I couldn't put it down. The stories are without exception warm and meaningful. I am giving this book to my grandchildren. Sharing these stories is sharing the best of Christmas with them.

This is a great Christmas Book to add to your Christmas book collection. The stories in this book are inspirational and full of the Christmas spirit. This is a book that the entire family will enjoy!!

Most collections of stories, Christmas or otherwise, have a bunch of mediocre selections, a few good ones, and one or two great ones--but this book manages to have ALL great ones. Plus, they're not those sappy ones that make you roll your eyes; they're touching without being obnoxious. Maybe it's because almost all of the stories are true experiences, told in a straightforward way. My personal favorites are "The Gold and Ivory Tablecloth" by Howard Schade, "A Christmas Gift I'll Never Forget" by L.D. Hummel, and "My Christmas Miracle" by Taylor Caldwell. Okay, also "How Santa Spread Cheer Without Eight Tiny Reindeer," by Rip Rense. (I'm a school teacher, and I'm going to read some of these to my third graders in December.) Enjoy the joy!

My parnter and I just spent two wonderful weekends in Portland - all due to this great book. We followed five of the walks in the downtown portland area and got so much out of it (due to the book) that we flew back to Portland three weeks later to visit again and did an additional four walks. This is a great book - I thoroughly recommend it.

I have lived in Portland all my adult life and yet was surprised when I found the description of walking trails that I did not know existed. The descriptions are clear and inviting. The planning of the walks are easy to identify with in terms of distance and time required. I think this is a must-have book for the walkers in the Portland area both for visitors and residents.

I really like this book! It's thorough and easy to understand and includes a guide to help with choices about what walk you'd like to take. The directions are clear and Ms. Cook has included interesting tidbits of information you can follow along the way, as well as maps and photographs. It's not easy for me to get around because of a disability, but I don't need to be afraid of setting out with this guide. It lets me know how long the walk should take and the difficulty of the walk. What an exciting and fresh way to see the city!

Having grown up in an Italian house, I can truly relate to the many stories about italian heritage and customs. This book clearly gives heart warming memories and one delicous recipe after another. The title of the book alone made me smile as we enjoy "macaroni and gravy" every Sunday, too. Even if you're not Italian you will enjoy the stories and easy to follow recipes. Mangia!!!

The food and stories are wonderful and are authentic Rhode Island. The recipes are not complicated and are expressions of love and family through cooking.

This cookbook is the Bible in my kitchen!! Such wonderful stories and anecdotes with the recipes that you'll find yourself just reading and reading and smiling! Being of Italian heritage, Ms. Barr's cookbook brought back so many wonderful memories for me. Memories built around my mother's kitchen and the wisdom and love that were always a part of her cooking. And yes, WE called it Macaroni! Thank you, Ms. Barr for a delightful read.

I read many books on preserving before I found this one. Other books had boring ingredients and uninspiring recipes. Once I read the recipes in Well Preserved I knew I was ready to make my first attempt at jam. My fist batch was delicous and easy. I have since made chutneys, jellies, and marmalades; all turning out perfect. My friends have liked the results of Mary Anne Dragan's recipes so much that I am giving the book as Christmas gifts.

Why would you want to eat mass produced canned food when you could easily preserve your own at home? You'll know what went into them: fresh fruit, less sugar, without preservatives and full of color and flavor. This book has many recipes and color photos, also a collection of recipes using preserves from earlier chapters. Basics of preserving are explained... equipment, jars, processing and storing. Canning food can be a lot of work, but it's so rewarding to have a pantry of flavors from the summers bounty. These chutney's are full of spices and innovative combinations (ginger, currants, figs, vinegar, sugar, honey, onion, dates and citrus). Jams, preserves, conserves and jellies can be used for glazes and sauces. It's easy to preserve food for your own pantry and ideal for gifts. Something you've made yourself is more appreciated, especially when it's as tasty as the recipes in this collection.

This is excellent for new cooks and really good for old cooks...experience old, not age old as a lot of us refuse to age. New cooks to preserving will find step by step instructions. Old cooks will find new recipes...the pickled asparagus was undescribable. The spicy hot green beans added to a Bloody Mary can't be beat. On a cold winter day while cheering the Chicago Bears (even IF they lose)you experience that good "I made this" feeling!

"When I Cook, They Run" touches all the bases of miserable meal making. Written tongue-in-cheek (so she can't taste the food), Karen Kallet is the "Contrarian Cooking Gourmet Goddess." Taste(less) tested recipes with hefty helpings of humor. . . this book hits a hilarious homerun!

As a disheartened cook myself, I feel I've found a kindred spirit in the creator of this Anti- Cook Book. What I have botched accidentally for years has proven to make an excellent spoof. I even tried 2 recipes, but no one noticed the difference. My favorite is the 3-unorthodox beans in the 3 bean salad. That is really using the old barbecued noodle to come up with that one! Sincerely, Pork Chop Mama from Florida.

I saw the author on The Donny and Marie Show and couldn't stop laughing. The recipes are wild and wacky--and yucky! Perfect for a gag gift or to get your husband to take you out for dinner (trust me on this).

Each of the contributors to this book offers encouragement and useful tips for any real estate pro. It isn't just for beginners.

I've read several real estate sales "how-to" books. This is the one I sent to a broker friend to share with her team. And not just because the price is amazingly low! It's solid stuff.

I would have to agree that this is a great no-nonsense book for anyone interested or involved in Real Estate to any degree. I would go further and recommend it for anyone interested in business in general. It has lots of useful and truthful information and you don't have to specifically be in the field of Real Estate to benefit from it. This book will let you know if Real Estate is for you, or that it is not for you. It will tell you what you can expect and what you will need to pay attention to in order to be successful.

Even if you are just a curious outsider, you will gleen some insight into the realities that Realtors and business people in general face. It's a book that is easy to read, formatted well, priced right and even entertaining. Equally beneficial for Realtors already in the busines, those studying for their license, people wanting to buy or sell a home, or lost unemployed souls like me who don't know what the heck to do to make money.

I am a liccensed CA Real Estate Broker. I ordered the book after I had read a positive review about the book from newspaper real estate columnist/investor/attorney, Robert Bruss. Bruss has never steered me wrong, and I highly respect his opinions.
This book is the MOST straightforward, no BS, book I have read yet about any aspect of the business. I tip my hat to the author, who himself is a real estate columnist, for digging up the information... The truths are universal in this business (which is scary/weird), but I feel that anyone who is starting out in this business MUST read this book so you know what to expect, as I cannot think of any other business that chews up and spits out people so quickly. I imagine some will buy it looking for a way to riches, which this book is NOT about. It is about understanding how the business really works and what to expect, thereby giving one an edge against any disappointment and discouragement a "green" agent will surely feel in the first 18 months of this business. The dropout rate is high, and I think the author offers much encouragement. There has been so much stuff written about selling real estate, and all the "pump up" stuff to keep one motivated, but this book is not about that at all. This book would make an excellent gift to anyone who just passed their Real Estate test and is willing to take the plunge into a business where, quite frankly, every day that you wake up, you are seeking work! After reading it, you won't feel so distraught at the bumpy road which lies ahead.
I'm sure even seasoned vets of the business would appreciate it, and may find themselves chuckling to themselves as they are reminded of the many hard lessons that were learned -and there will be many- as the book points out, or perhaps I should say, the book says "Look Out!"
I read it in one evening, as it entertains the reader as well. Well done, Mr. Cook, and thank you for approaching a subject that I think few have touched upon. Your organization of the subject matter seems well thought out.
The one underlying theme which he displays in various interviews with Realtors is one must certainly rely on hard work, rather than luck (we all know the stories about stepping out for a $4.95 sandwich, only to lose a $20,000 commission to the one agent who answered the phone), to make it. Plus, thank you for mentioning that this is a misunderstood profession, in the eyes of the public, and calling upon all agents to act professionally, and putting the client's needs before our own.
Buy it, read it, and good luck to all the new agents out there. Office managers: make this required reading for new agents and you'll save yourself a lot of hand holdiing...

This Eyewithness book is up-to-date and very practical. It contains a lot of pictures which is extremely usefull if you are planning a trip. When planning the trip it makes the book in a way easier to use than for example the Lonely Planet of Boston since you got a clear picture of the surroundings.

I live in New England and this is another of my favorite books from this region of the country. DK has always published quality books in their Eyewitness Travel Guides and they have done an excellent job with this volume on Boston. Unless you visit Boston on a frequent basis it is easy to get disoriented. I really found this book quite useful and the colorful layout of this book with maps, illustrations, photographs and text really inspired me to delve into its pages and check out one of New England's premier cities. The historical information on Boston was invaluable. I never realized some of the things I used to walk past. I think it is also very informative, not only from a historical perspective, but also as a point of reference for sightseeing, travel and enjoyment.

The Eyewitness Travel Guide to Boston was recommended to me in a bookstore and it was perfect for a recent 5-day trip to Boston. The guide is laid out by area, so you really get a feel for what else is around you when you are at a particular destination. The overall maps are very good and well detailed and the book is chock full of great photos. It also includes great history and background info. My Boston friend kept asking me "how do you know all this stuff?"

Cook has the ability to wright in a way that few others do. His plot twists in this book are particularly indepth. He creates a new world, completly diffrent from most fantasy fiction novels, it is a kind of Lorance of Arabia meets the Black Company. Cook takes a personl approach to the characters which makes the reader become more involved. The book is not the best Cook has ever written but it ranks up there (maybe the best story line). The book is a great read with several diffrent plot lines, a must for the Glenn Cook fan.

Set in a city resembling Carthage during the Punic Wars, Cook has written a masterpiece of intrigue, patriotism and desperation surrounding the events after the fall of a great city. If you like your anti-heroes to be frighteningly competent, you'll love Azel. The novel is very dark and should please anyone who has read Mr. Cook's Garrett or Black Company novels.

While most authors tend toward a creativity based either on the "art" behind prose, or the "craft" of storytelling, Glen Cook apparently decided to encompass both within this novel. In a genre that is possibly threadbared by overuse of quasimidieval settings (knights/English Castles/etc.), Cook developed a Jerusalem-like city that was completely believable from a socio-political viewpoint, and threw in economic, artistic, and philosophical elements as well. Artistically, the novel is lavish with minutae that make the very architecture come to life. The craft of writing is taken to its summit via the best characterizations one may ever encounter, coupled with a plot that proves Cook to be one of the more inspired authors in the genre.

What's Cooking America? Is it a question or a statement or an ecological question having something to do with the greenhouse effect or of course El Nino - It's actually the name of a cookbook by Linda Stradley and Andra Cook published by Book Partner, Inc. This cookbook is near perfection. All of the recipes are on one page, some pages actually have multiple recipes; there are helpful hints, histories or suggestions on every page; there are illustrations on every page; the book is filled with over 800 recipes; and almost all of the ingredients are readily available. There are a few downsides, but I'll save those for the end. The cookbook is broken down into many sections: Appetizers & Beverages, Breads & Sandwiches, Candies & Cookies, Desserts, Meatless Meals, Meats, Poultry, Salads & Salad Dressings, Seafood, Soups, and Vegetables. The recipes, that are mostly basic and easy to prepare include: Burgundy Mushrooms, Tequila Cider, Lemon Tea Bread, Date Drop Scones, Alaskan Sourdough Biscuits, Sugared Walnuts, Hazelnut Macaroons, Honeyed Apricot Biscotti, Baked Alaska, Florida Key Lime Pie, Vegetarian Meatballs, Broccoli Pasta in Sweet Tomato Sauce, Peppered Chutney Tenderloin, Orange Pork Chops, Chicken & Cashew Bake, Kiwi Fruit Salad, Baked Sole with Almonds, Southwestern Black bean Soup, Baby Carrots with Curry Sauce and Baked Squash with Blueberries. The only complaints that took of point for the book, are that number one the book is a misnomer. What's Cooking America is not a far title for this book, because it has recipes that not only are from other countries, but other countries would want to make some of these other recipes too. The other problem I had with this book is that, like fundraising book companies do, the sections were in alphabetical order instead of logical order. With a suggested retail of $21.95 however, this would be a great source of information for any kitchen. Overall rating: 4 pots out of 5

Need a great gift for a new bride? For a cookbook afficionado? For anyone who just plain likes to cook? What's Cooking America fits the bill. From its colorful cover, to the lovely illustrations and informative sidebars, this cookbook will satisfy the most discriminating cook. I especially liked the wealth of time-tested recipes that obviously had been passed down from generation to generation in the authors' families. Yet in many cases, they were updated to fit our tastes and current eating styles. This book would make a great gift-- at less than $20 for over 800 recipes, it's a wonderful value as well. Try it, you'll like it

Put this one on your cookbook shelf next to Fanny Farmer and The Joy of Cooking! Clear and easy-to-follow instructions guide you through the most complicated entrees to the simplest desserts. And I love the sidebars! All cookbooks should be so informative

I'm a female who has no interest in sports, so you wouldn't think this book would appeal to me. However, I love a good yarn about a group of memorable, loveable people pulling together to save their team and their town, and searching for love in its many forms along the way, and this book was that. But baseball fans would love it, too. I hear the author has written a sequel. I will be among the first in line to read about the ongoing lives of Tommy Lee, Dutch, the Chief, Billie Jo, and my personal favorite, Bruce Kelly, the wise and caring newspaperman.

In this delightful tale Cook takes us deep into the heart and soul of small-town U.S.A., its residents and its minor league baseball team, the Buffalo. "The Year of the Buffalo" is a wonderful read--and not just for baseball fans. Cooks tremendous insight into people, love of baseball and mastery of the written word will grab your attention and keep you turning the pages! You will find yourself walking the streets of Beymer, having breakfast at the diner and rooting in the stands.

This small volume grabs you from the opening (a minor leaguer's unexpected entry into Beymer) and holds you till the exciting conclusion (I'll never tell!). It is a very warm and human tale set against the backdrop of America's Game in a small town that could be anywhere. I would truthfully recommend this read (and do) even if Marshall were not my younger brother