When I moved to the northeast and married a "yankee" I knew I had to add cooking real Italian to my repertoire of southern home-cooking...this book did it! Every recipe is totally straightforward and yields absolutely flawless results! I made gnocchi to rival our favorite restaurant in Little Italy! My husband calls the marinara (totally easy to make)and the meatballs(worth the effort) "magic" because they are so incredible. We are working our way through the recipes and are about halfway done and honestly not one dish has turned out so-so, they are all really very tasty and I can't stress enough how non-intimidating the recipes are. Tonight--chicken cacciatore!

Want to cook like an Italian American in an uncomplicated fashion. This is your guide. You're not Italian at all, well you can learn to cook that way easily with this well-written book. These are the recipes that my mom cooked for me when I was growing up. I never did get to have her record them, so this book is a great substition. They are not fancy. Just plain good Italian-American fare. You just want to sit around the table, eat, drink and have a wonderful time. Frank Pellegrino is a tribute to all Italian Americans, keeping our heritage alive and bring back some of the old neighborhood memories. Bet many of you never even heard of East Harlem or Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Buy it, give it to everyone you know, it is a terrific gift.

Coming from an Italian family, I was a little reluctent to try other family recipes. Well the ones I have made so far were absolutely fabulous! From the meatballs and gravy to the chicken scarpiello. Please don't forget the pork chops with sweet and hot peppers. I have to tried to eat at Rao's, but unfortunately it is who you know. Soon enough I might have a way in there. But the book will do just fine for now! The stories in the book are so great. As my mother would say "food is the glue that keeps the family together." Oh, and olive oil and garlic is the essence of life.

Schaffner came of age in the late 1960s, so it's not surprising that he focuses much of this biography on The Pink Floyd's early years (before they dropped the "The" from their name). This book is a gold mine of anecdotes about Syd Barrett, who in 1968 was forced out of the band he co-founded. Schaffner's sources are as reliable as they can be, 20+ years after the fact. The author's familiarity with the London rock/club circuit of the mid-60s is vital to this book's thesis and is one of its main strengths. In the early days, The Pink Floyd thrived on improvisation (and drugs).

Syd Barrett is more important to Pink Floyd than his brief career with the band would suggest; many of Pink Floyd's most successful albums of the 1970s are imaginative recollections and descriptions of madness. Syd Barrett was The Crazy Diamond of "Wish You Were Here," and he cast a long shadow over the band's successes.

Aside from that, Barrett's loony artistry and psychological disintegration comprises the most interesting portion of this surprisingly down-to-earth band's story. Barrett makes Waters, Wright, et. al. seem like tuneful businessmen by comparison.

Finally, it's refreshing to read an honest appraisal of Pink Floyd's late work, which is competent and dull when it isn't a competent retread of more exciting old material. Syd Barrett was never dull.

For those left on the dark side of the moon wondering what happened to Pink Floyd at the end of the 80's, this book goes to the heart. Reading a biography helps you listen to music in a whole different light, leaving you less a fanatic and more sympathetic to how a group of artists (first lesson, normal artists act alone) handle fame and relationships. The Floyd handled it predictably, with denial and immorality: the whole rock star life. Sadly, the life we long for but don't really understand. Nick portrays all this with a close attention to human nature. Not to mention he's followed the band all his life, and was rewarded with rare access on a few occasions. It is not a pleasant read in the fact that many of your preconceived notions of who Pink Floyd "are" will be demolished. Even the "evil" Roger Waters we have all come to love and stereotype is a family man with failings, and we see that his songs simply come out of that frustration with the everyday. His war stuff is just the war stuff we'd write if we put our office rants to paper. And he writes it much better. And Schaffner captures the flavor. This is a very good book.

Though the bad blood between Roger Waters and David Gilmour is no big secret, here we start to understand how it and the biggest band in "psychodelic" music came about. From its "crazy" founder Syd Barrett to the Roger Water's "The Wall" concert in Berlin, Schaffner shows how egos and talent built and tore apart this band.

"Saucerful.." seems a bit one sided at times. Waters is almost always depicted as a need-to-be-in-charge egomanic, and despite being kicked out of the band some 25 odd years ago, Barrett's story takes up almost half of the book. This doesn't however take away from the information that's presented here. All of the thoughts, feelings, and goings-on that were present during the making of "Dark Side...", "Atom Heart Mother", "Animals", "The Wall", and all the other great Floyd albums are well described here.

This book is a must read for any Floyd fan to see how it all became to be.

Nick Corcodilos runs a website called "Ask the Headhunter." I have never encountered so much valuable advice dispensed without a fee.

In this book, Nick explains why the traditional job hunt almost never works. Then he outlines an absolutely brilliant method of breaking away from the Human Resources machine and separating yourself from the herd of "cows" looking for jobs.

Best of all, almost nobody is going to do it! It is far too different and requires too much work for most people. Which means the few of us who follow his advice have that much more of an advantage.

Old way: Scan the help wanted ads, the internet job sites, register with a recruiting agency. Send out dozens, maybe hundreds, of resumes. All of which gets you into the Personnel Department, where people who do not understand the work you do scan through a checklist and try to find reasons to disqualify you. Even when you find a job that fits you perfectly, now you are one of perhaps a hundred would-be applicants.

Nick's way: Do some in-depth research to discover the companies you'd like to work for. (His advice: "Don't look for a job, look for a company.") Then ask yourself how you might become an "insider." Do you know anybody who works there? Can you find out who their customers are? Their vendors? He offers various ways of getting an inside track to speak directly to the person you would be working for -- not someone in Human Resources. Then when you meet, do the job right then and there! Show them how you work, how you think.

I read this book last week, and followed its suggestions: I did a good deal of research on target companies over the weekend, arranged a personal referral to the hiring manager (not the personnel department) of one of them, and have an appointment scheduled for next Thursday. Having done my homework, I already know what probelms the company is facing. When I get there, I'm going to steer the conversation toward that issue, and start working on that problem right then and there.

To this point, I am further along toward a job I really want with a company I REALLY want than I ever would have been the old way. All because of this book.

I find this book and it's accompanying website invaluable.

This author is quite empowering and will set you in the right direction. He does not tell you how to get a job, he merely gives a solid approach to the jobhunting process. He gives you the tools and then asks you to use your skills and style to follow-through. Since I first started reading this book over 2 years ago, I've been on 2 interviews, in each case I got an offer.

BUYER BEWARE: this is not a get-job-quick book. It will not tell you how to get to a hiring manager (that is something you must rely on yourself for) and it will not tell you the best answers to typical interview questions. However, the author will empower you to think more candidly and positively about what you bring to the table and how to bring it to a potential employer.

I have passed this book along to a friend and they have had similiar success.

Also valuable for an employer in the hiring process, so that one day maybe the "what is your biggest weakness" questions will end.

The author has one message that he repeats throughout the book: Do the job to get the job. Nick Corcodilos is a headhunter and he knows of what he speaks. He tells you what you always secretly knew: Sending resumes, responding to want ads, and dealing with personnel departments is a waste of time. I like his name for personnel types: personnel jockeys. Their job is to move piles of paper (that's your resume). His message is that you need to throughly prepare for each interview by first figuring out what job you want, research the company and the hiring manager. Then in the job interview you "do the job". That is you demonstrate your ability to do the job you want. The hiring manager has one objective: hiring someone who can do the job. You need to be able to show that you can do the job. Get the Message? Get the Book!

A wonderful historical-scientific-mystery surrounding the discovery of nine skeletons dug up in Siberia in 1991. Were these the remain of the last czar of Russia, NicholasII and his family and servants? Author Robert K. Massie takes you step-by-step through the political, scientific, and legal haggeling over these remains. Quite a bit of the book is dedicated to "Anna Anderson", the woman who for several decades claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia, the czar's youngest daughter. The author makes several references that this woman, whom he rightly calls "the claimant" closely resembled the Grand Duchess. Yet the photographs in the book are mostly of the modern day scientist who identified the nine skeletons. This reader would have preferred some photos comparing the two women. Some readers may become confused by the huge amount of people (and names) involved with the identification of the Romanov remains. Many of the long resumes of the scientists involved would have best been left for an appendix. The very last chapter of the book, which ties into the first chapter beautifully, describes a close, loving family during the last weeks, days, and hours of their lives. This lovely, sad ending to this well written book helped this reviewer see the Romanovs as real people, not just as the thoughtless royalty history has portrayed them or at the mysterious bones they left behind

Another well-written book by Robert K. Massie about the Romanov family and their tragic fate. The book begins at the death of the romanovs and explaining in great detail their death, and how their bodys were hidden for so many years. It present's evidence about people claiming to be the romanovs themself - even one of the most famous - Anna Anderson. It points out both sides to those who do and do not believe she was Anastasia Romanov. I myself do not velieve that she was due to the evidence this book presents - DNA, and how her story does not hold up at all. This is a wonderful book!

Check out Nicholas & Alexandra, Anastasia'a Album, and the Last Tsar as well.

The Romanovs: The Final Chapter is an excellent book. It is written in great detail and begins with the death of the last Imperial family of Russia. I recommend reading Nicholas & Alexandra and then this if you are just begining to learn and read about them. Nicholas & Alexandra begins a little bit before Nicholas II took the throne and continues with their personal and political lives. The Romanovs: The Final Chapter provides scientific evidence to back up what you are reading. It is a detailed look at the death of the Romanovs, the finding of their bodys in the 70s, the refinding of their bodys in 1991, and the famous Anna Anderson theory. It doesn't provide an explantion to who Anna Anderson really was, but it provides facts to make your own conclusion (mine - Anna Anderson is not the Grand Duchess Anastasia). The Romanovs: The Final Chapter & Nicholand and Alexandra are seriously the two best books to read about the Romanovs. Also, the movie (based on the book) Nicholas and Alexandra is a wonderful movie. I recommend all of these for anyone who is new at learning of the last Imperial family, or who has read tons of books and wants more information.

I truly wanted to like this book more than I did. I had read all the great reviews, and have read a great deal of Native American history. Black Elk's first-hand accounts of some of the most famous moments in American history are priceless, as was his description of Sioux culture; these easily rated five stars. But lengthy chunks of this book are descriptions of Black Elk's dream-like visions. They were obviously very personal, and Black Elk even wonders if he should try to recreate them for auhtor John Neihardt. For me, the re-telling of these visions through an interpreter and then written by a white man left the passages a convoluted and overly-detailed morass. I would, however, still recommend that anyone interested in Native American history read this book.

Black Elk of the Ogallala Sioux (or Lakota, their real name) led quite an important life among his people. He was present at Custer's Last Stand and the Wounded Knee Massacre, and even toured Europe with Buffalo Bill. John G. Neihardt has given us this very important life story as told by Black Elk himself. The saga of Black Elk and his people during their final years of freedom is very important from a biographical and historical standpoint. Contrary to popular opinion, this book is not really a treatise on Native American religion, as it is only Black Elk's personal story, though there is much valuable material on spirituality as he saw it. His many messianic visions are described in great detail. These would be looked on by Westerners as fever-induced dreams, but they still had great significance in Black Elk's life and the fate of his people. Also interesting are his tales of working as a medicine man and curing sick people. Instead of dismissing such tales, we should look on them as great examples of the power of positive thinking, not to mention homeopathic remedies. There has always been some concern about how much Neihardt altered the story to fit Western writing methods, with possible losses to Black Elk's true narrative. But one of the great modern Native American activists, Vine Deloria, gives his endorsement in the new introduction. While not quite the compendium of spiritual knowledge that many people think it is, this is still an extremely valuable and enlightening life story of a man who has much to teach us.

Mari Sandoz both admired and modeled much of her work about the Plains Indians on the work of Neidhardt. Both worked on using the flow of the native language as opposed to a word for word translation, and both spent time with Indians, learning their culture and getting first hand information. They took advantage of what is no longer available to us, first person histories from those who actually lived the free life on the Plains. They also did more for native cultures than any white person before or since, by writing down this information for future generations. One thing I found enjoyable about Black Elk, and the Sandoz books is that while the Indians they spoke with took their religion and duties very seriously, they also had a great sense of humor, and didn'tt mind poking fun at themselves as well as whites. I found the story of the warriors who stopped to eat a buffalo during the battle of the Rosebud particularly humorous.

Laffite's Lady was wonderfully written. The author obviously did extensive research and invested a lot of time and love in this book. As a native of New Orleans, I know the places she wrote of; the plantations were as she described them; the Blacksmith shop is still there and the inscriptions described in the book are accurate; the characters were so well described I could see them strolling through the French Quarter. Her unique writing style kept me waiting from page to page to see what surprises were next. I am anxiously awaiting the next book in the series; I'm already try to figure out what avenues she will explore and how the characters will interact. While there was certainly romance in the novel, it didn't depend on romance or love scenes to carry it; the story was rich with suspence mixed with history. One of the best books I've read in years.

Never wrote a review before, but this book deserves a great one. A friend of mine recommended the book and when she told me about it I thought it would be another "made for women" love story. As friends usually do, she insisted and I ordered the book. Determined not to read it I put it aside until my friend called and started asking questions about it. Ergo, I had NO choice. Anyway, the bottom line is that I read the book in two days because I could NOT put it down, period! What a fantastically written adventure and great education about the time in which it happened. The characters are full of life and the story draws you in from beginning to end. This is a book to be read by anybody who likes adventures, history, pirates, lovestories and timetravel. As a guy I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and look forward reading more from Susan Elliston, and thanks to my friend Jane for recommending it to me. Five Stars no doubt!

I began reading the book when I broke my foot and had plenty of time on my hands. Just as well I did because I couldn't put the book down until I had finished! I would say it was the best book I have ever read and was disappointed when I finished it. I can't wait for the sequal! The book did everything for me.... covered every emotion, made me happy, sad and excited. I felt the pain, shed the tears and felt totally involved with the story. I feel the story is perfect for the big screen and would LOVE to see this happen. It is very rare that a book can captivate you the way this book did, to actually feel as if you have experienced what Tori felt and lived her life with her. Can't wait for the next book from Susan.

As a beginner knitter, I was excited to see that this book also functions as a mini-reference guide to some of the basic knitting stitches. However, after I started my first project, I had to refer back to "Knitting for Dummies", which has clearer instructions in knitting techniques. So, if this is your first venture into knitting, I would recommend that you puchase this book in conjunction with another, in-depth reference guide.

Having said that, I give a hearty "thumbs-up" to the clarity of the instructions for a given project. I am working on a pair of booties, and have been able to follow the instructions well enough to learn techniques for yarnovers (a method for making eyelets) as well as i-cords.

My only other disappointment was with the breadth and practicality of some of the projects. There are a number of patterns for sweaters (a little too challenging for this beginner!) and toys, but I was looking for some good "heirloom" projects for a newborn niece - I had to settle for the baby booties and hat, for which there are only two or three patterns in the book.

Overall, a good choice!

I love this book! I have been knitting for just over a year and found the projects in this book easy to understand and the pictures just wonderful. It's an elegant book, with lots of useful, fun, and unique items to knit for baby/toddler. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to knit baby items!

I started knitting about a year ago and think that this is the best "how to" book of any kind I own. The directions are easy to understand, the projects are adorable and the pictures help pull everthing together. I have older grandchildren to knit for also and am hoping Melanie has patterns for big kids too.

This book is defenitly worth the time for those who would like to get a better understanding of China and cut through all the silly propoganda they are forcefed by Chinese tourist agencies and so-called scholars who never leave the comfort of their five-star hotels. Having lived in China for some time I found that many of the stories here were quite similar to those I have myself encountered (some personally). Some of the situations described here are a bit extreme. However, most are reallistic accurate discussions of the kind of things that happen everyday in China. Of course, the average citizen may not suffer as badly as some in this book but the governmental and societal systems of corruption are real and pervade most of Chinese soceity. Chinese commoners ignore them or try to work around them becuase they are impotent in terms of chaning the system.
I hope this review doesn't sound like a review of a review but having lived in China and seen the things this book talks about first hand I would just like to ward off those who would criticize it as unrealistic.
My one main criticism of this book is that if fails to mention many positive aspects of contemporary Chinese society. Especially for expats and students interested in China there are many fascinating and exciting things to see, learn about and experience in China today. Also it is already a bit out of date as there have been some changes in China since it was written.

I read this book for my Chinese history class.It was one of our recommended readings and we discussed each chapter in class. I didn't have much interest in China (simply because I just didn't know much)and "China Wakes" led me to read other related books! I also recommend "Thunder from the East - Portrait of a Rising Asia" by the same authors. That will give you a good overview on the issues now facing Asia. Both books were so easy-to-follow and fun to read! I am looking forward to reading their next book - if there will be one! I definitely hope so!

The authors of this book were working as journalists for the New York Times at the time of the Tiananmen Square Incident. They paint a vivid picture of a China caught between two futures. Even though there has been great progress in certain things since the Mao era, there are still many things that are terribly wrong with China. Will progress overcome corruption or vice versa?

This book was published in 1994, so many recent developments (Hong Kong's intergration into China, and the spy plane incident for example) are not included. Despite the age of this book, the commentary on the Chinese government still seems to be accurate. It provides a window into the government of one of the most important countries in the world. Check it out.

Alas, I wanted so much to become obsessed with this book, since I am obsessed with the whole Romanov legacy. However, Radvinsky's style left me frustrated. He throws in his personal opinions throughout, he dwells too much on details instead of sweeping us along on this horrendous tragedy in which the Tsar, the Empress and the five children were butchered. Paul Massie's extraordinary, Nicholas and Alexandra, is still the greatest book on this subject ever written. I'm re-reading it now for probably the upteenth time and never fail to be hypnotized by the wonderful flow, details and descriptions created by Massie. The Last Tsar is still a must-read. but it can't galvanize the reader like Massie did in his towering achievement.

I will admit up front that I am an admirerer of the Old Regime. I found Mr. Radzinshy's book fare and moving. He shows Tsar Nicolas in a more humane light in both his personal life and as Tsar of all the Russias. Mr. Radzinsky has not taken up the mantle of Tsar bashing or walking through the rose garden of Tsar worship. He has created a picture of Tsar Nicolas that is most human and tragic. He demonstrates that Nicolas was not as imcompetent as most hack historians would have us believe. If we see the Tsar in his time he comes off no better than the democratic west, but much better than many monarches that have been praised heavily by revisionist historians. I like the book and highly respect the author. I believe it will be invaluable to future historians as the most objective, so far, life of the Last Tsar.

As readable and compelling as a novel, we learn the intimate details of the end of the Tsar and Tsaritsa's lives primarily through primary sources such as their diaries, original telegrams, and eyewitness accounts (cross-verified with physical evidence). As the book progresses, we can see how a combination of factors (including Nicholas' own non-confrontational personality, paranoia and over-protectiveness of the secret police, and Nicholas and Alexandra's faith in Rasputin) caused Nicholas to miss the signs that the absolutist monarchy had to come to an end. As is to be expected from a tale based on personal writings, the story is sympathetic to the family and portrays the barbarity of the execution in the most compelling manner. The focus of this book is very narrow, however. While we get a detailed description of the thoughts and feelings of the Romanovs', we see almost nothing of the larger picture of what was going on in the rest of Russia and the world. Information is notably lacking on the progress of World War I and the Bolshevik revolution, except as the Romanovs encountered them. The narrow focus is both a strength and weakness of the book. It is a weakness in that the reader would need some supplementary reading in order to understand what was going on in Russia overall at the time, but it is a strength in that the reader is seeing the world from the limited viewpoint of the Tsar and his family, and you get a feel for just how sheltered they were and how incomprehensible world events and their own fate must have seemed to them.

This book is the War and Peace of the Russian Revolution. A PT is huge: in volume and in details. All kinds of interesting, and relatively unknown, cahracters are introduced to us by Figes. They shed a broader, more humane light on the revolution of 1917. In A PT Figes refuses to take sides with either the likes of Richard Pipes and Martin Malia, or people like William Rosenberg, Sheila Fitzpatrick and Dianne Koenker, who are labelled revisionsits. Eventhough Figes is no hardliner like Pipes and Malia (he even sued Pipes for libel last year, and won!), he is defenitely no apologist of Lenin c.s. either. He tries to walk the thin rope between the hardline approach and the revisionist approach. This is a good thing, since the debate (Or, as Edward Acton called it 'the dialogue of the deaf') between both parties wasn't really getting anywhere anymore. But, somehow, trying to avoid ending op in either "camps", Figes fails to deliver a good punchline in his conclusions. The question "why did it happen the way it happened" has, at the end of the book, not been answered to the full satisfaction of the reader. And that's a shame, because it's such a great book, written in brilliant and clear prose.

So, if you like a good read and want to know what happened in this turbulent period, this is the book you want. But, if you want just a bit more (some answers e.g.) PT fails to fullfill its potential. And that's a shame. Because in the 1000 pages of the book, all bricks are their to be put in their place. The mason just, by a whisker, didn't manage to build the house he wanted.

As a professor mostly of Middle East and Latin American politics, with just one graduate course on Soviet/Russian politics under my belt (including Pipes, etc.), I was repeatedly confronting my own lack of familiarity with the Bolshevik Revolution. Finding this book at a conference, I took it home for bedtime reading... and lost hours of sleep every night. A stunning read, so beautifully written that it carried me along on a great wave of vivid detail and epic historical sweep. Figes brings to life not just the major events (told in vivid drama) but the complex interweaving of decaying autocracy: the early socialist movements and factions, Russian intellectual spinnings, internal socialist party conspiracies, leftist intellectual conceats, democratic flailings, Lenin's machinations -- in short, the multiple historical threads of unfolding and ultimately ruinous Bolshevik power. Figes does work in his extensive knowledge of the peasantry but also traces key players among the aristocracy, intelligentsia and other intellectual elite; his insights into socialist intellectuals make all too clear the seeds of the "people's tragedy" he is describing. I'm baffled by any criticism that the book neglects the culpability of the Bolsheviks in crafting the later murder of millions: it provides the richest account of those inner logics and political maneuverings I've ever seen. Its style was distracting only on those rare occasions when I paused to consider it, to figure out how he was carrying the narrative forward so irresistably. Altogether a magnificent book, and great for college courses... but some 700 pages, so give it two or three weeks on a syllabus, although I've used Part I on its own.

Figes manages to cover all of the major events leading up to, including and immediately following the Russian Revolution with a broad, almost cinematic, sweep. The signifcance and details of the events of the revolution are covered in exacting detail, but what makes this book truly important is the focus on the individuals. The Russian Revolution was an event that completely and drastically changed a nation, but Figes does not fall in the trap of focusing only on the broader aspects; he captures the story of soldier, peasant, revolutionary, bourgeiosie, and common individual through the harrowing events of the revolution. He lets the people tell their own stories--stories of feverish revolution, of the betrayal of a nation, of tragedy, and horror. The images of these stories are seared permanently into your consciousness.

A People's Tragedy is a long book, but most definitely, worth the time it takes to read it. For any student of Russian history, it will shake up your dry and academic notions about the revolution. Figes' book places a distinctly human face on all of the events of the revolution, and the faces and stories are ones that you will not soon forget.