I normally am an advocate of any book or magazine published by Cook's Illustrated magazine. Unfortunately, this series of books are too small and the print too tiny to be practical. You have to hold it very close to your eyes to read it which makes it totally impractical for putting in your cookbook holder to refer to while cooking. Since the pages are so small, the recipes span several pages which isn't great for the cookbook holder either! I find it ironic that the subtitle says " An illustrated step-by-step guide to perfect potatoes every time.". There are only 8 illustrations in this particular book.

If you have ever tried to make a potato salad or french fries you will find that the process may sound simple, yet without a few tried and true methods you may end up with less than desirable results. This is the beauty of Christopher Kimball's books. He not only tells you which potatoes work best in each recipe, he explains the proper method for cooking and storing them. You will find a great secret on page 50 when making potato salad. You will also enjoy the descriptive writing these tiny treasures are so famous for. The only thing I would add to this book is the idea of serving the baked sweet potato with butter and maple syrup. If you are tired of boring baked potatoes, this is the book for you. I also recommend The Best Recipe by the same author.

The variety of light-weight learning here is truly depressing. I don't know of another book that contains so much childish, smirky (and rather confused) displays of erudition. Plautus deserves better.
This is what rich kids do after buying expensive educations?

Avoid.

What I enjoyed about this book is, that it brings the interested reader, who probably is not aquainted with Plautus or Roman comedy at all, the laughs of ancient rome near, which seem still quite modern and worth a laugh. At times one could criticize it is not close enough to Plautus original play, but even if it would be only a translation, there would be differences-and not the majority can still read a Latin text in its original. So why not complete the process to make it understandable and transfer the essence of the comedy into modern times in order to make it aproachable for a broader audience? In this respect the authors have done a fine job. Definitely this is a book worth reading, entertaining as well as educating, and highly recomandable!

The Guardians by John Christopher

The year is 2053, and Britain is divided into the tightly packed Conurb and the leisurely County. The people in the County don't work, and they live a very easy life, with hobbies such as growing miniature trees. The Conurbans work in crowded cities with hi-tech entertainment, such as Terraplaning, the bloodthirsty Games and lots of riots. Rob is a Conurban, but he doesn't fit in with everyone else. He would rather read books, while others watch Terraplaning and the Games. When Rob's father dies, Rob is sent off to Barnes Boarding School, which he hates. Rob decides to try and cross the barrier, which is supposed to be a hundred feet high and electrified, and enter the County. Rob finally finds the cave and to his amazement is only 12 feet high but his temptations soon catch up with him but he soon does the jump a quick scramble and he himself was on his way to freedom. A boy, about the same age as him, named Mike Gifford soon finds him. Mike shows him a cave, which Rob lives in for a few days. However, Mike's mother soon finds Rob, and offers to take him into the house, and pretend he is a cousin from Nepal. How long can Rob stay in the County, fooling the officials? How long will Rob be able to pretend to be one of the Gentry? How long will it be until someone finds out the truth?

This is quite a good book, but I feel that it is not evenly spaced out. For a long time, from when Rob crosses the barrier to the last chapter not a lot seems to be happening. Even the last chapter goes on for too long, although it does have a few twists. The whole point of the book is about freedom, and how most people are not free, because they all have to go along with everything else in the Conurb. They are not free to do what they want to do. Equality takes a big part in the book I think this book could play apart in the war going on at the moment in Kosovo. It is a great book and a pleasure to read I think more people should read it.

The year is 2053, and Britain is divided into the tightly packed Conurb and the leisurely County. The people in the County don't work, and they live a very easy life, with hobbies such as growing miniature trees. The Conurbans work in crowded cities with hi-tech entertainment, such as Terraplaning, the bloodthirsty Games and lots of riots. Rob is a Conurban, but he doesn't fit in with everyone else. He would rather read books, while others watch Terraplaning and the Games. When Rob's father dies, orphaned Rob is sent off to Barnes Boarding School, which he hates. Rob decides to try and cross the barrier, which people say is a hundred feet high and electrified, and enter the County. When Rob reaches the barrier, he finds a fence, which is about twelve feet high. He realizes that the fence is big in people's minds, to stop them crossing, but small in reality. He digs a hole under it, and crosses. A boy, about the same age as him, named Mike Gifford soon finds him. Mike shows him a cave, which Rob lives in for a few days. However, Mike's mother soon finds Rob, and offers to take him into the house, and pretend he is a cousin from Nepal. How long can Rob stay in the County, fooling the officials? How long will Rob be able to pretend to be one of the Gentry? How long will it be until someone finds out the truth? The whole point of the book is about freedom, and how most people are not free, because they all have to go along with everything else in the Conurb. They are not free to do what they want to do. The book is written in a strange way, but it is intended to be strange, with lots of hidden technology in the County which people don't know about. The County seems to be calm and comfortable, but underneath it is ruthless, with a false sense of security. I feel that this is a good read and I would not hesitate to buy a sequel if there was one. For a long time there didn't seem to be a lot happening, but the last chapter had a lot of twists I it, making it an excellent last chapter. The book ends very openly, with lots of possibilities for a sequel, or next chapter, and I feel it is a shame that there isn't anything to follow it with.

"A 21st Century book describing England split into Conurb and County, only being one or the other. The young Rob Randall from the Conurb finds himself in an unstable position after his rebellious father and his mother had both died. He attempts the life-threatening mission of crossing the barrier between Conurb and County. He falls into County gentry and finds himself into a handful of problems."

I found the book quite slow and hard to read at first, and had we not been made to read it, I probably wouldn't have carried on, but as I got to the end, I regretted it. The last two chapters swept me off my feet! I wanted to read it over and over again because there was so much drama and action in it. John Christopher wrote the book in 1970, trying to put across his view of what the world will be like in 2053, with the Country divided into two different ways of living. I thought that the idea of a group of people called the Guardians looking after both Conurb and County was a good idea.

All in all I thought that the book was very enjoyable and easy to read and if a sequel of it came out, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it.

I'm amazed that this skimpy and superficial work didn't go out of print years ago, on merit. Oh well, I can say "The snake is poisonous." I wish I could say "The book is worthless." Then I would have learned something I could use.

I read this book because my boyfriend wanted to learn my language. I have to say that the book will really be helpful for beginners because the grammar sections (around chapter 4 to 10) is very clear and easy to understand. However, as an Indonesian, I must say that many of the words in the dictionary/vocabulary section are quite outdated - modern Indonesian hardly recognize some of the words anymore ;-) and some grammar explanations can be a little bit too simplified.

This is a traditional style language learning manual. If you like an academic approach to learning then you will like this but I am not sure that it is well suited to those who wish to gain a useful knowledge in a short time for a trip. I do think that it is good for presenting grammar and structure to students who are serious about learning the language properly, maybe to read books and newspapers rather than to say just "Hello" and "Do you sell disposable razors". That this is an older text is apparant from reading the first couple of chapters which present words such as "hunter", "poisonous" and "tiger", which, although not immediately useful, are in keeping with the type of language learning approach of 20-30 years ago (ie with the focus being on grammar rather than vocabulary). A modern approach begins with useful expressions and high frequency words in keeping with current language trends. I personally like this book and the way it presents structure in a no nonsense academic way, but I am a linguist. For the non-linguist it may seem a little dull or hard-going. There is a high degree of straight learning (ie with no games or "fun" activities) that needs to go on to progress through each chapter which means that the responsibility to learn is entirely with the student. Explanations are full and clear but not unnecessarily overblown. The pronunciation section in chapter one is also very clear. I think that this would be great used in conjunction with a phrase book with tapes to get grammar as well as vocabulary. But if you want an immediate knowledge for use on your trip, you may be disappointed with this book.

Christopher Bamford, eminent writer of wisdom traditions, has written an important yet disjointed and ultimately disappointing account of/on John Scotus Eriugena. Any lover of truth will take exception to the grotesque inaccuracies marring the introductions to Voice of the Eagle. Fraught with forced associations, Bramford propagates ad nauseam a preeminent Celtic cultural import to the philosophical theology underlying Eriugena's works. Embarrassingly, Eriugena is taken out of context (ie. Medieval sage, part of the transnational Occidental wisdom canon) and is treated to page-after-page of ethnocentric historical revisionism. Bamford's views read like a form of tribal propaganda that distorts the timeless and universal themes contained in Eriugena's works. Once beyond the distractingly prejudiced intros, Bamford does an exceptionally good job to illuminate theological issues with penetrating philosophical perspectives. The obtuse subject matter leads at times to boring digressions. However, embedded throughout are lofty theosophical insights that suprisingly redeems the work making this book a profitable read and a keeper in one's library. For the sake of salvaging a really good work, one only hopes that in future editions, Bamford tones down the trendy Celto-mania introductions and places Eriugena where he rightly belongs in the heart of Medieval Occidental Christianity.

This is a fine work on Eruigena's Homily on the Prologue to the Gospel of St. John. Eruigena was deeply influenced by Neoplatonic thought and it shows in this work. Bamford does a fine job of translating it and does Eruigena's homliy justice. His prose is first rate and is a joy to read.

The book can be divided into roughly two sections. The Homily itself which constitutes about 50 pages and the rest is Bamford's take of it, which is roughly 250 pages. Bamford's hermenutics of the Homily can be skipped - it really tells the reader more about Bamford's thinking than anything else.

I must take issue with Bamford's misleading advertising he used to market his book. Like the previous reviewer I am in agreement that this work has nothing to do with Celtic Christianity unless one would equate it Greek thought. Rest assured they are not the same thing. In a sense Bamford does an injustice to both neoplatonism and Celtic Chrisitanity by doing this.

Ratings wise it gets 3 Stars. 5 stars for the Homily itself. -2 stars for misleading advertising and marketing Neoplatonic writings as a work of Celtic Christianity.

While Eriugena's work is of significance and importance, I find that marketing this as Celtic Spirituality is somewhat deceptive. Eriugena lived and worked in France and his relationship to "Celtic" thought and spirituality is nowhere as strong as the influence of Greek Neoplatonism. 5 stars for Eriugena, none for Branford, hence 2.5, which can be rounded up to 3.

Luke's adventures continue as he learns about the Seers and their scientific discoveries in their underground sanctuary near Stonehenge. Although he realizes that the national religion is pure bunk, Luke wants to use it to further his own ambitions. But he is too young and restless to wait for years until the Seers--who study and recreate ancient Technology on the sly-- are ready.

The hot-headed hero sets off on his own to explore the lands beyond the volcanic barrier to the England of the medieval Future. Seeking the mythical city of Klan Gothlam in the country of the Wilsh, Luke meets a fair princess and a huge sea monster. Again he must evaluate an entirely new lifestyle, but despite the dangers of this journey, Luke must confront the greatest challenge to his Crown Prince status when he returns home. Not on a par with PRINCE IN WAITING: a good story but unevenly paced.

While Empson's posthumous publication, "Faustus and the Censor," first came out in the 1980's, it remains a relevant document in Christopher Marlowe criticism. The oft-disputed authenticity of Marlowe's play "Doctor Faustus," and its two versions, the A and B-texts is the main focus of Empson's book. Empson begins with the beginning - Marlowe's sources, primarily the German Faust Book. Empson discusses the possible relationship with the translator of English Faust Book, a mysterious gentleman named 'P.F.' who may have provided Marlowe with information on German and Latin texts.

Empson's thesis is that the A text is the 'original' - but that its seeming inadequacies are due to the interference of the official censor of plays in the late 1500s. Scenes missing that Empson argues were removed for reasons of state and morality are an appearance of the chorus and an episode in a Turkish harem.

The censor, Empson argues, had three major problems with Marlowe's play that required change: 1)the women Faustus consorts with must be real women - because Anglican belief did not allow that devils could consort with humans. 2)Mephistopheles must be a devil - again, Anglicanism does not allow for middle spirits. 3)Faust must be punished eternally at the end of the play; apparently, the original version when acted, left some ambiguity about this issue.

Empson's "Faust and the Censor" tends to be somewhat repetitive on supporting these points. However, the repetition is done well, so that the points he makes are continuously reinforced and consistently developed. This is an engaging piece of literary criticism - the language is familiar, even colloquial, making the book an interesting and even entertaining read - very unusual in the field of literary criticism. I don't even like Marlowe, but Empson's style and substance make this a critical work worth checking out.

This book is a good cookbook for someone who is just beginning to experiment with cooking meat on the outdoor grill. It focuses primarily on indirect cooking methods. The book is easy to read and informative. Unfortunately, the recipes for barbcue are tomato-based recipes, not REAL barbecue like we have here in North Carolina. :-)

i didnt find this book to be that helpful

As has been stated in the other reviews, "The Day John Died" is not so much about the day JFK Jr. died, though there is a whole chapter dedicated to it, as it is about his entire life. However, half the book concerns his parents' lives more so than JFK Jr.'s. I realize that is is impossible to talk about JFK Jr. without talking about his father, the President, or his mother, the glamorous first lady, because that context is needed in order to understand John Jr.'s life. Yet this book somehow feels like a retread of Andersen's other book, "Jackie After Jack." Intimate details of Jackie's marriage to Onassis are inexplicably included in "The Day John Died" and do not help shed any light on what John Jr. was like.

When Andersen finally gets around to JFK Jr.'s story in the last third of the book, the portrait of a genial, sexy, if somewhat dim man emerges. Andersen shows that because JFK Jr. was unfazed by his celebrity and sought to be ordinary like those around him, these traits made him even more popular. There is the requisite list of all the women JFK Jr. dated, including Madonna, but there is only a sketchy description of the woman he finally settled down with, Carolyn Bessette. When Carolyn was alive, she was enigmatic and she remains so after reading this book. Andersen vaguely refers to Carolyn and JFK Jr. having problems, mainly concerning starting a family and the media's effect on their marriage. But no new information is given as to exactly how these two met, what kept them together, and ultimately, would JFK Jr. and Carolyn have stayed together.

This book was a bit of a letdown after Andersen's excellent "The Day Diana Died", which gave more insight and detail into its story. However, this book gives some insight into the private life of JFK Jr. as well, although it is nothing you could not have read in People magazine.

I was very disappointed by this book. The title is misleading. It should have ben called JFK Jr.: His Life because that is what the book is. One chapter is devoted to the day/week he died. The rest of the book is information that has been printed hundreds of times. The author should have interviewed more people like coast guard etc. Also, Carolyn and the Bessettes were almost totally ignored. There was nothing about her childhood or any quotes from her family. This book contains too many assumptions about their marriage and last days together. I mean, how does the author know that John came home from the hotel and took a shower? He doesn't and neither do we, but books like this give a false reading of people lives. I do not believe this book. Maybe I would if the author had better sources.

I personally enjoyed the novel. I am the same age generation as John and have always considered him a "icon" of for my generation. Not only was he born into the "Camelot" spotlight as as a Kennedy, but for a new upcoming generation. I've never read any other books on the Kennedy's and like most have gained my personal knowledge thru the media. I found that the foundation that Jackie built for her childern was that of love, and trust. Even though they were children of wealth, they were taught to treat all individuals with respect and dignity. I'm pleased that Christopher tried to show the history with John's life. Every aspect from the youthful years to crazy college days. But throughout the book, I realized that he just wanted to be himself. It was hearwarming and yet sad. I don't agree with the other review's that Christopher didn't go in depth enough. He respected the rights of Caroline and her family to keep certain things private. Those individuals expected more details that is better left unknown. I do believe that John and Carolyn were meant for each other. All couples have ups and downs. Unfortunaley with their lives being so public the strain had to be enormous. Somehow even though we all know the ending of the book, you wish that somehow you could change the outcome. I still find it hard to believe, unreal somewhat, that I won't see this wonderful couple in the news or on tv. He's always been a part of our lives and now we are left with just his legacy. But his legacy, like his mother's and father's will live on. I enjoyed the book, and hats off to Christopher for such wonderful novel.