"Medium Raw" is Anthony Bourdain's long awaited sequel to "Kitchen Confidential." It pretty much picks up right where "Confidential" left off: In the year 2000, when Bourdain was still a 44 year old Journeyman Chef, who found himself an instant celebrity due to the success of his memoir. He pulls no punches in deatailing how his life actually got a lot worse after the first book before it got better. His marriage of 20 years broke up and he disappeared for awhile on a drinking binge in the Caribbean. He credits his new wife and the birth of his first child (when he was 50 years old) for getting his life turned around.

But don't worry, he's hardly become warm and fuzzy. Still an unrepentant drinker and pot smoker (he finally gave up the "hard stuff"), Bourdain still maintains what can only be described as a hatred bordering on Jihad for pseudo "foodies," pretentious and untalented tv hosts (Rachael, Sandra and Guy), and the liberal Food Police who want to make duck liver illegal to eat. Time has, however, softened his position on Emeril, Bobby and Mario. Today he counts all three among his friends.

Be warned: If you're not familiar with Bourdain, you'll either love the guy or hate him. For me it's the latter; I love the guy, as obnoxious and bombastic as he is. If Hunter S. Thompson knew how to chop onions and bone out a chicken, he may have written something like this. In these silly, politically correct times that we live in, it's refreshing to hear Bourdain call a douchebag a douchebag. This book doesn't cover as much time as "Confidential," but what it lacks in length (at 281 pages), it more than makes up for with its heart. And if anything, Bourdain is a better writer than he was ten years ago, being that he doesn't have to write in between orders of foie gras.

Highly recommended.