Book Description
Mike on these occasions was silent and jumpy, his brow "sicklied o'er with the pale cast of care." But Psmith followed his leader with the pleased and indulgent air of a father whose infant son is showing him round the garden. Psmith's attitude toward archaeological research struck a new note in the history of that neglected science. He was amiable, but patronizing. He patronized fossils, and he patronized ruins. If he had been confronted with the Great Pyramid, he would have patronized that.
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Mike on these occasions was silent and jumpy, his brow "sicklied o'er with the pale cast of care." But Psmith followed his leader with the pleased and indulgent air of a father whose infant son is showing him round the garden. Psmith's attitude toward archaeological research struck a new note in the history of that neglected science. He was amiable, but patronizing. He patronized fossils, and he patronized ruins. If he had been confronted with the Great Pyramid, he would have patronized that.
Customer Reviews:
The beginnings of Psmith and vintage Wodehouse.......2006-11-04
This book was originally published as two separate serials, _Jackson Junior_ and _The Lost Lambs_, and the connection between the two is not strong. The only continuing character is Mike Jackson, and the starting point for the second half is largely inconsistent with his characterization in the second. _Jackson Junior_ is a fairly typical early Wodehouse Wrykyn school story, with the usual weak plot about pointlessly misbehaving schoolboys mostly escaping their well-deserved punishment, though it's the best of the lot, with clearly-drawn characters and amusing incidents.
_The Lost Lambs_, however, is the start of the turning point in Wodehouse's career: in it he introduces his first great character, Psmith. The plot is still weak, and driven largely by lazy coincidences and by characters acting in ways they obviously wouldn't. But Psmith's attitude and dialogue show the first flashes of Wodehouse's mature style.
Hilarious Antics and Pranks of Boarding School Scamps.......2004-10-01
Most people who have read P.G. Wodehouse have focused on his Jeeves and Blandings Castle stories. In those books and short stories, the aristocratic bumblers often refer fondly back to their old school chums and the rollicking times they had while there. The Drones Club is often the starting site for trying to recreate those halcyon days. Occasionally, Bertie Wooster is called upon to interact with some school or another and those tales are often brilliantly funny as he climbs in and out of where he isn't supposed to be.
I recently read Plum Sauce, the excellent P.G. Wodehouse companion, and found that Mr. Wodehouse had also written a number of earlier books and stories based on school days. I wondered what they would be like.
An early offering was called Mike, from 1909. The book is now titled Mike and Psmith (pronounced "Smith" according to the book and the author). Psmith became a major character for Mr. Wodehouse in latter years, so this is his origin story. Psmith will remind you of a young Gally (who is often found in the Blandings stores).
The story begins simply enough. Young Mike Jackson is happily enjoying the end of his public school (that's a private school in the UK) education before heading off to Cambridge to start his university studies. He's about to become the captain of the Wrykyn cricket squad and is the team's star batter.
Life is good only briefly for young Mike, however. His father had warned him that another bad report about his academic performance and young Mike would be shipped off to another school. When that report arrives, he father packs him off to cricket and social Siberia, Sedleigh.
Mike vows to be as indolent as ever in his academics and to refuse to involve himself in cricket for such a lowly place. He's joined in this attitude by Psmith who arrives as a recently expelled new student at about the same time. The two find that they're from the same part of England and social class, and quickly team up against those whom they see as little more than mildly amusing bumpkins.
Their attitudes allow them to be quite effective in pulling the wool over the eyes of his housemaster who is easily manipulated in many amusing ways. Those same attitudes put both young men right in the sights of an increasingly angry and vengeful form master who supervises their academic performance.
The conflict continually escalates in humorous ways that had me happily laughing aloud on many pages. I also enjoyed the story because it brought back memories of many wonderful pranks that I helped play when I was in high school.
All of the conflicts are eventually resolved in typically unexpected and very ironic ways.
Now, for those who don't know a cricket pitch from a bocce court, I suggest that you not be inhibited by that sport's appearance in this book. You'll get the general idea, and that's all you really need.
If you would like to have some specific ideas of what Mr. Wodehouse meant by Bertie's relations with all of his old school chums, be sure to read Mike and Psmith. It's a corker!
Grounded Wodehouse.......2000-11-14
If you pick up Mike and Psmith and expect it to be like the wacky comedies that Wodehouse composed in the 20s and 30s, you might be slighted disappointed. This is early Wodehouse, a Wodehouse concerned with school masters, ragging (an expression for creating mischief) and especially cricket. It is also a more grounded Wodehouse, a novel where the comedy is more subtle, a novel where the characters are not quite so flighty. This is also Wodehouse at his least complex. This is not the novel that shows his mastery of the convulted plot, where every word spoken and deed done entagles our heros and heroines in further trouble.
This said, I need to quickly confirm that Mike and Psmith is a wonderful novel. It still has a freshness and innocence about it that is highly appealing. In this day and age, of rampant murders and unclear elections, Mike and Psmith is as sunny and cheerful a book as you are likely to find. And just to show you that I read Mike and Psmith with my eyes wide open, I have to state that my early comments are not intended as criticism but as a compliment. The subtlety is the very reason why this novel is so great! It is his art in creating a scene or a character and putting in the interesting setting of Sedleigh that Wodehouse shows why so many refer to him as the Master.
Mike and Psmith is not the funniest book Wodehouse wrote, but it does have many incredible scenes, especially Mr. Downing's search for the paint splashed shoe. I agree with the other reviewers that this is the high point of the book. I think readers will find a lot to enjoy in this novel. It is an escape to a world not that far removed for our own but placed in a time that we will never see again. This novel truly scores a century!
hysterical.......2000-07-24
This is so, so completely funny. I love this book. I have read it so many times and it's still funny. It's about this two English boys at school. The school-story genre is fairly grim, I know, with all it's moralizing and weird relationships between students etc., but this is so completely funny. It's probably my favorite of all the Psmith books (although, Leave it to Psmith is fairly excellent as well).
Very enjoyable.......2000-04-21
I have to confess that I am a Wodehouse addict. I read the predecessor to this book (Mike at Wrykyn) when I was fifteen and had always wanted to read Mike and Psmith. Re. this book, Wodehouse had me in stitches most of the time - the portions relating to Mr. Downing are hilarious. Cricket is also a focus of this novel. If you are like me and miss the game, this will bring those school time memories flooding back.
For those who haven't read a Psmith novel before, I highly recommend them. It is said that Wodehouse created the Jeeves and Wooster characters as 2 spin-offs from Psmith and you can certainly see the connections! On the whole, another Wodehouse classic.
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Mike and Psmith
G. P. Wodehouse
Manufacturer: IndyPublish
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
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ASIN: 1435337859 |
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Mike and Psmith
P.G. Wodehouse
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OIXE92 |
Average customer rating:
- A Subversive Cult Classic
- The Borribles Trilogy
- AT LAST! GOOD NEWS
- THANK YOU MWHARM FOR THE INFO.NOW WHAT CAN WE DO?
- Here's what I read about him...
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The Borribles: Across the Dark Metropolis
Michael de Larrabeiti
Manufacturer: Ace Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books | Action & Adventure | Children's Literature Guides | Classics by Age | Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths | General | Humorous | Literary Criticism & Collections | Poetry | Popular Culture | Read-Aloud | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror | Short Story Collections
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The Borribles Go for Broke
ASIN: 0441003117 |
Customer Reviews:
A Subversive Cult Classic.......2003-07-10
The Borribles is a truly subversive piece of children's literature. The trilogy takes all the epic fantasy elements of Tolkien: adventure, clansmanship, codes of honour, and inverts them against a backdrop of urban decay and social entropy. Borribles are children who run away from home, scavenge for food and would live forever were it not for the adult world's constant attempts at dragging them jealously back into the madness of workaday mortality. De Larrabeiti is obsessed with the geography of a London that he depicts as a city of near total squalor. The Thames is black and cholera ridden, warehouses crumble, schools lay in ruins and mindless commuters shuffle blindly to work each morning whilst the wily Borribles steal fruit from markets, carry catapults for protection and attempt to live outside of the rat-race. As the story progresses, so does Larrabeiti's vision, shifting from the relatively whimsical sparring of rival subhuman groups -Borribles versus the strange, rat-like Rumbles- to a more serious depiction of a highly moral youth culture where money is an evil temptation, corroding the Borribles' scruffy, communal utopia, forcing them out of hiding and into battle with the adult world; a world teaming with sadistic policemen, hysterical civilians and degenerate alcoholic child-snatchers. A world where the only friendly adults are tramps, wasters and circus freaks. Not hard to see then, why the books never made it onto school reading lists. Yet the characterisation is mature and moving, the plotline ingenious and thrilling. But perhaps most impressive of all is the whole Borrible mythology: a coherent world complete with proverbs, songs, rules, lore and ethical codes, thriving beneath the grimy, menacing mess of modern London. Arguably one of the greatest works of children's fiction and almost certainly the darkest and most morally ambiguous, The Borribles is a fantasy saga ripe for comic-strip and film adaptation, yet it appears to have slipped into near obscurity...
The Borribles Trilogy.......2002-06-25
It's really weird ... for the last few months, I'd been remembering bits of the "Borribles" though I couldn't remember what they were actually called or who the author was. It was driving me mad, I remembered reading these 2 books (the first 2 in the trilogy) about fifteen years ago, and all of a sudden the stories came back to me and I couldn't remember enough to find out who had written them or what they were called ... after months of trawling through second hand bookshops and Amazon, I walked into the local shop and discovered - to my immense and somewhat stunned delight - that all 3 had been reprinted in one volume. Needless to say I purchased it on the spot .. about a week ago. I've now reread it all and THEY'RE AMAZING. Forget the lord of the rings, harry potter, forget dickens, forget shakespere, Mr de Larrabeiti is a writer of no small talent. Across the Dark Metropolis is the conclusion of the trilogy and better than the first two... not that they were bad, at all. Each just gets better. I'd almost wish for a fourth but I think that would spoil the beauty of them, one follows so well onto the next, yet each is stand alone. I can't praise them highly enough: I've got a stack of books, historical, fantasy, murder mystery, all waiting to be read, and they jumped the whole queue. My memories of these books weren't wrong. If you haven't already, go out and buy them yourself.
Steve
AT LAST! GOOD NEWS.......2001-09-27
According to the Borrible website, The Borrible Trilogy is to be reprinted in the summer of 2002! The fans have been heard!!
THANK YOU MWHARM FOR THE INFO.NOW WHAT CAN WE DO?.......1999-08-06
anyone who reads the reviews of de Larrabeiti's books can see how much they are loved. Instead of just lamenting the fact that he is out of print, it is time for some action. Does anyone have an address we can write to? Who was de larrabeiti's agent? Who was his primary publisher? Does de Larrabeiti know how much we love his books, and how much we would love to see sequels? Even if he no longer wishes to write, these should still be in print. These are true classics, and we should start some form of lobbying with publishers. Any ideas? ADDENDUM: 11/04-He is back in print! Buy! Read! These are wonderful!
Here's what I read about him..........1999-07-28
Michael De Larrabeiti (1937): British author: * the "Borribles" series of elf-like folks in a dark London: * The Borribles [1976] * The Borribles Go For Broke [1981] * The Borribles: Across the Dark Metropolis [1986] * The Provencal Tales [1988] story collection (according to "The Encyclopedia of Fantasy", John Clute & John Grant, St.Martin's, 1997, p.263)
Since he was born in 1937, its unlikely we'll see any more books...
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The Borribles: Across the Dark Metropolis (The Borribles)
Michael de Larrabeiti
Manufacturer: Tor Teen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Epic | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror | Literature | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Epic | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
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The Borribles Go For Broke (The Borribles)
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The Borribles
ASIN: 0765350076
Release Date: 2005-12-27 |
Book Description
What is a Borrible?
Borribles are runaways who dwell in the shadows of London. Apart from their pointed ears, they look just like ordinary children. They live by their wits and a few Borrible laws—the chief one being, Don’t Get Caught! The Borribles are outcasts—but they wouldn’t have it any other way….
The Borribles: Across the Dark Metropolis
Battersea was no longer safe for a Borrible. The Special Borrible Group—a secret section of the London police dedicated to finding Borribles and clipping their ears—was closing in. Driven on by the fanatical Inspector Sussworth, the SBG was determined to wipe them out once and for all. It was time to break out, escort Sam the horse to safety in Neasden, then return to the old Borrible life of independence and freedom. So began a perilous trek across the dark metropolis—a journey that would test the courage and cunning of the Adventurers to the limits.
Customer Reviews:
Who watches the Novas?.......2000-10-18
An interesting addition to the world Aberrant, this sourcebook gives further detail to The Directive . An international inteligency agency made by some of the worlds most powerful nations to counter and analise the growing powers of Novas(superhumans) and the changes and treaths they represent. It gives a good perspective of how the world's superpowers feel about the sudden rise of Project Utopia and the novas in general . They recognize their need for more information and new ways to deal with te Nova world.The Directive is their answer. This organization has the staded purpose of protecting the baseline(normal) majority of the world and their countries interests in face of Nova threats. They do their mostly normal human best to come up to deal with their superpowered opponents. It maybe not be always enough, but they do have a lot of aces and tecnology up their sleeves, and they will surprise more than one narrator and player. And if you want to run a campaign where normals face off against Novas this is the bedt book to go to. I heartily recommend this book for Aberrant fans since it gives good material to make the Directive either your protagnists or the antagonists in your Chronicles.And even if you plan to run other superhero Rpg, it may prove very useful in fleshing out an inteligency agency( like SHIELD marvel fans)in a world of superhumans.
Counter Conspiracy Goodness.......2000-08-29
Unlike the rest of the Aberrant books, I didn't order this one as soon as it came out. I waited until the "Elites" book came out and ordered them together. This book actually turned out to be the better of the two.
Unlike the "Elites" book which relies on bang 'em up, shoot 'em up high-powered combat (not that there's anything wrong with that), this book takes a low-powered thoughtful approach to the campaign. Most of the organization is made from normal humans who are forced to match wits with Nova's who can tear cities apart with their bare hands.
If you thought the Directive was another "Big Brother" organization, like I did, you are partially right, but compared to Project Utopia and many of the high powered psychotics running around, they are the lesser of many evil's. The Directive is not above invasion of privacy or even torture, but when you are facing down bad guys who could kill you with a glance, it is supposed you will do what you have to do.
This is definitely the book for a thinking man's party. The players must rely on subterfuge and strategy, and there are a few new rules, skills and backgrounds to complement this game-play along with a slew of new weapons. Low powered Nova's suddenly become far more interesting in this type of scenario.
If you like James Bond, Ronin (the Robert DeNiro movie) or X-Files, chances are you'll like this book. These guys are more than just spy's though. They are humanities first line of defence against the gods who live among us.
Average customer rating:
- best chicken ever
- Awesome!
- Fun delicious recipes and a fun read!
- Good Grilling Cookbook
- Easy, quick and great tasting food
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Beer-Can Chicken: And 74 Other Offbeat Recipes for the Grill
Steven Raichlen
Manufacturer: Workman Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
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Barbecuing & Grilling
| Outdoor Cooking
| Cooking, Food & Wine
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General
| Outdoor Cooking
| Cooking, Food & Wine
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Steven Raichlen Best of Barbecue SR8016 Stainless Beer Can Chicken Rack with Drip Pan
ASIN: 0761120165 |
Amazon.com
Steven Raichlen's Beer-Can Chicken tells everything one should ever need to know about roasting a chicken upright on top of a can of beer. For those who find that premise strange or silly (Raichlen, in fact, thanks his publisher for being "wacky enough" to produce the book), the author describes beer-can chicken as "the perfect bird, crackly crisp, succulent within ... the most flavorful chicken you've ever tasted."
Raichlen's goal is to encourage grillers to have fun and use their imagination, and he presents 74 "offbeat recipes" as starting points. Notable selections include Beer-Can Turkey, which requires a giant 32-ounce can of Foster's to do the job; Welder's Chicken, a stewing hen wrapped in aluminum foil and turned with welder's gloves; Dirty Steaks, cooked right on the coals; and Diabolical Chicken, soaked with spicy French mustard and which Raichlen makes "whenever I'm short on time or fancy ingredients but want to impress the hell out of my guests." There are also recipes for "beerless birds" (Ginger Ale Chicken, Black Cherry Soda Chicken), side dishes, and desserts, as well as info on grilling techniques and equipment.
A chicken straddling a beer can, at the very least, makes a great conversation piece at an outdoor beer bash. Raichlen's most helpful hint? Make sure the beer can is open before putting it on the grill. --Andy Boynton
Book Description
Chicken on a beer can? You bet! When Steven Raichlen, America's barbecue guru, says it's the best grilled chicken he's ever tasted, cooks stop and listen.
An essential addition to every grill jockey's library, Beer-Can Chicken presents 75 must-try beer-can variations and other offbeat recipes for the grill. Recipes such as Saigon Chicken with Lacquered Skin and Spicy Peanut Sauce, Root Beer Game Hens, Beer-Can Turkey (uses the 32-ounce Foster's), Stoned Chicken (it's grilled under a brick), Dirty Steak, Fish on a Board (Salmon with Brown Sugar Glaze), Mussels Eclade-grilled under pine needles, Grilled Eggs, Wacky Rumaki, Rotisseried Garlic Rolls-even Grilled Yellow Pepper Soup will have your mouth-watering. Whether on a can, on a stick, under a brick, in a leaf, on a plank, or in the embers, each grilling technique is explained in easy-to-follow steps, with recipes that guarantee no matter how crazy the technique, the results are always outstanding. So pop a cold one and have fun.
Customer Reviews:
best chicken ever.......2007-08-14
Excellent, well-written, with innovative recipes. We've been making beer-can chicken all summer and loving it. We're going to try the turkey for Thanksgiving.
Awesome!.......2007-06-09
I bought this for my brother and he says he can't wait to use it!
Fun delicious recipes and a fun read! .......2007-05-07
Soooo glad I ordered this book! Got a new Weber vertical poultry roaster for the grill (you have to buy one, worth the exorbitant price for the thing) combine it with this great book and voila - heaven in your grill! Bought one for a friend and ordering one for my son...go forth and purchase this and the Weber Poultry roaster and you will DINE TONITE!! (or when they come!) :)
Good Grilling Cookbook.......2006-03-15
This is a handy guide for anyone looking to find new recipes for your gas grill. I love cooking on the grill, and this book provided some interesting varaitions on some old favorites. Not every recipe was 5 star, but none were terrible. I am certain there is something for everyone.
Easy, quick and great tasting food.......2003-07-02
I became interested in this book after watching the TV show BBQ Bootcamp on the Food Network (try to watch that show if you can, it will help you understand the logic behind the recipes). Now that I have the book and have tried some of the unusual easy recipes I am more pleased than ever. The Beer Can Chicken alone may be the best chicken I've ever had. It's extra juicy and a little spicier than I would have expected but VERY GOOD.
Book Description
Owning chickens is fast becoming the latest in metropolitan chic. If you can't own them, you'll still want to read about them-witness the recent success of books such as Extraordinary Chickens and Living With Chickens. Another book is soon to hit the poultry bestseller list: This hilarious account of a rookie poultry-owner's experience raising birds in his backyard. Move over Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt (both rumored to raise chickens), Martin Gurdon has written the first "chicken memoir" of its kind. Bound to be a classic,
Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance follows the Gurdon family through the ups and downs of this wonderful hobby. In addition to providing eggs, the hens offer distractions from everyday life-BB has terrific telephone etiquette, the spirited but weak Yvette requires Gurdon to act as a personal trainer, and Wimpy is soon renamed Psycho when she's allowed to brood three of her eggs. The book chronicles the daily life of a chicken, including dust baths, brutal pecking-order rituals, gender-bending encounters, and, for its owner, the possibility of huge vet bills. The relationship between bird and human is by turns heartwarming and bewildering, but always entertaining. In fact, readers might even learn a thing or two about raising chickens in this lively book.
Customer Reviews:
entertaining.......2007-03-05
Okay I was a little surprised that this book was written by someone in England (I think). It was a very funny book. I was looking for information on raising chickens and it gave me an insight to the fowl personality. After reading this book I decided not to raise any chickens. It was funny though. And realize this book is not an American's perspective. I did not know that before reading the book. If you are undecided as to if you want to keep chickens as a hobby then you need to read this book before making your final decision.
I was laughing at the first paragraph!.......2006-12-27
I loved this book. It had a lot of information about chickens although it isn't a complete chicken raising manual. I highly recommend it as an addition to other chicken books for learning about chickens.
I also recommend it for anyone who isn't interested in raising chickens as it is a great story.
Hope he writes another one..............2006-10-12
I thought this book was wonderful.....An easy read--perfect for curling up at night and reading a chapter or two--I didn't want it to end! For those who have chickens, you will find yourself laughing out loud at the stories (who hasn't encountered an 'oops' rooster??!) as the author stumbles through the life lessons that chickens undoubtably provide! For those who don't have chickens, its still an entertaining read--full of humor--the names the author gives his chickens (Egghead, Bald Bird, etc.) had me laughing all the time......
However, this book is not too great on the facts--I found several discrepancies that the auther had not researched and were based more in theory than anything, but who cares??? The book was great fun and I suggest it to all. Actually a fabulous book to read aloud to someone as well. Thoroughly entertaining!
Cute, quirky and heartwarming.......2006-09-12
I must say this book was quite addictive. Once I picked it up it was hard to put down. The author's style of writing, was easy to read. He told this story in such a personal way about his flock of chickens. Being a small flock owner I liked the real and not overly scripted way he told of his enjoyments and heartbreaks in the chicken raising endeavor. The lengths that us chicken keepers will go to save the health of a pet is amazing. After reading about the author & the chicken Yvette and her/his physical therapy I was in stitches laughing!!
The only thing that I didn't like about this book was all the cursing and cutesy chicken shagging references. The reason I don't like these remarks is that this otherwise would've been a book I'd of liked to share with my younger neice.
There is also a kind of sequel to this book called I believe Traveling with a Man and his chicken.
so true.......2006-07-28
Although it's not written in an informational format, I learned a thing or two about chicken raising, and I've had chickens for years.
I very much enjoyed the chicken stories told by the author and related to more than one.
The antics of his rooster Fred were so similar to my rooster's behavior that I laughed long and hard. Then I waited up for my daughter to return home so I could share that story with her as she is constantly telling me that my rooster belongs in the cook pot not roaming the yards for his Fred type antics.
This book is entertaining and informative, and if you are wondering if chickens really behave that way, let me assure that yes by all means, they do!
Book Description
Quilts are bold and beautiful, treasured by family members, valued by museums and collectors, and exciting to view. Exceptional quilts were produced by the innovative quilt makers of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. This book features a spectacular array of quilts made by Amish, Mennonite, and other Pennsylvania German groups, but also spotlights significant contributions from the Scots-Irish Presbyterians and the English Quakers. The quilts are presented in 225 gorgeous color photographs, enhanced by close-up details, tools, accessories, and the people surrounding their creation. Carefully researched text breathes life into these individual works of art, and includes accounts of quilt makers that are as vibrant, intricate, and rich as the quilts themselves. For students of the distinct heritage of Lancaster County, this special book is a fascinating perspective of families and folk art. For students of the art of quilting, it is a colorful treasury of timeless and elegant designs. This is the second in a series of four books being produced by the Heritage Center Museum of Lancaster County and Schiffer Publishing to provide extensively illustrated works on the arts of the Pennsylvania Germans to a broad audience.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent beginners book.......2007-01-02
This was the book that got me started home brewing. If you are just starting, then this is a great book for you. I am not sure why other reviewers are stating the author is paranoid, but for me, I am paranoid and want to do everything right. One wrong move with making beer and the whole batch is messed up.
I wanted to give five stars, but the author should have discussed kegging more and pushed it instead of bottling. Even for a beginner, kegging is the way to go. The initial up-front cost is a little more, but it is much faster and easier than bottling which is well worth the cost.
Relax with GOOD homebrew.......2006-02-10
I've been homebrewing since the 1990 (all-grain since 1994), and started out using Charlie Papazian's The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. Charlie can wax poetic about the joys of homebrew, but he's pretty fuzzy on the details - and good homebrew is all about the little details.
This is where Mr. Miller's book comes in handy. This book is broken up into three sections, which are basically step-by-step guides for the novice, intermediate, and advanced homebrewer. It may come off as "uptight" or "anal-retentive" or "paranoid," but if you want to brew award-winning beer, you MUST sweat the details.
There are recipes for brewing standard beer styles, as the title suggests, but the real strength of this book is in its concise, practical approach to proper brewing procedure. Personally, I haven't used any of his recipes, but I always insist on devising my own anyway - that's the fun part, and once you learn the correct procedure you can focus entirely on the more creative aspect - recipe formulation.
The quality of my homebrew took a big step forward once I used this book, and I've gone on to win several awards with them. After you get the advanced brewing section down, pick up Greg Noonan's New Brewing Lager Beer - it's a great advanced source for improving your wort production, for both ales and lagers, but for beginning to intermediate brewers, I can't recommend Brewing the World's Great Beers highly enough.
The first thing to buy for homebrewing.......2002-01-11
... is this book. I began homebrewing in 1993, and was immediately able to create basic and very good beers using only this book as my guide. It walks you into the process, providing the fundamentals, and then allowing you to learn more at your own pace (from full wort boils, to yeast cultures, to full grain). I quickly gained the confidence to not only progress, but to experiment with variations on the recipes to suit my own tastes, and as a result I have enjoyed this casual hobby for 8 years running.
Good Primer on Homebrewing.......2001-07-27
This book was given to me as a gift, and it helped me to get started in homebrewing. A good introduction to the mechanics of homebrewing. But as the first reviewer suggested above, the author is a bit paranoid. For a first-timer, I'd probably reccommend Papazian's guides as a better place to start. It's a little more easygoing and makes for a more interesting read.
Relax do not buy this book have a homebrew instead.......2001-03-06
I am not at all impressed with this book. very uptight and the information is written for the extreme paranoid. I have been unable to read passed the first chapter.
With 40 books on beer and homebrewing to compare this one rates almost as low as that rating guide by that Englishman (not Micheal Jackson). I learned more from the first few pages of Papazian the new complete joy of homebrewing.
For good and to the point informaion read Papazian. It reads like a novel and is fun to booth. It came highly recommended and now I see why.
Other goods books: Beer: Tap into the art and science of Brewing, Charles Bamforth The Classic beerstyle series is not bad either. And on a more advanced level Principles of brewing science is also very good and very readable.
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Ancient Near Eastern Seals from the Kist Collection: Three Millennia of Miniature Reliefs (Culture and History of the Ancient Near East)
Joost Kist ,
Dominique Collon ,
Frans Wiggermann , and
Geoffrey Turner
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 9004132392 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Journal of the American Oriental Society, published by Thomson Gale on April 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1425 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: Ancient Near Eastern Seals from the Kist Collection: Three Millennia of Miniature Reliefs.(Book Review)
Author: Rudi Mary
Publication:
The Journal of the American Oriental Society (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 1, 2004
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 124
Issue: 2
Page: 353(3)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
Ancestral Connections unlocks the inner meaning of Australian Aboriginal bark painting. Drawing on more than ten years of fieldwork among the Yolngu—an Aboriginal people of Northeast Arnhem Land—and applying both anthropological and art historical methods, Howard Morphy explores systematically the graphic representation of traditional knowledge in Yolngu art. He also charts the role that art has played in Aboriginal society both present and past.
The rich symbolism of Yolngu art links the Yolngu directly with the "Dreaming," the time of world-creation that continues as the spiritual dimension of the present. Morphy shows how a complex dialectic of "inside" and "outside" interpretations of painting structures the system of knowledge in Yolngu society, and how European interest in this art has caused certain changes in the conditions of its production. The "inside" significance of the art, however, has not changed; it retains its dual ability to represent and to constitute relationships between things.
Ancestral Connections is a major contribution to the anthropology of art. A subtle commentary on the colonial encounter in northern Australia, the book demonstrates how the Yolngu have used their art—against all odds—as an instrument of cultural survival and as a component of the economic and political transformation of their society.
Customer Reviews:
essential guide to Aboriginal religion and symbolism.......2001-06-28
Dr. Howard Morphy's articles and books are consistently well researched and readable; Ancestral Connections is no exception. This book provides a fascinating and rewarding insight into thought system poorly understood by the average layperson. Although this book presupposes a bit of background knowledge of the social systems and cultures of Arnhem Land, a careful reading of this work will unveil a beautiful and intricate symbolic and artistic system, intimately binding the clans of the Yolngu people to their land and the great ancestral beings who created them. Numbering around 5,000 people organized into 40 clans, the Yolngu are one of the largest and most politically influential Aboriginal groups in Australia, and their social system and totemic organization is representative of many of the cultures of the Top End. Their are few detailed and anthropologically sound studies of Aboriginal thought accessible to the non-specialist; Ancestral Connections is highly recommended as it truly humanizes this poorly understood and complex society, so often subject to inaccurate characterization by the popular media and New Age movement. If you want to understand Aboriginal religion and its place in society, read this book...
Book Description
This startling and unsentimental recollection of childhood and coming of age in the back alleys and bustling streets of San Francisco's Chinatown reveals the sinister and pervasive influences of organized crime. Delivering an almost-casual expose into the underworld of an urban Chinatown, "Chinese Playground: A Memoir" traces author Bill Lee's maturation from innocent child in a troubled family to a street punk, gang member, and college graduate struggling to break free of his involvement in escalating violence. In a dark journey spanning forty years, Lee fights an ongoing battle against relentless childhood demons and nightmares, ultimately coming to terms with his past and peace with himself.
Lee's personal accounts of two high-profile murder incidents are engrossing. The 1977 Golden Dragon Massacre in San Francisco that left five dead and eleven wounded, was carried out by his blood-brothers who were engaged in the most violent Asian gang war in U.S. history. A decade later, a mad gunman killed seven and injured four at ESL, a high-tech firm in Sunnyvale, California where Lee was employed. An unlikely hero emerges as he accepts his fate, employing his street instincts to save co-workers during the murderous rampage.
A moving look at the murky histories of Lee's parents -- both Chinese immigrants -- adds depth to this story and poignantly points to typical family dysfunctions that contribute to confusion, fear and aggression in young people. The author's early recollections are seen through the eyes of an innocent boy who was nearly aborted and sold away. As a young gang member, his pain and fears are hidden beneath a tough, macho facade as he contends with gambling, drugs, extortion and murder. Entering adulthood, Lee's street savvy and dark view of the world manifests itself into an aggressive, win-at-any-costs attitude which he unleashes in Silicon Valley. Lee faces his biggest challenge when he returns to the streets of Chinatown in search of his runaway son and confronts his own dark past. Lee's determination to heal his soul and transform his life is inspiring.
This book is a provocative read providing valuable insight into the Chinese-American culture, organized crime, distressed families, at-risk youths, personal recovery, Bay Area history, and Silicon Valley.
Customer Reviews:
unnecessarily vile parenting.......2006-12-27
I've seen this in Chinatown Toishan parents and the kinds of effects that their nastiness has on their kids and the conflicted confused ideas of Confucian obedience that prevent intelligent kids from healing as fast as they could especially when in other Chinese families, Confucianism does work and families are peaceful and happy or if the kids aren't targeted by their nasty parents, they grow up smug and snug and sly. I can't even imagine what it is like to grow up with such parenting in parts of Asia where Western psychobabble isn't pervasive and there are no clues at all for kids to suss out why their parents behave terribly.
When the author was four years old, he required medical appointments once a month and his mother would not speak to him during this once a month escort but she would sigh throughout the bus ride and sometimes not sit next to him to indicate that he was an imposition. I've seen this happen. I've also seen parents threaten to leave toddlers and sometimes actually walk away from children and stay hidden watching their child's distress. It looks like the parents who do this imply to their kids that this can't be held against the parents since it not a regular occurence and will soon vanish in their infant memory. I know exactly what the author means (because I have seen it) when he writes that his mother was "unpredictable," intensified abuse when her child "cried harder," "perceived [her children] as her enemies ...[and] was a master at making [her children] feel repulsive." It's not a secret and he's not exaggerating or demonizing his parents. Other people see but why don't things change? I think that things don't change within a closed community and there has to be certain conditions in place with regard to subgroup's historical attitude towards entitlement, money, education and subgroup dogmatism for the problem to exist. This is not an entirely Chinese problem. It is at least specific subgroup's problem as far as I am aware. I know that irrational injust parenting had to have had something to do with later judgement. These parents are so socially insulated even within the larger Chinese hierarchy of provenance nevermind in American society that there's unlikely to be any occasion when someone holds a mirror up to them or lets them know just how they appear to others which means their kids are really isolated in processing the abuse. This is another good book for examples of narcissistic personality disorder both covert and overt. I don't respect more fortunate Chinese American kids who think Chinatown is glamorous and lap up all the exploitive media products while living an otherwise boring but at least safe existence in suburbia. This is another person's misfortune that is being used as entertainment. I guess this is a good book for those kids who have no sympathy only voyeuristic interest for Chinatown. I'm not sure that it would be effective for an at-risk child though.
Born to Lose is a better book by the same author. It has greater depth. For some one with birth defects, he's a much better writer than many others I've read.
How new generation can relate also........2003-12-28
I was born in San Francisco. It isn't like that anymore as you can see, I didn't live in Chinatown but regularly go to my Grandma or grandpa after school in chinatown. I lived in Japantown til I was six years old. I moved to Oakland ever since.
When I brought this book, I didn't know what to expect, but when I read about his life, I could really relate to his childhood. Not as extreme as his was, but I can really relate, and how I would turn out if I was still in San Francisco. Would probably be the same as him with those family issues like that. Can turn a kid to look at their enviroment for support. I too am Toishanese, does that mean most toishanese parents are stubborn and ignorant? I don't know.
And the Enviroment in Oakland is no different. Kids want to be goo wak jais and hard ghetto punks.
excellent book.......2002-11-08
this is a very well-written book for a non-fiction plot. It was recommended to me by a friend and I have to say the plot was not boring, the author was very descriptive in his writing. Don't miss out on this.
Very powerful.......2002-02-01
Yeah-- so forget about some of the editing problems-- this book is a must read! There are so many similarities between this and cultish groups. It doesn't matter if you're a poor kid in Chinatown or a rich kid in a brainwashing group-the lessons remain the same:One's inner voice--thinking for onesself and then of course--running away when you can --are universal stories. We have seen it in Nazi Germany, with Waco, in Chinatown and in Jonestown. KIDS of all ages should read this truly eye-opening account of how easy it is to get pulled in to an ideology that then kills its own....
Touching At Times..........2001-08-30
...but in the end it didn't work for me. Probably, because the tone of the book was more drivel if anything else. Bill Lee, I'm afraid, isn't much of a writer. Some of the drama he experiences in his life feels like a soap opera. If you happened to enjoy THE JOY LUCK CLUB you might like this book, but, unfortunately, I didn't like either book.
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