This is one of the 3 cookbooks that have changed what I eat and the way I cook. Henry Hill has some excellent classic recipes and adds his own little twists to each recipe. Having lived away from major cities myself for some time, I especially could relate to his struggles to find the right ingredients. His mob stories are amusing too.

I read the book cover to cover because it is kind of in a story form. Hill will tell a few stories about a particular place he lived and then give recipes for the food he ate there. I highly recommend this cookbook. It is a must have.

When you grow up with an Italian mom who cooks dishes that nobody else has ever heard of you wonder if you are the only person that has tasted such amazing dishes. Well I don't wonder anymore. The recipes are wonderful. I grew up cooking most of the dishes written about in this book and must say Henry's recipes taste just like "mom's" - in fact just a bit better.... I think this book is extremely well written not only for the "advanced" cook but also for the "novice" cook as I bought a copy for my son and he now uses it to prepare dinner for his family. If you want to cook real "Italian" food - this is your book.

Yeah, I know. No one's holding a gun to my head. But Henry's book is a classic.

I'm a longtime crook, er, cook, and I found that the thoroughness and thought behind these recipes elevated it into the small realms of "best cookbooks I've ever read."

Yeah, I know. From some "rat fork" like Henry. But it's good, really, really good.

He goes through a money-laundry list of typical Bronx-Italian recipes--all the standards, like Sunday Gravy, ziti, pizza, even the infamous scungilli--each one embellished with some anecdote of his life on the run. From supreme wealth and access to the finest authentic ingredients on his home criminal turf to the handful of homogenized American choices from Middle America while penniless on the run. And they're all forkin' good!

Christ, his handlers even get addicted to Henry's cooking, and I can see why: every recipe I made with this book--and I've been around the world a few times--was a hit.

Nothing criminal about that.

Joe Dogs, watch your back.

Since 1933, the Eranos Conferences have gathered the world's leading scholars of religion and mythology. This set consists of Joseph Campbell's selections of the best papers from that conference. This is Volume 2, "The Mysteries". The fourteen papers include: Paul Masson-Oursel, "The Indian Theories of Redemption in the Frame of the Religions of Salvation" and "The Doctrine of Grace in the Religious Thought of India"; Walter F. Otto, "The Meaning of the Eleusinian Mysteries"; Carl Kerényi, "The Mysteries of the Kabeiroi"; Walter Wili, "The Orphic Mysteries and the Greek Spirit"; Paul Schmitt, "The Ancient Mysteries in the Society of Their Time, Their Transformation and Most Recent Echoes"; Georges Nagel, "The 'Mysteries' of Osiris in Ancient Egypt"; Jean de Manasce, "The Mysteries and the Religion of Iran"; Fritz Meier, "The Mystery of the Ka'ba: Symbol and Reality in Islamic Mysticism"; Max Pulver, "Jesus' Round Dance and Crucifixion According to the Acts of St. John"; Hans Leisegang, "The Mystery of the Serpent"; Julius Baum, "Symbolic Representations of the Eucharist"; Carl Jung, "Transformation Symbolism in the Mass"; and Hugo Rahner, "The Christian Mystery and the Pagan Mysteries."

Since 1933, the Eranos Conferences have gathered the world's leading scholars of religion and mythology. This set consists of Joseph Campbell's selections of the best papers from that conference. This is Volume 4, "Spiritual Disciplines". The twelve papers include: Heinrich Zimmer, "On the Significance of the Indian Tantric Yoga"; Erwin Rouselle, "Spiritual Guidance in Contemporary Taoism"; Theodor-Wilhelm Danzel, "The Psychology of Ancient Mexican Symbolism"; John Laynard, "The Malekulan Journey of the Dead"; Carl Kerényi, "Man and Mask"; Martin Buber, "Symbolic and Sacramental Existence in Judaism"; Friedrich Heiler, "Contemplation in Christian Mysticism"; Maw Pulver, "The Experience of Light in the Gospel of St. John, in the 'Corpus hermeticum', in Gnosticism, and the Eastern Church"; Fritz Meier, "The Spiritual Man in the Persian Poet Attar"; Rudolf Bernoulli, "Spiritual Development as Reflected in Alchemy and Related Disciplines"; Carl Jung, "Dream Symbols of the Individual Process"; and M. C. Cammerloher, "The Position of Art in the Psychology of Our Time".

Since 1933, the Eranos Conferences have gathered the world's leading scholars of religion and mythology. This set consists of Joseph Campbell's selections of the best papers from that conference. This is Volume 3, "Man and Time". The twelve papers include: Erich Neumann, "Art and Time"; Henri-Charles Puech, "Gnosis and Time"; Gilles Quispel, "Time and History in Patristic Christianity"; Louis Massignon, "Time in Islamic Thought"; Henry Corbin, "Cyclical Time in Mazdaism and Ismailism"; Mircea Eliade, "Time and Eternity in Indian Thought"; Carl Jung, "On Synchronicity"; Hellmut Wilhelm, "The Concept of Time in the Book of Changes"; Helmuth Plessner, "On the Relation of Time to Death"; Max Knoll, "Transformations of Science in Our Age"; Adolf Portmann, "Time in the Life of the Organism"; and G. van der Leeuw, "Primordial Time and Final Time."

This is a wonderfully warm and inviting depiction of the plains region. For those of us who are from the prairie, the book stirs appreciation and love for the land that has helped shape us. For those who are not from the prairie, the author offers a viewpoint that helps in understanding the beauty of the land and the people of the plains.

I loved this seminal work from some of Canada's finest poets, and for me, the opening stanza sums up just what is right about the work of Bouchard.

"Oh elephant, your nose is long,
Do you not think that it is wrong?"

Stunning.

this book is beautifully done. the words paint pictures and the pictures tell a story. i read it to my 3rd grade class and am planning to buy one for my 83 year old father for christmas!!

TASTE A HAPPIER REALITY
The Utopian fantasy is reinvented for the 21st Century
in this dazzling
collection of short stories detailing
the eternal life and times of the
denizens of Bullford, a place beyond our recycled human psyche
filled with laughter, hope, and eccentric wisdom.
Written and brilliantly illustrated
by international artist Melissa Henry.
A generous portion of food for hungry minds.

"A remarkable and revealing piece
of work."
(Professor Ronald Comer,
Princeton University).

Just have to say: I adore "THE NOBLE SOCIETY". These very unusual stories put me in a wonderful funny mood.

These "adult fairy tales from another dimention " have a quality characteristics of the best literature: they shimmer.You will get something different from them upon each new reading.

An incredibly well-written primer on leadership. This book is a quick read, easy to grasp and full of poignant vingettes about those who have demonstrated, or have failed to demonstrate leadership at critical junctions in various situations. Being familiar with Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition prior to reading this book is helpful, but not necessary. However, the many examples from the expedition cited by the author are bound to make any serious student of leadership want to know the whole story, so I recommend purchasing Alfred Lansing's "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" originally published in 1959 and now in its third printing (Carroll & Graf, 1998), as well as the recent movie, "Shackleton" starring Kenneth Branagh produced by A&E. Having images from the book and movie in your mind clearly adds vividness to the leadership examples cited by Dennis Perkins. Additionally, since the author himself is clearly intimately familiar with the events, readers can only benefit from coming at the book from the same point of reference.

There are bound to be comparisons between the author's 10 Leadership Strategies and Covey's 7 Habits. While there may be differences in focus (the 7 Habits are focused on development of personal succes while Perkins' 10 Strategies are focused on leading a successful organization), Perkins steps into the cold, hard world of real life drama played out in boardrooms, production facilities and corporate culture by demonstrating the key 10 leadership strategies he has gleaned from Shackleton's overwhelming drive to get his crew home safely against odds that could easily have crushed the bravest of souls. With the addition of other real-life survival anecdotes, Perkins adds more captivating illustrations for his leadership strategies.

A specifc point made which bears noting is the curious fact that leadership is often easier to exercise in a clear crisis than when no specific danger is on the horizon. When no dire need for change is evident, most people are satisfied with the status quo, even if the organization is getting sloppy and inefficiencies are beginning to limit organizational flexibility. I have been fond of saying, "We are so into crisis management, that unless the situation is a crisis, we can't manage it." Perkins covers this point wonderfully with a case study on how a top forest products corporation remade itself when the need for change was still only evident to a few people, and long beofore a major crisis was looming overhead.

This is a "meaty" book with no fluff and a quick read, organized in a way that makes it simple to reference specific points in the future. All the books in the world on corporate and marketing strategies are useless if the corporate leadership culture is sick. This book hits organizations in the center of gravity - the mindset of the leadership, and that is where all effective change has to start. I cannot recommend the book more highly.

This outstanding book is a collection and analysis of leadership lessons from Ernest Shackleton's heroic 1914-1916 Antarctic expedition at the edge of survival. Shackleton's amazing adventure saga alone is a great read, but it is the leadership insights that make this book a "must-read."

Perkins carefully organized the book into four inter-related parts. After briefly summarizing the Shackleton expedition, in Part One Perkins presents his 10 strategies for leading at the edge:

1-Vision and Quick Victories: Never lose sight of the ultimate goal, and focus energy on short-term objectives.

2-Symbolism and Personal Example: Set a personal example with visible, memorable symbols and behaviors.

3-Optimism and Reality: Instill optimism and self-confidence, but stay grounded in reality.

4-Stamina: Take care of yourself: Maintain your stamina and let go of guilt.

5-The Team Message: Reinforce the team message constantly: "We are one - we live or die together."

6-Core Team Values: Minimize status differences and insist on courtesy and mutual respect.

7-Conflict: Master conflict - deal with anger in small doses, engage dissidents, and avoid needless power struggles.

8-Lighten Up!: Find something to celebrate and something to laugh about.

9-Risk: Be willing to take the Big Risk.

10-Tenacious Creativity: Never give up - there's always another move.

Interwoven with these strategies are detailed accounts from Shackleton's expedition and real world business examples to fully illustrate the strategies' applicability to today's leadership environments.

Part Two is case studies of four organizations that successfully applied the strategies and achieved remarkable success. In Part Three, Perkins "outlines a number of qualities and actions that...contribute to living, learning, and thriving at "The Edge."" Part Four provides the reader with some tools to further develop individual leadership skills.

Written by a former combat Lieutenant of Marines in Vietnam and current "President of The Syncretics Group, a consultancy that focuses on effective leadership in demanding environments," this book was a very enjoyable and informative study of leadership. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning about, and seeing if they have what it takes for, leading at the edge.

This is simply one of the finest, most fascinating, and most instructive leadership books I have ever read. Dr. Perkins and his co-authors have succeeded in clarifying the universal leadership principles and practices as they exist in the real world. Using the incredible true story of Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition as backdrop, and interweaving modern business examples to further illustrate the critical leadership lessons, Dr. Perkins has captured the heart, soul, and guts of leadership for the modern leader. Rather than stopping there, he also gives us the benefit of leadership lessons learned through his own intense experiences "leading at the edge" as a Marine Corps Infantry Officer in Vietnam, and as an organizational leadership consultant. It doesn't get any better than this extremely well-written work. If you, like me, are tired of the "leadership cookbooks" which crowd the bookstore shelves, search this one out. Read it. Discuss it with your family and your colleagues, and truly grow from the experience. The lessons are powerful, the stories are inspiring and instructive, and they work at the level of both metaphor and real-world example of what is possible in any organization when authentic leadership is present. Sean M. Georges, JD, LLM, is a former Marine Corps Officer and now serves as Vice President, Human Resources for a publicly-traded corporation.

I found this book hard to grade, but easy to read. Stories are the best way for people to learn, and this book has six interesting ones (about Josiah Wedgwood, H.J. Heinz, Marshall Field, Estee Lauder, Howard Schultz, and Michael Dell) describing entrepreneurs pulling themselves up by their bootstraps to create major brands. As a book of engaging business stories, this is a five star book. In terms of the insight you will get from these stories compared to the potential insight you should get, this is a three-star book. I compromised the two to come up with my grading.

If you want to learn about today's brand-building challenges, other books handle that subject much better. If you want to learn about how the Wedgwood, H.J. Heinz, Marshall Field, Estee Lauder, Starbucks, and Dell businesses got started, this is your book. The material is handled much like historical fiction (except the facts are meticulously gathered and documented), and you will find the going easy and pleasant.

If you like Horatio Alger stories, you will find those here as well. I suspect that exhausted entrepreneurs on long plane trips where their computer batteries have run out will find this book helpful in recharging their personal batteries. As Winston Churchill once said, "Never give up." That's the key lesson here. Through trial and error, these entrepreneurs kept trying until they found formulas that worked.

The choice of examples is a little flawed. Five are consumer branding examples and only one is a business example (Dell). Of the consumer branding examples, you will find that most are about selling to the higher income people. That gets a little repetitive.

The explanation of the examples is also incomplete. Considering that this is a business book, there is relatively little financial information other than annual sales and occasional asset turnover ratios. Qualitative example are helpful, but they are more helpful with more pinning down. For example, when you see the profit margins that Wedgwood had, that explains a lot about why the company could afford such lavish promotions. Without similar information on Heinz, you wonder why he was so successful in making sales but went bankrupt. Presumably, he had low margins.

The photographs and maps in the book are a plus, and I enjoyed them very much. The book was printed on such high quality paper (similar to that used for diplomas) that the images are on the same paper as the text. This permits the book to have many more illustrations than similar-sized business books.

The point about earning trust in the book is easily explained. At the time when these entrepreneurs were getting started, their largest competitors usually provided poor quality products, sometimes had inappropriate brand images, often failed to offer decent guarantees, and typically acted in self-serving ways. Earning trust isn't too hard if others are scoundrels or incompetent. Above all, these entrepreneurs stood for decent human values, and got that point across in one-to-one situations. I'm not sure that point comes out clearly enough, even though it is certainly present in each example.

Those who think the Internet age is unique will find the comparisons to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in England and the transportation improvements in the United States to be valuable contrasts. But each age brings its unique changes. Entrepreneurs should seek to grasp those changes, but also see what others have missed. I think that the Starbucks concept could have been successfully innovated in the late 1950s. It's just that no one did it then.

After you finish enjoying these stories, I suggest that you think about the values that your organization stands for. Are those values presented and delivered in ways that make your organization more trustworthy than any other? How else do you have to be superior in order to establish a burnished brand image?

Be serious about giving people the best you can possibly provide!

Brand New is a brilliantly written book about entrepreneurs, brands, consumers, business history, and socioeconomic change. The book explores these subjects through the examples of six entrepreneurs-Josiah Wedgwood, H. J. Heinz, Marshall Field, Estée Lauder, Howard Schultz of Starbucks, and Michael Dell-and the brands and companies they created during times of economic and social change: Wedgwood during the Industrial Revolution, Heinz and Field during the Transportation and Communication Revolution of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and Lauder, Schultz, and Dell in our time.

Koehn is a perceptive historian and biographer as well as an astute analyst of brand creation, entrepreneurship, and organization-building. She explains how the entrepreneurs in her book were able to understand the economic and social change of their times and anticipate and respond to demand-side shifts. This understanding, she argues convincingly, enabled these entrepreneurs to bring to market products that consumers needed and wanted and to create meaningful, lasting connections with consumers through their brands. Koehn also focuses on the importance of these entrepreneurs as organization builders who understood that their success depended on developing organizational capabilities that supported their products and brands. Her book is very well-researched throughout, and uses primary archival documents extensively in the historical chapters on Josiah Wedgwood, H. J. Heinz, and Marshall Field. Koehn also brings her entrepreneurs and the stories of how each built his or her company and brand to life with her talent as a biographer and historian.

The book's emphasis on drawing lessons from both past and present offers many valuable insights for those interested in coming to a better understanding of brand creation, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial management, and organization-building. Koehn's emphasis on the demand side of the economy and on entrepreneurs and companies making connections with consumers through the brand distinguishes her book as an important work of business scholarship on brands and entrepreneurship. A lively, interesting, and engaging read, Brand New is also valuable reading for anyone interested in business, economic, or social history or biography of business leaders. I highly recommend it!

This highly readable business book profiles six successful entrepreneurs from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. Each profile (Josiah Wedgwood, Henry Heinz, Marshall Field, Estee Lauder, Howard Schultz, and Michael Dell) details the milieu of the era and offers insight into the environmental business factors that each of these business builders faced.

It is this holistic approach to the subject of each profile that makes the stories so compelling. Using her command of history, Ms. Koehn outlines the period view of each of the products (pickles to perfume) and vividly draws the reader into the strategy of each of these entrepreneurs' approach to the market and building their brand. It is the power of these stories that gives the brand message such import. All of these people had a great number of competitors in their market niche but their focussed approach to the brand associated with their goods or services is what set them apart.

Ms. Koehn uses some excellent demographic and financial information (indexed to today's dollars) that provide the backdrop for the scale of the success each of these entrepreneurs' achieved. This provides just enough quantitative information to provide texture without clouding the real story in statistics.

As an executive in the software business today, I found a great deal of comfort in the fact that the challenges I face in today's competitive marketplace are not new. In fact, with great courage and resolve, they have been solved again and again in differing but similar ways over centuries.

This is a really great book. The dogs are so cute, they'll break your heart. My son's favorite is the dog jumping through the hoop. He's really cute -- I only wish my dog were so well trained! We also like the springer spaniel puppy, because she looks just like our dog Allie! A must for dog lovers of all ages.

We have read this book on a near-daily basis for the last 5 months. It always brings a smile, even when Kate is recovering from a bump or scare. The dog photos are very appealing to the baby, especially the ones (Mutt, Good dog!, Jump!) where the dog's expression looks like a smile. A bonus is the wonderful photo collages that adorn the end pages front and back of the book; they are at least as good as the photos in the actual text. My husband and I fell in love with the book in the bookstore, but it has proven even more alluring to the baby. Unlike our real dog, Arf Beg Catch doesn't get up and walk away from being handled. I'm thinking about buying another copy against the day when we wear the first one out!

Adults as well as children will adore this unique alphabet book. Both the upper and lower case letters are displayed for education purposes. But the real fun of the book are the delightful and engaging photographs of the dogs in action shots. (The cover photo has me puzzled though. Has that dog been tossed up in the air?) Delightful browser as well as an educational tool for learning the alphabet.

Though it is now out of print, this book has over 100 color prints from the Book of Kells and is one defininitely looking for. The essays raise some interesting points, though not the most current points of dispute among scholars. The book would be wonderful for students, copyists, or anyone interested in a beautiful presentation of information on the most ornate of insular manuscripts.

One must actually see large color plates or the Book of Kells itself to know what all reviewers are talking about, when they, like myself, call this book "the most beautiful book in the world." It is really incredible, a most fascinating and comprehensive piece of work from an ancient period of time. And has life changed so very much since then? Reading this book with many descriptive illustrations, one might know.

To really understand the incredible drawings, also purchase the newly released video "The Book of Kells - The Work of Angels?" which tells what the illustrations were about and how they were created... many of the designs date from the Celtic gold work that was done at the time, and there are many interesting stories about life in the abbey, political intrigues, and other goings-on during this period of time.

This has been a favorite gift of mine to give to many people, who have seen the book in person in Ireland, but never really knew what it meant, until they saw the tape. The two go hand-in-hand together, and are worth any price.

There is also a new CD out with Kells images as well, which may well be worth purchasing ...

The original 1974 large edition book in a fabric slip case is the one I saved up all year for when I was a very poor college student, and started my life-long love of calligraphy.

This book is well worth any price, when Inspiration is your need or your calling.

A beautifully illustrated book, finely detailed, a wonderful source of inspiration for those interested in illuminated manuscripts and Celtic decorative art. Author Henry's years of research are evident: she knows her subject well. A lovely study of this original c. 9th century manuscript, often described as "the most beautiful book in the world."

This book provided hours of fun for my four-year-old. We were pleased that we always had simple household items and paper to complete the projects.This book can be used as ajumping off point to many other creative projects.

All that is needed are these three items, and you can make the cutest crafts! Because of the easy supply list, we use this book so much more often than other books that you might not have the needed supplies on hand for. This one we keep right in the kitchen and the children can make things whenever they like! we just got it for Christmas and have already made lots of the projects! and there is room to be creative - just using the ideas as examples and taking it from there.

For the last several years my summer school has included art every day for students whose ages range from 6-13. This book has an excellent selection of art projects that are appropriate for all these ages. Everything is made using construction paper, scissors and glue, which are readily available in the school supply room, are inexpensive and easy to work with. The projects turn out bright and colorful. My class has just completed a lively mural of a pond habitat after making fun frogs, fish, turtles and other aquatic creatures and plants, using ideas from the book.

I love the instructions and lay-out of the book. The steps and resulting project are clearly shown in large drawings with minimal text, so it just takes a few minutes to read through each project.

Some of the projects feature geometrical designs and patterns, which allow substantial room for creativity, some fold and curve paper to make them three dimensional. There is a good variety of themes including animals, seasons, nature, a still life, a robot, and a couple of cultural items. Although I haven't done it yet, the Panamanian mola looks like it will turn out stunning.

If I want to stick to using paper, glue and scissors for my art classes, this book will give us plenty of fun and attractive projects to do for several weeks. Parents will also find it a great source for young artists at home.

Yes, it is a pleasant, lightweight read, but contrary to some of the other reviews here, this book is not "somewhat" outdated - - it is completely outdated. Anyone who knows anything about Ancient Egypt can just look at the inaccurate information in some of these reviews and see how misinformed readers of this book will be -- for example Thuthmosis III (the accepted "modern" spelling is Thutmose from the Egyptian transliteration, more closely Djehutymose) was not 4'6" -- that is a measurement of his mummy, minus his detached feet and lower legs. He more likely was about 5'6" tall, a very respectable height for an ancient Egyptian. As for Thutmose III being a "hero," this is a man who, solely for profit, invaded foreign countries, killing, maiming and plundering, carrying goods and slaves back to Egypt, leaving countless impoverished widows and orphans in his wake. It is so sad to think that a mass murderer is anyone's definition of a "hero."

My copy is the Bantam 1964 reprint of the 1905 classic. Almost a hundred years old, this book still reads surprisingly easily. Whether it's out of date or not, I'm in no position to judge, not being an expert in this field. But I'd assume that a lot of archaeological discoveries must have been made in the last century to make this book somewhat obsolete.

Breasted was the first and foremost American Egyptologist, the founder of the prestigious Oriental Institute of Chicago (the premier archaeology academy in America - featured in Indiana Jones), and the first archaeologist elected to the National Academy of Sciences.(He was also a former President of the American Historical Association, and must have been the only person to have both honors.) I particularly like his opinions of Thuthmosis III, whose 3450th passing is today.

Two other books that may shed some light on the recent findings are "Egypt of the Pharaohs" by Sir Alan Gardiner and "The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt" edited by Ian Shaw.

Thuthmosis III was "the first world-hero," wrote Breasted. But of course he was! Reportedly 4'6" tall, this military genius of ancient Egypt has been compared to Napoleon. Even though tomorrow is the 3450th anniversary of his passing, the rest of the world today know next to nothing about this great forerunner to Alexander and Caesar. Breasted has a whole chapter to him.

This book is a real gem. My copy is the 1964 Bantam reprint of the 1905 classic, and I found it in a used bookstore, hiding in between bigger books. Finding it gave me pleasure not unlike making an archaeological discovery in the Nile Valley.

Breasted was the first and foremost American Egyptologist - of all time. The first American professor in Egyptology, the founder of the famed Oriental Institute in Chicago (on Rockefeller's payroll), elected member of the American Philosophical Society, Breasted was the first archaeologist elected to the National Academy of Sciences, and had the unique distinction of being the former President of the American Historical Association as well (surely the only scientist to enjoy this honor.) No wonder Dr. Indiana Jones came from the Oriental Institute!

Almost a hundred years old, this book still reads surprisingly easily. Recent discoveries may have rendered this book slightly out of date. For this reason I also recommend Nicholas Grimal's "A History of Ancient Egypt," Ian Shaw's "The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt," Alan Gardiner's "Egypt of the Pharaohs," and George Steindorff and Keith Seele's "When Egypt Ruled the East." (I own all these books.) Breasted's monumental work is indispensable, however.