This coookbook has many great recipes, but I really enjoy reading the historical anecdotes that accompany each section. What a fun way to learn about our heritage!

The Roux We Do is an elegant compilation of superbly presented recipes that would be highly recommended for any family meal or celebratory dinner. From Black Bean Bundles; Tuscan White Onion Soup with Crostini; Applewoood Fresh Fruit Salad; Honey Hoisin Pork Tenderloin with Blue Cheese Cream Sauce; and Pistachio Crusted Salmon with Madras Curry and Orange Sauces; to Chicken Caprese with Tomato Basil Cream; Pasta with Chicken and Pepper-Cheese Sauce; Roasted Garlic Potato Salad; Acorn Squash in Honey Bourbon Sauce; and Chocolate Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce, the diverse recipes comprising The Roux We Do are as impressive as they are mouth-wateringly delicious!

This is a wonderful cookbook as well as a very interesting book of history back to the early 1800's and the Pony Express era. Recipes are awesome, some very easy to cook and some very challenging, but all ohh so good. My husband has even enjoyed experimenting with the recipes.
The most interesting part of this book is the side bars with great trivia, past and present regarding the Northwest Missouri area and its contribution to America's history. With items about the Pony Express, Jesse James, Eugene Field the poet, etc.
The French Toile (yellow and black) cover is very eye pleasing and looks great on the counter at home.
Can't say enough about this book - great to cook from and read.

Benedict's Dharma is a rare find--a book on spirituality that is lovingly burnished by practice. Benedict's Rule was above all a work for practical application; what few understand is how well the Rule translates into Eastern practice.

Rarely have I enjoyed a book as thoroughly as this one; I regretted reaching its final page, for the journey it provided was such a delight. Yet the greater truth is that this book is meant to be a passageway, pointing the way to greater spiritual understanding and greater self-knowledge. The truths it uncovers are applicable to anyone who is serious about leading an authentic spiritual life.

This book is an exceptional treasure, offering significant and practical insights on every page.

Benedict's Dharma is a rare find--a book on spirituality that is lovingly burnished by practice. Benedict's Rule was above all a work for practical application; what few understand is how well the Rule translates into Eastern practice. Rarely have I enjoyed a book as thoroughly as this one; I regretted reaching its final page, for the journey it provided was such a delight. Yet the greater truth is that this book is meant to be a passageway, pointing the way to greater spiritual understanding and greater self-knowledge. The truths it uncovers are applicable to anyone who is serious about leading an authentic spiritual life. This book is an exceptional treasure, offering significant and practical insights on every page.

"There is fire in the Rule of Saint Benedict" (p. 121) David Steindl-Rast, OSB, writes in the Afterward to this collection of Buddhist reflections on that Rule. Written in the sixth century, Saint Benedict's Rule is a set of guidelines governing Christian monastic life. This 137-page book is the result of a two-week "Encounter" between Buddhists and Christians, in which Norman Fischer, Joseph Goldstein, Judith Simmer-Brown, and Yifa were participants. Their "fresh take" (p. xiv) on Saint Benedict's Rule is followed by a new, 80-page translation of that Rule by Patrick Henry, OSB.

The Rule was written to practice "Christ's way." Christ said, "Whoever perseveres to the very end will be saved" (p. 97). For Buddhists, Benedict's Rule is about "walking the path to spiritual awakening" (p. 105). That is, both the Rule and Buddhist dharma offer "general guidelines for an inner journey" (p. 1). Judith Simmer-Brown notes that the Rule offers us insight into living a contemplative life amidst the demands of everyday life, or "anyplace you find yourself" (p. 3). From a Buddhist perspective, Benedict's Rule is about learning to live life "so it gets into your bones, under your skin" (p. 34), and about living with "a love of true life and a longing for days of real fulfillment" (p. 36), for this was "Christ's way."

It is evident from this book that "the monastery wall is always permeable" (p. 81). Benedictine monasticism is designed to lead one to spiritual riches on the path of humility (p. 95). It is possible, we're told, to practice a contemplative life outside the monastery walls. "The world is vast and wide," Norman Fischer writes. "Why put on your robe and go to the meditation hall when the bell rings?" (p. 89). Daily practice is "the common ground" for monastics of East and West (p. 124), and in his excellent Afterward, David Steindl-Rast, OSB, concludes that "lay practitioners are running away with the monastic ball" (p. 126). "Step out into the dark night," he writes, "raise your eyes to the starry sky, and you will experience what contemplation was before it had a name" (p. 126).

We find Buddhists and Christians travelling the same "ladders and bridges" in this harmonious book. Buddhist or Christian, this book will appeal to to that monk or nun cloistered in each of us, who is interested in "a life spent seeking the truth."

G. Merritt

Joseph Owens, Etienne Gilson's most gifted student and without doubt one of the towering philosophical masters of the 20th century, has produced a work which is both an introduction to cognition and a profound philosophical reflection. His ideas are at once new and old, phenomenological yet fully in accord with the principles of Thomas Aquinas.

There is no other book on this subject which approaches its breadth, intelligibility, subtlety and simplicity. This book will someday rank as a classic. It is perhaps among the top twnety books every philosopher must have in his library.

Excellence and the most clear argument I ever read about cognition study, Truly recommended.

"Canonized in 1999, Champagnat was an early member and priest of the Society of Mary and founder of its Little Brothers (the Institute of the Marist Brothers). Author Sammon is the Vicar General of the Marist Brothers and he presents in an easy-to-read manner the difficult times and life of St. Marcellin Champagnat. Born during the Revolution in France, he lived only fifty-one years. In the seminary, he was part of a group "made up of seminarians who were a familiar sight in the taverns of the town." Sammon writes for the modern temperment that needs to know the warts along with the shining myth. The heresy of Jansenism, a moral theology for the elect, influenced Marcellin's study for awhile. He began teaching and "by February 1822 the Institute was made up of ten brothers." There is the miracle in the snow, a serious illness from which he recovers, persistent financial problems for the schools, and an environment of increasing bitter anti-religious sentiment during the revolution in France. Simplicity and humility were Champagnat's outstanding virtues. This is the tale of a man growing past his problems to sainthood. Sammon writes with that same simplicity and humility, and with a fine erudition that moves comfortably from prayer to revolution, from submissiveness to the cry for social justice. Illuminating."

Sean Sammon's short biography of St. Marcellin Champagnat is definitely worth reading for anyone who is interested in the life of the Catholic Church and the people they call "Saints".

Sammon is able to describe, in a very uncomplicated way, the historical, sociological and theological background of this man who was born the same year as the French Revolution. Marcellin Champagnat started his life with little education, and through hard work, eventually studied and became a priest and founder of an international Congregation of Roman Catholic teaching Brothers, the Marist Brothers of the Schools.

The book details the life of this very down to earth man. Champagnat was a priest who sometimes defied the stereotypes of priesthood of his day, even to the point of actually building the houses his Brothers would live in. He had an undying love for young people and strove to do all that he could for them, and to lead them to know and love God. The book describes the difficulties St. Marcellin had along the way, and how he overcame them all with determination, prayer, and hard work.

Sammon's treatment of him goes beyond what many biographies present. He not only describes his life and mission, but delves into the psychological motivations that moved him. What emerges is a clear and informative life of a saint who is a very real person, not just a plaster image of what a saint should be! I highly recommend this book.

This is an excellent book for the whole family. The daily readings can be shared at the supper table, or as you put the children to bed. I have found this book to be a great addition to my own daily reading as well.

This delightful, inspiring book picks up where the popular Butler's Lives of the Saints leaves off.

Written to coincide with the Church's liturgical calendar each day provides a concise biography of the Saint and then practical lessons which we can learn from the Saint.

This is a fantastic resource for your family's daily reading and prayer time. If this doesn't help you to live a saintly life nothing will.

The Little Jesus of Sicily can be read at many different levels. On the surface it is a captivating tale. At a deeper level, it is a voyage in time, an account of life in a rural Sicilian community, a reality that has almost vanished. Pasqualino ponders the loss of customs and traditions of his native village while reflecting on the impact of industrialization and modernization on society. It is possible to discern a still deeper level--a spiritual one where Pasqualino shares his Christian beliefs without ever resorting to pious platitudes. Imagination, poetry, and faith are at the core of Pasqualino's spiritual quest as he asks simple but fundamental questions about the meaning of existence. A profound meditation on the human condition, this novel depicts in great detail the hardships and the ordinary pleasures of day-to-day life while examining the beliefs and forces that sustain people through suffering and adversity. The novel renews a tradition of literature found in works of regional and southern Italian inspiration and belongs to that category of rare books which are suited to please children and adults alike: Grimm's legends and fairy tales, La Fontaine's fables, Saint-Exupery's Little Prince, or Cervantes' Don Quixote. I decided to translate The Little Jesus of Sicily for one simple reason: I feel in love with it. I started the novel and could not put it down. I saw myself in it, I saw my child, and I saw the child who resides in all of us and longs for wonder. It was beautiful, it was funny, and it made me happy; I wanted to share this precious feeling of joy with other readers. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed translating it.

The Little Jesus of Sicily is a wonderful story that transcends both age and religion. The author recounts his experience as a young child chosen to be Jesus for a day for the Feast of Saint Joseph in a small village in pre-World War II Italy. As the story winds through the fanciful imaginations and commonplace activities of a youngster, the reader is reminded of his/her own experiences as a child and is introduced to an historical glimpse of a bygone era. The translation from the Italian is superb -- it was awarded the PEN American Center's 1996 Renato Poggioli Translation Award -- and the thoughtful illustrations, which burst off the page, are an asset to the work.

I purchased this for my husband and we are now getting one for his father. It is a handsome edition and has lots of great features already listed in the previous review. My husband and I appreciate the short writings telling us what the readings are about each week...kind of a mini-homiliy. It is very easy to read and understand and helps you to participate in the Mass more fully. This book is good for a number of years as it lists the three-year cycle and you look up where we are in the liturgical calendar rather than only getting the Missal for one year at a time. I highly recommend this Saint Joseph edition!

This is a beautiful edition, with a hard cover and color illustrations. It follows the mass perfectly. My husband has an old missal from when he was a child and some of the readings have since changed somewhat so this updated version is useful to him. Two ribbon markers hold your place and there are sections on the rosary and prayers.

The two volumes of the St. Joseph Weekday Missal, along with the St. Joseph Sunday Missal provide an ultimate mass tool that is affordable. Why spend [price] on a Daily Roman Missal when you can get the same thing better for [price]? These three missals enable you to enjoy and follow the mass every day for the rest of your life. I just wish that the Amazon price was smaller.

This is an excellent missal. It's simple to follow, has a lot of extra information in it, and is fairly easy to follow along with.

a wonderfu story with beautiful illustrations by Tomie DePaola. Share it with your children. you will both enjoy it!

Feilz Navidad!

Mr. DePaola has outdone himself this time. All of his books are wonderful, but this Christmas story is more than that. The illustrations are pure DePaola; they are clear and colorful. The story is simple, yet for children, unpredicable. The story is set in Santa Fe and shares an Hispanic custom with the reader; the Posadas held at Christmas time. I teach a whole class of Mexican ESL students and this book is perfect for my Christmas collection of books with Hispanic characters. This book, along with other DePaola books, and others, will add to my students' enjoyment.

I live in Platte County Missouri, just south of St. joe. It was very interesting to see what happened in that time period many years ago. Heck! it could've happened where i'm living! As a Civil War buff, some of these things really hit close to home, and I overall enjoyed it.

Preston Filbert's The Half Not Told: The Civil War In A Frontier Town focuses on a part of the American Civil War that is often overlooked or downplayed by other sources that concentrate on the armies and campaigns in the East. The Half Not Told is about the Civil War in the West, particularly in Missouri. The frontier town of St. Joseph, Missouri, which became torn apart and saw its fortunes fall due to stagflation, is a reflection of how dramatically the war changed Western American life forever. The Half Not Told draws very heavily upon primary sources, as its highly extensive endnotes section and a bibliographical essay attest. The Half Not Told is a very welcome contribution to Civil War studies, and highly recommended for anyone with an interest Civil War history -- particularly because much of the telling is in the eye-witness words of the people who were there.

I have just read The Half Not Told and was fascinated by the tale of a town ripped apart by divided loyalties during the Civil War,
a town devastated by the war, yet with a story completely unlike that of towns truly in the South. The author tells of a Border Town which was ravaged by both the North and the South. The book introduces you to the very real people who lived in the town through this violent time, often quoting their own words from a letter or a diary. The town was populated by colorful characters, many of whom are introduced and then reappear later, maybe several times, as the history of the town unfolds. The events described are exciting and violent and often very personal. I found myself anxious to get to the next chapter to see what would happen in this engrossing tale, as I often do when I'm reading a work of fiction; yet this is a true story, a history with extremely good documentation and pictures of the people and events of the time. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in an exciting and accurate picture of a town which experienced the Civil War in a way you may not have known about before.