Wow...this book is just engrossing from the get-go. I've read it about four times and I still want to read it again. Lucy answered an ad for a "wife" and spent a year on a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Her story reads like the "Survivor" series should have. It's not only her daily accounts of life and surviving, it's a facinating look at relationships and human nature. You'll root for her long after the book is done!

A fastinating book on trying to be a modern Robinson Carusoe, or TV Survivor. Since this is Lucy's book, Robert comes off looking like a total jerk. So its amazing she didn't kill him early on. Also it was Robert's idea, do the island, get the girl and write the book. From reading the book, it's Lucy who plants the garden, learns to fish, talks to the natives, and keeps Robert alive so with Lucy actually writing the book I hope she made a fortune.

The other cool thing was how hard it was to find an unoccupied island to do the test on that you could also survive on. Turns out if you have water and decent soil, people already live there! This shouldn't have been a surprise, but it was to me. I should have figured that in the last 1000 years people of the South Pacific would have looked at all the islands, and stayed on the ones that supported life. So much for the Swiss Family Robinson dream life. It's actually much closer to the Tom Hanks Movie "Castaway" life.

Anyway its a good arm chair adventure read.

Lucy Irvine is a survivor in the real sense of the word. She survived a year on a tropic island in a "marriage" from a personals ad for a "wife" by a writer who wanted to write a book about the experience. Lucy falls in love with the island. This is a wonderful story of their trials and triumphs. I read it years ago and it still stands in my mind as a great read.

This book is a must for the Scottish visitor. I bought 5 books including Frommers driving tours (never touched it) and eyewitness guide (nice pictures, but we never used it). It was the only book we used. The book is outlined in several ways, either you can pick by the area you are, or certain interests. Either way, this is a book written by a Scot, and he knows the area very well. He covers everything from best waterfalls and scenery to best pubs, and the things you shouldn't miss. We felt like we had a guide with us the whole time telling us where to go for the best Scotland has to offer, and everything he said was right on! We found so many places off the beaten path, that as a tourist we never would have found on our own. This book is also very amusing and unbiased, as the author has a keen sense of humor and I found myself laughing several times at his honest approach. I believe this makes all of the difference when you want to have a good traveling experience. I would recommend this book to anyone who is going to Scotland, and also the Michelin map was extremely helpful. It got us everywhere without a problem!

AS a well-prepared traveller, I spend WAY too much money on books and then have to cart them around the whole time. This time, I bought five books on Scotland and Edinburgh. As we travelled for five days, I noticed the book I continuously had out was Scotland the Best! At one stop at one of the "bloody good pubs" by Glencoe, we sat at a table next to Morag and Ian, both Scottish, married 35 years. They saw our book, grinned, and pulled out their own. They said they used it every weekend and kept it in the glovebox. How much more of a recommendation do you need? Buy this book and all the updates!

Once you have a solid book on Scotland, (Fodors, Eyewitness, etc), then this book will bring more life and excitment to your base of knowledge. The authors pick what/where they like best in certain categories, and you will find places not listed in the main tourist books but worth going for if your travels take you near the vicinity. The "best of" topics are such things as graveyards; churches; castles; historical places; waterfalls; coastal villages; shops; beaches; golf courses; glens; and so forth, along with more information in detial on Glasgow and Edinburgh. Told with honesty and a sense of humour, is good for tourists and natives as well. 300 pages of great information, well worth it.

Before I discuss, I would like to note for those who are looking for Trainspotting the novel... this is not it. Irvine Welsh adapted his wonderful novel for the stage and this is the result. Along with another play, Headstate, you can enjoy some of the great drama coming out of contemporary Scotland. The play is significantly different from the novel (and the film as well) - different enough that I would call them variations on a theme, but not truly the same story. There is a lot of role-doubling, so if you are not used to non-realist theatre styles, you might not find this work overly palatable. For those theatre buffs out there, it's a great read, and a fun choice for regional theatre companies looking for something new (but you will need actors with solid Scottish accents).

I read that half the people who bought the novel "Trainspotting" have never bought a book before! I fall into that category, with the exception of non-fiction. I bought Filth for the flight home from Edinburgh to New Jersey because I had enjoyed "Trainspotting" the movie. Once I started reading it (slowly!) I could'nt put it down. It was absolutely amazing. It helps that I'm originally from around the area I suppose but the fact remains that "Filth" is an amazing book. Bruce Robertson is a thoroughly despicable person (soccer fans will note that Welsh is a Hibernian fan and made Bruce a Hearts fan!). We are supposed to be following Bruce along as he solves a politically sensitive murder case when in fact all we're doing is following his total and complete degeneration. This book is incredibly funny and will test your stomach at times, but for a "non-reader", this will get you into reading, especially Irvine Welsh books of which, this is the best.

Read the book it far outclasses the film which in itself was very good. END

This story is told by an Asian-American girl whose family owns a Chinese food restaurant. The narrator is frustrated and discouraged by the separation of American culture and her own culture. ("No one wants Chinese food on the Fourth of July, I say.") However, as five o'clock arrives, so do a few surprises.

Wong's simple tale and Chodos-Irvine's striking illustrations combine to form an endearing story about how the combination of different cultures forms the true culture of America.

Reading Level: Grades 1-2

I purchased this book for my daughter, who is adopted from China, and 2.5 years old. She loves it! It is an easy fun read. It nicely brings out the importance that other cultures bring to form the "American culture". The pictures are lovely,too.

"Apple Pie 4th of July" combines a story by Janet S. Wong with pictures by Margaret Chodos-Irvine. The story is narrated by an Asian-American girl whose family runs a Chinese restaurant. She is annoyed at her folks for keeping the store open on July 4th: "No one wants Chinese food on the Fourth of July, I say." But is she right or wrong? Read the book to find out!

The enjoyable story is perfectly complemented by Chodos-Irvine's colorful illustrations, which have an elegantly stylized quality to them. I especially liked the pictures of the family at work in the restaurant. "Apple Pie" is a wonderful story about entrepreneurship, and about how different cultural traditions contribute to the unique mix that is the United States.

I'm a technical writer and occasionally write manuals for a telecom client in Europe. This book was a good help and provided a well-rounded coverage for TETRA. It seemed to provide most of the information that I was looking for.

There were a few things that I was hoping to find (like a chart of the European RF spectrum, and more information on air interface encryption), but the book had 95% of everything else I needed.

The book automatically gets five stars since it's basically the only TETRA book of its kind out there. If you need a good, well-rounded primer on TETRA, this book would be a good choice.

Very good reference for engineers seeking comprehensive information on Private Mobile Radio (PMR) systems, with special focus on the TETRA standard.
I had this book for almost three years now and still I find it as a very useful source of information.
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This is a good book on TETRA system, it also includes topics on other digital mobile radio system such as GSM, DECT and CDMA. Managers and engineers who are working on TETRA must have this book.

I highly recommend Black Students and School Failure (BSASF) to all serious educators and parents of black students. I also highly recommend re-reading it to anyone who has read this book some time ago. Simply put, this book makes the reader think.

I first read BSASF in 1991. Over the years, I have re-read sections of the book a number of times. For me, the vital and brilliantly communicated points of BSASF are these:

1. [Contrary to "Bell Curve" thinking,]Black children's capacity and potential for learning is equal to that of other ethnic groups.

2. Black children's learning potential is systematically not being realized in America's school systems. Reasons or this include but are not limited to: low expectations and self-fulfilling prophecies; lack of cultural synchronization; lack of national, strategic focus on effectively educating poor, minority children.

In other words, black student failure in school does not point to an inherent inability to learn. Rather, it points to clearly ineffective - perhaps even racist - policies and practices on a classroom, school, school system, and national level.

3. The problem of black student school failure is significantly correlated with the problem of black poverty - and the salient issues of drug abuse, violence, teen pregnancy, etc. These problems persist and will continue to persist until there is an active commitment address them with not just short-lived interventions, but long-term strategic focus on improving educational outcomes for black students.

Being a first-year teacher of math at a 90+% black high school in South Florida, I am an everyday witness of low teacher expectations and self-fulfilling prophecies for black students. This book convinces me that there would be significantly less black poverty if significantly more teachers had high expectations for their black students. Moreover, it makes me wonder if perhaps there would even be a cure for cancer!

Patrick Harper

Coconut Creek, Florida
April 20, 2003

That book is difficult, but I made my way through it, because it’s the truth. And it is good stuff. And it’s worth it. She tells the truth. She explains why black children and students have such problems with Western education. Her answer is that Western education was designed and made by whites. This may be OK for Asians, who are closer to whites, but it can’t work for Africans, our race is too different, the “racial distance”(and the culture that stems from each race) is too big. I don’t mean to be racist, man, but that’s how it is, we are no whites, and whites are no blacks, and that’s fine. Seems to come close to a book I haven’t read, The White Architects of Black Education: Ideology and Power. AND, even worst, she proves, reveals that the aim of this white education that is imposed unto blacks is enslave them by conditioning them to respect white authority, to be docile, subordinate and dependent on white, and by predestinating them to the inferior lowest jobs whites need for their free-market economy. Put it clearly, man : it is still white slavery and exploitation of Africans, but it is hidden. And worst, because you don’t see it and you won’t revolt and shake off the white yoke. It’s deception. And I would had that this white schooling hurts terribly, breaks our African soul, identity , and that’s why many of us fail, our African soul can’t work out with a white identity that is unnatural to us and that enslaves us. But she has the (obvious) solution: we need our own separate schools, but not just so before the segregation, not compulsory, and above all not designed by whites for white children, but designed by Africans for black children. That’s it. The whole point is about designing black school. It should be done by Africans who have rediscovered their roots, I mean their own African cultures, religions, races and languages. Here in South Africa we got a seminal book, P. C. Luthuli’s The Philosophical foundations of Black education in South Africa. Luthuli saw that “While throughout their history Black people have borrowed quite generously in order to construct their school curriculum, the time has come for this to be done within the dictates of their basic needs” and that our schools “must be governed by the fundamental collective philosophy of life”, that is by our own African soul, not the thinking, the soul of the white race, which is alien to us. Irvine, working with the African diaspora in America has come exactly to the same conclusion. What a good book, man, that’s real black studies, black university, and it’s not baloney like some of those white racists say who would like to abolish black studies. Quite the contrary, read her book, she proves we need our own “Afrocentric independent schools”.

As an Irvine follower, I really enjoyed reading Adam Cooper's book, which details not only the relatively recent Ferrari section of Eddie's career but gives the reader an insight into just how he developed his career to the F1 stage. A very entertaining look at the soon to be world champion (if not 99, then 2000!), including some dodgy photos from the early years!

Awesome Book! You don't often find information on Steady Eddie, but this book covers it all!

"In the winding streets of Naples, mozzarella cheese is made daily from buffalo milk." Buffalo mozzarella is part of the everyday diet of Neapolitans and others who live in the southern Italian countryside of the Campania region. Buffalos made their way to southern Italy from India sometime in the sixteenth century. "Mozzarella di bufala" is almost synonomous with Naples, a city where Pizza Napoli was created about three hundred years ago.

When the royal couple of Italy visited Naples in 1899, they ordered pizza to show their solidarity with the people. Legend has it that a Neapolitan baker topped this famous pizza with the colors of the Italian flag by using thick, white slabs of mozzarella di bufala, sliced red tomatoes, and green basil leaves. The baker named his creation after the Italian queen, Margherita, and, to this day, we still order Pizza Margherita in restaurants and bake it at home. The word "mozzarella" derives from the Italian verb "mozzare," that! is, "to cut off, the action of breaking the cheese curd into smaller, more manageable pieces."

The process of making mozzarella di bufala is fascinating. I have seen American food television cooking shows that show it, beginning when the buffalo milk is poured into large metal vats; heated to 95 degrees for several hours; and then a "caglio" (coagulant) is added, which causes a curd to be formed. Next this curd is broken into smaller pieces, the liquid is drained off, and buffalo ricotta is formed, which is then heated for several hours. Finally, the cheesemaker scoops it up with a wooden palette to test it for readiness. When ready, the cheese is rolled into balls by hand, an art learned over years of apprenticeship, and then soaked in brine for several hours. The fresh cheese is best eaten within a day or two, but will keep up to five days. This art of cheesemaking is usually passed down through generations in southern Italian families. However, there are some large !manufacturers who treat the fresh milk with chemicals in order to give the resulting cheese a longer shelf live, but the fresh taste, aroma, and texture are then sacrificed.

After I saw this entire process, I came to appreciate why the cost of mozzarella di bufala is higher than that of regular mozzarella. Also, as long as it is authentic mozzarella di bufala, someone who has lactose intolerance should be able to enjoy it without the uncomfortable side effects that would result from eating mozzarella made from cow's milk. To me, summer means eating an insalata of thick-sliced fresh mozzarella di bufala, sliced vine-ripened tomatoes, with basil leaves and a splash of balsamico fino.

Besides a history of mozzarella di bufala, this beautiful book offers 61 excellent recipes, with a color photo accompanying each one. Top chefs from 21 British restaurants have contributed these recipes, which are grouped in chapters: Insalata; Pane; Pasta; Legumi; Riso e Risotto; Pesc!e e Crostace; and Carne. There is a glossary of terms, with some recipes (Brioche, Mayonnaise, Pesto, Tomato Sauce), followed by an index.

At first, I thought, "Why would I want an Italian cookbook with recipes from British chefs?" After I tested some of the recipes, I have come to love this book. Now I have so many more ways to use my favorite mozzarella di bufala other than in the classic insalata. I enjoy making Eggplant Salad & Carta Musica; Fresh Linguine with Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Smoked Mozzarella; Spaghetti alla Sorrento; Gâteau of Grilled Vegetables & Mozzarella; Buffalo Mozzarella, Tomato & Pesto Tart; and San Daniele Prosciutto with Mozzarella, Figs & Balsamic Dressing.

If you love mozzarella di bufala or have been eager to try it, you will like these recipes. Some of the ones with pane do take a while when made from scratch, but there are many other whimsical, easy, and creative recipes here, too.

If you love buffalo mozzarella (and who on God's green earth does NOT?) you HAVE to buy this book (and you HAVE to buy it from amazon.com!!!). Particularly scrumptious is the braised eel stuffed with buffalo mozzarella and squid!

i think most of surveying teachers in melbourne use this book. as student i found all explanation about surveying in this book. you can learn the surveying by yourself from this book.

The basics of land surveying useful for students as much as professionals are analyzed clearly and efficiently in this book, using theory and examples. Topics as surveying fundamentals,maps and plans, linear surveying, levelling, contouring, vertical sections, theodolites, traversing and computations, tacheometry, radial positioning, curve ranging, setting out for construction works, area and volume mensuration, building survey, always backed up by computer programs in BASIC and a project "exame" at the last chapter. Very useful for every surveyor's library.

Kristiana Gregory really brings out Edith Irvine as a devoted photographer. Even in the midst of all the turmoil, she snaps 60 photos, possibly more! In this true-to-life novel, the famous San Francisco earthquake takes place, however, the quake is not the worst that happens! The fire that the quake created was. It lasted three days and killed an estimated five to ten thousand people. The mayor exploded dynamite to try to get rid of the fire, but the dynamite only created more. This novel also illustrates the annoying floor length dresses that the ladies of 1906 had to wear and the automobiles of Daisy's time. In some books earthquakes are made up just for entertainment. Not this one! This earthquake was real. The first shock was on April 18, 1906 and was recorded at 5:12:05 a.m. and it lasted for 45 seconds. There were 27 earthquakes that were actually recorded that day. Mary Exa Atkins Campbell told the earthquake's story.

I really enjoyed the book Earthquake at Dawn. It's about the 1906 San Fransisco earthquake/fire that happened at dawn (hence the name Earthquake at Dawn). Even though it is historical fiction, it had a lot of true things that made it incredibly believable. Kristina Gregory definitely made the story good by adding some subplots that kept your interest. The subplots were real things too, like Edith and Daisy getting separated from their father, and Molly dying of lack of healthcare. This was a really good, captivating book which I think many people will cherish for years to come.

This was an excellent book. I choose to read it for my summer book reports that I have to do and most of the time I dread reading the books but not this. I also usually have no trouble putting books down but I couldn't put this one down. The book is about Edith and her assisant Daisy who are going to Europe but stop in San Francisco and they get stuck there because of an earthquake. They meet a lot of people and have some adventures while trying to find Edith's father