Pre-Harvest Sprouting in Cereals 1992

Book Description

Little-known tips and "side doors" to make business travel easier. The Unofficial Business Traveler's Pocket Guide is an indispensable assistant for any business traveler. Packed with 249 easy-access tips, it gives the instant help that business travelers need, and features numerous, "Why didn't I think of that?" tips on international travel, technology, frequent flyer programs, and more. This bible for business travelers is packed with immediately useful advice. for example: Airlines are promoting their new "Empower" in-seat outlets but be aware taht you'll need a special adapter; At New Toyko International Airport, skip cabs and take the $15 train ride; if you're having trouble redeeming frequent flyer miles, try nearby, less popular airports as an alternative.

Download Description

Have you ever wondered: How to score an elusive airline upgrade? Which hotel rooms are the safest? How to get the best rental car in the lot? Where to look for the most useful travel information in television, print or on the Internet? How to get the best seat in coach, or the best room at the hotel? How to endure eating alone in a strange city? Accessible, friendly, and easy to use, "The Unofficial Business Traveler's Pocket Guide" provides answers and offers advice that you may not get from any 'official' source. Grab a seat beside CNN's business travel expert Christopher J. McGinnis as he shows you how to travel in comfort and style -- without breaking your budget.

Customer Reviews:

For the seasoned or beginner business traveler.......2001-04-08

An easy read that's the complete, one-stop reference for any business traveler. It has a strong emphasis on international travel, and great information on frequent flyer programs. I'm a seasoned traveller but still found the e-Book version of this book to be very helpful, particularly the information on how to score an an airline upgrade.

BizTraveler Bible!.......2000-11-19

As a road warrior and Business Travel Columnist at BellaOnline.com, I found this book to be a companion on several biz trips.

I think most frequent flyers know a lot of the rules of air travel but not some of the hidden secrets airlines don't publically speak out loud. This book is fantastic for reference when you are stuck in the airport or need to discuss a point with airline staff. Showcasing rules and ideas. It's as if just knowing about these tips makes you a smarter traveler whether for business or pleasure.

Even a non-traveling friend found this book to useful on a vacation trip. I would recommend this book to anyone who travels (biz or pleasure) and to read before you fly or on your next trip. It's an easy read.

Traveling Made Easier.......2000-02-18

"The Unofficial Business Traveler's Pocket Guide: 165 Tips Even the Best Travelers May Not Know" is an absolute delight, and it lives up to its promise. For the Frequent Flyer there is much we can learn; for the less than Frequent Flyer, even more. This is perfect reading while on the airplane. The bite size chapters are a delight to taste, and the author's humor makes for an excellent dessert. I often found myself saying, "That's true, I just hadn't thought about it." But there is also plenty of material that I never would have thought about. I've bought several of the books for gifts to friends.

Syndicated Business Travel Columnist Offers Praise.......1999-01-02

Here is what Tom Belden, business travel columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer has to say about this book:

"Living up to the promise of its title, McGinnis' guidebook covers a wide range of subjects, offering practical advice about pre-trip planning, airlines, hotels, rental cars, international travel, navigating through airports, and staying healthy on trips. Interspersed are tales of McGinnis' experiences, little stories that demonstrate how even a seasoned road warrior can be subjected to the indignities that plague travelers. Especially entertaining is one tale about flying into Cleveland during a vicious thunderstorm and taking a city bus to a budget hotel, where the phones had been knocked out by the storm."

Great General Reference saved me $$........1998-12-31

Regarding the previous review, I wanted to write that I DIDN'T know about rule 240 until I read McGinnis's book and I travel about 50,000 miles per year. It saved me from having to buy an extra ticket to make a meeting that I couldn't miss when Delta cancelled my flight. I'm buying copies for every traveler at my company-- it's a great general reference for anyone on the road. Plus, I found it fun to read-- especially the vignettes.

The Unoffcial Business Traveler's Pocket Guide: 249 Tips Even the Best Business Traveler May Not Know

Average customer rating:

The Unoffcial Business Traveler's Pocket Guide: 249 Tips Even the Best Business Traveler May Not Know
Christopher J. McGinnis
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Companies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MC3RLK

Average customer rating:

Book Description

Veerappan: poacher, smuggler, killer -- a fugitive who for more than three decades has sustained a crime frenzy as action packed and outlandish as anything Hollywood (or evenBollywood) could conjure.

Determined to escape the crushing poverty of his childhood village, Veerappan was lured to a life of crime in his adolescence and eventually amassed a gang with as many as 150 members. He has kidnapped wealthy men, poached precious resources, and viciously ambushed police, killing more than a hundred. He stole such great quantities of explosives from nearby granite operations that the government ordered the industry to shut down. Yet to this day he has eluded capture, despite the government's creation of a special task force, the sole purpose of which is to stop him.

The impenetrable Indian jungle provides him with shelter and refuge, while villagers, whether from fear or admiration, protect him from the police, so that year after year he has grown bolder and more power hungry. His most audacious act to date -- the kidnapping of India's biggest film star -- caused nationwide public upheaval and brought the film industry to a halt, while his demands for ransom presented the government with a crippling legal dilemma.

Investigative journalist Sunaad Raghuram's meticulously researched report follows Veerappan's violent progression from a small-time poacher to the bloodthirsty criminal who has flouted the entire Indian police force and government for decades. Using the personal testimony of Veerappan's family members and closest associates, Raghuram recounts this outlaw's crimes and examines his personal life as well, including a surprisingly touching first person account of what Veerappan's wife has endured. Veerappan: India's Most Wanted Man details the methods and madness of a man alternately hailed as a messiah and condemned as a murderer.

Customer Reviews:

Very good book.. must read.........2004-11-02

as a veerappan fan i found this book very good. Author sunaad did not fall in either veerappan side or on police side. He mentioned atrocities of both sides. There are few not clear or false items but other than that book is very good and a must read for all south indian news followers. as veerappan got killed by police recently. i am really interested if the same author can write a book regarding his death. i am sure veerappan did not get killed by police encounter and police is not telling the truth.

My god rest Verappan's soul.

A long pending desire fulfilled!.......2003-12-02

I was so terribly curious to know more about this bandit called Veerappan. And finally, my desire to understand the man and his methods has been fulfilled by this gripping book.

This is a book for all India-watchers who have the inclination to know the country beyond its computer software credentials! It is amazing how one man, the bandit in question, can do all the things that he has done.

The author, Sunaad, deserves a pat on the back for having recreated the entire story without once slacking in the narration.

All in all, a fine read, this book!

It was time someone did it!.......2003-11-06

Well, I always wondered why anyone had not attempted a biography of a man who had taken a whole country's imagination with him for so long. And boy, was the wait worth it!

Sunaad Raghuram has achieved what not one other journalist on the trail of the bandit has. And how does he do it? With style, aplomb, finesse and authenticity.

Starting by detailing the history of crime in Veerappan's part of the world and going on to describe vividly the many chilling incidents in the bandit's story, Sunaad does a fine job of unravelling the whole scene layer by layer.
This is a book which will remain in memory long after it has been closed. More so for readers of Indian origin who would probably know a thing or two of the story's setting.

A highly credible account in the face of media exagerration!.......2003-03-12

This book by Sunaad Raghuram tells us the real story of Veerappan, sifitng so perfectly the wheat from the chaff, as it were. Handling a subject which is essentially given to hyperbole and exagerration-as indulged by vast sections of the media- is definitely not easy.

But Sunaad Raghuram does it with professional ease and gives us a remarkably believable account of the brigand who has been bestowed with almost super-human abilitites.

His writing style is direct, to the point, without any frills and throrougly riveting. An exhaustive work; one which leaves you with almost everything that you always wanted to know about the bandit who has been like none other in the world's history of crime.

A great piece of journalistic work.......2003-03-06

This book is all about how a hard-nosed journalist has gone about unravelling the story of one of the most intriguing men in the world of crime today.

Wonderfully descriptive and finely balanced in the treatment of the story, this book is one of the best works in the crime thriller genre in a long time. Just go for it!

Average customer rating:
VEERAPPAN: India's Most Wanted Man
Sunaad Raghuram
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000TWRGMO

Average customer rating:
Veerappan: India's Most Wanted Man
Sunaad Raghuram
Manufacturer: Ecco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEZ77S

Customer Reviews:

Not the best book on Cavaliers.......2005-08-23

I am getting a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and ordered a number of different books. I found this one to be the least helpful. In fact - at one point the author says that Cav nails are easy to trim because you can always see the quick with their light nails - but I believe other books have said that the darker Cavaliers have dark nails. That seems like a pretty big error. I would not recommend this Cavalier book.

Average customer rating:

Great Concept

Innovative Knitting

Lovely book of enticing designs full of errors

Modular Knits Iris Schreier

fabulous??

Modular Knits: New Techniques for Today's Knitters
Iris Schreier
Manufacturer: Lark Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Knitting | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Knitting Experience: Book 3: Color (The Knitting Experience)

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Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks

ASIN: 1579906494

Book Description

A traditional knitting technique gets a new and easier spin, so that even beginners can master the process. Just dip into this comprehensive course, with themed tutorials--each with handy practice exercises--as well as simple instructions, charts, and 29 fabulous projects. Modular knitting is a bit like a game: you create designs in the same way you'd work a jigsaw puzzle--piece by piece. Start by completing one square, cube, or diamond, and then build on that by knitting additional basic figures and forms. Although the finished product looks complex, with its variety of shape and color changes, it's actually not hard at all. Start with a very easy patchwork square pillow, and move onto the rounded market bag, triangle hat, and zigzag scarf.

Customer Reviews:

Great Concept.......2007-03-08

I checked this book out from the library prior to purchasing the book. I thought it had some great projects in it, now if I can only find the right yarns for them.
I am not a fan of some of the colors in the projects that are showcased in the book.
I have yet to make anything from the book...

Innovative Knitting.......2006-09-29

This is a fun book for the intermediate knitter. Modular knitting is a great way to use odd balls of yarn or to avoid the boredom of straight knitting and the tediousness of seaming a garment. It is particularly fun to either mix yarns or to use the the new "hand paint" color mixes and watch what happens as you knit. Some prior knitting experience would be helpful, but the projects are not difficult if one can read and follow directions. The book is well written and understandable and the projects are lovely. The styles are reasonably classic but fun, both to make and to wear. By "classic" I mean they will not go out of fashion like a passing fad. After investing your time in creating an item, you will be able to enjoy wearing it for many years. I am totally delighted with the book and will enjoy using the patterns and ideas for many projects. I highly recommend it.

Lovely book of enticing designs full of errors.......2006-09-09

I've been fascinated with modular knitting for years and teach the technique at yarn shops. This book has some unusual techniques to share and the designs are first-rate. HOWEVER, there are errors galore. I've worked my way through about 4 of the 'tutorials' and hit the wall every time due to errors in the pattern. I had some experienced knitting friends attempt the tutorials and patterns as well and they all had the same experience--errors galore that make it impossible to execute the designs.

The author apparently wants the readers to join one of her discussion groups to get "help" with the patterns (she won't admit that the book is lousy with errata). My feelings are that if she doesn't have the time to properly edit her book, I certainly don't have the time to join her silly discussion group.

If you like puzzles, this is a great book. If you expect a well-written knitting book with accurate instructions, save your money and buy one of the other wonderful books on this technique on the market (Hoxbro, Luters, etc.). My copy will probably go to the recycling bin.

PS: Sorry Iris, I've been knitting for over 30 years and the 'problems' in this book are not due to my lack of understanding. Get yourself a good editor!

Modular Knits Iris Schreier.......2006-08-08

Ms. Schreier requested that her internet group write a positive review of her book with the promise of a free pattern.

The book has really good ideas, and with the help of my local yarn shop I was able to knit the zigzag scarf. The instructions in the book have errors.

Most of group member seems to be requesting help for the same errors. One would think she would write corrections to her book.

When I contacted Ms Schreier I was told her instructions were correct and I should join her group.

I would buy the book only if you can get help from your local yarn store or you have been knitting a very long time.

fabulous??.......2006-08-02

i got this book based on the yahoo group forum that is supposed to help people with errata and technique.

the ideas presented are a wonderful technique.
however..
the designs aren't all that spectacular. aside from a couple of different things it is mainly a few ideas presented in several ways.

the techniques themselves...it seems to be a disjointed run of thoughts. p[ictures are clearly marked as to where they go with the words.. you have to go from one section to another to find what you want in order to learn to do the various shapes. this would not be great for the novice knitter. i think if the techniques were explaioned in a more flowing presentation it might have helped.
maybe a different editor might have helped?!?

too much errata for a book of this size.

and my last bit of unhappiness with the book...the writer asked people on the group to post some positive reviews. it would seem if the book were that outstanding it woukld have received them on its own without the goading from the designer.

just my opinion...and i will be able to figure out the one or 2 projects i may do in the future. but i think my money would have been better spent on something different and this one gotten through an interloan library setup.

Average customer rating:

How to become a garlic farmer

Much more than advertised

Great book

The title says it all.

Garlic Is Life: A Memoir With Recipes
Chester Aaron
Manufacturer: Ten Speed Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
West | Regional U.S. | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Essays | Gastronomy | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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The Great Garlic Book: A Guide With Recipes

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The Garlic Lovers' Cookbook

ASIN: 0898158060

Amazon.com

Loosely the story of how a divorced, middle-aged Jewish professor of English moved from San Francisco to rural Sonoma County, California, and found fulfillment in the ups and downs of garlic farming, this intensely personal narrative describes the interplay of generations and cultures in Northern California. It should have particular appeal for garlic heads, would-be writers, middle-aged men in transition, feisty septuagenarians, and touchy-feely types. Along with fiercely prejudiced discourses on garlic, Chester Aaron presents his sentimental story in crisp, no-nonsense prose loaded with Woody Allen-esque asides and self-deprecating observations. The book ends with 40 recipes.

Customer Reviews:

How to become a garlic farmer.......2007-08-03

After reading Chester Aaron's Symptoms of Terminal Passion I needed to read a little more. Aaron's Memoir is a little premature, because his is still living and growing garlic more than 10 years later, using the garlic theme in all he writes.

It was fascinating seeing the real-life background for the stories I had read. I'm also looking harder for different kinds of garlics, and even tempted to try to plant a clove or two in one of the pots on our patio.

Strangely, I was reading this at the same time I read Out Stealing Horses: A Novel by Norwegian writer, Per Petterson. It was amazing how the two books complemented each other!

Both are written in the first person in beautiful, engaging prose. (Horses is so well translated that you don't notice that it was written in another language, except for the occasional Norwegian place names.)

Both utilize many flashbacks to childhood, Petterson's Trond mostly to 1948 in alternate chapters, Chester to the 30's in Pennsylvania.

Both have moved to the country to start over after losing their wives: Chester after a devastating divorce, Trond after a horrendous car accident.

Both recall strong relations to difficult fathers, who continue to influence the way they try to create new lives as 70-something "old men." (Their mothers are lurking in the background.) Both fathers are still lurking to show how to do practical things on their farms.

For both books the natural settings (fields, woods and ocean for Chester, forest, meadows and river for Trond) and the weather (wind, rain, and yes, also the sun) provide more than just the setting.

Trond's dog Lyra and Chester's cat Sadie are their constant companions, while sheep, horses, gophers and other creatures also play important roles.

Crops play important roles (garlic, of course, and fruit trees for Chester, trees for Trond.)

Neighbors and other humans provide insight and sometimes help, but occasionally are more of an irritant to their daily lives alone on their farms - although Garlic ends with a wedding!

But only Garlic provides you with numerous recipes for strange garlics, including 2 desserts!

Much more than advertised.......2007-01-12

Chester Aaron has something for everyone. His love of Garlic is only matched by his love of a richly varied life. The receipes are are a little simplistic and really a sidebar to the real story which is Aaron himself. I am buying several copies to Give to friends. This book is not a loaner

Great book.......2005-09-06

I have had the pleasure of interviewing Chester on my gardening show on a couple of occassions and found him charming, enlightening and certainly passionate about his garlic. I was thouroughly pleased when I found the book to be an extension of his interviews. This man at 80 something is more full of life than most twenty year olds and he exudes this energy and love of life into print in a way that makes you feel that you are in the field talking with him rather than reading a book. The recipies were devine. An absolute must for the Garlic aficionado.

The title says it all........2001-07-27

This is an autobiographical slice of Chester Aaron's life as he waas intoduced to garlic growing and became a garlic devotee. Aaron and his cat take the reader into the world of garlic,its many varities, and how to best grow these bulbs of life. At the end of the book are thirty recipes for tasty garlic dishes. It is a very readable primer on garlic growing.

Average customer rating:

Parenting Teenagers: Systematic Training for Effective Parenting of Teens

Poor

Parenting Teenagers:(STEP) Not Available Any where

Must read if you have a teenager

A child-rearing handbook you can't live without

Parenting Teenagers: Systematic Training for Effective Parenting of Teens (STEP)
Sr. Don Dinkmeyer , Gary D. McKay , Joyce L. McKay , and Don Dinkmeyer Jr.
Manufacturer: AMERICAN GUIDANCE SERVICE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Household Hints | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Marriage & Family | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Teenagers | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
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The Parent's Handbook: Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP)

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The Skills Of Encouragement: Bringing Out the Best in Yourself and Others (St Lucie)

Stop Negotiating With Your Teen: Strategies for Parenting Your Angry, Manipulative, Moody, or Depressed Adolescent

Accessories:

Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers

Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0785414681

Book Description

Parents know the challenges of raising teenagers. This popular guide is filled with easy-to-understand-and-apply skills that help parents connect with teens and deal with their "issues." Includes practical guidance on social pressure, dating, grades, career plans, and alcohol, tobacco, and drug abuse prevention. It is an excellent choice for parents who want to improve their relationship with teens.

PARENTING TEENAGERS is part of the STEP (Systematic Training for Effective Parenting) series, the world's best selling parent education program.

Customer Reviews:

Parenting Teenagers: Systematic Training for Effective Parenting of Teens.......2007-03-10

I thought the book was very informative,it lets a parent look at somethings in a different way and helps with better communication between the parent and the teenager. I thought some things were very helpful and some were a little tough to go with, I still feel some rules of grounding are still old fashion rules but they do work and you need to keep them guided on the right track towards their future.

Poor.......2004-03-25

this was the poorest book i read on this sub.

this book was the poorest book on this sub.

Parenting Teenagers:(STEP) Not Available Any where.......2001-03-29

I recently found this book in a Recource Center's lobby. I Started reading as I wated for my teen to finish his counseling session. I found this book to be an excellent source of helpful information. I have been searching for my own copy for a week now.

Why don't any of you " BIG" book stored cary it?????????

Must read if you have a teenager.......2000-02-13

I was desperate. I couldn't talk to my son, he was angry, his grades were awful and we fought constantly. I knew that I had to change, but how? I knew he needed help, but I didn't know how to help him. This book help tremendously! It points out the different parenting styles, positive changes to improve your relationship and excersices to help you and your teenager. It makes sense, easy to read and to the point. Must read this book if you have a teenager.

A child-rearing handbook you can't live without.......1999-01-31

As a parent of a child diagnosed as ADHD, and even bi-polar, when all else failed, I found Parenting Teenagers to be the hand book I had searched for. Taken as a class with a weekly discussion group I finally have the tools to help my child without "Toxic Phsyciatry".

Average customer rating:

first rate!!

The Unknown Matisse Revealed

Painful Beginnings

Meet Matisse and Enter His Landscape for Reading Pleasure

Matisse's Colors

The Unknown Matisse: A Life of Henri Matisse, Volume 1: The Early Years, 1869-1908
Hilary Spurling
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Artists, Architects & Photographers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0520222032

Amazon.com

"Matisse was born in 1869 in northern France and grew up in Bohain-en-Vermandois, near the Belgian border, on the drab, cold, wet beet fields of French Flanders. The same area, culturally and geographically speaking, had produced Vincent van Gogh sixteen years before." Thus begins the first full biography of an artist who, more than any other, is associated with Mediterranean heat, brilliant color and light, and languid, luxurious interiors. As author Hilary Spurling points out, an open window is one of Matisse's frequent motifs. Given the climate of his youth, that image speaks more of escape than of the sea air of the French Riviera.

If all biographers wrote with Spurling's warmth, empathy, and intelligence, no one would likely want to read any other kind of book. The Unknown Matisse is thoroughly researched, with pages devoted to minutiae that Spurling imparts with wit and style, making every nuance of Matisse's early development fascinating. She tells too the story of Matisse's family life (Mme. Matisse risked her respectable reputation by adopting Henri's first, illegitimate daughter), his brilliant ideas about art, and the years it took for his paintings to find their rightful audience. It was her intention finally to give as much weight to Matisse's life as has been given to his work, but in the process of examining the man she sheds new light on the art as well. --Peggy Moorman

Book Description

Hilary Spurling presents a thorough and riveting account of Matisse's early life, from his beginnings as the son of shopkeepers in Flanders through his impoverished days as a student at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Tracing Matisse's life through his thirties, Spurling describes how the artist's stubborn northern temperament helped sustain him through many challenges, both artistic and financial, as he found his way as a painter.

Customer Reviews:

first rate!!.......2007-09-19

i loved this book - many new insights on matisse, the preeminent modern artist - very well researched and written -

The Unknown Matisse Revealed.......2006-03-24

I was impatiently awaiting the arrival of The Unknown Matisse and have not been disappointed. Hilary Spurling has truly written a superb book. For all those who are interested in the passing from the old school of art to the new concepts that gave way to modern art as we understand it, this book is for you. This book compares favorably with John Richardson's massive Picasso biography. The Unknown Matisse is a book I will keep going back to over the years.

James Townsend

Painful Beginnings.......2006-01-27

Matisse has always suffered from bad press. In his home town he was known as a triple failure: He couldn't take over the family seed store, he didn't make a career in law work and he threw away a chance to be a popular Salon artist. When people saw his latest paintings, they were often overwhelmed and unprepared for what they saw. Only a few visionary collectors and fellow artists understood his ground-breaking efforts. Picasso and those who supported Picasso felt that they had to run down Matisse to help their own cause . . . despite having "borrowed" heavily from Matisse. Later, most of Matisse's early masterpieces were hidden away in foreign, private collections while crowds jeered at his latest work.

The pain of all this was immense for Matisse. But his private sorrows were made even greater by the difficulties he had in developing his style, the birth of an illegitimate child whom he acknowledged who suffered from serious health problems, and the poverty that dogged him until he was around 40. What is less well known is that his in-laws became embroiled in one of the most celebrated scandals of all time in France, and Matisse found himself drawn into saving them.

Ms. Spurling does well in capturing the agony of being Matisse.

Her style though leaves something to be desired. Much of the information is superficial rather than revealing. In many cases, I felt like I was reading someone's unreflective daily diary. An exception was the material on the Humbert Scandal which Ms. Spurling has also written about quite well in La Grande Therese.

Ms. Spurling also could have included more about Matisse's art in this book.

But you will learn a lot about Matisse from this book that you won't find in most other sources.

I found the recent companion volume, Matisse the Master, to be much more rewarding. If you decide to read only one of the two books, I suggest that one. But you may decide to come back and read this one later, as I did.

Meet Matisse and Enter His Landscape for Reading Pleasure.......2003-05-20

Henri Matisse (1869-1954) came from the somber northern region of France. The landscape of his youth was sketched in the somber colors of a provinical childhood. His family were seed merchants, sober and no nonsense in their approach to the realities of life. As Matisse grew his art expanded as he journeyed to Paris and to the South of France where he discovered the glories of coloration in his art. Matisse was the greatest of the Fauvist painters; the chief rival of Picasso and the grand old man of French painting.
In this first volume of her life of Matisse, Hilary Spurling the British born biographer draws France in the dawn of the 20th
century as we see Matisse struggle from poverty to stability. He was supported by a loving wife, good friends and a genius which
burst forth in all its glory as the great master continue to grow in his art.
The book is well illustrated, detailed in its description of Matisse's families, friends and opponents and well worth the reader's time.
With the current exhibition of Matisse-Picasso at the Metropolitan Museum of Mordern Art it is a pleasure to turn to Spurling's fine volume on Matisse to gain further insights into this giant of modern art. I recommend this book to everyone from art expert to the educated general reader seeking further insights into the evolution of a painter of genius.

Matisse's Colors.......2001-11-29

This is a genuinely inspiring biography, clearly written and deeply felt, powerfully communicating the revolutionary ideas of what painting could and should be that drove, and were driven by, Henri Matisse. Spurling vividly describes Matisse's struggles to balance his need to paint with financial reality and his society's disdain, often using the artist's own letters and recollections to depict his growing obsession with color and impatience with representation.

Although I eagerly await the second volume, the true measure of Spurling's success is my anticipation in revisiting Matisse's paintings -- my enjoyment of his work has been increased immeasurably by reading this book.

Customer Reviews:

McCABE IS A MASTER OF VOICE..........2004-02-24

The first work I read by Eugene McCabe was his incredible novel DEATH AND NIGHTINGALES - it's been a long time since I've come across writing that evoked its characters so powerfully. TALES FROM THE POORHOUSE, an earlier work, shows me that McCabe is indeed a master at his craft. The ability to conjure life and substance so readily for his characters is a magical one - and the strength of this gift rests on the firm foundation of the voices of the people in his work. Those voices ring with truth - they are not embellished beyond the point of belief. The humor, pathos, pain, suffering, and joy that are illustrated so vividly in these characters stands up well to the light of life. It's obvious that the author loves these people he has imagined - based, I'm sure, on his own life experiences as well as the history of Ireland, his adopted country - and his respect for them shines from the pages of his work.

TALES FROM THE POORHOUSE takes a hard look at one of the most painful periods of Irish history - the mid-19th century, at the height of the so-called `potato famine', when a blight struck the potato crop and left `the poorest of the poor' to starve to death, or, if they were lucky enough to find passage, to emigrate to America. Those who were left behind faced certain death from starvation or disease - typhus was rampant, spreading exponentially via raw sewerage and hastily-disposed corpses. When these unfortunate souls could not pay the rent they owed as tenants to their landlords, they were evicted from their homes - the houses were `tumbled', razed to the ground and burned - and had little alternative but to enter into the poorhouses to work off their debts. These establishments were man-made hells on earth - the women, men and children were segregated from one another, without regard to family ties, and with little warning upon entry. Those who were considered to be less than in complete control of their faculties were consigned to lunatic wards - and the conditions there were even worse than those for the others.

McCabe relates this story from four points of view: that of an orphan girl, the poorhouse master, a local landlord, and the final section by the orphan girl's mother. Their stories are interrelated - and it's mind-opening to hear them told by these individuals, and to see them intertwine. The distinctions between their individual outlooks are drawn perfectly, and reveal much about the social, political and religious structure at work in Ireland at the time. The author's rendering of these characters is so perfect that I could hear them in my head as I read the book, as distinctly as if they were in the room with me speaking their thoughts. Writing this effective takes my breath away, and makes me long for more.

There is humor to be found in these stories - but it's a dim light in the darkness of these characters' stories, and in the story of this sad era in Irish history. Man's greed, man's inhumanity to man, and the lust for power are at the root of these `troubles' - as they are at the root of most troubles we bring upon ourselves as a race. Hypocrisy plays its part as well - there's plenty of it to go around. Particularly illuminating are the jealous exchanges between the Catholic and Protestant clerics in part two (`The master') - petty squabbling over matters of the soul.

Many of McCabe's works are theatrical pieces - and I see from the notes on this book that the pieces here were presented as a play on RTE (Irish television). There's also a note that DEATH AND NIGHTINGALES is due to be filmed - that'll be a grand thing, and I hope I'm able to experience it in that form.

No matter if you've an interest in Irish history or Irish writers - if you enjoy fine writing, don't pass Eugene McCabe up. He's one of the greatest voices writing today - and his words will echo in your heart and mind for years to come.

How do you humanise an unspeakable national horror?.......2001-03-01

This is an important, harrowing and beautiful book. Important, because it takes an historical event that has been abstracted by ideologues - the Great Famine - and restores its humanity. Harrowing because of the descriptions of this disaster, not of its social or political importance, but the way it effected families and destroyed the land, creating a tangible atmosphere of death. It is (perversely?) beautiful because, like all McCabe works, it is alive to the harsh beauty of nature, and also because the four speakers of these monologues try to order the horrors by telling stories, full of excuses, self-delusion and bitter hatred, but also nostalgia, revelation and epiphany. The book works by taking stock figures from the Famine - the Orphan, the Landlord, etc. - and making them compellingly human and complex, not bogeymen.

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