If you are, or you have friends or family who are collectors of exotic cookbooks -- especially African -- then South of the Sahara is a terrific gift! It was my pleasure to receive a copy from the book's publisher to review for my African Cultures site at About.com. In addition to great, authentic West African recipes, the book contains valuable information about the various foods and sources where you may purchase the ingredients called for in West African cooking.

We are Americans residing in Ghana and received this book as a gift-the recipes faithfully recreate the food we find in the markets and chop bars. Its a book we'll carry and use in all our future travels.

Good food, beautiful pictures of some of the dishes and of Africa, and easy to follow recipes.

I really love this book! It kept me on the edge og my seat, and I couldn't put it down!I love the Spy Girls series, and would rate them all five stars, but this one is my favorite. I'd reccomand it to anyone who likes adventure and spying. It's the kind of book that made me want to get the next book in the series right away!

This was a very exciting book.Three teens have only three days to find a princesswho has ran away with her boyfriend.The girls are placed in a luxury ski resort with the nost beautiful suite they could imagine.Will the spy girls be able to keep their eyes on the mission,or will they be too busy basking in luxury?

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK IN A GREAT SERIES! YOU GOTTA HAVE IT

I came across this book purely by chance and, am I ever glad that I did, because I would have no idea where to look for such a book in a bookstore. The collection of stories encompasses every type of tale you can think of: horror, humor, science fiction, mystery, romance, and the list goes on.

Each story explores one of the author's suspicions about the way the universe really works and what motivates the people in it. It has been several days since I finished reading the book and I amazed by the number of different stories I can clearly remember from the book. So many of them brought up 'suspicions' that come back to me at unexpected times throughout the day.

I may not know exactly how to classify the subject of this book, but I do know that it well worth reading. The variety and superb writing talents of Ms. Engstrom guarantees that the suspicious raised by the stories will stick with you long after you finish.

A great summertime read!!
This combination of shorts is exactly what the beach requires, a little darkness in the sun for your mind to ponder. I've been reading Elizabeth's work for years and I'm always enthralled. Her writing is very accessible and her stories are only the beginning of her writing, the rest is what she leaves with you.

I have learned a lot about what drives me from Engstrom's stories, and I predict that should you choose to read this collection of uncommon fiction, you will be surprised at what you learn about yourself. Everyone gets what they deserve in Liz's fantasy world, centering around suspicions about everything from death to the unknown. I am amazed at how well Ms. Engstrom has defined the needs of a man verses the needs of a woman in her often arousing, and just as often humorous erotic tales surrounding suspicions about sex. In general, her stories will overstimulate your psyche and probe your intellect with their pushing the limits scenerios and psychological suspense. And you may be surprised by what suspiciously drives you in the end. This is a great read, not for the faint of heart.

what a stunner! I totally did not expect this to be as wonderful as it was. Snobbish aristrocat falls in love with cloddish farmer. . .sounds like a tried and true formula but in Saunders' hands it is magic. I loved the book and sat and read it in a day! I do hope that there will be sequels to this book i.e the stories of the other brothers. I agree with the other reviewer - daniel and Polly just dont go and Daniel deserved a book of his own. do read it if you like well written romance (along with some nice steamy scenes).

In an English country garden a snobbish French aristocrat and a handsome farmer plant the seeds of a desire that will iled a bountiful harvest of love..

Christianna has always fantasized about marrying a wealthy nobleman who can pay for her luxurious life in Marie Antoinette's court.But revolution dashed her hopes and sends her fleeing to an English farmhouse far from proper society. And the penniless girl's nightmare is made complete by the amorous advances of a farmer - a man who looks like a Roman god, but acts like a common peasant.

Rude, snobbish and affected, Christianna is everything Gareth Larkin despises. And he would refuse to have anything to do with her -but she's the most breathtaking creature he's ever beheld. Determind to steal the beautiful aristocrat's heart, Gareth sets out to teach her that the length of a man's title and the size of his fortune are not necessarily his most important assets. (Text taken from book)

If you want a book that encompasses love, passion, humor with a very likable hero and heroine than this is the book for you. In the very first chapters of the book Christianna may appear to be shallow and not so likeable but soon our opinion about her change as more is revealed about her and we come to understand why she has turned so bitter and we come to emphatise with her and also feel sorry. Although she has suffered, Christianna is not a pathetic character who looks for pity.She is strong, stubborn and gives a hard time to Gareth who gets angry with her easily but it is obvious from the start that he is in love with her.

The other characters of this book are utterly charming, and funny. The author adds plenty of humor and deftly combines humor with a passionate romance and some touch of danger too. I loved this book and i'd recommend it to anyone.

Good follow-up book to Victoria and Phillipe's story. I thoroughly enjoyed both stories. Didn't care that Daniel married Polly though. I liked Polly as the town hussy, but not Daniel's wife. Hopefully Ms. Saunders will write another story using Jamie Larkin. That should end her series nicely.

This book is full of wonderful recipes that work well for romantic occassions AND every day choices! I love it. I use it all the time.

I just love this little book. I have many, many cookbooks to choose from and I've gone back to this one for several dishes already in the last two months since I've purchased. Although, I have not yet made a full menu as it recommends, taking pieces here and there has been just as wonderful. The dishes are gourmet in their presentation and ingredients, but not complicated to prepare. Perfect when cooking just for two on a nice quiet weekend.

A Taste For Love is a wonderful book with recipes to delight the taste buds, poetry to move a lover's soul, and helpful suggestions to put you in the mood for romance. And, you don't have to be a hopeless romantic to use it. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to put out an impressive meal.

Excerpts from the International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, Vol. 13 #2, Winter, `99: ``Though not entirely successful in depicting the `essential' Veblen . . . .[this new Veblen biography] is essential reading for students and scholars of Veblen. It cannot replace Dorfman's but it deserves equal billing,'' Clare Virginia Eby. ``Flaws and imperfections notwithstanding . . . . their book has entered the sholarly literature on Thorstein Veblen and will henceforth be obligatory reading for anyone wishing to know him,'' Russell H. Bartley and Sylvia Erickson Bartley.

. . . . Stanford alumni Elizabeth and Henry Jorgensen have written a clear, engrossing biography that corrects significant errors in previous accounts, but they can't overcome the central problem, Veblen himself . . . . Veblen returned to Palo Alto in 1927, 18 years after Stanford fired him for supposed "immorality." . . . .the signal achievement of this book (flawed mainly by the Jorgensens' too-brief sketches of Veeblen's thought): demonstrating, once and for all, that Veblen was not an unscrupulous womanizer. Though implausible oin its face, that reputation has gone largely unchallenged for half a century, mostly because Ellen Veblen blackened her husband's name so well.

The authors undertook this project because they believed that a man with such cantankerous ideas must have had an interesting life. Those who had written about him before were earnest in their approach but did not convey an appreciation of his unique personality. Now with the current interest in the millenium, there seems to be a Veblen revival. The WALL STREET JOURNAL of January 11, 1999, devoted a full page to fifteen of the ``Best and Brightest Economic Thinkers Who Made a Difference.'' In this Pantheon of those ``who challenged the conventional wisdom'' and whose perceptions ``changed the way millions thought and lived'' were Saint Thomas Aquinas, Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, John Maynard Keynes and Thorstein Veblen. Other recent accolades to Veblen are found in Adam Goprik's article in the April 26-May 3, 1999 issue of THE NEW YORKER, and John Carroll's column ``Conspicuous Presumption'' in THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE of May 3, 1999 Alex Beam of THE BOSTON GLOBE in his colum (April 21, 1999) entitled ``The Love Song of Thorstein Veblen'' had this to say about out book: He observed that he was turned off by books that sort of dragged the sex lifes of their subjects in by the heels, and said: ``Not every distinguished man's sex life is worth researching. . . . But Veblen, the enfant terrible of the turn-of-the century economics profession, enjoyed not just an interesting sex life, as his latest biographers Elizabeth and Henry Jorgensen make clear, he enjoyed his life in full. ``There can be no such thing as a dull biography of Veblen, and this one does not disappoint. ``The man who would later anathematize the titans of capital was a cradle contrarian . . . While Sioux marauders were killing fellow Norwegian homesteaders in Minnesota during the 1860s the boy Thorstein sided with the Indians. . . . [He was also] A-religious--- `If there is a difference between religion and magic I have never seen it.' [Thus] Veblen disdained hsi family's prairie Lutheranism and mocked the pieties of America's golden age. ``He was at heart an anthropologist. THE THEORY OF THE LEISURE CLASS represents field work among the grandees who sent their children to the universities where he taught, and among his censorious in-laws. . . . His trenchant analysis of what came to be called male chauvinism in his essay, `The Barbarian Status of Women,' made him ever more unpopular. Escept perhaps, among women. ``Veblen attracted intelligent women, who shared his contempt for male ritual. Even for the serious-minded Jorgensens, it seems impossible to separate Veblen's life story from his love stories. His first wife, Ellen Rolfe, destroyed his academic career by tattling about her husband's affairs to the presidents of Stanford and the University of Chicago. After trudging all night through a blizzard to visit his second wife [-to-be] in `Nowhere,' Idaho, Veblen contacted double pneumonia, which crippled him for life. ``The Jorgensens correctly note that even his most famous writings seem thick and turgid to the modern taste. But he was the rarest of birds in 20th-century Amderica: a dangerous thinker.''

This is a very touching book of the life and work of a great woman of prayer. Written by a skeptic turned believer! See what doctors have to say when they find out that their patients are healed through prayer! Well done! Great review from the news media!

Grace is a woman who signs gospel music. While singing people felt that they were healed of sickness. The author conducted a very educated investigation and found doctors who were baffeled. Peopled really were healed through prayer. Grace's life is also interesting and fun to read about. The book has a smooth reading style.

Fun and interesting! Grace is a real, proven, woman of prayer and faith! Refreshing to read of someone like this! Stories of people healed are well done! Grace's life is interesting.A very good read for women who want to make a good case that women make good leaders!

This fourth book by Diana Vandervoort contains some new applications of the craft, using ribbons, trims, fabric, etc., to offer some very easy results for the newcomer, and variations for the more experienced even if they do stray somewhat from traditional Temari embroidery. There are embroidered projects as well... if you were looking though to expand into some more difficult designs, it's a bit short.

This is a wonderful book that illustrates the techniques needed to make these beautiful balls. The author is very familiar with the craft and writes in a style that can be understood easily. I let this book sit on a shelf for quite some time before I got myself motivated. I am sorry now because I truly love creating these wonderful treasures. Buy this book and learn a new and interesting craft.

this is a wonderful book - I had not heard of this type of crafting earlier, and the women at the local fabric shops looked at me a little funny when I told them what I was buyng all the colored ribbons, threads, charms and such for, but this is a really neat artform!

it also is every bit as easy as claimed. My very first ball turned out well. I'm off to collect the earlier Temari books now. :)

Reading the Texicans gave me a glimpse into an era of Texas history that I had never visited. I thoroughly enjoyed this historical novel and read with excitement and anticipation to what was next for the Stockman family. This book is a must read for anyone who enjoys historical periods in Texas history.

Schwartz captures the entire essence of why the battle for Texas was fought. I have never seen it so clearly stated-the clsh of ideas! The Texicans is a great read from a very talented first writer.

Dear Elizabeth Maul Schwartz: I bought a copy of The Texicans when you spoke to your San Gabriel Writers League earlier this month. I must tell you that I loved your novel! It also fills in a gap in my Texas collection. We often forget that before Austin and his colonists that there were residents under Spanish rule. The 1806 opening through the creation of the Republic of Texas as shown in the your book capturers the turmoil of life under Spain, then under Mexico and then the Republic. Your characters are vividly drawn. Your book is compelling. What happens to your characters becomes important to the reader. In places you tug at our heartstrings, then in others you excite us as we are swept up into the action. Again, thanks for a great read. Your book compares favorably to novels published by the large commercial houses. Sincerely, Roger M. Busfield, Jr.,

O'Leary's book examines an aspect of American life and thought which too many scholars of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era are prone to take for granted: the ways in which patriotism was expressed, mostly by quasi-public rather than formal state institutions. Starting from the reasonable point that patriotism could not possibly have meant the same thing to everyone, O'Leary develops a sophisticated and difficult to label examination of it. At length, she demonstrates that another, more constructive form of patriotism was possible. In particular, opposition to the color line could be found among Grand Army of the Republic veterans for far longer than it was evident among the general population; but by the fiftieth anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg in 1913, their numbers and energy vitiated by the passing decades, even the GAR had basically capitulated. The result of this capitulation was that traditional masculine values such as combat heroism essentially displaced the constitutionalism and defiant commitment to inclusionist politics of abolitionists, suffragists and other reformers as the prime ingredient in patriotism. But the book should not be interpreted as a principally feminist interpretation of patriotism; it is, rather, a sectional one. This is a function of O'Leary's conclusion that the white South was increasingly able to demand the North acquiesce in and even copy its views on race as the price of national unity. After careful consideration, and comparison against personal experience, I am forced to concede that the clear implication that the minds of white Northerners were and remain more malleable than those of their Southern counterparts is a correct one. A useful follow-up to this implication (which O'Leary fails to adequately develop) would be research to examine why white Southerners, having experienced crushing defeat in battle, proved less willing than mid-twentieth century Germans or Japanese to reject their own historical social and political order and gradually come to imitate that of the war's victors. Modernity, in the sense of a lesser degree of urbanization, is probably a factor. This book is reminiscent of, but not truly comparable to, Waldstreicher's dissection of American nationalism in its first fifty years because Waldstreicher devotes far less space to the issue of African-Americans, largely because so few were free during the period his book covers (although their placement at the end of his book underlines their future significance to the definition of patriotism). O'Leary introduces other oppositional forms of patriotism, particularly in the story of Francis Bellamy, the social gospel advocate who wrote the Pledge of Allegiance but felt constrained to offer either liberty or justice so that the Pledge would be acceptable to patriots of the rights and the left. Ultimately, however, they function as asides, a major weakness which may or may not reflect pressure from the publishers to limit the size of the book. It therefore becomes impossible to avoid the conclusion that African-Americans are the very heart of O'Leary's argument that patriotism over a period of fifty years after the Civil War became less legitimate, with a further radical downturn in its social utility when the Federal government moved during World War I to enforce it. Conservatives, or simply readers accustomed to a drier presentation, would like to be able to say that the black victims of hundreds of lynchings and riots died as a result of something other than patriotism, but racism was inseparable from the patriotism of both average and elite (represented by the Supreme Court) white people as early as the 1880's, almost making the book's principal focus after that time superfluous.

Cecilia O'Leary's book "To Die For" covers the fifty-year period between the Civil War and the First World War, and shows how our modern concept of patriotism was created and given its meaning during that time. If you had assumed that the Pledge of Allegiance, Memorial Day, and the cult of Old Glory have always been with us, you should read this book and have your eyes opened. Patriotism, as we experience it today, is the result of a lot of planning and effort.

To summarize her argument, American patriotism was constructed after the Civil War as a way of reuniting the North with the defeated South on the basis of White supremacy. Organizations of veterans on both sides, and organizations of women as well, purged themselves of Black members in the course of achieving what they considered a national reconciliation. Public institutions did likewise. Patriotic symbols, celebrations, and rituals were created during this period to encourage good citizenship and loyalty. The efforts that went into this project have been forgotten, perhaps on purpose.

I had never given much though to the origins of these symbols, like the Pledge. I just assumed, as I think I was supposed to, that they were always there, transcending history, never bothing to think that everything has a history, and that there might be some interest in seeing what it is like. Growing up in the South, I had always had to face the kind of mindless gung-ho patriotism that infests that region more than any other, and I often wondered how that could square with the ritual display of the Stars and Bars and the glorification of the "War Between the States". Her book brings it all out.

In her pages, you will meet organizations you may never have heard of, like the GAR, the Grand Army of the Republic, the organization of Northern Civil War veterans, and its Southern counterpart, the United Confederate Veterans. You may be surprised by the number and strength of Women's organizations in this period, and by their complex struggles involving suffrage, race, and concepts of social duty.

I was personally struck by the often-repeated phenomenon of liberals, reformers, and even socialists getting co-opted into the system's ideological mechanisms. I would never have guessed that the author of the Pledge of Allegiance was the cousin of the socialist author of "Looking Backward". I was also struck, and hard, by the tradition and extent of vigilantism in America. I don't know if Europe has anything quite like it. The book is full of examples of it, from Confederate veterans terrorizing Blacks to mobs lynching preachers and Wobblies.

In spite of the many grim elements of the story, I was struck by how possible it is to change the concept of what it means to be an American. I have always felt excluded by the current definition. I come away from "To Die For" understanding that what we call "patriotism" is not burned into stone, and that people like myself can affect how this concept is redefined in the future.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Historians are only now beginning to study the subject of American patriotism. They will be using Dr. O'Leary's book for a long time to come.

I have the honor to be a childhood friend of the author. We met in the second grade. Our father's had beeen classmates at Stanford University. CeCe has to be one of the most interesting, creative searchers for truth that I have ever met. I'm glad to see that the childhood sense of adventure, the tendancy to question "true beliefs", and the spirit of a real survivor are still alive and well. Although I am of White Southern Slave Owning heritage, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in American history and the American Psyche. If you ever have a chance to meet Dr. O'Leary, I'm sure you'll join me in considering her a charming and fascinating human being. Susan Merchant.