Death in Springtime (Marshal Guarnaccia Investigation)

Average customer rating:

Simenon without the bite

Death in Springtime (Marshal Guarnaccia Investigation)
Magdalen Nabb
Manufacturer: Soho Crime
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 156947415X

Book Description

Praise for Magdalen Nabb:

"The best mystery news in ages is that Soho is restoring to the canon Magdalen Nabb and her tremendous crea-tion, Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia of the Italian police in Florence."-Chicago Tribune

"First rate. Engrossing, artful, and completely satisfying. Nabb is a fine writer."-Frank Conroy

"Magdalen Nabb is so good she's awesome."-The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Nabb is formidable."-Houston Post

Everyone is so distracted by the phenomenon of a March snowfall in Florence that no one notices two foreign girls being abducted from the piazza at gunpoint in broad daylight. Even Marshal Guarnaccia has trouble piecing together what he has actually seen: tourists in a car holding up a big map, children going to school, a bus, a drug addict on the steps of Santo Spirito church, a single Sardinian bagpiper in a long, black shepherd's cloak.

One of the girls, a Norwegian university student, turns up in Pontino, a village in the Chianti hills, where she is hospitalized for a concussion, a leg wound, and possible pneumonia. She says she has been released by the kidnappers so she can make contact. The other kidnap victim, an American girl, is being held for ransom. But the marshal thinks she's lying.

Kidnapping has become a local racket. It is up to Marshal Guarnaccia to save the young American and put a stop to a flourishing criminal enterprise.

Customer Reviews:

Simenon without the bite.......1999-12-27

I picked up this book because all the blurbs on the jacket compared Nabb's writing to Simenon, who I adore. The comparison is a fair one-- we have the ordinary European detective and the relentlessly pedestrian situations, but something of the bite and wit that Simenon brings to every novel is missing and without that edge, the book only seems a bit bland.

Average customer rating:

Odette: A Springtime in Paris

Odette: A Springtime in Paris
Kay Fender
Manufacturer: Kane/Miller Book Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0916291332

Customer Reviews:

Odette: A Springtime in Paris.......2000-10-01

Althought the subject matter is rather dark, the overall message is a good one. This book is a gentle introduction to dealing with death. The unlikely pairing of the little bird and the old musician teach our children that diversity in our friendships enlightens and educates us. The untold demise of the old man gives us an opportunity to teach our children about the emotion of sorrow and honoring the memories of those who have past.

Average customer rating:

Death in Springtime
Magdalen; Simenon, Georges Nabb
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJ9IUA

Death in Springtime : A Florentine Mystery

Average customer rating:

Death in Springtime : A Florentine Mystery
Magdalen Nabb
Manufacturer: Scribners
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PS2LZY

Average customer rating:

Death in Springtime Bar

Manufacturer: Collins Crime
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Average customer rating:

not a 2 but not a 3 star book either.

I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT I AM SORRY I TOOK THE TIME TO READ THIS ONE

Conan the Unreadable

Conan too light
Conan The Indomitable (Conan)
Steve Perry
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Perry, Steve | ( P ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Epic | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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Conan the Great (Conan)

Conan The Defiant (Conan)

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Conan The Rogue (Conan)

ASIN: 0812508602

Customer Reviews:

not a 2 but not a 3 star book either........2007-03-12

This book over all is an ok story. By no means Perry's best work or the best Conan story out there. But the book is fast paced and full of action. Perry has a way of keeping you reading and keeping the story going. The story picks up right after Conan the Defiant and quickly starts going. Most of the story takes place underground and at times has a been there read that feel. But Perry breathes new life into. The catfish boat is one example of "I swear I have read something like that before" but even if it has been read before it is still good going.
Other minor problems I found was the witch and warlock part at times became redundant. They were also killed off pretty fast at the end, with the witches death ending just like I thought it would. Harskeel plot was through out the story, and was a major part of it, but the ending of this charter, as funny as it was, was poof, leaving you scratching your head, was it just for this one funny part at the end? Why did Conan not fall to the witches power once she bedded him? And the Demons death at the end, just too easy. Time line between Conan and the creatures getting a revolt didn't add up either.
what did work was the unification's of the creatures of the caves against the wizard, and the friendship of the worm and cyclops. Conan's companions were good for the story. Good play between Conan and returning Elashi from the last story. Lalo story line was very funny, and Tull was a good add to the story.
Overall not a bad read. Taken for what it is, a story about a young Conan causing trouble in an underground kingdom. Not bad, but not great-ERIC

I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT I AM SORRY I TOOK THE TIME TO READ THIS ONE.......2006-07-27

I like Conan, I like Howard and I like many of the authors who have taken the story line and added to the adventures of Conan. This book was an exception. I have to agree with a couple of the other reviewers here that were not all that thrilled over this work. One stated that it was simply silly. I think the reviewer was being overly kind here. Perry is indeed capable of readable work, but he was certainy off the mark with this one. I gave this one two stars simply because it was a Conan story and I have a certainly loyality to the big lug. Overall, do not recommend this work.

Conan the Unreadable.......2005-04-12

Without a doubt the worst book I have ever read. Perry has written good Conan books, like Conan the Fearless and Conan the Defiant, although this one was just plain silly. I can't believe this material was actually put into print.

Conan too light.......2003-02-01

Blaming Steve Perry for not being Robert E. Howard is like blaming a fish for not being a cat. Howard is a hard act to follow, but Perry isn't even trying. The tone of the whole book is way to light to be a true 'Conan' story. We have a Cyclops and a giant worm who are an Abbott and Costello like comedy team; a nyphomaniac witch and a psycotic warlock who mirror each others movements and fumble over each other trying to get to Conan; a hemorphidite warrior that is just embarressing and very discomfeting. And Conan himself dosn't seem to well thought out this time. If there are any redeming qualities to the book, it is that it is short and easy to read. Conan is meant to be entertaining, but not as a slapstick comedy.

Average customer rating:
The Manhuntress (Spaceways Series, No. 7)
John Cleve
Manufacturer: Playboy Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 086721175X

Average customer rating:
Spaceways No. 7 : The Manhuntress

Manufacturer: Berkley Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000HWHDC4

Average customer rating:

Umami equals savory

An Inspiration in the Kitchen!

The Fifth Taste: Cooking with Umami
Anna Kasabian , and David Kasabian
Manufacturer: Universe
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Gastronomy | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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Happy in the Kitchen: The Craft of Cooking, the Art of Eating

ASIN: 0789313561
Release Date: 2005-11-08

Book Description

The Fifth Taste: Cooking with Umami

See how easy it is to make the most appetizing, delicious and satisfying food ever by including ingredients with umami, the fifth taste.
What is umami? It's another basic taste, like sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. But it's not an ordinary taste. Umami is that rich, savory, extra-satisfying taste of mushrooms, steak, cheese, oysters, and red wine — just a few of the many foods loaded with umami. Umami is a quick and easy way to boost flavor dramatically by waking up taste buds you never knew you had.
Science only recently proved its existence, and the world of food and cooking is catching on fast. In the last year, reports on umami appeared in the New York Times, Saveur, Wine Spectator, Food and Wine, The New Yorker, and numerous other publications. And every day more chefs and home cooks are wowing guests, family and friends with fabulous-tasting umami-rich food.
The Fifth Taste: Cooking with Umami is the first book ever to tell what umami really is, which foods have it (and which don’t), and how to use umami every day for some of the best meals you’ve ever had.
--------
With more than 50 umami-rich recipes from 25 top American chefs.

Advance Praise for The Fifth Taste: Cooking with Umami

“Anna and David Kasabian have not only written a scientific tell-all book about this mysterious ingredient, but they have also included amazing recipes - revealing a new genre in cooking and exciting new tastes for the palate.”
Mario Batali, chef and author

“Great cooks throughout the centuries have spontaneously understood the essential quality of individual ingredients and have instinctively combined these to create superlative concoctions. In this fascinating book, the Kasabians argue convincingly that this intuitive knowledge of cooks has a name: Umami.”
Jacques Pepin, chef, author and educator

“Finally a cookbook I've been waiting for-one that explains the elusive qualities of umami. Anna and David Kasabian are trailblazers. Not only do they explain and describe this mysterious element of flavor, they show us how to use its power in our cooking. An important and original book."
Michael Ruhlman, author, The Making of Chef, The Soul of a Chef and Charcuterie

“I found the book to be an excellent synthesis of what umami IS with its practical use in cooking. I believe it will be a milestone in the deliberate incorporation of umami into western gastronomy.”
Dr. Robert L. Wolke, author, What Einstein Told His Cook and What Einstein Told His Cook 2, The Sequel

“As exciting and intriguing a read as you’ll find in any cookbook published this year. Then there are the recipes. If umami is a good taste — and it is — what better than a cookbook to showcase it?
Mark Bittman, author, How to Cook Everything (From the Foreword)

Over 50 delectable umami recipes, for every occasion and for every level of cooking skill, such as:
·Spicy Chipotle Pork Tacos with Sun-Dried Tomato Salsa from Rick Bayless
·Sea Scallops with Mashed Potatoes and Red Onion Confit from Daniel Boulud
·Cornish Game Hens Braised in a Pot with Summer Vegetables from Bradley Ogden
·My Father’s Famous Shrimp Hors d’Oeuvres from Lydia Shire
·Lamb Shanks with Tomatoes from Christopher Kimball
·Spicy Sour Botan Shrimp from Nobu Matsuhisa
Plus more everyday umami recipes, including
·Maxed-Out Meatloaf
·Ragumami Tomato Two Meat Pasta Sauce
·Asparagus Frittata
·Coq au Vin Nouveau
·Please-Pass-the-Umami Toasts
·Vegetarian Muffaletta Roll-Ups
·And more

Customer Reviews:

Umami equals savory.......2006-03-15

There are four basic tastes: Bitter, sweet, salty and sour. This book defines the fifth taste: Umami. In culinary school we learned about it as "savory". This book does a very good job of tracing Umami's history and current application. If you want better tasting food for a small investment in ingredients, buy this book. It relates to all levels of culinary/cooking skills.

An Inspiration in the Kitchen!.......2005-12-20

I've been spicing up my cooking with The Fifth Taste, and getting great results! These recipes are really fun and creative, and the variety is enhanced by many sources. It's like many cookbooks in one. The photos are also helpful in preparation. I've already learned a lot from this book.

Customer Reviews:

Very informative but a little too generic.......2004-08-09

I found the book easy to read with loads of great photos of TT's. The first few chapters on the description, origin, living with a TT and Grooming a TT were great. The large section on TT's in the US was irrelevant to me since I am from Australia and I was dissappointed in the last few chapters because they were very generic and packed full with advertisments for a particular companies products.

Still I think it is a good read for anyone considering obtaining a TT for the first time.

Left wanting to hear more . . ........2002-02-20

The photography in the book is great. I also liked the history on the breed. I was, however, disappointed by the minimal information in the book about the breed's temperment, personality and the pluses and minuses of the breed. I was yearning for more information about this. The second half of the book is devoted to the typical puppy information that was very generic and has been written about in almost every dog book I've read. Anne, next time give us more!!

great photographics, generics.......2000-02-11

Its a very good book for new commers also for other breeds but not for breeders. Why are not included the opinions of other breeders? It hase also commercial announcements I don¨t like that.

Great photographs, as well as terrific descriptions........1999-07-25

I have read this book because I am looking for a Tibetan Terrier. I did lots of research, and read many books, but this one was the best. I found in all the other books that they were a little generic, and didn't give good advice, or was a little out dated. I found this book very simple to read, and I read it in one day. It gives terrific advice on the do's and don'ts of the Tibetan Terrier. The pictures are terrific, but I found the information even more fantastic.

Great photographs, as well as terrific descriptions........1999-07-25

Product Description

This reprint of Orchard’s 1917 book on porcupine quill decoration is fully illustrated and features a color center section with examples of the art form. The plates and diagrams show every facet of quillwork from plaiting through wrapping. The step-by-step instructions are easy to follow for the craftsperson and the pictures and text make this a treasure for anyone interested in the craftwork of Native Americans. Porcupine quill decoration is a craft that is unique to the Indians of North America; a craft that can be found nowhere else in the world. Prior to about 1840 it was the principle means of decoration among most of this continent's Nations and as such one would suppose that there would be innumerable studies, books and articles about the subject. One of the reasons for this edition of Orchard's work (which was originally written in 1917) is that such is not the case. Some eighty years after the first publication, this work remains the best single source on traditional porcupine quill work and Orchard remains the acknowledged expert in the field.

The book is fully illustrated and features a color center section of examples of the art form. The plates and diagrams show every facet of quillwork from plaiting through wrapping. The step-by-step instructions are easy to follow for the craftsperson and the pictures and text make this a treasure for anyone interested in the craftwork of Native Americans.

As was done in the 1971 reprint of the first edition, no attempt has been made to revise the original text, figures or plates. However, four of the plates were destroyed and have been replaced by photographs of quilled articles taken from the editor's personal collection. The map was created for the reprint by Mr. Douglas Waugh and has not been changed.

This book is an enduring classic and the Eagle's View edition is currently in its sixth printing.

Book Description

Joe Tilson (b. 1928), one of Britain's leading artists, is renowned for his paintings, prints, and wooden constructions; his recent work explores the significance of words and images through vibrant colors and graphics.

This retrospective book spans Tilson's entire career, from the 1960s to the present. Tilson belongs to the generation of British artists who include David Hockney, Peter Blake, and Frank Auerbach. Though he created some of the most iconic images of the British Pop Art movement, in the late 1960s, disenchanted with mechanical means of production, he began making handmade constructions from wood and metal, drawing inspiration from varied sources such as the four elements, classical mythology, and Alchera, the dream time of Australian Aboriginals. He returned to painting in the 1980s, creating totemic works that "search for the beyond and the elsewhere." His work is explored here in an incisive essay by art critic Mel Gooding.

Book Description

In this lyrical, sensual memoir, Irina Pantaeva shares a remarkable true-life fairy tale--the story of a determined and courageous young woman, raised in Communist Siberia, who achieved an impossible, exquisite dream halfway around the world.

Customer Reviews:

on lost motherhood and some other brutal reality.......2007-06-02

Although this was an incredible account and a testimonty of one human's experimental journey from a former USSR province into the supermodel-dom as the first Asian female in Europe and later in NYC, US fashion industy, a couple of questions still remains.

This book never mentioned her first child from the initial encounter with her later husband Roland and I found the omission somewhat unsettling, because that makes me question how many more important events were actually sorted out. There is no doubt that Pantaeva's life story offers a valuable documentation of one's life getting across borders of all senses with a series of tricks of histories on top of all with her ambition and perseverance. Her struggle, combat and aspiration are woven into this incredibly prescious fairy tale with ethnographic experiments in different parts of the world and still is wonderful even when it seems lacking importan events such as the ordeal of her early motherhood. Yet I found it not only unsettling but also questionable to see her eliminate the life event, another huge accomplishment of hers, becoming a mother, as a narrative decision provided her this was supposed to be such a pivotal point of her life, was it?

The unmentioned child was from the time when she was a teenager. She had him alone, financially precarious, no prospect of reunion with Roland and most of all, in Russia, where women have way less options or rights: the nation has the most abortion rate of the world because single motherhood is intolerated. Having a child in the state of the society could be really a big deal. I wonder how stigmatized she might have been to become a single and unwed mother in Ulan Ude, Siberea, where people were even less tolerant for any of subversive elements, as she recounted earlier in the book. All the more, Pantaeva should have touched the subject as opposed to the complete omission and conformity for some reason that I do not know.

I also recognized some other parts that did not correspond to what were really like such as the difficulty of having her US visa issued was not a comparison of what was described in the book. It became such an obstacle to the point her career was totally downplayed due to the trouble.

All of these matters above make me wonder how much the author had to edit to make the book 'comfortablly presentable', which seems the whole point of the project. I would not get surprised by this convention of the autobiography industry besides her case was even earlier than those that came out later and got questioned for its 'accuracy'. I really do not let those matter here for this was a great read anyway. Still I just cannot help wondering how much even greater this could have been w/ some more of confrontations she would dare to bring up, which was to be inevitably brutal and uncomfortable. But at least it could have been less sacrificial in any mean, which I cannot really aprove of as any criteria of 'freedom' that was sought after with the great difficulty.

The last question, or only regret, was that she sounds alsmost refrained from interpreting and discussing racism as if her stardom and opportunities would be limited/taken away once she voiced the word. However, after the course of incident after incident, it was obvious that she was the one who experienced the struggle of being racial minority: always dismissed and struggled for the issue as the forerunner of the ethnic minority female in initially Siberea, Moscow, Paris and some other areas in the fashion industry where white esthetics is dominant. She was the one who experienced all the trouble of how it feels to be introduced as a novelty and objectifed all the time, less appreciated compared to white models and had do tolerate all. All the more, I wanted to hear her specific voice on the issue istead of concluded the story just 'happy globalism ever after'.

Unique, sincere, refreshing rags to riches tale.......2004-07-20

Many facets make this a worthwhile read: Set against the backdrop of a crumbling Soviet union, the reader is privy to conditions and scenes from an "insider". As well this is a coming of age tale that spans continents and industries. It's no wonder that there was such a fuss made about Irina in the fashion world when she first made her splash...She is the world's first high fashion model from Siberia, a fact which may account for her grace and gratitude.Lastly, this is one of the freshest accounts that have ever read of a young person ( model) participating in the world of top fashion designers- with no trace of ennui or jadedness.

Thanks, Irina.......2004-02-19

I enjoyed reading "Siberian Dream"
by this woman who made all her way to the US.
I believe many do not suspect how close it was to impossible
to get into Moscow fashion world from Ulan-Ude,
and then
to get out of the Communist Russia
to become a top-model being Asian from Siberia.

I really enjoyed Irina's book and I admire her adventurism,
beauty and style.

She is one of the most famous Buryats in the world, and we are proud of her.

"Siberian Dream" is a breath of fresh air........2003-12-31

For many of the readers the book might have seemed a little bit hard to follow as it explores unusual experiences of the Buriad supermodel. They might have expected a rather typical portrayal of the world of fashion.

But "Siberian Dream" is unique. It depicts Irina's fantastic journey from the suppression and poverty of Communist Russia to the freedom and extravagance of the West.

I would have to compliment the author's incredible writing style. She brings in the beauty of Russian writing along with a modern American wit.

I highly recommend this book to young curious readers. Irina's book was a great inspiration to me. I hope it will have the same effect on other readers.

Bravo Irina! Saihan nom bichsend bayarlaa!

She is a Mongolian girl........2003-10-14

As a Buriat Mongol, I am very proud of her to be a world class super model. Her full name is in Russian as a victim of Russian colony. Because Russians occupied the Western Mongolia (Oirat) in XVIII century and dropped "Mongolia" from the "Buriat Mongolia" by Stalin's command. Then, Russians brain-washed all Buriat Mongols to be not Mongols. Hundreds and hundreds Burait Mongols received Ph.D. on the theme of "Buriats are not Mongols". But, we speak in the Western Mongolian dialect even today. It is true that Buriats were real warriors of Chingis khaan. Chingis khaan's mother came from the Buriat tribe - Merged. Thanks Irina for your achievements and a wonderful book. Do not say that I am a Siberian. You are create and create grand daughter of Greater Mongolian Empire. Mongols are legendary people, please to be brave and proud to be a Mongolian. Cheers

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