Margaret Thomas and Lois Johnson did a splendid job writing "Detroit's Eastern Market". I found the book a delight because I not only shopped there many times but when I was a young I sold produce there grown on my Uncles farm in Northville, MI.. I tried some of the recipes and again I was very impressed. I conceder myself a friend of Margaret and hope to have my copy of her book signed soon and cook a dish from the book for her too.

I also as the first reviewer know the authors Lois Johnson and Margaret Thomas. Their approach to writing to me is as fresh as the produce found in the market. I was extremely lucky recently to be part of a tour of the market led by them. Their enthusiasm for the subject is very evident first hand as is their obvious repoire with the traders who generally greet the authors with smiles and hugs. The whole experience I felt was very worthwhile as is reading the book. It has become a stock "Detroit" gift, when I go back to England I take copies for my family and friends who delight in this little piece of Americana.

Sure, Margaret Thomas is a good friend of mine, but I can still manage to be objective. This is a really great book.

Set out as a walking guide to the Market, the text is clear and informative, but maintains a friendly, informal style, just as if you are walking along with the authors in the Market. You will learn about the Market's nearly 200 year history, meet the store owners and get some great recipes while on your "walk". Of course, all the ingredients can be found right in this open air marketplace.

Michigan is a four season state, and this market is open in all seasons, not just summer. A section featuring 8 full menus is organized by seasons-A spring Mediterranean feast features lamb, summer brings fresh salads, autumn has satisfying soups, and a winter highlight is veal scaloppine.

In the index, you will also find individual recipes from appetizers to vegetables (more than 25 unique offerings for vegetables alone) The recipes come from shop owners, employees, farmers, dealers, shoppers and restaurant owners, as well as the authors themselves. Wonderful color photos by Bruce Harkness capture the hustle and bustle of the Eastern Market, and spotlight fresh Michigan Produce.

Like the market itself, this book is "highly useful, convenient and beneficial".

The funniest, strangest, or worst (depending on how you look at it) thing about Joseph Conrad's "The Secret Agent" is that it makes light of a situation -- terrorism -- that maybe was not a big deal at the time it was written but nearly a hundred years later has become a fearsome world problem. The terrorist activity described in this novel apparently is based loosely on a real incident, but Conrad avoids specifying any actual political motivations and instead makes his story as basic and general as possible.

The "terrorist" is a most unassuming man named Mr. Verloc. He runs a stationery and news store in London where he lives with his wife Winnie, her mother, and her mildly retarded brother Stevie. For the past eleven years he has been drawing pay from an unspecified foreign Embassy for occasional information on the activities of an anarchist organization, the "local chapter" of which is comprised of a bunch of malcontent duffers whom he has managed to befriend. An official at the Embassy, Mr. Vladimir, thinks Verloc is not very bright and plans to use him as an agent provocateur to get the anarchist organization in trouble. He suggests to Verloc to blow up an unlikely but symbolic target, the Greenwich Observatory; as the source of the prime meridian or zero-degree longitude, it's like the seam of the world. Using a bomb made by another of society's outcasts, a creepy fellow known only as the Professor, Verloc enlists Stevie's help to carry out his scheme.

Fast forward to immediately after the (unsuccessful) bomb blast: Police Chief Inspector Heat is investigating the incident, reconstructing the crime back to its source, and, interestingly enough, competing with his own superior officer. The post-blast events are where the novel really develops unexpectedly, in which we see what kind of tenuous relationship Verloc has with his wife, and the cruel treachery of one of his dishonest comrades. The structure of the novel is remarkable in the way it establishes the chronology of events, sets the pacing, and lets the scenes unfold as naturally as if they were being staged.

I found this novel to be a lot of fun and, despite the serious subject matter and the fact that it was considered quite violent for its time, actually kind of funny. I see it as not an attempt at a spy story or "thriller" but rather an early example of black humor, in which the narrative is filled with wry wit and each character is given a certain comical edge as if Conrad were making subtle fun of the whole business. It is a book that defies expectations, discards formulas, and immerses itself in the tremendous possibilities of the creativity of great literature.

Conrad's The Secret Agent (Don't get excited, I can't underline from my browser...) is the brilliantly written story of the life of an anarchist in England at the turn of the century. Mr. Verlock is an agent for the French embassy in London, yet, at the same time, an activist for an anarchist revolution. Verlock lives with his young wife Winnie and her slightly disabled kid brother Stevie, atop a store on a run down street in London. The plot takes place around 1895, a time when anarchists in England carried out terrorist acts for their cause. Around 1895, Britain considered Anarchists common terrorists. Though most believe that Conrad portrays Verlock as a terrible person, one finds that by following both Verlock, and the investigation into a failed plot to destroy a London observatory, Conrad really displays the ease with which one's beliefs can change into terrorist plots. Thus, Verlock is not really portrayed as such a bad person. This book, especially relevant in today's age of terrorism, a wonderful read, and full of symbolism, will make you think.

As I read through the "critical" comments of high school and college students who are assigned to read the works of Joseph Conrad then fuss and fume at the very idea of it, I find myself deeply disappointed by their lack of appreciation for the subtleties of great literature. They have little time or patience to devote to an author who provides his readers with so much vivid description, building toward a stunning and inevitable climax. In the "Secret Agent," Conrad points to the frailties of the human condition, the large forces of nature at work that conspire against the simple and downtrodden man trapped by his own cunning devices. Mr. Verloc is a simple, plodding peasant; and just why he embraces the anarchistic cause is never made clear to the reader, but no matter. He is trapped in a sterile nightmarish world where the idealists and the self-proclaimed revolutionaries are as morally bankrupt and empty of human emotion as the system they purport to overthrow. Conrad's characterizations are brilliant. His use of dialog and description, a hallmark of the early twentieth century realists, and the grim ending to this novel is a masterpiece of understatement. It is too bad that fine old classics of literature like this one and the more famous Conrad novella "The Heart of Darkness" must be subjected to the vapidity and sophomoric opinions of a generation of students weaned on MTV, the Simpsons, and thirty-second TV soundbytes.

Here is good evidence why Indiana is not a mecca of fine wines. Mr. Vine needs to take a few classes at U.C. Davis or read any of Amerine's books. The faults are too many but he did do a good job by inserting Government Regs and a lot of tables that would be hard for him to screw-up.

This book touches on all parts of the winemaking business from vineyard costs to winery costs and designs to marketing your wines. It has a good section on analytical testing procedures and 50 pages of charts, tables and conversions that come in handy.

The section on vineyard costs details year by year expenses from start-up through year 7. I also found the feasibility and finance section very helpful in starting up my own winery. The section on government regulations was very helpful in warning any prospective winery owners of what the ATF and state regulators expect. There are plenty of examples of good record keeping that various governments expect you to keep on hand at all times.

Of course this book also has 117 pages of good winemaking details along with good sections on microbiology, winery equipment, barrels and label designs. If this book has any obvious fault it would be that it does not go deep enough into some of these subjects, but then it would be thousands of pages long instead of the 440 pages it is.

An all around great book on winemaking and the rest of the business that goes with a winery and it's operation. This book has lots of good business information in it that I have not seen in any other winemaking book. I recommend it for anyone who not only wants to make great wine but also is serious about starting his own commercial winery.

As a wine 'amateur' (French meaning - no French person would ever say they were a 'connossieur' of wine, as one can never know it), this book was great in teaching more of the nuts and bolts of the wine biz. Grab this online somewhere - hopefully Amazon.com's out-of-print service - but grab it - it is very interesting.