Slate and the NYT love the book Heat by Bill Buford.  Buford was the fiction editor for the New Yorker.  He gave up the cushy life (and a really sweet job) to start off at the bottom as a line cook for Iron Chef Mario Batali.  It sounds great - in the mold of Kitchen Confidential, with a little less rock and roll attitide.

Google now has a site where you can check out the complete works of Shakespeare, you can search for your favorite Shakespearian catchphrases and read them in context, and you can even visit The Globe via Google Earth.  I love me some technology.