Pickles? What an extraordinary little book! It would never have occured to me to try this book, except for the fact I've read other books by the authors and couldn't resist. I'm amazed at the ingenuity of these, crisp, tempting little dishes. They make any meal a delight.

This really is a neat book. It has a lot of basic and inventive pickling recipies. I had never pickled before and this proved to be a good way to get started. These are quick pickles, as the title states, so you can make em and eat em within a couple of days or less. The flavors in these recipes can be intense, but after you make a few batches on your own, you'll start to get the hang of how all the ingredients meld to create such unique flavors, and you'll be able to understand how to make adjustments here and there to suite your own tastes. It's great to make a bunch for a cookout and impress your buddies. Another great book by Chris and Doc. Now go forth and pickle till thou hearts content!

I had read this book [Canning] when in school days. i like it

Great Disasters tells the stories of about 40 different calamities from the Twentieth Century. It begins with the volcanic destruction of St. Pierre in 1902, and concludes with the Guatamalen earthquake of 1976. The chapters are informative and accurate, giving us a fascinating look at a few unfortunate spots on the globe. Each chapter is well illustrated with both color and black and white photographs, some of which have been tinted to good effect. Each catastrophe is covered in only a few pages. Enough to help the reader decide if he wants to research some more fully.

Why are British books like this one so good? I have noticed that British publications are usually more creative and interesting than American ones. Perhaps it is because they look at subjects from a global perspective. Or maybe it is that the authors seek to educate their readers as well as entertain them. Whatever the reason, it is hoped there will be more such books to come.

In keeping with editor John Cannings "50 Great" series, "50 Great Horror Stories" is an entertaining and informative look into some of the most terrifying and bizarre stories ever told. These short stories on topics ranging from ghosts and vampires to canabalism and sea monsters are deftly written and quickly read. They are the perfect companion to an evening thunderstorm or a night time campfire. But beware! These are no ordinary tales of horror. They are, by and large, based on factual accounts. So, if after reading these tales you say to yourself "But that couldn't happen to me", remember: It happened to them!

Review by James M. MacDonald, Economic Research Service, USDA, appearing in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, February 1999, page 252-253.

"Food Processing: An Industrial Powerhouse in Transition," by John M. Connor and W. A. Schiek, is not a textbook, and it doesn't contain much economic analysis: it is best thought of as a data handbook with commentaries.

Connor and Schiek (C&S hereinafter) provide a ready source of numbers on a wide variety of industry topics, and the industrious reader can use the table source citations as a ready research guide to the available industry data sources.

Given the authors' goals and the inevitable space constraints of the book. I don't believe that they could have included more analysis.

On topics that energize them, such as that on food demand and consumer choices in chapter 8, the book does a very nice job of interweaving basic theory, the results of formal demand analyzes, and the information that can be gleaned from item-level supermarket scanner data, while at the same time conveying the strengths and weaknesses of the several data sources for the issues at hand. This section provides a very nice overview on key issues on the demand side of food marketing, and I expect that I'll rely on it frequently. But on other topics, such as the very lengthy chapter on location, the presentation turns repetitive.

One of the book's real strengths lies in its demonstration of the variety of different data sources, aside from the well-known Census of Manufactures, that provide useful support for analyzes of food processing. Experienced researchers as well as managers, analysts, and grad students should be able to mine these pages for new and improved sources of information.

C&S show a keen appreciation of the construction of food demand and consumption measures, along with the strengths and weaknesses of the associated data sets. Similarly, they show a sophisticated understanding of market structure statistics in a short space, and accurately convey the difficulties inherent in attempting to measure rates of new product introductions. But I'd like to see some closer attention paid to the problems of developing useful price indexes.

In general, C&S provide an authoritative one-stop guide to food industry statistics and to the construction of those statistics--the footnotes can almost be lifted out as a separate commentary on data construction. While I wouldn't suggest that anyone should try to read the book through in a few sittings, it should continue to occupy a market niche as an indispensable quick source for anyone relying on food industry statistics.

This is a classic collection of unexplained murders and mysteries. Everything from the assination of President Kennedy to the death of Robert Maxwell (was it an accident, suicide or murder?) Also covered are mysteries of the sea and air, historic enigmas, ghosts and the occult, and monsters. Eight pages of photographs round off this interesting book.

Not only do I resent the hour I spent trying to find anything worthwhile about this book, I resent the five minutes I spent taking it out of the library. My taking the time to log on to Amazon and write this review should tell you something. Perhaps I feel so strongly because the title suggests fiction, the style and structure suggest non-fiction, and it does no justice to the ghost-story traditions of either. It is a mish-mash of barely re-worked legends and rumors, 'legends' that appear to have been concocted de novo, and plagiarized fiction presented as though it were 'real' legend. The editorial style recalls the antiquarian ghost-story tradition by the utter failure of its attempt at emulation. Each entry is laden with gratuitous 'editorial' comments, as though the originals (where they exist) weren't good enough. Even the titles of the chapters are so poorly chosen that they've given away the story before you've begun reading it. Nowhere are original authors mentioned, so you can't even use this book to FIND good ghost stories. The only thing I like about this book is the typeface.

I have the Bell edition of 1971. There is no grouping of stories by type nor extensive editorial comments (although there is an editor's note at the beginning of the volume). The author for each story is plainly listed in the table of contents. There are notes on them (Vida Derry, Michael and Molly Hardwick, Robin Miller, Tony Parker, Ronald Seth, Frank Usher, and James Wentworth Day)on the back flap of the dust jacket. There's even an index. I first read this book when I was in school. It's still a nice collection of old stories retold. Most of the stories are about British ghosts, such as No. 50 Berkeley Sqaure, Borley Rectory, Ballechin, Hinton Ampner, Itchells Manor, Raynham, etc. There are helpful ghosts, evil ghosts, ghosts getting revenge, military ghosts, royal ghosts, etc.

This was the first book that I ever remember reading just for the sake of reading. I think I was in the 3rd grade. Maybe 10 years old? I don't remember. I read it, and I read it, and I read it again. I must have read it 10 times. It was a paperback and I ended up tearing it into several pieces just from flipping through the pages so many times.

I remember buying it, it was at some sort of book fair at my elementary school. I think it was the same day as parent-teacher conferences, although I don't remember well. I remember picking out that book (and another book about the "black sheep squadron" which was my favorite TV show). As I recall my Mom wasn't crazy about me getting it.

I'm older now (well, I'm OLD now), but I'd give a lot to curl up with that book again.