What Is the Second Edition of Delights from the Garden of Eden, and How Does It Differ from the Original?

The second edition of Delights from the Garden of Eden is a new, revised, abridged printing from Equinox Publishing: 440 pages, with more than 300 color images of dishes, art, history, and culture. The original complete edition runs 572 pages and remains available as an e-book on iBooks. If you want a physical, image-rich reference at a shorter length, the second edition is the one currently sold in print; if you want the full original text in digital form, the complete edition is still the route.

What the book is

Delights from the Garden of Eden: A Cookbook and History of the Iraqi Cuisine is by Nawal Nasrallah. It combines recipes with culinary history and culture rather than functioning as a recipes-only cookbook. Its chapter list runs from breads and dairy through vegetarian appetizers, soups, snacks, stews, rice, other grains and beans, lamb and beef, stuffed foods, poultry, fish, savory pastries, and desserts (puddings and ice creams, then desserts with syrup).

The site also points to supporting material for judging the book's range before buying: indexes of foods and ingredients (ancient, medieval, and present), the table of contents, a complete list of 145 "By-Ways and Asides," and the works cited, all available as a PDF download.

How the two editions differ

The page describes the second edition as "new revised" and "abridged," so the shorter length reflects deliberate cutting rather than missing content by accident. What was added is stated concretely: the color image program. What was removed is not itemized on the page, so the 132-page difference should be treated as abridged material rather than a known list of omissions.

What others said about it

The site collects press notices for the book. SAVEUR magazine (issue 161, December 2013, p. 24) chose it as one of its top 10 cookbooks for 2013. The Times Literary Supplement (Eamonn Gearon, 1 November 2013) called it "a splendid achievement" and "obviously a labour of love," noting that "each page shows erudition, every recipe a passion for food." These are the publisher's cited excerpts; they speak to the book's character, not to differences between the two editions.

Which edition fits your need

• Choose the second edition if you want a printed copy, value the color images of dishes and cultural material, and prefer a shorter 440-page book. It is the edition with current retail listings at Amazon, ISD, and Equinox.
• Choose the original complete edition if you want the full 572-page text and are comfortable reading on iBooks. It is the only route to the unabridged version.
• If you are unsure, use the free PDF previews (table of contents, ingredient indexes, the 145 "By-Ways and Asides," works cited) to gauge whether the book's historical depth matches what you want before deciding on length and format.

The page does not list prices or state that any version is free, so check the retailer listings for current cost and availability.