"Slow Down...and get More Done" is a book filed with warmth and humor that spoke to me in terms I could relate to without getting stressed out about all the things I need to do ... in order to not be stressed out. Grab yourself a cup of coffee (or your favorite drink) and cozy up on the sofa for a delightful read that will help you find your peaceful center. "Slow Down" will gently open you to discover the things that bring you satisfaction and joy--and how to make room for them in your life without turning you into some type of time clock junkie. "Slow Down" is a must for all those who feel lost in the race of their days and who wish to find the precious in life.

I found this a compelling piece of writing. The starting point is certainly the life of an individual, i.e, James Beard. However, into that particular story the author weaves culinary history, social commentary, cultural analysis,and psychological insight. The result is an amazingly satisfying "read" that educates, illuminates, moves the heart, and deepens perspective both about this one man and also about the world in which he--and we--live. Robert Clark is able to paint a descriptive and insightful portrait of both the man and that world without romanticizing either. I found myself drawn into the book and reading it with relish; not wanting to put it down and also not wanting it to come to an end; and discovering that I have been enlightened, enriched, and moved by my experience with it. Sounds to me like the definition of a "good read!"

I was a young mom when I stumbled on this cook book. Calling the household income "meager" would be kind. I can't even tell you a favorite recipe that I found in this book...so many come to mind.

When my husband died I found light affordables to feed a hunger I didn't feel. When my friends had children, I took them the banana tea bread (that always amuses me, because it calls for 3 cups and 1tbsp. of flour.... I loved what that said about her care of detail)....I dared different dishes than the staple of meat and potatoes....and recieved undying thank you's from my sweeties.

And all through this, Sophie dispenses healthy doses of wit and wisdom. I've learned to know this woman, and I know that she understood the limits and the possibilities of my half filled cupboards. There was many a couple of days before pay day that I would turn to her, and ask her for something to not let my family think of days with no money were dreary and suffering.....and her fluffy omelette would leap out to my attention.

And in one of those strange magical ways that lives interweave on this small world, 13 years after entering a complicated widowhood....I met someone who loves me just the way I am....and his name is Leavitt, too....and now, so is mine.

SOUNDS OF VALLEY STREAMS : Enlightenment in Dogen's Zen - Translation of Nine Essays from Shobogenzo by Francis H. Cook. 164 pp Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989 and Reprinted.

It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of Dogen (1200-1253). As one of the most powerful and brilliant minds Asia has produced - and it has produced many - his many-levelled and multi-faceted works should be viewed, not so much as a purely local and Japanese phenomenon, but as a supreme contribution to world literature. For all of us, he is, as Taizan Maezumi Roshi says, an inexhaustible spring of wisdom.

Dogen's works are profound. They express the point-of-view of an enlightened Master. Such works, especially when written in a sinograph-based language such as Japanese or Chinese, present almost insuperable problems of interpretation, and there are very few scholars who are equal to the task of translating them.

Dr Francis Cook comes to this task well-prepared. His work is highly respected in scholarly circles, he has held faculty posts at Dartmouth College and the University of California at Riverside, where he was an associate professor in the Religious Studies program, and he has a number of impressive publications to his credit.

In addition, he has a masterful command of the Japanese language, a command enhanced by two years spent as a Fulbright Fellow at Kyoto University. He has also devotedly practiced Zen meditation for many years. This last is extremely important as enabling Dr Cook to rise above the intellectualizing and speculation which limits so much contemporary Zen scholarship.

As he himself explained in his 'How to Raise an Ox,' the translator must be able to "approach the text in the light of his own Zen practice.... because unless the translator has some insight, however small, into what Dogen Zenji is saying, he will miss much in the text and the translation will suffer" (page 89). This is a simple point, but it is often overlooked, not only by translators, but also by a certain type of reader.

Whereas Dr Cook's earlier 'How To Raise an Ox' gave us ten of Dogen's essays on Zen practice, the present book, logically enough, now goes on to give us nine essays on Enlightenment. As in his previous book, the translations are preceded by four of his own well-written and informative introductory essays on Dogen: 'Being Awakened;' 'The Buddha Right Before Us;' 'The Enlightened Life;' 'A Few Words on Genjo Koan.'

Students might want to supplement these by also reading Dr Cook's 'Dogen's View of Authentic Selfhood and its Socio-ethical Implications' (in DOGEN STUDIES, edited by William R. LaFleur, pp. 131-149).

Besides having a very clear mind, Dr Cook has such an enviably clear and simple prose style that anyone who is at all serious about trying to understand Dogen should find all of these essays interesting. Here is an example of his style, picked at random from 'A Few Words on Genjo Koan' :

"The emptiness of things does not mean that they are nonexistent or nothing, but rather that they are 'boundless' in containing infinite meanings, qualities, and values.... To say that a certain person is "bad" is to impose the selfhood of badness on the vastly open and fluid configuration we confront and consequently to misconstrue its reality. The emptiness of things does not deny or negate, diminish or limit, and certainly does not impoverish; it opens and expands things infinitely" (page 58).

Yes indeed. For, as the Heart Sutra says: Form is Openness! Openness is Form!

The nine translated Dogen essays, some of which are among his most famous, are as follows :

GENJO KOAN Manifesting Absolute Reality; IKKA MYOJU One Bright Pearl; GABYO A Painting of a Rice Cake; GANZEI Eye-Pupil; KANNON; RYUGIN Dragon Song; DOTOKU Expression; BUKKOJO-JI Beyond Buddha; DAIGO Great Awakening. The book is rounded out with a 27-page section of Notes, a Bibliography of both Japanese and Western sources, and an 8-page Index.

Here are a few lines from Dr Cook's translation of GENJO KOAN :

"Conveying the self to the myriad things to authenticate them is delusion; the myriad things advancing to authenticate the self is enlightenment" (page 66).

A tremendously important idea, beautifully expressed!

Though it will probably be a long time before the West has humility enough to acknowledge that Zen Master Dogen belongs right up there along with such Western luminaries as Plato and Hegel, it's heartening to see that many Dogen translations have now begun to appear. These translations range all the way from the sincere and highly competent, through to the probably equally sincere but somewhat less competent.

Since very few, even among Japanese, understand Medieval Japanese, I'm not in a position to say whether Dr Cook's translation is 'excellent,' though it reads very well and I strongly suspect that it is. He's certainly put in the leg work to qualify as a highly competent translator, and anyone who may be looking for a good edition of Dogen could do worse than select his.

I HAVE BEEN READING AND ABSORBING THIS FABULOUS BOOK NO ONE HAD BEEN ABLE TO GATHER SO MANY PRECIOUS INFORMATION ON SOUS-VIDE TECHNOLOGIE THIS IS THE BEST OF ITS KIND. REFERENCE ARE FROM WORLD WIDE DATA .ANYBODY FASCINATION FOR THE PROCESS WILL BE FULLFILLED BY ALL OF THE UNCOVERED SECRETS.

In a field where there are not a lot of reference materials, this book provides a thorough, comprehensive, detailed discussion of how children learn (or do not learn) to spell. It is remarkably easy to read for the high level of information it contains. If I could have just one book on spelling, this would be it.

Cooks use spices and herbs to enhance flavors and create new ones: Spice And Herb Bible provides a reference and a history, describing a range of global herbs and spices that can be used in modern kitchens. The a-z reference allows for quick, easy look-up of ingredients. While an index of herb and spice sources would have helped those without a shop at hand, this reference still packs in essential details and is worthy of any home library.

This isn't as good as the first and last books in the trilogy, but it's still pretty good.

Nice space dragons . . . as good as Fred Hoyle's, other things being equal.

In this book Cook sets up all the solutions, but doesn't execute them or take us to the post holocaust world. The setting cries out for another novel (not to mention, once something is done, even if all who did it died, others will replicate their work, knowing it is possible).

Worth reading.

In this day and age with so much to do and so little time left to spare, who does not love a good stir fry? A well-prepared stir fry is quick, easy to prepare, nutritious and tasty. Chicken, beef, fish, entirely veggie - the choice is yours. With a little creativity and by varying the ingredients, one can have a whole new meal; the variations are endless. One originally associated the wok with strictly Chinese cooking, and this book quickly enlightens us on that thought. If you think one stir fry is the same as the next, wait until you read this book; it is one I would not want to be without. It is truly a cook's best friend. The recipes are quite different and each one I have tried has been absolutely flavourful and delicious. This book is a "must-have" for anyone who does not have the time, energy or desire to spend hours slaving over a hot stove!