The King Must Die: A Novel

Book Description

The story of the mythical hero Theseus, slayer of monsters, abductor of princesses and king of Athens. He emerges from these pages as a clearly defined personality; brave, aggressive and quick. The core of the story is Theseus' Cretan adventure.

Customer Reviews:

The King Must Die.......2007-09-28

"The King Must Die", as presented by Mary Renault, bids fair to be recognized as the greatest novel ever written about the life, morality and challenges of the era of ancient Greece. An astute reader will discover that Theseus does not kill a monster, but executes King Minos on private order by the King himself. An educator or mentor, with a knowledge of exegesis, can bring into focus a clash between the new and enlightened burgeoning democracy of Athens and the persistent pagan rituals of the then-dominant Crete.
Theseus rescues Crete from gluttonous conspirators, and hopes to take Princess Ariadne back to Athens as his bride. It is not to be.
We suggest that a tutor also read the sequel "A Bull From The Sea", to appreciate the ongoing struggle, by Prince/King Theseus to modernize the Aegean and point the way to our challenges today.

Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Mary Renault's the King Must Die is a novel about Theseus. She tries to turn the story into something that could theoretically have happened, or almost, anyway.

So rather than fighting monsters, as a young man Theseus was a bull dancer, one of a trouple that did crazy stunts in a public arena involving acrobatics and large bovines.

The book is not completely devoid of fantasy though.

Brilliant on every level.......2007-08-16

The King Must Die and The Bull from the Sea were the first two books I read by Renault. I would place Mary Renault in the august company of only a few other writers (John Fowles, Umberto Eco, Iain Pears, Charles Palliser, John Crowley and Mervyn Peake) that I consider to be the most gifted of the past 50 years. Reading Mary Renault is like picking up an ancient manuscript and diving into the poetic beauty and brutality of the time. Her grasp and use of the English language is so powerful that you will feel as if you are reading something from another time. Since reading TKMD and TBFTS, I have collected every other novel written by Mary Renault. Exceptional without exception (is that an oxymoron?) I wish more people were required to read her work.

An introduction to ancient Greece.......2007-08-12

Mary Renault has written these novels to bring the Greek myths of Theseus and the Minotaur to life. It is told in the first person and she manages to make real a period of history lost in the mists of legend. The novel was written 50 years ago but is timeless. It is highly recommended, as are all her novels of ancient Greece.

Everything any reader could ask for in a story..........2007-02-19

This is one of Renault's finest novels in a multitude of great novels. The King Must Die chronicles the adventures of Theseus, the mythological King of Athens in a more or less realistic style, which by re-telling becomes the myth that has passed down to us through the ages.
As a young Theseus travels toward Athens to meet his father the king, who he has never seen, and claim his birthright, he is waylaid by the Queen of Eleusis and forced to wrestle the Year King (the loser is sacrificed to the goddess) for the dubious right to become the next Year King. Here Renault fills in the myth with a bit of unearthed history and conjecture; the legend of Theseus was ancient even when the Greeks dominated the Mediterranean world. Worship of the Helene gods, Zeus, Apollo, Athena and Poseidon were still in competition with the much older Earth Goddess of matriarchal societies.
Theseus is not one to merely waste his year lounging in the Queen's bedchamber doing nothing, besides servicing the Queen, so he characteristically turns the tables on her. The author seems to suggest that the myth of Theseus, who may or may not be a historical figure, gives us a rare glimpse as to how the old order might have been, for better or worse, usurped by patriarchal male dominated warrior society. But this is just one many exciting and fascinating epidodes in the life of Renault's Theseus, which continue in a second novel,"Bull from the Sea".
Another really enlightening aspect of this book is Theseus' devotion to the Gods. As in Gore Vidal's "Julian", Renault makes us see that faith in the Helene Gods was really not so barbaric, or remote or different from faith in the God of the contemporary religions. Phenomena such as earthquakes in the early Bronze Age could only be explained as the rumbling of the Gods, so that was the truth of the day, as truth is always subjective.
One of Renault's literary devises is for the narrator to tell their story as if the reader is their contemporary, thus will not explain in much detail things you would already know, but being readers from the 21st Century we often do not know! So you may have to puzzle over what you just read, perhaps re-read a paragraph or a page a couple times, but this is one of the traits that make Renault's books so engaging and intimate.
On the back cover of the paperback edition that I read (Bantum 1976) there is a short excerpt from a review by the Los Angeles Mirror-News, "A book that has everything any reader could ask for in a story". That summarizes my own feelings for "The King Must Die" perfectly.

Book Description

To find the ancient treasure that will bring an end to an age-old feud, beautiful mystic Mona Graham chooses an unlikely ally to protect her on her quest -- Patrick Maxwell, rogue knight and the Graham clan's sworn enemy, who has been captured and held for ransom. But even as the two journey to the hiding place of the Bloodstone, their own conflicting needs for peace and freedom give way to a desire that cannot be denied....

Customer Reviews:

Captured by Your Kiss.......2003-01-30

Jen Holling has written a wonderful story of love and intrigue, full of excitement. I found it hard to put down. She brought 16th century Scotland to life. The feud between the Graham's and Maxwell's was well plotted. I only wish there was a fourth book in the Brides of the Bloodstone Trilogy. I highly recommend this book.

WORTH THE WAIT!.......2003-01-30

After enjoying the first two books, TEMPTED BY YOUR TOUCH and TAMED BY YOUR DESIRE,in the BRIDES OF THE BLOODSTONE trilogy, I was pleasantly surprised that Holling's books just keep getting better! As I came to know and love the characters I dreaded the book coming to an end. The passion portrayed between Mona and Patrick kept me turning pages late into the night. I was on edge throughout the entire book waiting to see what evil Ridley would dish out next. I was thrilled with the conclusion, all of the details from the previoius novels were tied up beautifully. Holling writes the fantasy that romance readers are looking for; mystical and romantic, with evil in hot pursuit of the hero and heroines happiness.
I look forward to more historical fantasy from this most talented author!

Read the books in order -too confusing otherwise........2003-01-24

This is an ok book. I suspect it would have been more enjoyable and understandable if I had read the other two first. The romance between Patrick and Mona was nicely done. BUT, my biggest problem with the book is that it is disjointed. Example - Ridley (Mona's evil stepson) is fine looking (though crazy)and then a few pages later, one side of his face is all melted (Huh? WHEN did THAT happen?). There is no explanation until later. Face is fine, then it is burned. There are several other instances of this and I found this to be very frustrating. Everything makes sence by the end of the book and all loose ends are neatly tied. I will not be buying the first two books in the series though. I might get them from the Library, but I would not spend the money on buying them.

exciting wrap up to delightful tales.......2003-01-18

In 1542, as war threatens Scotland, the Bloodstone Keeper Mona Graham decides to retrieve the gem in an attempt to gain peace. She needs a protector on her quest to keep her safe from her son-in-law Ridley, who desires her almost as much as he covets the Bloodstone. Unlike his deceased father who forced Mona to marry him to gain possession of the magical artifact, Ridley plans simply to take the stone from his mother-in-law. Mona chooses Ridley's prisoner Patrick Maxwell to guide her.

Mona frees Patrick and he reluctantly agrees to escort her even while Ridley's men pursue them. As Mona and Patrick fall in love, they find the Bloodstone, but Ridley takes it from them. He uses the stone to see into the future to insure his side slaughters his opponent in the upcoming war between England and Scotland. Only Mona has the remote chance of stopping his ascendancy, but she needs the extended family of her beloved to remotely hope to win.

The conclusion of the Brides of Bloodstone trilogy, CAPTURED BY YOUR KISS, is an exciting wrap up to delightful tales. This novel ties up all the threads of the previous novels (see TEMPTED BY YOUR TOUCH and TAMED BY YOUR DESIRE) yet also can stand-alone. The story line contains fantasy elements such as a quest and magical powers inside a strong Scottish historical romance that will elate readers of the two genres. Though acceptance of how fast Ridley and his thugs seem to travel is needed, Jen Holling provides a terrific triad that requires more romantic fantasy from this awesome author.

Harriet Klausner

Average customer rating:

Someone writes a good story, someone writes a bad story.

Iconoclasts Unite!

A big step from your usual fantasy

Wonderful, if meandering, fantasy

Phoned in,

Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town
Cory Doctorow
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
Science Fiction & Fantasy | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Eastern Standard Tribe

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

A Place So Foreign and Eight More

Overclocked: Stories of the Future Present

The Atrocity Archives

ASIN: 0765312786
Release Date: 2005-06-16

Book Description

Alan is a middle-aged entrepreneur in contemporary Toronto who has devoted himself to fixing up a house in the bohemian neighborhood of Kensington. This naturally brings him in contact with the house full of students and layabouts next door, including a young woman, who, in a moment of stress, reveals to him that she has wingswings, moreover, that grow back after each attempt to cut them off. Alan understands. He himself has a secret or two. His father is a mountain, his mother is a washing machine, and among his brothers is a set of Russian nesting dolls. Now two of the three nesting dolls, Edward and Frederick, are on his doorstepwell on their way to starvation because their innermost member, George, has vanished. It appears that yet another brother, Davey, whom Alan and his other siblings killed years ago, may have returned....bent on revenge. Under such circumstances it seems only reasonable for Alan to involve himself with a visionary scheme to blanket Toronto with free wireless Internet connectivity, a conspiracy spearheaded by a brilliant technopunk who build miracles of hardware scavenged from the city's Dumpsters. But Alan's past won't leave him aloneand Davey is only one of the powers gunning for him and all his friends.

Customer Reviews:

Someone writes a good story, someone writes a bad story........2007-06-13

There are two stories here: one is the kind of modern-technology-is-cool story that Doctorow is good at, and is a pretty good -- if also low-key and ranty -- story. The other story is an abstract fantasy story that's just a mess, keeps losing track of itself, and ends in nothing BUT loose ends. Cory takes these two stories and randomly shuffles them together, and then does the literary equivalent of the Photoshop smudge tool to kind of sort of make them overlap in a way that doesn't work. It's ugly, but it's still fairly engaging for the first half of the book. In the second half of the book, however, he begins to mix up the chronology of chapters with no rhyme or reason, he starts experimenting with clumsy jumps from third person into first person, and then in the last quarter of the book the main character starts writing a short story, and paragraphs from the short story are interspersed throughout the main story, with no break denoting the shift, to the point that many readers have posted to Doctorow's feedback page for the novel, asking if those paragraphs are typos. And then at the end he resolves absolutely zero of the numerous mysteries he's invented over the course of the abstract fantasy part of the book.

I loved "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom", and I will read "Eastern Standard Tribe" soon, but this one was a big disappointment, and gave me the impression that Doctorow should stick to the sci-fi, and maybe dip a little bit into fantasy, but the abstract fantasy of this book was WAY too ambitious for him.

Oh, also, the whole "erotic armpit sniffing" thing really squicked me.

Iconoclasts Unite!.......2007-02-15

The protagonist of this book has no idea what he is, his parents are a mountain and a washing machine, his brothers include a psychic, an undead malcontent and symbiotic stacking dolls. He keeps trying to live a normal life, but his family won't let him. Despite his bizarreness, he can at least walk down the street without too much trouble. This is different from a woman he befriends whose bizarreness is so noticeable that she needs to saw off parts of her body on a regular basis.

Ultimately this book deals with issues that any iconoclast or counter-culture denizen will recognize. While the characters issues are weirder-than-life, they all span the gap of the social outcast - wanting to live in the mainstream world, resenting the mainstream world, observing the mainstream world ... but never quite being a part of it.

Cory is an easy read. The book flows nicely. Characters are interesting, plot twists are well executed. Even though I've only given this 3 stars, I likely be reading more Cory Doctorow in the future.

A big step from your usual fantasy.......2007-01-27

I'm a huge fantasy fan. I love G.R.R. Martin, am getting into Jordan, and am halfway through Goodkind's Sword of Truth series. That said, I find it difficult to 'branch-out' sometimes into other genres, and even into 'lighter fantasy'.

I picked this book up at the book store, flipped through it, found it mildly intriguing, and showed it to my girlfriend before putting it down and moving on. (This is fairly standard fare for me since it can take a full 6 months for me to commit to buying a book, but I also don't read too many things I don't like.) About 3 weeks later, its my birthday and what did my girlfriend get me? This book. (I had initially thought it would fit her taste more than mine, but I gave it a go.)

It starts off fairly normal, a guy fixing up an old row home in Toronto, but quickly gets interesting with details of his past and the people he surrounds himself with. I found some of the back story a bit strange, but mostly just added to my intrigue, so I eagerly plugged on, (Curiously asking myself, 'Okay, where is the author going with this?'). The characters really come to life and become really memorable, mostly likable and realistic people (for the most part) that fill this book with a bit of magic. Their motivations are understandable given their personalities, and the way the story is woven I found myself utterly engrossed in a book, which is almost completely 'out of my element.'

The book is intelligent and lightly specked with the author's own philosophies, but unlike many writer's Doctorow is able to do this without being heavy-handed in his approach.

If you are looking for a quick, memorably enjoyable read with likable, quirky characters who like the rest of us just want to be normal, despite (and in some cases, in spite of) those traits about themselves that make them unique and beautiful. Give this book a try, I did, despite my initial indifference and am very thankful for one of the better birthday gifts in recent memory.

Wonderful, if meandering, fantasy.......2007-01-04

Other than "fantasy" or "horror" it would be tough to classify this book. Sometimes I feel like the character development is straying wildly into social issues that Doctorow pretty much has to pound on every time he sits down at the computer, but all the way 'round it works.

If you allready have a taste for Mr. Doctorows works, this is not one to miss.

Phoned in,.......2006-12-27

"Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom" was pretty good, along with "Eastern Standard Tribe".

This book is either an artist taking a risk, or a THC-fueled attempt to squeeze a few bucks from a reputation.

I'm unhappy enough to be betting on the latter.

Oh, and BTW, I own all three books as hardcovers. I used to trust the guy that much. No longer.

Customer Reviews:

Like running a marathon (I think).......2006-08-04

I don't run marathons, but people that do tell me that after finishing one the sense of accomplishment alone is exhilarating. I am not a fast reader and it took me several months to get through this 1,400-page book (between both volumes), every page of which is loaded with information. And that's not counting the equally absorbing and informative appendices which you will also feel compelled to read. Fortunately, the author had a gift for referring the reader back to key concepts mentioned previously in the book (with chapter section or page number!) at just the right time, which made it impossible to lose thread of the argument.

Moreover, this is a book to be savored slowly, like good wine. You will marvel at the ease with which this man navigated in and out of and through the Apocrypha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Talmud, Josephus, Philo, and even Islamic literature (let alone the Gospels themselves). Unlike more pretentious counterparts (Ehrman, anyone?), he was kind enough to transliterate Greek words, and confident enough that his doing so did not detract from the erudition of his work. There really is not a single aspect (actually, there isn't a single word) of the Passion Narratives which this book does not elaborate. His ability to explain the context in which each Gospel was written (period, intended audience, theological internal consistency) is illuminating.

If I were to fault the author for one thing, it would be that he gave too much exposition to viewpoints other than his. While this effort at evenhandedness is commendable, as you advance through the book you are so convinced of Fr. Brown's authority that you really don't care what the opposing positions might be.

Some more fundamentalist-minded readers seem to have a beef wih Fr. Brown. I have not read work from his early years when he may have taken more radical positions, but there is nothing in this book that detracts from Catholic dogma. He simply employed rigorous analytical tools to the study of the Gospels and stated when specific events are or are not corroborated by such investigation. On one hand, he unequivocally clarified that the Gospels were not written with the foreknowledge that they would be so scrutinized and any such failure would not invalidate them in any way. The cornerstone of the Gospels' authority lies in their early and continuous use in Church liturgy. On the other hand, you will be amazed by how much of them does stand such analysis.

When I was in Catholic school and we had a tough religious question that our teachers couldn't answer, they would say "I don't know, but our Holy Church has wise scholars who surely know the answer". I now know that such people do exist and Fr. Brown was one of them.

"Destroy This Temple, and I Will Raise It Up In Three Days.".......2004-12-13

Suffice to say that this two-volume work is the definitive English treatment of Biblical scholarship on the Passion Narratives. Prescinding a moment from the sacred matter of the study, one has to be impressed with the author's command of Biblical scholarship in several contemporary languages, not to mention the intricacies of ancient Greek, Latin, and Aramaic. He is well versed in the history of Biblical scholarship dating to Jerome and Augustine. Father Brown knows his academic peers, their methodologies, emphases, and biases. He is blunt in his praises and criticisms of others working the field. This work is a tribute to Father Brown's single-minded devotion to his field.

The first volume of 900 pages treats of the Gethsemanae events through the condemnation of Christ by Pilate. Brown poses the existence of one or possibly a few distinct and original oral Passion accounts. The Last Supper and the Resurrection accounts are both excluded from this study, as the author believes that the meal with the Twelve and the mysterious empty tomb/apparition accounts come from other distinct early Christian sources. The style is considerably more expository than inspirational, though for such a highly technical work the narrative flow is quite adequate. A reader with little time or theological background might do well to read Father Brown's "A Crucified Christ in Holy Week," a 70-page reflection on the author's study of the Passion.

Father Brown's work continues the tradition of "redaction criticism" of the New Testament, perhaps the predominant methodology of the past half-century. Redaction criticism contrasts the four stories of the Christ by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John to discern a particular philosophy or theology of Christ unique to that author or his community. The Matthean Christ, for example, emerges as the New Moses; the Markan Christ as the unique prophet of a new age of forgiveness, etc. There is some subtle development of redaction conclusions in the work at hand. Father Brown does not believe it is possible to identify the Gospel authors with certainty. From a historical vantage point, the best one can say is that the nuclei of the Gospel accounts, including the Passion tradition[s], originated in early Christian circles, somewhere between 30-60 A.D. Father Brown's work tends to smooth or ameliorate what had been sharply defined boundaries between the evangelists. He tends throughout his treatment to pair Mark and Matthew, in gentle opposition to Luke. He even makes attempts to find common ground in Mark and John, something my professors of the early 1970's rarely attempted.

Father Brown puts more energy into finding bridges between the Gospel narratives and Hebrew Scripture accounts. Thus he underscores the remarkable cohesion of the Christian tradition of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemanae and the story of David's flight from Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 15ff. If the reader takes the time to examine the 2 Samuel text, the parallels are uncanny. The roots of the Judas character, a covey of conspirators, and a mental/spiritual agony on the Mount of Olives are compiled there. In fact, there are even traces of Jesus' warnings to the Apostles in 2 Samuel 15:14-15. The author concludes that the death of Jesus can be understood only in the context of Jewish history, and that the primitive oral account or accounts of the Passion were formulated with considerable influence from the Hebrew Scripture.

The centerpiece of this volume is the judicial action against Jesus. Father Brown establishes that the Sanhedrin owned its maximum responsibility for Jesus' fate, and that likewise Pilate owned his maximum responsibility as well. It was not the Romans who initiated charges against Jesus. Politically speaking, Roman-Jewish relations were as tranquil as they had ever been or ever would be. Any idea that Jesus was prosecuted for political subversion is dismantled. Pilate's condemnation was an unusual but not unheard of acquiescence to the wishes of the Sanhedrin.

On the contrary, Jesus died for religious reasons, specifically issues of Jewish theology and practice. The Sanhedrin did not wish to crucify Jesus for doing kindly deeds or attracting crowds. Rather, it was Jesus' powerful rebuke of the contemporary practice of temple-based Jewish life and worship that placed a cross upon the shoulders of the Christ. There is a progression of prophetic criticism from Jesus' lips of legalism, ritualism, casuistry, exclusivity, and spiritual malaise in all four Gospel biographies. Earlier in Jesus' ministry the rebukes seemed to hold forth the hope that current Jewish practice could be reformed. But on the eve of Passover, Jesus' prediction that he himself could destroy the Temple and raise it in three days constituted wholesale blasphemy as heard by Jewish elders. For as Father Brown implies, Jewish leaders who heard this declaration understood it more clearly than later Christians who interpreted it metaphorically. [Recall Matthew's remark that at the moment of his death the curtain of the Holy of Holies-the heart of the cult-was rent from top to bottom.] Jesus was indeed testifying that the Temple cult was dead. Obviously, this kind of thinking and preaching was untenable and demanded the strongest of responses.

Father Brown has never in his lengthy career felt restrained by Jewish sensitivities to water down his belief that the Sanhedrin is primarily responsible for Jesus' death. But neither has any scholar of my acquaintance gone to greater pains to underscore the existential nature of Jesus' condemnation: it was this Sanhedrin, at this point in time, in this political environment that condemned Jesus. The author sharply condemns any broader generalizations of an anti-Semitic nature. It is true, however, that the author's works on the community of the Evangelist John tend to elaborate sufferings of later Christian communities at the hands of their former Jewish comrades in faith. Does this point of view influence Father Brown's treatment of the Sanhedrin in this work? Good scholars may argue this point, but no one can disagree that Father Brown has done his homework. In spades.

The best resource on the 36 hours before the crucifixion.......2002-02-22

It's hard to believe that a guy could write 1500 some pages on 36 hours of a person's life. Yet it makes for fascinating reading, and Father Brown leaves few stones unturned in his penetrating look at the final hours of Jesus' earthly ministry. In volume one, he discusses the relationships between the first three gospels and the gospel of John, and then he proceesed on to a discussion of each gospel's passion narrative. Father Brown's main agenda is to get at the meaning of the biblical text as it stands. This is not to say that Brown shys away from discussing the historicity of a particular passage. Sometimes, he swims against the stream by leaving open the possibility of the historicity of a story (eg. that there really was a Jewish and a Roman trial of Jesus). And occasionally, he sees the passion stories as powerful metaphors rather than something that actually happened (cf John 18, when the crowd falls to the ground when Jesus says 'I am He.") Yet He is also rightfully skeptical about modern attempts to reconstruct what actually happened 1970 years ago. He prefers to let the text of scripture speak for itself.

This book is a huge, academic tome, and as rich and informative as it is, the reader better be prepared to make heavy weather of it. You could spend lots of extra time mining extra information out of all the footnotes and bibliographical references that Brown cites. But I could hardly recommend any other source for people who want to know more about the passion of Christ.

Serious contemplation of the passion of Christ.......2002-02-04

The late Ray Brown is one of the most highly respected Christian scholars of our time. Although he was Roman Catholic his work is regarded very highly among non-Catholic scholars and he was a passionate but fearlessly clear thinker with a lucid and beautiful writing style.

This work is the culmination of a lifetime of serious study and contemplation of the four canonical Gospels. In it he contrasts and compares in great detail the passion stories as they play out in the three so-called synoptic gospels and the fourth, the Gospel of John.

This two-volume work is certainly not an "easy read" but is indeed rewarding and manageable by any general layperson with the will to perservere in study. For example, unlike some works of no greater scholarly attainment, it does not presuppose a knowledge of ancient languages, and can be read in isolation (with occasional use of a Bible), not sending you round to find background studies to try to make sense of what you are reading. I would recommend this work highly to anyone seeking a better understanding of the Passion of Christ.

A Lifetime of Learning.......2001-11-07

[Note: By mistake I had previously given this book one star. Someone kindly pointed this out to me, so I am correcting this. I am also adding a third paragraph.]

There is no doubt that these two volumns are absolutely required reading for anyone with a serious interest in the death of Jesus. Father Brown brought to bear a lifetime of study and reflection on his subject.

It should perhaps be noted that his book is fully within the Roman Catholic tradition. Do not expect to find many conclusions that differ greatly from traditional Catholic teachings on the subject. Students who are influenced by scholars such as the Jesus Seminar or John Dominic Crossan will find much to disagree with.

But even the most liberal scholars will have to take this book very seriously. The Jesus Seminar and Crossan can argue very reasonably about what percentage of all the words attributed to Jesus are really his. But few doubt that Jesus was crucifed. (Muslims, whose beliefs are based upon what the Koran says about the subject, are the only reasonable persons who think that Jesus was not killed on the cross. The others are crackpots.) So there must have been some sort of trial, Jews confering with each other and with Romans, and so forth. Thus there is, I think, more possibility for agreement here than on some other issues.

Average customer rating:
Summer in a Jar: Making Pickles, Jams & More
Andrea Chesman
Manufacturer: Williamson Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PLXUYC

Average customer rating:

Bought my own when our library's copy fell apart!

Pickles are Great; Low-Sugar, No-Pectin Jam is Messy & Tart

Pickles are Great; Low-Sugar, No-Pectin Jam is Messy & Tart

Fantastic! Great recipes!

A must for home canners.

Summer in a Jar: Making Pickles, Jams and More
Andrea Chesman
Manufacturer: Williamson Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Canning & Preserving | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Pickles and Relishes: From Apples to Zucchinis, 150 recipes for preserving the harvest

Preserving Summer's Bounty: A Quick and Easy Guide to Freezing, Canning, and Preserving, and Drying What You Grow

Quick Pickles: Easy Recipes for Big Flavor

Blue Ribbon Preserves: Secrets to Award-Winning Jams, Jellies, Marmalades and More

Pickled: Vegetables, Fruits, Roots, More--Preserving a World of Tastes and Traditions

ASIN: 0913589144

Customer Reviews:

Bought my own when our library's copy fell apart!.......2005-06-09

Simply the best book for making low-sugar fruit preserves! I love to be able to taste the fruit, not the sugar, when I eat jam and preserves, so I decided to make my own. After searching high and low for a comprehensive book of recipes, I've found that this is the only one I need. I love that the recipes are set up in such a way as to allow multiplying and dividing of a batch. Perfect for making a few jars for gift giving. Haven't tried the pickles yet, but my family and friends have told me that the recipes from this book are the best they've ever tasted. One caveat: it has always taken me much more time to cook the fruit than the recipe states. Now that I know that, I just allow more time.

Pickles are Great; Low-Sugar, No-Pectin Jam is Messy & Tart.......2001-07-07

An innovative idea drives this book, since canning single-jar and small-quantity preserves or pickles is a great way to keep up with a small garden's produce. The chapter called "Single Jar Pickles" contains 27 recipes for preserving a wide variety of vegetables in hot vinegar. The "Salt-Brined Pickles" chapter outlines ...well, pickling in salt brine, of course. The "Relishes and Chutneys" chapter and the section on "Quick and Easy Freezer Pickles" also cater to the home gardener who wishes to put up small harvests without much fuss. A couple of recipes for baked fruit butters eliminate much of the mess and fuss (and second-degree burns!) associated with open-kettle preparation. :) If you are interested in these topics, then by all means give this book a try. HOWEVER...if you intend to concoct jams, jellies, marmalades, preserves or conserves, you may want to seek another source. The low-sugar, no-pectin-added fruit preserves taste less like premium home-made jam than like barely sweetened mashed fruit. Leaving out commercial pectin, and cutting WAY down on sugar, necessitates steps like these: long boiling times (10-30 minutes versus 1 minute with added pectin); use of a jelly thermometer or other lower-tech method to test for gel stage; and an addition of diced tart apples to nearly all jams and jellies. Since the rest of the book is filled with recipies modified for modern needs, it seems anachronistic to revert to this older, messier, less convenient form of jelly-making. IF YOU NEED LOW-SUGAR JAM recipes for health reasons, this is your book. If you want soft-spreading fruit with a barely sweetened flavor, use Summer in a Jar. IF ALL YOU WANT IS SWEET, EASY, REGULAR OL' JAM, get another source--like the Ball Blue Book.

Pickles are Great; Low-Sugar, No-Pectin Jam is Messy & Tart.......2001-07-07

Fantastic! Great recipes!.......2000-07-14

This is fantastic! I've started canning just this year. I bought four canning books, and 90% of the canning I've done has been from this one. Super for small batches, but they're easily converted to larger ones. Fantastic for the home gardener--even if you have a small garden. There are great recipes for salsa, tomato sauces, pickles of all flavors, hot peppers, &jardineres.

A must for home canners........2000-03-28

This cookbook does not look like much from the outside, but the recipes inside are a must for anyone who makes their own pickles, jams, or jellies. The recipes are simple to follow and there is a lot of variety to choose from. The Tarragon Green Beans are always a hit for me.

Average customer rating:
Handbook for American Brilliant Cut Glass (Schiffer Book for Collectors with Price Guide)
Bill Boggess , and Louise Boggess
Manufacturer: Schiffer+publishing Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Glass & Glassware | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Glass & Glassware | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Pottery & Ceramics | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Identifying American Brilliant Cut Glass (Schiffer Book for Collectors)

Encyclopedia of American Cut and Engraved Glass (Schiffer Book for Collectors)

Evers' Standard Cut Glass Value Guide

Collecting American Brilliant Cut Glass, 1876-1916

American Cut and Engraved Glass: The Brilliant Period in Historical Perspective

ASIN: 0764312251

Book Description

Woodworkers will add charm to their homes with these classic pieces in the traditional American Country style. Each of the twenty-three projects will be attractive to beginners and experts due to their easy-to-read plans and the popularity of Country-style furniture. These are proven projects compiled from classic issues of Popular Woodworking magazine--the #1 woodworking project magazine today!

This book simplifies the building process and makes every project more accessible by first showing how to build three amazing jigs woodworkers can use to make every piece in the book. They'll learn to build everything from a pipe to a step-back cupboard, plus a Shaker blanket chest, a farmer's flip-top desk, Queen Anne side tables, a country spice cabinet, a Shaker tailor's table and a tiger maple medicine cabinet.

* Country style is a very popular furniture style, ranking #1 on the Popular Woodworking woodworker survey
* Contains a wide range of 23 projects in all!

Customer Reviews:

Building Traditional Country Furniture.......2004-09-12

This book is not for the novice wookworker. Details of design are skipped with the assumption you either know the cut or the implementation of the step. i.e. the traditional secretary furniture- the builder wait almost 10 years to develop the skills to build this piece of furniture.

Book Description

You want a beautiful home, but you donÂ't want to sacrifice health and comfort in the name of elegance. With The Healthy Home, you donÂ't have to. YouÂ'll learn how to promote and protect your physical, mental, and spiritual health as well as that of the environment. YouÂ'll also find the technical information you need to create and maintain healthy living spaces for you and your family.

YouÂ'll learn how toxin-free environments can reduce stress, address allergies and other ailments, boost vitality, and foster well-being. More than 75 full-color photographs illustrate attractive and creative approaches to healthy living.

Use this book as your guide to transform your house into a gracious retreat that celebrates the good life and honors the environment. With The Healthy Home, you can turn any living space into a serene oasis where health and happiness flourish.

Customer Reviews:

Tranquility, Clarity, Balance.......2003-08-02

My first response to Jackie Craven's HEALTHY HOME was: Ahhhhhh ... it's like a restorative trip to a beautiful, calming spa between two covers! Then I quickly realized that this wonderful book is loaded with clear, practical advice on how to actually make that "calming spa" your very own home. Talk about inspiring! The serene, inviting rooms in the photographs are pleasantly balanced with the author's easygoing, conversational text. For those of us who are serious about transforming our currently cluttered, inefficient, grubby digs into clean, well-ordered oases that soothe the soul, delight the senses, and comfort the carcass, HEALTHY HOMES is the perfect prescription.

A feast for the eye and the mind!.......2003-04-10

Our homes should be our refuge, our havens for peace, relaxation, and rejuvenation. We want to feel safe; we want spaces that are ergonomic and responsive to our needs; we want to choose environmentally friendly materials. But how to accomplish all of this and have beautiful living spaces? This book tells you how. The back cover says it all-Make your home healthier, happier and more beautiful!

The author does a wonderful job inspiring you to create beautiful interiors that will enhance your spiritual, mental and physical health- and she gives you the practical information and the resources you need to maintain a healthy home. A feast for the eye and the mind! Highly recommended!

Book Description

Science fiction imagery can open our minds to worlds. Jim Burns’ intriguing illustration for The Ceremonies, which combines human figures with an evocative landscape, resonates powerfully with eerie lighting, unusual colors, beautifully characterized faces, and multiple narrative levels. Other fascinating works include the golden-toned cover for Born with the Dead and the cityscape for Rendezvous with Rama 3.

Customer Reviews:

The Guy Who Painted Pictures of the Movie in My Head..........2001-02-09

Okay, so I know I said lots of good things about this amazing artist already, in my review of his collection "Transluminal", but it bears repeating, especially when I just found out that "Lightship" was back in print. This book shows off a lot of the great work from Jim Burns's early career, and is worth daydreaming over for hours on end. Many British covers are featured, stuff that never made it across the sea to American bookshelves. I am personally most fond of the interpretations of Jack Vance, which for me captured the essential spirit of this master of exotic adventure SF. But I also enjoy all the Silverberg covers, all of which which evoke a sense of futuristic decadence and wild tech run amok. Nobody is as good at turning Mr. Silverberg's wonderfully descriptive prose into jaw-droppingly gorgeous imagery, and when I think of Majipoor I think of Burns's baroque architecture and ornate flying cars, as well as his mysteriously beautiful ladies and aliens. If only more SF movies could look half as good as these paintings; if only more production designers would fess up and admit that they've been ripping off Burns for years.

Lightship - Jim Burns, Master of SF Illustration

Average customer rating:

Lightship - Jim Burns, Master of SF Illustration

Manufacturer: Paper Tiger
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HKAXD2

Book Description

Lindsay Anderson was the most original British filmmaker and theatrical director of his generation. His films If . . . , O Lucky Man!, and Britannia Hospital created a Human Comedy of life in Britain during the second half of the twentieth century and were witty, daring, and often prophetic. This Sporting Life and O Lucky Man! made Richard Harris and Malcolm McDowell international stars; The Whales of August provided Lillian Gish, Bette Davis, and Ann Sothern the opportunity to give extraordinary farewell performances.

He also directed notable documentaries in several countries: in Britain, the Academy Award-winning Thursday's Children, about a school for deaf-mute children; in Poland, The Singing Lesson, a personal impression of a group of students at a drama school. In China, he recorded the 1985 concert tour by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley of WHAM!

As a theatre director he collaborated with playwright David Storey on a series of successes (The Contractor, The Changing Room, In Celebration, Home), and he worked with such actors as John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Alan Bates, Albert Finney, Helen Mirren, Peter O'Toole, Joan Plowright, and Rachel Roberts.

Anderson was, as well, an outspoken and sometimes ferocious critic of British films--and of Britain itself. He was the author of the most important and acclaimed book on John Ford. And he was one of Gavin Lambert's closest friends for more than fifty years.

Lambert's book begins with his and Anderson's days as movie-struck schoolboys, becoming fast friends, growing up in the shadow of World War II. He shows us their postwar creation of and collaboration on the influential magazine Sequence--a magazine that was produced on love and a shoestring, and which shook up the British film world with its admiration for both Hollywood noir and MGM musicals (at the time unfashionable genres) and its celebration of such directors as Ford, Buñuel, Cocteau, Vigo, and Sturges.

He describes how both men rebelled in opposite directions--Anderson remaining in England, Lambert leaving in 1958 for Los Angeles--and traces their unorthodox paths through the film industry.

An illuminating, multifaceted portrait--of a friendship, of postwar moviemaking on both sides of the Atlantic, and, mainly, of the remarkable Lindsay Anderson.

Customer Reviews:

A Unique and Deeply Insightful Book.......2003-06-16

Gavin Lambert has written many books about the motion picure business, both fictional and non, but this is far and away the most remarkable. A tribute to a great filmmaker and a through examination of world he lived in, it's also a partial autobiography -- with Lambert's digressions on his affair with Nicholas Ray sharply constrating with Anderson's difficulties in having the lover he longed for. Anderson was capable of producing some of the most indelible homoerotic images in the history of the cinema, yet his own life suffered from sexual and emotional constraint.

No one who wants to know about the British cinema, or one of the most remarkable creative talents Great Britain has ever produced, can afford to pass up this book.

Superficial and dull.......2002-07-22

Too much Lambert: i.e., creaky, stilted, and boring.

His "outing" of the late Nicholas Ray is offensive and exploitive. Moreover, I find it difficult to believe that the explosively talented, sophisticated Ray took Lambert as a lover.

A fine study for film buffs and cinema history students........2001-01-04

British filmmaker Anderson's films were witty social commentaries for the late 20th century, while his documentaries were revealing and educational. Mainly About Lindsay Anderson provides a biographical review of his life and an assessment of his career and achievements, from his early days as a movie-goer to his later influential creations within the industry. Any studying modern film history will find this a fine study.

Remembering a Difficult Friend.......2000-10-03

Director and critic Lindsay Anderson was one of the makers of modern British cinema so this memoir "mainly about" him by his school chum and life-long friend Gavin Lambert is necessary reading for all serious students of film. But it is equally compelling an addition to the "literature of creativity" and so of interest to anyone concerned with the phenomenon of artistic production. Anderson had a vivid personality, warm and generous but often combative and sometimes hysterical, a character Lambert renders in telling detail. Anderson's world of theatre and film from the 1950's through the '90s is also drawn in fascinating if hardly encouraging terms.

Lindsay Anderson: Maverick Film Maker & Mainly About Lindsay Anderson & Camera Cambridge University Film Quarterly. .(Book Review): An article from: Cineaste

Average customer rating:

Lindsay Anderson: Maverick Film Maker & Mainly About Lindsay Anderson & Camera Cambridge University Film Quarterly. .(Book Review): An article from: Cineaste
Brian Neve
Manufacturer: Cineaste Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0008FYM7E
Release Date: 2005-07-30

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Cineaste, published by Cineaste Publishers, Inc. on December 22, 2002. The length of the article is 1811 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Lindsay Anderson: Maverick Film Maker & Mainly About Lindsay Anderson & Camera Cambridge University Film Quarterly. .(Book Review)
Author: Brian Neve
Publication: Cineaste (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 22, 2002
Publisher: Cineaste Publishers, Inc.
Volume: 28 Issue: 1 Page: 60(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Average customer rating:

Mainly About Lindsay Anderson
Gavin Lambert
Manufacturer: Alfred A. Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K1EMTY

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books