I've tried 3 recipes out of this book and none turned out well. The book is nice to read and has outstanding pictures, but it's a lousy cookbook. Maybe the author neglected to test the recipes in a home setting?

Since my last trip to Paris, I've been desperately searching for a great book on french patisseries. I remember looking through the windows of Fauchons and wondering if I could create some of these beautiful and tasty confections at home. This book offers some of those guarded recipes and I'll definately try them. My greatest search has been for the mouthwatering french macaroons in all the different flavors of raspberry, chocolate, coffee and a number of different ones that I had tried there. And also some of the unique and architecturally designed pastries that not only look good but tastes soooo delicious. We just don't have those patisserie's here. The sad story is that I found only one recipe for macaroons and it was the plain almond ones, there were no recipes provided by the variety I saw in the book. This book offers plenty of pictures, but not the recipes for some of them. I was very disappointed. I was also hoping for more pictures and recipes of the desserts I saw at Fauchons. But all in all it's a nice book and it does have some good recipes.

I returned to the States from my first trip to Paris in June, after only having been there a week. Definitely not long enough to try all of the delicious looking pastries in every boulangerie ou patisserie. I am still truly homesick for Paris--but this book is wonderful and full of delicious recipes. I can't wait to try almost everything in this book, the nice thing is that it shows pictures of every recipe, so there's no suprises as to what it should look like. I also suggest Paris Bistro by the same author.

The Beginning Of Everything Else was basically like watching the first episode of Dawson's Creek. I am a fan of the show, but I didn't really care for this book. After seeing the first episode, I don't feel like reading a not really good adaptation of it.

If you've never seen Dawsons Creek then this is th book to buy. It's basically just the first 2 episodes in one book. I really enojoyed this book

This book rocks!!!! It's of the first two episodes. those are some of my favorite episodes. If your a Dawson's Creek fanatic like me you'll love this book.

. . . to really achieve its full potential, this play needs to be acted out on stage. Still, highly excellent, involving twins, cross-dressing, love tangles, sword-fighting, secret marriages, music, disguises, mistaken identities, high speech, and lowbrow humour.

The entire play takes place in Illyria. In the main plot, Orsino is in love with Olivia, who unfortunately does not return his feelings. Viola is shipwrecked on the Illyrian coast, and dressed as a boy, comes to serve in Orsino's court, where she of course falls in love with Orsino. Meanwhile, in Olivia's court, some of her courtiers plan a cruel--but funny--practical joke against her pompous steward Malvolio. There is also a third plot later on involving Viola's twin brother Sebastian, who has been shipwrecked likewise. Naturally things get quite confusing, but, true to Shakespeare's comedic style, everything gets worked out in the end.

This is an enjoyable book to read, and the notes are very helpful. However, it is still better as a performance.

"Twelfth Night" is one of the famous romantic comedy written by William Shakespeare. Many critics said, "Twelfth Night" is the masterpiece among his comedy because his fully developed style and insight are in the "Twelfth Night", so it has special value and attractiveness.
There are four main characters in "Twelfth Night" ; Duke Orsino, Olivia, Viola, and
Sebastian. Duke Orsino who lives in Illyria loves Olivia, so every day he send one of
his servant to Olivia's house for proposal of marriage. However, every time Olivia
refuses his proposal for the reason that she lost her brother before long, so she is now
in big sorrow and can not love anyone. One day, Viola comes into Illyria. She and her
twin brother Sebastian are separated in a shipwreck and they are rescued by two
different people in two different place, so they think the other one is dead each other.
Viola disguise as a man and become a servant of Duke Orsino, and then she fall in
love with Duke Orsino. But, Duke Orsino loves Olivia and he send Viola whose new
name as a man is "Cesario" to Olivia for proposal. Unexpectedly, Olivia fall in love with
Cesario!! Therefore, love triangle is formed. In the latter scene, Sebastian also come into
Illyria, so the confusion getting worse. However, in the end, all misunderstandings are
solved and Cesario become Viola, so the four main characters find their love.
There are also four supporting characters in "Twelfth Night" ; Clown, Sir Toby Belch,
Malvolio, and Sir Andrew Aguecheek. They make the readers laugh through their funny
behaviors and comments in subplot.
"Twelfth Night" is very funny story and enjoyable book, so I recommend you.

I didn't read this particular version of Twelfth Night, so I'm rating the plot, not the editing. This book was the first play by Shakespeare that I read, and I loved it! It starts when Viola and her brother, Sebastian, are seperated in a shipwreck. Viola decides to disguise herself as a boy and work for Orsino, the duke. Orsino sends Viola to tell Olivia that he loves her. Viola does what he says, but she wishes she didn't have to, because she has fallen in love with Orsino! Then Olivia falls in love with Viola, thinking that she is a boy. While all this is going on, Andrew Aguecheek is wooing Olivia, who scorns him. Also, Maria, the maid, Sir Toby Belch, Olivia's uncle, and another servant write a letter and put it where Malvolio, a servant, will see it. The letter says that Olivia is in love with Malvolio. Malvolio immediately starts trying to woo Olivia. Maria and Sir Toby pretend to think that he's mad, and lock him up. Meanwhile, Sebastian comes to town with Antonio, the man who saved him from the shipwreck. Antonio gives him his purse and says that he must stay away from the city because he fought against the duke in a war. A few minutes later, Antonio realizes that he needs money for lodgings and goes to find Sebastian. In the city, Viola is being forced to fight Andrew Aguecheek for the right to marry Olivia. Antonio sees the fight and hurries to intervene. Orsino recognizes him and has him arrested. Antonio asks Viola for his purse so that he can pay bail, thinking that she is Sebastian. Viola denies having had a purse. Then Sebastian comes up. Olivia had found him and married him on the spot, and he, deliriously happy, had gone away to give Antonio his purse. On the way, he met Sir Toby and Andrew Aguecheek. When they try to force him to fight, he punches them and goes on. They come up too, bitterly accusing Viola. (No one has seen Sebastian yet.) Then Olivia comes up and speaks to Viola, who denies being her wife. Orsino becomes angry with her, thinking that she has married Olivia, and accuses her of treachery. Just as things are looking bad for Viola, Sebastian reveals himself. Then everyone is happy (since Orsino falls in love with Viola on the spot) except Andrew Aguecheek and Malvolio, who is later set free. The plot of this book is a little hard to understand, but it is halariously funny and makes for happy reading.

I have absolutely no reservations about recommending this revised edition of a classic! As a woman who has given birth, a mother who practices yoga, a doula, and a midwifery student, I wholeheartedly encourage women to read this book. Even if you do not have a yoga practice or intend to give birth at home, it is worth its weight in gold, just for the birth stories. It is so very important for women to have exposure to birth stories and images that will provide a contrast to the frenzy and chaos that is widely shown in/on popular media as being a normal part of the birth experience. Somehow, the truth that only an extremely small number of babies being birthed need anything AT ALL besides calm loving parents, a warm, dimly lit room, and the
perfect nourishment of their mother's breast is usually
forgotten. I applaud Jeannine and her family for being beautiful reminders of this fact.

I loved this book. When I read it I felt like someone out there was really in touch with the other side of birth, someone not afraid to live the ecstatic reality of creation in her own life as well as while giving birth.
I know in my bones that Jeannine Pavrati Baker is holding the space for the birth of a new/ancient reality that is of utmost importance in our times: Freebirth.
The gentle yoga is powerful and easy to follow. The birth stories are treasures I will read over and over.
I highly recomend this book.

One of the most significant things to me about this guide to Yoga in pregnancy, is the incredible birth stories. Jeannine,the Author, offers the reader her experiences of birth, and they sure are inspiring! Pregnant women love to read about other women's births, its the way we learn best, telling each other our stories. The yoga is adapted perfectly to pregnancy and was in fact the first prenatal yoga book written in our modern age!Its a great book for pregnant women looking to really connect with the magic of pregnancy, I thoroughly recommend it.

i only gave this book 4 stars instead of 5, but i wouldn't want you to think i'm not getting the rest of the series. i've read several 'he turned me into a vampire and i tried to kill him to get away' books recently so i can't make the plot out to be entirely original. on the other hand, its a classic plot, rather like finding the magic sword is for scifi, and trisha baker certainly did a great job with it. the unique twist on the plot is the love-abuse side to their relationship making it also a good book on showing the underpinnings of abusive relationships and how they can develop slowly until the woman (usually) cant see later how she ended up a prisoner and a victim in it. unlike other vampire books where the love-abuse angle is hinted at, this book has many realistic details and real insight into the situation. 'but he loves me in some way' being as true as 'and death is too good for him' can be a difficult concept for those of us raised to be victims of love. 'that he loves me in some way' and 2.50 will get you a cup of coffee anywhere. this would be a good book to read for anyone that has been in an abusive releationship as a child or adult.

I loved this book! It was a thrill ride reading from beginning to end. At first, I thought reading this book will be like how I often read, flip through the pages and go on to the end. But this book was such a page turner I did not want to stop reading it at any point. The setting was even incredible for myself since I'm from NYC it was all the better. If you like vampire novels, I say this is one of the best written novels coming from a different approach. The leading character is female vampire unlike most other vampire novels that often use male leading characters. This story was completely fascinating and original. I know there is going to be a sequel and can't wait to be the first on line to get it. Trisha Baker is exceptional good writer, every character was vivid.

Crimson Kiss is an extremely well written book. I enjoy studying vampire lore and the rites of Druids and Priestesses. This book mentioned several ideas on vampires that I have yet to see any other author come up with. For instance, the fact that vampires can, and do, eat normal food was a new intrigue for me. Another is the fact that Mrs. Baker disregared the old lore about cruicfixes. Vampires do not find them harmful. I enjoyed that, but I also hold fast to the time-old tradition of the cross. What facsinated me was that vampires are just as religious as mortals. Meghann, for instance, was Catholic, yet studied the ancient Celtic religion and celebrated their time honored rituals of Beltane and Samahim. I found several new tidbits of Druid legend that I was unaware of before.

The horror in the book was a little discriptive for my tastes, but I understood why. Her portrayal of Simon was incredible, and her flaws in Charles and Meghann made them seem real. I especially enjoyed the character of Alucin, he reminds me of a special friend I have. All in all, Mrs.Baker is an excellent author, and I look foward to the sequel.

After reading Mr. Reinhart's book, it sat on my table for over a week, before I picked it up again. Mr. Reinhart comes across as a school master instead of a nurturing instructor. He almost demands that the reader make his poolish recipe which in my opinion is way too much, without room to store it. He relents and admits one can use half the recommended portion. Another problem, not all recipes use the poolish your forced to make, even half portion, so your stuck with poolish you don't really know what to do with. Bottom line, he insists you follow his recipes or else it won't be world class. Who Cares? All I want to do is make a good loaf of bread. On the other hand, Daniel Leader's book BREAD ALONE, has simple to follow recipes, repeating steps in each one, which some readers find annoying but I find most useful. Mr Leader also expresses the desire for the reader to try on his own and modify the recipes presented to make his/her own special loaf. I am not saying the recipes of Mr. Reinhart aren't good, just that the reader is strapped in doing what the author says must be done.

I have for my entire adult life had the ambition to bake what Peter Reinhart fittingly calls "world-class" bread, but in spite of buying and reading several books dedicated to bread and much work and experimentation, the good bread eluded me. When I saw Peter Reinhart's "Crust and Crumb" advertised, I was reluctant to buy another baking book, having resigned myself to the fact that good bread cannot be baked at home. "Crust and Crumb" got me over the hump. It made me understand the chemistry and process of bread baking, and the result is that I now bake bread which is as good as any that I have had anywhere - and I have eaten a lot of good bread, including in Italy and France. And it made me understand that in order to bake good bread, you have to take it seriously, be dedicated and take the time it takes - there are few shortcuts ("poolish" starter being one of those few) and really no compromises. "Crust and Crumb" is really the only bread baking cookbook you need. Well, maybe Joe Ortiz' "Village Baker" too.

I purchased Crust & Crumb as another addition to my many cookbooks on bread baking. I sat down to scan my new purchase and the next thing I realized is it was 2:00am and I'd just read the book word for word, cover to cover. I honestly believe I could throw out the majority of my books on bread baking and not ever miss them as long as Crust & Crumb was on my shelf. One telltale sign of the books influence on myself is that my Kitchenaid Mixer is gathering dust as I roll up my sleeves and passionatly begin kneading. Once again connecting to the magic of transforming singular ingredients into a living, united mystery that is more than the sum of it's parts. I feel I've found a kinderd spirit in Brother Peter, and am truly inspired by his knowledge of the history about bread, the fundamental meaning of bread to mankind and the humble passion he has for the process. Brother Peter walks one through the combining of the age old flour, water and salt, and then encourages ones "unbeilf" as grace takes over and a golden, crusty loaf is born. As spacey as these musings sound, the book is concrete, practical and it follows,easy step by step formulas. I try very hard to find the meaning and mystery in the everyday (mundane) events such as baking bread. Brother Peter has done that for us in "Crust & Crumb".

A while back, I baked the "all in the pan chewy chocolate cake with butter-chocolate icing". It's probably the easiest & surely one of the most delicious chocolate cakes I've ever tried. I mention this because Regan Daley's book is full of delicious & inventive recipes. Recipes that are, mostly, not that difficult & that taste exceptional. One of the reasons for this is that Daley insists on excellent ingredients, & that surely is one of the basic secrets of good baking.

Her book is much more than a wonderful resource for deserts: it's, mainly, a general baking resource, listing ingredients & talking about each one: how to use, what to substitute with what, what to combine with what etc. The book is full to the brim with information & tips, for the beginning & the experienced baker. As a bonus, the writing delighted me, & I think it will probably make all my other desert books redundunt!! (apart from Nigella Lawson's "Domestic Goddess" which I think has a similar style). It's always great to have a cookbook that you can use not just to throw together quick meals but also to savour, to indulge yourself with, to read & reread...

Remember way back when "The Cake Bible" came out? We hobby bakers (and not just a few professionals) read it cover to cover: information city! Rose rocked us with more baking how-to and why than we'd have thought possible. Oh,yeah, recipes, too, even the scary ones in the back.

With "In the Sweet Kitchen," Daley broadens and updates Rose's work, going beyond cakes with a full spectrum of baking information. Written in a fun, accessible style, she gives you the facts on myriad tools, techniques, ingredients, and more. If she doesn't discuss it, you probably don't need it.

If you are an IMPULSE BAKER (the sudden urge to bake, with whatever's on hand), you must have this book! I'd pay full price for two extensive tables of essential information: ingredient substitutions, and flavor pairings. No molasses in the house? No problem: use dark corn syrup. If you love to bake, you get my drift.

An essential addition to our baking library! You'll be reading it in bed.

This book explains every baking ingredient, types of sugars, fats, starches, eggs, flour, etc. Difference between flour variations, why sugar is important and what roles each ingredient performs along with their history. All other baking books give you a couple basic techniques then a ton of recipes, but this one goes a step beyond, with 368 pages packed with useful information before the recipes even start. Very smooth reading too - hard to put it down. Should be a mandatory purchase if you bake at home. You'll go from a standard baker to a spectacular one, armed with knowledge of why and how ingredients work rather than just blindly following recipes.

When I was in Havana, I brought this, and five other guide books on Cuba. The five star rating for these gudes goes to this prolific author Christopher Baker and his superb guide.

Christopher Baker is an accomplished "tell it like it is" writer. He has a flowing writing style that keeps you engaged even during the dryer parts of a guide book.

His condensed (38 pages) history of Cuba is one of the best I have yet read in any travel guide. Regarding his sections on Government, Economy, Society and the People, Christopher Baker's writing overshadows the other guides.

After using his guide to investigate, and select,accommodations, food and sights to see in Cuba, I found only one case where the information was not current and that was with a restaurant that had closed. His reviews of accommodations and restaurants were informative, selectively bias and up to date; these are the most important characteristics of a good guide book. He has included superb imbedded blocks of pertinent subjects (i.e., Earnest Hemingway, Chi Guevara, Fidel Castro, the Cuban missile crisis, the special period, sex & tourism etc.), good black & white photos, scores of side bar topics that are full of informative caveats, a good selection of maps and the beginning of web site and Internet addresses.

You owe it to yourself to get the best guide available before you visit Cuba: Get Cuba by Christopher Baker. Highly recommended

Well written, informative and entertaining. The best travel book I've read. Far and above any LP Guide I've purchased. Covers Cuba today and a provides valuable historical information in an unbiased manner. I highly recommend this book.

I've recently returned from a month-long working trip in Cuba. I read this book before going, while there and once again upon my return. Not only was the travel information accurate and thorough, I was well prepared for understanding the people and the culture. I am writing an article about my experiences there and find myself returning to the book for details that need reconfirming. It is much more than a travel guide....

I just finished Kevin Baker's "Paradise Alley". It's historical fiction about the New York Draft Riots during the Civil War. He cites as a reference the book "Gangs of New York" upon which the movie of the same name is based. Baker's goal was to portray an accurate account of the events. His goal definitely was not revisionism!

The book is 600+ pages long and it tends to drag a little in spots but it is well worth the read. Baker uses the (sometimes maddening) device of each chapter being a viewpoint of one of the principle characters for some event. So when three folks witness a major event, you can bet you're going to read about the event three times.

Be advised that the book is quite graphic in its descriptions of war and the riots...not for the faint of heart.

This is a great story and is very well writtten. The gist of all the action is New York city during the days of the Civil War draft riots. However at the beginning of the book, the author frequently flashes back in time, and across the Atlantic to Ireland during the darkest days of the potato famine. It is in these chapters we learn about the early years of some of the characters who later found themselves together in New York City. At first, I thought this style to be annoying. But as the book unfolds, and the tension builds, the time, place, and characters become more and more focused on Paradise Alley, in the midst of the violence.
The description of the starvation and suffering during the famine is gruesome. And the account of the hatred, and violent atrocities during the riot is graphic and brutal.
A major source of suspense in the book is Dangerous Johnny Dolan, and his effort to get revenge on those he believes ruined his life. Johnny is as evil a villain as there could be!

Hard to believe this was NYC (and America) only 140 years ago - pigs roaming the street freely, most people without any real employment or hope for the future, and a government that consisted mostly of corrupt, local thugs. The author seems to have done very thorough research and gives an excellent feel for what life was like at the time. You can even learn a little bit about how Central Park came to be, and the early days of the NYC water supply. There is even a glossary of terms at the end. The only criticism I can make is that there should have been a simple map of what NYC looked like at the time.
This is great historical fiction and I truly enjoyed it.

Although Kevin Baker's "Paradise Alley" and Herbert Asbury's "Gangs of New York" both focus on the same group of people during the same period in New York City's history, Baker's book, a work of fiction, has a much stronger ring of authenticity than does Asbury's, even though the latter was a newspaper writer and claimed to have based his book on interviews, court records and other primary sources.

Baker sets his story during the first three days of the New York Draft Riots, a week-long period of civil disorder rooted in multiple and complex causes including class differences (any draftee who could pay $300 could buy a substitute), economic hardship (the poor, who lived in squalid circumstances had little hope of improving themselves beyond a life of crime), ethnic rivalries (particularly those between the immigrant Irish and free black people), and lack of support for the war. Baker makes clear for the reader that freedom from slavery did not guarantee freedom from prejudice, even in the liberal North. Using a series of flashbacks (and flashbacks within flashbacks), and telling the story from multiple viewpoints, Baker illuminates the complexity of those issues that led to a week of rioting, lynching, and pillaging.

Beyond evoking the historical sights, sounds and scents of New York - particularly the tenements and Paradise Alley, which was in the vicinity of the notorious Five Points - Baker's book is a superb piece of fiction, well-crafted with sympathetic and multi-faceted characters. By using several viewpoints - including Ruth, the Irish immigrant, Billy Dove, her husband who is an escaped slave, Johnny Dolan, Ruth's former lover, Dierdre, his proud sister, and Herbert Robinson, a writer for the New York Tribune (and the only person who speaks in the first person) - Baker lets the reader revisit the same event several times, but seen through the eyes of a different person. The interwoven threads of the story strengthen the dramatic thrust as the various characters weave in and out of each other's lives, sometimes knowingly, sometimes not.

The most fascinating relationship, is that between Robinson and Dierdre, whose paths continually cross and whom we come to see as alter egos(much like Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway and Septimus Warren Smith). Robinson now owns the house where Dierdre once worked as cook, and keeps a mistress (Maddy Boyle) in Paradise Alley where Dierdre now lives with her respectable husband in the cleanest, most well-furnished house. Dierdre picked her husband over all of her would-be suitors because she knew she could mold him into the man she wanted, but in the process, she chained him so tightly that he welcomes the war as a way to get away from her. Maddy, thinking that Robinson has chosen her because he can mold her into the woman he wants, tries to play the role, including a dangerously suggestive game they play, based upon a famous sculpture of the time - the White Captive. Ultimately, one relationship grows stronger, the other falls apart.

As the dust-jacket picture suggests, New Yorks volunteer fire companies appear often throughout the book, both at their most glorious and their most shameful. Baker is at his best and most original in describing the fire companies and fires, the rivalries among them (which often are more important that putting out a fire), their usefulness to the city bosses, their ethnic loyalty, their exclusiveness, and ultimately, their mob-mentality (and duplicity) during the Draft Riots.

In all probability, Baker did not set out to write the northern equivalent of "Gone With the Wind"; however, several episodes (notably a prolonged birth scene and poignant death scene for a character who bears more than passing resemblance to the long-suffering Melanie Hamilton Wilkes) and characters (especially Maddy Boyle who is Belle Watling's poor northern cousin and Dierdre whose resemblance to the proud and unbending Scarlett is much deeper than their shared Irish background) pay homage to Margaret Mitchell's Civil War classic.

In its epic sweep, "Paradise Alley" matches "GWTW" and would provide excellent material for a film. Alas, Martin Scorsese has just released "Gangs of New York," based loosely on Asbury's turgid prose, so it does not seem likely that "Paradise Alley" will reach the screen in the near future. All the more reason to read it.

I was looking for a good introductory text to hand to our new project managers and this book got some great references from some of my associates. I got the book and knew in 5 minutes that it wasn't what I wanted. In retrospect I realized that the people who recommended the book were both in construction and both lived outside of the United States. If you work in a small company, with little to no infrastructure; where PM practices are primitive at best, I think this book would live up to it's reputation. If you, rather than your organization, are new to PM I would suggest getting James Lewis's Fundamentals of Project Management which Amazon also carries, instead.

I recommend this book to all manager who first time meet project management. The book is wrote easy with many helpful hints. I am sure that you will read it in one breathe.

I've been using the first edition of this book in my PM seminars for a year. This new edition is even better than the first--which I loved for its fun, informative, real-world approach to PM for almost any type of project in business or not-for-profit enterprises. It contains expanded information on stakeholder management, risk assessment, standardizing PM in your organization, and generally more information and tips on the standard processes in PM. This is a great improvement to a book I recommended to every one of my clients; I'll recommended it even more enthusiastically now.