Book excerpt: We humans have long enjoyed the satisfying experience of cooking and eating meat. We all seem to have memories of our favorite meat-eating experiences. What makes these meat dishes better? Is it the way they are cooked? Is it a better cut of meat that makes them better? How can we recreate the dishes? I spent close to forty years in the retail meat business. My biggest joy during these years was sharing my accumulated knowledge with customers, helping them to choose the right product at the right price. I have written The Butcher's Guide to share this same knowledge with a larger audience. Today's strong interest in enjoying cooking, along with the economic benefits of saving money, tells me the time is right for such a book. Changes in the retail meat industry are also reasons to supply today's consumers with better information. As the meat production process is streamlined, skilled butchers are being replaced by less expensive, unskilled workers. The butcher behind the meat case is no longer a source of information. My love of cooking was inspired by my mother. Unlike most families, which eat the same dozen meals over and over again, my mother was always making something new and different. I share her passion for cooking. I like to stretch my cooking talents to make a variety of dishes. The Butcher's Guide has information for a large audience, from "foodies" to families looking to save money on their meat purchases.