This book by Blanche McCord has the most fantastic, easy to follow recipes. Everyone absolutely loves the food I make when I cook from this cook book. Example: While camping last weekend one of our friends sampled a little of the red pesto pasta salad. The next day before we left he asked if I had any left. I said yes, that he should help himself to it. Later when I returned to our RV I spotted the empty container that had held the salad. He couldn't help himself. He finished it. Aside from the food being out of this world, you get insight as to why the food that comes out of Ananda is so outstanding.

I recently stayed at the Expanding Light Yoga Retreat and was awe-struck at the wonderful, flavorful foods created by Blanche. Eating was truly a spiritual experience that left everyone with satisfied bellies, calm minds, and smiling faces. As a vegetarian who loves to cook, there was no question that I would leave this place without this book. I have been nothing but delighted to read and create beautiful meals that are easy to make, maximizing the yield of flavors from just a few ingredients which I almost always have in my kitchen already, and well explained. The interview with the author at the beginning of the book, having spent time with her at the retreat, truly exemplifies the spirit in which she approaches her meal-planning and cooking-creating healthy food with a loving heart warms the spirits of all who share in eating it. The meal plan suggestions are truly thoughtful and outlined according to the season of the year. I cannot say enough good things about this book, and I have given it as a gift to a vegan already (almost all the recipes are vegan!). I highly recommend it to anyone.

We've been vegetarians for many years and have all the popular vegetarian cookbooks--but this is something different. The recipes are healthy and yet very tasty. I would say these recipes satisfy. I especially liked the menu ideas in the back of the book, which offer very creative and thoughtful combinations. It's also very interesting to learn how this yoga retreat makes their food "better"--I found the tips very helpful and inspiring.

I have been planning a dinner party and this book has been so helpful. It not only gives great recipes, but also decorating tips and ideas for having a mexican party. It will be a great addition to my cookbook collection.

Simple American cuisine with Mexican embellishments: that's the theme of Fiesta Mexicali, a collection of innovative dishes blending Californian with Mexican innovations. From a Raspberry Margarita to Margarita Chicken and Roasted Garlic Chicken Quesadilla, plenty of delightful dishes are packed into an inviting, easily reproduced set of recipes.

Fiesta Mexicali showcases fresh ideas and inventive recipes with an emphasis on light and healthy eating with a very special Mexican-American zest and flavor. From Margarita Rumba; Machaca Mini-Chimichangas; and Incredible Green Chile Stew; to Grilled Carne Asada Tortas with Caramelized Onions; Baja Tacos with Chipotle Ranch Dressing; and Firebreathing Glazed Chipotle Chicken Skewers, Fiesta Mexicali offers highly recommended dishes that would please even the most fervent Mexican cuisine enthusiasts. In addition to an outstanding section devoted to cocktails and fiesta meal time decorating ideas, Fiesta Mexicali is additionally enhanced with a list of resources and a "user friendly" index.

Police work involves quite a bit more than fighting crime. There is, and always has been, a political and cultural element to it, as well as the tide of different ethnicities that ebb and flow into and out of a city. This is hardly a recent development; Irish police resented the influx of Italian officers into the New York City and Chicago police ranks during and after the turn of the 20th century; the New Orleans Police Department for years roiled with the uneasy mixing of Italian and French South Louisiana officers, who in turn, had to adjust to the inevitable but overdue influx of black officers into the ranks.

The race of the officers is not the only factor that affects a police department, however. Nor is the size of the city the department patrols. There is a municipality within spitting distance of my residency that has made national headlines by virtue of the fact that it exists solely to support its police department, which writes traffic tickets by the handful, in order to support its police department, which writes traffic tickets by the handful, in order to...well, you get the idea.

Most police procedural novels lead the reader painstakingly through the evidence-gathering process, and while they may touch on the internal and external politics of the department, that touch is light and almost incidental. That is not the case with the Charlotte Justice novels.

Justice is a black homicide detective in the LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division. Her creator, Charlotte Woods, has carved out a series in which Justice and her supporting characters are constantly evolving, making mistakes, paying for them, and moving on. The crimes that are investigated usually take place off the page, though the violence that is transmitted through the crime scene description to the reader is certainly graphic enough. Woods's major accomplishment, however, is to nicely balance her description of the crime-solving procedure against the backdrop of the political and social factors that affect how, and in some cases whether, the crime is investigated and the wrongdoer apprehended.

DIRTY LAUNDRY, the latest of Woods's Charlotte Justice novels, begins with the grisly discovery of a murder in a transient area of Koreatown. The victim is quickly determined to be Vicki Park, an up-and-coming political assistant to mayoral candidate Mike Santos. There is no lack of suspects, from Park's fiancée to members of Santos's campaign staff to, surprisingly enough, members of the Los Angeles Police Department. Park, it seems, was a bit of a maverick, a Korean working on the campaign of a Hispanic mayoral candidate and, as it turns out, did not approve of some of his campaign tactics. Yet, there were other mayoral candidates who also did not approve of his work.

Justice finds that her investigation is hamstrung by opportunists in the police department, political realities (she can investigate candidates, but not too closely) and even, to some extent, her personal life. It is almost a foregone conclusion that solving Park's murder will have some effect on the mayoral campaign. When the identity of the murderer is revealed, it should not be a surprise, but it is a very big one.

DIRTY LAUNDRY even contains echoes of some of Raymond Chandler's best work, in the sense that Woods, like Chandler, utilizes her well-crafted storylines as a vehicle for commenting on the culture of Los Angeles. Reading Woods is like walking down the sidewalk of a neighborhood that you would, at best, only drive through, if you knew that it existed at all. The difference is that, once you take one of Woods's tours, you will keep coming back.

Given the fresh publicity that accompanies the publishing of DIRTY LAUNDRY, Woods can begin getting the attention her work needs and so greatly deserves. DIRTY LAUNDRY is a gritty, haunting work that is intriguing the first time through and that will no doubt stand up to repetitive readings.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

With the city still reeling from the aftershock of the Rodney King riots, the mean streets of Los Angeles have gotten a lot meaner and more treacherous as African-American detective Charlotte Justice of the LAPD's elite Robbery-Homicide division returns to active duty after serving out a four-month suspension following a previous investigation which had ended tragically. Three weeks away from a potentially explosive...multi-candidate...mayoral primary, LA is a powder keg of racial/political tensions that's ready to blow at the slightest provocation. When Charlotte and her new partners, black lesbian Billie Truesdale and white 'newbie-Tec' Roger Middleton, catch their first case as a team (the cold-blooded killing of a politically-well-connected Korean-American woman whose dead body has been found bound, gagged and dumped in a Koreatown alley), it could well prove to be the high-profile spark that will destroy LAPD's last remaing shreds of credibility and set the city ablaze. Savvy, stunning Vicki Park had been working as a campaign strategist for charismatic, former news-anchor Mike Santos who is running hard and well-ahead of the pack in his campaign to become LA's first Mexican-American mayor. Apparently dissatisfied with the role which she's being asked to play in his race, has Vicki's discontent caused her murder? Charlotte's investigation becomes further complicated by another death...that of a Korean detective who has been serving as her link with the community: was it an accident or was he set up? and she needs every bit of her hard-won street smarts, detective skills and self-control to work her way through a maze of false clues, misleading information and an old-boys' Department network that would like nothing better than to see her lose her badge permanently. Inevitably, as she starts to zero in on the how's and why's of Vicki's murder, the stakes rise, and the final confrontation between Charlotte and a traitorous killer/cop had me glued to the pages until I could safely breathe again.

That's actually the best criteria that I have to praise Paula L. Woods as a fresh, unique and utterly absorbing new voice on the police procedural scene! This lady can WRITE! I came to Charlotte Justice cold, and was excited to the point where I stopped reading after only a couple of chapters (hard to do!) in order to seek out her two previous adventures first. Yes, this novel will absolutely stand-alone, but I quickly realized that if I really wanted to be able to savor its nuances...especially those having to do with the black community: its family values and focus which are so integral to Ms. Woods' plotting...obtaining additional background material from "Inner City Blues" and "Stormy Weather" could and did make an enormous difference in my enjoyment of "Dirty Laundry". I was especially enthralled and impressed by Ms. Woods' 'take' on Chalotte's experiences in dealing with the barbed-wire, racist/sexist climate in LAPD. This novel rang with the fervor of I'll-tell-it-like-it-is-let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may! authenticity, and I can tell you this: whatever she chooses to write in the future, I plan to be right there with her.

Eleven months after the Rodney King Riots, Los Angeles remains fragmented along racial lines and the LAPD is still reeling from the fact that four of their own are going to be on trial. Some members of the community are trying to heal the troubled city by campaigning for the mayoral candidate that they believe will work to unite the racially divided city. Korean-American Vicki Park believes that Latino candidate Mike Santos is the person for the job and works as a campaign strategist on his election team until someone kills her.

African-American LAPD homicide detective Charlotte Justice, a black woman who can pass for white, knows how racially and sexually prejudiced the department is against blacks and women. She is assigned to find out who killed Vicki Park and dumped her burned body in a back alley in Koreantown. Aware of what a political hot potato she is dealing with and just coming off a suspension because she killed a dirty cop, Charlotte must once again deal with dirty police officers and multiple suspects who had ample reason to want the victim dead.

In March 1993, Los Angeles is a city in pain especially the Korean community who lost some loved ones and much of their local shops due to rioters. The police department is still run by the white good old boys, leaving minorities and women losing the fight against an entrenched system that has been in place for decades. DIRTY LAUNDRY is an excellent police procedural that gives a step by step play of a homicide investigation against one heck of a realistic backdrop.

Harriet Klausner

just adding a bit of perspective to the previous review. The Disenchanted is not entirely a work of fiction. It is based on real incidents. The young writer is Budd Schulberg himself, and he based the story on his experiences with F. Scott Fitzgerald.

A really wonderful and touching novel in which Mr. Schulberg fictionalizes his days in Hollywood with F. Scott Fitzgerald. Highly recommended, lost masterpiece, probably better than "What Makes Sammy Run?", the only Schulberg novel that still seems to be in print.

Written in 1950, "The Disenchanted" is the thinly disguised story of F. Scott Fitzgerald in his alcoholic decline, when life had overtaken him to the point that his genius could no longer be expressed in the only way he knew how: his writing.

When Budd Schulberg was at Dartmouth College, he was assigned to accompany the fabled Fitzgerald while the great man made a stab at writing a screenplay for Hollywood. As Fitzgerald afficionados well know, this humiliating attempt at regaining his literary glory was a disaster for Fitzerald, and, as we see in this fictionalized account, quite an eye-opener for the impressionable young Schulberg.

What struck me most about the book was the purity of the writing, and the intensity with which the author expresses the two stories within: one about the young man's hero worship that turns to pity; the other about the disintegration of a genius. I have never again read such a moving account of the tragic relationship between Zelda and F. Scott, or the impact their relationship had on themselves and others.

Because of "The Disenchanted," which I first read as a preteen, I turned to F. Scott Fitzgerald and read everything he had ever written. I believe that my understanding of his works and his life were and are rooted in Budd Schulberg's moving and brilliant book, and if I could have thanked him in person, I would have done so, a thousand times over.

From the Bear Flag Revolt to the mini-mall present, the military and industrial powers of white California have consistently attempted to define the state's future by redefining (or obliterating) its past. This is certainly not a unique characteristic of the powers-that-be, but in California, especially Southern California, they seem intent on rubbing it in our faces. Thus it is not surprising that young California writers are increasingly turning to the state's past, at a level beyond supermarket historical realism or postmodern surface-nostalgia, to attempt to come to grips with this region's unsettled and unsettling present. Drinkard succeeds in crossing the seemingly impenetrable haze that separates one generation's California from the next. Jumping from parent to child, womb to grave, the novel encompasses the boosterism, booms and busts of the McKinley era, the corporate greed of the nineteen-eighties, and a near-future setting so plausible that it barely qualifies as science fiction. The author shows how the emotional lives and destinies of the characters in each present are created in a history that is largely unknown to them, revealed only when disasters both man-made and natural literally turn up the bones of the past. The book is an enjoyable read, especially in the near-future setting, whose characters are the most lovingly detailed. Drinkard has not quite learned to write the distant past, though his treatment shows promise. The nineteenth-century portion is lovingly researched, but the speech and mannerisms of the characters did not ring true enough to immerse me in the setting. The near-future part is full of gizmos and knick-knacks (some would say "gimmicks") that resonate with both DeLillo at his more whimsical (White Noise) and Jonathan Lethem. I am not personally fond of the former writer, but anyone who is--you must be out there--will certainly enjoy this aspect of Drinkard's book. By far my favorite part of the book was set in the corporate high-rise culture of the nineteen-eighties, amidst the early growth of the "information superhighway" and the cocaine-fueled careers of its builders. In this part of the story Drinkard portrays the emotional and moral development of a young man in a way that any writer could be proud of; and he certainly surpasses most of the other writers dealing with the same subject matter. More importantly, it is the part of the book that gave me the greatest sense of time past, of history both made and in the making.

This book is a throbbing fun chant, a glockenspiel, an information tsunami, a benevolent dose, a purple eye pouch, a navel orange, a sexy sprawl, a fanatical consumer, a big fat violent happy face. I laughed, I cried, I got wet.

This book had me hooked from the start. At first, I thought Drinkard was deconstrucing history but what he's really doing is *reconstructing* history. I was most impressed with how the author shows the linneage of traits within this very screwed-up family. This work also has a great sense of humor without sacrificing the humanity of the characters- most notably, the teenage son of the near future.

I enjoy Abigail Padgett's books so much that I buy them in hardback. That's the highest accolade I can give a book, since money is the thing hardest to part with, for starving artists.
When I was a child, I listened to "The Shadow" on the radio, and Orson Welles' rap about knowing "the evil that lurks in the hearts of men..." marked me for life. Well, not only the Shadow knows, but also Padgett and her protagonists.
Men will not like her books; honest women will. Witty, insightful, entertaining, telling a gripping story.

This book was wonderful. It was unpredictable with no clear-cut villain. It's very inspiring to have a competent heroine with manic-depression, or any mental illness for that matter. It adds a whole new dimension to the story and an unusual one at that for a detective story. The characters are all complex and well-written. This book, like Padgett's other Bo Bradley novels, are wonderfully written and lovely to read. I have read this book over and over again and pick up new nuances each time.

Abigail Padgett is my numero uno favorite mystery writer. My choice is based on her characters (I feel that I know Bo Bradley better than some friends). superb plotting, and excellence in her way of telling the story. "The Dollmaker's Daughter" is a page-turner spiced with some wonderful comments on bureaucrats. I laughed at Bo Bradley's spunky handling of her officious boss, and I kept turning the pages to find out "Who is Janny?" and "Who is trying to hurt Janny", and "Will life work out for this lovable girl?"

Delilah West is a PI in Santa Ana, California. She's single but involved with Erik Lundstrom, a rich, sexy man who wants her to get to know Nicky, his teenage daughter better. They take an instant dislike to each other but are forced into a lunch date.

On the way to the restaurant, Nicky and Delilah are kidnapped and they have to learn how to trust each other and work together to survive. Delilah is eventually let free but Nicky is held for ransom. Delilah knows that Nicky was left with neough food for only a few more days.

The second part of the book is about her struggle to figure out who has kidnapped Nicky and why so she can be rescued.

Delilah is a very likable character. She is honest about her shortcomings and has a sense of humor. But she is also able to be tough when she has to be and to accept the consequences.

There is very good character development between Delilah, Nicky and Erik. It has a twist at the end which makes you wish there was at least one more chapter.

This is the 6th in the series and there definitely will be a 7th.

This book is one of the best. A real page turner. Impossible to put down. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I don't usually read P.I. mysteries. Plot driver, centered in Orange County, California, it is superb! Don't miss this one!

"Down for the Count" is fast-paced and exciting, the kind of book that you literally won't want to put down. Delilah seems so real that you will feel as though you are experiencing her misadventures right along with her.

The book is wonderfully plotted and filled with interesting (and, in some cases,menacing)supporting characters. Men and women will enjoy this book!

I encourage readers to look for the other books in the Delilah West series, as well as the two books about Anne Menlo.

I would not want to be Thomas Steinbeck. Imagine: you spend half of your time explaining who you are, the other half explaining who you aren't, and wait for the inevitable question, "Do you write, too?" Steinbeck has blazed his own path, acquiring large if quiet success as a photojournalist, cinematographer, and screenwriter. And, yes, he does write, too. And quite well.

The conundrum one encounters when approaching DOWN TO A SOUNDLESS SEA is approaching it on its own terms without using John Steinbeck as a reference and comparison point. Steinbeck could have avoided at least a portion of the dilemma by writing in a specialized genre, such as science fiction or horror and thus rendered intergenerational comparisons moot. He instead meets the problem head on; the short fiction collected in DOWN TO A SOUNDLESS SEA are Steinbeck's literary transcriptions of tales he grew up hearing from his father and from others who dropped by his household. Steinbeck wisely avoids disclosing to his readers who some of these "others" were, but anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of John Steinbeck's friends and contemporaries can easily guess. The settings for these stories --- Big Sur and the California coast --- were also frequently used by Steinbeck the Father. Thomas Steinbeck, however, has found his own voice, and his own words. He passes, and surpasses the "John Smith" test: if DOWN TO A SOUNDLESS SEA was written by John Smith, it would be worth picking up, and reading.

DOWN TO A SOUNDLESS SEA consists of seven stories; if there is a common thread it is one of men following dreams and remaining true to their internal vision, though not always wisely, not always successfully. Thus, in "The Wool Gatherer," a young John Steinbeck, retained by a rancher as a wrangler for summer work, finds his attention from the job distracted by his sighting of a giant bear, supposedly extinct. His efforts to find the bear, again, result in his wages being docked and his summer effectively wasted. Yet, there is a nobility found in the story that rings true for its time. The ending to this little tale resounds quietly but is writ large, so that it is not so much an entertainment but more a tacit lesson, not sugarcoated but nonetheless easy to swallow.

"Blind Luck," one of the two longer stories in the book, encapsulates the life of Chapel Lodge, whose childhood was so devoid of love and caring that he at one point believed his name to be "Hey you! Boy!" Possessing an innate, canny intelligence, Lodge comes to believe that his luck --- if it is to be had and utilized --- is to be found not on land, but on the sea.

"The Night Guide" is, perhaps, a tale of the supernatural, but more so it is the story of a quiet, but indestructible bond between mother and child, a fable and a history. It does not seem like much, at first, but it echoes with the reader even as the other stories herein are read and digested. The same is true of "An Unbecoming Grace," a deceptively simple little tale involving a traveling physician who plays inadvertently a most important role in the lives of three people, and in the happiness of two of them.

In "The Dark Watcher," meanwhile, an unassuming, untenured college professor sets out to make his academic mark and succeeds in a way that he did not anticipate. "The Blighted Cargo," one of the shortest tales in the book, is also the weakness, though, it is a fine enough entertainment, being a story of an ill-fated venture in the slave trade where the individual involved is, as is said in some parts, caught in his own juices.

The undisputed gem of DOWN TO A SOUNDLESS SEA is, however, "Sing Fat and the Imperial Duchess of Woo," the final story in the book. Almost one hundred pages long, this tale of romance and traditional Chinese engagement between a young widow and a student apothecary is practically worth the price of admission in and of itself. A quick reading of Steinbeck might leave the reader with the feeling that he takes two long to get the point of his stories and then dispenses with it far too quickly. Such an impression misses the point; every building, no matter how beautiful or utilitarian, is no stronger than the foundation upon which it rests. So too, with Steinbeck's short stories, and particularly with this last one, in which we come to know young Sing Fat, and to a lesser extent his erstwhile bride and the Imperial Duchess. It is unfortunate that stories like this or so rarely written in these politically correct, supposedly liberated days; it makes the beauty of this one resonate all the more strongly.

Steinbeck is reportedly working on his first novel. It will be interesting to see what he is able to do when given the room, and the inclination, to stretch his stories out to cover a larger canvas. He will certainly, on the basis of DOWN TO A SOUNDLESS SEA, have an audience ready, and waiting, to greet him on his own terms. Highly recommended.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

After all that is why we read. It doesn't get any better than this. I just purchased the book the day before yesterday and only read 4 of the 7 stories. "Blind Luck" was great and "An Unbecoming Grace" had me laughing out loud at the end of the story.

I wish T. Steinbeck had several voulmes like this, looking forward to his 1st novel-

Don

When I put the book down I thought, Thomas Steinbeck uses words like Monet's brush.

This is a neat little package that gives a wealth of info about slugs. It was a little less technical than I had hoped. If you're looking to answer specific biology questions or have the hopes of a key, this is not the answer.

What on earth am I doing reviewing a book about slugs? Because I live in Slugland & I want to know more about those slithery slimers who mug my lettuces & ravish my sprouts. This little book is a gem, a must for anyone living among gastropods. This book inspired me to write a poem about these critters who have been around far longer than we! Still don't like 'em, I'll tolerate them because David George Gordon has written a funny, informative, charming book about a subject most would rather stomp on! So there!

I found this book to be a concise, thorough discussion of the subject of garden slugs. Every gardener has had to deal with them in some form or another and this little book is the perfect addition to your gardening library on the subject. Excellent artwork and drawings, also.

Having spent a lot of time looking for information on imaginative & fun (and sometimes luxury) travel with kids, I can tell you that this is a really unique book. It is comprehensive, carefully researched and well written with loads of practical tips. Some 'travel with kids' books might as well just be bland advertising copy, this one really provides good editorial content, with positive and critical comments. It is a pleasure to read and we will use it for a long time. Fodor's should publish more of these for other parts of the US/world.

I loved this book and would recommend it to any family wanting to travel in the northeastern United States. The writers offer tips and reviews on places of interest, resorts, and campgrounds in a wide range of prices. In fact, we have visited some of those places and found a brand new vacation prospect in Lake George which we will be trying out this summer! Definitely one of the most informative travel books on the market today -- entertaining even if you do not go to these places.

I've been searching for a book like this for several years and haven't found one that fit the bill until now! I had a great time reading it - so well written - and got more useful information than I'll ever be able to use in one lifetime! Thanks so much to the writers and publishers!