Editorial Review

With over 50,000 copies sold of the original edition, A Bride's Book has been a best-selling resource for brides-to-be since 2001, offering floral designer and wedding planner Marsha Heckman's expert guidance on everything from the engagement to the post-honeymoon thank-you notes. Now Heckamn has returned with a revised, redesigned, and updated edition for the modern bride. It includes seven gorgeous new wedding bouquet tabs with complete how-to instructiuons, along with a new cover design.

Lavishly illustrated with full-color photographs by Richard Jung from Marsha Heckman's best-selling book Bouquets: A Year of Flowers for the Bride, A Bride's Book is both a hardworking wedding planner and a personal journal. The book is filled with tips for the bride, wedding traditions, and marriage customs. Spiral bound to open flat, with an elastic closure and an inside pocket, A Bride's Book is organized into six sections with fill-in space and prompts to help keep the busy bride organized: "To Do," "Calendar," "Wedding Party," "Key People," "Guests," and "Journal & Keepsake." ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

Wonderful Story Masterfully Written, July 4, 2007
"Wow. What a book." These are the words that I breathed out when I reached the end of Merle's Door.

Ted Kerasote is to writers what Mozart is to composers. His writing is that good. If he were to write about how the grass grew in his yard over summer, I have no doubt it would be a page-turner.

But that's not the story he wrote. This story is so much more. This unforgettable story begins when a big golden dog emerges from the dark to introduce himself to a small group of people camping in the desert. One of those people was Ted Kerasote, and the dog went home with him. As the story unfolds, we are taken on an amazing journey that goes well beyond "a boy and his dog."

Good relationships are built on mutual respect, and this relationship was better than most. This book is the story of that relationship. These two were the best of friends, and this account of their life together shows how each grew and learned from the other. Love, patience, and understanding are evident throughout the book.

At times, this book is humorous, and at other times it's instructive. But always, it's interesting. One of the lessons Merle taught Ted was that great things can happen if humans will change their behavior instead of always trying to change the behavior of their dogs. The prevailing wisdom is that dogs must be trained and molded a certain way, and treated as though they have no independent powers of judgment. Merle proved this isn't so wise.

The problem is that people don't let their dogs grow up. They make the dog into a perpetual child, and then are surprised when anxiety surfaces in the form of behavior problems. But how would you feel if you always had someone telling you what to do, and not letting you make any decisions on your own? This treatment, while often well-intended, disables a person. It disables dogs as well.

Ted suggests loving in a different way, one that provides more personal freedom and is less about controlling the dog. He says, "His (Merle's) lessons weren't about training, but about partnership. They were never about method; they were about attitude."

The partnership between these two took them on a far different path from one they would have taken if, for example, Ted had decided to make a bird dog out of Merle. Rather than make Merle into something to fit a desire of his own, Ted allowed Merle to be himself. And in so doing, Ted would eventually find his own deep needs met in ways that he could not have predicted. This made for a story worth telling and one definitely worth reading.

In addition to providing us with a wonderful story masterfully written, this book presents an impressive amount of science and technical information on a range of subjects. The list of sources runs 15 pages (in small print, at that). Yet, none of this seems out of place. Whether it's a quote from a biologist, an explanation of cognitive maps, or a summary of experiments with dolphins and mirrors, it's all good and it all fits. The wolf research is especially interesting. For anyone wishing to look up those facts after finishing the story, the extensive index will prove helpful.

This book has 18 chapters spanning 364 pages. Not a single one was wasted.

Even if you have never loved a dog, read this book, June 29, 2007
First, the cold facts. Ted Kerasote has an uncanny ability to mix the sociology and history of dogs with humans and the very personal story of his life with his extraordinary Labrador mix, Merle, and makes it work like no other dog book I've read (and that's a lot of books). He is such a good writer that it's fun to read science part. But what really makes Merle's Door sing, or howl, is the poignant love story of Ted and Merle as they get to know more about each other over the years. Merle's story as told through Ted, who can put the words on the page since Merle could not, rings so true. When you read this book you are reading the story of two friends who share a life of adventure and love that is simply all too short. Millions of humans have had loving relationships with our canine halves, and never has it been so eloquently distilled in a single volume as this book. Read it, shed some tears of joy, give it to your friends, this is a magical book.

The most touching book I've read in a long time..., July 10, 2007
I bought this book knowing nothing about it or the author. I love dogs and had the love of my life dog pass away about 2 years ago. I've read Marley and Me and other dog books, but somehow they didn't come close to expressing the bond between man and dog as this book does so flawlessly. I read the book right away as we are now raising two puppies and I thought the book would be instructional. Wow. Although the book is instructional, it is so much more than that. This book touched me like nothing has in a long time. I finished it last night and I still can't think about it without choking up. What a life! It makes me want to go put my arms around the author and tell him I understand.
Bravo!! Well written. 5 stars. I loved it. I wish I had known Merle.

hard to apply, October 15, 2007
As a dog biography, Merle's Door is both humorous and tear-jerking. The ending definitely calls for tissues.

But Merle's Door is not simply a dog's biography and can't be judged merely on that score. It also attempts to be something of a treatise on dog behavior, and the biography is excerpted and annotated with reports on dog behavior and research. And the title of the book itself "Lessons from a Free thinking dog" implies this isn't a mere dog's tale, or the reader isn't supposed to take it as such.

The book tries to be two things, then, and one tends to hamper the other. The behavioral treatise on dogs interrupt the flow of the biography, and tend to be a little boring. And this is from someone who read all of Konrad Lorenz as a teenager. The behavioral asides seem somewhat cherry picked -- that is, rather than be a true behavioral treatise on all dogs, they are used to support some point that the author wants to make toward his own theories based on his one single dog, and all other evidence to the contrary being ignored. To generalize from a sample of one never makes for good teaching or good lessons.

The point of the "open door" policy in a nutshell seems to be that if dogs had their freedom to roam, and make their own decisions, that would resolve a great deal of the undersocialization, underexercised, overly frustrated aggressive dog behavior we see in many dogs. He uses Merle as an example of this perfect dog. But aside from the fact that very few people can live in a purported dog utopia like Kelly, the reality beyond Merle himself wasn't quite as rosy, if you read beyond Merle. And Merle himself was just very, very lucky.

The first day that the author brings Merle to Kelly, he lets this dog, that he doesn't know an awful lot about, out free to roam. Two hours later the dog returns. In that time, Merle could have been shot by a rancher for cow or sheep running, as other dogs later were, and as Merle would have done. He could have been hit by a car, as other Kelly dogs were. Merle proved to be car smart, but the author didn't know that when he let him roam. He could have gotten into fights and injured -- or even killed. He was later taken to a vet to be stitched back together after one of these fights. He could have been picked up by the dog catcher as he also later was. Nor did he know how good the dog was with children, and a dog that had run down other prey animals might need to be evaluated in that regard. These are all dangers that could happen to dogs everywhere, and that some fall prey to. Isn't that what we protect our dogs from? And they do happen to dogs in Kelly.

For the open door policy clearly doesn't work for all dogs in Kelly, the ones who were hit by cars, picked up by the dog catcher, killed for harassing livestock, or who were caught up in dog fights. Merle was lucky, particularly in the beginning. But Kelly was also small enough that he managed to scrape by.

I'm not seeing any magical lesson there for the dogs or dog owners of Kelly, or for those of us outside of Kelly. Further, there were property owners in Kelly who were apparently bothered enough by free ranging dogs to call in the dog catcher. If you look at the total picture, and not just Merle, the lesson of Merle's Door is thus hard to see. Merle was a stable dog, probably partly because of his breed as much as his upbringing. Labs and retrievers aren't very territorial, and are bred to be social around a "camp". The open door policy that worked so well for Merle and the author and sounds so tempting, didn't work so well for all the dogs in Kelly, or for all the people in Kelly. But it probably wouldn't work for all dogs even as well as it worked for Merle, even if they had his genetics. And as you expand in size of towns, you exponentially increase the interactions and the problems. Take the other case of the tiny village in France who also had very social free roaming dogs. The author makes friends with the "mayor" dog of that town and compares him to Merle and uses him as a similar object lesson and example. Yet when he goes back, that dog is no longer there. We don't know his fate. The author doesn't seek to find out his fate. He's only used as an example when he fits the premise the author is painting -- when that dog disappears, the author uses the next dog in that village as a perfect example.

In addition to the risky lessons Merle learns for himself, unsupervised, we also get some rather horrific recountings of the author teaching him not to run cattle. And even more disturbing was the use of the shock collar to teach him not to accept filet mignon handouts from a neighbor who was over feeding him. I won't debate the use of a shock collar, and clearly the author felt it was justified. But the recounting of how he used it for this purpose sickened me.

So Merle's Door inspired a jumble of reactions in me -- humor and sorrow, disgust and at times, sheer disbelief in some of what was purported. At one point the author implies that because Merle eats bits of elk and meat (though he seems to live largely on kibble) he has higher status than other dogs in the village. But that's just the author's impression, and I think, fed a bit by his own ego. My dog is entirely raw fed, prey model fed, no kibble at all, but I wouldn't make that supposition for her. I feed my dog that way for health reasons, I don't get any egoboo out of it. I don't know of any research or science that supports the claim of higher status on prey fed dogs. Those sorts of claims permeate the book and leave me skeptical of all of it, even though I really enjoyed the tale of Merle's life.

But that's Merle's Door, a mixture of dog biography, cherry picked quotes from dog behaviorists, and personal assumptions. It's interesting and at times heart-rending, and sometimes hard slogging through the excessively scholarly parts. It's not one to swallow uncriticaly. But if you can't whole-heartedly love the book, or accept the author's claims without a grain of salt, you can love the dog. As the author did, even if you can't agree or could ever follow his methods of caring for him. Or believe there are any great lessons there for other dog owners. As a dog biography, it works for me. The lessons were harder for me to divine. And because of that, I give it 3 1/2 stars.

Explosively Superb!, September 10, 2007
This book was UNBELIEVABLE. This was quite possibly the best book I have ever read. It was so intelligent, interesting, well written, suspenseful, insightful, heart rending and hilarious. I was up half the night AFTER I finished it contemplating its many facets. I cannot recommend this enough. Make no mistake, this is a story of deep, life changing friendship that few, if any, of us ever experience in our lives with anybody. It is a love story, and a tale of life's deepest lessons, told with such flair you cannot stop reading. Ted Kerasote is a man I would really like to meet. He is insightful and above all one of the most compassionate people I have ever read about. And what a life, full of excitement and adventure, and Merle is along for every experience, contributing his unique input at every opportunity.

I also admire a tale about letting your dog be a DOG and not treating it like a stuffed animal....i.e. carrying it around in a pocketbook like a fashion accessory. I only wish I could provide my dogs with a mountain range teeming with wildlife and a town full of other friendly people and dogs to romp with off leash.

I was literally sobbing at the end, and I felt this book opened my eyes in the sense that it brings home a point we all know but seldom think about. Life is so, so short for all of us, and if we pay attention, we can make sure our time on this earth is filled with happiness, earth shattering love, beauty, peace, and deep meaning if we let it.

View from near by, July 14, 2007
Kerasote's writing is exquisite, the story poignant and Merle was a great dog. I would guess that somebody will fault the book for being too anthropomorphic, but I'd suggest that those folks get a dog and make him or her part of their lives and see if it doesn't all make more sense, then.

I live just across the Jackson Hole valley from Kelly, the hamlet where Merle was mayor. I know a few of the people who pass through the book's pages (although I've never crossed paths with Kerasote). The detail and depth of the author's description of the physical environment in which he lived with Merle is a great delight, too, and adds another good reason to spend some time with the book.

Magnificent, December 6, 2007
I am a bit surprised by some of the negative reviews of this book, especially the chap that suggested that you "skip this book." If you skip it you will have missed a gem. It is not a dog training book or a "treatise on animal behavior" as someone suggested. It is the telling of a thirteen year relationship between a man and a dog and the life that they shared together. The author intersperses the narrative with research that support his observations over the years. He makes no attempt to state that his research and conclusions are absolute or scientific findings;just the results of asking questions and having a curious mind. You will laugh, you will cry and you will be left with a special feeling of being allowed to vicariously share the life of Ted and Merle. Anyone who has loved and lost a great, special dog will understand and cherish the book.

Read This Book, June 18, 2007
This book is superb. The writing is flawless, the information is solid and the story is powerful. It is funny, unselfconsciously honest and touching, but never maudlin. I didn't want this book end.

Amazing, July 20, 2007
I really like biographies: Potter's Nimitz, Edmund Morris's The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt and Theodore Rex, William Manchester's MacArthur. Ted Kerasote has written my favorite so far. Merle's Door is a brilliantly written biography of someone I'd never heard of, the author's best friend, a Lab mix dog who found him on a trip in the American wilderness. In this book, we are privy to a wonderful lifetime relationship between the author and Merle, the Freethinking Dog from the point of view of both. Kerasote, like T. Roosevelt, is an informed naturalist who has a reverence for our beautiful world and a keen desire to understand it. Dog books generally pull heartstrings. So true in Merle's Door but Kerasote very effectively touches both the reader's heart and brain. Ted Kerasote in this book recalls conversations between his dog and him, translating for us Merle's part. This is not Lady and the Tramp. Kerasote peppers throughout the book scientific sources from archeology, anthropology, psychology, and biology that are clear and as interesting as the love story itself. He challenges in a convincing way conventional thinking about and practice of keeping dogs. I think anyone who has ever loved a dog who reads this book will feel validated concerning conversations (two-way) they have had with their own dogs. For some people, this biography will likely serve as a self-help relationship type of book (watch out Dr. Phil). I truly enjoyed this book.

Insight not found in other "dog" books, August 7, 2007
Ted Kerasote, in his moving novel, "Merle's Door", allows us a window into the mind and soul of his companion of 13 years, Merle. Merle enjoys the freedom that few dogs ever have, and in his stunning masterpiece, Kerasote manages to let us really "see" and feel the emotions that Merle is feeling. This book is special because Kerasote, due to the geographic location in which he makes his home, is able to provide Merle with the freedom and decision-making capabilities that are not part and parcel of the life of most American dogs who live in an urban setting.

Those of us who have opened our hearts and our homes to these precious family members, will relate to the deep love and compansionship that develops between Merle and Ted. Although our dogs may not have been privy to the many adventures that Ted and Merle shared, they are no less loved.

This book is a treasure, and everyone who loves dogs should own a copy. It's a book that I have no doubt that I will re-read in the future. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Paper-folding fun every day from "Origami Swami" Margaret Van Sicklen, author of The Joy of Origami. Includes detailed instructions and illustrations for hundreds of models; the perfectly square, colorful patterned pages double as folding paper. The only calendar endorsed by Origami USA.
... Read more

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

It’s the classic, world’s bestselling paper airplane book, grounded in the aerodynamics of paper and abounding with fun. The World Record Paper Airplane Book raises paper airplane making to a unique, unexpected art. This new edition boasts four brand-new models: Stiletto, Spitfire, Galactica, and Sting Ray. Added to its hangar of proven fliers—including Valkyrie, Hammerhead, Vortex, Condor, Pterodactyl, and, of course, the famous World Record Paper Airplane—that makes twenty airworthy designs. Each is swathed in all-new, attention-grabbing graphics and is ready to tear out, fold, and fly. There are at least five models for each design and all-important instructions for how to adjust and throw each plane for best flight.

But the planes are just the beginning. The book features tons of cool information on aerodynamics, competitions, and designing your own high-performing models. Readers will learn why paper airplanes fly (and why they crash), the history of Ken Blackburn’s world record, and how to organize and win contests. Also included is a flight log and pull-out runway for practicing accuracy. ... Read more

Editorial Review

FABULOUS PARTIES MADE EASY THANKS TO TRADER JOE'S®

It's a snap to make your next party a hit! One quick stop at your local Trader Joe's and you'll have everything you need to make the mouth-watering, crowd-pleasing recipes in this book.The I ♥ Trader Joe's® Party Cookbook serves up over 150 delicious treats and 28 fantastic party ideas, including:

• BAKED GINGER-BOURBON PEARS

  to welcome New Year's Day in style

• STUFFED SUBS

  to kick off your Super Bowl bash

• TROPICAL HURRICANES

  for a wild and fun Mardi Gras

• CIDER-GLAZED CORNED BEEF & CABBAGE

  for an extra-lucky St. Patrick's Day

• POMEGRANARITAS

  to put the fiesta in your Cinco de Mayo

• PORK WITH MUSTARD CRÈME SAUCE

  for a très bonne French Fête

• MOJITO FRUIT SALAD

  for a refreshing Mother's Day brunch

• TORTA DELLA NONNA

  to give your Sicilian Idyll that homemade touch

• BUTTERNUT SQUASH & GREEN BEAN CURRY

  to spice up your Passage to India dinner

• CRANBERRY-GINGER PINOT NOIR SAUCE

  for a bright and festive Thanksgiving feast

TRADER JOE'S® is a registered trade mark of Trader Joe's®Company and is used here for informational purposes only. This book is independently authored and published and is not sponsored or endorsed by, or affiliated in any way with, Trader Joe's®Company.

About the Author

Cherie Mercer Twohy received her Professional Culinary Arts diploma from the California School of Culinary Arts. She has received instruction at the renowned Culinary Institute of America Greystone campus in the Napa Valley. Twohy is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and recently joined Julia Child and Jacques Pépin as a Certified Culinary Professional. ... Read more

Reviews

Quick,Tasty Entertaining, November 1, 2010
Received the book this morning and have already prepared a soup and sandwich combo. Modified the "Good Luck Greens and Beans" into a soup by adding chicken stock and a little Parmesan. Could not resist the
"Croque Monsieur". Both were easy and very tasty just like the previous book's offerings.The I Love Trader Joe's Cookbook: 150 Delicious Recipes Using Only Foods from the World's Greatest Grocery Store Reading the recipes is like being in class...you can just hear her talking. Funny, informative and helpful regarding TJ's products; things in the pantry and, more importantly, what to hoard. I recommend this for newbies and established cooks. We can all use a fresh suggestion or shake up the rut we sometimes get into. This will make perfect Christmas/Holiday gifts for all. The photography is beautiful but I'm sure there will be some who think there is not enough of it. My original book is dog-eared; to me a sign of being well loved. It won't take long for this one to become the same!
Now, where's my Guinness for those cupcakes.....?

Partying With Trader Joe's, November 29, 2010
Cherie Twohy has done it again with her second book, "The I Love Trader Joe's Party Cookbook"!!!!! Now that my copy of her first TJ's masterpiece is dog-eared and stained, I am thrilled to start creating this mouth-watering collection of new recipes! Cowgirl Caviar, the fresh-taste-explosion concoction (consisting of black beans, black-eyed peas, cherry tomatoes, cilantro and other swoon-worthy ingredients) on p. 14 is a recipe to commit to memory, right away. Ditto the Penne de Pistache, Blood Orange & Almond Salad, the Wasabi Deviled Eggs, and the Simple, Slurpable Pumpkin Soup. As if this is not enough to make you run to the Borders near you (or Amazon.com), the inclusion of the perfect signature cocktail for every occasion makes this book an essential for every party host - Pomegranaritas......Tangerinis......Italian Lemon Drop.....Mom-Osa's for Mother's day -- you get my drift. I also love the "Grab & Go" Section after each party menu, featuring Trader Joe's items that don't need preparation -- does it get any easier? I credit Cherie Twohy's first 2 books with getting me back in my kitchen again -- the recipes are simple to prepare, yet always illicit "ooh's" and "aah's". The first "I Love Trader Joe's Cookbook" took care of my entire Xmas list last year -- and this year's volume will do the same!

Party EVERY day!, November 14, 2010
I had pre-ordered the "party edition" after my love for the original I Love Trader Joe's cookbook and I was excited that it arrived before the peak of the party season. Much to my delight, the "party edition" will not just help me in the next few months, but for the entire YEAR!! I am hoping to be able to WAIT until each month rolls around to make the holiday selections, but probably not!! I am truly inspired by these recipe selections. THANKS!!

Great Recipes. Already using it!, November 14, 2010
Just got the book yesterday (signed by author, thank you)and making the Pork with mustard creme sauce for dinner tonight and the turkey sliders on Tuesday. Great recipes, don't have to wait for a party to try them. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Ever since they sauntered into the public eye sporting stylish high-top sneakers, Kliban's cats have continued to carve their marks on the scratching post of posterity. Inspired by the antics of his own four felines, B. 'Hap' Kliban (1935-1990) began drawing cat cartoons in the early 1970s and soon developed a legion of fans. Today his striped scamps continue to elicit smiles. Whether they're skating, swimming, or serenading you by moonlight, Cat and company will keep you purring throughout 2011.

Size: 12 x 13 in.; opens to 12 x 26 in. Printed on FSC certified paper with soy-based ink. See also the Kliban CatCalendar engagement, mini wall, 365-day, postcard, and coloring calendars published by Pomegranate. ... Read more

Reviews

BIG FAN, December 4, 2010
I used to have most of B Kliban's little books (lost in moves, etc.). Great to find some of his work still available! My fave was always the cat who looked like a meatloaf. Actually, I now have a cat who looks like a meatloaf! Thanks, B.

A Calendar Constant, November 6, 2010

How long have Cat Calendars been around? A long, long time. Ask my kids, all grown and spread across the world. We've had one every year. There is one constant on Christmas morning and one constant when you walk into any of their houses. The Cat Calendar. Said one son, "You can count on Mom. We always get a Cat Calendar."
Keep 'em coming!
... Read more

Editorial Review

Amazon.com ReviewProduct Description
In no other period of our country's history has the food scene changed so rapidly. Exciting new ingredients are available everywhere, expanding our culinary horizons. Even casual meals have globe-trotting flavors. We want memorable dishes, and we want them to be healthy for our families and our planet. And with our busy schedules, we want them on the table faster than ever. A new culinary world calls for a new cookbook. Gourmet Today responds to our changing foodscape with more vegetarian recipes, more recipes for popular dishes from every corner of the world, more recipes for stunning meals ready in 30 minutes or less, more simple ways to prepare all the vegetables in the farmers' market, advice on choosing sustainable fish, chicken, and beef, tips on throwing an easy cocktail party, more recipes for flavorful techniques like grilling, and more recipes for the new ingredients flooding our market.

Each of the over 1,000 recipes was selected by editor in chief Ruth Reichl, a best-selling author in her own right, who wrote the introductions to each chapter. Every recipe has been tested and cross-tested in the Gourmet test kitchen so every cook, whether a first-timer or a veteran, gets impeccable results. With menus for holidays and other seasonal occasions, an authoritative glossary of ingredients (plus mail-order sources), and hundreds of sidebars on ingredients and handy techniques from the test kitchen, Gourmet Today is the indispensable book for today's cook.

Amazon Exclusive: A Letter from Ruth Reichl

These days you hear a lot of gloom and doom about the state of American food. It's certainly true that if you want to focus on the negative, there's a lot to despair about.

On the other hand, the opposite is also true.I wrote my first cookbook in 1971, and when I see the difference between what was available then and the food that now fills my supermarket, it makes me want to go dancing down the aisles.

Back then things were so different that my editor insisted that I call for ground beef instead of lamb in a classic Greek moussaka; she said not many grocers actually sold lamb. She also worried about the recipe for handmade pasta (too esoteric) and a simple Chinese stir-fry of chicken (what on earth was a wok). She worried when I called for freshly grated Parmesan cheese (most people still used the stuff that came in the green can), fresh garlic (frowned upon in many places) and chiles (too hot, too hot, too hot).

What a difference a few years make!The American supermarket has turned into an international bazaar, offering us all the best flavors of the world. Whether you want to cook the foods of Asia, the Americas, India or Europe, the ingredients are there. And that's only part of the good news; the other is that the era of mindless eating is over. Good cooks everywhere are now aware of the consequences of their choices, and when they walk through the aisles, they think about sustainability.

It's a wonderful time for people who care about food.But it requires a new kind of cookbook, one that takes advantage of the great modern marketplace. Gourmet's twelve test cooks spent five years exploring all the new ingredients available in the supermarkets--from frozen pizza dough to Thai chili pastes and eggroll wrappers--figuring out the best ways to use them. They haunted farmers markets too, so we could offer advice on cooking everything from ramps to celery root. They spent time in fish markets, snapping up new offerings like Arctic char and tilapia. Then they cooked each dish again and again and again, taking out unnecessary steps and ensuring that each was absolutely foolproof.The result is more than a thousand recipes that are absolutely guaranteed to work.I couldn't live without this book.I love cooking from it.I hope you will too.

Best wishes,

Ruth Reichl

(Photo © Brigitte Lacombe)

Recipe Excerpts from Gourmet Today

• Raspberry Lime Rickey
• Grilled Ceasar Salad
• Grilled Cumin Chicken Breasts with Avocado Salsa
• Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

Reviews

Great content; Binding breaking but publisher quickly resolved issue, September 13, 2009
I got this book last week and have had it on the table, flipping through it and reading it all weekend. The recipes look great, they really do, contemporary and tasty, and I can't wait to try them. I doubt this book will hold up for cooking, though, because the binding is already breaking and those cute little green ribbon bookmarks popped out immediately. At over a thousand pages, this book should have a heavy-duty binding, and it doesn't. I think Houghton Miflin should have published it in two volumes to be more manageable and should have used much higher quality binding and materials. I would be willing to pay more for a book like that that would last. Addendum: WOW--these comments do get noticed! The publisher of this book contacted me and is sending me a new one. They were very apologetic and concerned and said that since I got an early run of the book, that might have explained the poor binding. I was very impressed with their response and how quickly they worked to resolve the problem--the true mark of quality customer service. I'd now give it five stars, but the app doesn't want to let me do that.

First, braised rabbit, then the world!, September 30, 2009
I had never made rabbit before last week. Not once, until a good, good friend gave me Gourmet Today. I meandered through it, loitering at the recipes that especially caught my eye, which many did, including one for rabbit braised in red wine. It reminded me of a French dish I love in which chicken and shallots are simmered for about an hour in red wine and vinegar, so I figured I'd try this similar approach to rabbit. It was better than the chicken, better than I ever hoped! The wine really deepened the flavor of the rabbit and it was so incredibly tender. And it was really easy, I actually made this after getting from home work on a weekday, and it is one of the best meals I've had in months. I took the book's suggestion and made buttered polenta to go with it, which was a great pairing.

This book is just wonderful! The only problem might be that there are too many recipes; I doubt I'll get through them all. I'm trying though. I've only had this for a week and I've already made the rabbit, weiner schnitzel (it's Oktoberfest time, after all, I should have appropriate food to go with my festbier), delicious cornmeal sugar cookies, and the grilled cumin chicken breasts with avocado salad. All great, and surprisingly easy. Last night some friends came over, including a couple vegetarians, so I made the asparagus with roasted potatoes and fried eggs (they weren't vegans!), plus I tweaked the red leaf lettuce salad a bit based on what I had on hand. These friends were also huge Mad Men fans, so I made Old Fashioneds and vodka Gimlets from the cocktail section. It was a good time, and it gave me an excuse to roast potatoes, as if I ever need one. The fried egg add-on was something I hadn't thought of doing, but it was a great idea.

A lot of the recipes seem very adaptable, which is a necessity for someone like me who always forgets a couple things when I'm grocery shopping. There's a great range of quick dishes and more involved and time-consuming recipes. So it's really useful for weekday meals as well as recipes for the weekend or when company is over.

The recipes also range widely as far as what ingredients are used. There are a lot of opportunities to use exotic seasons and ingredients, but also plenty where I can rely on what I have already on hand (as far as pantry items).

This is a really great book. If I had paid for it, I would say it's paid for itself already by getting me to stay in and cook better food than if I'd gone to a restaurant. I just hope I don't get too many food stains on it.

The Gourmet Locavore: The Go To Cookbook, October 20, 2009
Five Stars- 4 stars error

I heard Ruth Reichl speaking with Terry Gross on 'Fresh Air' while I was on a long drive home. She was scheduled to discuss her new cookbook and, oh, by the way, Conde Nast had just shut down the publication of 'Gourmet' magazine. A shocker to all and none more than Ruth Reichl- she had not seen this coming at all. In her grief, she was able to provide a marvelous romp through this new cookbook plus she was able to tell wonderful stories that go with food. The minute she started describing her two 'go to' dinner dishes, the meals that she could prepare in a hurry, I was more than hooked. I wanted to get out of my car and buy the cookbook immediately. I did buy it via Amazon,, and it is a beauty!

A 1008 page cookbook with a the most luscious green cover. Her cookbook from ten years ago is yellow and this compliments that book well. Besides this cookbook is a greening up of America, and the color is just perfect. Grant you, this cookbook is large, over 1,000 recipes. A little intimidating to be sure, but a cursory glance through the book quickly convinced me that this is the 'Go To Cookbook'. One of the ironic by products of this cookbook is that a one year subscription to 'Gourmet' is included on the flyleaf.

The cookbook is well designed and the lay out is perfect. The table of contents is two pages. From drinks, hor d'oeuvres, soups, salads, pastas, grains,vegetarian main courses, fish, poultry, meats, grilled dishes, vegetables, breakfast and breads, cookies and bars, pies, tarts. and pastries, fruit desserts, puddings, custards, frozen desserts, menus, tips and techniques, glossary, sources, and index. Did she leave anything out? It will take me years to find out for sure!

Ruth talked about her son who had gone to college, and after his first meal in the cafeteria decided to cook his own meals. Ruth went shopping with him one day and discovered the world was much different now. We have more fresh foods, we want fresh foods, some prepared foods, ethnic foods, fun foods, the world was out there for her son to discover. She realized that she needed to write a new cookbook, and thus this 'go to cookbook' was born. The chapter on drinks surprised me, but what a wonderful surprise. All drinks wise and wonderful. The drinks, vegetarian main meals and grilled dishes are new entrants into this book. The combination of all of these foods, plus menu planning and party ideas is a boost. This is a cookbook for a cook- a new cook, a cook with many years and the ultimate chef. Everyone can benefit from this cookbook. It is a must for every kitchen.

The green ribbon place finder is a wonderful surprise and right now it is on the page of my first recipe. Spiced Chicken on page 397. This could be one of the best chicken recipes I have ever had, and one of the easiest to prepare. The combination of spices and the chicken are yum, yum, finger licking, really. And, she gives us a hint of what to serve with it, and how to make a sauce. Really, everyone, you must try this chicken, I mean it!

'Gourmet Today' has found a place of honor in my kitchen, and I read a chapter or two a day. Cookbooks are for reading and they are one of my favorite books. I love this book.

Highly Recommended. prisrob 10-20-09


Not Becoming My Mother: and Other Things She Taught Me Along the Way

Comfort Me with Apples: More Adventures at the Table

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise

The Gourmet Cookbook: More than 1000 recipes

Outstanding, exceptional...a truly wonderful wonderful cookbook, November 22, 2009
Gourmet Today is a really spectacular cookbook. In the intro they (she...R Reichl and crew) state that bascially the American food culture has changed significantly ("sales of salsa now top out catsup....") as has the American lifestyle, with more demands on people's time coupled with a greater interest in eating well, and eating better, healthier food. So in Gourmet Today they strive to provide a cookbook that addresses this. I think they do a fantastic job in their effort. I have a truly huge (nearly 300) and very well used cookbook collection and I do not offer my praise of this one lightly. They have presented a broad, diverse collection of recipes with extraordinary finesse. I only buy new cookbooks that have recipes that fascinate and intrigue me and maybe go beyond what I have. Was going to pass on this one at Costco (folks, it is 21.95 there!) but started reading it and couldn't put it down. Got it home and have been enjoying it now for several weeks both to cook from and to read.

I have the first Gourmet cookbook; I like it well enough and refer to it fairly often, but in my estimation, this one is way better. I will not belabor the various sections, which are pretty standard and listed in detail by another 5* reviewer. But I will say there is something for everyone. It has great recipes for the familiar including tuna noodle casserole, a fantastic recipe for turkey meatballs w/spaghetti from Lidia Bastianich, and simply a myriad of other favorite salads, soups, sides and mains. But there are also some fantastic yet accessible recipes for that go beyond: turkey tonnato (yep, a turkey version of the infamously elegant veal tonnato, making it more affordable,healthier, easier to get than veal, and also more ecoloigical and a tad more compassionate), salmon cannelloni with lemon cream sauce (you make the fresh crespelle for the cannelloni..but it is still elegant and simple); some fantastic vegetarian recipes that are very well presented including an excellent tempeh burger, and my favorite for the moment - Afghani scallion dumplings with yogurt and meat sauces (folks, the most exotic ingredient in this charmer is wonton wrappers), mushroom tamales, roasted vegetable panzanella and much more. I could go on, but I hope this gives a sense of some of the interesting contents. There are really well-selected recipes from at least 6 major cultural groups (sorry to group some of these together but for expediency...): India, Asian, Latin American, Middle Eastern, African, Euro-Mediterranean along with classic American. Great preparation tips and hints. There is an assumption that you might be entertaining or prepping ahead so there are tips for that as well as a healthy batch of both alcoholic and non-alcohlic beverage recipes; good section on grilling. Good info on sustainable seafood/fish. There are some excellent bread recipes. There are some good stories that accompany some of the recipes. Excellent collection of vegetable recipes as well as starch/pasta/grains. The desserts are awesome.

I saw somewhere where a reviewer said these recipes were 'dumbed down'. Not at all...but they are expertly conceived and presented making them seem simple or at least accessible. I will absolutely stand by that. The 'ethnic' recipes are brilliant - they have managed to make them both very accessible and authentic. There are recipes that are really simple to assemble and others that are more sophisticated but all, even the more complex ones, seem to have an ease of preparation bacause they are well thought out.

For those who live in really rural areas...might be some ingredients you can't get ( but then, even in small towns there are often "ethnic" groceries that cater to local Mexican and Asian populations...might try there for some ingredients, or mail order.). For those who simply MUST have pictures...this is not the book for you, but it does have stellar graphic design.

i will just restate that this is truly an excellently crafted collection of recipes that will not disappoint. I am amazed with how well thought out it seems to be. While I respect and use some of Mr. Bittman's cookbooks I sometimes feel like he defaults to Asian cooking style/flavors a bit too often; I do not find that at all with the Gourmet Today collection. I do find the collection is what I would call 'well-grounded' which for me means it is food the way real people eat, at home that is and not how they eat at 3 Star restaurants in Napa Valley (yes, we love French Laundry...but who cooks like that at home!).

Probably not for a timid beginning cook, but if you know and like anything about Gourmet Magazine, then this is highly recommended for you. Yes, some of these recipes can be found online or in editions of the magazine; other not. But with Gourmet Mag now sadly defunctified by Conde Nasty, this collection seems somehow even more special. Hope you get it and enjoy reading and using it as much as I have. This is going to stay on my favs shelf. There is PLENTY to explore in this masterpiece.

A Glorious Swan Song of a Book, October 16, 2009
Yes, I'm still in mourning for the death (the stupid, ill-conceived death) of one of the great food magazines in history, so my review is tinged with sorrow and anger...BUT I think you can trust me (I'm a food scholar and happily adventuresome cook of over 30 years) when I say that Gourmet Today is a FANTASTIC cookbook! Yes, many of the recipes are lighter and quicker than "traditional" Gourmet fare, but why not go buy the slightly older "Gourmet Cookbook" (which includes revised recipes from the magazine's sixty years of publication) and have a twosome? I did.

Gourmet Today is simply crammed to the brim with attractive, clever, well-described and executed recipes for nearly everything you could want to cook, with an emphasis on sustainable agriculture, world cuisine, and innovation. The recipes are sensible, understandable, and yet incredibly seductive. Ruth Reichl and her staff have somehow distilled the essence of new American Foodways (which, really, means fusion world cuisine) down to the BEST and most alluring recipes, across the spectrum. I have over 400 cookbooks but I could see myself easily, happily, using just this ONE book for years, if I were stranded on the proverbial deserted island (with a grocery store or internet access ;-). Just now, I was cruising the soup chapter and ran out of bookmarks for soups that take old friend ingredients and combine them in seductive new ways: White Bean and Tuscan Kale Soup with Chestnuts...Roasted Tomato Soup with Parmesan Wafers...Chunky Butternut Squash, White Bean, and Tomato Soup...Tunisian Soup with Egg Noodles and Chard, and it goes on and on. I'm drooling as I write this, in fact.

As to the "ingredients are hard to find" claim, well...perhaps. One doesn't get much more "rural" than my location (I'm outside a small farming town of just 1000 in NW Iowa, in a land where "dinner" means meat and potatoes...the nearest "gourmet" grocery store is a 2.5 hour drive) and yet with some advance planning (we shop at better stores when in Omaha and Des Moines--we hit up Penzey's Spices each time, too-- and freeze what we can), stockpiling (I buy pinon nuts by the five pound box and freeze) and with the incredible ease with which one may order just about any gourmet food item known to womankind, from Amazon (super saver shipping! Free!) or I-gourmet, etc., there' not a recipe in this book that cannot be made. Most don't require anything more than your average "slightly upscale" kitchen/pantry/grocery store, in fact.

By the way, this book comes with a "Bonus Offer" of a year's subscription to Gourmet Magazine. Seeing that made me sad all over again. So,I called the subscription service number listed at the Gourmet website and found out that one does NOT have to accept a substitute subscription to Bon Appetit, but may instead request a check for the $12 cost of an intial Gourmet subscription. Should this actually go through and work out, you just saved another twelve bucks off the cost of this book, so what's YOUR excuse for not buying it this instant? Cheers!

Fabulous Book!!!, October 7, 2009
I live in India, and received the book a week back. The vegetarian and grilling sections are amazing, really extensive and different from other cookbooks that I own. I especially liked the quick puff pastry recipe, that was easy to make, (we don't get puff pastry in the supermarkets in India), and tasted very authentic! Also, the Indian inspired recipes are surprisingly like the real stuff!

A worthwhile book, October 6, 2009
I too received a copy of Gourmet that didn't stand up to the binding. I wrote to Gourmet and they passed my letter onto the publishers. I immediately heard from them and they replaced my copy. I have tested the binding on my new copy and it strong and will most certainly hold up to use. The pages stay open which means I can easily use it on my kitchen counter.

Im a prolific collector of cookbooks and when I first received my copy (for a gift) I was surprised to see no pictures and wondered whether I would actually meander through the book. I read the first few pages and was hooked. Every page holds a treasury of delights. I feel like a kid in a candy store! I love the blurb before each recipe. I am drawn into the recipes and feel like Gourmet is entertaining me in their kitchen.

This is wonderful value for money and a must for anyone who loves cooking.

Love the new Gourmet!, September 28, 2009
I was dying to get a copy of the new Gourmet - I'm a huge fan of the earlier version, and have made many many favorite dishes from it that are real crowd pleasers. The new Gourmet is the right mix of practical every day recipes with wonderful occasion dishes. I was truly delighted to see recipes like white gazpacho, ricotta dumplings (gnudi), and apple pizza (desert!). I was also happy to see the inclusion of more fun, less traditional dishes, healthier recipes, a big section on vegetables with an expansive variety of veg covered, and a great soup section. In general I think the book lives up to its 'contemporary kitchen' claim, and I was very pleased by the steady infusion of international recipes. As in the previous version, the sidebars impart hugely valuable information. Finally, with regards to the comment about the book binding - perhaps it was one bad apple? From a construction perspective the book seems of a similar good, strong quality to the previous Gourmet - a book I have heartily abused for several years now, yet is absolutely fine.

As the best cookbook we've bought in 10 years, it will become a standard in our kitchen, November 20, 2009
This book, discounted as it is, is an absolutely SPECTACULAR deal.

We have tried several recipes - all perfected in the experimental kitchens of the sadly defunct Gourmet Magazine - and they have all been distinctive, relatively simple in terms of technique, and written with perfect economy and clarity. Each recipe we have tested are based on newly available ingredients in common grocery stores, and they add just that little twist of new flavor and combination to many standard recipes. Unlike the rather banal standards or overly complex yupped-up offerings in New Basics (excellent but you need about 40 recondite ingredients that you may never use for anything else), these recipes are accessible to busy parents who want to offer more than chicken nuggets every other night.

I am convinced that we will plumb the depths of this masterpiece over the next ten years - adding many standards to our cooking repertoire and educating the palettes of our children. We have looked for a cook book this excellent, with a density of ideas and step-by-step instructions for even novices, for several years; indeed, we have spent a lot of money in the process! This one is it, at long last.

Warmly recommended. It is a testament to the great mag that spawned it.

Innovative update, November 5, 2009
Despite the demise of cosmopolitan Gourmet magazine, its comprehensive updated namesake tome is likely to be this season's blockbuster.

Designed for the new American cook - accustomed to a variety of choices in the supermarket hardly conceivable even a decade ago, from Arborio and Basmati rice to chayote and edamame - this 1,000-page volume (with 1,000 recipes) caters to health-conscious, environmentally savvy cooks who, while always pressed for time, love to eat and entertain.

Gourmet's editor and former New York Times food writer Reichl (and her team) put a lot of effort up front in splashy drinks and sophisticated openers. If the hors d'oeuvres and dessert are fabulous, "the middle will pretty much take care of itself."

Hence homemade Samosas, Korean Pancakes, Oysters with Champagne Vinegar Mignonette, Terrine de Campagne (French pork p�t�), Vietnamese Summer Rolls.

And for dessert, well, how about six chapters, comprising almost 200 pages? Traditional cookies, cakes, pies, fruit desserts, puddings and frozen desserts as well as modern twists like Lemon Cakes with Basil Lemon Syrup, Ginger Fruit Salad, Espresso and Mascarpone Icebox Cake.

In between? Balsamic-Glazed Pork Chops, South Indian Shrimp Curry, Orecchiette with Rabbit Ragu, Lobster Cantonese, Crawfish Etoufee. Most of these take 45 minutes or less. And Reichl includes plenty of homey familiar things too - Browned Onion Kugel, Garlic Shrimp, Bean Burritos, Fresh Corn Spoon Bread.

There's a comprehensive vegetarian chapter (Fennel, Taleggio, and Cardamom Tart, Mixed Mushroom Tamales), a chapter of grilled dishes and 85 pages of vegetables, A to Z.

The book concludes with some handy appendices - a Menu chapter that encompasses weeknights by season, holiday menus, party menus, international menus; a few pages of tips and techniques; a glossary; list of sources, and a very thorough index.

Each recipe includes prep times and head notes providing tips or background on the recipe. This is a must-have for anyone who enjoys cooking - or eating. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Do you know how to make something that can tell whether the $20 bill in your wallet is a fake? Or how to generate battery power with simple household items? Or how to create your own home security system?Science-savvy author cy Tymony does. And now you can learn how to create these things - and more than 40 other handy gadgets and gizmos - in Sneaky Uses For Everyday Things. More than a simple do-it-yourself guide, this quirky collection is a valuable resource for transforming ordinary objects into the extraordinary. With over 80 solutions and bonus applications at your disposal, you will be ready for almost any situation. Included are survival, security, self-defense, and silly applications that are just plain fun. You'll be seen as a superhero as you amaze your friends by: Transforming a simple FM radio into a device that enables you to eavesdrop on tower-to-air conversations; Creating your own personalized electronic greeting cards; Making a compact fire extinguisher from items typically found in a kitchen pantry; Thwarting intruders with a single rubber band.By using run-of-the-mill household items and the easy-to-follow instructions and diagrams within, you'll be able to complete most projects in just a few minutes. Whether you use Sneaky Uses For Everyday Things as a practical tool to build useful devices, a fun little fantasy escape, or as a trivia guide to impress friends and family, this book is sure to be a reference favorite for years to come. ... Read more

Reviews

Be a hero to your kid / Do things on the cheap, November 10, 2006
This book isn't / doesn't include 1500 uses for vinegar or how toothpaste gets rid of pimples.

Nope, this book and it's sequel (Sneakier Uses ... ) is chock full of simple gadgets and science experiments you can build in your home using coins, magnets, leaves, etc. Any boy and a lot of girls would love to spend time with a parent, uncle/aunt or godparent putting this Spy Stuff/Survival Equipment/Home Security Systems together.

Included are sneaky sources of power (a battery using coins or fruit); how to scavenge wire (to connect your sneaky battery to something); how to use Mother Nature to help you survive in the wilderness; build radios, amplifiers and wireless microphones (baby monitor?); lights, alarms, telescope. There is also a "Green Lantern" magic ring to control the objects you make.

So let's see: Build useful stuff for the home, office, outdoors; spend time with your kids; teach them some science, creativity, frugality, recycling, how to protect themselves, how to survive. That makes this quite a full package.

When I let one youngster read the table of contents it elicited a series of "ooo's" from him. But you can judge for yourself by using the "Search Inside" feature above.

Just the entry on making your own form-fitting ice pack to place on your strains and sprains makes it worth the price!

As for some previous comments, they are cynical and have no soul and no imagination. They knock the book as nothing more than common sense. I'd like to have seen one make a radio from a toilet paper roll and a penny with no directions, just common sense. I've got a fairly broad science background and it wouldn't occur to me, particularly not in a pinch of, say, no electricity due to approaching hurricane and I want to hear the warning broadcast. Using a plastic bag and plants to get drinking water is common sense? As for web sites, who is going to think: "Gee, I need to fix the chip in this picture frame. I've got some milk. Maybe I can log on and find a web site that will tell me how to make a maleable plastic compound out of milk." Common sense just isn't all that common, anyway.

Compeletely useless, June 9, 2005
With maybe the exception of 5 year olds, this "book" is completely useless. I've had it for 20 minutes and its going in the garbage. Nothing inside this "book" isn't plain ol' common sense. Some of the highlights of this book are:

Using Ordinary Objects as Sneaky Weapons - You can throw coins at an assailant to "stun and throw him or her off balance." Yeah right, that'll work!

Sneaky Wire Sources Are Everywhere - Big surprise, you can use tin foil and speaker wire as spare wire.

Make a Portable Light - Tape a flashlight light bulb to a battery. Wow, that's amazing!

And the most amazing part of the "book":
Capture Break ins On Film - Great project if you don't mind having a large eye sore built next to your door, and the burglar is too dumb to take the disposable camera with him after his picture has been taken.

This is my first time writing a review for anything, but I felt I had for this "book" because its so ridiculous. Even the couple useful things like turning milk into plastic can be found on the web. Obviously the author made up most of this stuff off the top of his head, or found a couple useful things on the web and published it as a "book".

A little silly, but fun, November 18, 2006
This book is a sort of training manual for MacGyver wannabes. It's a collection of low-tech, cheap little projects that one can do in order to simulate "real" technology. You could certainly use some of these in an emergency, which is what the author suggests, but that's not really the point of the book in my view.

The real use would be for kids-- or, even better, kids and parents-- who want to mess around with some every day items in ways they haven't previously, have some fun, and enjoy some "Wow! Look at that!" moments. Had the author designed the book explicitly for that purpose, many of the negative reviews here wouldn't have been written.

So, the book is both pretty silly and enjoyable, but it's not any sort of survival manual. A word of advice: Avoid the sequel; the author used all of his good ideas in this volume.

Silly Rabbit! This book is for kids!, September 25, 2008
Just in case you didn't understand, let me say at the outset, this book was written and is obviously intended for kids. Boys, most likely, and under the age of 10 or 11 is about right.

For THAT audience, this book is actually quite interesting. If you have a Ph.D. in physics, don't buy it. And if you considered the idea, how did you get that Ph.D., again?

Not to be a smarty, or anything, but I'm really surprised at readers trashing this book because it's not useful. The book is meant to put kids into the discovery mode, to see capabilities in things they might not otherwise have seen, to think outside the box, as it were.

And while not all the suggestions here provide the least bit of interest to an adult, I have to wonder why anyone would have bought this book expecting to get a Master's Degree in Science from it. Geez, the title alone is a dead giveaway.

If this book were published by Brown Paper School, a la The Book of Think: Or, How to Solve a Problem Twice Your Size, it would have five stars from everyone. And apart from the marketing, which should put "for kids" or something like on the cover, the book deserves 5 stars.

Personally, while I've no intention of running the experiment, I found it interesting to read about how to extract drinking water from a plant. Remember, "you can survive a month without food, but only a few days without water."

And for curious kids at least, this book is akin to water.

Ranges from Rube Goldberg to Practical in Nature, Especially for Science Projects, September 8, 2006


This small book assembles a considerable range of content. Some of the devices proposed to be constructed (as, for example, a contraption that would photograph an entering burglar) seem so farfetched as to belong to the realm of Rube Goldberg. Others are quite practical. For example, there are simple, helpful tips for foiling intruders and for hiding valuables in homemade safes. A procedure is given for the manual rewinding of cassettes and VCRs. There is a section on survival techniques in the wild. This includes ways of starting a fire, including the use of a sparking arc from an automobile battery.

As a science teacher, I especially appreciate the ideas that can be readily converted into science projects. There are, for example, several different ways that batteries can be made from homemade materials. A homemade telescope can be built. There are various activities that manipulate everyday electronics. There is, for instance, an interesting entry on the modification of an everyday radio so that one can eavesdrop on aircraft pilots' conversations.

Finally, the end of a book contains a list of helpful websites, and books, for further reading.

More for kids, January 5, 2007
The theme of this book is more for kids with nothing to do and have a little MacGyver in them. Not a bad bathroom read, but I don't really see myself ever using more than one or two of the projects described in the book. The theme is more for sneaking around which may be better for child thieves than survival tips.

Not worth it, February 16, 2006
I bought the book for $3 and it may have been too much. If you were awake during 3rd grade science class you have already seen these "sneaky" things. Most of it is common sense, for instance, this gem:

Use ordinary objects as "sneaky" weapons:

You can throw a handful of coins at an attacker's face to stun and throw him or her off balance.

And believe it or not they have an illustration (see figure 1) just in case you forgot how to throw a handful of coins. What a magnificent "sneaky" weapon.

Clever uses for everyday things, March 14, 2006
This is an interesting set of ideas on how to make things with common everyday items; things we would never just think of. Few have an practical applications but they still provide an outlet for imagination and creativity.

must like stores like radio shack, June 15, 2007
This book describes how to make gadgets. If you already know about electricity and magnetism and basic physical science, buy this book and impress your young cousins/nephews/ nieces. there is survival stuff like collecting water from plants, safety stuff like making a fire extinguisher, and cool stuff like building a magnetic ring or wand to do things (hence the radio shack title).

Also a good purchase for budding mad scientist and science teacher.

Greasy Kids' Stuff, March 9, 2007
Color me disappointed. This would be a fun book for pre-teens to early teens, but the Make magazine / Burning Man crowd should stay away. Anyone with a basic grasp of physics or electronics probably won't find much to astound or amaze here. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Whether your home is small or large, an apartment in the city or a country cottage, it is a space that should be at once beautiful and livable. The key to that is managing the upkeep without feeling flustered. Until now, there has never been a comprehensive resource that not only tells how to care for your home and everything in it, but that also simplifies the process by explaining just when. With secrets from Martha Stewart for accomplishing the most challenging homekeeping tasks with ease, this detailed and comprehensive book is the only one you will need to help you keep your home looking its best, floor to ceiling, room by room.

In Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook, Martha shares her unparalleled expertise in home maintenance and care. Readable and practical–and graced with charts, sidebars, illustrated techniques, and personal
anecdotes from Martha’s decades of experience caring for her homes–this is far more than just a compendium of ways to keep your house clean. It covers everything from properly executing a living room floor plan to setting a formal table; from choosing HEPA filters to sealing soapstone countertops; from organizing your home office to polishing your silver and caring for family heirlooms.

Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook is organized for clarity and maximum practicality:

Room by Room covers the upkeep of the appliances, tools, furnishings, and surfaces found in each room, from the entryway to the kitchen, from the attic to the laundry room.

Throughout the House instructs the reader on the proper ways to routinely clean and periodically maintain everything in the home, including dusting, sweeping, vacuuming, polishing, scrubbing, waxing and much more.

Comfort and Safety focuses on techniques to ensure your home is running properly and safely, such as recognizing when to clean vents, fixing a leaky faucet, and eradicating pests.

A-to-Z Materials Guide provides an invaluable resource that explains the unusual materials that many favorite objects are made of–from abalone to zinc–
and how to care for them so they last.

Encyclopedic yet friendly, Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook is a seminal work–a must-have for everyone who wants a well-cared-for home that will endure for generations. ... Read more

Reviews

Big book to a clean house., September 19, 2009
This is a seriously big book. It's well over 700pgs and is filled with every cleaning scenerio imaginable. The only negative I could think of was that some of the more basic infomation about cleaning might just get lost. But Martha Stewart is nothing if not thorough. So, to me, this is a must have in order to get that clean house. I highly recommend this one. I also recommend The Big Clean: How to Clean and Organize Your Home and Free Your Mind (Revised and Updated).

excellent, November 18, 2006
I've been waiting for years for Martha Stewart to write this book and I'm very pleased. It is expansive, tells you plainly what to do and what never to do and it has pictures (granted they are in black and white) rather than tiny artsy line drawings like the Home Comforts book. After reading Homekeeping I have finally discovered the easy way to clean my stove top and their is a noticeable difference in my kitchen. It was clean before but now I think it could pass a restaurant health inspection. I own other house keeping books but this one outclasses them all and I think it's really all a person needs. Thanks Martha.

Time-Saver How-To For Just About Everything..., November 1, 2006
.

There are few items like this one.

It is more or less a home companion on how to clean, maintain, do and repair most every item in your home. There is lots of wisdom like we used to pass down from generation to generation, before people stopped listening and families fragmented.

Newly marrieds, new home owners, kids leaving the nest for the first time to college or to live alone, and those wanting to get organized and stay organzied with their home chores and maintenace, will find this book valuable.

It is more than a reference work, although it certainly is that. I actually have enjoyed browsing through it for fun, not just looking for specific information.

I wish it was in full color, otherwise it is great! It is in Black and white, November 8, 2006
I don't know if budgetary considerations led to a decision to produce a book that is in black and white (without full color photos) but that is my only quibble with the book. I'd have preferred a full color version.
However, for sheer quality and detail about all aspects of housekeeping, this one can't be beat. It is chock full of information about all the vital areas of maintaining a home, including seasonal chores - large and small. You'll learn about which products you can safely use on wood floors, how to clean a room properly, top to bottom..etc.
This is going to be a standard on my reference shelf.

The tricks of Martha's trade :-), November 2, 2006
Be warned! This is a super heavy book (744 pages). It's like an encyclopedia for the home. It's full of helpful advice and it is really interesting.
The topics are broad. There is almost nothing uncovered. She talks about everything from ironing (how to completely, completely dewrinkle - underside of collar, inside of cuffs, inside of sleevefronts, outside of sleeves, outside of cuffs, inside of yolk etc etc), to stain removal (fix it right away - blot and drown the stain in cool water, blot again, more water, blot, etc), removing wax from tablecloths, and on and on. I especially loved reading on how to clear out the nasty smell in the microwave. I never knew what to do to get rid of that (till now).
It's such a helpful book for everyone - I can't imagine that there'd be someone out there who couldn't gain some insight from Martha's tips. It's easy to follow and find what you are after because she has put everything into specific catagories. So go out and get a copy because it's the perfect gift idea for the holiday's and a must for yourself in your home. I love it a lot.

Homekeeping Handbook Wasn't Handy Enough., January 4, 2007
I was excited to recieve this book as a gift, as I enjoy taking care of my home and the things in it. However, I feel like this book went far beyond the scope of practical housekeeping. It has gotten good reviews on Amazon, but it is about 500 pages too long for my personal taste. I would never have bought it for myself, nor will I ever purchase it as a gift for anyone else.

The book is heavy and has a really cheap dustjacket that doesn't stay on, making the mere act of opening the book unpleasant. I, too, would have enjoyed color photographs. I don't think it was wrong of readers to expect something just a little more aesthetically pleasing-- it is from Martha Stewart, after all.

This book would have greatly benefitted from page tabs or subtle color-coding along the edge of the pages to mark the different areas of housekeeping the book adresses. At nearly 750 pages, it is really a hassle to have to juggle this five-pound book with its worthless dustjacket in the midst of my chores. Skimming through the index, finding the page, then poring over the information to find what I need to know takes far longer than opening this laptop and searching online for "mustard stain removal", etc. This book is so exhaustive that there have been a few times I've actually forgotten what I'm looking for before I find it.

The book is too broad and comprehensive in areas of little benefit to this reader. Perhaps much of it could have been put in another book altogether, such as a "Homebuilding Handbook" or "Home Renovation Handbook" For one example, Martha writes individual directions on how to clean no less than one dozen different surfaces of kitchen countertop, from laminated plastic to granite to zinc, along with the pros and cons of each type of surface, spanning at least six pages of the book.

On the other hand, when I wanted to know the basic maintenance and cleaning of my regular old coffeemaker,I was out of luck-there's nothing like that in this book. However, I now know the benefits and drawbacks of ten different materials one can choose for their kitchen sink. Ummm...thanks??

(PSST! Hey Martha: If a person invested the kind of money to put a marble countertop or copper sink in their kitchen, wouldn't they already know that it takes special care? Or maybe they are the same people you feel the need to tell "Don't let anybody smoke near your baby." (Page 303, Nursery Safety Guidelines.)

Now, I do not have kids, but I think everybody already knows this, Martha. Those people you see blowing smoke in their baby's face? They know, too, Martha, they just don't _care_).

In short, for me, this book was like a Roomba. It sounded like a good idea, but it was just all over the place. When it did focus on an area, it did so with such intensity that other more important areas were missed entirely, or barely touched on.

I wanted to like this book, but its just more hassle than it is worth. I'll keep relying some favorite housekeeping websites for quicker reference, and if I am absolutely not sure about something, I'll use this book as a backup (and flower press).

Homekeeping Handbook was just too excessive in all the wrong places for me.

Addictive!, December 7, 2006
Probably the best thing to come out of MSLO since Martha's unfortunate incarceration. (Let's forget the dreadful Martha's Rules book which was just terrible!). This book is an amazing and widereaching encyclopedia that covers every single aspect of homeownership from the different types of mattresses to how to clean your furnace!

This is what Martha does best. A fascinating and enjoyable read. You go, Martha! Welcome back!

A must-have for homeowners and apartment-dwellers alike, December 25, 2006
I just moved out of my parents' home this year and realized that I am next to clueless when it comes to home maintenance. So when I heard about this book I decided to have a look at it and was blown away. This tome covers everything imaginable for every room, and even has a few hints and tips that never would have passed my mind. Granted, I don't currently have every room listed but I might in the future, so it will be excellent for ears to come. This book is a great gift for anyone newly living on their own, anyone who just bought a house, and it would even make a wonderful wedding gift.

Hopeless Housekeeper Loves It!, November 26, 2006
I just bought this and sat down for an hour to read. I love it! My mother never taught me how to keep a house (partly because I wouldn't listen) and at the age of 26, I am absolutely frustrated because I don't know how to do this! This book is the equivalent of the Joy of Cooking for housekeepers. It gives instructions for everything: from the very basic (how to dust) to the very specific. I also love it because unlike other housekeeping manuals, it can be used for the upkeep of any living space, from the tiny apartment I live in now to the house I dream of buying (and keeping clean) someday. I will not need to buy another book on housekeeping ever again!

Amazing amount of information, December 9, 2006
Wow. I thought I knew a lot about housekeeping until I got this book!

It really is a big book! Very heavy, the only annoyance I have with it is that the book cover is acetate with the title printed only on that. I do try to keep the dust covers on my books when they arrive, but I'm not certain this one will stand the test of time.

Like my title says, this is an amazing amount of information contained in this book. It isn't one that I will sit down and read cover to cover but as I'm going through my homekeeping, I'll pull out my book and "see what Martha says" just to make sure I'm not making any costly mistakes.

The book is very detailed. Anyone who can't use at least some of the information from this book is a more amazing person than I've ever known. And for the price, you can't beat all the advice and step-by-step procedures that Martha Stewart provides. ... Read more

Editorial Review

In I Can Has Cheezburger?, Professor Happycat brought LOLcats to the wurld. Nao he has gone back to his lair for 200 all-new LOLcats that give all aspiring kittehs the lessons they need to take over teh world (or at least their hoomins).

A LOLcat is a picture of a cat with a funny, misspelled, caption. LOLcats are from the Internets and are full of win!!1!]

icanhascheezburger.com was founded in January 2007 and has been at the center of the worldwide LOLcat craze ever since. The same folks run failblog.org, graphjam.com, and other sites.

... Read more

Editorial Review

Ever since she was old enough to help her grandmother in the garden, Sharon Lovejoy has spent her life working with plants-and along the way, through "trowel and error," she's accumulated hundreds and hundreds of remedies, tips, short-cuts, and cure-alls. Now Ms. Lovejoy-author of Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots and the award-winning Sunflower Houses-does for the garden what Heloise or the Queen of Clean does for the household. TROWEL AND ERROR collects all of her homespun garden advice into an inviting, environmentally friendly, whimsically illustrated yet dead-on helpful book that will benefit every gardener, beginner or experienced.

Cure plant viruses with spoiled milk. Steep a natural and effective insecticide out of fresh basil. Place flat stones under squash or melons to hasten ripening. Recycle an old apple corer as the perfect dibber for muscari and other small bulbs. Start rosemary cuttings in a green glass bottle. Sprinkle baby powder over seedlings to discourage rabbits. Crush a garlic clove and apply it to your skin as an insect repellent. From urging the reader to take an occasional shower with the houseplants to giving all-natural gardenside first aid, TROWEL AND ERROR is a direct line to the kind of practical wisdom that comes only after a lifetime of experience. The book is indexed by problem, plant, pest, and solution, and includes a list of tools and common household items-borax, cornmeal, vinegar-that completes the gardener's arsenal. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Take a deep breath and jump in--doing art with toddlers and twos is fun, rewarding, and a wonderful learning experience. Children will joyfully squeeze a rainbow, make their own (safe) beads to string, and create their very own art baggie book. First Art starts children on a lifelong journey full of exploration and creativity. ... Read more

Reviews

Author's 10 favorite art projects from this book, August 11, 2002
The secret of this book is that these art experiences are safe, fun and easy for toddlers but if you have older kids they will love them too. If you are a parent like me, you want to set up art projects that will be fun for all your kids. You also want projects that capture their interest and curiosity for a long time. I currently have twin 7 year olds and a 3 year old who have tried almost every project in this book. If you want to dive right into my top 10 favorite projects, here they are with comments based on our personal family experience:

Playclay - This is way better than the commercial playdough products you buy in the store. It sounds like a lot of effort to make your own, but this cooked playclay is so luxurious, wonderful and lasts for weeks. It is much better for toddlers than the store bought stuff since it is super soft and easier for tiny hands to roll, mold, and squeeze.

Waterpaint - Too easy to be true! Tips on taking a bucket of water and brushes and "painting" outdoors on a summer day.

Feelie Goop - A recipe of cornstarch and water with bizzare properties that fascinates toddlers, kids and adults alike.

First Color Mixing - This is such a favorite that I bought four ice cube trays and lots of food coloring and I bring this out often when my kids have friends over. I fill the trays with water, squeeze some red, blue and yellow in three of the compartments, and let them use pipettes (like easy eye droppers) from ...to drip the colors together in each compartment. This is an older toddler variation from the book. Great ideas for the youngest toddlers are in the book.

Early Scissors - My kids loved cutting playclay worms with plastic scissors and cutting strips of paper as they mastered the use of scissors. There are lots of great tips on getting toddlers started safely with scissors.

Buckets of Bubbles - My kids love to play in this stuff. It is like an outdoor bubble bath.

Scribble Book - Toddlers are fascinated with books. Make tiny homemade books that are OK to scribble in. The book has lots of great variations and ideas for this simple art experience.

Foil Squeeze - Foil paper is fun to make into shapes. I recently gave all my kids one sheet of foil paper on a long drive to Yosemite and the 3 year old made bowls and the 7 year olds created Half Domes.

Tabletop Fingerpainting - Here's a great recipe for homemade fingerpaint to do right on you table! My toddlers were fascinated and used their fingers to make endless patterns.

Color Tube - This takes a lot of time to set up, but I saw a huge version at a preschool carnival and it was such a hit. I tied lots of tubes and funnels to a board with twists and turns in the tubes. My kids and their playmates loved pouring colored water to see what would happen and what end it would stream out of.

I hope you enjoy these and the other projects as much as we have and still do. One tip that would have helped me when it started out is where to get inexpensive great art materials. Ask your local daycare, preschool, or elementary school teachers for teacher supply stores near you or the teacher's catalogs they order supplies from. In my area, anyone can shop through these venues and you will find the greatest stuff. (Always buy washable markers and paints! We stained lots of toddler clothes before I decided it was cheaper to just buy the more expensive washable art materials.)

I think this book will help me find the true Zen of parenting, July 5, 2006
I love this book. I checked book after book of toddler crafts and toddler play out of the library, but most of them made me think, "hmm, anyone could have thought of that." This is not one of those books.

I know this sounds ridiculous, but this book is helping me be a better parent. There is nothing like the total absorption of an art project to help me be fully present with my daughter. Other times I might physically be with her, but my mind is at least partly elsewhere, thinking adult thoughts, worrying mostly, I suppose, but while doing these art projects, I truly am with her in the moment, and smiling and laughing more than I have in ages.

The author encourages the parent or teacher to present the art materials to the child and accept whatever way the child chooses to use them. That was a very helpful suggestion. It reminded me that there is no goal except exploration here.

The first project we did was finger- and sponge- painting. My daughter (19 months) made paintings, and I showed her that she could make prints of them by putting another piece of paper over them and pressing. I also provided her with some circular objects from around the house for printing on her art. Although it wasn't the goal, it's helping her learn her colors, and now she knows the shape "circle." The little paintings are also lovely, much freer and more asymmetric than I would do as an adult.

Yesterday, I was inspired for us to make "rubbery flubbery dough." It involves cooking salt and water on the stove and adding a cornstarch/water mixture, and then cooking some more. I didn't have enough salt, and I didn't have food coloring, either, but I had read the recipe for "feelie goop," made with jell-o, so I added a packet of sugar-free green jell-o for color and extra goopiness. Oh my gosh, the stuff was SO goopy, stretchy, sticky, green, funny, and fun. My 19-month-old daughter felt it, smeared it, stretched it, flung it, rubbed it on her dress, and wiped it on my back. (We did the whole project outside on a hot summer day so we could hose off after). My husband took a video of us, and I must say, I haven't seen a happier video of ME in a long time. Oh, my daughter liked it, too. We were so excited that we went to the discount store and bought 25 lbs of salt, a couple pounds of cornstarch, 25 lbs of flour, 4 big bottles of food coloring, and ran right home to make the "rubbery flubbery dough" properly, including coloring it and scenting it as the author suggests. I can't wait to pick my daughter up at preschool today to play with it.

fabulous and fun... but not for the faint of heart, October 10, 2004
This book is a great resource for grownup-type people who spend a lot of time with little people. In my case, they're my own kids (18-month-old twins), but daycare providers and other early childhood professionals could also put these ideas to good use. The author provides ideas for a wide range of art experiences that help very young children develop skills and learn about the world. They're realistic suggestions in that one- and two-year-olds can have success and enjoy themselves, and the author also gives tips on sufficient preparation, art clothes, and other ways that YOU can help the child(ren) succeed. I've been able to choose what activities I'm up for on a given day based on the notations about prep time, cleanup, active vs. quieter activity, etc. That said, you HAVE to expect a mess with kids this age; it's all relative. :)

It's a major challenge of my day to keep my kids entertained (i.e. not running amok) without singing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" a billion times. This book has been a helpful source of ideas and, on occasion, a reality check that helped me keep my expectations in some reasonable realm.

Great book, very useful, used fairly frequently.

Thanks! I needed that!, December 2, 2002
I have most of Kohl's books. This one is VERY specific to working with the youngest kids...hints for adults and hints for kids. I work with the youngest kids, so this helps me quite a bit. I like the last chapter with ideas of things you can make to use with kids, like a pizza box easel. I found these ideas to be fresh and unique. Though I have used Kohl's other books with the youngest kids, this one brings art into clear focus and I don't have to think at all!!!

Awesome book!, December 6, 2006
What an excellent idea for a book! I have only used 2 of the recipes in here, the feely goop and the stretchy dough. But, my 2 year old loved both of them. They were easy to make-with things I usually have around the house. Although, I have since begun buying things that are used in some of the other recipes in here. The stretchy dough is similar to playdough-I think it's better, myself. But, the author says kids won't eat it once they have one bite because it's SOOOO salty. My daughter, however, tried to eat it several times-and said yummy after her first bite. So, to each his/her own I guess. Nevertheless a great resource for parents of the toddlers and twos set.

Great theory, tougher practice, December 21, 2007
I purchased this book so I could have more fun with my daughter, about a year and a half at the time of this review, and teach her a thing or two about creativity along the way. When I first got the book and read it, I LOVED it. There were tons of homemade recipes for saving money, ideas seemed relatively simple, yet fun, directions thorough... However, when I started implementing the ideas with my toddler, I slowly changed my mind.
I see a number of problems with this book:
Homemade recipes sound wonderful. You save money, you use ingredients you already have in your pantry, and you feel like such a handy supermom, what's not to love, right? Well, wrong...
First, the recipes often call for things I definitely don't have in my pantry, I was not even sure what some things were. For instance, cream of tartar. I wrote down a list of things I needed for a project and asked 3 employees at the store for it and all of them pointed me to tartar sauce. So, I had to go home empty-handed and do research online to find out what it was and why I needed it and where I could buy it, what I can substitute it for, etc. Most of the sources online seemed to indicate that it is something that used to be big in baking, but hardly ever needed now that we have baking powder. It'd be nice if the author provided some substitutions. I ended up using baking powder and it seemed to work alright. I later accidentally found cream of tartar in the spices section of my grocery store - and I looked in baking to no avail.
Another things is that a lot of recipes (80%, I'd say) call for tempera paint... If I'm going to buy paint, why buy tempera paint and mix it with stuff to make finger paints, might just as well buy finger paints - will probably end up cheaper. Same goes for, for example, a home-made blackboard. You need to buy the tape that has that chalkboard surface or chalkboard spray paint. Well, both are rather pricey, so it is almost as cheap to buy a ready-made chalkboard easel (not to mention much less trouble). Also, some recipes call for things like "an old grater you no longer use" (because you're going to be grating a bar of soap, for example) or "a big appliance box". I don't know if it's just me, but I think my Mom still uses the same grater she had when I was a year and a half and I don't buy big-screen TVs on a monthly basis... So, I don't really have all these lying around the house, nor is it always easy/cheap to find/buy one just when you want to try a project - often it really is easier and maybe even cheaper to just buy whatever it is you were going to make (case in point - beads).
Also, many recipes call for huge amounts of flour, salt, cornstarch, and food coloring. While those aren't that expensive in and of themselves (and food coloring CAN be), they add up! 4 cups of flour here, 4 cups of flour there, with a lot of these recipes not having the same shelf life as the store-bought equivalents. So, once again, the savings are questionable, even if we don't factor in the time we have to spend preparing stuff versus buying it ready-made.
The quality of projects.
My daughter is a pretty determined and focused toddler when she wants to be, but a lot of those projects are too contemplative to really keep her attention for more than 10 seconds. For instance, exploring the sounds and textures of a piece of foil or the much-favored by many feeley goop. My daughter was done exploring the sounds and textures of foil in 5 seconds and she did not want to explore the feeley goop at all after the initial try, so how was I supposed to make her realize that it has some unique qualities? The same goes for quite a number of projects that are meant to just "explore", but I realize that it is highly individual and there might be children out there who love those projects, just be aware that it is not automatic. Perhaps some of these activities would work well in a group, where children can feed off of each other's ideas and where interaction is already exciting enough, but for one child they can be a tad on a boring side and are over too quickly to be called an "activity".
Another thing in the projects I often have issues with is their messiness. The author does do a good job of outlining how to prep the working space, but with some projects, the colors will get splashed all over the place - it's toddlers we're talking about! I can cover a relatively large portion of the floor and the whole table, but I can't cover the walls and the ceiling... Not to mention that toddlers are known to run away in the middle of a project. So, unless you have a whole room you don't mind getting dirty and where you can contain your child (porch, sunroom, child-proof play room?), some of those projects will be just too much of a risky business to attempt in a nicer room. We live in a fully-carpeted apartment, and there is no way I'll be able to clean it up nicely if my child decides to have too much fun with one of the messier projects.
Finally, I find some "cooking" directions a little too sketchy. I have never made this thing before, I don't know what it should look and feel like, I actually ruined a couple of projects because I did something too soon or too late, even though I thought I was following the instructions religiously - there went 4 cups of flour and 2 cups of salt :-). Just so you don't think I'm a complete idiot, I do bake regularly and cook quite a bit too, and while sometimes my pizza dough made from scratch does turn out a little drier than I like, it is always edible, never a complete failure.
Overall, I'd say it's a good book with good ideas. If I were a kindergarten teacher, or had 2 or more kids of different ages, I'd probably rate this book better. But as a parent of only 1 child, I'd probably ever use only 1/3 of all the ideas of the book, with 2/3 being eliminated for one or several of the reasons mentioned above, which I find rather disappointing, since I am not paying only for the ideas I'm using...
Our favorite project so far? The bread. It did not taste spectacular (although was edible), but my daughter loved messing with the flour, watching it turn to dough, playing with the dough, etc.

More of the same from Kohl., October 9, 2002
If you do not have any of MaryAnn Kohl's books, this will be a good resource for working with very young children. However if, like me, you already own several of Kohl's other books (Scribble Art, Global Art, Preschool Art, etc.) you might not need this one. I found that many of the ideas overlapped those in her other books. There was not a lot of new material here that I could not have adapted from Scribble Art (my favorite of her books, which can be adapted for all ages) or Preschool Art. The ideas in this book do allow for a lot of creative exploration, which cannot be said of a lot of other childrens' art books (many are more concerned with cute results than the child's experience). For that reason I would recommend this author's books very highly, just not necessarily this one!

Author Comments, by MaryAnn Faubion Kohl, June 11, 2002
We've needed a book for the really little guys for a long long time, a book that encourages exploration and experimentation, discovery, and the experience of jumping into art for the first time. I worked with two toddler experts, Renee Ramsey and Dana Bowman, and we put this together based on experience, trial and error, and kids' favorites. I especially like the hints for success with toddlers and twos that we've given you. Also included are little true stories about real kids doing these projects, and things that happened that were funny, unexpected, or affirming. I really like this book. You don't have to be good at art or an expert to use it with kids. You just need to have basic supplies around, like crayons and water and tape and paper, and you're on your way. Oh yes, and a little kid or two....

Great book for families with children!, June 17, 2002
I wish this book would have been written 10 years ago when I struggled to collect this extensive list of art recipes and ideas for my (then) toddler. Now, 4 children later, I have this wonderfully complete art book to reference whenever the fever strikes us! The structure of this book makes it easy and quick to find the specific areas of art that we are looking for. We have also used this book successfully to spark ideas when we are not sure what we want to do. We highly recommend First Art!

Easy for mom, great for kids!, March 4, 2005
I love this book. I have a 3 1/2 year old and 2 year old and I lead a playgroup. I have seen lots of great ideas for kids, but this book has a format that makes it so easy to put together. I rarely plan ahead and do art on the spur of the moment. I have read the book so many times (I've owned it a couple of weeks) and know the projects. There's a list of everything you need to prepare so I can do it quickly. Plus, I really like the general info. on process art, clean-up and how to make everything kid-friendly and creativity-friendly. I highly recommend it and a number of my friends have already bought their own copies! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

The first edition of Gaia’s Garden, sparked the imagination of America’s home gardeners, introducing permaculture’s central message: Working with Nature, not against her, results in more beautiful, abundant, and forgiving gardens. This extensively revised and expanded second edition broadens the reach and depth of the permaculture approach for urban and suburban growers.

• Building and maintaining soil fertility and structure
• Catching and conserving water in the landscape
• Providing habitat for beneficial insects, birds, and animals
• Growing an edible “forest” that yields seasonal fruits, nuts, and other foods

Editorial Review

Over fifty years ago, with the release of The Curse of Frankenstein and Christopher Lee’s iconic performance in Dracula, Hammer ushered in a whole new era of blood and barely-restrained cleavage in glorious color, mixing sex and horror with a style and panache that made the small British company world famous.

The Art of Hammer collects the very best and most iconic movie posters produced for the Hammer studio. This lavish hardcover brings together rare artwork from around the world. Featuring Hammer’s greatest films, including The Curse of Frankenstein, the Dracula series, and many more. ... Read more

Reviews

Another great Hammer product from Titan Books, November 29, 2010
Titan Books and Marcus Hearn have done it again. The team which produced "The Hammer Story" and "Hammer Glamour" have now come out with "The Art of Hammer", a fantastic collection of Hammer film posters. Over 300 posters representing the famous company's output are showcased. All the posters are in color, and some get a full-page picture. Posters from non-English speaking countries are included, and these are some of the most interesting and artistic in the book.
Of course Hammer is know best for their Gothic horror films, but Hammer's non-horror productions are presented as well. As for the classic monster movies Hammer fans love, they're all here--the famous poster from "The Mummy", all the Frankensteins, the Draculas--any monster movie kid will go crazy seeing these images.
While going through this book, one notices that some of the posters are more exciting than the films that they are advertising! But that was the whole reason for the posters in the first place. You don't have to be a Hammer or monster movie fan to appreciate the great collection of poster artwork here. But if you ARE a Hammer fan, you MUST get this book! Hopefully, Titan Books and Marcus Hearn have many more Hammer-themed books in store.

Amazing Hammer Art Collection!!, November 23, 2010
This one's a keeper! I'm very very impressed with what I got for $20. Love all the old artwork of Hammer movies. Now I'm going to have to buy the Hammer Glamour and The Hammer Story from Titan Books. Lovely and informative. Great gift for the horror film fan.

missing the best, December 26, 2010
I was very excited to come across this book at my local bookshop, as I'm a long-time poster collector and was always hoping that someone would put together all of the beautiful Hammer art into a book. The problem is, and it is not a small deal, is that the most beautiful posters are not included, namely the large and small french posters, especially the ones by Guy-Gerard Noel for CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF and KISS OF THE VAMPIRE. The tiny image from the french HORROR OF DRACULA doesn't due justice. And there are many other great french and german posters missing from TWINS OF EVIL, VAMPIRE LOVERS, LUST FOR A VAMPIRE, etc. Without these, the book is really very very incomplete. Maybe this is due to copyright issues?

Nice Product, December 17, 2010
The book was better than I thought it would be. I was a little disappointed with the packaging. A DVD and the packing slip were shrink wrapped together with the book. The book should have been shrink wrapped separately since it had a jacket cover. Also, the box should have been a little bigger to hold the products, the book edges were up again the entire box outer edge. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Create gorgeous sweaters, bags, afghans, and toys just by knitting the simplest of shapes—a square!
 
No one forgets the sweet victory of completing their first knitted block, but most of us quickly move on to more complex constructions, only making swatches for guage. In this comprehensive volume, celebrated designer and innovator Nicky Epstein reimagines the humble block with 150 new patterns and masterfully demonstrates how to mix, match, and easily combine them into stunning one-of-a-kind garments and accessories.
 
Inside you will find:

• 150 original block patterns, from simple textures to embossed pictorials, intricate lace to cables, colorwork, double knit, and more, all with Nicky’s signature wit, verve, and style.
• More than ten exclusive project designs that will make you say “I can’t believe that is made out of blocks!”
• Detailed guidance for creating exciting pieces out of block knitting, without using increases or decreases.
• Exclusive cut-and-paste project design pages. Simply cut out the printed blocks and arrange them to help create your own masterpieces.

Editorial Review

Talk about bad to the bone. The Bad Dog Calendar is back (in color!) with a year of utter canine madness, adapted from the howlingly hilarious New York Times bestseller. Just forget about any of these mutts rolling over or coming when they're called. But you can count on their acting obnoxious, unstable, off-the-wall, and generally like anything but "man's best friend." Here they are, baring their fangs while wearing deceptively cute costumes; peeing in unauthorized places; even acting all innocent— maybe a little too innocent. With outrageous captions and Bad Dog Early Warning Signs (#104: Dog has nothing to do with family until dinnertime).
... Read more

Reviews

Pros and Cons, September 22, 2010
I've been getting these calendars every year for my mom as a holiday gift, who like me, LOVES dogs. She saves the pages she's torn off during the week so when I come to visit, she shares them with me. Most of the photos are adorable and show just how far a dog will go to please it's owner. My parents and I have many laughs, "oohs" and "awes" looking at these pictures. But sometimes, the captions go a bit too far with inappropriate sexual innuendoes. We try to overlook those and just enjoy the photos instead. Also, the binding glue does not allow for a clean, neat removal of the pages, if you wish to keep any. They seem to tear off very uneven and destroys the top of the page, no matter how far into the calendar you go.

We have decided to get the 2011 version so the cons do not outweigh the pros in whether or not we want to enjoy another year of the Bad Dog Page-A-Day Calendar. I would not really recommend this calendar for young children (who are able to read).

Just a fun calendar, November 12, 2010
This calendar always makes me laugh! I save many of the pictures with the captions and put on my desk....just to look at when I am having a bad day myself!!! ... Read more

Editorial Review

While there are several origami books on the market, many are out-of-date, most are either too hard or too easy, few offer traditional projects, and fewer still provide all the elements needed to create, store, and display beautiful orgami pieces. The kit contains:
* A 96-page book with complete instructions for 45 different projects
* 160 7x 7-inch sheets of folding paper in an array of color including patterned and foil sheets
* A sturdy box that doubles as a place to store paper and a pedestal on which to display finished projects. ... Read more

Reviews

Origami Extravaganza, May 30, 2001
Simple and easy to understand diagrams make this the perfect origami beginner's book. The addition of an abundance of origami squares in a range of different colors plus a load of two different patterned squares sets an origami novice up for folding for quite a while. I highly recommend this book to the new origami folder.

Origami!, January 22, 2009
My grandson Garrett asked for an origami kit for Christmas. As a grammy it is my job to make sure his every wish comes true! I researched to find the best kit I could find for a nine year old boy. This kit was highly recommended and it was a big hit. Now there are little folded up pieces of colored paper everywhere! Everywhere! Everywhere!

Excellent quiet time activity, November 1, 2009
This is a great value getting a good origami book (the instructions are good and the book itself is not flimsy) and a lot of paper to get started with. Enjoyed by all ages. Even used this with children with difficulty sitting down and attending to task (ADHD) and it's fun and they surprised me being able to sit still. Great for rainy day or keeping busy when you need to have quiet time.

Family fun!

Good, but lacking in some areas, December 10, 2009
Overall I would have to say that this kit is OK. It is a good beginners kit. The printed and metallic paper is neat, but this paper is not very user-friendly. I prefer other brands. As for the book, it contains some great ideas, and the diagrams are, for the most part, easy to use. However; there is very little consistency to the written instructions; it seems like they sometimes skip a few steps where there should be more guidance, and add in extra, unnecessary instructions in other places. And a lot of the projects involve scissors, which I personally do not like. Overall, it is a good practice kit for the price for the beginner.

Great self-contained Oragami kit, May 7, 2010
We got this book for our 8 year old sons for an upcoming trip. We wanted something that could withstand lots of abuse in their backpacks over long plane and bus rides. This does the trick. The book and oragami paper come in a box so the paperback book and paper are well-protected. The box is square, and about 6 inches by 6 inches. The book has very detailed instructions for about 40 different Oragami creations. They vary from easy to difficult. It also comes with about 150 pieces of oragami paper in a variety of colors and a handful of patterns. I completely recommend it!

paper paper, February 11, 2010
Easy for a beginner and tons of paper to practice with. My husband loves it.

Good luck..., September 28, 2009
the instructions are very difficult to follow... the paper is nice though and it comes with lots of it. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Anyone can learn to store fruits and vegetables safely and naturally with a cool, dark space (even a closet!) and the step-by-step advice in this book. ... Read more

Reviews

Very clear advice for hanging onto your harvest longer., September 24, 2002
This is a great book for (food) gardeners and for people who have some land available to them. Although there are suggestions for "nooks and crannies" in your house, most of those ideas sound like ideas for older (draftier) homes.

The suggestions for building your own working root cellar are clear, with illustrations to help you plan. There are lists of things that keep well and under what conditions to keep them. The authors even list certain varieties of (for instance) apples that keep better than others. There's a month-by-month plan of what could be coming out of your garden, going into the root cellar, and what could be canned or frozen. If you have a large garden, this is an incredibly useful book.

However, those of us with smaller modern homes, smaller yards, and smaller, less heavily-producing gardens will be a little disappointed. As I read this, I came to the conclusion that it would be pretty darned difficult to have a root cellar on our property, because we don't have a useable cool north corner to put one in. Not impossible, mind you, it would just take a lot more effort, planning, and money to build it.

I recommend this book highly for people who raise substantial amounts of their own produce. This book will really extend your harvest. With imagination and a little time and effort, you can have a root cellar that keeps your family in fresh food you grew all year long.

Encyclopedia of no-energy food preservation, August 31, 2004
This book is a vast resource of information about root cellars, how to build them, and how to use them. The Bubels contend that even city apartments dwellers can arrange some sort of cold food storage area with a little imagination and a few suggestions from those who have done it before. The book has 6 parts: choosing good storage vegetable varieties, harvesting for keeping quality, storing crops in the root cellar, root cellar ideas for those who don't currently have a root cellar, root cellaring experiences, and recipes. At the end of the book is a bibliography for further reading, a list of plant sources, and an index. The book is amply illustrated with diagrams and black-and-white photographs.

I didn't expect to find much in this book that I haven't read elsewhere. Since my house didn't come with a root cellar, I wasn't very optimistic about finding anything in the book that I could use. Fortunately, I was way off-base in these assumptions. I was amazed at the variety and detail of information that the Bubels provide. The sections on choosing seed varieties and determining when to harvest are extremely useful, even if you're only going to put your harvest in the refrigerator. They also explain the different types of storage conditions required for different crops- -some like it cool and moist, and others warmer and dry. But what gave me real hope was all the ideas about un-root cellars that people have constructed and made good use of for storing vegetables. Their examples include everything from insolated window baskets for apartment dwellers to buried package trucks. One idea that might work well for my situation at least for the time being is a buried refrigerator. Down the line, if I have extra time on my hands, I could trade up for a real dug root cellar, following the plans in the book. If you're a gardener, you'll find something of use for sure in this book.

This book gives the complete root cellaring picture., January 17, 1999
We're fortunate to have bought a property with a well designed root cellar already in place. Until I read this book, I had no idea how a root cellar 'worked'. This book suggests what foods are best for root cellaring, how long to expect to store them, and what temperatures should be maintained. Had I not read this book I would have wasted time and enery, and lost the nutrients in some foods by canning them rather than root cellaring them. A city dweller friend of mine borrowed my book and has decided to buy it. There are variety of good root cellar plans complete with illustrations and drawings for nearly any situation.

A Must-Have for Your Library!, January 8, 2001
Outstanding book! The amount of information included makes this book well worth its price. The month-to-month calendar of what one can eat from their root cellar is especially helpful. The pictures, and descriptions, of several existing root cellars in various parts of the country was especially appreciated, and will definitely be utilized when I build my own root cellar. If you are interested in being self-sufficient, this book will be of great assistance.

A must have for the serious gardener, September 29, 2005
If like me you love growing a vegetable garden and then canning, freezing, or dehydrating your produce, then this is a book you should seriously consider adding to your library. Especially since energy costs for cooling in summer and heating in winter are going up.

Because root cellars are something as the one chapter in the book titled Food Cellars for Everyone says, are for everyone whether you live in rural American, suburbia or even a city with a small lot. Roots cellars are economical across the board and have a long history and can be placed under a home, off into a hillside, in a closet, basement or even two big wine barrels with tight lids planted slanted into the ground.

They are also a huge money saver. And being someone who believes that even a city dweller with a small plot of land should grow some of their own food I also believe that we all have a responsibility to learn how to grow food as well as save it, because with our recent history of hurricanes in the southern regions of the country I know that attic cellars have enabled friends I know, to at least have fresh vegetables to cook over the camp stove as they go about trying to get their lives back together.

Planting and Storing Techniques with Construction Ideas, August 24, 2005
The book goes into great detail about what plants will thrive in root gardens. A small ammount of technical details: temperature, planting months, germination techniques are presented. As with many books of this genre (natural/organic in my view), repeating the same idea is prevalent. Many chapters cover the same topics as to which plants will thrive. A more compact book would suit the same purpose and reduce the number of pages. The author tries to cover a wide geographic area in the reviews, but most are tailored to specifice areas of the north where they have had experience (I did not see to much about the south and southwest). The last few chapter involve constructing your own root cellar. Many ideas and techniques for root cellar construciton are presented, but are no way an exhaustive exploration of all possibilities. The plans for construction give the spark for which you will have to provide the rest.

My Oh My!, October 3, 1999
A must buy for country-wise, self sufficient individuals. I initially borrowed it from the library, but it's worth the expense. Stretch your garden further than ever with this in-depth gem of a book.

Very practical guide to energy efficient food storage, February 28, 2006
No matter what your location or how much space you have, the Bubels are likely to have a root cellar option that will work for you. I've got the first edition, but I'm sure the second edition is just as good if not better. Detailed explanations of how to store vegetables and fruits without electricity with specific temperature and humidity recommendations for each variety. Many different cold storage designs. Good photos and diagrams. Well worth the money.

A good guide to root cellaring, June 28, 2002
This book is an excellent guide if you're interested in self-sufficiency. It gives the exact storage recommendations for a good number of fruits and vegetables, including which fruits and vegetables shouldn't be stored too close together.

Excellent book for over wintering the harvest, September 6, 2007
I was so tired of freezing and canning all my garden products and was frightened about my eletricity and gas bills. So this book comes up with the solution how to spare all the energy costs and the hours of work for preparing the food for freezing and canning.: root cellaring.
The book is a wonderful ressource not only on the topic but also in gardening.
For me it is a "must-have" and I wish I had it got 25 years ago....

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