I've been an amateur breadmaker for years, but tend to bake irregularly because of the effort involved. No more! Mark Miller's recipes for bread both plain and exotic, healthful and richly delicious, have rekindled my enthusiasm for bread. I'm baking almost all my own bread now and making breakfast and lunch special occasions. From genuine sourdough, comforting cornbreads, spicy cheesey flatbreads and foccacia, to tempting quickbreads and breakfast treats (try Cream Cheese and Blueberry Bread, or Scottish Scones with honey, cream and Drambuie) No tedious copying of recipes from a library book this time: there are so many delicious recipes (and I've tried a lot of them) that I need to buy this book!

This is chock full of wonderful recipes. Not one that we've tried has disappointed. A batch of Blue Corn-Maple Muffins never lasts long in our house. Nothing out of this book ever does.

John Fremont's life reads like a Shakespearean tragedy. Starting in poverty and successively riding waves of amazing success only to be followed by equally amazing blunders, Fremont's life is a study in how to be one's own worst enemy. One of the subsequent followers of Lewis and Clark in exploring the American West, he makes three separate explorations that in total really puts the original 1803 expedition to shame. First Republican Presidential Candidate, California's first U.S. Senator, a multimillionaire during the California Gold Rush and a ranking Union general at the outbreak of the Civil War, he is also dragged home after the war with Mexico from California in chains, is responsible for the annihilation of one of his Western expeditions, is relieved of command by Lincoln after ignoring a Presidential directive and dies alone in comparative poverty after begging Congress for a pension.

This is a fascinating life and Nevins does a remarkable job of very unbiased research. You will either love Fremont or hate him or, more likely, simply feel sorry for him.

John Charles Fremont (1813-1890) was an American explorere, soldier and first Republican presidential candidate. This book is the classic biography and encyclopedia reference for "further reading," originally published in 1939 as a two-volume set. It is excelled only by Fremont's actual journals and maps, available in four volumes from large city and college libraries: Spence, Mary Lee & David Jackson, "The Expeditions of John Charles Fremont." Nevins tells of a 1926 interview with Major Frank P. Fremont and his experience extracting notes from the few remaining original journals that weren't destroyed by a warehouse fire. I've researched Fremont histories since 1980 and have visited many of the sites that are accurately described in this book. This is the best. Steve Stumph, Salt Lake City, 9-Jan-1999

It felt wonderful after many years to be making the Gregg characters again! This is a GREAT little book! If I could make one wish, though, I'd wish for the "Short Forms" and some examples of words used in sentences, or perhaps even illustrative dictation. But it's good to know that Gregg is still out there, making a difference.

At 39, and the second time around at taking shorthand (orig. took in high school in 1978) this book adds to the learning process and supplies help in several areas of brief forms, phrases and it greatly necessary when transcribing someone elses shorthand.

How we did without it before is unknown!

At the end of the introduction to his new book "JustGenerosity", Sider sets forth the agenda of this book. He writes: "This book seeks to define the problem, sketch a biblical framework, outline a comprehensive holistic vision and then develop ...................." (p. 23) Accordingly, I will structure my critique and reflection of his book in reference to this phrase.

Definition of the Problem: Who the poor are is well described by Sider, including age groups, family-types, education-level of poor and the relation between poverty and race. He sketches well the major factors that cause poverty. I fully agree with him, that structural reasons, as well as behavioral ones, as well as sudden catastrophes all contribute to widespread poverty. Even though structural reasons play a major influence in facilitating wrong moral choices, the latter should yet be ascertained as a cause for poverty. All negation of this point of view tends to take away responsibility from poor people and thus disqualifies them as whole persons. I also appreciated Sider's good assessment that it is basically the wealthy who contribute to political campaigns, which as a result brings people into positions who represent the interests of those few wealthy, rather than the masses'.

Biblical Framework: I fully agree with Sider's analysis and presentation of the biblical material and believe it is compelling in its call to do justice. Love without justice is simply unbiblical, because the Bible is clear that those who follow God are called to live justly and love mercy.

Comprehensive holistic vision: Sider is consistent with the biblical material and with sociology when he brings the role of civic society into the discussion. It confirms the "biblical anthropology" that humans are not mere autonomous individuals, but are interrelated beings. In the same way it acknowledges a holistic view of people, who are neither solely directed by bureaucratic decisions, nor by individual moral choices. Hence, civic society plays a detrimental role in solving the pressing problems, because it is in civic society that people learn the values that make this very society function in a healthy way. Inner moral and spiritual renewal cannot be mandated but is nevertheless crucial if family renewal, for instance, is to come about. Sider displays a balanced view with regards to the role of government and civic institutions and their interaction as well as contribution to each other, which I deem to be the only way in which long-term solutions can be reached. However, Sider presents too few concrete examples of realistic ways, in which civic societies (like inner city churches) can be strengthened, who in turn would raise local leadership and thus strengthen the political power of the poor from within.

Social Analysis: His explanation for the low work-effort of poor people, for instance, as well as his interpretation of how the inability of low-skilled men to earn enough to support a family, feeds into the disintegration of the family as an institution, are convincing. Moreover, he makes clear how family unfriendly government policy (tax-exemptions, etc...) encourages single-parent families. Sider's analysis with respect to the educational system is also compelling. He argues that a good educational system is absolutely necessary in the fight against poverty. In fact, high school dropouts produce high costs in the long run, which, in any case are carried by the taxpayer. Additionally he builds a strong case for the necessity of healthy two-parent families. Most of his bias toward this form of family-life derives, as he says, from Judeo-Christian roots, as well as the statistics who demonstrate, that children from two-parent families are less likely to experience poverty.

Concrete Agenda: In most of the chapters 4-8 Sider develops quite concrete and seemingly good proposals, which could help alleviate poverty. Even though I won't go into details at this point, this is the bulk of the book that needs to be discussed in student circles, among policymakers, in civic societies etc... Yet, throughout Sider's social analysis and enlisting of concrete ideas for implementation, one great question remains: How can partnerships between governmental and faith based programs be established? How could more clergy-government coalitions come to life? How are inner city churches helped to seek the holistic wellbeing of their neighbors, if they themselves lack personnel resources and struggle hard to survive? Sider offers little concrete steps in this respect. He gives some examples, but these seem to be the exception.

Sider makes clear that the political as well as the theological climate has changed, which makes it more favorable for Christians today to getting involved to fighting poverty. And this they must, if they call themselves followers of Jesus Christ. Overall I believe the book has the potential to reach a great number of people, because it presents, deals well with and offers, to some degree at least, practicable solutions to a highly problematic theme of our time. Will it accomplish what Sider has in mind, namely reaching millions of Christians, who in response, will get practically involved in addressing the issues at hand? We hope. We pray.

I agree with the review by Jean-Luc for the most part, but I also wanted to add a few of my own thoughts.

As Sider says early in the book, he's not a policy wonk, so that is his weakest point. Trust him on that one. As a more policy oriented person, I agree that some of those things would be great, if implemented, but that's the hard part of all policy - getting it passed and implemented. Some of his suggestions are not politically feasible (yet).

Some of his other policy ideas are, IMHO, just questionable. Not just politically difficult, but I'm not convinced that all the ideas are that great.

His Biblical framework is wonderful. I enjoyed reading his perspective on that, as he exegetes quite well. I also was biased to begin with, in that I had already done some thinking on my own about this issue, and was finding myself just saying "Wow, that's kinda what I was thinking."

yeah. so good book. read it. don't take the policy stuff to seriously. but take the Biblical stuff seriously. He does a good job there. and the principles of the more holistic view of things, too. Those are good.

This book is written in a lean manner. It is simple, common and easy to read. It describes ordinary things and ideas very clearly and with one purpose. This book provides all the roadmap, tools and insight needed to allow plants to achieve excellence. The authors take great pains to address common failures issues. They provide a single source handbook that any plant can understand and use, a source with example metrics and tools, with logic and simple ideas to prevent and overcome the daily issues faced by the team that implements Lean.

This is not a book that deals much about soft issues. It is not a fuzzy warm feeling book about the people side, nor is it a motivational "you can do it" book. It is a frank easy to read book about simple steps and simple ideas that make plants great. It explains the people issues and the fact that unless working teams make the decisions and changes Lean will not happen. It is a long book, more of handbook length, but much easier to read.

Lean Manufacturing: A Plant Floor Guide fills the space between a detailed "How To" text and an overview. It provides coverage of every key issue in moving to Lean Manufacturing, offering rationale, plans and encouragement.

From understanding your customers needs, metrics, building a solid business case and launching a methodical process, this book has all the tools necessary for a sound lean transition.
Perhaps most importantly, it offers reliable advice on overcoming resistance and building an effective team.

it would be good for the reader who wants to learn more about egypt without reaaly getting too deep into the history & geography of ancient egypt

This is one of the most interesting books on ancient Egypt that I have ever seen. The book begins with an excellent history of Egypt from prehistoric times through its conquest by the Macedonians. Along the way, there are many subsections on subjects from Aten through zoological gardens. Later chapters cover ancient Egypt's rediscovery at the end of the Eighteenth Century, and its influence on western civilization up to today.

This book has many excellent color pictures and maps, a good glossary and list of Egyptian gods, and an interesting list of all of the kings of Egypt. This is an excellent introduction to ancient Egypt, and an interesting look at a wrinkle in modern Western civilization. I highly recommend this fascinating book.

Spencie Love has written one of the few genuinely biracial explorations of the history of black-white relations in the United States. She uses the story of Charles Drew to illustrate the ways in which white Americans have misunderstood and distorted the contributions of black Americans to their shared culture--whether science, politics, education, medicine, or daily life. THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW called this a "superb book" and their review was spot on.

This wonderful book not only includes accurate, scholarly historical research, it tells a gripping story of two fine black families and their experience with health care for African-Americans in our society. Very readable.

I first read this book over fifteen years ago and it says something about the potency of the story that I (who am usually bad at remembering names) can still rattle off the characters' names -- Sidney Carton, Doctor and Lucy Mannette, Charles Darnay, Madame DeFarge ... I began reading the book sitting outside on a hot summer day, but was soon actually feeling cold as I was drawn into the freezing rain and mud of the openning scene on the Dover Mail coach. This book has it all: romance and tragedy, mystery and history, revolutionary atrocities and courtroom drama, not to mention both openning and closing lines which are unforgettable and famous (It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ...). It's a book that truly transports you to another time, one of history's most terrible and frightening, as well as one of its most idealistic and noble. A word to all those kids who had to read it for school and gave it bad reviews: there is something about having to ! read a book for school that makes you hate it. Don't let that throw you. Read it again ten years from now, after you've had a chance to experience life (both the good and bad stuff) a bit more, after you've learned a bit more history so you can understand all the book's allusions, and when you (and this time not your teacher) are really in the mood to read, and you'll see why this book is considered one of the truly great classics.

I just finished reading this book in my 9th grade Honors english class, and I have to say that I loved it! It was terribly boring at first--very hard reading! And Dickens IS VERY wordy; or, as my English teacher says, he likes to make his point and than slap you in the face with it several times until you get the point! Aside from that however, I really enjoyed the story. I laughed with my friends over the mini battle between Madame Defarge and Miss Pross, and cried with them at Sydney Carton's courage(he made Charles Darnay look meaningless). Although this classic story is by far one of the best I've ever read (Black Beauty is THE best), I don't think I could have enjoyed it nearly as much without my wonderful English teacher explaining every "difficult" section-- and pointing out the humor that Dickens uses, and which many overlook. To fully enjoy this book, you have to read "between the lines", but if you have the patience to do this, I gaurentee you will love this book as much as I do!

Charles Dickens deserves two thumbs up for his magnificent creation, A Tale of Two Cities. This novel does an explicit job of foreshadowing and portraying the French Revolution in the eyes of many different people. Dickens' attention to details also helps the novel flow well and at the same time, create irony and suspense. For example, when Mrs. Defarge remained almost invisible, her stitching revealed a lot about who she was and what her plans were. This brought irony to the plot. I also enjoyed the symbolism throughout the story. It was thought provoking. When I read the story for the first time, I thought some situations were unnecessary and were dragged on, but as I furthered into the book, every detail that previously occurred started to make sense. It is amazing that an author could make all of these details have parallels and with so much precision. I also liked how he formed the characters. Many of the characters within the novel were clearly described for a good reason. Most of them had one other character that they paralleled with. It is not easy to develop characters that are similar to one another, yet also opposite. There were also many twists to the story that made me want to keep reading so I could find out what was really going to happen, but I do not want to reveal any twists as to spoil the story for those who have not read it. I would highly recommend reading A Tale of Two Cities to any person who enjoys reading a wonderful story. Just remember to pay attention to the details and the book will make sense in the end.

For the younger reader exploring Charles Dickens, this abridged version will not be intimidating. It'll help open the door to classic literature, and challenging ideas.

"Oliver Twist" is a complex story about the English welfare system for orphans, overlayed by a story of love, family, and the pursuit of each.

What is missing from this version is Dickens' long descriptions and thorough presentations of a situation. What makes Dickens great, in part, is his multi-woven characters, filled with color and excitement. Some of that is lost here.

That said, this is an excellent choice for an older child having trouble reading, or the younger, aggressive reader. The story about Oliver Twist is strong enough to endure an adaptation, but, later on, it is a thrill to read the original version.

I fully recommend "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens.

Anthony Trendl

Like so many of Dickens' novels, Oliver Twist is a fantastically crafted and engrossing novel. Dickens follows the life of a young orphan boy, Oliver, who grows up amidst desperate poverty in London in the early 19th Century. Dickens leads the reader on a delightful and engaging romp, as Oliver escapes his orphanage, gets mixed up in the wrong crowd, and ultimately comes out on top.

The story within Oliver Twist is very engrossing, replete with many twists, turns and surprises that are occasionally tragic but more often witty or flat out hilarious. The characters are all superbly developed, and the multiple story lines are intricately and cleverly woven together. Oliver Twist is an excellent introduction to Dickens, and patient readers will find this novel accessible. The intricate plotline does require some concentration, while some readers may be annoyed by Dickens' notoriously lengthy sentences.

This is an important book to read for it is heavily engrained in Anglo-American culture and most first-time readers will recognize many of the names (Fagin, Artful Dodger) and scenes from previous cultural references. While clearly enjoyable at the superficial level, the novel also makes a powerful statement about poverty and the power of the human spirit in the face of depravity.

This book surprised me, not by the quality of its writing, which one can expect from Charles Dickens, but by the violent, lusty primal quality of the story. This is no dry musty tome, but a vital novel that arouses both passion and intellect. A literal page turner, I found myself having more than one sleepless night when I just couldn't put it down.

Inside are some of the major characters in the realm of fiction; Fagin and his gang of child thieves, including the Artful Dodger. Nancy, the proverbial hooker with a heart of gold. Master Charles Bates (was this a pun even then?) Bad Bill Sikes, who shows the darker edge to all of this dangerous fun, and the innocent, pure Oliver Twist, who is the very definition of nature over nurture.

A great book, and one that I am glad to have finally read.

Like many other high schoolers who wrote reviews on this page, I was forced to read this in my freshman english class. I thought it was an extremely good story. The characters (my favorites being Orlick and Trabb's Boy) are brilliant and subtley funny. The story is creative and unpredictible, and overall, it was absolutely supberb. The only reason this book doesn't get 5 stars is because it tends to drag a lot of the time, and Dickens overlong descriptions are a bit grating on the nerves, but I DO understand why people would have liked it like that in the 1800's. They liked their books long and juicy. It's a bit dated but Great Expectations is well worth a read if you have the patience. Even if you are impatient, you can not miss this great story and its wonderful characters, so at least see one of the many great movie adaptions. My personal favorite movie version of Great Expectations is the 1999 Masterpiece theatre version.

Having seen the many reviews written by students, I must say that I would agree. In fact, they sounded like they could have almost been my students from the past. Overall, GE is well liked, but the major complaint most have is that the story line is too slow-developing. I think this is a fair assessment. Of course, this was the style chosen by Dickens since this book was compiled from serial form. How many people would claim that we ought to take a week's worth of a soap opera program and turn it into a movie? I doubt such a production would attract much attention. In the same way, a serial writer's objective was to build mini-climaxes throughout the book, twisting and turning to get the audience to scream with anticipation, so that the next segment would sell. From what I understand, Americans could hardly wait for the shipments to get off the ships. They would purchase the newest segment and immediately dig in!

If you are a teacher, I highly recommend showing the 4-hour movie starring Anthony Hopkins (produced in the late 1980s, I believe). It is the best and most accurate of all the GE movies. This works really well in conjunction with the book, and it truly helps in the interest level for those students who are not as motivated as "the readers." So go ahead and find out about the adventures of squeezable Pip, lovable Joe, the mysterious Miss Havisham, sweet Biddy, snooty Estella, and of course the mysterious Magwitch. I think you will be as surprised as I was when I first read it. (I've read an abridged version four or five times!)

When his magazine, All the Year Round, began failing due to an unpopular serial, Dickens was forced to begin publishing installments of a story of his own. The resulting work, Great Expectations, was published weekly from December 1, 1860 to August 3, 1861. This was his second semi-autobiographical work, but where David Copperfield was a confident expression of faith in middle class values, Great Expectations offers a bleaker view of whether those values will lead to happiness. In fact, Dickens own marriage had just come to an end after many unhappy years. Indeed he had recently changed the name of the magazine from the more bucolic Household Words. Despite, or because, of this ambivalence, Great Expectations became one of his greatest achievements.

Pip, a boy of the marshes, is being "raised by hand" by his shrieking harridan of an older sister and her seemingly doltish husband, the blacksmith Joe Gargery. One day, while visiting his parents' gravesite, Pip is accosted by an escaped convict who demands that he bring him a file and some "wittles". When the convict, Abel Magwitch, is later captured, he accepts the blame for stealing the file and food before being carted back to prison.

Shortly thereafter, Pip is invited up to Miss Havisham's manor house to play with her beautiful ward Estella. Miss Havisham's life came to a halt when she was jilted at the altar, all clocks are stopped at the hour of her betrayal, the feast lies rotting on tables & she wanders about in the decaying wedding gown. Estella is to be the instrument of her revenge upon men.

Eventually, "Great Expectations" are settled upon Pip when a secret benefactor sets up a trust in his name and sends him to London to be educated and become a gentleman. Pip assumes, and Havisham allows him to believe, that she is his benefactress and that he is being elevated to a position that will make him worthy of Estella.

As Pip rises in society, he leaves Joe behind, despite the many kindnesses Joe had shown him growing up. He becomes a shallow arrogant middle class climber. So he is stunned when he discovers that he is actually benefiting from the secret wealth of Magwitch, who made a fortune in Australia after being transported. Moreover, Magwitch's unlawful return to England puts him and Pip in danger. Meanwhile, Estella has married another, a horrible man who Pip despises. Eventually, with Magwitch's recapture and death in prison and with his fortune gone, Pip ends up in debtors prison, but Joe redeems his debts and brings him home. Pip realizes that Magwitch was a more devoted friend to him than he ever was to Joe and with this realization Pip becomes, finally, a whole and decent human being.

Originally, Dickens wrote a conclusion that made it clear that Pip and Estella will never be together, that Estella is finally too devoid of heart to love. But at the urging of others, he changed the ending and left it more open ended, with the possibility that Estella too has learned and grown from her experiences and her wretched marriages.

This is the work of a mature novelist at the height of his powers. It has everything you could ask for in a novel: central characters who actually change and grow over the course of the story, becoming better people in the end; a plot laden with mystery and irony; amusing secondary characters; you name it, it's in here. I would rank it with A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist and David Copperfield among the very best novels of the worlds greatest novelist.

GRADE: A+