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I have been feeling guilty about replacing my paperbook books, which are literally in tatters, with the relatively expensive hardcover versions. Yet in reading prior reviews, other people have done exactly that! How many other cookbooks actually require replacement anyway?
Having Jane Brody's cookbooks is like being a member of an elite club. Once you own them, you realize that you know more than most people. Brody is a master. Do not miss out on this and other fine books by Brody.
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In reading Berton's book, one can hardly fail to notice the fact that most of the search for the Northwest Passage, which occupied many adventurous souls for the better part of the 19th Century, was conducted: 1) by Franklin expeditions, 2) in search of survivors of the last Franklin expedition, 3) in search of information as to the fate of the members of the last Franklin expedition, and 4) in search of relics and journals that might come from the last Franklin expedition. It also becomes apparent that almost every venture into that frozen land led to tragedy and often death. It seems that very little was learned either through the experiences of the survivors of the various expeditions or from the lifestyle of the natives of the area. One is amazed that after the disasters that followed each undertaking, yet another venture would be proposed, despite the loss of life and the evident uselessness of the pass itself. Each expedition met with nightmarish experiences, many of the men dying of starvation and exposure, and while the officers might receive promotion in rank and recognition in the history books for their discoveries, the enlisted men who did most of the work got little more than an increase in pay if they lived to get it.
Of the rush to the North Pole, all that can be honestly said is that the notoriety of superhuman effort and of the attainment of nearly impossible goals inspired some pretty disgraceful behavior on behalf of a number of, particularly American, explorers. It becomes obvious that the chicanery of ambitious men looking to make a fortune as celebrities did not start in the last half of the 20th century. Both Cook and Peary seemed driven men whose egos could sustain the possible blight of fraudulent claims disputed by the records but not of public failure. What is sad, particularly in the latter case, is that the actual attainments of the discoverer were pretty amazing as it was. No one since has achieved quite so much under the same conditions. While others have been to the pole successfully, it required air dropped supplies and a flight in or out of the area.
Throughout the entire book one is confronted with a sense of a major lack of real respect for nature by so-called civilized man. It is tempting to see this attitude as a peculiarly 20th (now 21st) century phenomenon, but it seems to have had a good start in the 19th century. The hubris that makes modern man feel that he can tame nature with his various gadgets may just be part and parcel of human nature. Maybe it's just wishful thinking.
One of the particularly distressing aspects of the explorers accounts is of the callous treatment of the native population and of the total marginalization of their contributions. It's apparent from Berton's book that the safe return of many explorers was due largely to help from the Eskimos. I think a thorough narrative of Arctic exploration from their point of view-both their own conquest of the area and their take on the European and American explorations-might make very interesting reading indeed!
All in all the book is well written and well researched. It would definitely appeal to anyone with an interest in history, in man against nature, in man in nature, in geography, ethnography, and 19th Century culture. Anyone with a reading level of 6th grade or above should be able to comprehend it, and it might make interesting reading especially for young men.
The section on Edward Parry's near-completion of the Passage in 1819 is superb, as are those on the tragic Franklin Expedition, and the very flawed quest for the North Pole on the part of Cook and Peary (which was the most corrupt? A good question.)
The Arctic is a fascinating place. My wife Chris and I have lived in Barrow for over two decades, and we still get a thrill when we see the Arctic Ocean on our drives or walks around town. but the Arctic is often misunderstood. Berton sets the record straight, about the explorers, the Native people who had so much to teach the outsiders, and the fascinating, but fragile, part of our globe. buy this new edition before it gets out of print. Earl Finkler
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I feel like I'm missing out.
Next week I plan to sell my copy on ebay, as I feel it is taking up space in my bookshelf where a cookbook that better inspires me can go.
Several of you have raved and are looking for it. Well, I have it and it's yours if you want to bid on ebay for it.
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These are not "low cal" recipes but are so packed with flavor that you could pair the main meat or seafood dishes which will probably include cream & butter, with low-cal, low-fat sides.
This is a very instructive book & is great for beginners, which I was when I first bought it. Basically each recipe calls for fresh, high-quality cut of fish/meat/poultry which is then cooked with several complementary herbs, spices, aromatic veges, & that's it.
I have found that this may not be the best everyday family type cookbook because the high quality may be expensive. But I think many of the recipes are transferable to other more available fish, etc.
Favorite recipes? Chicken Scarpariello (took me all of 25 minutes, start to finish), Shell Steak in Vinager & Cream sauce (will impress big-time).
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Don't get this book if you want to start to learn Mexican cooking. It's not a beginner's cookbook!
Do get this book if you have kitchen help and/or if you have some experience with Mexican ingredients (and access to them) and Mexican recipes/dishes. In Asia I have succeeded in making the smothered pork sandwiches (associated with a baptism Frida attended) and some of the other simpler recipes.
If you like the format of Like Water For Chocolate, you'll like this special book. Nicely illustrated with photos of all the food in beautifully styled presentation.
Bonus for art lovers: the cover and some of the illustrations are re-creations of paintings by Frida... tour de force still-life photography!
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I would recommend this book to those interested in NDEs; I would also recommend this book to those who are interested in the mortification, stigmatic, and pain aspects of Catholicism, which are dwelled on quite extensively in this book. I'd also recommend this book to anyone interested in saints. But to someone purely interested in angels, I regret I have to advise you to look elsewhere for real substance on that subject.