I ! I loved this book!This was the first cookbook that I ever enjoyed just reading. First of all,you open it up and excitedly go through it,looking at all the stars and seeing what particular recipe that they have contributed. Then you think,hmmmm, why did they use that recipe?Then its fun analizing why that celibrity chose that paticular recipe. Oh and who knew that Mr.Rogers was a vegetarian?The recipes are fatastic!Not your regular vegetarian boring stuff. I believe that is because not just celebrity vegetarians contributed,but those with varied eating habits, participated. That makes for a very unique and versitile cookbook. Ms.Ruppen should be commended for using recipes from both vegetarians and non-vegetarian. Vegetarian dishes are not just for vegetarians anymore.This is obviously proven with the many recipes that were sent in by non-vegetarian celebraties.I must also say Thank You!Thank You! Ms. Ruppen for researching your recipes so thoroughly, by including additional low or no fat ways to make each recipe.Now I can eat vegetarian and TOTALLY healthy!This is such a great book,I could write on and on., Incudedwith pictures of your favorite celebrities their personal recipes,are some great little antidotes on each page.They were informative and interesting reading.This was the most unboring cookbook I ever read.1

Hi,I am a nine year old girl and a vegetarian.My mom got this book because I hate so many different foods.This book was cool because it has the vegetarian food that movie stars eat.I liked that alot.Im picky about what I eat but this stuff was yummy.Mom even let me help her make some recipes,it was fun.thankyou.bye bye now.

This is the second year I have put this book on my Christmas list. Everyone I have given it to raves about it, not only for its fabulous recipes and well laid out format, but also because it is informative and entertaining. Kudos to the author -- who also has a PhD in neuroscience!

I am anxiously awaiting this book! It's about time that someone wrote information about people, places and businesses that I so desperately am always looking for. Every place of employment in Los Angeles should have "FIRST CLASS LOS ANGELES" on their shelf!

I've worked as a personal assistant for over 15 years and this book contains exactly the information that has taken me 15 years to compile AND MORE! Anyone who works for people who expect the best should buy this book and impress their boss by having all the best resources! This will save any assistant years of research and the added benefit of the peace of mind in knowing that everyone listed in this book are competent of delivering on their promise.

This is a wonderful compilation of shops and services that celebrities have patronized. Ms. Elias has done a wonderful job putting together her career experience with Hollywood stars by divulging their little secrets on where they shop for toys, where they dine, where and who does their hair and other goods and services that they take advantage of.

You'd be surprised at some of the places tehy go. You may just run into these stars buying Barbies or getting a bikini wax next to you. Can you imagine a hairstylist using the same pair of scissors that were used on Bette Midler to cut your own hair? Or Bette Midler's mermaid tail brushing up against your dinner jacket at the dry cleaners?

Even if you don't use the book for needed services, it's a fun peek into the lives of your favorite celebrities. Buy this book!

I loved everything about this book! I relate well to Lucky Santangelo, she's the type of woman, that most of us women want to be. The book is exciting, dramatic, romantic and clever. The characters are interesting. Completing this book will leave you feeling great! Then I found out, that there is also the LADY BOSS movie! I ordered it, and was happy to see, how well the Actors portrayed these characters! Kim Delaney was a cute and clever little Lucky, and it was GREAT to see Jack Scullia as Lenny Golden, he was perfect. There were alot of familiar faces in this movie, and it's exciting to see how these characters come to life! I watch it over and over again, it's just as addicting as Jackie Collins books! If you read ANY book, THIS is the one to read!

I recently finished 'LADY BOSS' the third book in the Lucky Santangelo series and I absolutely loved it! Where 'LUCKY' was good 'LADY BOSS' was great. In this third installment Lucky goes to Hollywood in hopes of acquiring a major movie studio, however, just before she closes the deal she finds out that there is a catch. She has to work undercover at the studio for six weeks as a plain Jane secretary! At first Lucky is reluctant but soon the idea of surprising her husband movie star Lennie Golden with his own studio coupled with the sheer enjoyment of being able to spy on all of the studio executives is too much for Lucky to pass up. But as Lucky soon finds out Lennie is not too thrilled with her surprise, which puts their marriage in serious jeopardy.

There are so many enjoyable story lines in this book that it makes it hard to put down. An example of this is the story of Venus Maria and Martin Swanson the movie star and the billionaire. Swanson is a business tycoon who is married to Dena Swanson a woman who became famous by using the Swanson name and refuses to let anybody take that away from her including the Madonna like movie and recording star Venus Maria. But Venus is determined to have Martin all to herself that is until her brother Emilio shows up and stirs up trouble for the couple.

I found this book to be extremely entertaining and I cannot wait to read the next book in the series. Lucky is powerful, demanding and independent a true example of a strong woman. 5 Stars!

First of all let me tell you that this book is not an easy reading, it has to many characters and to many stories, to be exact it has six stories, at first all of them separately but in the middle of the book they will be as one big story. Of course the main story, the story of Lucky and Lennie is the must important, but you are really interested in all the stories at the same time. When you end a chapter of one story you want to skip the next chapter to see what happened in that specific story, but when you start to read about the other story you forget about the first one and you will want to know what happened to this one.
The end of the book is not so good, but the book still keep 5 stars

On one level, this is the story of Bea, an abused, bedraggled, emotionally broken beagle who has escaped from a research lab. The author finds her by accident, takes her home and, through infinite patience and understanding, gradually brings out the happy and sociable animal Bea was meant to be. The wallop comes in the final chapter, a powerful, solidly grounded and reasoned call to arms against unnecessary animal testing-and most of it is unnecessary-that every year takes the lives of some 20 million animals in the U.S. alone. A must read for every pet-owner.

As a former beagle-owner, the story of Bea touched my soul. This is a beautifully written book, full of stories to which all dog-owners can relate. How wonderful to follow Von Kreisler's adventures with Bea over a period of many years, to be reminded of the joys, sorrows, and rewards of raising and loving an animal. Bea's story reminded my wife and I so much of our dear departed beagle - it motivated us to go out and rescue or adopt one who needs a good home. Thank you for giving us the idea and the courage to make another dog a part of our lives!

This book is a must for anyone who loves beagles, or anyone who has taken in an animal in need and nursed that animal back to physical and emotional health! Dog lovers will fall for Von Kreisler's touching, amusing story of Bea's transformation from battered-and-broken lab animal to cherished pet. Well written and entertaining, this book made me laugh and cry. I've already recommended it to all my family, friends and fellow beagle rescuers!

This is truly an exceptional and unexpected book - one that leaves a strange, haunting feeling with the reader...something like what one experiences after having read "The Stranger" (Camus) ...although it actually shares more striking similarities with "Story of The Eye" (Bataille). The strange worldliness of the children in this book, while disturbing, seems somehow natural...and the writing is fluid, learned and simple - a very fulfilling read.

I picked this book up from a remainder stack at a local bookstore because I liked the title... I'm keeping this book because it took me for a ride that few contemporary works of fiction have. A thoroughly enjoyable read, full of startling twists and intelligent writing.

I began this book while waiting for my maseusse to arrive to relieve a bad migraine and was upset she was coming. I did not want to put it down. I have given over a dozen copies away and read it five times. It is perhaps the most exquisite writing I have read in contemporary terms, not to mention handling such dark territory. Absolutely superb.

As a fan of wacky humor a la Carl Hiaasen, I found this book quite good. Given the reality of some of the insidious license agreements out there, however, some of Townsend's ideas are eerily close to the mark! No doubt, this comes from his expertise as an Intellectual Property lawyer. If he can either grab enough material from that field to write others or extend his style to other areas, we may have another Hiaasen on our hands. The courtroom interrogation of a German Shepard near the end had me in stitches.

Or off the cuff. This is one of the funniest books I have read. I was laughing out loud. One of life's pleasures is to sit down with a good book. Secrets of the Holly Grill certainly qualifies. Obviously a spoof on the high tech world that we live in. The techies have invaded our lives! The barbeque? Who would have ever thought they would get to us there.
The books starts with a bang and the sparks fly with every following page. Mr. Townsend thank you for the laughs.

JUST when you assure yourself you're being paranoid...that technology REALLY doesn't control you...you open SECRETS OF THE WHOLLY GRILL. You laugh a little, adore the author's clever use of language and puns, and know that you might have been on the right track after all.

Clever, yes. Absurd, maybe. A little too close to the truth? DEFINITELY! Lawrence Townsend has written a truly original novel, as they say, "ripped from today's headlines."

If computers, software, food and cigarettes form the core pleasures and meaning of YOUR life, read on, my friends. You will enjoy the ride!

I received this book as a gift, and what a gift it was!

Tim and Pete is a great book. Well written story of the reconciliation of two ex-lovers (gay) who happen upon eachother through less then ideal circumstances. My only advice would be to take the gay-extremists in the book as the fictional constructs they are. (Late in the book, extremists plot the assanination of former president Reagan.) Also, a quote attributed to President Bush, saying Bush was on CNN saying there was a "giggle factor" in the White House regarding AIDS is fiction and, despite a lengthy search, was proved fictional. The book is not centered on extreme characters, however, and is quite entertaining.

Tim and Pete is certainly the best gay-themed fiction I've ever read. The story concerns two ex-lovers and the day/night they spend together on the streets of L.A.. An apocalyptic AIDS-era adventure. This book is tops

...which is too bad. This is truly one of my favorite novels, when it first appeared in the early 90s. I was sad that it was out of print, until recently. But now that I have a new copy, I will be able to share this story with friends again. I loved the pace at which Tim and Pete made their adventures though Orange County and LA; it reminded me of my own un-real road trips. And much like Brett Easton Ellis' Glamorama, it is hard to fathom a group of gay artists-slash-terrorists; yet, their existence in an anti-gay society is not completely impossible. This book challenged my very safe notion of what it means to be gay--and that is never a bad thing.

Reviewers criticize Conley for not offering solutions and focusing too much on academic politics. They miss the point.

Harassment happens through politics -- dull but deadly. And there *are* no solutions. Conley shows us that even national press coverage can't make a dent in a determined university protected by a prestigious reputation (or -- as she doesn't say -- a winning sports team).

My own experience suggests that many of Conley's criticisms of Stanford Medical School apply to other universities and to other professional schools. (How many women are teaching at your favorite business school?) Nor are women the only targets. Those who attack women are also likely to display hostility towards colleagues, students and clients who are ethnic minorities, gay/lesbian, disabled, or even childless by choice. The reality is that universities lag behind other institutions, including blue-collar and military, when it comes to integrating women into their faculties.

In her new book, Fighting Fire, Caroline Paul (a San Francisco fire fighter) shares with Conley the awareness that harassment can be subtle rather than violent. Yet, unlike Stanford Medical School, the SFFD shows progress. After a few years, a male colleague apologizes voluntarily for earlier hostility, admitting he's grown and changed since more women have arrived. Carol Ann Barkalow's book, In the Men's House, shows that West Point began making similar progress twenty years ago. Speaking about those expelled for harassment, a male cadet says, "We don't want those jerks in the army."

These attitude shifts seem foreign to Conley's world -- and, I suspect, to many academic settings. Yet universities -- even private ones -- also receive considerable state and federal funds. What they lack is pressure to change the status quo. Change will come when we start asking our legislators why our taxes are paying universities to hire human resource staff to write policies they never intend to enforce, while also paying! lawyers to defend those who harass and intimidate their colleagues.

Those who suggest women should defend themselves with lawsuits and clever repartee also miss the point. Discrimination and harassment harm not just a specific target, but the social fabric of the organization, and eventually all those whose lives are touched by the organization.

And that, I think, is Conley's lesson: we should *all* be concerned. It bothers me to think that a doctor who's just groped a nurse will cut into a brain five minutes later. It bothers me that a psychiatrist retains the Stanford imprimatur while he harasses his colleagues. It bothers me that a doctor who insults his female colleagues will make life-or-death decisions about his female patients. And, in general, it bothers me that our taxes support the ivy walls that create the glass ceiling in workplaces all over the world.

As a former employee of Stanford Department of Neurosurgery, I stand and applaud Dr. Frances Conley. Her book depicts what it is like to work with a group of men, literally boys, who refuse to behave. Dr. Conley's book validates that I was not living a nightmare at Stanford that this behavior by surgeons and adminstrators is common. I have always been in awe of Dr. Conley, reading her story makes me realize I was often in the company of a unique and courageous woman.

Sadly, any woman who's achieved a doctorate (& not just in medicine) will relate wholeheartedly to this book. I greatly admire Dr. Conley's unbelievable courage in standing up to the Boys' Club & trying to make things better for women in academia. Hopefully this book will encourage ALL women to stand up to the misogyny & be heard.

When I read that Glenn Gaslin was drawing comparisons to Arthur Miller (The Washington Post), Jack Kerouac (Kirkus Reviews), Lewis Carroll and Douglas Coupland (The Rocky Mountain News) I thought, "That's a little much isn't it?" But Gaslin's debut novel, "Beemer," proves that his name soon will be the one summoned when reviewers are trying to explain a book as simultaneously fantastic and clear-headed as this. We hear much talk about what it means to be American these days. Gaslin's answer is provocative, unpredictable and, despite its politically charged atmosphere, apolitical, so much so that this book should be a hit with the Green Party, the Atlas Society and everyone in between. If you like Julio Cortazar, you'll love Beemer. If you like Mark Helprin, you'll love Beemer. If you prefer watching TV and playing Doom to reading, there's still a pretty good chance you'll love Beemer. How can you not like a novel that begins with a great sex scene? It ends with the creation of a desert Eden. Along the way, Beemer explores a child's disillusionment with his parents, the rapidly widening gap between generations and, in a bit of pre-9-11 prescience, the marketing power of domestic terrorism. The Washington Post wrote: "It would be easy to make "Beemer" a manifesto, in which a flat glyph of a character dutifully incants none-too-subtle broadsides from his creator's fevered brain. Such indeed is the run of consumer-hip pomo lit, from Bret Easton Ellis to Chuck Palahniuk. But Glenn Gaslin, who toils by day as an editor for Entertainment Weekly, is too good a writer to give in to such reflexes, and so "Beemer" is a blisteringly funny satire on the acquisitive self, a welcome detour out of the mounting rubble of Terminators, Hulks and Living Histories into the dark heart of the American dream." I concur.

I love this book! It is really interesting-- I was intrigued with Beemer and engaged with him all the way through, wondering what would happen to him. He's such a solid, thoughtful person, and all around him such a wild and surrealistic world he is set in! And he has such a powerful, beautiful girlfriend, Paul, with her wild, colorful, intriguing family and her drive to succeed. The characters really came alive as I read, and I really felt as though I were right there alongside Beemer, traveling along with him. It is a well written, cleverly imagined, and delightfully entertaining, at times hilarious book! I highly recommend Beemer!

A cautionary tale, told in the form of a heavily-exaggerated satire, that, after looking around middle America for a while, seems none so exaggerated. These people are real. This absolutely CAN and HAS happened.

Funny enough to depress. Real enough to induce laughter. Far out enough to be real.

What does this mean?

When David Mas Masumoto describes how his "old-fashioned" Sun Crest peaches look and taste, the reader's mouth waters and the grocery store peaches of today become flavorless by comparison. When Masumoto is unable to find buyers for his peaches he describes them as "homeless" and the reader's heart grieves. This book strongly conveys the small family farmer's ties to the land and his crops, his lack of control before the forces of nature and the whims of market dynamics. It also taught me a few things about the hard work involved in farming. However, when I look back for a "soundbite" impression of this book, I get a series of poetic pictures: Masumoto's obaachan (grandmother) walking through the farm at sunset, cruel bulldozers ripping out an orchard, graceful egrets fishing in the irrigation canals. A great read for a taste of connection to the land!

Lush, fragrant peaches dangling from the branches in David Mas Masumoto's orchard long to be picked and enjoyed for the burst of nector that surrounds your tastebuds. The prose is as delicious as the organic fruit that this farm struggles to produce as we read of the everyday joys and hardships of saving a farm and a way of life. And yes, I even ran out and bought Sun Crest peaches at the Farmer's Market after reading this book!

It is rare to read a book where the author works miracles with his hands and his words. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys non-fiction but finds it dry, without humanity. David Mas Masumoto is anything but dry. His land may be at times, but his poetic prose is anything but. His relationship with his family, his family's farm and nature is a rare combination. I highly recommend this read.