The James Beard Book Awards Committee recently named these the "20 Essential Books to Build Your Culinary Library" (from books still in print):

"American Cookery" by James Beard (BBS, 1996)

"Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico" by Rick Bayless (Morrow, 2007)

"Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook" (Better Homes and Gardens, 2004)

"Classic Indian Cooking" by Julie Sahni (Morrow, 1980)

"Complete Techniques" by Jacques Pepin and Leon Pererr (Black Dog & Leventhal, 2001)

"Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking" by Marcella Hazan (Macmillan, 1995)

"How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food" by Mark Bittman (Wiley, 2006)

"The Joy of Cooking" by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker (Scribner, 2006)

"The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook" (Countryman, 2003)

"Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts" by Maida Heatter (Andrews McMeel, 1999)

"Martha Stewart's Hors d'oeuvres Handbook" by Martha Stewart (Clarkson Potter, 1999)

"Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume One" by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck (Knopf, 2001)

"The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking: Techniques and Recipes" by Barbara Tropp (Morrow, 1996)

"The New Food Lover's Companion" by Sharon Tyler Herbst (Barron's, 2007)

"The Oxford Companion to Wine" by Jancis Robinson (Oxford University, 2007)

"Rick Stein's Complete Seafood" by Rick Stein (Ten Speed, 2004)

"The Silver Palate Cookbook" by Sheila Lukins and Julie Rosso (Workman, 2007)

"The Thrill of the Grill: Techniques, Recipes, and Down-Home Barbecue" by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby (Morrow, 2002)

"Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" by Deborah Madison (Broadway, 2007)

"The Way to Cook" by Julia Child (Knopf, 1993)

The list was chosen by committee members Pat Adrian, formerly editor-in-chief of The Good Cook, a division of Bookspan; Pat Brown, former editor, Bon Appetit and Cuisine Magazine; Lee Svitak Dean, food editor, Minneapolis Star-Tribune; Doralece Lipoli Dullaghan, director of strategic partnerships, Sur La Table; Jan Turner Hazard, former food editor, Ladies Home Journal; Martha Holmberg, food editor. The Oregonian; Kathleen Purvis, food editor, The Charlotte Observer; Irene Sax, food writing instructor for New York University and a reviewer for The New York Daily News and Epicurious; Nach Waxman, owner of Kitchen Arts & Letters; and Rita Wolfson, former editor, Doubleday & Co.