Michael Ruhlman is one of my favorite food authors. The first book I "read" was actually an audio book from Audible it was...
The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America
This was a really good story but I was disappointed that he didn't read it. He is all over television now as a judge on Iron Chef and with Anthony Bourdain on No Reservations and I am used to his voice. This book was early in his career so it was before he was a known personality, so no one was demanding to hear him back then. I got used to the narrator and it was a great story about him going through the paces of being a student at the Culinary Institute of America.
My new favorite book of his is "Ruhlman's Twenty" it isn't so much a cookbook as it is a guide. He teaches basic techniques, much like the vicarious CIA training in the Making of a Chef. It is a reference book that gives you basic skills that if you master them, you can go off and try all kinds of variations. The depth of the information and the breakdown of the 20 basic techniques is amazing. There are recipes in the book but I wouldn't call it a cook book, it is a cooking skills tutorial. Michael's wife Donna made the excellent photos in the book. Everyone who likes to cook should get this. Oh yes and this would make a horrible audio book!