I grew up learning how to cook using Mom's Betty Crocker cookbook. This book is just like Mom's, with all the basic recipes. Plus many more for today's busy cook. Bread machine recipes, vegetarian, etc. I bought it to get the basic recipes I have to call Mom for. But it has so much more! It has everything! This is the only cookbook I plan to buy!

I have always had a Betty Crocker cookbook around. It was the first cookbook I took with me when I moved away from home, and it still remains the first book I grab for if I have *any* questions about a recipe I'm making.

The book is great for cooks of all levels. It has a lot of great introductory information - how do you boil an egg? What are the different cuts of meat? It provides a lot of easy recipes that taste delicious and are nutritious as well.

In addition, the book also eases you into many advanced recipes. Looking to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for the relatives? Trying to make a birthday dinner really special? This cookbook has the recipes for you, all easy to understand and with gorgeous photos.

This version is definitely an improvement on previous versions as well. There is information on grilling and vegetarian meals, something lacking in the last versions. They've also added in a number of ethnic dishes that are quite tasty.

If this book isn't on your kitchen shelf, be sure to buy a copy!

I love this cookbook. This is usually the first cookbook I reach for when I sit down to find a recipe or look for dinner ideas. There is so much variety in this cookbook that you can never get bored. The recipes are easy to follow and they work great. This cookbook is a must have for any begning cook! One of my favorite recipes is the Smoked Gouda and Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast. This is a very simple recipe with amazing results.

This is an autobiography by a person who has had a highly successful career in college and pro football but knows the world does not start and end with sports. The raising of the Stallings' son Johnny, who has Down syndrome, is the real focus here. The two stories, football and family, are intertwined, as the authors never lose sight of the family even while describing the high and low points of Gene Stallings' coaching career. Indeed, Johnny as he grows shares in his father's work. The book gives insight into both the game and the people in it and in the Coach's family. These people are brought alive for the reader. It is the best book 'about' football I have read.

Gene Stallings, football coach. I hesitated to purchase a book in which an athletic man recounts life with his disabled son. I am not a football fan, nor did I in the past think very highly of the "jocks" of the world. Coach Stallings changed my views by the end of the first chapter.

He is all too human. A man who wanted a son to grow up and carry on the family name and football prowess. We see openly his disappointment and fears after Johnny's birth. The child will never play football and may be looked down upon his entire life.

Stallings strives for coaching fame all the while advocating for the best for his son. His pride in the adult Johnny is one of the great tear jerking moments of modern literature.

Gene Stallings is a man's man. A father's father. He was, and still is, a great coach, husband, and teacher. Yet he has a tender compassion not always seen in men of his calling. He owes much of that part of him to his son and he knows it. He has taken the sorrow and pain his family bore and turned it into an story of amazing hard work, courage, and love. This book should be one of the first things read by a couple faced with the reality of a Down Syndrome baby. Coach Stallings shows us there is life after DS, and it can be very good, indeed,it can be wonderful.

Running North is an excellent book for anyone interested in Alaska or mushing. Ann Mariah Cook captures the feel for Alaska and dog sledding perfectly. Even if you have no true interest in the subject you will find your self swept into the wonderful world of dog sledding. Cook clearly brings to life the people they met, friends they made, and the hazards that tried to stop them from running the Yukon Quest. One of the most grueling races in the world. I found I learned a great deal from this book without it ever becoming boring or slowing down. And most importantly she tells about the dogs, the wonderful creatures who work so willingly for us. Sometimes heartbreaking sometime funny, this book is an interesting, exciting read for anyone.

Ann Mariah Cook opens up more than one would expect as she leads you from their home in New Hampshire to the rougher world of Two Rivers, Alaska. They're a principled couple, their dogs are Siberian Huskies and they have certain dog-loving standards. They know they're at a disadvantage speedwise to the other teams entered in the Yukon Quest, many with hound-huskie mix packs. They adapt and yet prevail. I am interested in how they differ from the other racers, and wish Ann would have told more about how she and George saw things after the race. Also her vignettes about some of the individual dogs made me want to know more about the dogs.

Ann is understandably wrapped up in the mom thing with 3 year old daughter Katherine. At the same time Ann adapts to Alaskan musher culture, cares for her dogs, and preps husband George's provisions, all the while trying to puzzle out handler, cousin Sandy's behavior changes. There is so much sled dog lore that barely gets touched on. The book is a page turner once the race actually gets on. Ann could have made the book twice as long, because she does such a good job with what she chooses to write about. She needed to tie up loose ends. The only thing that drags is her apparent cluelessness about Sandy.

I checked the Yukon Quest website, and the Cooks didn't make the "most helpful" or the "best dog treater" for the year that George and their pack raced. But it verifies that they were in the race and certain things did happen.

Subtitled, "A Yukon Adventure," Ann Mariah Cook's fascinating 1998 memoir chronicles the time in 1992 that she, her husband George and three-year old daughter moved to Alaska to participate in the Yukon Quest, the toughest sled dog race in the world. It was George who ran the race; Ann was the one who drove the truck, carried the gear, took care of their daughter and gave him moral support through the long months of training, and eventually through the grueling event.

I've read other books about dog mushing, but this one had the unique point of view of a woman who, while not actually on the sled during the race, experienced her own Yukon Quest experience. She writes clearly and honestly, not shying away from the disagreement that she had with the young woman they brought with them to act as the official "handler" of the dogs. She writes about George's experience on the trail, his frostbite, fatigue, narrow escapes and indomitable spirit as he pitted himself against natural forces over which he had little control. She writes about the dogs, their personalities and backgrounds and about the tough choices she and George had to make when it came time to pick the actual team of 12 out of their much larger group. She writes about the people they meet along the way, her Alaskan neighbors, fisherman, storekeepers and the other mushers. And she writes about Alaska itself, making me yearn to experience its beauty and majesty.

There was one small line drawing of the Yukon Quest trail and I kept returning to it again and again as the book moved along and the tension mounted. There is also a photo of Ms. Cook and one of her dogs on the back cover. I wish there were more photos, but I didn't really need them because her descriptions were so clear. Recommended.

I found FSH to be oddly disjointed, compared to earlier Garrett novels (particularly the seamless Old Tin Sorrows, by far the best of the series). Often I had the impression that Cook expected me to understand something that he hadn't bothered to explain, simply because Garrett had understood it -- or perhaps because similar situations in previous novels *had* been spelled out explicitly. Every so often, I'd find myself reading a page three or four times, convinced I'd missed something, because the next page was inexplicable (e.g., the sudden appearence of the Dead Man in the later part of the story).

That said, this was a good, morally ambiguous, sprawling monster of a plot. Without spoiling anything, I can say that this book finally unifies a lot of plot threads that have lurked in the Garrett books for years. The 'all-star-cast' nature of it makes me wonder, actually, where Cook intends to go next. His own military experiences have informed so much of the series' development that I was a bit shocked at the back-cover text of the book announcing the 'end of the war', and now I wonder if the setting can sustain itself without that constant source of angst and suffering.

I can't recommend this as a *first* Garrett novel -- look in used bookstores for some of the earlier, now out-of-print books. Especially Old Tin Sorrows -- did I mention that it's incredible? :-) But as the latest entry in the series, it does its job admirably -- even with the jerky, disjointed nature of the storytelling.

I am merely responding to the previous reviewer who clearly did not care for "Dread Brass Shadows" but did rate "Petty Pewter Gods" at 5 stars. I will take the opposite position since I found the "Petty Pewter Gods" slow, disjointed and not up to Cook's usual Garrett, P.I. quality and style. On the other hand, "Dread Brass Shadows" was tight, well-written, and left one wanting more - especially more about Chodo's daughter, Sadler & Crask, and Tinny Tate! Not to mention Morley, Waldo, and the mysterious resurretion of Puddle (described as expired in one book, but maybe this is another Puddle?) How could Cook leave us hanging with that explosive combination simmering? I highly enjoyed his Books of the North (Black Company) but have found the Books of the South to be less intriguing - perhaps because of the lengthy lead times. Although, it is a good excuse to start with the first of the series and re-read up to where the new book begins.

Well, previous reviewer, when you are reviewing a not-yet-available book you can only extrapolate from past performance. I too found Petty Pewter Gods not quite up-to-standard. That means it was only exceptionally funny and witty. I live in hope that the next one will be right back above and beyond. Like all the really good storytellers, Glen Cook only steals from the best. The Archie Goodwin/Nero Wolfe reflections are a real treat to an old Rex Stout fan. I would personnaly like to see more of the Dead Man, but I recognize the plot difficulties created by such a powerful character. It is tough for Cook to keep the tension going without the Dead Man's powers giving an easy resolution. The Dead Man's orneriness and increasing dormancy are a partial answer, but it means one of my favorite characters is under used. The worst (and best) things about the Garrett PI world are all those characters and plots whose stories have not yet been told. GET TO WORK GLEN! While the Black Company stories are fine, any time not used to tell tales of TunFaire is time ill spent. My fantasy is to host a night(a week?) in a pub with Cook, Terry Pratchett, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Sharyn McCrumb, Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels, Fred Saberhagen, Dave Duncan, David Drake, Tom Holt, Poul Anderson, Lindsey Davis, Tom Sharpe and George MacDonald Fraser. Joining us via the ouija board would be Rudyard Kipling, Mary Stewart, Victor Mollo, Mark Twain, H. Beam Piper, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Forester and Robert A. Heinlein. What links this eclectic group other than my taste? Fine writing and a different (sometimes twisted) way of looking at the world. I will gladly stand their drinks, but if anyone else wants in, they have to stand MINE! The preceding offer is real, by the way, to all those on the list, be they quick or dead. Drinks only to the quick.

Don't be put off by bulk: despite its 1,151 pages, "Cook and Peary" is a real page-turner. In elegant, concise language, it tells the compelling story of not one but two of the great hoaxes of all time. The story of the two men who falsely claimed to have reached the North Pole is one of mendacity and gullibility and of the victory of faith over knowledge. It highlights the shakiness of the foundations of what we think of as common knowledge. This year marks the 90th anniversary of the start of the great polar controversy, and it shows that the balance is tipping yet again. It began favoring Cook, then swung decisively to Peary, despite many initial doubters. The idea that both men were fakers dates from the 1970s, and it seems to be finally prevailing. Today, the New York Times, once a passionate defender of Peary, reported last November, "most historians believe both explorers lied." In the first part of the book, Robert Bryce, a meticulous researcher who has the wisdom to trust absolutely no one, tells thhis eye-opening story without making any judgments. He leaves you to make your own. In the second part, he examines the available evidence, some of which he was the first to examine, and tries to answer the two essential questions: Did either reach the pole? He concludes that Cook's own long-hidden journals prove he turned back after 100 miles or so on the floating Arctic Ocean ice pack, or less than a quarter of the way. On Peary, he shows convincing evidence that Peary stopped short of the pole, probably between 100 and 50 miles from the northern axis of the Earth. Bryce explains how Peary used his powerful friends to press his case, while Cook relied on his charm, saying over and over, in effect, "trust me." Bryce shows how either would have been believed, even without the proofs that are ordinarily required, if the other hadn't been there to challenge him. But most amazing, he shows the phenomenal chutzpah of both and the credibility of a world before which most of the damning facts were out in plain view. "Cook and Peary" details the slow collapse of the two claims despite a still-vigorous Peary defense by the National Geographic magazine and persistent lobbying work by the Cook Society. It is this collapse that led the Guinness Book of Records to get rid of Peary, replacing him in 1997 by a 1948 Soviet airplane expeditions. The World Almanac, which once tersely reported Peary's conquest of the pole, as had virtually all world reference books since the Encyclopaedia Britannica found for Peary in 1911, now mentions that there are serious challenges to his claim. But this debate is too old to ever die, and someone will no doubt eventually come out with new facts to illuminate a partisan point of view.

As a piece of scholarship, this is a definitive book. I am using it and related materials in a seminar about research methods. It is not an "easy read" and the numerous relevant illustrations are sometimes smaller than is comfortable to examine. However, it is one of the few sources where you can find reams of verifiable references to the lives of Cook and Peary. Those who believe that Cook and Peary told the truth about their polar "adventures" will probably find ways to discount the mountain of evidence that Bryce has made available. The density of detail takes patient reading, but leaves a reader free to compare interpretations with Bryce's clearly marked conclusions. The author has covered the controversy thoroughly, including taking the trouble to evaluate a copy of Cook's diary archived in Denmark. Those wishing to spend time with this book will be rewarded with credible information about one of the fascinating human stories of the last two centuries.

What can you say about a book that is over 1100 pages long yet I still didn't want it to end? This book is just awesome (and quite heavy too!) I am a bit of a polar exploration buff and found this to be the absolute best book out there on the rivalry between Cook and Peary. If you like adventure stories of any sort, I would highly recommend this book.

First of all let me tell you that collecting cook books is one of my favorite things to do, so to impress me, a cook book better be pretty good. Second, if you're like me, what can a cook book possibly tell you that you don't already know?

But, let me tell you this, the All New Good Housekeeping Cook Book is impressive. I have been testing the recipes from this book for a couple weeks now and not only are there some new ones that I haven't seen before, but they are easy and delicious. Another plus of the recipes I've tried is I don't have to run out to the store or plan ahead because many of the recipes use items I already have on hand.

Now, if that's not enough to convince you what a great book I think this is than I don't know what would be.

The book's format is very nice. It is easy to read with many full color pictures throughout. There are 1500 triple tested recipes along with various "insider" tips from chefs, cook book authors and food experts.

This book has a wide variety of recipes, which are easy to follow. Everything I have made from it has turned out perfectly. The pictures are beautiful, and the extra tips that appear throughout are very helpful. It's easy to plan a whole menu from this book, from appetizers to dessert!

While I was growing up, I loved helping my mom cook. I used to read through her cookbooks, looking at pictures and dreaming of one day being able to cook things like those pictures. My favorite cookbook was her Good Housekeeping cookbook. Now, 23 years later, I'm out on my own. I was at my mom-in-law's house, and I noticed she had a copy of this new GH cookbook. She bought an extra copy for me.

I absolutely love my All New Good Housekeeping Cook Book. The recipes are very diverse. I love the hints from the professionals, scattered throughout the book. Most of all, I love that GH kept the pictures in and kept fairly simple recipes in. If you know the Good Housekeeping name, you'd definitely know that this a top-notch cookbook!

I love this cookbook and use it almost exclusively because the ideas in it are so creative and child-friendly, and it's so easy to sit down with this colorful book to plan meals. It's also great because it encourages you to cook from scratch and makes doing so a lot less intimidating! Although many recipes in it are wonderful, a lot of recipes are, in my opinion, very mediocre. In my house, for example, the broccoli soup and the Bat Wings chicken wings were flops, and I wondered how on earth they made it into the cookbook. Through much trial and error, I now prefer to use the recipes as general guidelines and make changes wherever things seem a little weird. It's forgivable because of the terrific emphasis on having your kids help in the kitchen, and the simple fact that the entire FamilyFun series, especially the magazine, is FANTASTIC! My family life has been greatly enriched by the ideas in FamilyFun magazine and the Parties book, and I think it's the best source of original and creative ideas for families available today. Enjoy :-)

Originally I picked up this cookbook to cook with my young sons, but quickly realized that there were wonderful grown-up recipes available in this book too. Hardcover, with a binding that lies flat on the counter, this book offers colorful graphics and pictures of the majority of the recipes presented. It is arranged in the following categories: Getting Ready, Breakfast: Rise & Shine, Lunch Specials, After-School Snacks, Soup's On, Breads we Love, Dinner's Ready, Side Dishes & Salads, Can I have Dessert, and Home for the Holidays.

Some of my family's favorite dishes include: Banana Split Waffles, PB & J Surprise Muffins, Strawberry Butter, Hummus, Falafel Flying Saucers, Nuke-able Nachos, Sneak-It-to-Em Broccoli Soup, Potato Chip Chicken Fingers, Baked Sweet Potatoes with Orange Sauce, Rock Candy, Leaning Tower of Oreos, Blueberry Fool, and Red, White, & Blueberry Freeze Pops. Also nicely included are some recipes for Play Doughs, with ideas on how to even make your own scented dough!

This was an excellent addition to my cookbook collection and my family has fun selecting and trying new recipes out of this extensive cookbook. If you want to teach your kids to cook, or want to find recipes sure to please even the finicky eater, then you should try this cookbook. Enjoy!

The recipes are simple and wonderful tasting. My kids eat fish now. What's up with that. I haven't been disappointed by anything I've tried. My kids now fight over who's going to help Mom or Dad in the kitchen. We used to eat out at least twice a week. Now we rarely eat out. I plan the menu over the weekend, do all my grocery shopping and we're set for the week. What great fun and even more fun because my 7 and 9 year old are eager to help cook and to try new things. This is a rarity for my 7 year old. I highly recommend this book!!

This is a very well-researched and meticulously written book. However, I never felt I got to know Eleanor Roosevelt. I found the reference to Mrs. Roosevelt throughout the book as "ER" off-putting. It put an emotional distance between the reader and the subject. While we are treated to many details of Mrs. Roosevelt's life, we are never really let in to her emotional life. BWC (the author) goes into such detail about everyone else around Mrs. Roosevelt and she tells us what happened, but she doesn't let us see things through Mrs. Roosevelt's eyes. I still have no idea what the relationship between FDR and his wife was. Nor do I really understand why she remained with Lorena Hick so long. This book really amounts to a laundry list of who, what, where. A really effective biography will let us into the personal lives of the subject and let us feel as they feel as the story of their life unfolds. I never found that emotional resonance in this account. Eleanor Roosevelt left behind copious amounts of source material. I think that the author could have done a much better job of letting us experience Mrs. Roosevelt more fully as a person and not just as a public figure with a lot on her agenda.

This is a terrific biography, but Cook stumbles a bit in not focusing on Eleanor's private life in this second volume. There is too much of a focus on ancillary topics and I missed the anecdotes and concentration on Eleanor as a human being. Still, this is well-written, though heavily biased in Eleanor's favor (which didn't bother me a bit!)

Even if you're not interested in Eleanor Roosevelt, you will be after reading this book. Cook writes history the way it *should* be written, with an emphasis on the personality, foibles and private life of her subject. She doesn't shy away from speculating on Eleanor's relationship with Lorena Hickock or Earl Miller.

She correctly points out that for years people have denied Eleanor might have had a sexual relationship with Miller simply because he was young and handsome and she was "old" and "ugly." Absurd!

My only minor concern was that Cook seems not to fully appreciate FDR as a man, politician and icon. Her marked preference for Eleanor is obvious, which really isn't a big concern. Was FDR a jerk to cheat on Eleanor with Lucy Mercer? Probably not, since Eleanor hated intimacy with him (and told her daughter "sex is an ordeal to be borne!") and never sought to re-establish a real marriage after 1918.

Most men with FDR's looks, charm and natural exuberance would not tolerate a wife who was cold as a fish in the bedroom. I don't believe Cook accepts this or attempts to understand FDR's frustration.

Eleanor Roosevelt is a truly great and grand lady, multi-faceted, highly intelligent, compassionate and gritty. Cook has done a marvelous job in exploring and explaining her early life

I am still reading and re-reading this book. I was initially disappointed because it does not have the focus on Ms. Roosevelt's private life that Volume I does. But after I got over that, I realized that I was reading a major work on the history of social justice movements in this country. Ms. Roosevelt's anti-racism work (including her own personal evolution) is documented here. The racism of her dear friend, Hick, is portrayed along with their disagreements on the issue. Most fascinating are those times that Ms. Roosevelt was reviled and condemned -- for having African American leaders in the White House, for receiving flowers from an African American girl -- perhaps we HAVE progressed in dismantling our racist past. The derision and contempt for poor people in the 30s and 40s is shocking. Ms. Roosevelt's constant, persistent and terribly courageous advocacy for the oppressed is inspirational! Viva Eleanor! Viva Blanche!

This fascinating look at a truly amazing woman is well worth the effort of slogging through what amounts to some pretty tough reading. The author seems to not only paint a thorough picture of Julia Child, "the woman", but also of the world itself as a backdrop to Julia's life. The level of detail is fascinating, but it will also put you to sleep if you are not careful. This is not a book to read in bed! The portraits of Julia as a priviledged child, Julia as a rascal of a college student, Julia as an international spy, and Julia as a young married woman, all leading up to the Julia I (thought) I knew today was wonderful. I don't know that I would re-read it anytime soon (unless I was experiencing insomnia) but I would recommend it for anybody with a strong interest in Julia Child.

Noel Riley Fitch's biography of Julia Child introduces us to a very complex, interesting and compassionate woman. What we learn in the bio is that Julia's passion for living and learning has been life long. Epstein's bitter, angry review of the book in The New Yorker magazine completely misses the point. When I want to find out about Julia's passion for food, I simply open one of her cookbooks and read it.

Appetite for Life : The Biography of Julia Child is a fascinating book--I read it cover to cover in one (very long) evening. This bio captures Julia's unique personality and presents little known information about her childhood in affluent Pasadena and her life-long romance with her dashing, artistic husband, Paul. Unfortunately the book is replete with unnecessary details, endless names, places, etc. so one is tempted to skip ahead. Nontheless, its a good read and I came away with renewed affection for the charming and savvy French Chef, our national treasure, bless her!

Even if you're not interested in Eleanor Roosevelt, you will be after reading this book. Cook writes history the way it *should* be written, with an emphasis on the personality, foibles and private life of her subject. She doesn't shy away from speculating on Eleanor's relationship with Lorena Hickock or Earl Miller.

She correctly points out that for years people have denied Eleanor might have had a sexual relationship with Miller simply because he was young and handsome and she was "old" and "ugly." Absurd!

My only minor concern was that Cook seems not to fully appreciate FDR as a man, politician and icon. Her marked preference for Eleanor is obvious, which really isn't a big concern. Was FDR a jerk to cheat on Eleanor with Lucy Mercer? Probably not, since Eleanor hated intimacy with him (and told her daughter "sex is an ordeal to be borne!") and never sought to re-establish a real marriage after 1918.

Most men with FDR's looks, charm and natural exuberance would tolerate a wife who was cold as a fish in the bedroom. I don't believe Cook accepts this or attempts to understand FDR's frustration.

Eleanor Roosevelt is a truly great and grand lady, multi-faceted, highly intelligent, compassionate and gritty. Cook has done a marvelous job in exploring and explaining her early life.

Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the most inspirational and influential people of the 20th century, despite her own protests to the contrary. While Ms. Cook's biography reveals many insights into Mrs. Roosevelt's private and public lives, certain of the author's own subjective opinions color what information is missing or has been destroyed regarding this wonderful first lady; these opinions are certainly open to debate. Overall, though, the book inspires all to pursue dreams, to grow throughout a lifetime, to change to fit the times and the needs of one's world. Eleanor's own education about living provides a basis from which to begin living life to the fullest. It is this hope and fortitude that Ms. Cook best captures.

Although I am a product of the 1960's and 1970's, I have lost sight of the importance and power of activism in our culture. I once had a passion to fight for the rights of others less privilieged or for those who can not fight for themselves. This book stirred in me a passion that I have long forgotten! How great a woman was Eleanor Roosevelt! How important her contribution to human rights and the survival of the American way! Blanche Weisen Cook has written an account of Eleanor Roosevelt that is moving, realistic and powerful. It has renewed my interest in political causes and the incredible need for activism. A must read for women of all generations.