This is one of the first books I've seen on classical/historical cooking that represents the "food of the people" rather than the fancy food of the nobility that Apicius and other gourmets were writing about. Grant uses some non-traditional sources such as works on agriculture to get some clues as to what the common people were eating. His recipes are easy to follow and generally easy to prepare. Great for anyone interested in historical cooking for everyday rather than party fare.

With the lot of books written about Apicius and his famous "de re coquinaria", other sources of antique Roman cookery have long been ignored. Thanks to this book it's no more the case.

Numerous recipes and some good comments makes the everyday cooking in ancient Rome, and it's provinces, come back to life.

I have been producing and marketing books since 1985 and this is by far THE BEST cookbook that I have had the honor to review. Your book is filled with fabulous recipes, poems that touch your heart, wonderful pictures, the history behind the American Flour Milling Industry, and most importantly the feeling of love is felt on each and every page.

Linda F. Radke, author of "Linda F. Radke's Promote Like a Pro" Five Star Publications, Inc./Publishers Support Services

When I have the time, I enjoy baking. I never use a mix and I like to make a variety of baked goods. Karol Redfern Hamper has not just written another book on baking, but she has created very practical recipes which are a feast for the eyes, as well as for the tastebuds. This book is a must for the novice baker with well-written directions and the very accomplished cook with lots of great new ideas for breads and desserts. I can't wait to try them all.

The equine species embodies, to me, the power and delicacy, majesty and wildness, and the sheer beauty of nature. This calendar somehow captures each of these; when our planet is in ruins, it will be a fine souvenir epitomizing the dying spirit of wilderness on God's green Earth.

This calendar is filled with bold colors and magnificent scenes of a most striking creature---the horse. I love each image and will be looking forward to future merchandise by this photographer.

Here's why

1. Has tons of information on Spain, above and beyond the other guides - culture, history, architecture, cinema, you name it.
2. Not too many illustrations/pictures to distract you.
3. Maps of hotels/hostels and restaurants.
4. Detailed information even on remote/small towns.
5. The dictionary appendix is very helpful if you don't know Spanish (not many Spaniards know or even understand English/other languages, especially in areas that see few international tourists).
6. Precious info on finding budget accomodation if your budget is tight or you just arrived w/o a reservation.

This is not a guide that you can stick in your pocket - it's 1000+ pages after all! But the sheer wealth of information makes it well worth the money. A few days ago I came back from a 2-week vacation in Spain - went there w/o any knowledge of Spanish and w/o reservation in most cities i visited - just improptu decided to visit the country, although I would not recommend doing that. The guide saved my vacation, and then made it a great one. This is the first book from the 'Rough Guide' series I've ever bought - if the rest are as good as this one, I won't even look at the other guides out there..

I just came back from a 2-week vacation in Spain and let me tell you - this guide was well worth the money. After comparing it to all other guides on Spain I could find in stores, I decided to buy this one, because it seemed to have the most information. One guide that came close in that respect was 'The Illustrated Guide to Spain' - I already own 2 books from the 'Illustrated Guide' series and originally thought about sticking to it - but it's too picture-heavy, which in my opinion is a distraction.
Boy, was I glad to have had chosen 'The Rough Guide'. Here are the reasons:
1. It has detailed information about all cities/places of interest in each of Spain's regions, incl. getting there, and accomodation choices - especially valuale is the budget accomodation info, which most guides don't have
2. It provides historical background on all sites that are worth seeing
3. The city maps with highlights on hotels and restaurants were quite valuable while visiting small towns that did not have a tourist office.
4. The menu dictionary was also very helpful, because in certain regions there aren't very many non-Spanish tourists and the waiters don't understand another language and may not give you a non-Spanish menu.
5. I also found the contexts/appendixes to be a very nice surprise - no visit to another coutry is complete w/o gaining at least a bit of knowledge of its history and culture, and the guide's content was excellent in that respect as well. Also, the mini-dictionary which is in one of the appendixes was very helpful as I went to Spain w/o any knowledge of the language.
6. The guides on eating and drinking were also quite valuable, as each region of Spain has it's own 'indigenous' food and vines.
7. Finally, I liked the layout of the guide - some guides will throw in huge fonts to try to fill in 200-300 pages - this one did not make that mistake.

It is true that the guide is voluminous (1000+ pages) and won't fit into your pocket. But if you want a guide that will tell you the most about Spain, this is the book. I went to that country impromptu - w/o reservation in most cities I was planning to visit and not knowing the language (not a good idea) - and still head a smooth trip around the country and great time.

The research here is remarkable. The scholarship is first-rate, the information exhaustive (although never definitive since world music grows with leaps and bounds moment by moment).

I love dipping into this attractively illustrated, logically organized, and utterly helpful guide to find whole realms of sound which I not only didn't know existed but also could not even have imagined existed without the help of these fine fans of the music about which they write so clearly and well.

The world today is a depressing place. Sorrow is everywhere one turns. But this celebration of music continually energizes and revivifies. Buy it; enjoy it; and expand your CD collection.

... this one is for Latin & North American, Caribbean, Indian, Asian/Pacific idioms. I picked up the original '94 edition to explore World Beat rhythms in improvisatory settings, and was excited to hear the new edition would cover two volumes. I am NOT displeased !!

This atlas is very comprehensive and contains colour maps showing the religious composition of the various regions of the United States from the pre-colonial days down to the present.

The atlas is also very useful for those who are interested in the emigration of the various ethnic groups to America as religious affiliation is closely tied to ethnicity and country/area of origin (especially in the colonial period to the 1800s).

It can be observed from these maps that different ethnic groups arrived during different periods and that their settlement were concentrated in specific regions.

For the period before independence (ie. 1776), there are maps showing the emigration of the Puritans/Congregationalists from the counties of Eastern England to New England, the Anglicans to Virginia and other Southern states along the Atlantic coast, Northern English and Welsh Quakers to Pennsylvania, Scotch-Irish Presbyterians to the Middles colonies and thereafter, onwards to the backcountry. There were also the Dutch Reformed (and some French Huguenot) in New York who settled there when that state belonged to Holland, and the Lutherans, Reformed and Mennonites who emigrated from Germany to the Middle colonies. Meanwhile, Louisiana was mainly Catholic due to French and some Spanish settlers.

A phenomenon which I found interesting was the transformation of denominational affiliation in the Southern states from Anglicanism and Presbyterianism to Baptist (and Methodist)and later, the emergence of Unitarians and Universalist among the Yankees in New England. All these showed regional trends.

This religious affiliation can be traced as migrants moved Westwards from the original colonies. Hence, the Yankees brought with them Congregationalism to the Midwest whilst Texas, Arkansas etc. had large Baptist and Methodist groups due to settlers from other Southern states.

In the 1800s, one can see how America was transformed from an almost exclusively Protestant Anglo-Saxon/Western European civilisation with the immigration of Catholics from Ireland, Germany and continental Europe. Orthodox imigrants form Eastern Europe in the late 1800s to early 1900s added even greater to the diversity.

And of course, in the late 20th century, America became a microcosm of the world with immigrants from Asia, Africa etc. [with large numbers of Buddhists (of various sects), Hindus, Bahais, Sikhs and Muslims (who enjoyed a phenomenal growth in part due to the large-scale conversions among African-Americans)].

This atlas also has maps showing the religious transformation in the African-American community i.e. from having their own Methodist and Baptist denominations to the formation of Black Hebrew organisations and the Nation of Islam and quasi-Muslim sects (such as Moorish Science).

The last few maps showed that despite the change in ethnic composition over the years, the various regions are still unique in their concentration of various denominations.

Brett Carroll's Historical Atlas of Religion in America provides a focus on the history and geographic development of American religions, providing maps and visual details to bring alive the connections between American political and religious history. From parts played by religious groups of Europe to the development of sects in the country, this provided a well-rounded survey.

This is the best book yet published on the Civil War in Arkansas. What most people don't know is that Arkansas ranks 5th in the number of battles, actions, and skirmishes during the Civil War.
The authors do a great job of filling the blanks about what went on in the state during those terrible years.
If you want to know about the Civil War in Arkansas, this is the one to read.

Great book for an overview of the Civil War in Arkansas. At last a book that covers many of the ignored battles and skirmishes in this often overlooked theater of the Civil War.

I found both this book, and the Level Two edition (called Intermediate on amazon) to be very good. I lived in Russia for about 6 monthes, and before and after this I used these books to self-study Russian. I tried a number of other books, both easier and harder, and found this one worked the best for me. It is a good mix of vocubulary, grammer, and a holistic approach to Russian which I enjoyed. It is easier than the college textbooks I worked with, and provides more stand-alone exercises to drill in the material. With the more advanced textbooks I tried, they provided too many rules too quickly and not enough drills to force you to memorize them. In a classroom environment this might be ok, but for me this approach worked much better. The book is geared to a young audience, probably mostly high school students, but not annoyingly so. You can also get tapes with both books. These are a bit pricey, but useful for doing the listening and pronunciation drills.

This is a good book for beginners. It seems to be aimed toward a younger audience, but it's still good for adults. The book focuses on the overall language itself, not just vocabulary or grammar.

While other books try to teach the selling process, this piece of art helps you understand all the issues underlying in a sales force area, it's administation, the relationship with pre and post sales areas and the way to succeed in a managing position. One of the best books I've read on this subject.

I teach in one of the finest schools of Mexico, MBA Marketing and Field Force management topics, and was really tired of looking for comprehensive, complete and reasonable readings that covers the most important areas of managing a Sales Force. Churchil is a must-have text for both, college and high level (superior / undergraduate) students, since it really takes you through every important aspect of the topic.

As San Antonionians, my husband and I walk on the River Walk every few weeks simply because we love it. After readingDiane Capito's San Antonio on Foot, we tried several of her RiverWalk walks. We discovered new views and new wonders! After years of walking the RiverWalk, Ms. Capito showed us more sights! Delightful!

The walks in this book are well-laid out and very interesting. San Antonio is a beautiful city and this book will help you appreciate it more fully, and get some excercise in the process! Even if you are not a walker, the book is a good guide to some places in San Antonio you might otherwise miss. PS-There are errors in the ad-the new edition IS available, and the book if far more than 4 pages long.