Ex Cathedra

Since cooking is such an imprecise science, there are often calls to authority when a question arises. But a great deal of your cooking personality depends upon to which authority you turn. Sarah and I generally agree that one's first course of action should be to immediately consult the ipsissima verbi of our prophet, our haruspex, our shaman, Mark Bittman.

After that it gets a little cloudy. Yes, we both believe fervently in Jacques Pepin. Yes, Cook's Illustrated is always right (but so preachy!). Yes, Sarah Moulton should still be not just on Food Network but also at Gourmet magazine instead of that phony Ruth Reichl. Also- Rachael Ray, Paula Deen, Giada DeLaurentis, Michael Chiarello and Sandra Lee should be run out of town on a rail, tarred and feathered, and then subjected to the same public humiliation that I loved in the article "The Staggering Dicketry of Bobby Flay." Check it out.
http://www.flakmag.com/tv/flay.html

But other hearts, in other lands are beating, as they say. What else should we be reading and cooking? The closest thing to a Magisterium we have in food writing is the James Beard Society. So should we treat their word as gospel? At their 20th anniversary, they released an infallible statement on the subject of which cookbooks are authoritative:

(Ones we've examined are highlighted in pink)

American Cookery (1996), James Beard
Authentic Mexican (2007), Rick Bayless
Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook (Better Homes and Gardens, 2004)
Classic Indian Cooking (1980), Julie Sahni
Complete Techniques (Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2001), Jacques Pépin
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking (Macmillan, 1995), Marcella Hazan
How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food (2006), Mark Bittman
The Joy of Cooking (2006), Irma S. Rombauer
The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion( 2003)
Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Desserts ( 1999), Maida Heatter
Hors d'Oeuvres Handbook (1999), Martha Stewart
Mastering the Art of French Cooking(2001), Julia Child
The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking (1996) Barbara Tropp
The New Food Lover’s Companion (2007), Sharon Tyler Herbst
The Oxford Companion to Wine (Oxford University Press, 2007), Jancis Robinson
Rick Stein’s Complete Seafood (Ten Speed Press, 2004), Rick Stein
The Silver Palate Cookbook (2007), Sheila Lukins and Julie Rosso
The Thrill of the Grill(2002), Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone ( 2007), Deborah Madison
The Way to Cook (1993), Julia Child

Are they missing any biggies? Including some minor-leaguers? What do you think?