is this indeed the saddest book ever published? (silly)  

I agree that microwave cooking is not fun and that cooking is a pleasure where you are sharing your cook. Cooking for one, hmmm !

Microwave cooking is not really good for health, maybe it's why I associated your practical book to another one. It's a sad book used by a profession where an employee can be fired if he smiles or laughs. So, I believe that it's a good release candidate for the price of the saddest book ever published. It's called "The Embalmer's Manual, Funeral Etiquette, Etc." and was published in St. Louis at the beginning of the 20th century. Even the wikipedia photo is sad and this book is bad embalmed... sorry, bound :

http://en.wikipedia.org/w...