What a great book!! While I'm not the quickest in the kitchen, the suggested prep and cook times were dead on (for me anyway). And the results......STUNNING! The cucumber and lamb salad is not only quick and easy...it is freakin' delicious. It was a hit at my last dinner party.

The other great thing about this book is that it contains no impossible to find ingredients. Being in Las Vegas, gourmet food stores don't exist. I can find the ingredients easily. An important issue for me aat least.

Lastly, the book is a piece of art. Great photos! Great illustrations! Great writing. This isn't just a book of recipes but also insights and hints from Eric. This guy is awesome and I hope he someday makes another book similar to this one. OUTSTANDING in every way.

The Veal chops with Morels and Herb Butter Sauce, the only recipe I have made out of this book so far, is one of the great achievements of human civilization.

I have enjoyed Eric Ripert's chef's tasting menu at his Le Bernadin, an intimidatingly formal restaurant where Woody Allen sat at the next table celebrating the victory in his lawsuit. Apart from the croque monsieur, the recipe to which is included at the opening of this attractive book, the veal recipe was the equal of anything on his menu, even with my feeble hands at the stove.

And for a far more digestible price.

May I recommend this book to those who dare to enjoy life to its fullest.

This cookbook is one of those rare combinations that includes readability, beauty, and praticality. The photographs and paintings make the book a treat for the eye; Ruhlman continues to be a terrific writer about food and cooking; and, Ripert;s recipes are intruguing without being artificially "artsy."

Several of the recipes call for exotic ingredients, but in most cases subtitutes involving easy to find alternatives are suggested.

The organization of the book is a bit odd, and it's not a reference work like "Joy of Cooking," but, anyone who finds pleasure and artistry in their cooking will appreciate this book.

I give The Adventures of Brer Rabbit and Friends to every new baby I know! As a parent, grandparent, early childhood educator and school board member, I am thrilled to find a book that meets my criteria for excellence. Karima Amin has skillfully combined the richness of the vernacular language with current concepts and expressions familiar to today's child. The colorful, active illustrations also draw us into the wonderful world of pranks, surprises, and fun. Sections on the African storytelling tradition, the Southern plantation world of Brer Rabbit, and the animals native to Southern USA deepen our learning and appreciation of the treasured tales we have in this lovely book. Brer Rabbit and Friends is perfect for lap reading, group reading, dramatization and learning to be a storyteller. Karima Amin's Brer Rabbit is truly every child's pal!

This is a very good book that my son loves to read over and over again at night:) It not only is entertaining for children, but it teaches them a lesson.

November is a chilly, leafless month where I live in Western New York. However I just finished re-reading The Adventures of Brer Rabbit and Friends as retold by performing storyteller Karima Amin, and it was like drinking a magic spring tonic. Instantly, I found myself transported to the warm, sun-drenched, dreamy world of Brer Rabbit and his myriad animal neighbors. The text of each story wraps and winds its way around the lush color illustrations by Eric Copeland, with a sprinkling of big, bold, bouncy exclamations of "Bookity-Bookity", "Splishy-splushy", and "Lippity-clippety" jumping out to grab your attention at just the right moment. The stories have a universal appeal because they reflect the "life lessons" we all struggle to learn when growing up - to pay attention, to get along with your neighbors, to use your natural abilities, to take time to laugh. Of course, these stories didn't appear out of thin air and the book includes insightful background on the historical context of these classic African American tales and their even-earlier African origins. The only way the publishers could have improved upon this well-done project would have been to offer a cassette or cd/book read-along package. That would have allowed readers the pleasure of following along as Karima Amin brings to life these charming oral tradition folk tales.

The mustered letters in this book are wonderful. In fact, they are a great delight. This is what we need to see in today's children. All of them touched my heart with laughter but not just that. The questions, innocence, and wiseness of the children (all under ten) are dominant. It shows for once that children may know better than their elders (sometimes). Particularly one letter stays in my mind:

Dear God,
I wish that there wasn't no such thing of sin. I wish that there was not no such thing of war.
Tim M. age 9

If only it were that simple. It makes one wish to never grow up. "Children's Letters to God" is splendid and is an inspiring gift for anyone who has had the pleasure of being in the presence of a child's smile.

This book had me laughing out load on a bus to the point people must have thought I was crazy. The questions these children ask are truly the most cleaver and honest thoughts that seemingly only a child can think of! It will bring back your childhood and allow you to feel the pure wonder and discovery of your youth! A MUST READ...and a wonderful gift!

This is a MUST READ for everyone who wants to tap into the pristine wonder of children. I always include this book as part of a baby shower gift for someone who is having her first child to let her know about the priceless joy they are about to experience. I can't think of any other book that forecasts that joy so accurately.

This anthology offers a wide survey of Thomas Paine's writings, including the complete series of articles on "The Crisis" and the whole of "Rights of Man" and "Age of Reason." Through these writings, one gains a self-portrait of Paine in all his strengths and weaknesses. Some of his deficiencies stand out markedly in "Age of Reason," where his attempts to discredit what he calls "the stupid texts of the bible" actually highlight his own misunderstanding and the gaps in his education (which was largely self-achieved). His natural wit comes to the fore in his superb Revolutionary War propaganda pieces ridiculing the British generals who were then besieging the colonists. And his extreme bravery and committment to principle appears in his speech, when serving as a delegate to the French Assembly just as the Reign of Terror was beginning, pleading for the life of Louis XVI . Eric Foner has chosen the pieces well and supplies excellent notes, and the volume is up to the usual high typographical and binding standards of the Library of America. Highly recommended

At the height of The Age of Reason, The United States of America was created by men such as Thomas Paine and many others who held Man above all other philosophies long enough to get the idea "Individual Rights" down on paper in the form of The Constitution of the United States of America. Paine's contribution to this end is well known. Paine noted in this book that "we have it in our power to make the world over again", and they did. Man has a right to his own life, and there is no law above this. No one has a right to another man's life, not God, not the Race, not the dictatorship, not the proletariat, not The Great Society nor the New Deal. Thanks to Thomas Paine and men like him we have it in writing "We own our own life and we are free to dispose of it in our own way". Let's work together as free men and women to keep our freedom and to spread it around the world to our oppressed brothers and sisters. To the Glory of Man!!

This volume is of great value to anyone who's interested in the foundations of this country. Paine was far ahead of his time in so many areas, for example in his vocal criticism of slavery. This country owes a debt to him in the profound impact he had on those who wrote the constitution and declaration of independence. The closing work of this volume, The Age of Reason, was, for its time, a very courageous indictment of the bible. It was written toward the end of Paine's life. There have been many men of courage and conviction, but Paine also had a profound honesty and the gift of a great intellect which allowed to express his ideas clearly.
The binding, cover, and paper of this volume are of the highest quality. The volume is smaller than the typical bestseller hardback, both in length, width, and thickness. But its slenderness is due to high quality of the very thin paper--the book has over 900 pages. I liked its small size because it makes it comfortable to read.

Excellent book!

I think that NAF is a very valuable book to read. I certainly learned a lot about the integration of networks and applications.

Everyone who works in the enterprise software business, be it as an administrator or developer, can gain a lot of insight and specific information by reading this book and thinking about it.

END

This book is an invaluable comprehensive guide to network design, distributed computing, and overall client/server architecture including security. Highly readable, it clearly explains important network design and distributed computing technologies-- how they work, what their key design constraints are, and how they compare. It is suitable for both beginners and advanced professionals looking for answers to difficult questions. If there's one book Microsoft or Cisco certified professionals, network designers, Information System (IS/IT) professionals, or application architects should buy this year, in my opinion this one is it.

I highly recommend this book to Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers (MCSE's), Cisco CCIE's, and Network/IT professionals in general, new and old. Network Application Frameworks is a welcome change. With every page, Greenberg caters to the reader's every need, providing a comprehensive collection of information in a concise easy-to-read format and with an entertaining style. If you need to understand Microsoft technologies, networking, and distributed systems in general, this book is as good as it gets.

I have been reading Eric Harr's column in The New York Daily News for many months now. I am a very big fan of his, so I decided to pick up his new book, even though I have no aspirations to finish a triathlon. I knew there would still be lots of information in there for me. That's because he always writes for a wide audience; he makes things apply to us all. That's why I love his writing.

I was right.

Triathlon Training in Four Hours a Week is indeed a book any person will benefit from. It has something for everyone, even those who do not want to do a triathlon. For example, it lays out 20 common excuses one might give not to do a triathlon ("not enough time," "too overweight," etc) and then Eric Harr provides compelling solutions to those things...in a way that applies to us all. I love this man.

Eric Harr has a remarkable ability to make it sound it like he just sitting next to you coaching you through this. His book is motivational yet extremely easy to read as well being personal. He has given us a gift by writing this book.

The workouts and the philosophy in the book DO work and not merely because of the dietary guidelines and workout schedules. Eric Harr's philosophy can and will change your life if you take it to heart.

The only problem I have is with the title: Triathlon Training. Of course, it's a great book for that, but this book is so much more than a triathlon book! It's an AMAZING GUIDE!! It's packed with important wit and wisdom about health, nutrition, stretch training, aerobic workouts AND living life to the fullest, bonding more with your friends and family, being more confident and having more fun. I do like the back cover saying "The Transforming Power of Triathlon."

I am buying copies for everyone I know. If they decide to "take the leap" and do a triathlon, great. If not, they will love this amazing guide to living a happier, healthier, fitter, more enriching life.

This is a stellar book and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

This book should be titled "Training to Live a Better Life (by Doing a Triathlon)" The author talks about excuses we all give about fitness -- and how to overcome them. He explains how to use exercise to live a better life, rather than simply burn calories. He advises you to view workouts as a golden opportunity to "bond" with those you love every week. He explains how, when you finish your triathlon, mentoring others can be rewarding for you...and for them. He provides inspirational stories about people who did this and how it transformed "much more than their waistline." There is also tons of nuts-and-bolts information in this book, too: how to choose the right running shoe, how to avoid injuries, how to get properly fit on your bike, how to execute the proper swim stroke, how to choose gear without over-spending, how to eat, how to lose fat, etc, etc, etc.

I believe triathlon is going to be taken up by hundreds of thousands of Americans because of this book. And we need that right now. Nice work, Mr. Eric Harr. And thank you.

This book is great for beginners in this like me. I have read through a few others that were recommended but they were very technical and used terms that a newbie like myself didn't know. I love his sample "success journal" pages. I use them daily to look over my progress. I am inspired to know that a triathlon can be done by someone who does not have all of the athletic abilities under their belt already and that it is possible to do this and succeed at this.

A nice, soft book, and really worth reading for some very powerful relationship insights and skills. Some of the book's themes and ideas i found nice on paper, but useless (for me) in practice.

"What can i do right now that will make a positive difference?". Sounds nice. Tried it. It just does not seem to do anything for me. (If you use this skill successfully and profitibly, please write me and let me know how. Maybe i just don't get it.)

Other ideas in this book- especially relating to relationship skills- are incredibly powerful, and very well, very clearly, very simply described. I find myself using, relating to, and sharing the ideas and metaphores, years after reading the book.

Ideas like "Facade-to-Facade" communication vs. heart to heart communication; "Is it safe for me to be me when I am with you?"; the story of the farmer and his horse. These wonderful gems expressed so gently but so clearly that they have stayed with me, and enriched my relationships for years.

For these gems, this relatively short book, is well worth the price, and the time to read it. I promise.

This book was recommended to me in 1995, by a friend who knew that I was struggling with a difficult marriage and a business that was going nowhere. "Read this!" he said, "it will change your life." So, having little to lose, I bought the book and read it.

"Wake-up Calls" perhaps didn't change my LIFE, but it certainly gave me some things to think about.

The fundamental idea in this book is that many of us fall into a pattern of "sleepwalking" through our lives, but life also presents us with a large number of so-called "wake-up calls." These can range from major-- divorce, bankruptcy, getting fired-- to relatively minor-- a promotion, an invitation to an important social event. Each wake-up call generally results in us facing a "choice point," and from each choice point, we have the chance to learn and grow.

The book is fairly simple and very easy to read, and guides the reader through a step-by-step process of first teaching us to recognize where we may have choice points; then goes on to teach us how to overcome old habits, change direction-- and go on to "stay awake" instead of sleepwalking through life.

Almost every chapter is laid out with bullet-point lists, simple exercises to use with your OWN situation; as well as a closing list of "Awareness Checks"-- a list of questions to make readers think about how to apply the current chapter to their own life. The writing is "light" and Allenbaugh uses personal anecdotes to help readers relate "ideas" to "reality."

Overall Rating: Highly Recommended (9 bookmarks out of a possible 10) BUT this book is probably best suited to those who are just BEGINNING a journey of self-discovery. It provides some straightforward principles for "getting on with life." Although I have certainly referred back to "Wake-up Calls" from time to time, it is a somewhat basic motivational book, and probably too simplistic for someone who has already spent some time with other self-exploration.

This book helped me move on!. There comes a time in life when you take a look around and say "do I stay or do I go". Wake-Up Calls help me see that the moving on wasn't as hard has I had expected it to be. A step by step guide to opening your eyes to what is going on around you is what this was for me. I was a stay at home mother, and very good at it, with great potential to be even more. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your Wake-Up Call.

"Bare" by Eric Hafker fuses impeccable raw emotion with an indescribable sense of sensuality. The poems are extremely personal, and incorporate a wonderful attitude with a tinge of humor. It is most definitely worth buying! Good Work Mr. Hafker!

I found the poetry by Eric hafker passionate and gracious. He extends his optimisim and passion to us through poetry. I thought that his words not only speak to the human race, but most importantly it speaks to the soul. I wish to read more from him in the near furture. We are blessed to have him in the world of poetry.

Poems that make you think about life. Excellently written, this group of poems is a great discussion piece. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking at the meaning of life and all of its experiences.

This is a wonderful look at how ancient principles can help us today. If you liked this book, you will really like The Intersection of Joy and MOney by Mackey McNeill. Mackey understands the ancient teachings of feng shui and the enneagram and I found her book to be great.

This book has been a tremendous gift in my life as I have come to a greater self-awareness regarding my relationship with money, my environment and myself.

The practical exercises have been very helpful to me, and I love to tell the story of one particular experience in which I reflected on being more welcoming towards money. I placed a vase of flowers at the entrance of my home, and the next day I received an unexpected phone call with a $2,000 scholarship offer! Remarkable and true.

With its insight and humor, I have found it to be an excellent and well-appreciated gift. I highly recommend it!

I'm really glad that I chose this book to be my introduction to Feng Shui. I really like Eric's sense of humor and easy reading style. It is not too overwhelming for me so I can make adjustments in small and joyful ways. I especially like the cute drawings! I'm looking forward to increasing my prosperity and enjoying my living space more in the coming year.

This book was the first I read by Eric Nylund, and it had me searching all of the used book stores for more. I was enthralled from page one, and never put it down. I'm frankly not that much into sci-fi any more, but this was a rare find and a fun read.

I thought A Game of Universe was a great book, and I'm certain my wife hated it. Every free moment I had I had my nose in the book. The author does a great job merging fantasy and science fiction. The two genres are blended wonderfully in this work, and it is easy to envision the world(s) in the novel. The action in the book was continuous, which is why it was so hard to put down. The last few pages where you get to find out about the great battle between good and evil and a third player wrap the book up splendedly. I highly recommend this book, but only pick it up if you have time to read it continuously!

Usually, most literature which tries to mix technology and magic doesn't work for me at all (e.g. the "Shadowrun" stuff), badly executed and stitched together. Not so this time. One of the all-time best books to read, this novel offers the inside view of a split-personality corporate assassin/sorceror in a future where powerful magic dwells between sophisticated ultratechnology and time-bending psionic powers. It artfully splices together the stuff of ancient legends and high-tech thriller. While certain ideas in this book are not entirely new, I would nevertheless rate it 6 stars, if I could, due to it's beautiful style, in-depth characterization, fast pace and intricately wrought background. I think this book is even better than "Signal to Noise", and just wish the very promising Mr. Nylund would produce more novels in this setting. Very highly recommended.