I was very surprised when I ordered this book and found out that yes, indeed, it was merely a very tiny portion of what I had expected. I suppose I should have known from the price, but the description (at least at that time) did not make it clear that it wasn't the entire dictionary.

While this may be a very thorough source for the words it covers, it should be noted in the basic information that this is ONLY 128 pages of a 15,000 page work. The description above is very misleading.

itz a dictionary. what more can i say

In a word, infantile. While Mary Daly certainly has all the rhetorical flair with which her disciples credit her, this gift of the gab is too often used to justify an essentially close-minded viciousness which leaves any attempt at actually useful philosophy in the dust. It's strange that Daly so consistently castigates the rhetorical abuses of the patriarchy (which are, I absolutely agree, often horrifying) while failing to perform any better in this, her answer to male-determined language. Worse, while she claims to represent all *true* feminists, her argument for this claim is to simply recategorize any feminist who dares to disagree with her as a 'fembot', a brainless casualty of patriarchy. She appears either unable to get over the very paradigms of violent hierarchy which she claims to oppose, or else is somehow under the gross missapprehension that a cycle of violence is somehow to be prefferred to actual progress for feminism or society at large. D+.

While I realize that this book is intended to be a humorous look at the English language, it still doesn't excuse the mean-spirited male-bashing in which Daly engages.

The first two-thirds of the book were indeed fun (hence the extra ratings star). Any attempt to experiment and play with words is great; and trying to bolster women's courage and laughingly shove them into redefining themselves on their own terms--all the better!

But why trash men? Daly's definition of heterosexual relationships as being instigated only by men towards women is not only incorrect but insulting. One could almost accuse Daly of being heterophobic, and isn't bigotry supposed to be wrong? I guess all those loving, ethical, funny, and caring fathers/sons/brothers/friends are just figments of a sadly benighted race of "fembots" and "totalled women".

Mary Daly does it again! She manages to skewer dead and dying institutions in remarkably few words. For example: "bubble n: an artificial total environment which distances, destroys and replaces the physical/spiritual Elemental world; an Eye-sore/I-sore. Examples: disneyworld; the bible." Lest you think this is all negative, delight in "Be-Witching: leaping/hopping/flying inspired by Lust for Metamorphosis...the exercise of Labrys-like powers." Nice pictures, too. A must-have for the Feminist who needs a chuckle or a good quote from time to time. Definitely a keeper!

"The Christmas Story", Text selected by Linn Howard and Mary Jane Pool, with Photographs by Elliott Erwitt. Harry N. Abrams, Publishers, New York, 2001.

This is an elegantly bound book, with spectacular photos of the 18th century crib created by the leading artists of the then Kingdom of Naples. This small book will make an excellent stocking stuffer. The Photographer, Elliot Erwitt, has done a wonderful job of catching all the miniature details of the multitude of figurines used in the crib (or crèche, as the book calls it).

Although you are told that the figures are "...no more than twenty inches high", it is not until you reach the last photo of the book, displaying the crèche on a table top, that you fully realize how small the entire scene is. Then, you begin to get an inkling of the amount of work the photographer has done to capture the exquisite beauty of each tiny piece.

For me, the overall book is marred by the choice of Gospel texts from the King James Version. For members of the largest Christian church in the United States, the King James Version is not acceptable. Further, the King James Version has blatant errors, such as (see page 19 in this tiny book), Luke 2.13,14, which reads, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men". Various Protestant bible societies have come around to, ".. peace on earth to those on whom his favor rests" This is close enough to the Douay-Rheims, "...peace on earth to men of good will". So, five stars for the excellent photography, one star for the choice of bible version, yields an average of three stars.

I thought this book was great if you are a vegetarian and planning to backpack through Europe. Only, I was only going to Paris and I found that I couldn't really use it because it didn't have enough depth on what was available specifically there. Maybe I was really looking for something that doesn't really exist (because there just aren't that many veggie restaurants there).

The title of this book and a look at the other books by the authors would lead one to think that this is a cookbook of spicy-hot recipes . . . and one would be right. Despite focusing on the hot chile pepper in Africa, the "Flavors of Africa Cookbook" does provide an overview of African cooking in about 160 recipes; from the North African tajine to the South African bobotie and all the sauces, soups, stews and curries in between. There are authentic traditional African recipes featuring such ingredients as plantains, yams, and groundnuts (peanuts) as well as African-inspired fusion cooking from in and out of Africa. But the African pili-pili, peri-peri, and piri-piri (all African words for chile peppers and dishes made with them) is the star here. The book's introduction is a history of the chile pepper in Africa. There is much related to spicy-hot African cookery throughout the book, including advice on exactly which hot chiles to use to obtain the most authentic results.

There are just a few things I noticed and wondered about:

The general consensus among scientists is that Capsicum (peppers) are native to America and were spread throughout the world in the early years of the age of European exploration. This book states that chile peppers first appeared in North Africa, but were spread to the rest of the continent by Europeans, but there is no further explanation. Perhaps there is some confusion of the Capsicum with the Aframomum melegueta (or grains of paradise, a pepper-like spice that is native to Africa) or other spices native to Africa.

Poulet (chicken) Gnemboue (or Nyembwe) is a chicken stew made with palm nuts, the fruit of the African oil palm. It is a dish made in equatorial West Africa, especially Gabon. People outside of Gabon sometimes substitute hazelnuts, pine nuts, almonds, or peanuts. In this book, this recipe (with almonds) is called a "North African tajine".

There are a few mistakes in Swahili: (and I am no expert there, but) I noticed that "Curried Chicken and Banana Soup" is parenthetically titled "Supa Ya N Dizi" which should be "Supa Ya Ndizi", meaning "Soup of Plantains".

Oftentimes the authors enthusiasm for chile peppers goes a bit too far, leading them to abandon the use of the African names for recipes. For example, a sort of black-eyed pea fritter popular in West Africa and known as "Akara" (along with other African names) is called "Blistering Bean Balls" in this book, with no mention the dish's African names. Also, "Poulet Yassa" (made by grilling chicken that has been marinated in an onion-lemon mixture) is sometimes made with hot peppers, but is just as likely to be flavored mostly by the onions and lemon with little or no hot pepper. Not all African cuisine is spicy-hot after all.

Finally, the "Zanzibar Duck" recipe seems to have been copied almost word for word from Laurens van der Post's "Recipes: African Cooking (Foods of the World)" (New York: Time-Life Books; 1970), but with no acknowledgement.

Overall, a good book for adventurous cook who likes it hot.

A great bargain. Most of these are familiar, basic recipes, but the price is right, so I would recommend it as a good starter.

This book was very good. I liked the way the author described each moment in Maya's life. I'd just like to say that if anyone wants a good biography this is it.

This book was very informative as to Rosa Ponselle's extraordinary musical career; but lacking was more of a story about her rise to fame,relationships with others, and a more personal look at Ponselle.

This book gives a brief history of the Church, its beliefs, and various other things Catholically related. I think this would be for someone entering the Catholic Church, or for those who have been away from the Church for some time now, but I don't think it's written in the way it should be for welcoming souls into the Church that Christ established. I would suggest reading another book and being well-grounded in your Faith before reading this, because there's nothing you're missing in here.

A wonderful book for children. This book helps children accept who they are while helping them to realize there are others out there in this big world who also have worries and concerns. This is a book that can help a child begin to think of others and their struggles and help them to be more open to the plight of those around them, helping them become less self-centered. The repitition of the text with each animal allows the child to interact with the "reader". "You think that's hard?" Kids can really get into this story and particiapte, what a great way to get them involved in reading at an early age!