John Harrisson is my neighbor and he and his wife are ALWAYS cooking SOMTHING evrything he asks me to try is supurb!

This book is wonderful. La Casa Sena restaurant in Santa Fe is absolutely incredible--their food is so delicious.
I highly recommend this cookbook.

David Dodd has assembled a wide variety of stories to inspire and encourage addicted people to get clean. I was impressed that Twelve Step groups were NOT the focus of every tale, and that the one constant was that each individual made a PERSONAL CHOICE to forego their addiction and live sober. For all the help some people get from 12-Step groups, there are many who don't "relate" to the religiousity. But this book shows that recovery is still possible and worthwhile. The fact that most of these tales are told by celebrities and artists we KNOW only increases their value. Plus, it's nice to know that my gut feeling about Steven Tyler is "on the money" - he truly IS a mensch!!

I was attracted to the many well-known names listed on the cover, but once I began reading the book, I was overwhelmed with its passion and solutions. David Dodd has done a remarkable job which is reflected in this collection of interviews. My favorite part, however, is the introduction to the book, where the author tells his personal story on how he became sober with the help of Steven Tyler. His vivid description of the events were astonishing to me, they were absolutely incredible. This is a wonderful book!

Rodriguez is an excellent chef and a great cookbook writer. I bought this after eating a couple of meals in one of his newer restaurants in NYC, Chicama, where the creative ceviches, oyster appetizers and other dishes are absolutely out of this world. Combining unlikely flavors to create new versions of Latin American standards, this book contains many recipes you will want to make over and over. Only challenges: some ingredients are hard to find, and most of the recipes take a little extra preparation. Small price to pay for uncommonly good food.

We've just returned from a Caribbean cruise with its final destination in Costa Rica. We were inspired by the diversity of the flavors and food presentation everywhere we visited...so inspired we decided to come home and have a New Year's Latino brunch for friends and neighbors. So, our local library had Nuevo Latino on the shelf and we were on! Douglas Rodriguez' book is well written so that it tells an interesting story of his career journey, and it presents recipes, definitions of ingredients, and presentation ideas in a practical and easy-to-replicate way. Now, even the trips to the grocery store with all these new "foreign" foods in the produce section conjure up memories/ideas from the recipes he's presented. Can't wait to go to New York to experience Patria, but also know that what we made from his book was excellent. Our friends thought we were great cooks! And that's the point of cookbooks, isn't it! Thanks to Nuevo Latino.

Is this cool way of cookin?! I'm totally impressed by the style and excitement of this style of cuisine, full of marinades (adobo in Spanish, both dry rub and liquid), and that hot/cool tension of Latino food.

With tropical fruits and Latino veggies and tubers (malanga, yuca, etc) this introduces most of us to an exciting whole new venue of possibilities.

It's all here, drink suggestions and Breads (you've got to try the Yellow Arepas, they're worth the book itself). Amazing array of salsas and mojos, such as Ruby Grapefruit, Shallot and Cilantro Mojo (unblievable flavors).

The offerings here are spectacular, Grilled Flank Steak over Mushroom Ceviche. Who would have thought of that, ceviche applied to small button mushrooms which this guy found in Peruvia through his dad's barber.

Knockout dishes like Original Plantain Coated Mahimahi served with Tamarind Tartar Sauce. Avocado and Pistachio Crusted Gulf Snapper with Black Bean Sauce. Sugarcane Tuna with Malanga Puree and Dried Shrimp Salsa. Mango and Mustard-Glazed Salmon with Calamari Rice.

This review could continue to speak of creative dish after dish. Desserts are equally attractive, with fruit and flans and rice and a neat dish to dazzle your guests from Cuba, Brazo Park Avenue with Banana Mousse.

All nicely packaged by one of the best, Ten Speed Press, with class and style, color photos and rich, vibrant text.

My frontrunner for Latino cooking resource.

THIS BOOK IS TYPICAL OF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PRESS PRESIDENTIAL SERIES. GREAT INSITE OF THE GROWING UNITED STATES DURING OUR POLITCAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE UGLY SIDE OF PERSONAL POLITICS. INTRIGUE REACHED A FEVERED PITCH WITH LESSOR KNOWN INDIVIDUALS ELECTED AS PRESIDENT WHILE THE ICONS, CLAY, BENTON, WEBSTER AND CALHOUN HELD OUR COUNTRY IN THE SENATE.

This book reads more like a novel than the Polk book in this series (which I found to be very informative). This book is well documented. There is a sense that the author is generally sympathetic to and sometimes apologetic for Tyler and Webster - However I am not informed enough to know if this is a bias or a valid conclusion on the part of the author. With Tyler becoming the first VP to 'inherit' the presidency after the death of Harrison, our country was still navigating in the dark waters of our constitution and a world of threats (Mexico and England). Major players such as Clay, Webster, and Calhoon dominate the scene. Tyler's presidency would make a fine fiction drama. Misplaced trust, overwhelming ambition, and the drumbeat of sectionalism. I very much enjoyed this book.

This book fairly and vividly relates the "accidential" presidency of John Tyler. The author conveys the unique difficulties faced by Tyler as he assumes the presidency from W. H. Harrison. In fact, Tyler was most courageous in standing firm against Henry Clay and his Whig cohorts, who tried extremely hard to bully Tyler into submission. Norma Peterson, the author, provides credit where it is due, be it with Tyler or his equally courageous Secretary of State, Daniel Webster. The story in total flows extremely well, and maintains the interest of the reader throughout. The author's stance overall is pro-Tyler, and she bases this on clear reasoning and factual analysis. In total I agree with her position, that Tyler has received far less credit for his accomplishments and strength of presidential character than most historians have given him.

"The Illustrated Longitude" is an excellent, worthwhile historical account of John Harrison's progression as an instrument maker and legitimate finder of a practical solution to the problem of determining Longitude at Sea.

If you are at all interested in the antecedents of today's accurate timekeeping devices this book is a must. The print quality is very high and the illustrations a wonderful aid to feeling the story unfold. The book does not contain detailed plans of Mr Harrison's chronometers or description of the techniques of celestial navigation, but rather is a brisk, engagingly written account of the origin of the Longitude problem, Mr Harrison's solution and those of his rivals and the political intrigues which delayed full acknowledgement of the merit of the H-1 to H-4 devices.

I bought this book some months after visiting the Old Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England. The ingenious mechanisms at work can keep an observer enthralled for hours. They are also very beautiful. "The Illustrated Longitude" really fills out the significance of the Longitude problem in that era and the career details and challenges overcome by a very clever and self made man.

Having bought and read "Longitude", the only lightly illustrated original hardback version, I wanted to know more about how the actual clocks worked, and I wanted to see them, without making a trans-Atlantic pilgrimage to Greenwich.

Hence, when I saw an illustrated version of "Longitude", I had to buy it. This book contains the original text, with no additions, except for the illustrations. The photographs are beautifully done, as is the printing.

My only hesitation in not awarding the book five stars is that I was hoping for one of two things; either an illustrated version of the original, with a couple of pictures of each chronometer, at a reasonable price, or a more detailed illustrated version, with more information on how the chronometers actually work. What we ended up with is a compromise. Beautiful pictures of the chronometers, but little extra detail of Harrison's marvelous inventions.

Still, an improvement on the original, which is an excellent book, one I have read several times. Highly recommended.

By the way, when I purchased this book, I donated my original version to the library.

I originally read a library copy of "Longitude" back when it was published in 1995. But I hankered for a copy of my own. Recently I discovered this new illustrated version of the original and must say that it's a real find. The pictures really do help one understand better the magnitude of William Harrison's breakthrough discovery about how to use a very accurate timepiece (now called a "chronometer") to determine longitude and help ships avoid the tragedy of becoming lost with potentially tragic consequences. The text is not so technical to put off a non-expert. I'm sure one could learn more about the workings of the chronometer, but I suspect a more detailed explanation might have put it beyond the comprehension of many of us.

Payne Harrison tries to bury this book beneath fifth-grade level prose. Luckily, he fails... barely. 'Thunder of Erebus' is a fine, rollicking, action-packed military adventure novel. The premise - WWIII fought on the Antarctic continent - is intriguing, if a little far-fetched. The attack on the Russian carrier Tblisi is brilliant. In fact, every military confrontation in this novel is riveting. Unfortunately, Harrison's idea of character description would be more at home on a Hollywood casting couch. Can't you show me what a character's physical attributes are without describing them in a 400-word paragraph? If the author put half as much thought into the style of his narrative as he did into the choreography of the warfare, 'Erebus' would be a 4- or 5-star novel.

I was a huge fan of Harrion's "Storming Intrepid", and was therefore extremely happy when his second effort came out. At first I was kind of disappointed because it didn't jump right into action like "Intrepid". Instead, Harrison spends the first half of the book building all the necessary elements for the second half, which then just explodes. I'm glad I stuck with it, because I usually dump a book if after 50-75 pages I'm not hooked. I'm glad I stuck with it because "Erebus" became one of my favorite books. I read the first half of "Erebus" in about a week, and the second half in two very long nights. The degree of action, detail, and just great storytelling all coalesce and makes "Erebus" very difficult to put down. I'm not even a fan of the Clancy-style books, but I always keep an eye open to see if a new Payne Harrison is out

To Payne Harrison: I saw a young boy touch Thunder Of Erebus on the shelf. He paused, and then went on. I stopped him and said that that book was one of the best I've ever read. My squadron has enjoyed it, too. Let's have more of your writings! Thank you, Steve Hutchinson, aka Col. Wrecking Crew.

Just returned from a trip to Ireland using this book and most of the information was seriously out-of-date. Tourist offices there actually know that the bad information you received is from this book. Also, pretty sketchy on the details. Stick to the Internet for better info.

Ireland might seem a simple place, but it isn't. During a month in Ireland, Cadogan's "Ireland" by Catharina Day (Globe Pequot Press, ......)was my constant travel companion, and I'd highly recommend the newest edition to anyone traveling in the Emerald Isle.

The book contains excellent maps, historical perspectives, a guide to the politics, historic chronology, Gaelic language, geology, myths and legends, and religious complexities of this beautiful country. It also has a fairly hefty section on practical travel advice tailored specifically to the Irish traveler.

The book is divided into very logical sections, and information is generally easy to find in its rather comprehensive index. Best of all, the island is divided naturally in this guide into its four regions -- Munster, Connacht, Ulster and Leinster -- so the traveler needn't thumb through the whole book to find things that might be one mile apart. It is further divided county by county, and travel is laid out very nicely and clearly, in the order you would see it by car. I found only minor errors, none that would have significantly changed my travel plans for the day and none that might not have been the effect of changing markets and seasons.

I often would read this guide in bed at night, it's so well-written, entertaining and informative. I would highly recommend this book to the American traveler in Ireland. It's complete, funny and quite educational.

There's a new edition of this great guide available, as of March 1999. This is definitely the one to go for.

I was very disappointed in this book. It started out well, it had potential. I -really- enjoyed the way in which the book was written (nice style). The descriptions were -beautiful-. A very colorful world, it is. But it was very weak in the plot. You did not get enough in-depth information about the war, the backgrounds of the characters, the queens themselves. The dire warning shouted by the mechanical bird (which reminded me -waaaay- too much of Clash of the Titans) meant absolutely -nothing- until you were told 'oh, and yeah, those big black things they met in the swamp are war machines'. It was too big a story to fit into such a small novel and it really needed more.

Every year or two I take this book off the shelf for sheer
reading pleasure. Many authors would have padded this
volume out to make a trilogy (or worse), but the brevity of the
tale and the beauty of the writing make this a wonderful
experience. More is not necessarily better - this book just
leaves the reader wanting more. A great adventure story,
a quest, with memorable characters, plot, and a startling
denouement. Scour your pre-owned bookstores for this one. (I buy every copy I can find and pass them on to friends.)

I pull this book out a couple of times a year and let it take me for a spin. I've been doing that for about 30 years now and I still get a thrill every time. This is very fine work indeed.

Mr. Harrison will have you visualizing his landscapes and characters as few other authors could ever hope to do. These are real people in unreal settings, and that makes for the greatest of storytelling.

This is a tale of a far future land where technology has mostly been forgotten and rusted away. A power struggle between two queens has erupted in the post-Arthurian city of Viriconium and a handful of loyal old knights gather together to protect the young queen and restore her to the throne. Some of my favorite characters in fiction live in this book. I consider it an absolutely must read for sci-fi and fantasy fans alike.

This graphic novel is an adaptation of the immeasurably-more-subtle story of the same name to be found in Harrison's collection "Viriconium Nights". The artist has focussed on the violence of the story, leaving out the extraordinarily subtle relationship between character, philosophy and landscape which is Harrison's trademark. Forget this, and take the real trip: get "Viriconium Nights" and "In Viriconium" (called "The Floating Gods" in the US, but the British edition is better) instead.

However successful this short story is in its text form, Luck in the Head becomes a visual masterpiece with some of Ian Miller's most outrageous illustrations and interpretations of the city's horror and vacancy as well as Chrome's loneliness and confusion. Ian Miller bombards his audience with crude depictions as well as intricate ones, all depending on the atmosphere he is trying to set. Very Successful Graphic Novel.

Latitude and longitude are fundamentally different. Rotation of Earth endows our planet with an axial symmetry. So while finding latitude is relatively easy, determining longitude is not. Save the moon and the planets, the night sky looks exactly the same if you travel along the parallel 15 degrees to the east east, or simply wait for an hour. Without an accurate clock and a sextant, this made navigation on the open sea a black magic. For any expanding overseas empire, this was serious matter. Serious enough that the British Parliament offered a high prize -- several millions dollars in today's money -- in 1714 for solving the longitude problem.

By 1730, the world still did not have any practical and reliable method of finding longitude. By 1760, it had two. One of them, backed by Britain's the most influential astronomers of the time, included a quadrant (later sextant) and tabulated ephemerides. With them, a skilled navigator could have calculated its position within hours, in clear weather. The other method required only an accurate clock. If the clock can tell you your home time, you only need to determine your local noon -- when the shadows are the shortest -- and the difference between the two tells you your longitude. This method was backed by a lone clockmaker, John Harrison. This book is about him, about his life-long pursuit of a reliable, seaworthy chronometer, and his battle with the scientific establishment.

Eighteen-century mechanics, while far from trivial, is intuitive enough to make explaination of the internal workings of a shiny brass clockwork a wonderful topic. With some diagrams and explanations of Harrison's ingenious inventions, this book could easy become any engineer's dream. Perhaps the illustrated edition (ISBN 0802713440) comes closer to this ideal. Ms. Sobel, although allegedly a science writer, was more interested in the socio-political aspects of the story, and hardly touches the engineering part. Deliberately neglecting the engineering audience, the book is far from being a historical scholarly text either. She writes in an easy-to-read, journalese style. Fair enough, some thirty references are listed in the end for anyone willing to pursue the topic further. So while you cannot claim you've learned a lot of science or history, Longitude still makes a great beach reading. And of course, reading this book is a must for anyone planning to visit the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England, where the clocks are exhibited.

With "Longitude" Dava Sobel has written a very interesting book about the greatest scientific problem of the 18th century.

As a result of the 1707-shipwreck story (with a loss of 4 out of the 5 ships), the English Parliament offered in 1714 a 20.000 pounds reward to the person that could provide a practicable and useful way of determining longitude. (If you have forgot, longitude is the "lines" that runs from pole to pole). Not being able to determining longitude was a great problem. Ships spent excessive time trying to find its way back to port, or worse men, ship and cargo were lost at sea.

John Harrison (1693-1776) spent his lifetime trying to solve the longitude mystery. Harrison was a son of a countryman, with minimal schooling, and was self-educated in watch making. He made several timepieces, which all qualified for the reward, but the reward was delayed several times by the Longitude committee whom believed that other ways of measuring longitude were the preferred ones. Ultimately after a lot of harassment and trouble, Harrison was given the reward money.

Dava Sobel has done a wonderful job in this book, capturing Harrison's fascinating character, his brilliance, preserving and hard working nature. The author has also managed to strike a perfect balance between technical jargon and personal anecdotes, and she does it in such a way permitting the lay readers of the book to admire the elegance of Harrison's discoveries. I believe it is a sign of excellent quality when an author makes learning so interesting.

I was hooked from the first page of this book and I read it in 50-page gulps at a time.

Highly recommended!

Longitude Reviewed by Eve Nikolova, Student in Genetics at Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA

Starting in the early 18th century, a scientific quest for the measurement of Longitude at sea began with the establishment of the Board of Longitude under the British Government. The Board was charged with the review of helpful inventions and was to award the most talented scientist with a prize of 20,000.00 British lira. The conflict of interests immediately began. Driven mostly by the money and fame that such recognition would bring, numerous scholars and sailors made the measuring of Longitude their life's work. While every one in Europe was looking at the skies, an unknown clockmaker dared to trust his own mechanical knowledge in making the perfect watch. John Harrison's clocks were a tool rather than a scientific method for finding Longitude. Although the incredible work of a genius, these inventions were met with doubt and jalousie and by the Scientific Society. Isaac Newton wrote to the Board: "'One [method] is by Watch to keep the time exactly. But by reason of the motion of the Ship, the Variation of Heat and Cold, Wet and Dry, and the Difference of Gravity in different Latitudes, such a Watch hath not yet been made.' And not likely to be made, either, he implied. This story is set in an era of great scientific activity in which a natural genius did not receive fair treatment because he was ahead of his time. Longitude, The Story of a Lone Genius... reveals to the unaware reader the importance of shows how the pending prize turned to be the reason for many scientific achievements that now a day are regarded as common knowledge. For example, while searching for a way of measuring Longitude, astronomers mapped the skies from end to end in the hopes to draw some use from the Lunar movement while at sea. Galileo observed Jupiter and calculated its predictable eclipses. The exact distance between the Sun and Earth a well as the speed of light was calculated. John Harrison's perfectionism and generosity revealed a major set back in the competitive scientific world of his time. This is a tale well organized and clear that targets the casual reader. Its repetitive pattern informs and educates without obliging. The scene of action is set very carefully and in detail so the reader can feel the impact of John Harrison's both greatness and misfortune.