So many beautiful cakes! I made a friends wedding cake based on one of the cakes in this book and it came out so pretty! There were many helpful tips but basically I used this book for inspiration.

This enchanting book is packed with all the information a bride needs about selecting, serving, and preserving a wedding cake.

Yummy photos of great cakes. A couple of recipes for the intrepid. Tips about choosing a baker. Wedding cake etiquette (you wouldn't want to smash one of these cakes in the groom's face). A great resource guide that covers the entire U.S. and locations overseas.

All this and the history of wedding cakes, too.

The most beautiful cakes I have ever seen! I loved this book. It makes me want to get married all over again. Thank goodness I have daughters. Boy, are we going to have fun. I plan to give The Perfect Wedding Cake book to, two recently engaged women I know.
The photogaphy by Zeva Oelbaum is exceptional. Buy the book just to have copies of the "seside"cake and the cake made for a fall wedding.
Ms. Manchester not only gives readers interesting historical information, but also provides recipes and a resource guide to cake designers all over the USA.
Congratulations Ms. Manchester, on finally giving the bride and groom a beautiful and practical guide on how to create "a show stopping centerpiece" for one of the most important days of their new life together.

The book is very well written, with exciting econpomic moves by the executives from Manchester United.It shows how big soccer is in the world and how much power Manchester really has. I am a soccer fan but not really into economics and because of that i wasn't very thrilled with this book. I recommend it to people that like soccer, are familiar with Manchester United and are interested in the economics and business behind the world's richest soccer club.

I thought this book was well written. It was full of detail and the business strategies were great. Anyone whose in a business would enjoy this book. Personally, i'm more of a fan and perfer watching the games. I really am amazed at the was united play and the way they carry themselves. they have earned tremendous respect over the years. keep up the good work you guys.

I really liked this book because i am a huge soccer fan! It was very informative and i learned a lot about Manchester United and the hardships the team faced.The success of Manchester United did not simply occur because they are a good soccer team. The manner in which they conducted their business and the way in which they were managed helped catapult the team to success. I feel that if a team's business is carefully managed and smart business decisions and ideas are brought forward, then the team will succeed as Manchester United has proven.

Like other readers, I picked up _Dead Beat_ as a result of enjoying both _The Mermaids Singing_ and _Wire in the Blood_, the Tony Hill novels.

It's worth noting that this book was written long before the other two, and is in fact the first book in the Kate Brannigan series (written in 1992). It may even have been her first published book.

Kate Brannigan agrees to search for a missing songwriter as a favor to a fading rock star who wants to revitalize his career. She finds her, but the consequence of the discovery is murder...

_Dead Beat_ is an inconsistent novel-- with a lot of the brilliant flashes that will show up later in McDermid's writing, but also with a lot of strange and stiff formula writing and some fairly strained plot devices. The role of the police is unbelievable, to say the least, and Brannigan herself acts in some fairly odd and unmotivated ways. It's still worth a read because it sets the basis of the character, who I'm willing to bet gets better in later books.

Val McDermid writes really well, though she's constrained here by the standard female PI formula. Kate Brannigan is smart and sassy, can't cook, does martial arts, understands computers, and all that required stuff. In fact, Kate's just a little bit too modern-girl to be true - she lets her boyfriend move next door, but to keep her own space, won't give him her key... that kind of thing, I am also so over the whole Rock Star lifestyle behind the scenes stuff, and end was very Agatha Christie - Kate revealing the killer's identity to the suspects assembled in the living room. But if you like female PI stories and want a change from VI Warshawski, then you could do a lot worse. And if you're into serial murder books, The Mermaids Singing, by the same author, is about the best one I've ever read.

This year Spinsters Ink began reprinting the Kate Brannigan mystery series by the award-winning Val McDermid, who is also the author of the lesbian mystery series featuring Lindsay Gordon. In this first book, Kate is hired by a famous musician to find his long-lost lyricist Moira. She succeeds in tracking Moira to her girlfriend's house, and thinks all ends happily ever after with the reunion, until Moira is murdered in the musician's house. Now Kate is pulled into the murder investigation, and finds more suspects and motives than she anticipated, all the while dealing with her job as a private investigator and with a distracting boyfriend. "Dead Beat" is a marvelous introduction to the series and showcases McDermid's talents as a mystery writer. Now let's all thank Spinsters Ink for bringing Brannigan back.

This book is a disgraceful whitewash of the Catholic Church's crimes against humanity. It begins by minimizing the social accomplishments of the society of the Languedoc and goes on to mischaracterize the Cathars, both distortions to mask the real magnitude of the Church's actions. The book does a good job citing all the pro-church publications available, but neglects to consider more balanced sources, omitting well-known historical works - even omitting positive information from the church itself. For example, St. Bernard of Clairveaux, following his own pre-crusade evalaution of the Cathars in the Languedoc concluded, "No sermons are more Christian than theirs, and their morals are pure." Despite its one-sided view, the book can't hide that the fact that the Church murdered tens of thousands by sword, thousands more by burning at the stake (after appropriate torture of course), destroyed the economy of the whole region, and reduced the culture to a level from which it would never fully recover. The book does it's best to draw attention away from the Church's real reason for the crusade: its paranoid fear that Catholicism might be displaced by Catharism. Astonishingly, the author has the gaul to conclude that somehow the people of the Languedoc simply evaluated Catharism versus Catholicism on their relative spiritual merits, and ultimately chose the latter. The author apparently doesn't seem to feel that the people of the Languedoc might have been influenced in any way by a 35-year genocidal war followed by 60 years of relentless inquisition. Other conclusions are of the same cloth. These transgressions might be easier to tolerate if the book were better written, but it is unfortunately very dense, sluggish, and lacking any narrative spark. The small print on high-glare paper is also very difficult to read. If you are already deeply familiar with the issues covered in this book, and are willing to read between the lines, there is enough anecdotal information to make it worthwhile. But, it you are seeking a book that provides a balanced introductory presentation, you'll have to look elsewhere.

Michael Costen has produced the most useful and concise work yet available on this topic. The bibliography is exhaustive and the treatment synthesizes the political, economic, and spiritual aspects of the subject. I feel, however, that Costen fails to treat theoretical matters of deviance and persecution (though the facts speak for themselves). For those interested in a more theoretical work on persecution in medieval society, I suggest R.I. Moore's FORMATION OF A PERSECUTING SOCIETY. Nevertheless, this book is the best at setting the Albigensian Crusade in its historical context relative to Languedoc.

Much in the manner of an earlier offering from Jonathan Sumption, Costen supplies with a concise and up-to-date summary of the origins and effects of the Albigensian crusade. Those looking for romance and fancy should perhaps look elsewhere, but for anyone wishing to develop their interest in this fascinating episode could do much worse than buy this book.

Good readings, but the producer apparently felt the poetry can not stand on its own and added background music throughout. It distracts terribly from the music, and never has any relation in mood to the poetry. Avoid this tape.

If you like Emily Dickenson (and I do) you will love this audio cassette. The readers include Meryl Streep, Sharon Stone, and other great female talents. They read the poems with style and a subtility that matches the work of the poet. After hearing the presentations, I came away feeling that the poems were studied by the readers and for the most part understood and delivered accordingly. Thumbs up!

Typifying the greed, arrogance and foolishness that has become the Man Utd marketing machine this book is perfect for those wanting to flush their money down the MUFC marketing toilet.

This book has every game from the 99/00 season ,the reveiws of all the games may be little biased but then again it is a united book so why not. I know that i wouldnt like to read to read reveiws from people who cant stand man utd .The book has just about every stat from every game and every competion from rio to tokyo and back to old trafford this book is the only guide to our record breaking year a good chance to relive your fravourite games from a specail season for all red fans.I enjoyed reading this so much i will definatley be making future guides a permanant fixture.

This book has great pictures and examples of various linens, but there is not enough explanation on what the characteristics are that differentiate one lace from another. Great for general examples, but anyone interested in becoming a serious collector will need more.

This is a very good "value guide", and speaks to the common person on a "Budget"! Many of the reference guides seem to be addressed toward people who can only afford the crem de la crem, if you will, in the world of this "Gentle Art". I have now been able to put a name to many of the pieces in my vast collection of over 7,000.

The one thing I feel this Reference and Value Guide lacks is a more detailed description of the work in the pieces and more History. For those of us who want to know the three "W's", the Why's, When's and the What's, and also the How's of the Linen and Lace World, more information is needed. Or when we know more about an individual piece, the fourth "W", kicks in and we we wonder Where the information is. Or once again, Why it is missing " Inquisitive minds like mine are always wanting to know as much as possible, and Learn, Learn, Learn!

I don't agree with everything in this book, but I feel that is as it should be! Differing opinions keep us all on our toes.

You may think this will be a thick book to cover the massive history of such a great club. You are right, it is massive. It was great to relive the glory days of man city. Each match has been lovingly recorded in black and white by Ian Penney.

This book covers it all. The electric European ties at Cardiff, Wrexham and Dublin. It features the derby games against Macclesfield. It features the wonderful skill's of Bell, Lee and Summerbee playing on the massive pitch, under massive floodlights. These were the days when Manchester was the Milan of England.

I look forward to seeing a reprint of this book to capture the more recent past including the glorious 2001-2002 season and promotion back to the Premier league. I gave this book 3 stars.

Those who have read Mencken extensively might find this biography a bit tame. Those who have feasted on Manchester's rich accounts of the lives of such people as Winston Churchill and Douglas MacArthur will wonder why this seems so flat in comparison. Still, "Disturber of the Peace" is both a valuable and an immensely readable book. In its few pages (compared with the three volumes on Churchill), the young William Manchester gives a concise but thorough account of Mencken and a thoughtful assessment of the man's importance during his own era and today. It's a pity this book is out of print.

I was very disappointed with this book. I love the V.I. books and was ready to take on a new Paretsky book, but now I realize that it's best to stick with the familiar mysteries. This book promised to be challenging and for lack of a better adjective wonderful. I found that this book should be listed under horror and poorly written at that. Sara Paretsky should stick with what she is best at and that is the V.I. Mysteries.

Sara Peretsky steps out of the mystery genre with an allegorical novel that tackles issues of money, sex, gender, power, religion, and insanity. It's an admirable effort that she doesn't quite pull off. The book brings together a diverse group of characters: a group of homeless women, an alcoholic diva, the well-heeled household of a famous neurosurgeon, an overwhelmed psychiatric resident, and a mysterious "goddess" figure. The characters never quite engage us, never get that spark of life that pulls us in for the ride. In particular, we never seem to get a good, head-on look at the pivotal character of the book, the messianic Starr. All of the characters keep telling us how compelling she is; once she shows up, halfway through the book, everybody in the book seems obsessed by her. But we have to take their word for it: she's vague, almost a background character, and there's nothing about her as she's written that reaches out and takes hold of us. This book is both commentary and satire, but it lacks the outrageousness and pure humor necessary to put across its point. I can see what Peretsky was trying to do, and at some points she gets close to hitting her target, but in general it's not a tight enough effort.

This is a very well-written urban fantasy. (It's not remotely horror, by the way).

It's not a mystery. It's about a Goddess returning into urban American life, and the chaos that ensues.

As a reader familiar with SFF, I found this story original, well-written, well-characterized and engaging. It draws the reader in and offers both intellectual and emotional interest.

Paretsky fans who are able to step beyond the familiar mystery milieu, and who aren't afraid of a little sensuality, have a treat to read here--and I don't hesitate to recommend the book to anyone.