Once found only in sushi bars and Japanese restaurants, Sake now lines the shelves of gourmet food shops, supermarkets and restaurants of all persuasions, listed alongside the customary wine selections. With demand on the rise, the timing of "The Book of Sake: A Connoisseur's Guide" could not be better. Sake brewmaster Philip Harper provides the ultimate introduction by the ultimate insider. Harper is, after all, the only non-Japanese to rise to the official rank of "master brewer." In these pages, readers will discover the true pleasures Japan's national tipple. They will learn how to select a good sake and how to match an evening's selection with food. Harper introduces a collection of sake lore, a guide to reading sake labels, a groundbreaking new tasting chart and a selection of sakes for all palates by the esteemed sake critic Haruo Matsusake. To round out the volume, Harper offers highlights of Japan's sake regions (in wine terms, its Bordeaux and Bourgogne), then presents perhaps the most intriguing tour of the sake brewmaster's art ever to be published in English. In short, Harper serves up the secrets of sake as only an insider could. Perhaps the place to end is where Harper's journey began. Of his awakening to the charms of his adoptive country's native drink, Harper remembers: "I could not believe that sake, which comes from rice, had the fragrance of fruit." Yes, that and much more.