I also liked Alissa Cohen's book although I read about the possible slow time ordering from her web site, so I ordered from a third party vendor. I think it's a good starting book but I've seen others suggested as well. I found most of my information online at first and there are tons or recipes on http://www.rawfoods.com. many require a juicer but I'm starting only with ones that require food processor and I do smoothies as well. Good luck on your search, and don't read too much into the negative feedback. :-)