I enjoyed this book, and read it in one day, pouring through the various chapters and one tragedy to the next. My only complaint is that many of the chapters were excerpts from other books, and the stories sometimes felt unfinished. Those excerpts would cover the hit (or near miss) of the summit, then cover some sort of trial to the participating climbers. The climbers may or may not survive the trial, and then that would be the end of it. I actually craved a little bit more of the post-expedition soul-searching.

This book is essentially a compilation of short stories from books written by world class mountaineers. Anyone who is well read in this genre will immediately recognize these short stories from the books they were taken. The stories are exceptionally well written and edited. Some are epic survival tales and others document the never ending string of tragedies that befall many mountaineering expeditions. The format works well even though the stories are in no particular time sequence. I highly recommend this book, and many of the other books from which the stories have been excerpted. Pick some of your favorite short stories from this book and follow up with the complete tomes. You will not be disappointed.

This book contains the greatest short stories about climbing that I have ever read. Each story is unique and as entertaining as the other.

This is collection of short stories that offers a wide mix of speculative genres. Fantasy, SF, horror, and just plain weird. The stories run the gambit and most are good. "Jeo Defined" and "Moon Warrior" were excellent stories and well worth purchasing the book. Even just the so-so stories were enjoyable and all the authors are names to keep a look out for. In the end, this is a book of up and coming writers and a few of them will no doubt be big names someday.

I didn't know what to expect from this collection of short stories but I was happily surprised. The stories cover a wide range from fantasy, science fiction, and horror to those hard to classify strange stories. Each one is worth reading. My favorites were the one about a radio personality who was singing the Siren's song and the one about a criminal who is forced to undergo "augmentation" to control him. Some wild stuff for a great read.

In a book that is equal parts history and cookbook, authors Gitlitz and Davidson explore the world of the Crypto-Jews or Conversos - Jews who converted to Christianity during the Spanish Inquisition but who continued to practice their religion in secret. Inquisitors were tireless in their efforts to uncover these clandestine Jews, and one of their means was to identify characteristically Jewish traditions in food preparation and eating. Their records provide part of the basis for this fascinating look at how the sweep of world history intersected with the mundane details of ordinary lives. The introduction includes a discussion of characteristic ingredients and techniques, and each recipe is accompanied by the story of the person who was implicated by the simple act of preparing a meal. Most of the recipes are too exotic for my family's taste, but the ones I tried worked well. If you like to encounter history through taste and smell and the experience of re-creating your ancestors' dinners - or just want to imagine what those meals were like - then you will relish this book.

I came across this in the shelves the other day and was mesmerized. David Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson are a husband and wife team and teachers at the the University of Rhode Island. David is a past winner of the 1996 National Jewish Book Award, and he is a specialist in aljamas (jewish neighborhoods), the converso/crypto Jews, the anusim (forced converts) and the meshumadim (willing coverts). Using cookbooks and Inquisition documents in Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan (including the rare 13th Century Al Andalus cookbook of the Cocina Hispano-Magribi), the authors have recreating over 90 recipes of the Converso jewish community. During the Inquisitions in the Iberian peninsula, Jews and Moslems were killed, exiled, or converted. Some of the converted remained Jewish or Moslem and became Crypto-Jews, Crypto-Moslems, or Conversos. Spain expelled Jews in 1492 (you know, when Columbus sailed the Ocean Blue); Portugal expelled Jews in 1497. The recipes are well categorized, and make use of lamb, beef, fish, eggplant, greens, turnips, chickpeas, as well as mace, cinnamon, ginger, lavender, rue, portulaca, and dozens of other spices. Most recipes include histories and characters of the period, which is the prime motivation to purchase this book. For example, along of the recipes of Beatrice Nunez, we learn that she was arrested in 1485. Her maid turned her in to the Inquisition for the crime of maintaining a kosher kitchen. She also prepared a Sabbath stew of lamb, chickpeas and eggs. Proof enough to have her burned at the stake. Among my favorite recipes is Mayor Gonzalez's Egg and Carrot Casserole. She was imprisoned in 1483 for killing a goose in "the Jewish way." Then there is Juan Sanchez's hamin of chickpeas, spinach and cabbage; and Maria de Luna's rasquillas, honey pastries that she prepared for the post-Yom Kippur fast. She was arrested in 1505 for this crime. There is also Juan de Teva's Roast Lamb dish. Juan's father was a rabbi who was burned to death i n1484. The authors also include the Roast Chicken with Fruit and Almori recipe of Anton de Montoro. Senor de Montoro was a rag merchat in Cordoba, but is most well known as being the converso poet to the Court of Queen Isabel of Castile. De Montoro was accused of preparing stuffed radishes (a Jewish dish) and Pollo Judio (jewish chicken). Easily, this is among the top three Jewish Cookbooks of the year.

Who were the secret Jews of the Iberian Peninsula? I have heard the term "Marano", but this book talks about "Crypto-Jews" and "Conversos." There are other terms as well. They were Jews who forcibly or willingly converted to Christianity during the Inquisition and continued to live in Spain, Portugal, and their colonies after the 1492 expulsion. "Crypto" refers to those who tried to still live as underground Jews, at least in the first two generations, and to preserve something of their Jewish heritage, always in danger of being informed on and subject to the Inquisition. Even today, there are people who can trace their ancestry to the Maranos or conversos.

This is a meticulously researched historical cookbook by a husband and wife team who are professors at the University of Rhode Island. The documentation comes from medieval cookbooks and surprisingly from Inquisition trial records, where we have the actual names of the accused. The culinary influences span the 14th through the 17th centuries, but the focus of this book is on the recipes of conversos, converted Jews who continued under Spanish and Portuguese rule after the the 1492 expulsion.

In many cases, the original recipes of those on trial were only lists, but through the medieval cookbooks, they were able to clarify a lot of the confusion. This is not a Kosher cookbook. There is even a recipe which includes pork, which shows the extent to which some of the conversos had assimilated. Indeed, as the authors point out, what makes these recipes Jewish and proof of the accused individuals' Jewish practice, is sometimes in doubt, as prior to the Inquisition period at the beginning of the 14th century, the three main religions lived side by side and all cooking was largely a mixture of Mediterranean and Arabic influences, and what was available in the region. The inquisitors, albeit not looking for true justice, must have recognized that, and appeared much more interested in obtaining "proof" of "Judaizing" through observance and practice - evidence of Kashering meats for example, not eating pork or shellfish, and evidence of preparation of special holiday foods, such as Matzoh, and preparing foods especially for Friday night.

The authors have lab tested the recipes and updated them for the modern kitchen, while preserving the text of the original. For example, they humorously tell you how they have altered receipes for Almori, a fermented down mess of rotted barley, vegetables, unleavened bread, salt, herbs, and spices. Lamb was a popular meat dish, and is replicated here in meat pies. Sausages, fish, cheeses, and various egg recipes are represented. There are several matzoah "Pan Cenceno" recipes and one for "Harotzet Balls."

This is an important contribution to a little known period of Jewish history and a tribute to those who died or suffered for their religion. Whether you try these recipes in your kitchen or not, without a doubt but you will want to read and relish this book from cover to cover.

I purchased this book after reading all of the rave reviews listed here, but don't be fooled as I was! I met many adventurous souls on the Camino, but none who would think to follow the bloated itinerary suggested by these authors. Apart from the lack of maps or accomodation information, some of their trail tips were so off base (i.e. suggestions for scenic detours that wound through industrial land) that I wonder if they even hiked the same path! There are much better guide books out there, but they are not readily available in this country. My suggestion is to wait and buy The Practical Pilgrim's Guide, relatively easy to find in Europe and available in several different languages. I picked up a copy midway through the Camino. While it is much thinner on the cultural and historical details (and thus easier to carry), all points of significant interest are treated with just enough detail, not the kind of overkill that Glitz and Davidson's book doles out. I dumped their book on the side of the road after it gave me its only practical use, as I had run out of toilet paper.

This book provides a lot of information about the art and culture to be found along the Camino, but it is a totally unpractical guide for those actually walking the 750km to Santiago. First of all it is simply too heavy and bulky to lug around an entire country. Secondly it provides no information on refuges, routes, places to eat, etc. Thirdly the authors frequently recommend staying multiple days at the larger cities, which can be very hard for credencial-carrying pilgrims since most refuges have a one night maximum stay. If you are rich and can afford to rent a car, stay in hotels, and take a couple of months off from work, this is the guide to carry. If you want a more genuine experience I suggest leaving this book at home and picking up one of the many more useful guides upon arrival in Spain.

As is apparent from other reviews in this thread, "The Pilgrim's Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook" by Gitlitz and Davidson elicits strong feelings, both pro and con. I personally found this book to be an invaluable reference while walking the pilgrimage route. However, I recognize how other individuals might differ in their assessment.

First and foremost, it is essential to recognize what this book is NOT designed to do.

The handbook is not a trail guide.
It does not list refuges or explain where to camp.
It does not tell you where to eat or what to pack.
If this is what you are looking for, find another book.

With that said and done, the handbook did provide me with an extremely valuable reference in establishing a cultural context for the sites that I was visiting. I am not an expert in Romanesque architecture, nor do I know the lives of Roman Catholic saints well enough to recognize the major figures in a Retablo. I never had the opportunity to extensively study the history of the pilgrimage. Left to my own devices, I would most certainly never have read much in the way of medieval Spanish poetry. In all honesty, even after walking the pilgrimage route, I am still far from expert in all of these areas. However, the handbook did provide me with enough information that I was able to appreciate much more of the sites that I was visiting.

As other individuals have noted, time for sightseeing is often short. I found the handbook to be extremely useful in prioritizing my time and determining which sites would be most interesting to visit. As an example, none of the other sources that I consulted noted the existence of the Blacksmith forge at Compludo which may very well have been my favorite part of the trip. Without the handbook, I would have never have visted half the church nor understood a quarter of what I was seeing.

As I noted at the start of this posting, when it comes to the handbook, your mileage may vary. Each person has their own reason for traveling the Camino. If you aren't interested in cultural history or architectural reference, you might find it more useful to bring another reference. However, if you are interested in understanding the "why" behind what you're seeing, I think that you will find this reference as valuable as I did.

This was a quick read. It caught me up in the story right from the start. You know from the beginning who the killer is, but will she get caught, will it be by the cop who loves her?

I really enjoyed "Turn of the Blade" and read it in 2 days. It is not a typical crime thriller as you know who did it from the first line, but you are drawn into the characters and their lives so easily you have to read on to see what happens next. I would definately recommend it as a light, entertaining read, right to the last page.

I read this book in a day. Once I started, I couldn't stop. I kept reading to find out what would happen next. The story is different. Sarah kills Erica and the story is about what led up to that and what happens after. I would recommend to anyone who wants to read a good book, different kind of story.