One of today's most admired and controversial political figures, Ayaan Hirsi Ali burst into international headlines following an Islamist's murder of her colleague, Theo van Gogh, with whom she made the movie Submission.
Infidel is the eagerly awaited story of the coming of age of this elegant, distinguished -- and sometimes reviled -- political superstar and champion of free speech. With a gimlet eye and measured, often ironic, voice, Hirsi Ali recounts the evolution of her beliefs, her ironclad will, and her extraordinary resolve to fight injustice done in the name of religion. Raised in a strict Muslim family and extended clan, Hirsi Ali survived civil war, female mutilation, brutal beatings, adolescence as a devout believer during the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, and life in four troubled, unstable countries largely ruled by despots. In her early twenties, she escaped from a forced marriage and sought asylum in the Netherlands, where she earned a college degree in political science, tried to help her tragically depressed sister adjust to the West, and fought for the rights of Muslim immigrant women and the reform of Islam as a member of Parliament. Even though she is under constant threat -- demonized by reactionary Islamists and politicians, disowned by her father, and expelled from her family and clan -- she refuses to be silenced.
Ultimately a celebration of triumph over adversity, Hirsi Ali's story tells how a bright little girl evolved out of dutiful obedience to become an outspoken, pioneering freedom fighter. As Western governments struggle to balance democratic ideals with religious pressures, no story could be timelier or more significant.
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A Letter from Brian Selznick
 Dear readers,
When I was a kid, two of my favorite books were by an amazing man named Remy Charlip. Fortunately and Thirteen fascinated me in part because, in both books, the very act of turning the pages plays a pivotal role in telling the story. Each turn reveals something new in a way that builds on the image on the previous page. Now that I'm an illustrator myself, I've often thought about this dramatic storytelling device and all of its creative possibilities.
My new book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, is a 550 page novel in words and pictures. But unlike most novels, the images in my new book don't just illustrate the story; they help tell it. I've used the lessons I learned from Remy Charlip and other masters of the picture book to create something that is not a exactly a novel, not quite a picture book, not really a graphic novel, or a flip book or a movie, but a combination of all these things.
I began thinking about this book ten years ago after seeing some of the magical films of Georges Méliès, the father of science-fiction movies. But it wasn't until I read a book called Edison's Eve: The Quest for Mechanical Life by Gaby Woods that my story began to come into focus. I discovered that Méliès had a collection of mechanical, wind-up figures (called automata) that were donated to a museum, but which were later destroyed and thrown away. Instantly, I imagined a boy discovering these broken, rusty machines in the garbage, stealing one and attempting to fix it. At that moment, Hugo Cabret was born.
A few years ago, I had the honor of meeting Remy Charlip, and I'm proud to say that we've become friends. Last December he was asking me what I was working on, and as I was describing this book to him, I realized that Remy looks exactly like Georges Méliès. I excitedly asked him to pose as the character in my book, and fortunately, he said yes. So every time you see Méliès in The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the person you are really looking at is my dear friend Remy Charlip, who continues to inspire everyone who has the great pleasure of knowing him or seeing his work.
Paris in the 1930's, a thief, a broken machine, a strange girl, a mean old man, and the secrets that tie them all together... Welcome to The Invention of Hugo Cabret.
Yours,
Brian Selznick |
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Brian Selznick on a "Deleted Scene" from The Invention of Hugo Cabret
This is a finished drawing that I had to cut from The Invention of Hugo Cabret. I was still rewriting the book when I had to begin the final art. There was originally a scene in the story where this character, Etienne, is working in a camera shop. On one of my research trips to Paris I spent an entire day visiting old camera shops and photographing cameras from the 1930's and earlier, as well as the facades of the shops themselves. I researched original French camera posters and made sure that the counter and the shelves were accurate to the time period. I did all the drawings in the book at 1/4 scale, so they were very small and I often had to use a magnifying glass to help me see what I was drawing. After I finished this drawing I continued to rewrite, and for various reasons I realized that I needed to move this scene from the camera shop to the French Film Academy, which meant that I had to cut this picture. I tried really hard to find ANOTHER moment when I could have Etienne in a camera shop, but, as painful as it was, I knew the picture had to go. I'm glad to see it up on the Amazon website because otherwise no one would have ever seen all those tiny cameras I researched and drew so carefully!
--Brian Selznick |
More from Brian Selznick
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The Houdini Box |
Walt Whitman: Words for America |
The Boy of a Thousand Faces |
Customer Reviews:
Best Book for Parent - Child to Read Together.......2007-10-12
My 5-year old and I read this book almost every night in about a month. The perfect blend of black and white drawings with increasing details and the captivating story line totally intrigued my son. He remembered all the little details that I'd forget and kept reminding me in the evening that it was time for us to read another chapter. After we finished it last night, he asked me - is there a Book TWO of Hugo Cabret, maybe called the Magics of Hugo Cabret, he suggested, is it coming out next year?
Now it will be hard for me to find a book to match this one.
The type of book you want your kids to read!.......2007-10-08
The Invention of Hugo Cabret is about an independent, intelligent young boy who maintains the clocks in a train station. Inheriting the job from his deadbeat uncle, Hugo lives within the walls of the station and must deal with the daily struggle of taking care of himself without any money. While he isn't working he obsesses over an automaton that his father had once worked on. Throughout the novel he strives to make it work again, hoping it will connect him to his dead father. Along the way he makes a new friend and learns that it is okay to depend on others for help.
What really makes this book unique are the hundreds of illustrations that are wonderfully drawn by Selznick. They actually take the place of words, they don't just illustrate what you have read. They are not meant to be skimmed over, but analyzed and appreciated.
This novel is the type of book you want your kids to read; it is well written, teaches lessons, presents strong characters and has a unique story.
Great Book for Boys.......2007-10-07
My 11-year-old son read this book in 2 days. He absolutely loved it, both the illustrations and the writing. "I liked the way the pictures told the story," he said. He wants to read more Brian Selznick now. Great books for boys don't grow on trees; this is a real winner.
Wonderful Blend of Pictures and Words.......2007-10-05
This was just an incredible book. A wonderful mix of pictures and words, it is fifty per cent graphic novel and fifty percent prose. An intriguing mystery set in Paris, certain to be enjoyed by readers both young and old.
It flows quickly - you will get much more out of it if you take your time with the pictures particularly. The detail in some of the scenes is well worth the time.
The characters are believable - youngsters forced to be older than their years in some cases, but still children at heart.
I was amazed to read the author notes at the end, about how much was based on actual creations.
Definitely an interesting, and recommended, read.
Unexpectedly Educational.......2007-09-30
Although it doesn't come across as a historical fiction piece, that's exactly what this book is. Much like the film Amadeus, The Invention of Hugo Cabret uses real life historical people to create an exaggerated (if not downright false) interpretive biography.
Works of this particular genre contain a strange mixture of true and false elements, and are actually good tools for teaching. True, they may lead to some initial misconceptions, but adequate research after the reading can clear these misconceptions up in a hurry. I wouldn't make a big deal out of a minor conception though, if in turn you get a wondrous discovery to go along with it.
From this book I learned that intricate machines were being invented long before computers and television. Robots that could draw and write as far back as perhaps the 18th century. Amazing. Why aren't we taught things like this in school? Probably because the textbooks that are issued make people of the past look like complete dimwits when that really isn't the case.
The revelation of the existence of ancient robots alone is enough for me to give this book a high amount of praise. But the artistry in the book brings it to another level. So much work went into the dozens and dozens of beautiful pencil illustrations that you'd have to be a complete jerk to not give Selznick at least a little respect for his efforts.
Often I have to read five or six unexciting books before I get to one that really makes me say, "Wow!" This is a "Wow!" book, and makes a fitting addition to any library. The risk of constructing it in such an unusual style has greatly paid off. Books like this are the reason I read.
I know I'm not the first one to say this, but this might be the book of the future we're looking at here.
Average customer rating:
- A droll and boring generic spy novel
- Truth
- his best ever
- Body of Lies
- A New Generation of Middle Eastern Spy Novels
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Body of Lies: A Novel
David Ignatius
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Agents of Innocence
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Simple Genius
ASIN: 0393065030 |
Book Description
A tale of counterterrorism from an author who "ranks with Graham Greene in his knowledge of espionage and the human heart" (Publishers Weekly).
Roger Ferris is one of the CIA's soldiers in the war on terrorism. He has come out of Iraq with a shattered leg and an intense mission—to penetrate the network of a master terrorist known only as "Suleiman." Ferris's plan for getting inside Suleiman's tent is inspired by a masterpiece of British intelligence during World War II: He prepares a body of lies, literally the corpse of an imaginary CIA officer who appears to have accomplished the impossible by recruiting an agent within the enemy's ranks.
This scheme binds friend and foe in a web of extraordinary subtlety and complexity, and when it begins to unravel, Ferris finds himself flying blind into a hurricane. His only hope is the urbane head of Jordan's intelligence service—a man who might be an Arab version of John le Carré's celebrated spy, George Smiley. But can Ferris trust him?
Customer Reviews:
A droll and boring generic spy novel.......2007-10-13
This book started out with promise, but lacked good character development and the plot was just a bad copy of other spy thriller novels, trying to meld modern Iraq/Al Qaeda themes on top in a poor and boorish manner. The author does not have the Middle Eastern subject matter knowledge to make this work and be at all believable or informative.
This novel really reads like it was written by a college student, and not a professional journalist. The main character's relationship between his girlfriend and wife, which should raise security flags for anyone with a real clue in regards to intelligence, is just terribly written. Like most of this books content, it lacks any dynamism or style, that one comes to expect from the Patterson's and Ludlum's.
The storyline has a good overview, but again the writing suffers from a complete lack of comprehension about the real world dynamics of the Middle East, and is simple to the point of silliness, as well as fairly unbelievable.
The pace of the story is also slow and plodding.
I definitely do not recommend this novel, as it really misses the mark all the way around. Look elsewhere for an entertaining or informative read. This one isn't it.
Truth.......2007-10-04
The author feels that unvarnished truth can be found only in fiction. If so, our best are not bright enough. The twist at the end, the involvement of a particular character could, or should have been, seen a mile away. Why are so many heroes so easily seduced?
his best ever.......2007-09-15
David Ignatius has written some great books but this is clearly his best. It is so up to date, taking you right in the center of the war on terror. I couldn't put it down. Though the book just came out this year, I was surprised to recently discover that they are already filming a movie of it, with Russell Crowe, up in Baltimore.
Body of Lies.......2007-09-02
This truly an excellent read. The amount of details of the CIA and the relations with the Jordanian
authorities is very interesting and well done. He writes very well and is skillful with language.
The prose is pithy and moves along well. The ending is a bit stretched not in
length but in reasonable outcome. All in all a wonderful piece of work.
A New Generation of Middle Eastern Spy Novels.......2007-08-30
I devoured Eric Ambler's middle eastern spy novels and have longed for a writer who captures the subleties of a region Americans understand very little. Ignatius uses his experience in the literal and metaphorical hot spots to illumine the values that underlie tradecraft. The CIA may think its personnel understands the region but, as in real life, the book demonstrates how much we need to learn. It's been noted that Ignatius is not as comfortable with describing and integrating personal relationships as he is with the plot twists and ambience. This may distract the reader a bit, but is easily overcome as the story climaxes. It's a satisfying read.
Average customer rating:
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A History of Greece (Works in Ancient Philosophy)
George Grote
Manufacturer: Thoemmes Continuum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Greece
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| History
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ASIN: 1855068508 |
Book Description
'The author is not surpassed...in intimate and accurate acquaintance with the whole field of Greek literature and antiquity; while none of his predecessors have approached to him in the amount of philosophy and general mental accomplishment which he has brought to bear upon the subject' - J. S. Mill's review in the Edinburgh Review
This is a complete reprint of the 10-volume 4th edition. Published posthumously in 1872, it is considered the best edition, containing a portrait, maps and plans plus a note by Mrs Harriet Grote. Grote's exposition was based on a thorough knowledge of the subject and, as a friend of James Mill, John Stuart Mill, Jeremy Bentham and David Ricardo, an exceptional background in politics, philosophy and economics. His unparalleled experience meant his understanding and interpretation of Greek life was second to none. The History is written in an accessible style, with penetrating portraits of Greek political and philosophical thought that made the subject intelligible as never before. Grote's study is the pinnacle of nineteenth-century Greek scholarship and is still of immense value to the modern classics scholar.
--monumental nineteenth-century work that set the new standard in Greek scholarship
--particular emphasis on philosophy and politics
--great nineteenth-century historian, who also wrote the highly acclaimed Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates and Aristotle
Book Description
Who but Rick Steves can tell travelers the best way to see Rome, Venice, Florence, the hill towns of central Italy, the Dolomites, and the Amalfi Coast? With Rick Steves’ Italy 2007, travelers can experience the best of everything Italy has to offer — economically and hassle-free. Completely revised and updated, Rick Steves’ Italy 2007 includes opinionated coverage of both famous and lesser-known sights; friendly places to eat and sleep; suggested day plans; walking tours and trip itineraries; clear instructions for smooth travel anywhere by car, train, or foot; and Rick’s newest "back door" discoveries. America’s number one authority on travel to Europe, Rick’s time-tested recommendations for safe and enjoyable travel in Europe have been used by millions of Americans in search of their own unique European travel experience.
Customer Reviews:
Rick Steves map of Rome, Florence, and Siena.......2007-09-08
I've been to the cities before but needed a new map for a up coming trip. The paper maps disintigrate and these maps are waterproof.
This is the most helpful map I've seen. The location of historic sights are all clearly marked. It even has the US Embassy in case there is a problem. Shopping is highlighted, and public transportation is easy to find. A great map! I just ordered the Paris map for the first leg of the trip.
Never alone.......2007-08-30
The Rick Steves' series of guidebooks are unique in that they not only tell you what you can see, but also offer advice as to what is worth your time. And most importantly the books tell you how to go about doing it, cheaply and efficiently. I traveled alone through Italy for four weeks using only this book, and never felt alone. These books are the only ones you need to have an outstanding vacation.
There are of course some small mistakes and misrepresentations in the book, but no more than any other book. I recommend also getting the corresponding Mona Winks Rick Steves' Mona Winks: Self-Guided Tours of Europe's Top Museums (5th Edition) book as a good complement.
Excellent Book........2007-08-11
The Book is excellent. Its a fantastic tool for planning your trip to Italy. Thew book equips you with crucial information which helps in saving time as well as money on the trip.
Disappointing.......2007-07-28
Before traveling to Italy, I reviewed this book and felt it would be extremely useful. In reality, there are huge gaps of information that a first time traveler would find helpful. The maps are sadly lacking in detail, to the point of being useless in some instances, the vocabulary list should be doubled, and contrary to Rick's recommendation, Pisa is well worth a visit!
Always informative.......2007-07-28
As usual, Rick Steeves makes exploring new countries pleasurable and easy. He suggests the important things to see, and some of the lccal treasures you might not think of, depending on your length of stay. I have stayed at his recommended hotels and never been disapointed. He does his homework!
Book Description
The appearance, more than sixty years after the Spanish Civil War ended, of mass graves containing victims of Francisco Franco’s death squads finally broke what Spaniards call “the pact of forgetting”—the unwritten understanding that their recent, painful past was best left unexplored. At this charged moment, Giles Tremlett embarked on a journey around the country and through its history to discover why some of Europe’s most voluble people have kept silent so long.
Ghosts of Spain is the fascinating result of that journey. In elegant and passionate prose, Tremlett unveils the tinderbox of disagreements that mark the country today. Delving into such emotional questions as who caused the Civil War, why Basque terrorists kill, why Catalans hate Madrid, and whether the Islamist bombers who killed 190 people in 2004 dreamed of a return to Spain’s Moorish past, Tremlett finds the ghosts of the past everywhere. At the same time, he offers trenchant observations on more quotidian aspects of Spanish life today: the reasons, for example, Spaniards dislike authority figures, but are cowed by a doctor’s white coat, and how women have embraced feminism without men noticing.
Drawing on the author’s twenty years of experience living in Spain, Ghosts of Spain is a revelatory book about one of Europe’s most exciting countries.
Customer Reviews:
An outsider's insight.......2007-05-28
A British journalist who has lived 20 years in Spain, married and raising his 2 children in Madrid, the author investigates, reveals and muses upon Spanish culture, history and the forces of the "two Spains" as they come together, or rub against each other, in forming the modern Spanish world. A fascinating look at Spain, its subcultures from the Basques to the Catalans to flamenco to the Galicians, to drug culture to tourism and the very difficult and delicate process of choosing to forget the differences of the Spanish Civil War and Franco's regime in order to move forward in a country that was once the most powerful on earth.
I like Spain and its history. This is one of the very best insights into modern Spain. Highly recommended.
A Pale Secret.......2007-05-22
A liberal British newspaper reporter's hit and miss attempt at a book explaining Spain (his nearly adopted country) to us outsiders. Some hits (like how modern Spain handles the dark legacy of Franco) are offset by a number of misses.
Historical facts, or guesses as to historical facts, get thrown in as space fillers; events that catch Mr. Tremlett's fancy are highlighted, whether reflective of the whole Spanish society or not; the level of writing is often barely above that of a talented reporter on deadline. The final meandering chapter entitled "Moderns and Ruins", especially, cries out for editing.
Great book about a fascinating country.......2007-05-19
This is a great journalistic account of the social and political changes that have transformed Spain up to the present day. Tremlett discusses the country's past and present in fairly equal measure. He begins by looking at the legacies of the Spanish Civil War, discussing how only in the past decade has the full scale of the atrocities that took place come to light. He discusses how Spaniards whose relatives were killed by the Francoists have pushed in recent years for their relatives to be given decent burials. He also writes an interesting chapter on Franco's overall legacy, arguing that after his death and the country's transition to democracy he has been largely purged from public discourse. Despite this collective amnesia that he identifies, Tremlett points out that the same left-right cleavage that drove the war still lurks below the surface of Spanish society. The book also contains chapters on the Basque, Catalan, and Galician regions. Tremlett provides very insightful analysis of the origins of and main forces behind Basque and Catalan nationalism, while his chapter on Galicia details that region's emergence as a conduit for Columbian cocaine. One of my favorite chapters looked at gender relations in Spain, in which Tremlett provides some very amusing anecdotes that reveal contrasts between Spain and his native Britain. This chapter also discusses Tremlett's quest to understand the paradox of how a country can be so awash in brothels (which, he reports, 1/4 of Spanish men visited) yet relatively conservative in terms of the sexual mores of its people.
Other subjects covered here include Spain's emergence as a global tourism magnet (and the corruption that has often emerged alongside it) and the 2004 Madrid train bombing, which indirectly led to the defeat of the ruling party in the elections several days later. This was an interesting chapter, in which Tramlett looked at the ways in which the main parties tried to capitalize on this tragedy for political gain. Overall, I found Tremlett to be a very keen analyst of social and political relations, and there weren't really any weak chapters. For instance, I considered skipping a chapter on flamenco music, not being particularly interested in the musical form itself, but the chapter ended up including a fascinating discussion of the social history of Spain's gypsies.
Overall, I would heartily recommend this book to anybody interested in Spanish history, culture, and/or politics. I would NOT recommend it to those expecting more of a travel guide type of book; although Tremlett does visit and write evocatively about numerous regions, such descriptions are not the main substance of this book. If I had to make one minor criticism, it is that the chapters themselves were often not tightly organized. For example, the chapter on the Basques jumps from past to present and does not really follow any sort of structure. This wasn't really a problem for me, because Tremlett writes well and never bored me, but it might be a problem to some. Another minor complaint is that the book doesn't include a map, which might have been useful for readers like me who aren't intimately familiar with Spain's geography. Overall, though, I think that this is social and political journalism at its finest, and anybody wishing to learn more about this fascinating country could do worse than to start here!
Spain's a Fun Country to Visit.......2007-04-29
The first time tht I went to Spain the country was still under Franco. When getting off the plane, every arriving passenger was photographed. This set a tone that made you never forget where you were. Now going to Spain is like going to any other country. There is no problem going from one city to another. The people are friendly to Americans. The food, trains, hotels, highways are all good.
This book looks underneath these obvious outward trappings to the held over anguish from the Franco time. He also looks further backwards to the regional conflicts with Basque seperatists, and more recently to the Islamist bombers who killed 190 people using bomb attacks in 2004.
Spain remains a little bit different than the rest of Western Europe. Mr. Tremlett has lived in Spain for twenty years and has done an excellent job of bringing together the history and the current situation to explain the current country that is Spain.
The Real Spain.......2007-04-15
Giles Tremlett has written a highly readable, incisive portrait of Spain today--its problems and its pleasures. His presentation of the manner in which Spain has chosen to deal with the aftermath of Francisco Franco's death is particularly well written and revealing. He examines how the decades of dictatorship and brutal repression have been swept under the rug of collective consciousness by Spaniards choosing not to confront it or attempt to reconcile themselves with this difficult episode in their nation's history. The author's years of closely observing Spain, and reporting on its politics and culture for Britain's most respected newspaper, The Guardian, have given him a wonderful sense of both the large picture and the quotidian details, which do so much to bring this book to life.
Anyone wanting a sense of what today's Spain is all about will find it in these pages.
Book Description
Amazing Grace tells the story of the remarkable life of the British abolitionist William Wilberforce (1759-1833). This accessible biography chronicles Wilberforce's extraordinary role as a human rights activist, cultural reformer, and member of Parliament.
At the center of this heroic life was a passionate twenty-year fight to abolish the British slave trade, a battle Wilberforce won in 1807, as well as efforts to abolish slavery itself in the British colonies, a victory achieved just three days before his death in 1833.
Metaxas discovers in this unsung hero a man of whom it can truly be said: he changed the world. Before Wilberforce, few thought slavery was wrong. After Wilberforce, most societies in the world came to see it as a great moral wrong.
To mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the British slave trade, HarperSanFrancisco and Bristol Bay Productions have joined together to commemorate the life of William Wilberforce with the feature-length film Amazing Grace and this companion biography, which provides a fuller account of the amazing life of this great man than can be captured on film.
This account of Wilberforce's life will help many become acquainted with an exceptional man who was a hero to Abraham Lincoln and an inspiration to the anti-slavery movement in America.
Customer Reviews:
An outstanding person that we desperately need more of..........2007-09-27
When I first started reading this book, the way the author wrote was so different from so many of the science and histories that I usually read, I was prepared to give the book four stars. It seemed like such a serious topic about the efforts made by English gentlemen to curtail the slavery trade, that Metaxas (author) seemed to be almost flippant. But as I read further in the book, and realized what a good, humorous, and loveable person that Wilberforce was, I could understand why the author chose to write in this vein.
I have yet to see the movie, but from reading the book it definitely aroused my interest in the movements of that time period and the people involved. Wilberforce could not have picked a harder social ill to try to bring to the right conclusion, that of stopping the slave trade with the eventual goal which he did not live to see, of freeing the slaves in the Americas. That he worked on this tirelessly for 40 years, through own personal trials and illness, and saw it to its conclusion is a testimony to the strength of his character. Where are those men and women today? Did they all come during that time period from 1750 through the early 1800s? Like our own American heroes from the Revolutionary War and men like LIncoln, who though fallible, did the very best they could to alleviate the sufferings of others? I wish we could clone a few of these people now to fix the many wrongs of our society, including the ongoing pestilence of slavery.
I eventually learned to enjoy Metaxas writing. It's different to be sure, but a nice relief from the overly serious tomes that I usually read.
Karen SAdler
Amazing.......2007-09-21
A highly readable book about an amazing man who optimisitically believed he could make a difference, and did! Like Frank Capra's Mr. Smith, William Wilberforce was a politician who stuck to his ideals. He was very conscientious about living out his faith and seeking God's will. He believed in the humanity of others and the responsibility to better society and help the less fortunate. Highly recommended!
A small man with a great impact.......2007-09-06
Though the name "William Wilberforce" is hardly at the tips of our collective tongues anymore, author Eric Metaxas thinks it should be. In "Amazing Grace," Metaxas relates the story of Wilberforce -- a slight, stooped and sickly man -- whose physical frailty disguised a great strength of character and soul. Wilberforce, as a member of the British Parliament, was (at least according to Metaxas's telling) the driving force behind both the end of the slave trade in the British colonies in 1807 as well as the abolition of British slavery itself in 1833.
The book covers all of Wilberforce's life, from the controversies between Anglicanism and Methodism of his boyhood, through his indolent college days, to his conversion in 1785 at age 24, to his parliamentary career and his death in 1833. Metaxas tells a rousing story of a young man in search for meaning and relevance, in an age of barbarity toward animals, criminals and "lower" races that is shocking to the modern ear. Metaxas sets the stage by discussing animal cruelty -- bull, horse and bear-beating -- that were popular pastimes of the era. His catalog of the evil done to black slaves is chronicled by those who had first-hand familiarity with the infamous Middle Passage or the treatment of slaves on the sugar plantations of the West Indies. Wilberforce's voice is heard through excerpts from his personal diaries, bringing this now-obscure person to life.
I truly enjoyed the book, though with a few reservations. Metaxas's Wilberforce is a man whose worldview would be recognizable to moderns. As a man born of a racist and vicious era, he used his religious views in ways that ran counter to his society. He took seriously the scriptural dictum that humanity is created in God's image, resulting in the inevitable conclusion that people of color deserved the same treatment as whites. A sickly man, he showed great compassion for the poor and the weak, even extending this soft heartedness to animals. Among many other works, Wilberforce was a founding member of the then-named Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The reservations. Metaxas's style is usually staid, punctuated with the occassional tic -- he suddenly gets overly-cute or uses faux-Elizabethan anachronistic turns of phrase. He also tends to give Wilberforce solitary credit for opposing slavery, when this work started long before he appeared on the scene and ended after he left it. Metaxas's evidently sympathetic view of Wilberforce's spiritual life was another problem. In many passages, Metaxas presumes a conservative Christian worldview, lauding Wilberforce for making decisions that are in line with God's will, as though this was self-evident to the reader. Metaxas clearly roots for young Wilberforce to find God, and he speaks from with seeming familiarity with a convert's stages of maturation through during his conversion experience. There's nothing wrong with religious experience, but I found this overt tilt surprising and a bit troubling in a biography. Appallingly, Metaxas describes Anglicanism as a religion practiced in name only by bishops and clergy who no longer believed in its tenets. Metaxas even notes which bishops of the period are "orthodox," as though the reader understands and agrees to his meaning of the word. Metaxas may also be guilty of painting Wilberforce in too-bright colors. His subject's distrust of Roman Catholicism is minimized and his opposition to the right of labor to organize is left unmentioned. Wilberforce is sometimes portrayed as the most eloquent of speakers and other times as having a rather rambling and disconnected style. These inconsistencies and biases diminished the book's impact.
Nevertheless, I do recommend "Amazing Grace". In an age in which the wounds of racism and cruelty are still borne by too many, it is encouraging to read of a man who, though borne to wealth and privilege, put his faith into practice in a way that benefited so many and is still admirable today. "Amazing Grace" makes the strong case that William Wilberforce ought to merit at least a mention when the roll of the history's great humanitarians is read.
Yes he ended slavery.......2007-08-08
William Wilberforce did more than end slavery, he changed Western Civilization. He created the campaign button, used today to elect mere politicians, but he did it to end slavery and bring Christianity to India. He also helped recreate non-governmental organizations for schools, and widows and orphans of war and poverty. He helped change the penal code of Great Britain and bring back the use of morality to effect change for how small crimes corrupted society. (Note, this was the same tactics used by Giuliani to change the crime rate in New York.) Wilber ( his nickname among friends) was a short sickly man, gifted with a a superb speaking voice, great charisma, and the ability to be a great Christian leader without looking like a "stick in the mud" Puritan. He also had a strong backbone that allowed him to let insults, death threats, and 40 years of frustration slide by the way side. One day I hope to read his sons' 3 volume biography of his life, but in the mean time, you can't go wrong reading this well written and entertaining biography of his life.
Amazing book!.......2007-07-25
This book should have been called The Amazing Book. This is really an uplifting book and a must read. We all should have William Wilberforce as our role model.
William Wilberforce was the man to end slavery. More importantly, he is the man who made slavery unacceptable in our minds. Who today can honestly tell you that slavery is not evil or indeed needed for a country's economy? Merely two centuries ago, slavery was not only accepted but deemed necessary. William Wilberforce was the man who extinguished this belief forever! As a side note, I find it interesting that no prophet of any religion has ever succeeded or even tried to end slavery. A mere mortal by the name of Wilberforce not only succeeded in ending slavery, but succeeded into changing our minds into completely rejecting slavery as immoral. As the author says, Wilberforce truly changed the world! An amazing feat, and truly an amazing grace to befall upon us!
Wilberforce was a religious man, but at no time did he claim that he was chosen by God or claimed of ever receiving a vision or message from God. He was a simple good-hearted person who cared about the well-being of others, especially the less fortunate ones. He was kind and generous, and gave a lot of his wealth to the poor throughout his life. Even though at the start of his life he was indeed very rich, he died poor, and not even owning his own house. He lived the rest of his life living in the homes of his children. Yet he never felt cheated by life. He accomplished something that no one has ever achieved. He is indeed fortunate to be receiving prayers from so many till this day!
The book will expose the horrors of slavery, and how at the time the British (and the Europeans, but emphasize was on the British) viewed the African blacks as inferior beings, if beings at all. At the time, killing a black person, whether child or adult, was no different to the British as killing a rodent. Slaves were viewed as a material object to own and to discard of at any time as fit (usually by murdering and torturing the slave).
After reading this book, you will wonder how it was ever possible to accept the concept of owning slaves. What went through the minds of the Europeans at the time to accept such an abhorrent practice as the ownership and trade of slaves? And why do we think differently about this subject today than we did for the past thousands of years? What suddenly changed in our minds? Read the book, and find out how Wilberforce was able to change our minds on slavery. Don't be surprised if you shed a few too many tears.
However, Wilberforce, a member of the British parliament, had to endure many insults and opposition to finally pass the bill to end slavery. In fact, it was a twenty-year fight just to abolish the British slave trade, a battle Wilberforce won in 1807, and a fierce battle in parliament to abolish slavery itself in the British colonies, a victory achieved just three days before his death in 1833.
Wilberforce was hated by many and often called a hypocrite for caring more for the slaves and less for the poor working class. But as the author says, this accusation against Wilberforce was like saying that Christopher Columbus was a hypocrite for not discovering Australia as well. No one man or woman can ever end all the ills of man and woman, but together we can! If each man and woman today accomplishes just one great humane achievement, that's 5 billion humane achievements during our lifetime! If Wilberforce can do so much for so many millions, why can't we?
The author, Eric Mataxas, did an excellent job bringing to life a man who is truly immortal. Throughout the narrative of this book you will feel as if William Wilberforce is right there besides you. No other author could have written about Wilberforce as beautifully as Metaxas. This book is a real piece of art to be treasured in your library for the next generation, and makes an excellent bedtime story for our children.
Book Description
During and following WWII, a special multinational group of more than 350 men and women served behind enemy lines and joined frontline military units to ensure the preservation, protection, liberation and restitution of the world's greatest artistic and cultural treasures. This "band of unsung heroes," formally referred to as the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives (MFAA) section, or commonly referred to as the "Monuments Men," worked tirelessly to track down, identify and catalogue millions of priceless works of art and irreplaceable cultural artifacts, including masterpieces by Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Vermeer, that had been stolen by Hitler and the Nazis.
The story of the Monuments Men, including their heroics and exploits in rescuing and safeguarding many of the world's greatest artworks for the benefit of mankind, has never before been fully revealed until now, with the publication of
Rescuing Da Vinci, an exhaustively researched historical account written by Robert M. Edsel. Mr. Edsel can best be described as a successful athlete and business entrepreneur turned modern day "Indiana Jones." Mr. Edsel has dedicated the last five years of his life to painstaking and far-reaching research to unravel the secrets of the Monuments Men and, in so doing, to make the world aware of their unprecedented contributions, both during and after WWII, and to ensure that these unsung heroes receive appropriate recognition from the United States government, as well as the broad public.
The detailed documentation, inventories and photographs developed and catalogued by the Monuments Men during and following World War II, have made possible, and continue to make possible, the restitution of stolen artworks of to rightful owners and their descendents. Long after WWII, many Monuments Men went on to become renowned directors and curators of preeminent international cultural institutions, including the National Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Toledo Museum of Art and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, among many others, as well as professors at esteemed universities such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, New York University, Williams College and Columbia University. Others became founders, presidents, and members of associations such as the New York City Ballet, the American Museum Association, the American Association of Museum Directors, the Archaeological Institute of America, the Society of Architectural Historians, the American Society of Landscape Architects, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as respected architects, archivists, artists and musicians.
"Mr. Edsel's book is captivating in several respects, from the graphic, garish reminders of the faces of the great plunderers, to the singular beauty of the art they sought to steal. And it is a high and overdue memorial to the "Monuments Men," who did the herculean job of tracking down and repatriating the great art." -- William F. Buckley Jr.
Customer Reviews:
A wonderful book.......2007-10-09
This book shows and tells another side of war. It is the story told in picture of Hitler and his Nazi thugs pillaging Europe and stealing priceless art objects, painting, statures, books, even ancient scrolls then hiding them in caves and bunkers in Germany. What I loved about this book were the photos of US Army units rescuing those stolen art treasures then returned them to the towns, churches and cities. The author has done an exemplary job of finding photos and stories which has made this an important work. Photos I've never seen and story I have never heard about. I think this book needs to be in every high school library in the country. Students need to be shown how our American Army worked to recover all this lost art. His book made me proud to have serviced in the US army.
Thank you for writing this book
SPOILS OF WAR.......2007-09-21
This is one of the most fascinating books i have ever read. The period images are amazing, just the photo of italian masons bricking up Michaelangelo's iconic David is worth the purchase. After reading this book I was stunned that so few art treasures were destroyed. I had no idea that much of the treasures at the National Gallery of Art in D.C. was stored at Biltmore because of its remote setting. I was also blown away to see the images of workman removing winged victory from the Louvre, I just had no idea all of this went on leading up to the war and during the war. The German pillaging of the great European art treasures is disgusting of course, especially the art they looted from the weathy Jewry like the Rothchilds and others, some of which even to this day are trying to get back art work that is rightly theirs. I highly recommend this great book to anyone interested in art, history, art history, or frankly has an inquisive mind. I want to thank the authors for a job well done.
What were they thinking!!.......2007-08-10
This was a fascinating and disturbing account of the massive Nazi looting and subsequent recovery by the Allies. It is a story told mostly by pictures to the tune of about 20 pages of pictures for each page of print. It is promoted by the publisher as the biggest non-told story of WWII and he might be right; it diminished the German war effort and probably shortened the War. It was also about the massive and admirable effort by the so-called Allied `Monuments Men' to recover and redistribute the loot back to their rightful owners after the War.
Germany stole millions of art objects from occupied countries, and even from its own ally Italy, on the pretext of saving it from the `barbarian' invaders from the West. Monuments weighing tons, like the `Burghers of Calais' from France and the `Winged Lion' from atop the column in Florence's San Martin Square, were somehow lifted and hauled away. Also, 5000 church bells were stolen from Europe and 300 trolley cars were removed from Amsterdam. In short, they looted everything they could get their hands on, and they were good at it. There are good pictures of the bells and the trolley cars.
In Slavic countries such as Russia and Poland, the plundering was accompanied by an attempted systematic destruction of the culture itself; `inferior races' in Hitler's mind didn't deserve a history. The siege of Russia was particularly bad; 6000 hospitals were destroyed, and 86,000 elementary and secondary schools were destroyed. Decency had taken a long vacation in Germany.
Hitler was a master at destroying things. He destroyed a lot of Europe and Russia, and even extended his `scorched earth' policy to his own country when Germany was near defeat. Thankfully, that order was not faithfully carried out.
How could a country justify destroying the culture of another country? What were the people of Germany thinking when they elected this maniac as Chancellor in the 1930's? Why did they blindly follow him?
What were they thinking!!
I recommend this book.......2007-05-13
If you enjoy WWII history and art, this is a book that should be in your collection. It is full of wonderful photos that you will not find elsewhere. If you have ever wondered about what happened to the great masterpieces of art during WWII, this is the book to buy. Amazon also has a great price.
Great Book!.......2007-04-14
What a great story. Incredible photos too. Quality of the pages is very good. I'm actually surprised it's only $35 after getting it.
Amazon.com
Who better to take fans on a culinary tour of Italy, than Lidia Matticchio Bastianich? Her new cookbook, Lidia's Italy (a companion to her new public television series of the same name) covers "ten places in Italy Lidia loves most": Istria, Trieste, Friuli, Padova and Treviso, Piemonte, Maremma, Rome, Naples, Sicily, and Puglia. In addition to 140 simple and delicious recipes, Lidia's Italy also offers a short introduction to each locale, featuring cultural treasures not to be missed (as defined by Lidia's daughter and coauthor, Tanya). For the cook as well as the armchair traveler, Lidia's Italy is a rich and satisfying gastronomic journey through Italy. --Daphne Durham
An Exclusive Video Message from Lidia
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10 Second Interview: A Few Words with Lidia Matticchio Bastianich
Q: What new recipes, tips, and lessons do you have to share in Lidia's Italy? Did you learn anything new while creating this book and the series?
A: There is so much in the Italian culinary tradition, that it amazes me. Every time I go back to Italy and visit another corner, I learn dozens upon dozens of recipes. And today's consumer is ever more educated about food. Cookbook readers want to be challenged by a recipe, and hence recipes that were once considered too traditional, such as "Bigoli" pasta from the Veneto or "Antico Peposo" braised beef with crushed peppercorns, from Maremma, are sought out today.
Q: What was it like to collaborate with your daughter Tanya to write this book?
A: For me to share and collaborate with my children is the greatest reward as a mother and a business woman. To have my children follow my passion and build upon it with their knowledge, spirit and passion affirms to me that they understand and appreciate my art and passion and want to carry on the tradition. My daughter's passion for and knowledge of Italian art history is a natural compliment to Italian food and life. It is Italy!
Q: How did you start cooking and when did you know it was your calling?
A: I always loved being around food. I loved preparing and cooking it, as well as growing and producing it. As a child, I helped my grandma Rosa tend her garden, feed the animals and prepare the vegetables, eggs and cheeses to sell at market. I would also stay by her side when she cooked, helping her knead bread and make pasta and gnocchi. For me, touching and preparing food always felt good. I can still recall the silkiness of the pasta dough she made and strive for that texture when I make pasta at home and at my restaurants. Being introduced to food at a very young age, and carrying these culinary traditions with me, I'm sure had a great deal to do with my chosen profession.
Q: What is your favorite dish?
A: I do not have one favorite dish. That is like asking me which is my favorite child. I love them all the same, but for different reasons, and at different times. But if I were stranded on a deserted island, give me pasta for the rest of my life and I would be happy.
Italy with Lidia
We asked Lidia to share her favorite itineraries for a few locales from her book, including Piedmont, Friuli, and Florence. Enjoy!
Piedmont for Wine Lovers
Day 1: Journey through the magnificent rice fields, stopping to visit and have lunch with a producer in Vercelli to learn more about where the essential ingredient for risotto is grown, then slowly move into the hills of Piedmont known as the Langhe and Roero. Spend the afternoon wandering the streets of Alba. In the early evening depart for a visit to the Castle of Barolo for a tour and tasting in its dungeon cellar. Dinner is best at the nearby Locanda del Borgo Antico where the husband and wife team of Massimo and Luciana serve up top-notch Piedmontese food in their home.
Day 2: Tuesday is market day in Dogliani and affords the opportunity to experience a local Piedmontese market. Piedmont is well known for its many types of cheese. Occelli Agrinatura produces some of the best. This morning see their production and taste some of their exquisite products. Continue your morning with a visit to the cantina of a local Barolo producer. Lunch at the country restaurant Rosa dei Vini is fabulous, where locals enjoy authentic home-style meals. In the afternoon return once again to Alba for a dinner drink with the locals in its very active bars and find a good local place to delight in the capital of the truffle.
Day 3: Up at the crack of dawn, out with the dogs, embark upon a truffle hunt. Find a local trattoria and have lunch with the hunters and in the afternoon enjoy the sweeping vistas from the hill town of La Morra. Don't miss dinner at the charming La Contea. With the fire ablaze, Tonino keeps the atmosphere hopping and the food coming.
Day 4: This morning head to the city of Asti and enjoy strolling through the city. For lunch visit the local restaurant near the Braida Estate with a tasting of their production. In the afternoon sit in a piazza and enjoy the local production of Asti Spumante which has earned a bad reputation in the United States, but which has some excellent production in recent years.
Day 5: Depart this morning for the Saluzzo area outside of Torino to see one of the most magnificent fresco cycles in Italy in the Castello della Manta, where nine heroes and nine heroines await your arrival in courtly fashion in fresco. Have lunch in the charming town of Saluzzo and arrive in Torino in the early afternoon. Save the rest of the day for shopping or to experience the wonderful coffee houses that Torino is famous for.
Day 6: This morning learn about and visit the residences of the Kings of Italy: the magnificent Racconigi Castle a short distance outside of Torino and the palatial residence in the city of Torino. In the evening have your farewell dinner at La Prima Smarrita where owner and chef Moreno awaits your arrival.
Friuli
Day 1: Arrive in Trieste and check into the Duchi d'Aosta hotel. Start a historical walk through Trieste starting in Pza. Unita and heading for the canal that ends with the Church of San Antonio. Enjoy an evening drink the Pza. Unita` as the sun sets out on the water and head to Trattoria da Giovanni for a lively dinner.
Day 2: This morning we will depart for the Friulian countryside to visit the production of the important Montasio cheese and Prosciutto di San Daniele. Lunch should be at the renowned Subida in the hills near the Slovenia border. After lunch visit the star shaped city of Palmanova, walk around and stay for dinner.
Day 3: This morning wear comfortable shoes and begin your walk in Trieste by stopping at the roman amphitheater. Keep heading up hill for the Cathedral of San Giusto with the uneven façade and wonderful reliefs. Have lunch in the Carso hills at Savron and then continue towards Muggia and leave time to walk around the picturesque port and old Venetian town of Muggia followed by dinner in one of the regions best restaurants, Risorta.
Day 4: This morning depart for Grado and Aquilea, important centers for Early Christian history. Visit the Churches of S. Eufemia and S. Maria delle Grazie in Grado followed by lunch at Androna. Then continue to Aquilea where the Basilica holds some of the most important and magnificent early Christian mosaics. Return to Trieste in the late afternoon where the evening should be spent relaxing after such a busy day.
Day 5: This morning depart for Cividale del Friuli where you should visit the Museo Archeologico and the Tempietto Longobardo. Have lunch in the countryside at la Frasca before heading to the city of Udine where you should visit the Duomo and the Oratorio della Purita. Stop and see the quaint towns of Gemona and Venzone before heading back towards.
Day 6: This morning have a walking tour of Trieste famous for its pastries and coffee houses. Be sure to visit Caffe degli Specchi and La Bomboniera. In the afternoon visit the very moving site of San Saba, a concentration and refugee camp during World War II, now a museum. On the sade side outside of town, you can also visit the Illy coffee factory.
Florence
Day 1: You should visit the religious and civic centers of 14th and 15th century Florence. The Duomo or Cathedral is crowned with an engineering masterpiece, Brunelleschi's dome. Brunelleschi devised a system of pulleys and weights, chose his building materials and constructed a double dome, all the while looking to the Pantheon for inspiration, to create what was Italy's largest dome. Inside the Cathedral one will find the tombs and frescoes that decorate the interior, from famous figures on horse back to the elevating frescoes decorating the interior of the dome by Giorgio Vasari. At the Palazzo Vecchio, there are the unfinished frescoes by Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo that were to decorate the walls. Then head to the first town hall and later prison, the Bargello, a museum that now houses sculpture by some of the Renaissance's most important artists such as Donatello and Michelangelo. Donatello's courageous St. George and Michelangelo's inebriated Bacchus are the highlights. For lunch, keep it light because you should head to Fabio Picchi's Cibreo tonight for dinner!
Day 2: This morning head to Florence's central market, the San Lorenzo market where you'll see specialties of the Tuscan gastronomic repertoire. Right around the corner is the church of San Lorenzo that contains Medici masterpiece tombs by Michelangelo. Michelangelo's muscular and overbearing figures appearing to be sliding off the tombs of Dukes Giuliano and Lorenzo, in their faces shadows of deep significance, the meaning of which scholars today are still uncertain of. Next door is the jewel like family chapel by Benozzo Gozzoli in the palace. After lunch, visit one of the world's finest art collections, the Uffizi Gallery, to see works by Lippi, Botticelli, Michelangelo and Leonardo, among others followed by a visit through the Vasari corridor which was used to connect the Uffizi gallery (or Medici offices) the their residence, the Pitti Palace.
Day 3: This morning depart for the Chianti region and stop at Tuscany's most famous butcher, Dario Checchini, who butchers while singing or reciting Dante's Inferno. Visit the vineyard and cavernous cellars of Monsanto where the Bianchi family will greet you and allow you to taste their wines. Afterwards, visit the terracotta production center of Impruneta, where terracotta has been made since medieval times, and visit an artisan production of terracotta garden pots and wares.
Day 4: Depart this morning for San Gimignano, the town of towers, and for Colle Val D'Elsa, the largest crystal production in Europe, where artisans blow one of a kind crystal in a traditional fashion, a profession that has been passed on from generation to generation. Have lunch at the acclaimed Da Arnolfo and then continue onto Siena, the financial capital of medieval Italy. Visit the Palazzo Pubblico, outside of which the Sienese perform the traditional Palio horse race, and inside of which the Madonna reigns supreme. Marvel at the famous Guidoriccio fresco with its controversial attribution to Simone Martini, the Lorenzetti Good and Bad Government frescoes, and Simone Martini's Maesta'. Then head up the hill to the religious center of Siena, the Cathedral complex, and marvel at one of the most stunningly beautiful masterpieces of the Renaissance, the Piccolomini Library. Then head to the campo square and enjoy a gelato while watching the Sienese meet and their children play.
Day 5: Enjoy your last day in Florence. Head over to the museum of Orsanmichele in the morning to see the original statues by Ghiberti and Donatello and peak into the wonderful building that used to be a marketplace but now is a church. For lunch, enjoy a bowl of ribollita or pappa al pomodoro at one of the trattorias on Borgo San Jacopo. Then head up to Fiesole-up above Florence where the rich and famous live. Have a drink on the terrace of the Villa San Michele while overlooking the Duomo by Brunelleschi. Then enjoy a light dinner inside.
Lidia's Must-Have Cookbooks
See all of Lidia's must-have cookbooks
Book Description
In this exciting new book the incomparable Lidia takes us on a gastronomic journey—from Piemonte to Puglia—exploring ten different regions that have informed her cooking and helped to make her the fabulous cook that she is today. In addition, her daughter Tanya, an art historian, guides us to some of the nearby cultural treasures that enrich the pursuit of good food.
· In Istria, now part of Croatia, where Lidia grew up, she forages again for wild asparagus, using it in a delicious soup and a frittata; Sauerkraut with Pork and Roast Goose with Mlinzi reflect the region’s Middle European influences; and buzara, an old mariner’s stew, draws on fish from the nearby sea.
· From Trieste, Lidia gives seafood from the Adriatic, Viennese-style breaded veal cutlets and Beef Goulash, and Sacher Torte and Apple Strudel.
· From Friuli, where cows graze on the rich tableland, comes Montasio cheese to make fricos; the corn fields yield polenta for Velvety Cornmeal-Spinach Soup.
· In Padova and Treviso rice reigns supreme, and Lidia discovers hearty soups and risottos that highlight local flavors.
· In Piemonte, the robust Barolo wine distinguishes a fork-tender stufato of beef; local white truffles with scrambled eggs is “heaven on a plate”; and a bagna cauda serves as a dip for local vegetables, including prized cardoons.
· In Maremma, where hunting and foraging are a way of life, earthy foods are mainstays, such as slow-cooked rabbit sauce for pasta or gnocchi and boar tenderloin with prune-apple Sauce, with Galloping Figs for dessert.
· In Rome Lidia revels in the fresh artichokes and fennel she finds in the Campo dei Fiori and brings back nine different ways of preparing them.
· In Naples she gathers unusual seafood recipes and a special way of making limoncello-soaked cakes.
· From Sicily’s Palermo she brings back panelle, the delicious fried chickpea snack; a caponata of stewed summer vegetables; and the elegant Cannoli Napoleon.
· In Puglia, at Italy’s heel, where durum wheat grows at its best, she makes some of the region’s glorious pasta dishes and re-creates a splendid focaccia from Altamura.
There are 140 delectable recipes to be found as you make this journey with Lidia. And along the way, with Tanya to guide you, you’ll stop to admire Raphael’s fresco Triumph of Galatea, a short walk from the market in Rome; the two enchanting women in the Palazzo Abbatellis in Palermo; and the Roman ruins in Friuli, among many other delights. There’s something for everyone in this rich and satisfying book that will open up new horizons even to the most seasoned lover of Italy.
Customer Reviews:
italian cooking at it's best.......2007-10-10
I have several of Lidia's cookbooks and she just keeps getting better & better. If you love italian cooking or just love to cook, Lidia's cookbooks will be a great find for you. Her recipes are easy to follow, she has some great pictures in her books, and she has wonderful family stories as well as great history about Italy. I come from a large Lebanese family and my grandmothers best friend was Italian, and I never thought I would find recipes like hers, until I came across Lidia on the create channel...She is what great Italian cooking is all about
Lydia's Italy.......2007-09-23
She is a great down to earth cook. These are ideas and things we can use in our kitchen at home.
If you love the TV series you need this book.......2007-09-11
I enjoy watching Lydia Bastianich on TV, not only because of the food, but because it takes me back to my childhood with my Italian family. While I know a lot of the techniques and cultural values that Lydia espouses, I am not at all familiar with most of the recipes. It is great to be able to go right from an episode to trying it myself at home.
lydia's italy.......2007-09-11
I have all of Lydia's cookbooks. Lydia's Italy is wonderful. The recipes are, as always, a way for me to go back in my memories to my childhood dinners at my Italian grandmothers. The travelogue is so interesting-and I realized that I must go back and visit the places that were mentioned that I had missed when I was in Italy. A must for next to the stove in your kitchen.
A fine survey .......2007-09-08
Fans of either Lidia's previous Italian cuisine books or Italian regional fare will appreciate LIDIA'S ITALY, a fine survey that blends regional specialties and dishes with culinary descriptions proceeding each dish. Color photos throughout assure browsing pleasure and details that lend to easy duplication of appearance, while the author's personal experiences and insights jazz up the results. Highly recommended for any library strong in international cooking in general or Italian regional specialties in particular.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Book Description
A fun, engaging, 132-page complete language learning workbook. Includes 150 sticky labels, flash cards, a cut out menu, a crossword puzzle and more. Original art and an open format are just two of the many reasons why this is one of the bestselling language series in print.
Customer Reviews:
Best Help and Fast Review.......2007-09-24
I first checked this book out from the library. It is so good , I purchased a copy from Amazon. This book has the normal words used everyday. It is easy to follow and you do it at you own pace. You are learning how to speak in easy short sentences. It has flash cards that speed up the learning process. Of all the reference books I have, this is the one I pick up first. This book will be great if you are going on vacation and only need to know certain things :)
Spanish in 10 Minutes a Day.......2006-08-15
This text is either for the very beginning beginner or a good review for the person who has been away from Spanish for a time.
It is done in a logical manner and in workbook form. It has stickers for nouns and cutouts for flashcards of the important beginning vocabulary in the book. It is fun to do and quick to finish.
A good Start .......2006-04-07
I have read almost all of the book. Along with the CDs I think the set would be very good for a beginner but not enough for adequate conversation. No conjugation rules mentioned. You have to be enrolled in a spanish teaching class to fill in the defecits that this set have. Overall I think my spanish improved alot from 0% spanish to 50% now,which is not bad to a beginner....
Wonderful Product.......2006-02-24
We are a homeschooling family and we were looking for a good beginning Spanish program. This program was recommended to me by several people so I thought we would give it a try. My daughter and I are learning together and we are finding this program easy to use and alot of fun. I think it would be a great program for older elementary (my daughter is 14) - adult. The CDs are a must because they teach you the correct pronouncation for each word. The stickers are a great way to incorporate Spanish into your everyday life. Excellent program. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to learning Spanish for educational purposes and for those who are planning a trip to a Spanish speaking country.
Good for a traveler, Not for a class.......2005-08-12
I began using this as text for a class of mine, but quickly only used it as a supplement. You are to simply copy the words and say them in 10 minutes each day. It's a great theory, but very difficult to absorb any language through this method. The vocabulary is bent toward the traveler - what to pack, where's the restaurant, I'd like to order, that type of phrasing.
The color pictures make it seem like it might be aimed at a younger crowd, but the exercises were a bit stale for anyone under high school age.
Overall, this is a good crash course if you're about to leave for a week's vacation in a Spanish-speaking country. To learn how to truly communicate in Spanish, you need something more thorough on grammar points and practice. The fact that no CD comes with it also makes pronunciation a concern for the novice learner.
For the much younger child, Flip Flop Spanish is a great tool which comes with a CD.
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