Brandon
Not much background information at all. The recipes seem simple and straight forward.
I really wanted to enjoy this book, the premise of it seemed fascinating especially to someone like myself who has a fondness for marine life and has a background in biology, the octopus is even one of my favorite animals. Unfortunately the author didn't stayed academically focused and that's where it lost my interest. The author seemed to talk more about himself and personal experiences than what I thought the book would contain and it wasn't exactly what I signed up for. I made it about half way before giving up on this. Reading through other reviews it seems I'm not alone.
I enjoyed The Art and Soul of Dune Part One book a bit more, 5 vs 4 for this one. I was really hoping to see scenes that hit the cutting room floor in this book similarly to how we saw in the Part One book, but unfortunately not. If you are looking for deleted scenes with Thufir or Count Fenring you will be disappointed as they aren't included. It seems Tanya only wanted to cover scenes that made the final cut in this book, which are still very interesting to learn about.