The dishes are beautiful without being self-indulgently elaborate. The accompanying photos and narrative make it fun to read, but the real value is his practical explanations of how to make extraordinary dishes. Enjoy!

Point number two: Not only does Douglas give you his best recipes in this book, but he has also written what should be considered a mandatory guidebook to visitors and newcomers to Seattle. Douglas generously mentions most of the other great restaurants in town and tells you when to go and what to order. His description of the local markets is so comprehensive, it should be mandatory reading for every new cook who comes to town. Clearly, this man loves Seattle, and he wants to share all the best of it with his readers.

Tom is not only a genius in his restaurants, but this book as well. Even if you have never had the chance to eat at one of his restaurants, this book will introduce you to you to one of the true greats of American cooking. Having eaten at all of the restaurants AND tried the recipes, he is right-on in telling you how to make these favorites.

I never thought I would actually hold in my hands the "secrets" to Tuscan Bread Salad, but yet, here it is. (But Tom, how about the Tamales from Etta's?)

Oh, and by the way, this book is not just about Tom's restaurants. Listen to his advice about visiting Seattle. Any world-class chef that will recommend Dick's for a late-night burger has his finger on the true pulse of the city!

I may now live a thousand miles away, but Tom is here now, in my kitchen, guiding me as I make most of my favorites from his world. It will never be the same as a wonderful, romantic evening spent at the Dahlia or a rainy afternoon at Etta's, but at least it fills the void.

Some of us remember the Blues 'n' BBQ events that Tom did for Food Lifeline. These events, not held at the restaurants but at a local park, spoke not only of the true giving spirit of Mr. D, but also give credibility to the chapter, "Mo'Poke Dadu". Is there anything the man cannot do?

I do wish the recipe for Gingerbread that we enjoyed one dark miserable fall afternoon at Etta's was here, but hey, if enough of us buy this book, perhaps Tom will take requests for the next one....

Tom, we miss you. Thank you for making the journey, via your first cookbook, to the culinary wasteland of Southern California.

(P.S. I'm available for "R & D" anytime you're in the neighborhood!)

Seattle PI Leo Waterman has a friend who has acquired property to start a small resort and work as a fishing guide. He is an outsider in a small town, where locals have their own ideas for the property. Conflicts with the local red necks and power brokers turn lethal. Leo brings in an assortment of street people, thieves, and shadowy individuals to exact retribution. Leo is not a nice guy when you get on his wrong side.

The novel starts out on a different case before getting to the main plot, and meanders at some points. It is hard to say if anyone wins in the end as everyone, including Leo, gets banged up, and we seem to be left with a trail of broken bodies and shattered dreams. At best, the story would have a PG-13 rating.

Leo and his live in girlfriend visit some freinds who have bought some property in hopes of opening a resort. Beautiful little town, perfect location on the water. But things feel a little weird. After returning home, a few weeks later they discover the husband is dead. Leo being who he is wants to know why.

It turns into almost a caper from there on. Leo bringing in people who can do specific jobs for him to help nail those responsible.

A whole lot of fun to read, and And I would highly recommend this series, but this book in particular.

Jon Jordan

The US government, with an ever growing demand for oil to fuel our plastic SUV world turned a blind eye to the serious political situation of our main suppier, Saudi Arabia, a country ruled by the most dysfunctional family ever. The royal family must contend with not only family members who spend them into oblivion, but also with various terrorist groups who must be appeased with new mosques, weapons, money, and a safe haven.

Baer goes into as much detail as he can to show how the mechanism has worked over the years. Some sections are blacked out as the CIA considers the information classified. Also, since Baer was not a high level agent, there are some connections that can be reasonably made, but not proven. You will need to see how this unfolds in the coming years to get the complete story.

Bottom line: Read this book to fill in the background on the current Middle East situation.

Former spy Robert Baer, author of SEE NO EVIL: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism, makes the leap from intelligence reformist to national mentor with his new book, "SLEEPING WITH THE DEVIL: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude." Indeed, his last sentence has the White House laying in the moonlight with its legs spread, lustfully eyeing the Saudi wallet on the bureau.

This is an extraordinary compelling work, not least because it provides detailed and documented discovery not previously available, of how the U.S. government has over the course of several administrations made a deliberate decision to a) not spy on the Arab countries, b) not collect and read open sources in Arabic, c) not attempt to understand the sub-state actors such as the Muslim brotherhood, despite a long history in which these groups commit suicide to achieve their objectives, including the murder of several heads of state.

Baer's most brutal points should make every American shudder: it is America itself that is subsidizing terrorism, as well as the corruption of the Saudi royal family. Baer's documented estimate is that $1 dollar from every barrel of petroleum is spent on Saudi royal family sexual misbehavior, and $1.50 of every barrel of petroleum bought by America ultimately ends up funding extremist schools, foundations, and terrorist groups.

Baer has "gone back in time" to document how all of this terrorism began in the 1970's, but despite its terrible local consequences (including the assassination of heads of state), was ignored by Washington as "a local problem."

In one lovely real-life account, Baer, then duty officer at CIA while Iraq poised to invade Kuwait, found that the $35 billion per year system was useless, impotent. It came down to his calling the chief of station in Kuwait, who called a border guard, who lifted his binoculars and described the Iraqi tanks stopped for lunch. Baer says: "As I waited, I wondered: Is this what all that money for intelligence is buying us? A pair of binoculars?"

Baer joins with Robert Kaplan in concluding that democracy in Arabia would be an out and out disaster. The decades of Islamic extremism and anti-Americanism run amok cannot be resolved by democratic elections because the very people who most hate America will be elected. Baer observes that "strongman tactics" such as used by Saddam Hussein and by the Syrian leadership--including a "scorched earth" campaign against the internal terrorist groups--are a more stable "rule of law". One can conclude that the US has made a mistake in destabilizing Iraq, and that the imposition of a democratic solution in Iraq will turn out to be vastly more difficult, and vastly more expensive, than the naive neo-conservatives understood when they set forth without bothering to establish who was in the majority within the population being "liberated."

Saudi Arabia has bought and paid for all the White House and Congressional influence it needs. This is why the recently released 9-11 report contains no mention of the secret documentation of Saudi Arabian complicity in the terrorism that took 3,000 American lives. As Senator Shelby noted on PBS NewsHour recently (he has read the secret report), 93% of the blanked out pages, and specifically those on Saudi sponsorship of terrorism against America and other nations, is a "con man's" effort to avoid "embarrassment." As the families of the 9-11 victims have said, "we need to know."

Baer is extraordinary. He was a success as a case officer (a clandestine representive of America dealing with traitors and terrorists under conditions of extreme risk), and he has now become a sort of "Patrick Henry" of the modern era, warning us in clear and compelling terms that White House corruption (a non-partisan recurring corruption) and Saudi Arabia are the twin swords upon which this great Nation may yet impale itself.

All of the self-righteous discourse out of Washington portrays the fight of good versus evil in our latest "War" against the latest "something." It's a new war with a new myriad of contradictions and nonsensical alliances.

The KSA may be enemy number one, while at the same time powerful congressional leaders, defense contractors, and corporations do business with one of the most dangerous enemies to the United States: the power of crude. Feeding the fix. In addition to oil, Washington nor the west in general wants to see what would likely replace the current corrupt and venal royal ruling family in the KSA. The Kingdom has been simmering with dissatisfaction for over 15 years. With the burgeoning birth rate, and the once impervious cultural dike revealing some cracks resulting from global economic interdependence, the next basket-case of the world in the near future will be Saudi Arabia.

The U.S. royal Saudi relationship goes back decades with the black gold, regional geo-politics, and sites of Mecca and Medina, which elevate KSA's status above a well-deserved butt-kicking. There are so many powerfully vested American interests in Saudi that the kingdom is safe from American reactions, no matter what they do. Saudi Arabia knows it, America knows it.