Entertaining book. You gotta be a big soccer fan, with some sense of the history of the game to enjoy it, but if you are...

Make no mistake, this is a book about Dutch football-however, what makes it of at least passable interest to non-football fans is how Winner ranges into Dutch history, politics, art, architecture, and psychology in his attempt to explain why Dutch football is so different. In that sense, the book is quite a bit more "highbrow" than most. After starting with a brief history of Dutch soccer, Winner plunges full into the Dutch glory days of the late '60s to late '70s, when "total football" was king and Johan Cruyff was its master. The book's central idea is to try and suggest similarities between aspects of Dutch football and aspects of Dutch life, which when looked at together reveal something of the Dutch national character.

For example, one of these linkages is the shared timeframe for the birth of modern Dutch football and the progressive globalist nature of Holland, as exemplified by Amsterdam as we think of it now. Another is the lack of "killer instinct" or "win at all costs" mentalities (as evidenced by the national team's historical failure to win the big games), in favor or a more aesthetic mentality that values style or beauty over results. A third example is his discussion of the tension between society/team as a whole, and the individual/star. Winner splits his time between history and analysis (often very insightful), and interviews with former players, coaches, and non-football academic specialists and art critics. There are great tidbits here and there, such as a chapter about the Ajax club and why many of its supporters wave Israeli flags, which is intertwined with a capsule history of Dutch collaboration with Nazi occupiers and the Dutch collective memory of the war.

Lots of neat stuff here, but it's a little hard to get into without having access to video (or at least memories) of some of the pivotal games under discussion, such as the 1974 and 1978 World Cup finals. Winner can explain the "total football" concept as eloquently as possible (which he does), but I think you have to see it to "get" it. And in that sense, the book is a little bit of a failure. Maybe one day it can be reissued with a companion DVD?

Unapologetically obsessive examination of both the Dutch national team, and the club team Ajax Amsterdam, from the origins of totaalvoetbal in the late '60s until Euro 2000. The author is David Winner, a Brit who lives in Amsterdam part-time. Winner attempts to uncover what he sees as a Dutch nation plagued by self-perpetuating pathologies related to WW2 and the Germans, democracy and its problems with committee decisions, space and the Dutch genius for creating it, and an unwillingness toward self-examination.

In a nutshell, the author suggests that Dutch society is reflected in its soccer. There are some ridiculously extraneous ideas here, such as (what I consider) filler material regarding the color orange, the seeming Dutch inability to win penalty kick shootouts, and the Jewish war experience in the Netherlands. However, the book really shines in Winner's many interviews with ex-players and managers. There are lots of great (and some contradictory) anecdotes about Cruyff, Van Basten, Rep, Rensenbrink, Keizer, Van der Gaal, and to a lesser extent Krol, Gullitt, Kluivert, and Bergkamp.

I would recommend this book only to those who are obsessed (at least mildly) with both soccer and Holland. Both worthy topics. The joy of the book is in its anecdotal fun, however; don't expect thesis material here.

This book is not what I expected. I was hoping to learn why Yoga became so important to the author. Rather the book focused on a journey of self discovery. The connection between the two, to me, was tenuous. The concept was interesting but it missed the mark.

Valerie Simonson is true blue. Her book only give a smattering of her qualities.
I and my departed wife read the origional manuscript before it went to the publisher.
There are a few things that we thought were important in the book that were taken out.
I hope some day Val will add these to another book so that the readers will not feel that there is something missing
My departed wie used to baby sit Valerie, and loved her dearly. When we found out that she was trying to promot her new book I went on line around the world telling people about it, because we new that was a TRUE story and an adventure that only a couragous and desperate woman could do. Valerie is contagious...if you were to ever meet her you would never forget her. She radiates. Keep up the good work Val ....We LOVE you --- Bill and Olive in Mexico,

The book helped me a lot in my spiritual journey. I would like to write to the author to discuss some details of the book ( it is about Baba, Valerie)

I enjoy reading food narratives and childhood accounts of growing up in foreign countries; however, this book is quite a disappointment after reading the summary above. The writing isn't great, the descriptions certainly don't transport you to Tuscany, and despite the title, I wouldn't say there is an emphasis on food. If you were related to Patrizia, you mind find it an interesting read, but I've found myself skimming through it, searching for compelling passages, of which there are few.

Always on the lookout for eloquent voices on Italian food and life, I noticed a new release entitled "Rosemary and Bitter Oranges" by Patrizia Chen. Subtitled "Growing Up in a Tuscan Kitchen," the book piqued my interest on several levels. Rosemary and bitter oranges are strong ingredients, impossible for a cook to ignore. On the cover, a sepia snapshot of a pigtailed girl in a proper '50s cotton dress and sensible shoes smiled sweetly in a sun-dappled garden. The name Patrizia is certainly Italian, I thought, but "Chen" sounds Chinese. I was curious.

Patrizia was born just a few years after the end of WWII and grew up in a stately peach-colored home on Via Roma in the heart of Livorno, Tuscany's major port. Only a few years earlier, the large home had, of necessity, been abandoned by her family and had endured the abuse of occupying German soldiers.

Patrizia lived with her parents, grandparents, brother, two sisters, and the family cook Emilia.
The tension that existed between the culinary dictums of the patriarch Nonno GianPaolo and the talents of the cook Emilia play a central theme of the story and mirror Patrizia's personal journey from a well-bred Italian convent schoolgirl to an international journalist married to a Chinese American living in Manhattan.

Of her grandfather's table, Patrizia recalls, "The food was invariably white'uniformly white'and bland. Many souffleés, lots of sformati (timbales), paste al gratin, and beautiful fish'maybe a merluzzo (a small Mediterranean cod), steamed to perfection, with a whisper of extra-virgin olive oil. Food was judged by the same standard as fashion: spiciness was as vulgar as a skintight dress."

Of Emilia's kitchen, she recalls, "One day as I passed through the kitchen after playing in the garden, my senses were suddenly awakened, stirred by a vivid aroma that I had never experienced at the table with my family. Emilia was eating the meal she had prepared for herself. It was an explosion of colors: vermillion tomatoes, green basilico and parsley, and contrasting black pepper dots. And the smell! Pungent, strong, and exotic enough to stop me, and my seven-year-old nose, in my tracks."

After Emilia shares a sample with Patrizia, both lives are changed. Emilia teaches Patrizia to cook, and a special bond develops. "Now I knew that life'real life'happened behind the kitchen doors and not in the subdued, elegant atmosphere of my grandparents' dining room."

Seasoning the story are recollections of chickpea pancakes, sugar-coated doughnuts, chocolate ricotta and other comforting childhood snacks. Recipes for the signature Livorno dish cacciucco (seafood soup), minestrone, semolina gnocchi, chicken stew, coffee zabione and more are woven into the text. And black-and-white family photographs take us immediately back to postwar Italy.

Strong support characters are important to any good narrative and Patrizia supplies them. Her Mamma's bitter orange marmelade production becomes worthy of a minor opera. Her Nonna Valentina's whimsical creation of canary gelato, prepared from freshly fallen snow, evokes images worthy of Fellini.

Grazie, Patrizia for sharing.

I loved this book I could not stop reading it even when I was very busy finishing a deadline work... It is so naturaly and beautifuly written... Parizia Chen will go far and I am sure all her books will be read with such a pleasure.

Thanks for this delicious treat... with all my cogratulations to Patrizia Chen.
Virginia C Corm.

I was very excited to start this book, but quickly lost interest, as the plot was weak, the writing was poor, and the editing abysmal! The premise was strong, but got lost in the poor writing. Better luck next time.

This book is very well written by someone who obviously cares. It is a great book. Worth every minute of your time.

As a Probation Officer in Calif. I was thrilled to read an accurate account of what a probation officer does. I have never encountered the personal threats or violence, but I know its always a step away. This is a great read for anyone interested in gangs or the field of probation work.

Finally, a book that provides compelling arguments about the effects of information technology on our society. With all of the recent technology hype,it is a refreshing change to see a book that offers a much more balanced point of view. An absolute must-read.

Computers and networks are only silicon, wires and plastic. What is important, since they are changing our lives is not the technology, but rather, the potential. This book has nothing to do with processors, Moore's Law and bus architecture, yet it has everything to do with what you get when you take those and build machines and connect them into a pervasive network.

It's all about social impact, the undelivered promises of the technology, and debunking conventional thought (assumptions, really) about the value computers and networks bring to society. This is certainly a book for policy makers in business and government, educators and socially-aware technoligists.

After you're read this excellent, thought-provoking book, read "World Without Secrets: Business, Crime and Privacy in the Age of Ubiquitous Computing" by Richard Hunter. That book takes up where this one leaves off.

That some subliterate IT professional, below, found this book "frustrating" is the best possible endorsement! A book for thinking people who understand computers -- and not, it seems, for computer jocks who don't understand how to think.

I've enjoyed some of T. Jefferson Parker's work, but he's always stretched the limits of credibility in his plotting. This one is more than a bit too much. Stay away unless you're truly desperate for a T. Jefferson Parker/Orange County fix.

Summer of Fear may not be the most carefully plotted suspense tale I've ever read, but I was riveted by the unblinking focus he placed on raw, difficult emotions. I've never before experienced a writer who more accurately portrayed the inner life of someone watching a loved one suffer a debilitating illness. When people rank a piece of fiction as "for adults only," we usually mean it contains sex and/or violence. This novel has both, but I would keep it away from children because the strong, ambivalent feelings of a tortured spouse are for grown-ups only. I'm a mystery and suspense fan, and I recognize the plot weaknesses in Summer of Fear, but I would recommend this novel to anyone who appreciates well-drawn characters. But be prepared to look at real life in all its conflicted, ugly, transcendent, messy glory.

I have read almost of all of T. Jefferson Parkers book, and he is
one of the best authors around.
THIS book was my favorite however, because there are two stories going on at once and they are both fascinating.
The first is a crime writer who's wife if dying, literally wasting away in front of him, and the touching realistic way he is trying to deal with it.
Then, there is a serial killer on the loose in So. CA (Orange County) which is a laid back beach community, and the serial killer begins communicating with the crime writer. Some serial killer books can be too grueling to read, and although I was glad I wasn't alone while reading this book, it was a good psychological thriller, and with the skill of a writer like T. Jefferson, this book was just hard to put down.
Scary one minute, and then heart breaking in the next chapter.
I'm hoping that this book will have some sort of sequel, at least with the crime writer coming back so we can see how his life is now, and his job is so interesting that there are many more story line possibilities.
I'm an avid read, and mystery is my favorite genre, and T. Jefferson Parker just gets better and better the more he writes.
I recommend you read any of his books, especially this one. The latest books with Merci Rayborne are great as is Silent Joe.
I love the California beach background and all of his main characters; you feel as if you've met them and care about their life. He is a truly gifted writer, and if I recommend a writer to read it is definetly T. Jefferson Parker!
Summer of Fear is for the truly hard core mystery fans, which I am, and the mixture of fear, pathos and also love, loss and closure, makes for a book that I didn't want to end.
Thank you T. Jefferson Parker.

This is the third and best of the series thus far. It is once again told from two parallel viewpoints, one being Carolyn Blue and the second from her husband, Jason Blue. The Blues, along with their 20-year-old son, are on a tour of France with several professors and dean candidates from the university. Accidents start to happen and while Carolyn at first thinks them just that - accidents - she soon comes to realize that a pattern is developing.
Nancy (Herndon) Fairbanks uses a technique that I remembered also being used in a Marion Babson book in which the guilty party writes in a journal (although perhaps in the Babson book, it was a matter of hearing the culprit's thoughts, not necessarily a diary) and that helps the reader narrow the field of potential guilty persons down as the culprit refers to other members of the travelling party, thus eliminating several suspects.
All in all, an enjoyable read although a bit confusing at first with the introduction of all the characters.

I liked "Death a l' Orange" the best of all the books (so far) in the Culinary Mystery series. The best way I can think to describe this novel is to say that is both whimsical and surreal at the same time. The descriptions of the foods and sights of France were fantastic and made me wish I was about to embark on my own holiday of France. I also loved Nancy Fairbanks's vivid portrayals of the different bickering academics, and their wives, in the tour group -- it brought back memories of being in grad school all over again!

Because her husband has to undergo bypass surgery, Mrs. Atwater, a friend of the Blues, offers them their tour tickets to Normandy and the Loire Valley at a cheaper than usual price. Of course the Blues enthusiastically accept. A chance to partake in the sights and foods of Normandy is not something any amateur historian and budding food critic would willingly pass up! Another bonus is that the tour group will comprise of academics (and their better halves) from the university that Jason had been previously lecturing at. So that there would quite a few people that they actually know. The only caveat to all this is that Carolyn and Jason would also have to keep an eye on the Atwater teenage daughter, Edie. However Carolyn is sure that everything will be a breeze -- that is until she realises that 1) the tour group seems to be made up of bickering lecturers (and their equally quarrelsome spouses), three of whom are involved in a race for the deanship of the College of Arts and Sciences; 2) she notices that Edie Atwater is a budding mantrap who has attached herself firmly to the Blues' son; and 3) that a series of rather troublesome accidents seem to be dogging the group, and Professor Childeric, a medieval historian, in particular.

When the first accident befalls Childeric (he falls onto the luggage carousel at the airport), Carolyn thinks little of the accident despite Childeric's claims of having been maliciously pushed. But Childeric is soon the victim of another 'accident' and Carolyn begins to seriously wonder if someone is actually out to get the professor, as he insists. As the days pass, the 'accidents' take on a more sinister aspect, and Jason soon begins to worry about Carolyn's safety as Childeric seems to have attached himself firmly to her elbow...

As with the second book in this series, "Truffled Feathers," this latest Carolyn Blue mystery novel is also divided into two narratives -- Carolyn's at times humourous one that includes some rather entertaining sidebars of historical and gastronomical fact, is nicely juxtaposed with her husband's, Jason, more factual and matter-of-fact account of what's going on. In spite of the dual narrative plot device, the novel unfolded smoothly and at a brisk pace. Before I even knew it, I had devoured the novel and was lefty with that 'I wish there was more' feeling. "Death a l' Orange" is truly enjoyable read. Carolyn and Jason's tongue-in-cheek observations of the foibles of those around them (the French natives and the American tour group members) are bound to entertain. But in spite of all this light whimsy, Nancy Fairbanks also successfully imbues the novel with an air of sinister surrealism as the number of accidents mount and they begin to take on a darker hue. Thus lending a rather suspenseful tone to the book as you wonder what will happen next! Be warned however, charming and enjoyable though "Death a l' Orange" was, there is actually very little of the hunt-for-the-dangerous-prank-player aspect in this novel. Carolyn does try to tabulate what's going on and to figure out who the likely suspects are; but unfortunately is easily side tracked by the sights and foods and the private lives of the group members. Still, this is an entertaining and engaging novel that should not be missed.

Who can turn down a journey to France at greatly reduce rates? Certainly not the Blue family, especially Carolyn who is writing a book about New Orleans cooking and hoping to get another book on French cuisine out of this trip. She is also a syndicated food columnist who writes pithy little comments on each day of her trip and faxes them back to her boss in New York City. She can't wait to see to see Paris, Normandy and the Loire Valley to taste the food these places made famous.

When the Blues land at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, their luggage is lost. A prominent medieval historian, Professor Jean Claude Childeric who Carolyn struck up a conversation with, is pushed onto the luggage carrier and is seriously injured. He claims he was pushed but Carolyn and other members of the group think he's imagining things. They don't know that someone on the tour has a long-standing grudge against the professor and won't rest until he's humiliated, ostracized and hated by the rest of the group.

DEATH A L'ORANGE is a yummy treat for anyone who likes to read a well-written original mystery. Although the stalker manages to ruin the trip for everyone, even turning husbands against wives, the way it is done is very comical and will have readers chuckling out loud. Nancy Fairbanks has created a winning series and this reviewer can't wait for the next meal.

Harriet Klausner

I have to admit, I didn't check the number of pages when I ordered. I assumed that for almost 30 bucks I would be getting a comprehensive history of Syracuse basketball. What I got was a book that is much too short and lacks adequate detail. Entire stretches of 2-4 years are skipped, even in the Mid-80s! No articles concerning Pearl's shot to beat BC in '85. No articles about Lawrence Moten breaking scoring records. I hope the next person that tries this book does it right!

In my previous post--Bob, Thanks for the Memories--I of course mistyped former Syracuse university basketball coach Roy Danforth's name as Ray Danforth. Apologies to Roy.

I couldn't wait to get this book. I'm a guy who had the good fortune to not only go to Syracuse University in the Sixties but also work as a reporter at the Syracuse Newspapers in the Seventies. Anyone who has lived in Syracuse knows the important place SU basketball holds in that town. Bob Snyder's invaluable compendium of SU basketball highlights as reported and depicted in the Syracuse press is a something special. They say that journalism is the first draft of history, and the first draft presented here needs no rewrite. One of the nation's finest basketball programs, brought to us by coaches Fred Lewis, Ray Danforth, and the great Jim Boeheim, is a reader's delight as offered by Snyder. And, personally, to see once again the bylines of the likes of writers Snyder, Arnie Burdick, and Bud Poliquin as well as photographer Hal Slate brings on a flood of memories that warms the soul. SU alums and fans wherever you are, treat yourself to this book as a way to always remember the good times brought by Dave Bing, Rudy Hackett, Roosevelt Bouie, Louis Orr, Leo Rautins, Billy Owens, Lawrence Moten, John Wallace, Etan Thomas, Jason Hart, and all of your other favorite SU players.

I was assigned Tropic of Orange in a class and found myself totally engrossed in the scewed story lines. if you like books that make you stop and think, what the ... is going on here?! Then you will LOVE this book. Great criticism on the US, media and Los Angeles too!

Yamashita's book is just short of a tour de force. It's engrossing, jauntily satirical and multicultural to a fault. I agree with the other reviews that find it a direct indictment of materialism as well, but I was more intrigued by her apocalyptic vision for LA. The city of angels has always been a focal point for artists, and many think its time of burnout will come. Yamashita thinks that the destructive impulse will come from within and from nearby borders, and that makes this book even more fascinating as a possible scenario for the end of LA as we know it. Why hasn't this become a movie, or even a movie of the week? The fever pitch she manages to end chapters with at times would directly translate to the large or small screen. Maybe the Hollywood vultures haven't found her yet. It's only a matter of time.

Yamashita's book is an interesting study of the effects of technology on human interaction and emotion. She uses recent history to form her opinion: NAFTA is portrayed in a bad light as destroying tradition and spreading American materialism, and the Rodney King case makes the freeway assault seem not so much like fiction. The book is an easy read with a lot of thought-provoking symbolism, and it is also very pessimistic about 90's American culture. If it is seen purely as a worst-case scenario of the future of America, it is very effective. John Alexander Stiner

This is a complicated and mysterious book by a writer with an amazing command of his prose. The tragic story is doled out in tiny slivers along with a vivid description of the imagined Mediteraenan location where the events unfold. The narrator is a self-proclaimed "love singer" who is desperately proud of his marriage and of the many, many women he has loved during his marriage. It's hard at least for this reader to be sure how ironically we are to view the protagonists advocacy of totally free love. The narrator clearly blames the stories tragic outcome on the small-mindedness of his rival in love--I at least am left wondering whether the author means us to blame the victim or the protagonist. The story can be oppressive at times with its pervasive melancholy--but it certainly makes you think. Hawkes is a terrific writer and this is a challenging, difficult and definitely uncomfortable work of genius.

Hawkes' sensuality at its most accessible, a work whose difficultly may be off-putting to some readers, but whose rewards run deep. Sex and death repose in contented embrace from beginning to end; from fetid canals to crab-strewn plates.

John Hawkes has created some of the most beautiful prose ever penned; the word surface in this book is as memorable and enjoyable as any I've read, at turns surprising, sensual, poetic, and often all of this and more. As an extended flight of the imagination 'The Blood Oranges' explores regions of desire, fidelity, and repression that many have gestured towards or illuminated in passing, but that few have mapped extensively. For me, it stands as tremendously courageous writing, and writing elevated by a pervasive and exciting humour. It's very funny, in the way that Beckett's or Kafka's prose can be - and Hawkes' deserves to be considered as a writer of their stature. I only wish I'd been exposed to his writing sooner. He's a genius.