Gold: The Final Science Fiction Collection

Book Description

Gold is the final and crowning achievement of the fifty-year career of science fiction's transcendent genius, the world-famous author who defined the field of science fiction for its practitioners, its millions of readers, and the world at large.

The first section contains stories that range from the humorous to the profound, at the heart of which is the title story, "Gold," a moving and revealing drama about a writer who gambles everything on a chance at immortality: a gamble Asimov himself made -- and won. The second section contains the grand master's ruminations on the SF genre itself. And the final section is comprised of Asimov's thoughts on the craft and writing of science fiction.

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Compu-drama director Jonas Willard is looking for a new project when he is successfully bribed by a wealthy author to dramatize his science fiction novel. The creative challenge is a bit daunting, but when Jonas learns the payment of the bribe will be in actual gold coins if the author approves of the final piece... Hugo Award Winner, Locus Poll Award Nominee

Customer Reviews:

Not quite sure what the other reviewers read.......2004-07-29

It doesn't seem like the other reviewers read the same book that I did. The book I read consisted of a lot of self-congratulatory essays on Asimov's creation of the Three Laws of Robotics (which aren't really laws, but that's a topic for a different rant) punctuated by a bunch of shaggy-dog stories (MAYBE they were funny in 1955) and a couple of lame science-fiction stories. I know Dr. Asimov was a brilliant man, but this book in no way offers him tribute to his genius. For fans only. Maybe.

Good Collection of Asimov's Work.......2004-01-18

If you're a diehard Asimov fan like I am, you'll probably like this book. The main story, "Gold," details a filmmaker realizing the second part of ...And the Gods Themselves. For that alone, it's worth a look.

Asimov's more famous collections are a little more fun. If you're becoming an Asimov fan, it's best to start with his early science-fiction and then move through his career.

An author's gamble.......2002-09-13

"Gold" is an interesting piece of fiction. Clearly turning autobiographical at times, Isaac Asimov tells the story of an author determined to see one of his more famous works turned into something greater -- a "compu-drama", the brand-new visual medium of the future. It's an engaging story that uses its science fiction trappings to tell a tale about authors, stories, and the place the both of them hold in history. It is this theme along with the ways that different characters interpret the same piece of fiction that give this work its bite.

The fictional author would appear to be based, at least somewhat, on Asimov himself. The biggest clue to this is the book that the writer is looking to have produced bears a striking resemblance to one of Isaac Asimov's more celebrated novels. In fact, "resemblance" probably isn't going far enough -- for all intents and purposes, the book being discussed in "Gold" categorically is one of Asimov's more famous stories, at least, in most important respects (there is one section that is hinted to be different, but it seems clear that the bulk of the stories are identical in theme, plot, and characters). Readers who have already read that book will no doubt enjoy picking up some of the references. I had personally greatly enjoyed that book, and I found it quite interesting to get another interpretation of some of the more abstract concepts presented there. Not to say that Asimov explains them away; he merely presents an interpretation of the facts in a way that would be natural to someone trying to produce something so intangible in a visual context.

Amazon.com

14 new short stories, previously uncollected essays on science fiction and the craft of writing, and the Hugo Award-winning title novella about a writer who gambles everything on a chance at immortality.

Book Description

Gold is Isaac Asimov's first original collection of science fiction in over a decade. It is also his last science fiction collection, one containing all of his uncollected SF stories that have never before appeared in book form.

Gold is the final and crowning achievementof the fifty-five year career of science fiction's transcendent genius, the world-famous author who defined the field of SF for its practitioners, for its millions of readers, and for the world at large. The stories collected here for the first time range from the humorous to the profound, for Asimov was engaged until the end of his days in the work of redefining and expanding the boundaries of the literature he loved, and indeed, helped create. And there is more. For at the heart of this extraordinary compendium is the title story, "Gold," a moving and revealing drama about a writer who gambles everything on a chance at immortality-a gamble Asimov himself made. And won.

Customer Reviews:

Insightful for Writers.......2007-02-21

Final Gold comes in three sections, each of which is a quick read. The first is a collection of unpublished stories, some of which are nearly punchlines in length, to the point. Having read the Foundation novels (all of them, I think), it was refreshing to see how Asimov's minimalist approach to plot works in short form (rather well). Some amusing bits, such as the I in "Fault Intolerant" named Abraham Ivanov, the dispalaced author in "Cal," and the abbreviated takeover of the world by "Alexander the God."

The essays on Science Fiction and on writing of said were intriguing tidbits for writers on the inside workings of an unparrallelled, prolific writer who had his first bestseller at opus 238, or thereabouts. You have to admire the guy's persistence and hard work.

Worth Its Weight.......2002-09-30

"The Final Science Fiction Collection [from Isaac Asimov]" is what the cover to GOLD proclaims, and to be honest, I find that to be a rather sobering realization. The Good Doctor was such a prolific author that even now, ten years after his death, the thought of that constant supply of words being silent is not a particularly happy one. So we are left with this collection, from the later stages of Asimov's career, which puts together a lot of pieces that hadn't been anthologized and were fairly difficult to find. The book is divided into three sections; the first, fifteen science fiction short stories; the second, eighteen essays about science fiction; the third, twenty selections about the art of writing science fiction. It's a bit of a haphazard collection with essays and material coming from a variety of seemingly random sources, but for someone looking for those hard-to-find writings this should prove invaluable.

The collection of science fiction stories is certainly passable. There's nothing particularly breathtaking or outstanding here, but the consistent level of quality is fairly high. There was really only one story that I seriously disliked, and the rest were at least average or better. A number of the stories would appear to be slightly autobiographical in nature, and it's interesting to see Asimov in a more reflective mood than usual.

The essays that deal with the topic of science fiction itself have been pulled from multiple sources. Some of them are editorials from his magazine, while others have been copied from introductions to SF collections. It's this section that gives one the slight feeling that this is merely a cashing in on the popularity of a famous author. Certainly it's odd to see Asimov discussing the particulars of the individual stories and themes that are present in the book he was writing for, but for obvious reasons aren't actually included in this text. Still, despite the strange nature of how they came to be included here, his thoughts and ideas on the subject are quite welcome. Whether Asimov is reminiscing about the "Golden Age" of printed science fiction or talking about the exact role of robots or aliens in the genre, his arguments are presented clearly and the healthy dash of wit familiar to his many fans.

The final third of the collection is a subject that Asimov knew well and loved speaking and writing about. He has a lot of tips for young and hopeful science fiction authors, as well as insights into his own creative process. Asimov's approach to describing science fiction is to talk a lot about his own science fiction stories. Not just that he liked talking about his own work (which, of course, he did), but by analyzing criticism and praise of his own writings he demonstrates his own particular way of developing stories. I found this section to be fairly interesting although he had covered this topic in other areas (in particular, his autobiography and in various introductions).

My only wish was that we readers had been given some information on the selection and editing process. Presumably only a fraction of the editorials and introductions that Asimov ever wrote were included here, but we aren't actually told what the criteria were. Possibly the editor(s) wanted only essays on a certain subject, but as the umbrella seems to have been fairly wide on this collection, it's difficult to ascertain what they were looking for. It's a minor complaint of mine, to be sure, but it would have gone a long way towards explaining the somewhat haphazard manner that the collection seems to take.

I recommend skipping through GOLD, mixing the reading order so that one experiences Asimov's thoughts in a random progression rather than attempting to view it as an arranged analysis (though eventually reading every work in the collection, of course). Asimov was an author who had a lot to say (a LOT to say -- over 400 books worth) and here is what will probably serve as his final written words on and about science fiction. It's a fitting tribute.

Thanks, Isaac.......2001-09-30

"Gold" is, according to the book's cover, the final science fiction collection from Isaac Asimov. One of the genre's most revered figures, Asimov died in 1992. "Gold" contains both short stories and a bunch of short essays. While the material in "Gold" does not quite reach the level of Asimov's best work, the book is still worth reading.

Part One of "Gold" sandwiches 13 short stories in between two longer tales of about 40 pages each. I found most of the shorter tales to be fairly forgettable, but the longer ones are fine pieces. The first of the two longer tales, "Cal," is a cleverly written tale of a robot who wants to be a writer. This is a moving tale which effectively returns to one of Asimov's great themes (the place of robots in human-dominated society). The second of the longer tales, "Gold," is a compelling story of a science fiction writer who hires a director to make a "compu-drama" out of one of his books. This thoughtful story is an interesting commentary on two things: (1) the relationship of science fiction to canonical "high" literature, and (2) the relationship of science fiction books to science fiction in other media.

The short essays are a mixed bag, but the best of them are delightful. They are full of amusing and enlightening anecdotes, often about other classic SF writers of Asimov's generation. Some of Asimov's essay topics include women and SF, religion and SF, the SF short-short story, plagiarism, and the background to the names of some of his fictional characters. Asimov's essay on book reviewing is particularly interesting; I think that everyone who participates in the Amazon review program should read this essay (entitled "Book Reviews," it's on pages 369-374 of the paperback edition).

Finally, a personal note. Isaac Asimov was one of my childhood icons, and many of his classic stories had a profound influence on me. I will also never forget the opportunity I had to hear him speak in person at a New York City convention: he was as delightful and charming in person as he is in print. If you are a fan of Asimov or of that great generation of SF writers in general, don't miss "Gold."

Not one of his best, but still great, as always.......2001-06-22

This book is surely not one of Isaac's best books, but still, its a great book as all of him are. If you are interested in stories, and nothing else however, you might be disappointed, for the second half of the book contains essays and articles from the various magazines he was involved(I was disappointed at first). But if you take the time and read them too, you might find them interesting and funny, as they are also writen in Asimov's style... (P.S: I did not yet read the hardcover version - but I guess its pretty much the same - right?)

I paid for this why?.......2001-03-22

This book seemed like an attempt by the publisher to squeeze some more money out of Asimov's name. The stories read like someone went through all of his collected writings and picked whatever hadn't been published yet. I found the inclusion of his incomplete essays and introductions to different shared-world series to be expecially annoying, as they had no follow-up. The centerpiece of the book, the story of a producer attempting to make a play out of "The Gods Themselves" was simply too boring for me to get through. I'd much rather have found it in a library, so I wouldn't have been fooled into paying for it.

Gold: The Final Science Fiction Collection

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Gold: The Final Science Fiction Collection
Isaac Asimov
Manufacturer: Harpercollins (Mm)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

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Gold : The Final Science Fiction Collection
Isaac Asimov
Manufacturer: Eos
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEN05Y

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The best cookbook out there

great simple recipes

Great and fairly easy to follow

Heirloom is RIGHT!

Memories of Grandma French

June Meyer's Authentic Hungarian Heirloom Recipes
June V. Meyer
Manufacturer: Meyer & Assoc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound
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A Taste of the Past: The Daily Life and Cooking of a Nineteenth-Century Hungarian-Jewish Homemaker

ASIN: 0966506200

Book Description

June Meyer's Authentic Hungarian Heirloom Recipes cookbook has 95 wonderful kitchen-tested family recipes. It is nicely organized with one recipe per page and each recipe is preceded by a short colorful remembrance or historical fact. The cookbook has 195 pages, measures 9X7 and is spiral bound so it will lay flat in the kitchen. It has an Ingredients page, an Alphabetical and Category Recipe Index with English and Hungarian names, A chapter on Hungarian Christmas Cookies, The Danube Swabian Coat of Arms, A History of German Settlement in Southern Hungary and a History of The Danube Swabians in the Twentieth Century by Historian Susan Clarkson. It also contains the Origin of June Meyers Family Recipes and an account of life in Altkeer, Batchka region, Hungary around the turn of the century. The Recipe Categories include Relish & Pickles, Salads & Slaws, Soups and Dumplings, Main Course, Side Dishes, Sauces, Pastries, Hungarian Christmas Cookies, Fillings For Kipfels And Cookies, and Other Hungarian Goodies. I am sure you will enjoy the food, authentic recipes and stories. (Writen in English)

Customer Reviews:

The best cookbook out there.......2007-04-06

I do not like cooking but I like food. Though I am not Hungarian, this cookbook offers recipes for the dishes I grew up with in the Balkans. I am proud of myself now :) I can actually make a delicious meal. June Meyer you're a blessing!!!!!!! My kids are getting good food now.

great simple recipes.......2007-03-17

The recipes in here are delicious thus far. They consist of simple ingredients and teh instructions also contain tips to ensure it comes out great. The binding is cheap and I am concerned the pages will not hold up in the kitchen.

Great and fairly easy to follow.......2007-03-15

The food tastes straight out of the Hungarian countryside (according to my mother-in-law who grew up there).

Heirloom is RIGHT!.......2006-11-08

Fantastic recipes - a real blast from my childhood. I'm having so much fun with this cookbook!

Memories of Grandma French.......2006-02-23

Growing up I spent alot of time with my Hungarian Grandparents. Grandma was a great cook; paprikas, pancakes, pastries, you name it - country Hungarian food at its finest. June Meyer's book has some great recipes that remind me of a different time; Meyer doesn't cut out the lard, salt or butter either - these are authentic recipes in all of there high fat and sodium glory. Old school real Hungarian.

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The Hungarian Cookbook
A nice introduction to Hungarian cuisine
Excellent Presentation of Distinctive National Cuisine
How-to Manual for the New Hungarian Cook
A good basic introduction to Hungarian cooking

The Hungarian Cookbook
Susan Derecskey
Manufacturer: William Morrow Cookbooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0060914378

Book Description

"Our appetite for this interesting cuisine, a melding of Germanic, Slavic, Tartar, and Turkish influences, has been whetted by [this] excellent new work."--New York Times

Customer Reviews:

The Hungarian Cookbook.......2007-09-21

I bought my first copy of this book over thirty years ago, and even then had to special order it. In the last couple of years I have bought four more copies for family and friends as many of the recipes are identical to those of my mother-in-law whose family was from Croatia. Any one whose family originated in the Slavic area of Europe, including Austria, may find some family favorites in this wonderful, entertaining and reliable book.

A nice introduction to Hungarian cuisine.......2007-01-04

I'm really pleased with this cookbook. Many of the recipes remind me of the dishes my grandmother used to make. I'll admit to adding a bit more paprika to the goulash than the recipe called for, but overall I was very happy with the results, as were my guests.
I like that the author recommends side dishes and desserts to accompany and follow the main courses. The section on wine is most welcome as I find more Hungarian wines in my local wine shop.
If you are of Hungarian descent or simply interested in Hungary, this cookbook makes a good addition to your culinary library.

Excellent Presentation of Distinctive National Cuisine.......2005-02-16

`The Hungarian Cookbook' by Susan Derecskey may be one of the easiest cookbooks I have yet reviewed, as this is quite literally exactly the food I grew up on. My comfort food, as a kid, was goulash, dumplings, Hungarian crepes, strudel, cabbage and noodles, and chocolate walnut cake, each and every one of these dishes made in exactly the same way as described in this book. All of these dishes came to by from my paternal grandmother who emigrated to the United States just before World War I, from a small town in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, forty miles east of Vienna, which is now in Hungary. From this background, I can say with certainty that this is an exceptionally good evocation of Hungarian cuisine.

This is also an exceptionally good evocation of a national cuisine in general, even when compared to some of the leading treatments I have seen recently of the cuisines of Turkey, Lebanon, Germany, and Armenia. It is also as good as many treatments of French and Italian regional cuisines, although it may not be quite as good as the best of these, and it is certainly not as good as Paula Wolfert's classic work on Moroccan cuisine. It is also just a bit less than the classics on national cuisines such as Diana Kochilas on Greece or Penelope Casas on Spain. But, it is exactly all you need to recreate the great Hungarian dishes I remember from my childhood.

Aside from finding recipes for my long lost chocolate nut birthday cake, the first thing which impressed me about the book was the care in which the author pointed out that some recipes were simply difficult to get right the first time. This fact is probably obvious for strudel dough, but it is less obvious with recipes for potato dumplings.

For those of you who may be totally ignorant of Hungarian cooking, its most distinctive characteristics are noodles, dumplings, and soup. Egg noodles and dumplings essentially serve for Hungarians the role of pasta and risotto has for Italians. This is really carb central in that in addition to the white flour, potatoes are also an important ingredient for many dumpling recipes. And, these dumplings are real gut grenades. They are guaranteed to spike your blood sugar in record time.

Since soup is such an important part of the Hungarian cuisine, I paid special attention to the recipes for stock in Ms. Derecskey's book and found them entirely to my liking. They are not long cooking, the vegetables are put into the simmering stock for just an hour, and the author is more careful than most in advising the cook to be very careful not to boil the stock and to skim off scum as quickly as it appears. I usually don't see as much care given to stock making in books on `minor' national cuisines.

Vegetable dishes are always a special interest of mine and this book has several especially good ones. Like most of central Europe, the king of the vegetables was the cabbage. There are several good asparagus and beet and cucumber recipes, but no sign of artichokes or rapini. This is cabbage country, partner. I was also more than modestly pleased with the recipes for salads. I never associated salads with Mitteleuropa, but there they are. Very nice vinaigrette recipes to be sure.

The only thing that puzzled me about the book and its recipes was the author's stating that Hungarians were not especially fond of mature beef. They preferred to cook veal, including braises and stews, which almost seems like a waste when you can let the cow mature a bit and get much more meat for stewing.

While Hungary does not have the great pastry tradition of its neighbor much did rub off while the two countries were joined at the hip up to 1918 under the Hapsburgs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In fact, Budapest was the empire's second city ahead of even Prague in esteem. The star of the Hungarian pastry is strudel, which has a lot of similarities with Greek filo, but it is not exactly the same. I have tried to make strudel with filo and the results are less than perfect.

If you have any Hungarian in your blood, you really need this book. If you are simply interested in reading of world cuisines, this one is a winner. The instructions on making strudel and dumplings alone are worth the price of admission.

Highly recommended.

How-to Manual for the New Hungarian Cook.......2004-07-28

Although my mother was a Hungarian national,she did not prepare many Hungarian dishes.Learning to cook Hungarian food has become a hobby that has helped me to connect with my own roots. However, as I seek to learn how to prepare Hungarian food, I do not have the luxery of having watched someone prepare it, and, in some cases, I am 'flying blind' with no idea how a given recipe is supposed to look or taste. This book has provided me with a helpful orientation, and enabled me to branch out with other Hungarian recipes. I have also found that once I prepared a favorite dish, that I was able to adapt the seasonings and spices to fit personal tastes. The Hunter's Pot Roast and Noodle pudding (complete with walnuts, raisons and apricot jam) have become family favorites.

A good basic introduction to Hungarian cooking.......2003-10-11

I grew up in a household where the cooking was almost exclusively Hungarian, and these recipes match closely to what my mother made. Whenever I have a yen to make something from my childhood, I consult all four of my Hungarian cookbooks, but inevitably, I end up using a recipe from this book. The only "americanization" that I can see is the use of butter or shortening in the place of lard, which is one of the staples of Hungarian cooking.

Although some reviewers have found these recipes to be bland, that has not been the case for me. I should point out, though, that one of the keys to good flavor is to use authentic Hungarian paprika, which is simply not available in most supermarkets -- not even in large urban areas. I'm lucky, I have relatives who send me some, but I can also recommend mail order from Penzeys.com. Paprika also comes in "sweet" or "hot" flavors. I prefer the "sweet" kind, but I have known Hungarians who think that's for wussies, and who prefer the "hot" kind. At any rate, true Hungarian paprika has an overwhelming fragrance, and a little goes a long way; if you put in too much of this stuff, the dish will have a bitter taste to it. (Looking at Mr. Lang's cookbook, a book that I find to be somewhat pretentious, I can see that the quantities of paprika that he recommends are for the bland, American kind of paprika.)

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Hungarian family

Cooking the Hungarian Way: Revised and Expanded to Include New Low-Fat and Vegetarian Recipes (Easy Menu Ethnic Cookbooks)
Magdolna Hargittai
Manufacturer: Lerner Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Other | Biographies | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Diet & Nutrition | Health | Science, Nature & How It Works | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Cooking | Sports & Activities | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0822541327

Customer Reviews:

Hungarian family.......2007-07-24

My grandmother was the first generation born in the US and her parents were both born and raised in Hungary. This book is fabulous. Great recipes, ones my family has used for decades, and wonderful tid-bits about the culture. Wonderful purchase!

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Authentic Hungarian Recipes
Jo etvagyot!
The Paprikas Weiss Hungarian Cookbook
Excellent ethnic cookbook. The best in Hungarian cooking.

The Paprikas Weiss Hungarian Cookbook
Edward Weiss
Manufacturer: Random House Value Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0517411199
Release Date: 1988-08-24

Customer Reviews:

Authentic Hungarian Recipes.......2006-03-13

You don't get any more authentic than this book. Most other cookbooks are phoney. This is the real thing. I am Hungarian and this is how my Mother cooked and now so am I. You want the real thing...this is it. The ingrediants are easily obtained. The directions are easy to follow and the dish turns out exactly how it is meant to be.

Jo etvagyot!.......2005-10-21

This book is a collection of standard Hungarian recipes that would be familiar to any Hungarian cook. It includes chapters on soups, main dishes, side dishes, and desserts. Each chapter begins with a brief description of the type of dish and its role in the food culture of Hungary, discussing, for instance, what were foods were readily available on the farm. The recipes are provided with both their English and Hungarian names. One helpful feature is that each recipe includes not only a list of ingredients, but also a list of utensils needed for the recipe. In keeping with Hungarian farm traditions, most of the recipes call for butter, sour cream, eggs, and one or more types of meat, especially pork. Virtually all the recipes call for fresh foods, not canned foods or convenience mixes, but there are few exotic ingredients needed.

This book would make a great reference for American cooks who want to create authentic-tasting Hungarian meals. There aren't many fancy recipes in the book for special occasions- -mainly the book is about basic home cooking down on the farm, Hungarian style.

The Paprikas Weiss Hungarian Cookbook.......2001-12-01

Just like Mom used to make. Wonderful

Excellent ethnic cookbook. The best in Hungarian cooking........1997-11-16

This book is very practical. Easy to follow. More importantly its recepies are not experimental, invented Hungarian cerepies but rather REAL Hungarian cooking done in Hungary. It therefore reflects the traditional cooking of the Hungarian people. I would love to buy it for my children (daughters) to familiarize themselves with their ancestors cooking.

Hungarian Cookbook: Old World Recipes for New World Cooks (Hippocrene Cookbook Library)

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Loved this book
Suzanne's Review
Warm Collection of Hungarian Standard Dishes
Written with memories, traditions, and lore
terrible cookbook

Hungarian Cookbook: Old World Recipes for New World Cooks (Hippocrene Cookbook Library)
Yolanda Nagy Fintor
Manufacturer: Hippocrene Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

International | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0781809967

Customer Reviews:

Loved this book.......2007-08-06

I love the title of this book and when I saw terms like Grandma and Grandpa Nagy in the introduction, I smiled because, I, too, am a Nagy. That was my maiden name and many of these recipes reminded me of my Grandmother's kitchen in Cleveland, OH. I'm keeping this book with my small colection of Hungarian culture for my daughters and grandchildren.

Suzanne's Review.......2005-10-22

A very good cookbook. The paprika chicken was delicious! The history in the book is very interesting which makes the book worth reading. Worth the money.

Warm Collection of Hungarian Standard Dishes.......2005-08-27

"Hungarian Cookbook: Old World Recipes for New World Cooks" by Yolanda Nagy Fintor has a long title. It should. There is a lot packed in it.

As cookbooks go, this is among the most accessible I have read. While many tend to err with a tone too haute cuisine, Fintor realizes she's suggesting ordinary people cook these dishes.

To many Americans asking themselves what Hungarian food is, I can say it is a good, good thing. It will challenge your arteries, but delight your soul. Your stomach will be happy too. Here, you will find recipes proving that.

Fintor explains in a brief introduction a history of Hungarian cuisine. She writes how, despite its present unique place in the culinary world, it began as an amalgamation of French, Italian, Turkish, German and Transylvanian food.

While not exactly useful to the American cook, she has a section on Hungarian language. Now, you can pronounce the dish names when your Hungarian date comes over for dinner. If things work out, you will impress your spouse's family too.

More practical to most readers is her section on how to interpret the recipes, and what ingredients you will need handy. The difference this makes is important, like that vinegar to be used is distilled white, and that butter should be the salted kind.

Keyed into the needs of beginning cooks, Fintor provides some useful tips, a glossary of basic cooking terns (like dredge, dice, trussing, and what roux is).

Recipes are the bulk of the book, with some black and white pictures of dishes. The layout is easy on the eyes. Directions are straightforward. Occasionally, she gives ideas to adapt the recipe to an American context, in case the ingredients are somewhat different. The only significant drawback is the hardcover design, which makes keeping it open while cooking difficult.

The recipe sections are as follows, each with an introduction:

Appetizers, relishes, and sauces
Salads
Soups
Biscuits, dumplings, and noodles
Poultry
Meats
Vegetables
Desserts
Breads
Wines (no recipes, just an introduction).

I fully recommend "Hungarian Cookbook: Old World Recipes for New World Cooks" by Yolanda Nagy Fintor. Jó Étvágyat! (May you have a good appetite!)

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

Written with memories, traditions, and lore.......2004-01-12

Now in a newly expanded edition, Hungarian Cookbook: Old World Recipes For New World Cooks by Yolanda Nagy Fintor (who learned cooking from her Hungarian mother) introduces the reader to a culinary wealth of truly great recipes that have been passed down through generations of Hungarian cooks via an oral family tradition. Featuring not only recipes with meticulous instructions, but also memories, traditions, and lore from those who have prepared and shared such dishes as New World Creamy Potato Soup, Sweet And Sour Cabbage, and Beer Bread Sticks, the Hungarian Cookbook is very highly recommended for anyone seeking to learn about, create, and taste the flavors and culinary traditions of Hungary.

terrible cookbook.......2002-11-02

DO NOT buy this book if you like Hungarian cooking. Its idea of a recipe is to cook something as bland as possible and add, mmm, sour cream, or maybe canned tomato juice, or maybe bacon. And a little bit of paprika. I only bought it based on the Amazon.com feedback.

Art of Hungarian Cooking (Hippocrene International Cookbook Classics)

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Art of Hungarian Cooking (Hippocrene International Cookbook Classics)
Paula P. Bennett , and Velma R. Clark
Manufacturer: Hippocrene Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0781805864

The Best of Slovak Cooking (New Hippocrene Original Cookbooks)

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The Best of Slovak Cooking
Good Peasant Food
not very good
A good basic cookbook

The Best of Slovak Cooking (New Hippocrene Original Cookbooks)
Sylvia Galova-Lorinc , John Lorinc , and Sylvia Lorinc
Manufacturer: Hippocrene Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

The Best of Slovak Cooking.......2007-06-11

If the author thinks this is the best of Slovak cooking he has not eaten great Slovak food. Sorry, I consider this book a waste of money.

Good Peasant Food.......2001-10-16

I must disagree with the reviewer from Amsterdam. I think this is quite a good cookbook. Though, if you're expecting Nouvelle Cuisine or modern fusion cooking, you will be disappointed. Slovak cooking is, at its heart, peasant food: hearty, filling, and unsophisticated...but good! Pirohy, dumplings, stuffed cabbages, pork dishes, poppy seed and nut rolls, and mushroom soup flavored with sauerkraut juice take me back to my Slovak grandfather's kitchen (my grandfather used dried wild mushrooms in his soup). My one criticism of the book is that, aside from the brief introduction, it contains no information on the cultural context of the recipes. Some personal anecdotes from the authors, and a bit more on the food traditions of Slovakia would be welcome.

not very good.......2001-08-05

This is not the best cooking book I have ever seen, there are not pictures at all, and some meal might be particular to the authors area in slovakia , the introduction starts with saying from slovak people, which is unknown from my girlfriend who is slovak... When I read this book, I felt like it was written very quickly, it does not seems to be written from someone who got the receipies from his grandmother. However, it gives a good overview of what they eat, I recommend the cabage soup, mnam !!!

A good basic cookbook.......2000-10-18

This is a good cookbook, with very easy to understand recipies with different variations of recipies like goulash, potato soup etc.

Average customer rating:

Gundel New Hungarian Cookbook

Manufacturer: Pallas Studio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 9639207837

Product Description

After due deliberation we have decided with Kalman Kalla, the Toque d'or Chef of Gundel Restaurant and Zoltan Halasz, the noted gastronome and historian, to write and publish the Gundel New Hungarian Cookbook. We sorted out the best traditional dishes of the Hungarian kitchen, combined them with Gundel's "classics" and with the best of the present as defined by the last six years of culinary renovation. Includes 77 recipes, 35 color photos, and 44 drawings.

Average customer rating:

A little Hungarian Cookbook
From the publisher's description

A Little Hungarian Cookbook
Gretel Beer
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

A little Hungarian Cookbook.......2007-06-28

Five stars for presentation. Darling little book that makes you wish there was more in it. (4"x5") Great for a small gift. It has some of the best known Hungarian recipes.

From the publisher's description.......2003-01-30

"Hungarian cuisine is renowned for its plentiful use of paprika. This charming volume presents a collection of classic Hungarian recipes, as well as a few wise words regarding the use of paprika. Paprika Chicken, Sweet and Sour Cabbage, Pickled Cucumbers, Sweet Dumplings and Apple Strudel. Each recipe is accompanied by a lovely full-color illustration." 60 pp.

Average customer rating:

GUNDEL'S HUNGARIAN COOKBOOK

Manufacturer: corvina
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 9631349497

Books:

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