There is a lot of information in this little (5 x 6) book...616 pages. Lots of color drawings and some photos add a great deal to the overall effort, though the information on each type of food is basic. If that is what you need, this is the book for you. It is quite adequate in that regard as it describes choosing, preparing, and storing foods in a few lines of type as well as showing drawings of the major varieties within each category. It even lists the nutrients and some serving suggestions. I can't find fault with the information that is listed. I did wish there were more varieties pictured and mentioned, however, so in that sense I was disappointed. Let me give you an example: I get confused about different types of chili peppers when I am looking at them in the grocery store (usually not clearly marked)and would have liked a lot of photos of the different types. What I got was 6 types (bird's eye, fresh green, jalapeno, fresh red, serrano, and tabasco), all shown in drawings separately, and looking very much alike, with no indication of actual size. Initially, I only found 4 types and thought that was it until I looked a little further in the book. I gave this book 4 stars instead of 3 due to the amount of information that is there, but I did not think that it added significantly to my knowledge of foods and their characteristics. I was hoping that the "visual" in the title would be more useful.