Read by Anthony Bourdain
What books does Anthony Bourdain recommend?
Hungry, unsentimental, and drawn to the margins the way he traveled, Anthony Bourdain, the late chef and author of Kitchen Confidential, left behind book recommendations that read exactly that way. These 15 titles are gathered from Esquire and New York Times interviews, his Guardian list of top food books, book blurbs he wrote, and a verified Reddit AMA. Fiction and society-and-politics titles anchor the list, with a heavy strand of food writing and memoir running through it. His touchstone pick is Graham Greene's The Quiet American, which he'd pack for Vietnam because "it's good to feel romantic about a destination before you arrive." He was equally reverent about the books that formed him, calling Gabrielle Hamilton's Blood, Bones & Butter "simply the best memoir by a chef ever," and naming Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas "the book that changed my life." Bourdain also authored 13 books of his own.
Last updated February 2026 · Every recommendation cited to its original source.
byGraham Greene
2004208 Pages“So, I'll bring Graham Greene's The Quiet American if I'm going to Vietnam. It's good to feel romantic about a destination before you arrive.”
— Anthony Bourdain
Source: Esquire interview, September 2013
Read by Anthony Bourdain
byGeorge Orwell
1933240 Pages“The first account of what it's REALLY like in a professional kitchen, and as true today as it was when it was written.”
— Anthony Bourdain
Source: The Guardian, 'Anthony Bourdain's top 10 books about food'
Read by Anthony Bourdain
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
A Novel
byGeorge V. Higgins
2010192 Pages“I think The Friends of Eddie Coyle is the absolute benchmark of pitch-perfect dialogue and atmosphere. You can smell the beer on these characters.”
— Anthony Bourdain
Source: The Last Interview and Other Conversations
Read by Anthony Bourdain
byCharles Portis
1968215 Pages(73,360)
“A masterpiece. Don't settle for seeing the film versions. One of the great heroines of all time and a magnificent book filled with great dialogue.”
— Anthony Bourdain
Source: New York Times By the Book
Read by Anthony Bourdain
Blood, Bones & Butter
The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef
byGabrielle Hamilton
2012320 Pages“Magnificent. Simply the best memoir by a chef ever. Ever. Gabrielle Hamilton packs more heart, soul, and pure power into one beautifully crafted page than I've accomplished in my entire writing career.”
— Anthony Bourdain
Source: Official Book Blurb
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream
byHunter S. Thompson
1971204 Pages“The book that changed my life. I stole it from my father's bookshelf when I was about twelve or thirteen.”
— Anthony Bourdain
Source: Verified Reddit AMA
Read by Anthony Bourdain
White Heat
25th Anniversary Edition
byMarco Pierre White
2015192 Pages“A revelation to professional culinarians when it came out. Great food, recognisable worldview of the culinary perfectionist.”
— Anthony Bourdain
Source: The Guardian, 'Anthony Bourdain's top 10 books about food'
Read by Anthony Bourdain
byÉmile Zola
1873320 Pages“The Citizen Kane of foodie books: escaped convict becomes food inspector in 19th-century Paris marketplace Les Halles.”
— Anthony Bourdain
Source: The Guardian, 'Anthony Bourdain's top 10 books about food'
Read by Anthony Bourdain
Notes from a Young Black Chef
A Memoir
byKwame Onwuachi, Joshua David Stein
2019288 Pages“This is an astonishing and open-hearted story from one of the next generation's stars of the culinary world.”
— Anthony Bourdain
Source: Official Book Blurb
Read by Anthony Bourdain
byMarlon James
2014688 Pages“Believe the hype. It's a masterpiece.”
— Anthony Bourdain
Source: Official Twitter Account (@Bourdain)
Read by Anthony Bourdain
The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating
A Kind of British Cooking
byFergus Henderson
2004224 Pages“The book that changed the way we look at ingredients and cooking. Fergus is a master.”
— Anthony Bourdain
Source: Foreword to the American Edition
Naked Lunch
The Restored Text
byWilliam S. Burroughs
2013304 Pages“I stole a copy of Naked Lunch from my father’s library... It remains a favorite.”
— Anthony Bourdain
Source: New York Times By the Book
Read by Anthony Bourdain
Fresh Off the Boat
A Memoir
byEddie Huang
2013288 Pages(13,892)
“Mercilessly funny and provocative.”
— Anthony Bourdain
Source: Official Book Blurb
Read by Anthony Bourdain
Rice, Noodle, Fish
Deep Travels Through Japan's Food Culture
byMatt Goulding
2015352 PagesSource: Anthony Bourdain Books (Imprint Creator)
Read by Anthony Bourdain
byCharles Portis
2007272 Pages“His book, 'Dog Of The South,' is also brilliant.”
— Anthony Bourdain
Source: New York Times By the Book
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Frequently asked questions
What books did Anthony Bourdain recommend?
His 15 recommendations include The Quiet American by Graham Greene, Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell, The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V. Higgins, True Grit by Charles Portis, and Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton.
What was Anthony Bourdain's favorite book?
His top pick is Graham Greene's The Quiet American, which he'd bring when traveling to Vietnam because "it's good to feel romantic about a destination before you arrive." He also called Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas "the book that changed my life."
Where do Anthony Bourdain's book recommendations come from?
They are drawn from interviews with Esquire and the New York Times "By the Book" column, his Guardian list of top 10 books about food, official book blurbs and forewords he wrote, and a verified Reddit AMA.
Did Anthony Bourdain write any books?
Yes, 13 in total. The best known is Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (2000), alongside A Cook's Tour, Medium Raw, and the posthumous World Travel: An Irreverent Guide, plus fiction and the graphic novel Get Jiro!
What food books did Anthony Bourdain recommend?
He praised Gabrielle Hamilton's Blood, Bones & Butter as "simply the best memoir by a chef ever," Marco Pierre White's White Heat, Fergus Henderson's The Whole Beast, and Émile Zola's The Belly of Paris, which he dubbed "the Citizen Kane of foodie books."
All 15 Books Anthony Bourdain Has Recommended
- The Quiet American · Graham Greene
- Down and Out in Paris and London · George Orwell
- The Friends of Eddie Coyle · George V. Higgins
- True Grit · Charles Portis
- Blood, Bones & Butter · Gabrielle Hamilton
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas · Hunter S. Thompson
- White Heat · Marco Pierre White
- The Belly of Paris · Émile Zola
- Notes from a Young Black Chef · Kwame Onwuachi
- A Brief History of Seven Killings · Marlon James
- The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating · Fergus Henderson
- Naked Lunch · William S. Burroughs
- Fresh Off the Boat · Eddie Huang
- Rice, Noodle, Fish · Matt Goulding
- The Dog of the South · Charles Portis