This elegantly written and beautiful-produced book examines one of the most astonishing of medieval illuminated manuscripts, the Utta Codex. This Codex is one of the boldest and most intricate of early medieval manuscripts--a sumptuous volume that fully deserves the numerous illustrations and the learned commentary provided by Prof. Cohen. Prof. Cohen's account of the Codex explores its role in a monastic world undergoing reform. For example, he reveals the ways in which the Codex's illuminations were understood to suggest the place of monasteries and monastic reform in the harmonies of the larger world and universe. Drawing upon medieval images, texts and music theory, Prof. Cohen shows the Utta Codex to have been ambitious not only its illustrations but also in its vision of monastaries and monastic life. In the course of making this point, Prof. Cohen's book touches upon a host of other important and interesting issues, including the construction of memory and female patronage. Particularly intriguing are his suggestions about what may be the earliest known illustration of the "horned Moses." In short, Prof. Cohen provides a very rich account of a very rich work of art.

Chef Antonnuci's cooking is considered by many to be "the best italian in NYC." And if youv'e eaten at his Remi restaurants I am sure you would agree. So, there is no doubting that the chef is knowledgable... but what is most important for a cookbook (as far as I am concerned), is how easy it is to re-create (at home) the meals Antonnuci has mastered over the years. And having just had a dinner party where we served several of his receipes, I can assure you that this book is a "must add" addition to your cookbook collection. To begin with all the receipes are mouthwatering, so you will no doubt have as hard a time narrowing down "what you are going to make" as I did. But once you start, don't worry -- you can't help but be successful... the instructions are easy to follow, and the end product will be your proof (not to mention the rave reviews of your guests).. This book is also nice in that it delves into the regional cooking of venice... it explains what venetian cusine means... and it's interdisciplenary, in that it delves into venetian taste in architecture, design (hand-blown glassware) etc. The roast herb chicken reciepe was a "no brainer" -- and I can't tell you the rave reveiws it got from our guests! It was so simple to make (the secret is in the herb salt receipe)... inexpensive and delicious ... you can't imagine how tender the chicken ended up being. The risotto, which I had been told "would be a nightmare" was painless to make and just delicious... I also have to add, that we NEVER cook... which is proof that this book is for those infrequent food lovers as well as those who get to cook all the time

The author of this work has glasses, came of age in the tumultuous 1960's and wears a long, untrimmed beard. I am not completely sure that such people are trustworthy. However, I have skimmed the book to make sure that it is not dangerous, and I actually found it quite lucid and informative.

A successful businessman who once committed a crime with a partner now wants to keeps tabs on him...

A rising movie actor who is very cautious about his newfound success due to his secret murder of his lover - to which a single person was witness, and who is now his worst nightmare come to life...

A bar hostess so desperate for real love that she would arrange for pretenders to be murdered with other women as bogus love suicides...

A bank clerk hell-bent on revenge from a former co-worker who seduced his sister and left her for dead to cover up their affair...

A terminal-cancer stricken haiku poet who is tricked to be used as a pawn in the murder of another woman...

All these are examples of the short stories you'll find in this great book. Matsumoto's short stories really dazzle you as the criminals' motives are explained slowly and carefully. Adam Kabat does a terrific job in his translation. Mesmerizing... not to be missed!

This text covers most of the areas important for neurobiologists who wish to make electrochemical measurements. It includes chapters on the surface chemistry of carbon microelectrodes, understanding of the environment in which measurements are made (e.g. diffusion), and a number of different biological appraoches in which electrochemical measurements have been made. These range from single cell to whole animal studies. Each chapter is written in the style of the presenting lab, and gives a clear insight both into the methodology they use, and the questions they address.

This book is a delightful look at the days when TV was live. Fran Kearton paints a wonderful picture of ups and downs of putting together a local daily TV show in Atlanta,Georgia in the 1950s. The show was called "The Music Shop" and her partner was Dick Van Dyke (pre-"Bye Bye, Birdie"). Together they did skits, interviewed celebrity guests, pantomimed hit records and did local commercials. They did promotions thoughout the city--everything from opening supermarkets to hosting dog shows. The title refers to the perils of live TV and this is a wonderfully nostalgic read of an age gone by.

I read this book once, during a paricularly bad period of my life. I was overweight, lonely, depressed and in a bad relationship. I realized that I wasn't getting what I wanted out of the relationship and knew I had to make a change. I thought reading the book would help me take that step. What I didn't expect was the book to show me how I wasn't getting what I wanted out of myself! Things just haven't been the same since - I am happy to say!! (insert satisfied content smile here)

David Adams is an amazing explorer. His feat of conquering all the seven summits and both the poles is extra ordinary. It ranks amongst the best travel books ever written. His narration is lucid, but strking. He travels with a Norwegian and their struggle in conversing with each other provides a dash of humor. If you liked 'Into Thin Air', you will fall for this one as well.

This is the daily diary of the man who was the head of the Judenrat (Jewish Council) in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation and most of the ghetto period. Czerniakow was misunderstood by a lot of people, and to avoid this I suggest some background reading about the ghetto first (Emanuel Ringelblum's Notes from the Warsaw Ghetto, Bogdan Wojdowski's Bread for the Departed, John Hersey's The Wall (fiction)). This is because Czerniakow does not give a lot of detail about life in the ghetto (and occupied Warsaw before the ghetto) for the ordinary person. It does not at all mean he was unaware of conditions; he was trying to do an impossible job and please everyone at the same time: the ghetto residents, the other council members, the profiteers, the Polish city administration, the German army, and the SS. That he accomplished any positive goals at all is remarkable and his story must be looked at from that perspective. It comes across clearly that he acted according to his conscience and put his personal concerns last. Without the introductions and the supplementary notes the diary might be difficult to understand, as Czerniakow did not always put down full names or explanations and kept entries brief. It was suggested he may have been afraid of it falling into the wrong hands with good reason. Therefore, I would say it takes a reader with some knowledge of the ghetto period and the Nazi occupation of Poland to get the fullest understanding from this book. I do on that basis give it the highest recommendation.

As are all the Quiller books, The Warsaw Document is a taut, fast paced thriller that allows you to "shadow" the legendary espion thru yet another harrowing mission. This time he is without direction, feeling his way carefully through the Polish underground on the eve of a coup, trying to locate the agent with the borrowed Union Jack that is feeding false support to the underground. Playing the KGB against itself using a defected double in a high stakes cat and mouse scenario is the only way Quiller may come out of this one.. the alternative is 20 years in a forced labour camp.