"Advanced Stellar Astrophysics" is an exact title for this book. It is an advanced monograph on stellar structure. It is, both in style and substance, strongly reminiscent of Chandrasekhar's work on the same structure. Like Chandrasekhar, Rose works every topic out in his own way, including as much background as he needs (e.g. both his succinct treatments of electron gases and of general relativity). This gives the book a remarkable unity and intelligibility, and is a most welcome change tor the usual run of "advanced monographs" which all too often are half-assimilated hodge-podges of other people's work.

This is a great book for anyone interested in advanced stellar phenomena. Easy to read with adequate math rigor, this book is a pleasure to work through. The layout of the book is pleasing to the eye and flows well. Equations are displayed in a spacious and predictable manner which allows quick reference and reduces distractions. Pedagogical discussion is succinct and cogent. Dr. Rose is an excellent teacher and, as usual, Cambridge Press has printed an outstanding book with outstanding attention to detail.

In Praise of Black Women: Ancient African Queens is an astonishingly rich, gorgeous jewel box of information, artwork and the voices of women who changed the world interwoven with the words of "ordinary" women. This is a mission of true love and commitment--the work that went into it is evident on every page, and from that loving tribute flows the wonder of our Ancient African Queens and their inspring legacies. Everyone who is or knows or loves a Black woman will find this book a very rewarding read.

This is a beautiful book for all generations. The book is broken down into short stories. There is extensive use of pictures and historical diagrams which makes each story interesting for adults and children. This book provides the reader with a true sense of who these women were. It is a wonderful book for all families, especially those with young girls and teenagers. I wish all students and teachers had access to this book. This is not just for the African-American population. American children receive too much of their learning from "acceptable history" books and the movies, both which perpetuate an inaccurate picture of much of the rest of the world. I know this book opened my eyes and expanded my view of history.

When you work in other field and want to have a complete image of what astrophysics is, but do not have enough time for read more than two hundred pages, then this book is for you. It uses the mathematical language that make it a serious treatise and covers a fine range of actaul knowledge.

Helen Rose Ebaugh began researching this book while a Catholic nun, and ended it as an "ex-nun" and married woman. Don't let that fool you. This fascinating book is not an attack on organized religion, or a defense of it. It is instead an exploration of social "roles" each one of us inhabits, and the curious and usually painful process of leaving one or more of those roles behind. Her contention is that no matter what role we are leaving (anything from a marriage--'husband' or 'wife' being the role left--to leaving a religious group to [even!] sex-change via surgery) there are commonalities in the process that will tell us much about both ourselves and our former and future roles. As an evangelical Christian who is part of an intentional community, I read this book initially to try and understand why former members of our community (Jesus People USA) sometimes became so angry with us, and interpreted their time with us so negatively. Ebaugh's book enlightened me somewhat on that score. But for anyone trying to understand "conversion" TO a role, this book is an interesting corellary. Also, see David Bromley's "The Politics of Religious Apostasy."

Sadie Rose Weilerstein, born in 1894, was a leading author of Jewish children's stories for more than 50 years. She introduced the tiny character named K'tonton in the September 1930 issue of Outlook magazine.

Isaac Samuel ben Baruch Reuben--whose first name meant laughter--was a late-born miracle. His mother had wanted a child so badly that in her Sukkot prayers, she promised to love even a child "no bigger than a thumb." Sure enough, before a year had passed, she gave birth to a son. And sure enough, he was no bigger than her thumb. She blanketed him in the flax she had used to wrap an etrog--the Israeli citrus fruit used to celebrate Sukkot--and cradled him in a hand-carved etrog box.

The 16 stories here were selected from Weilerstein's three K'tonton volumes--The Adventures of K'tonton (1935); K'tonton in Israel (1964) and K'tonton on an Island in the Sea (1976).

An educational director and Chazan, whose students loved the tales, recommended the book. I am glad I followed up, because my son adores this magical little fellow. Each evening's story hour brings eager requests not for one or two stories, but three.

Each tale is filled with details about important Jewish ideas or traditions, and a dash of Jewish humor. Take K'tonton's slide down the side of a chopping bowl in which his mother was mixing Shabbat gefilte fish. He wanted a ride on the chopping knife. He predictably ended up covered in fish, a vision (illustrated in beautiful black and white ink) that makes kids ring with the laughter of Isaac.

Similarly, children emit gales of laughter on hearing of K'tonton's ride on the tip of a lulav--the palm branch that is pointed east, west, south and north, to the heavens and to earth as part of the harvest celebration of Sukkot. As K'tonton's father and the entire congregation stand to chant Hodu l'Adonai ki tov--Praise the Lord for God is good--there was K'tonton singing in a high treble that rose above all the other voices. Even more hilarious is the spinning Chanukah dreidel that carried him off the table, down the stairs, out the door, into the street and into a gutter, where K'tonton found a small bit of Chanukah money known in Yiddish as gelt.

K'tonton also turned up in a Purim cookie, a Hamentash, covered with poppy seeds, and tried to feed a hungry cat on Yom Kippur. He also got lost at the beach and was carried on the back of a seagull to an island in the sea, where he welcomed the Sabbath Queen with fireflies instead of candles and the bountiful harvest of the wilderness. On the island, he also shared wild fruit and seed bread on Shavuot, the celebration of the gift of Torah, with his new family--Mouse, Rabbit, birds, Turtle and Toad.

In the last four stories, K'tonton made his way to Israel inside the suitcase of a friend's aunt. There, in Jerusalem, he celebrated Pesach, the redemption of the Hebrew slaves, and righted some wrongs.

If your children don't love this book, I'll eat my hat. Alyssa A. Lappen

FAMILY MATH FOR YOUNG CHILDREN is an excellent source of fun activities to do with pre-school children. Each activity helps to instill an appreciation for mathematics and emphasizes mathematical discovery. If all young children had the opportunity to experience these activities, we would have fewer adults afraid of mathematics!

This book is a great introduction to the wonderfully addictive world of growing roses. The author slowly succumbed, starting out using every square inch of patio at his san francisco townhouse for roses, and now owns a large ranch in Petaluma which is an ARS test garden. The book deals matter-of-factly with planting, growing, and pruning, giving you options and alternatives based on your climate, attitudes towards pesticides, available time, etc. Naming one's favorite rose is a tough question; mr. reddell provides a dozen or so of his, with detailed observations that have helped me be more critical in selecting the roses I grow. His encouragement to show roses led me into my first rose shows - i enjoyed the experience hugely and have nearly a dozen ribbons now to show for it (no trophies yet...). I recommend this book as a starting point for anyone who is beginning to grow roses, and would like to be as effective as they can within the time they have available. It's been very valuable for me.

Sadie Rose Weilerstein, born in 1894, was a leading author of Jewish children's stories for more than 50 years. She introduced the tiny character named K'tonton in the September 1930 issue of Outlook magazine.

K'tonton in Israel appeared in 1964 as a sequel to The Adventures of K'tonton (1935). There were 23 stories in the first edition (which I own); I hope they're all in the 3-volume 1984 reprint.

An educational director and Chazan recommended K'tonton to me and I am glad I followed up. My son adores the magical little main character. Each evening's story hour brings eager requests not for one or two stories, but three. Each tale has a complex all its own and is filled with details of important Jewish ideas or traditions, and a dash of Jewish humor.

K'tonton, Hebrew for very very little, was the nickname of Isaac Samuel ben Baruch Reuben-whose first name meant laughter. He was a late-born miracle for whom his mother had prayed so hard one Sukkot that she promised to love even a child "no bigger than a thumb." Sure enough, before a year had passed, she gave birth to a son. And sure enough, he was no bigger than her thumb. She blanketed him in the flax she had used to wrap an etrog--the Israeli citrus fruit used to celebrate Sukkot--and cradled him in a hand-carved etrog box.

In this book's first story, K'tonton went to Israel on an El Al jet-inside the suitcase of a friend's aunt. Next, he went up to Jerusalem, passing an Israel National Fund forest, where a tree was planted when he was born. The third tale took K'tonton to Jerusalem for a special celebration of Pesach, the redemption of the Hebrew slaves.

The fourth found K'tonton at Mount Zion, which in 1964 had Israel's only view of Jerusalem's Old City, the Temple Mount and HaKotel, the Temple's remaining Western Wall. Two more stories brought K'tonton adventures with the President of Israel and children who mistook him for a puppet. How he escaped I won't tell.

K'tonton next obtained wisdom from a donkey, as in ancient times. K'tonton met Jewish and Arab children in a Hadassah clinic. He traveled to Ramat Rahel for more shenanigans. In the tenth tale, he made his way via an Arab milk wagon to Rachel's tomb near Bethlehem.

K'tonton's size allowed him to easily hide. Thus in the 11th story he washed his face in dew, jumped into a vegetable basket a woman carried on her head, said his morning prayers: "Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem" and made it to the gates of the Old City. In the 12th, K'tonton caused a stir in the market (I can't say how) and met an understanding tourist.

In seven more stories K'tonton prayed for peace at HaKotel, found a treasure, visited a desert kibbutz, Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, an observatory at Haifa's Mount Carmel, outer space, Beersheba, the Dead Sea-and took a wild ride on a goat. He discovered some ancient prayer scrolls and saved a crop of wheat from an army of mice. (What you read here are mere hints. I'm not allowed to tell the details.)

Each of the 23 stories in this book has its own adventure-filled plot. Each also contains treasures to match those K'tonton found in Eretz Yisrael. Alyssa A. Lappen

Sadie Rose Weilerstein, born in 1894, was a leading author of Jewish children's stories for more than 50 years. She introduced the tiny character named K'tonton in the September 1930 issue of Outlook magazine.

The Adventures of K'tonton (1935) was printed at least 10 times (we own the 10th edition). K'tonton in Israel appeared in 1964 as a sequel and was in turn followed by K'tonton on and Island in the Sea (1976) and K'tonton in the Circus in 1981. I recently ordered the last, expecting a picture-book with one Hanukkah story. Low and behold, this 86-page volume contains 15 delightful K'tonton tales.

The book opens with a brief obligatory reintroduction of the magical little main character: Isaac Samuel ben Baruch Reuben's first name meant laughter, but his parents called him K'tonton--Hebrew for very very little--on account of his four-inch height. He was raised on milk with honey added from the land of Israel, and by age three could recite verses from Torah the way other children say nursery rhymes. As in all K'tonton volumes, each tale is filled with details of important Jewish ideas or traditions, and a dash of Jewish humor.

Here, as the title implies, K'tonton joined the circus. He had traveled from Brooklyn to South Carolina to visit his aunt. In her yard, K'tonton sat under her fig tree. Its vine reminded him of the biblical verse, "Nations shall beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks." All that day, he dreamed of the Messiah, and the next day, the first day of Kislev, his father tucked him into his pocket to go to synagogue.

After services, he sat on the window sill thinking of Elijah the prophet while his father talked to the Rabbi. He was singing softly, Am Yisrael Chai (The people Israel lives) when the sound of a trumpet rang, and a tall bearded man in a cape rode by on a bicycle. "Elijah, Elijah, you've come!" K'tonton shouted. Needless to say, the bike rider was not Elijah at all, but a circus man who brought K'tonton not to Jerusalem, as the Jewish Tom Thumb had expected, but in a circus tent.

Before long, K'tonton found himself at work as a main attraction in the Sideshow tent, where he met the Wild Man of Borneo and a Sword Swallower, who could not beat his sword into a plowshare, lest he lose his job. In another story, K'tonton met Mama Belle, Lillibelle and Papa Joe, a family of acrobats who cleared a small nook for him in their cramped trailer. When they saw he wasn't eating, and he explained that he must keep kosher, they found him bread, popcorn, boiled eggs and tuna.

In the fifth story, K'tonton visited the lion's cage--giving a kindergarten class visiting that day a major fright. The circus master warned him to be careful around animals that were once wild. To this, K'tonton objected fiercely. "When the Messiah comes," he said knowingly, "the lambs will lie down with the lions." Well, the master agreed, he could go into the cage again--but only after the Messiah came.

In the next story, Daisy, the Fat Lady, threatened to go on strike and lose most of her 410 pounds if the Big Boss didn't let K'tonton observe the Sabbath. (I won't tell what else happened.)

Stories seven, eight, nine and ten introduced K'tonton to the horses and camels, and elephants. K'tonton learned how a seal named Baby came into the circus, which involved a mitzvah--a good deed. K'tonton helped arrange a benefit, another mitzvah. K'tonton met Clarence, a clown who figured he was useless. K'tonton told Clarence about the Prophet Elijah, who had once noted that two clowns could count on going to heaven, since they "cause laughter and make sad hearts glad." K'tonton cheered Clarence, but himself grew despondent for reasons I can't reveal.

In the 12th story of this book K'tonton finally celebrated Hanukkah. This was even more original than the first Hanukkah celebration, in which he rode a dreidel off the edge of a table, down a flight or stairs and right into the street. K'tonton explained a thing or two, made some latkes and gave presents. This tale also featured a dreidel, but not the sort you might think.

After several more adventures, K'tonton made it home to his parents. How? Alas, I must keep that secret too. But in these stories, the circus barker is still shouting about K'tonton, and kids just love him. Yours will too. Alyssa A. Lappen

I believe that this is one of the best French cookbooks of all time. Very old, traditional recipes explained in a way that makes even the more advanced ones seem doable. She also includes recipes from her youth in America and tells how she came across the recipe for Haschich Fudge. The stories interwoven are captivating, especially about the society she and Gertrude Stein kept, and their efforts during WWI as volunteers. In this respect it is a fascinating historical document. It is written as if she is speaking to you, and her speech is very blunt, to the point and quietly humorous. Very enjoyable to read.

Ive been cooking with _Joy of Cooking_ for a long time now. _Joy_ makes reference to a chapter in this book, "Murder in the Kitchen," as a sort of primer on how to 'murder' a carp in the kitchen before cooking. I decided, on a whim, to buy the book.

I had no idea that having this new cookbook would be so rewarding!

Alice Toklas has some INCREDIBLE recipes in here (Scheherezade Melon being a favorite!), all of which should be tried and enjoyed.

Furthermore, this book contains recipes you simply wont find in other, newer, cookbooks. My girlfriend really summed this book up by suggesting that the recipes in this book are the recipes you know exist -- but are being passed from grandmother to granddaughter; you simply dont get these unless youre in that circle of people.

This cookbook is your way in to exquisite dishes that were prepared for the likes of Gertrude Stein, Hemmingway, Picasso, and Matisse.

That, and where else are you going to find a recipe for Hashish Fudge?

This book has my whole-hearted, overwhelming approval.

2002 is Alice's 125th birthday, so why not get her most famous book and cook up a birthday dinner?!
This classic of 20th century food lit appears every few years and rightfully so. First published in 1954 by Alice B. Toklas, the life partner of Gertrude Stein, established Alice as a writer in her own right and made her world-famous(once again) with her "Haschich Fudge" aka Alice B. Toklas brownies! This recipe, which was not included in the first American edition, but was included in the British edition, does appear in this book. It's more than a cookbook, it's an affectionate remembrance by someone who knew and was known by some of the artistic giants of the 20th century.