Why Elisabeth Holding is not more famous is a mystery to me (almost all of her novels are out of print, a fate which once befell another neglected genius, Jim Thompson). Her novels deal with ordinary individuals caught up in events beyond their control, and her meticulous detailing of their struggles to overcome their situations builds quietly until it hits like a tsunami crashing into shore. Recommended for people who like reading about real people rather than pawns in a manipulative plot.

Two upper class individuals living in WWII America have their routine lives suddenly upended by interference from a less than desirable segment of society. In "The Blank Wall", Lucia is a well-meaning dedicated Navy wife,responsible for her father and her two teen-aged children. She is making an admirable go of it, managing from day to day, providing nurture in the form of balanced meals in spite of rationing, reliable steadfast advise for her elderly father and her normally angst ridden teenagers and deliberately routine letters sent to her husband to insure him of their normalcy. When her 17-year old daughter's involvement with a sleazy pornographer comes to Lucia's attention, her normal , just-getting-by existence is shattered. Suddenly she is forced to deal with the shady Mr. Nagle and his associate Mr. Donnelly to protect her way of life. The outcome is more than she bargained for...

In "The Innocent Mrs. Duff", Mr. Duff has become bored with his young wife, Reggie, twenty years his junior. He imagines how wonderful his life would be again if his first wife had not died. While fantasizing about ridding himself of Reggie and perhaps starting a life with his son's nanny, Miss Castle, the uppercrust Duff entangles himself with his street smart driver, Nolan and embarks on an interlude that jeopardizes everything he holds dear.
The author allows the reader of both these novellas to really get into the day-to-day nitty-gritty that actually makes people people. Through dialogue and musings, we see the inner workings Lucia and Duff well enough understand their predicaments and shake our heads over the turn of events.

The Blank Wall was made into a movie "The Deep End"; the circumstances revolving around the blackmailing motif in the movie have been slightly modernized, but the emotions of the two main characters are superbly transferred to the screen.

Thoroughly and strongly recommended to all those who love classic suspence.

Comprehensive review of the wineries in Virginia and Maryland. Describes how each of the wineries got started and a bit about the owners, growers, and/or winemakers. Also offers a brief summary of the wines produced. Includes sidebar-type sections on such topics as individual varietals, wine festivals, and competitions.

A wonderful resource if you like weekend getaways, beautiful farms, and, of course, sipping wine! Indispensable for budding regional wine connoisseurs and casual travelers alike.

Elisabeth Frater's lovely travel guide is great for both residents and visitors. I have lived in Northern Virginia for 13 years and don't even drink alcohol, but I found this book to be useful. Frater gives clear, concise information, but also offers opinions. You hear the facts about each winery, but you also here the stories behind each one.

I have enjoyed living in this area much more after using Frater's book to plan weekend trips. Her book was invaluable when family came to visit recently.

This book is definitely a keeper, if you can find it. My grandmother gave it to our family when I was a little girl (in the late 60s or early 70s) and I even designed felt board characters around the story for use in a Children's Lit. class in college. Based on the true story of how Silent Night came to be written, the tale and the drawings are outstanding and enjoyable for all ages. This makes for one of the best read-aloud stories and I always look forward to going to my parents' home during the holidays and locating this treasure of a book.

This is a wonderful book, delightfully illustrated by Barbara Remington--maybe best known for her covers on Ballantine's '60s paperback editions of Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings."

It's a favorite of my childhood, and my kids today love it, too.

Too bad it's been allowed to slip out of print.

What a wonderful graphic novel this is. The cast of characters is nothing short of stellar and there are enough accurate historical references in here to delight anyone who prefers a little historical salt in their fiction. The story is set in Siberia and Manchuria during the Russian Civil War and two historical figures feature prominently: Ataman Semenov (whom Pratt seems to have modeled mistakenly on another Ataman, Ataman Kalmykov), and Baron von Ungern-Sternberg, the "Mad Baron." The latter, amazingly, is depicted true to life. Pratt seemed to do his best work when the setting was Russia or Ethiopia, and along with "Early years" and "The Golden House of Samarkand", this is one of the finest examples of his work, both in writing and artwork. An excellent place to start reading the Corto Maltese stories.

All of Pratt's work is wonderful but this has to be his masterpiece, an adroit interplay of history and fantasy, ranging across China and Siberia in the ruin of empires following the first world war. As usual Pratt creates compelling minor characters playing out tragic roles on a vast canvas of historical events. The villainous Cossack ataman Semenov is superb, although in fact Pratt was obviously unaware that the real man was more eastern-European than Oriental in appearance. Pratt as usual uses historical detail brilliantly and fascinates us with the details of history. I could wish that not every pistol was a Nambu (except for the American's .45) but that is a mere quibble. Strongly recommended.

Izzy is about to celebrate her 41st birthday... her mother had committed suicide on her 41st birthday. Izzy's older sister, Ellie is 43 and is just as flamboyant has her mother was. Their mother was someone I would have considered to be a cool mother if you had subtracted the mental illness part. Some of the antics that "Mom" pulled were so wonderful, it would be enough to satisfy most children, it would strengthen forever the bond between mother and daughter and teach the child to be an individual, but when the realization that Mom was crazy set in, it is painfully described in heart-wrenching detail. You feel the pain of each and every character in the book.

This story is about Isabel's struggle to find her adult path in her remaining family, which includes her maybe/maybe not so stable sister, her loving father, and her husband and the baggage between them. It is excellently written and you can easily visualize Izzy's childhood adoration of her mother, as well as feel her adult contempt at being abandoned by her.

It is a short book, plan on spending about four to six hours where you can shut off the phone and enter this world. You'll get a great return on your investment.

I read this book in two days of intense bedtime reading. It drew me in and kept me thinking all day about the characters, their strengths, and their problems. All of the main "family" characters are well developed, multi-faceted, and interesting people. The book had the power to make me feel real pain for the characters, and had the dexterity to surprise me as a reader from time to time.

This book cuts right to the chase for the Christian. Elliot puts forth the truth with a punch. I was personally challenged on how I live my life. As I read and reread this book it focused me on what is really important and that changed my life for the better. I refer to this book often and quote it more times than I can count. Excellent investment for any Christian wanting to grow and mature.

This is a really good book where Elisabeth Elliot draws from her own experience in surrendering to God. She speaks about how surrendering to discipline is something that will make life better rather than giving it all up. And like all of Elliot's books, it is incredibly well written.

This is the best cookbook I own. I've had it for over 11 years, and still use it regularly.

An unusual feature of this cookbook is that it explains the principles that give cuisines of different areas their distinctive flavors. The idea is that you can categorize cuisines in terms of (1) their primary ingredients, (2) the cooking techniques that are used, and (3) the types and combinations of flavorings that are added. (Somewhere along the line the author must have studied structural anthropology.) A later section of the book talks about how to combine these elements creatively.

One thing about this cookbook that must be mentioned is that the recipes work. I can't recall ever making something from this book that didn't turn out. The directions are very clear.

There's a lot of great stuff in here; I'll mention just a few stand-outs:

- mu shu whatever
- ful gobi (cauliflower curry)
- Provencal bean and sausage soup
- vegetables Provencal au gratin
- Spanish codfish soup
- Italian meatballs

I love Elizabeth Rozin's cookbooks -- her recipes are as close to foolproof as one can get in an uncertain world. But this book is much more than the sum of its recipes. Rozin breaks out the "flavor principals" that make French cooking taste French and Vietnamese cooking taste Vietnamese. Her insights have helped me both as a cook and as a diner to cook better, to plan menus so that the dishes complement each other, and to enjoy restaurants more, too.

I purchased the book, FOOD FOR THOUGHT, a few years ago. Elizabeth L. knows what she is talking about. I read a daily meditation each morning and always find something in the writing that pretains to me. If you suffer from compulsive overeating, buy FOOD FOR THOUGHT. It's very inspirational.

This book has been a great support for me. I often go back to passages over and over. It is supportive and written in a positive manner. It addresses motivation, making mistakes, forgivness, you name it. I know people that use this book for mediations even if they aren't over eaters. I highly, highly recommend this book!

I think this book has the best comprehensive over-view of humanity's place in the unfolding evolution of life on earth.
It shows that our species is in the midst of choosing to fulfill it's potential or by default, self-destruct. It clearly shows that our choices that we are making now are decisive. It also makes clear that we already have and know everything we need to not only survive and prosper, but to facilitate the same for all of our fellow creatures and earth itself. Our time is running out and, as this book shows, the world will go on perfectly well without us. We are a new "big-brain" experiment in the dance of life...one that is blessed/cursed with having to choose our destiny.

Although out of print in its original title "Gaia...", it is now available as "Earthdance; Living Systems in Evolution."

Contact life@igc.org for ordering info.

Excellent book written in user-friendly language that shows how we can better model our social systems after natural systems; which has had billions of years to work out the kinks. Highly recommended.

Reading and collecting garden books has become a hobby of mine, and this is by far the best of my collection. The landscapes in this book have been refined over centuries, by both man and nature. I look at this book repeatedly, for enjoyment and for ideas in sketching landscape designs

Open this book and you'll enter a world of sun-kissed villas, exotic foliage, colorful orchards, shadowed walkways, and incredible views overlooking the water. The photography simply took my breath away! I must have looked through the book a half a dozen times before I even began to read the text. If you're planning to visit the area let this serve as an inspiration from the usual tourist traps. I've been to Naples several times but this visually stunning tome made me realize just how much I've missed. Can't wait to go back and explore those gorgeous gardens! This book is definitely a keeper!