from pinenut nougat to raspberry bavarois from mont blanc to tiramisu or crepe soufflé this brings me closer to being a diabetic every day. i've never ever ever seen some many desserts explained so well. my friends luv me now! great great great fun book.

I've never seen so many recipes for traditional and innovative desserts. Wonderful photographs accompany almost every dessert. The decoration section and its techniques are very easy to understand, and made easy to follow. I am a fan of Andrea Jourdan, and was happy to see that it is one of her numerous translations. It's on my kitchen counter.

I have made several recipes in this book, and they do not taste low fat. They also dont have that rubber like texture that alot of healthier sweets have (she does go into detail about that among other things just before the recipes start). I am very happy with this book. Its a rainy day as Im doing this review, and she has a recipe in there for a pineapple banana cake. It takes no time at all to put it together and the smell makes the house so inviting and pleasant. I will use this book many times!

It is truly amazing how delicious these recipes are--- and easy too! I have gotten rave reviews from everyone that I have served these desserts to, and they are just astonished that they are lowfat. I would highly recommend this to any cook looking to impress (and eat healthier).

Italian Desserts is the ultimate Italian dessert book. It's easy to follow, yet filled with authentic, creative recipes that feels as if one is traveling through the sweetest paths to Italy and Sicily.

i found these recipes very easy to accomodate everyone. the ingredients were not something that could not be found. this was very encouraging.

What a joy of a book. The illustrations are so soft and beautiful and really help to tell the story, as they should. The story is about a town getting ready for a wedding. There's just a line or two on each page, and they rhyme, periodically reverting to, "while Jake baked the cake". Both boys and girls 7 and under should enjoy this. My five year boy included.

"The bride's gown was made in town/the groom's pants arrived from France/the champagne came from Spain/while Jake baked the Cake!" As everyone in town gets ready for a big church wedding, we keep checking in on baker Jake, who isn't quite finished with the fancy wedding cake. Will he finish in time? Toddlers cheer him on by chiming in with the chorus "Jake baked the cake!" A delightful picture book to prepare youngsters for all the preparations that precede a wedding.

I first came across Connolly through a short story of his I quite liked in the Britpulp! anthology. With his fist full novel he delivers on that early promise with the best British crime novel I've ever read. While I often enjoy traditional procedurals like John Harvey's Charlie Resnik series, have been known to enjoy Agatha Christie in my younger days, Jake Arnott's The Long Firm and He Kills Coppers, and quite like a lot of the pulpy/noirish stuff put out by The Do Not Press these days-this leaves them all in the dust. The book follows an unnamed narrator over two weeks in 1997 as he plots to end his criminal days and retire on his thirtieth birthday-of course there's just that one last job to take care of...

The thing you notice right away is the language. Nonstop patter, stories, and more slang than you can shake a stick at. The rhythms of the language, both descriptive and dialogue, is perfect and unique. The best comparison I can make is with some of Irvine Welsh's stuff-it's English, but unlike any English you or I speak. And like Welsh's stuff, it can be hard to follow for those not up on the argot (especially cockney rhyming slang), so be warned. But if you like the language, you fall in love with the characters. Finally, some honest to god smart criminals who understand that being low-key is the smoothest path to riches. There must be at least fifty characters in the novel and Connolly gives each one a distinctive voice, even if they're only around for a page.

Once you've absorbed the amazing language and characterization, you'll be swept away by the authenticity. The entire book takes place in the criminal underworlds of London and Liverpool, with details on international drug trafficking, porn shops, killings, and on and on. The book immerses the reader in that world more so than any crime novel I've come across, and you have to wonder what Connolly's been up to in his life to be able to conjure such a setting from his head. It's not a world for the faint of heart, but one that's compelling to read about-more like The Long Good Friday than Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Finally, there's the expert plotting. Built on that classic premise of a gangster looking to get out of the game, Connolly's plot twists and turns with complications that keep boxing in the narrator until the inevitable climax. From start to finish, it's the best novel about British organized crime around.

This first novel gets off to a zippy start and never lets up for a moment; with devious twists and turns, a cast of great (often mercurial, sometimes downright psycho) characters, and a whole lot of detail about the drug scene in England (which may or may not be accurate but certainly comes across with authenticity). Most North Americans, however, will find it difficult to comprehend, as Cockney rhyming slang and slang in general comprise so much of the book. That said, within its own context, there's an almost musical perfection to the cadence of the writing--especially the dialogue. The editing, however, leaves a great deal to be desired. There are far too many errors in maintaining spelling consistency and in simple grammar. But once into Layer Cake, it's one of those books that's all but impossible to put down. Most highly recommended.

Reading this book is the equivalent of sitting in your living room and speaking face to face with Judy Lecuyer. I have had the privilege of doing both. Judy has written in "plain speak" about the amazing journey they are on with their middle son Ben. While so many would accept the diagnosis with defeat, the whole Lecuyer family has risen to the occasion with love, and a willingness to see the miracles and not just accept the negatives that society heaps on in piles.

While I personally have had very little knowledge of the subject of Autism other then the stereotypes, I found this an eye-opener into that world. I believe that you will enjoy meeting this family.

If you have any interest in the why's and how's of this world of ours, this is the book to read. Whether you want to believe, or are just curious, the fact remains that there are things happening in our existance that we do not understand. Reading the 'take' on this subject by a RN and mother gives new insight to how we should look at those in our daily lives with 'disabilities'. Do we really know what level they are functioning on?

I recommend this book for those who wish to view things with an open mind and to learn from the experience of others.

This book is for anyone who enjoys eating desserts, cookies, breads etc. who also wants to eat healthy and fit into the same size for years to come. The recipes are easy and wholesome. Try the chocolate chip cookies...that recipe alone makes the book worth buying.

Great little cookbook--has a variety of breads, cakes, muffins, etc., all low fat and most very easy to make. The most important thing is that taste is not sacrificed! Too many low fat desserts have very little taste--these recipes are very good! I am hoping these two authors come out with another book------happy cooking!

This is a great addition to anyone who collects books on native art, history or life in the arctic. The photos are outstanding and the details behind the history of boot making of natives will be of interest to anyone from anthropologists to human geographers.

But I plan to bay and read it. Please send me more information about contains of the book.

Nice description by the other reviewer. I will just add that Sand Cake is not just my favorite children's book -- I'm 53 years old -- but my favorite book, period! (My second-favorite is Sweet Thursday, the sequel to Steinbeck's Cannery Row.) Sand Cake is a short sonata in words and pictures.

This excellent story had even me (the mum) guessing how Baby Bear and Papa Bear were going to make a cake (with milk, flour and eggs) at the beach! Mr Asch has really written a wonderful story that's full of warmth, imagination and originality. My two year old insists that I read it to her at least three times every night. She also loves looking out for little details in the pictures. A month has gone by and she is still excited by it!

This book is fabulous! I've made most of the scone recipes and am starting to work my way through the muffins and tea cakes. I usually bring the results in to work, and everyone (Australians and Americans, both) loves the dishes from this cookbook. In addition, the recipes are straight forward, nicely illustrated, and easily lend themselves to experimentation. Excellent book for anyone who likes to bake quick breads of any type.

I really enjoyed this book and have used it on many occassions as a resource for my catering business.