This book made me laugh out loud more times than I could count. Wonderful illustrations and poingant observations of "bulldog-do: the way of the bulldog". Having recently lost a bulldog companion I was delighted to be reminded with such touching humor of all the wonders of the "way of the bulldog". The book covers the arts of war and peace, for example Bulldog Zen, "coming when called", "the leash of no leash", and techniques of meditation. The arts of war include such tactics as "the mysterious assault of the foul wind", "making your own body into a bobby trap" and "the flurry of flying drool" all beautifully illustrated by J.C Brown, a calligrapher and illustrater living in Tokyo, whose other work includes "Zen for Cats". The book itself is translated from the Japanese by Jeff Hunter, a translator specializing in Buddhism and literature, and master to the Samurai Bulldog Chibibusuka Dogizaemon, the soon to be famous author. Do yourself a favor and buy this book it will make you laugh and possibly cry. It might even make you laugh till you cry.

Life and love, hardship and adventure, romance and history - all beautifully woven into a delightful autobiography of an unlikely heroine. The daughter of a poor white farmer trying to eke out a living in untamed and uncharted Africa, Beryl Markham rose from very humble beginnings to become a successful horse trainer, bush pilot, and the first person to fly east-to-west across the Atlantic from England. Her fantastic life seems to be one adventure after another, coincidentally commingled with the lives of Isak Dinesen (the author and heroine of "Out of Africa") and Denys Finch Hatton (played by Robert Redford in the movie, OOA). On this level alone, that of an adventure-packed historical tale, this book is compelling. But the absolute poetry of the narrative makes it inescapable.

Ms. Markham's inimitable flair for description and metaphor are enchantingly powerful. One could truly open the book to any random page and find a treasure. No previous knowledge of plot or precedence would be vital to the enjoyment. That such extraordinary prose also reveals an incredible life provides a rich dividend. Savor the following corsage randomly plucked from the bouquet:

"Arab Ruta... is of the tribe that observes with equal respect the soft voice and the hardened hand, the fullness of a flower, the quick finality of death. His is the laughter of a free man happy at his work, a strong man with lust for living. He is not black. His skin holds the sheen and warmth of used copper. His eyes are dark and wide-spaced, his nose is full-boned and capable of arrogance.

"He is arrogant now, swinging the propeller, laying his lean hands on the curved wood, feeling an exultant kinship in the coiled resistance to his thrust.

"He swings hard. A splutter, a strangled cough from the engine like the premature stirring of a sleep-slugged labourer. In the cockpit I push gently on the throttle, easing it forward, rousing the motor, feeding it, soothing it."

My first encounter with this charming book was accidental but fortuitous. I found the paperback in an airport bookstore, and stayed engrossed and enchanted by the lyrical meanderings for the entirety of my three-hour flight. A few years later I discovered the audio version which springs to an even greater life in the voice of Julie Harris. Her reading of the horse race that proved to be a watershed moment for Ms. Markham, still has the capacity to choke me to tears, though I have listened to it many times.

A few reviewers here have given less than laudatory reviews. This book is absolutely among the top five I have ever read, and I must pity those unfortunate souls who are tone-deaf to the rhapsodic music playing among its pages. Never mind my glowing endorsement. Never mind that Ernest Hemmingway said that Beryl Markham "has written so well, and marvelously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer." Just find this book and open it randomly to any page. You will quickly discover that this book is an extraordinary encounter. Don't miss it!

Historic, personal, and romantic tales of a female pioneer in aviation fill the pages of West with the Night. It is beautifully written, poetry put into chapters to tell of the adventures of the developing African frontier. The book follows the life of the Beryl Markham, the author, giving the reader a view into the lives of her native friends, the small social world of the British settlers, and a young girl growing up as the result of the integrating cultures. She is, herself, both fresh and new, one of the first to develop a mindset of blended customs. Besides observing the profits of the British cultural invasion of East Africa, the reader is, all the while, taken on a non-stop ride of African adventures. Like a child, pulling anxiously at your hand, sprinting onward toward further exploration, Markham speeds us through dangers ranging from leopards to the risks of early flight in an unmapped land. It is a mind-boggling world of naturally flowing chaos, deep thought, admiral respect, and truly amazing people, entirly unimaginable to the modern American. Markham has seen it like no one before her and few after, and when she puts it to paper, the reader can see directly into her heart. A must read.

Whoever wrote it, "West With the Night" is a lyrically beautiful story of an amazing life: Beryl Markham arrived in Africa in 1905 at the age of three, she spent her childhood on her father's farm, learning all about African people and wildlife; she became a horse-trainer (racing was surprisingly popular in colonial Kenya); she was the first woman in Africa to have a pilot's license, working as a freelance pilot in Kenya; she was the first person to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic East-to-West (hence the book's title). This book is an interesting and very readable documentation of Kenya in the era of Isak Dinesen, Bror Blixen, Denys Finch Hatton, et al (all of whom she knew). Hemingway praised this book lavishly, saying:

"Did you read Beryl Markham's book, "West with the Night"? I knew her fairly well in Africa and never would have suspected that she could and would put pen to paper except to write in her flyer's log book. As it is, she has written so well, and marvelously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer. .... But this girl who is, to my knowledge, very unpleasant,... can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers. The only parts of it that I know about personally, on account of having been there at the time and heard the other people's stories, are absolutely true. So, you have to take as truth the early stuff about when she was a child which is absolutely superb. She omits some very fantastic stuff which I know about which would destroy much of the character of the heroine; but what is that anyhow in writing?"

As Hemingway may have suspected, Markham may not be the real author, and "West With the Night" does leave out major portions of her life; it would be a good idea to read it along with the biography of her life, "Straight On Till Morning: The Biography of Beryl Markham" by Mary Lovell (Lovell also wrote "A Rage to Live: A Biography of Richard and Isabel Burton").

After a year of losing 40 pounds eating according to their earlier book, Protein Power, I began searching for ways to expand my menus. I have bought several other cookbooks looking for adequate alternatives to baked goods, but was never happy with the results: Often too delicate, or too bitter, or they'd fall...

Now along comes Drs. Eades and Ursula Solom with recipes that are exactly what they advertise: Comfort Foods. Tonight, we enjoyed delicious Chili Con Carne with Black Soy Beans and slices of Best Whole Wheat Bread and butter. All low-carb, satisfying and delicious. For breakfast, we added a slice of Super Banana Bread mini-loaf to our plate of ham and eggs. Hard to believe it was low-carb, it tasted (and rose) just like the real McCoy.

Most of the recipes freeze, so I can make a variety of baked goods on the weekend, freeze and have them handy for days to come.

I can hardly wait to try the Cinnamon Rolls, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Elegant Biscuits and so much more.

If you enjoy a low-carb lifestyle, this book belongs in your arsenal.

There are thousands of delicious meals you can eat on a low carb diet, but sometimes you CRAVE those carbs. It might be pizza, or mashed potatoes, or other carb-rich foods. Here are ways to make low carb substitutions that are really tasty.

The book has 300 recipes, and in hardcover format is a bit hard to keep open and use. So I use this in conjunction with 500 Low Carb Recipes, which is my main cookbook

IMPORTANT NOTE: The introduction clearly states that all carb numbers in this book are for CARBS THAT COUNT so they explicitly state that the fiber numbers are ALREADY DEDUCTED. People on Atkins and other diets can rest assured that these numbers are the "real" carbs in each dish.

Comfort Foods fills in the gaps with the things you crave. There are lots of bread recipes, pancakes, crepes, mock mashed potatoes, eggplant parmigiana, low carb cheesecake, and much more. There are meals that fit the needs for those on the super-low-carb induction diet, as well as many meals that are great for those on a lifetime maintenance of their health and weight.

Since most of what we eat are fresh vegetables and meats, we don't usually need the comfort recipes in this book. But it is DEFINITELY good to have on the shelf, so that if we really decide we want to have pancakes or fresh bread or something "like" mashed potatoes to go with our turkey dinner, the solution is right there, easy to make and healthy too!

I've been doing low-carb because I have insulin resistance issues. It's keeping my waistline down. But I thought I'd never be able to eat bread, pasta, and pizza again because of the potential health problems. Thank you, Eades and Solom! This book includes amazingly delicious and easy-to-prepare recipes that will keep my insulin in check and will keep me coming back for more. Yum!

fu

This book is a quick read. It consists of many short stories of adventures at sea. Some are pretty good, some are not. If you like sea stories ( I do ) you'll find this book lacking. My son, who is not an avid reader, liked the shortness of each story and eventually read the whole book. If you like to read in short spurts, you'll like this book.