Though I see there have been some negative reviews that this, latest edition of the "Fannie Farmer Cookbook," is not as "good" as the original, I have to say that the "original," published in the late nineteenth century as the "Boston Cooking School" cookbook, would hardly be especially useful today (recipes for squirrel anyone?). Fannie Farmer is synonymous with good, old-fashioned practical cooking--no nouvelle cuisine here--and the updated version simply keeps with the times, adding new techniques which take into account modern equipment and food mores (things like fat, cholesterol and sodium are taken into consider, but this isn't a diet cookbook).

All in all, the "Fanny Farmer Cookbook" is a super all-purpose cookbook, offering well-tested, simple recipes for just about any food you can think of. Alongside the classic "Betty Crocker Cookbook," the "Joy of Cooking" and something new from Martha Stewart (I like the "Martha Stewart Living Cookbook," which is a compilation of recipes from her magazine) and/or Cook's Illustrated (either "The Best Recipe" or the "Cook's Bible"), "The Fanny Farmer Cookbook" will create a perfectly balanced recipe collection for the experienced cook or novice baker.

On a final note, I'd recommend the hardcover edition, as the softcover model I saw in a bookstore was not very sturdy. Cookbooks get a lot of use and abuse, so I'd recommend spending a bit extra to get a the hardcover edition.

I first discovered the FANNIE FARMER COOKBOOK when I was 6 years old in my very own kitchen.......my mother had (perhaps?) the original.....Brown hardcover with the Distinctive script writing on the cover. Needless to say, this book was very well used and referenced; and it is now on its last leg......cover now practically off the binder, nearly all of the pages soiled and/or torn. When I moved out of the family home and on my own into the Washington, DC area (my mother, unfortunately, has now been deceased for 6 years), among my first items to get was my very own FANNIE FARMER COOKBOOK. None of the bookstores - not even [local retailer] - had it. When I was looking on Amazon.com one day, I saw this version and, again, needless to say, I snapped up a copy immediately. This version is every bit as good as the original - filled with basic cooking suggestions, equivalent measuring techniques, siggestive items, and basic, easy to follow instructions. For the millenium, I was delighted to see recipes for vegetarian and diet conscious food items with the food flavor basically kept intact BUT without the added fat. A perfect equivalent is Fannie Farmer's THE 1896 BOSTON COOKING SCHOOL COOKBOOK (which is also sold here at Amazon.com and which I also have and review on this site). Both are MUST have staples for any kitchen in any household......whether you are single (as me), a married couple, or a family of 10.

I came to Amazon to buy the 13th edition hardcover , because my 12th edition paperback is completely worn out! The pages are torn, crumpled and stained with drips and spills, the cover is gone, and a few pages are loose from overuse and abuse of this cookbook. It is the most useful cookbook I own. I bought this book from a grocery store 15 years ago, and have bought many books since then, but Fannie is the one I go back to. No matter what you're looking for, no matter what your question is about food, measuring, equipment, temperatures--it's in this book. I did not know much about cooking when I first got married, and now I am proud to say I am considered an excellent cook. I learned so much from Fannie Farmer. There's no other book that gives this much information on cooking. I love to cook from scratch, and the recipes in this cookbook call for just that. It's basic, home-cooked food, but there are also elegant recipes just in case you need them. I've read this book so many times, I've memorized many recipes, because they really are the best around. Get this book. You will not be disappointed!

Jeri Laber's "Courage of Strangers" is a touching book about her journey as an early human rights activist. The book starts with Laber's early life to a fortunate family. Yet, the real essence of the book comes into concentration when Laber begins to tell about the early human rights movement. She writes about traveling to communist countries to quietly meet with dissidents, smuggling her notes out of the countries, taking a contraband computer into a communist country, reporting on the horrors of torture, and other narratives to which many can only imagine.

All of these accounts are intertwined with stories about Laber's personal life. She talks about her abrupt divorce, attempting to keep a balance between work and home life, and her dedication to the dissidents who relied upon her to tell their stories and bring aid to their plights. A very relevant book to the world we live in today, and a wonderful book chronicling the beginnings of Human Rights Watch.

The Courage of Strangers is a wonderful combination of important and intimate: Jeri Laber's personal awakening, in her mid-40s, as a single mother in the wake of a divorce that shook up her "perfect" life, and the awakening of the human rights movement that we take so much for granted today but which barely registered a generation ago. Laber brings off the difficult challenge of making her own journey a major part of this beautifully-written memoir -- and her honesty about herself, her family and her colleagues is in itself an act of courage -- while honoring the stories of the others whose courage has inspired her. I have been giving this book to many people, particularly young women friends who are eager to learn about the pioneers who came before them. As a longtime activist in the human rights movement -- and a colleague of Jeri's for many years -- I am thrilled she has written this book because anyone can connect with it. Because of it, many more people can begin to "get" the work that human rights advocates do through a gripping story about what happened in the amazing time she writes of, as a first-hand observer and participant in the fall of repressive regimes in the Soviet world. Jeri Laber carries this off this feat of storytelling without sacrificing the sophistication and expertise she acquired in helping to build one of the world's leading human rights organizations and serving as a crucial partner of those whose courage toppled governments.