn't find too many I wanted to cook but enjoyed the commentary before each recipe.

I use recipes from this all the time. Still good many many years later.

Interesting book with a lot of good recipes. I must admit that even though I can see the effort put into the recipes, not a lot of them are of my taste, but that's a personal preference. I loved the stories told in the book, as well as the general tips on Italian cooking. To me, those stories and tips were of more merit than the recipes themselves. The photos are gorgeous, and the dishes look well put together.

The only true downside I found was the inconsistency of measurements. A lot of others have mentioned that Oliver uses a lot of non-specific measurements, which can be hard to understand. One recipe asked for a glass of wine, and even though I understand how much liquid this would be - roughly, I admit - it would have been better to write it out, in my honest opinion.

Delicious recipes.

This is a great cookbook,he is really creative yet the meals are really simple. Koodos!

From the worlds richest chef his worst book as a follow up to his worst TV series.
To me Oliver was totally out of his depth, perhaps he hadn't researched enough before his visit.
Maybe his increasing wealth made him drop his standards.
I found the TV show almost embarrassing and the book does little, if anything, to change my mind.
To cook Italian, get a cookbook by someone who cooks the cuisine regularly and knows what they're talking about. This applies to any cuisine.
Keith Floyd who made TV series and wrote cookbooks on many countries cuisines never purported to be an expert on any of them, but an amateur learning on his and our behalf and showing what he'd learnt.