Book Description
Occasionally, the rugged landscape of Scotland attracts dreamers who move north, wrapped in fantasies of enjoying the simple life. They usually dont last, defeated by the climate or by inhospitable locals. But it looks as if Effie Garrand has come to stay. When local constable Hamish Macbeth calls on her, he is amazed to find the small woman still in residence after a particularly hideous winter. Unfortunately, Effie is also quite delusional, having convinced herselfand everyone elsethat local artist Jock Fleming is in love with her, and that they are engaged. After a huge fight with Jock, Effie is found in the mountains, poisoned by hemlock. Now, its up to Hamish Macbeth to find the dreamers killerbefore any more nightmares unfold.
Customer Reviews:
Reviewed by Barb Radmore.......2007-02-10
Hamish Macbeth has women problems- mainly too many of them. The main character of Scottish author M.C. Beaton's popular mystery series has an ex fiancé staying at the hotel, his most recent ex-girlfriend in town for a story and he has his eye on a new woman in town. If he does not have enough to handle there is a murder- another woman, of course. Artist Jock Fleming has come to the quiet town of Lochdubh to work on his landscapes. . His peace is quickly destroyed by the unwanted attentions of fellow artist and newcomer, Effie Garrard, who has rented a cabin outside the town. In spite of his blatant attempts to avoid her, she informs the whole town that not only are she and Jock engaged, she is pregnant with his child. When she is found dead on the hillside, missing her ring and ring finger, Hamish is the only one convinced it is not suicide. There is a reason the inhabitant of Lochdubh are leery of outsiders.
Lochdubh is a cozy Scottish village that does not welcome strangers so not much happens around town that its inhabitants do not notice. Hamish is the sole constable and his strength is watching how people behave and listening to what they have to say. What may sound like gossip to others are clues for Hamish. As another body turns up, the pressure increases on Macbeth to find the murderer. Even thought he is at least free of his nemesis Inspector Blair for this case, he is saddled with the addition of Detective Robin MacKenzie, another difficult, lovelorn female with whom he must cope. He must deal with all this while also trying to keep the attention of Jock's engaging agent, Betty Bernard. Add Effie's long lost sister, an ugly American and assorted villagers and Hamish has his hands full.
M.C. Beaton packs a full mystery into this cozy book. The plot is well crafted, enough action and suspense to keep the story moving. It is the characters that have made this series the long running success that it has become. Hamish as the laid back constable, happy with his small town job and life but always fast thinking is a protagonist that easily becomes endearing .One looks forward to meeting up with this delightful man just to see what situation he becomes involved in next.
If you need a relaxing read for a rainy day, a day at the beach or even a long car ride, you will want to take along this book or any of the previous ones of the 22 books in the Hamish Macbeth series. Since the first book in the series, Death of a Gossip, was published in 1985 it has gathered many fans on both sides of the ocean, although American readers will not have had the chance to watch the BBC television series based on the books. Under her name Marion Chesney, the author has written over 100 historical romance novels and, also as M.C. Beaton, the Agatha Raisin mystery series.
Another homerun for M.C. Beaton.......2007-02-09
This is the twenty-second in a series of wonderful mysteries featuring the detective work of small town, Highland Scottish detective Hamish Macbeth, P.C. In this book, a local artist's infatuation with another artist turns to obsession, and the obsession leads to death. The Strathbane police quickly declare the death a suicide, but Hamish isn't so sure. Can he solve the case before one murder becomes two...or three?
This is another homerun for M.C. Beaton (pseudonym of Marion Chesney). This book has all of the charm of the earlier books, staying in small town Scotland, and involving all sorts of interesting and quirky characters. Overall I thought that this was a great book, and a great mystery. If you like mysteries, or are merely interest in the Scottish Highlands, then you must get this book!
Easy and fun read.......2007-01-07
(available in both hard cover and paperback)
Pack your imaginary bags and get ready to join Constable Hamish Macbeth as he solves yet another crime in the picturesque village of Lochdubh in the Scottish Highlands in this the latest installment in the Hamish Macbeth mystery series.
When hopeless dreamer Effie Garrard moves to Lochdubh, apparently all she wants is to unleash her creativity as a painter, but it soon becomes clear that's not the only item in her subconscious and very unstable agenda. She begins having trouble with villagers and visitors alike. In fact, she is not liked at all. Then she is found dead.
The shocking news spread quickly, for how can such a horrible incident occur in such a picturesque little village? Is it suicide...or murder? That is for Constable Macbeth to find out. Unfortunately for him, the suspects are as devious, unexpected and peculiar as Lochdubh itself. Fortunately for you, the list of suspects is long enough to keep you guessing until the end.
There is a charming--and even childlike--simplicity in the author's writing style that adds to the folksy flavour of the setting, plot and protagonist. Beaton uses mostly dialogue to move the story and doesn't waste time with needless descriptions or character ruminations, which slows the pace.
Constable Hamish Macbeth, with his fiery red hair, reputation with the ladies, and love for his two eccentric pets, is an original and adorable protagonist. His is an unusual combination of unpretentious charm, naivete, a hot temperament, and genial deduction.
Death of a Dreamer is perfect to cuddle up with on those cold rainy days in front of a roaring fireplace, or in any place, for that matter.
Armchair Interviews says: A thoroughly enjoyable cozy mystery.
Hamish Macbeth does it again!.......2006-11-11
I've only listened to one other audiobook about Mr. Macbeth and enjoyed it, so I asked for this one for my birthday. I love listening to the accents, dialogue and language usage but was disappointed somewhat when I predicted "whodoneit" early in the book. It was still a good read getting to the end, however, and I will listen to it again!
Minus One Star for Priscilla.......2006-11-07
Overall, I would have given this 4 stars. Though we always know what to expect in formula from Beaton and Macbeth, Death of a Dreamer offered up some nastier side characters than usual. Rather than a novel filled with quirky but likable villagers and a nutter killer(except any book in Cnothan- no one likes Cnothan), very few of the extras are likeable. I enjoyed that bit of edge to spice it up a bit and make the killer a little less predictable, even it was still a bit evident before the end. Jock, all his crazy women, and the look at the art crowd were a change and interesting.
As noted in my header, I am taking an extra star off because of Priscilla. If Ms Beaton (or rather Ms Chesney) actually reads these I implore her to turn our dear Hamish off that woman. Find a way to have her face off head to head with Elspeth or something, but no more of this in and out of the stories. Priscilla is so BORING!!! She is cold- not just to Hamish, but to the readers. Marry her off, send her to a convent, ship her to the states to become a moralistic talk show host, I don't care! Just get her out of there. Those few novels where she was no where to be found except the occastional phone call were some of the most interesting and character driven!! Please return to those plots!!
Okay, enough on that... Hope to have better things to say in February about Death of a Maid!
Book Description
A guidebook for communicating with the departed and gaining first-hand knowledge of life beyond death
• Reveals that the easiest way to communicate with the departed is through dreams
• Offers methods for helpful and timely communication with deceased loved ones
• Provides powerful Active Dreaming practices from ancient and indigenous cultures for journeying beyond the gates of death for wisdom and healing
We yearn for contact with departed loved ones. We miss them, ache for forgiveness or closure, and long for confirmation that there is life beyond physical death. In
The Dreamer’s Book of the Dead, Robert Moss explains that we have entirely natural contact with the departed in our dreams, when they come visiting and we may travel into their realms. As we become active dreamers, we can heal our relationship with the departed and move beyond the fear of death. We also can develop the skills to function as soul guides for others, helping the dying to approach the last stage of life with courage and grace, opening gates for their journeys beyond death, and even escorting them to the Other Side.
Drawing on a wealth of personal experience as well as many ancient and indigenous traditions, Moss offers stories to inspire us and guide us. He shares his extraordinary visionary relationship with the poet W. B. Yeats, whose greatest ambition was to create a Western Book of the Dead, to feed the soul hunger of our times. Moss teaches us the truth of Chief Seattle’s statement that "there is no death; we just change worlds."
Customer Reviews:
You Have the Power to Help Your Loved Ones Cross Over Peacefully.......2007-08-28
Robert Moss gives important advice on how to help those we love die with peace and hope. By sharing dreams together, and by giving dreams of beauty and hope to those who need them, we can be active participants and helpers during this sacred time that we all will eventually face. This book has changed my way of looking at life and death.
"He who will be chief, be a bridge".......2006-06-14
Like all books by Moss, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Although he comes back more deeply in subjects he may have covered a bit in his former books, Moss does not repeat tirelessly. Instead, he manages to bring new stories and bright insights along with a quick review of particular points whenever it is needed.
In the first part, Robert Moss goes over the realm of death and its inhabitants, what they do, what they want, how to contact them through dreams. In the second part of the book he moves on to recount his adventures in the astral with the poet Yeats. He explains that his inspiration in writing this book came through his imaginary relationship with the poet. This book of the dead is meant as a sort of continuation of Yeats's own book of the dead, left unfinished by his death.
Despite the subject, the author is as playful as ever. Here's how he tells of the birthing process: "The Moon priest helps me into my body suit. Part of me recoils from this limiting, this confinement to such a primitive form, with only one organ of generation. Yet this body suit is flexible and moves with my thoughts.(...)It pulls back into its default mode - that of a biped that cannot eat and talk safely at the same time (...)".
He offers one of the few accounts of what happens before birth and the possibility of parallel lives across the space-time continuum. Karma is now! I would certainly have liked more discussion on that particular subject. Instead, Robert Moss stops there, leaving us wanting more explanation and a more adequate conclusion. The rest is as fun-filled and rich as his other books.
If you want a more experiential and intelligent approach to dreamwork (as opposed to just dream interpretation), Robert Moss' books are the way to go.
An escort service for dreams and healing.......2006-03-18
Personal experience blends with ancient teachings in Robert Moss'sTHE DREAMER'S BOOK OF THE DEAD: A SOUL TRAVELER'S GUIDE TO DEATH, DYING, AND THE OTHER SIDE which offers accounts of death and its survival. Author Robert Moss survived three near-death experiences in childhood and has been dreaming of the departed all his life: DREAMER'S BOOK OF THE DEAD is nearly an escort service, offering insights on dreams, the afterlife, and healing.
Death does not have to be a fearsome thing.......2005-12-08
A favorite dream of mine is one I had after my mother's death. She has been gone for almost ten years, but has taught me much about life after death through dreams.
I dreamed that my sisters and I were helping at a community church event. Mom was there. We knew she was dead. This was a very special visit. Someone asked me to run an errand, but I refused. I did not know how long Mom would be with us. Sure enough, in the time that I would have been away, Mom told us she had to go. She showed us some sort of gadget that reminded me of an electronic university calendar. It listed many "courses" that one could take. Each course had a button next to it to facilitate movement and choice. Each button had a protective cover to prevent accidental activation of a new course. Mom explained that she was ready to move on. We went outside with her and watched as she pushed the button for her next course. She floated up off the ground and then slowly drifted away across the fields until she disappeared.
Robert's book is in three parts. The first is about this sort of dream, visits with the dead. The second details his own experiences with the poet Yeats, who wanted to write a Western Book of the Dead, and has long served as a guide for Robert. The final section can prepare us for our own deaths, and outlines how to use dreams to assist the dying. Life after death is like a dream, where none of the rules of our earthly life apply.
The Dreamer's Book of the Dead is massively researched, full of stories from myth, dreams, and near death experiences. I expect that some Christian people would be offended or frightened by the idea of an afterlife which we can visit or even create in dreaming, and warn against any attempt to connect with those who have passed over. Robert Moss does address the dangers of connections with the heavy energies of addicted personalities, for example. But even Christian people can fear death, and can find comfort in the words of this book. In fact, pages 235 and 236 hold the most beautiful example of a healing encounter with Jesus, from one woman's conscious dream experience.
Death does not need to be a fearsome thing. Our loved ones may not be with us in a physical body, but are not so far away at all. This book will be a comfort to many.
Wonderful insights.......2005-11-28
I initially read through this book very quickly, and am now re-reading it with much more care and attention. This book is dense with wonderful insights and instruction on the nature of consciousness in ordinary time, dreamtime, and beyond. The text is informative, and the notes and bibliography are detailed and complete...Mr. Moss has obviously done his homework. The subject matter is, needless to say, compelling. There's a lot here to study and work on as well as many leads to related resources. I was happy to learn so much more about the Order of the Golden Dawn, "A Vision" by WB Yeats, and Dante's "Divine Comedy", among other things. This book is now one of my favorites which is saying something because I have lots of 'em.
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C.S. Lewis: Writer, Dreamer, and Mentor
Lionel Adey
Manufacturer: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
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ASIN: 0802842038 |
Customer Reviews:
Short and Sweet.......2004-01-22
While the editorial reviews suggest this does not offer anything new, and that may very well be the case if you are familiar with all of the materials available on Lewis, it seems to me that this book was a short and sweet review of the essential elements of information on Lewis' works. A summary of such works as "The Allegory of Love" in four pages can help someone even after having read Allegory. This applies to other writings as well. In that respect, this may not offer much that is new, but it offers a very handy review of what Lewis was about in a way that reduces the work it would normally take to find this out.
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Behold, This Dreamer!: Of Reverie, Night, Sleep, Dream, Love-Dreams, Nightmare, Death, the Unconscious, the Imagination, Divination, the Artist and
Walter De LA Mare
Manufacturer: Faber & Faber
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ASIN: 0571132987 |
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Behold, this dreamer: Of reverie, night, sleep, dream, love-dreams, nightmare, death, the unconscious, the imagination, divination, the artist, and kindred subjects
Walter De la Mare
Manufacturer: faber and faber
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ASIN: B0007JIITO |
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Behold, this dreamer;: Of reverie, night, sleep, dream, lovedreams, nightmare, death, the unconscious, the imagination, divination, the artist, and kindred subjects
Walter De la Mare
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
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ASIN: 0837122597 |
Amazon.com
Hitherto, Hambly's books about Darwath, a world menaced by awakened malign sleepers and an ice age, have been classic portal fantasies, in which the emphasis is on two transplanted Californians, Gil and Rudy, who are learning to cope with a world of magic and swordplay. In the original Darwath trilogy, the menace is the Dark, hivemind beings with a taste for human flesh who wreck civilization in a matter of weeks when their brainless hominid herds die; in the singleton Mother of Winter, it was devouring fungi and the old cold mind behind them. This new book shifts emphasis to Icefalcon, the exiled plains nomad who has come to value civilization without feeling a part of it, and to the corrupt magus who kidnaps Rudy's young royal stepson for his ancestral memories. Lost in the wastes of the North is another refuge against the cold and the Dark, a Keep which has, rather literally, a mind of its own. Icefalcon has to cope with the cold and the vividly evoked claustrophobia of old dark places; he also has to comprehend the rejection of his barbarian clan. This is an intelligent fantasy thriller about choices, particularly the ones you never knew you made. --Roz Kaveney, Amazon.co.uk
Book Description
Chaos reigned in the Eastern Lands: as the fearsome Alketch army mounted siege, the young Prince Tir was snatched from the heart of Dare's Keep. Behind the terror was the depraved, hook-handed general Vair na-Chandros. He had learned that the royal child possessed forbidden wisdom; a secret the bloodthirsty Vair intended to use to conquer the world.
One man posed a threat to Vair's vaunting ambition: the legendary warrior known as the Icefalcon. Banished by his own people and scorned as a barbarian by others, only he could hope to free the boy from Vair's clutches. With his sister Cold Death--a sorcerer whose magic was as sharp as her tongue--the Icefalcon embarked on a dangerous mission of rescue and redemption that would force him to wage his greatest battle . . . for his prince, for his honor, and for all eternity.
Customer Reviews:
How humanity survived the first onslaught of The Dark.......2005-07-31
3000 years ago, as the story goes, humanity enjoyed a period of prosperity. Mages worked with scientists to increase their knowledge of technology and its merging with magic to create incredible machines and powerfully advanced technology.
Then one day The Dark rose from their subterranean caverns and ravaged mankind, driving them nearly to extinction. The Keeps were built as a last refuge for mankind, and powerful mages sacrificed themselves so that their very essence could be imbued into the keeps. They became eternal prisoners, selflessly imbuing their energy to the keeps so that humanity would always have a refuge to go to in case The Dark ever returned.
What would it be like if you were one of those mages - you sacrificed yourself for the building of one of the Keeps, yet the refugees abandon you after a generation or so, leaving you alone for 3000 years?
In Icefalcon's Quest, just such a mage is encountered in a long-forgotton Keep on the road to rescue Prince Tir.
This book is riveting in its descriptions of arcane long-lost magic - newly discovered, its descriptions of the lost age of humanity and how they survived the first rising of The Dark, and how the Keeps were built and somehow survived 3000 years intact and still working. Although I always want more Darwath novels, this was a suitable resolution to a great saga.
Immensely readable!.......2002-05-31
I bought this book because I liked the blurb on the back, and thought that it would make for interesting reading...needless to say, it's a move I absolutely do not regret. I haven't read any other book in the Darwath series, so perhaps that's the reason for my enthusiasm and fascination, but I've read Icefalcon's quest many times, and it's been enjoyable with every read.
The description of Icefalcon's emotions and understanding appear at first glance to be quite droll, but in understanding the tribal feuds and lifestyle, the reader starts to understand that the portrayal of Icefalcon is true to nature. It's not to say that he doesn't experience emotion or pain or fear, but rather that within his tribal upbringing, it is death to lay claim to such feelings. Only the strongest survive, and fear and cowardice have no place in the tribal structure.
The tribulations that Tir had to undergo, and his character's development as a result were very real and moving for me....The dark magic and evil was a potent stimulus in the book - and I was unwittingly caught up in the brutal descriptions of war and evil.
On the whole, I would definitely recommend Icefalcon's Quest... whether you buy it or borrow it, read this book and decide for yourself!
Icefalcon - Here is his story.......2002-04-24
Icefalcon is the enigmatic guard of guards from Darwath. Teasing hints of his history were sprinkled in the excellent beginning novels but here is the long awaited opportunity to know more. While less straightforward than previous novels, this is still an enjoyable read and gives balance to the landscape of Darwath. It fulfills the promise of the first trilogy and brings Icefalcon into the foreground where the Ice raiders become more visible.
Must have addition to the original trilogy.......2002-01-15
Even though this story focuses on characters that were more of a supporting role in the previous three books, Hambly still writes a superb story in a world that I've grown to love and enjoy. If you enjoyed the first three books then there is no doubt you should enjoy this one too.
Edge-of-your-seat book. Suspensful, not predictable........1999-08-08
Excellent. Must read! Best to read the Darwath trilogy first. One area the horror is a little too graphic (for me!).
Book Description
This volume contains three of the most important hard science fiction novels of Hal Clement--Needle, Iceworld, and Close to Critical.
Customer Reviews:
A Great Series.......2005-12-30
"The Essential Hal Clement, Volume 1: Trio for Slide Rule & Typewriter" is the first of a three volume set which allows a whole new generation of readers to experience his unique style. Hal Clement is the pseudonym of Harry C. Stubbs a scientist who first used this pseudonym because he didn't want his professors to think he was a nut. His stories are hard science fiction, using the science of the day to create futuristic stories involving mystery or problem solving. This style helps keep the reader involved in the story, as they look for a solution along with the characters. This volume includes three novels which had long been out-of-print prior to the publishing of this volume in February of 1999.
"Needle" was first published in "Astounding Science Fiction" from May to June of 1949. This is the story of the pursuit of a fugitive, but in this case both the pursued and the pursuer are alien life forms similar to viruses. The pursuit brings them to Earth, where Hunter (the pursuer) enters a human boy (Bob Kinnaird) and tries to enlist his aid in finding the criminal. This is very much like a crime story, in that the reader gets involved in trying to figure out inside of which person the criminal is currently residing. There is also an interesting scientific premise of the biological production of oil. This novel was also published under the title "From Outer Space".
"Iceworld" was first published in "Astounding Science Fiction" from October through December of 1951. In this story, an alien science teacher has been enlisted to find out about the smuggling of a highly addictive drug. This brings him to the "Iceworld" we know as Earth and the drug we know as tobacco, a nice piece of foresight by Hal Clement. This story explores the idea of life existing on worlds of much higher temperature. One of the premises of this story is the idea that Mercury always keeps the same face to the Sun. This was believed at the time of the story, but has since been proven to be false. While this premise does play a role in the story, it can easily be overlooked by the reader.
"Close To Critical" was first published in "Astounding Science Fiction from May through July of 1958. The premise here is a planet (Tenebra) with environmental conditions near the triple point of water (i.e. the point where it can easily move between solid, liquid, and vapor with very little change in temperature or pressure. During a scientific research operation where humans are learning about the natives of Tenebra, two children (one Human and one Drommian) become marooned on the planet after an accident. This story involves the reader in the problems with the environment, as well as those involved in the rescue of the children.
Advances in science have caused these stories to become a bit out of date. However, because Hal Clement writes in a way which engages the reader into the story, these still are very enjoyable to read.
Three of Clement's best, still great today.......2003-11-19
The recently deceased Hal Clement (Harry Stubbs) wrote many hard science fiction stories, often set in alien environment or with amazingly inventive aliens. Three of his best, Needle, Iceworld, and Close to Critical, are collected here. Needle is the story of a virus-like alien intelligence who with the help of his human host, must track down another of his species. Iceworld tells the tale of a science teacher from another world recruited to stop the flow of drugs from a mysterious source (as it turns out quite quickly in the tale, Earth). Close to Critical is the story of two stranded children, one human, one alien, and the effort to retrieve them from a newly-contacted world with the help of the natives.
Clement brings human and alien to life marvelously. Combine that with his ability to make science understandable (an art often seen in, say, Heinlein juveniles, but seemingly lost today) and you come up with enchanting tales.
Needle is probably the best of the three (and sparked an equally-good sequel, over twenty years later). It is a true mystery, with all the clues to the solution available to the reader to solve before the characters do. While the characterization is very Fifties (the human host, a teenage boy, is amazingly blase about having an alien in his body observing his every action), it is still a great tale.
Highly recommended, as are the two remaining books in the series. Kudos to NESFA for collecting the works of yet another great author into convenient hardcovers!
Long Out-of-Print Stories Resurected.......2000-03-26
Hal Clement was one of the first "hard science" writers to enter the science fiction field, and has reamined productive over many decades. This volume contains three of his long-out-of-print stories that fans have had trouble finding for many years. If you're not a fan but you like hard-science science fiction, coupled with good writing and a "solve the puzzle" style that keeps you thinking throughout the book, give this a try. The stories may seem amazingly old (the book title tells how he wrote them after all), but they are hardly out of date. Based on human nature (perhaps a bit idealized) and fundamental physics & chemistry, they are just as gripping a read today as they were in the 1950's when they were written.
Book Description
Roughly 44 million Americans of Irish descent, though understandably proud of their heritage, have grown up with a shocking degree of cultural deprivation with regard to the culinary traditions of their ancestors. For most, Irish cuisine means potatoes, corned beef, and cabbage. Now at last, The Irish Heritage Cookbook will set the record straight. Margaret Johnson offers a much-needed fresh perspective on what Irish cooking is all about. She tells stories about the foods of Erin and how these dishes were reinvented by Irish emigrants and their offspring, evolving to include new ingredients and to suit modern circumstances and tastes. Offering a bountiful collection of both traditional recipes and contemporary innovations from a host of chefs and cooks in the Old Country and the New, The Irish Heritage Cookbook affirms at last the place of Irish cooking among the great cuisines of the world—and one to be enjoyed by all who love Ireland.
Customer Reviews:
Very nicely organized book of Irish recipes and Ingredients.......2006-01-26
`the Irish Heritage Cookbook' by Irish-American high school teacher and culinary writer, Margaret M. Johnson is a near-perfect reflection of how the Irish cuisine has grown up around the products of Irish farming, animal husbandry, and fishing. The chapter organization facilitates appreciating this situation with the following chapters:
From the Land with recipes for fruits and vegetables, especially root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips and onions and tree fruit such as apples. The potato recipes are no surprise, the recipes combining potatoes with other root vegetables and with apples is new. I am especially happy to see recipes for champ and colcannon side by side, as I constantly forget what it is which distinguishes one version of these mashed potato recipes from the other.
From the Farm with recipes for meat dishes, especially beef, pork, and chicken. Like the previous chapter, one is taken, here, with the rich combination of meats with apples, beer, and whiskey. Unlike some recipes, I am happy to see that the author gives us the recipe for making the corned beef for our corned beef and cabbage dish.
From the Dairy features milk and egg recipes and recipes from milk products such as cheese and cream. While I have known that Ireland is a rich milk producing country, I was never aware that it had a very rich cheese making industry. In fact, almost all the cheese varieties used in these recipes are type made famous elsewhere such as cheddar from England, Parmesan from Italy, and Swiss style cheeses. The Irish varieties in fact mostly seem to be variations on the neighboring cheddar and the product of the Alps, `Swiss' cheeses.
From the Hillside is all about Lamb dishes. Oddly, in spite of the fact that I am weary of seeing stock recipes in virtually every cookbook I open, I do miss a good recipe for lamb stock in this book, as recipes for lamb stock are not nearly as common as for chicken, veal, beef, and fish. There is a very simple recipe for `lamb broth', but none for `homemade lamb stock', an ingredient in many of these recipes. I miss it because Deborah Madison has converted me to the notion that stocks should ideally be made to fit the dishes in which they are to be used. I also miss the fact that Ms. Johnson is not more specific in specifying the source of her stewing lamb pieces.
From the Waters is all about fish dishes, especially salmon, trout, sole, oysters, and mussels. As wine is used in the fish poaching recipes, I assume these are more likely from restaurants than from home cooks, as I suspect wine was a real luxury item in Ireland of olden days.
From the Wild covers recipes from game such as turkey, goose, game hens, duck, quail, pheasant, venison, rabbit, and guinea fowl. Here again I'm surprised and impressed by the wide use of apples and apple cider in the recipes. It even includes a recipe for a wild duck pate. I'm a bit surprised that there is not more charcuterie recipes for things such as sausage. I guess Ireland was cold enough in the fall and winter that one could store meats in the root cellar in the cold without fancy preservation techniques.
From the Hearth is all about baking, with the famous Irish Soda Bread occupying the first two recipes. We find that even many recipes without `soda' in the title turn out to be leavened by baking soda or baking powder or both. Next to soda bread, the most famous Irish type of bread must be scones, of which there are plenty of recipes here. And, next to wheat, the most popular grain ingredient is, of course, oats prepared in one way or another.
From the Orchards and the Fields contains fruit dishes and desserts. Here again, the stars are apples, potatoes, and oats, with a welcome role for the great character actors, rhubarb and strawberries.
While this is the first full sized Irish cookbook I have reviewed, I feel safe in heartily recommending it to anyone who wants a great source of relatively simple Irish and Irish-inspired recipes in an inexpensive volume. I believe I will find more elaborate, or at least more culinarily fussy books on the subject, but this one is a keeper!
Modern Irish Cooking.......2002-11-25
I didn't particularly like this book, I'm more into traditional cooking and these recipes were a little too trendy/nouveau for my preferences. I think if you are interested in non-traditional Irish cooking you would probably enjoy this book.
The Irish Heritage Cookbook.......2002-10-14
I bought this book for some ideas for St Pat's day. Now I use it all the time. The Irish stew tastes just like it did in a pub in Ireland. My sons love the guinnes beef stew. My co-workers have borrowed it to make some of the recipes as well. And tonite I'm making the oatmeal apple crisp. Even if you are not irish, you'll wish you were after eating some of these delicious meals.
Great book! Authentic recipes!.......2002-03-03
This book is packed with recipes that are authentic and delicious. I highly recommend it not only for the food, but for the history. Great find!
Great Recipes.......2001-05-03
The Irish Heritage Cookbook is fantastic. I have made several recipes from it and they were fabulous! The instructions were easy to follow. Every Irish Kitchen should have this book.
Book Description
Includes a comprehensive guide to Irish ingredients, from wild and cultivated harvest fruits to traditional meats and game.
Customer Reviews:
Superb Introduction to Irish Food and Cooking. Buy It........2006-03-02
`The Irish American Cookbook' by Biddy White Lennon and Georgina Campbell and `The Taste of Ireland In Traditional Home Cooking' by Matthew Drennan are two relatively inexpensive new books on Irish cooking with lavishly illustrated recipes done with color photographs and very nicely written procedures. Both books are excellent first books on Irish cooking with slightly different audiences. The larger, more expensive Lennon and Campbell book is great if you are really interested in a sound introduction to Irish cuisine and are quite interested in wanting to know a lot more about it. The smaller Drennan book is great if you simply want a few good authentic Irish recipes to make around St. Patrick's Day with superior guidance on how to make them, but you have no interest in studying Irish cuisine, its history, and its `terroir'.
One important word of warning. Both books were written and published for an Irish and UK audience, so there are several expressions which are familiar to residents of the British Isles, but which may not be entirely familiar to the colonies. Examples are `double cream', `rashers of bacon', `saltpetre', `black treacle', `a large swede', and `carragheen moss'. All are taken from the smaller Drennan book. Most occur in the larger book as well; however, they are much more commonly explained in the large book, as it was clearly edited for sale in the United States as well as in English speaking British Isles. I am especially happy to see that both books also give both metric and English measurements for volumes and weights. Even better, liquids are often measured in both fluid ounces and in cups. If you have no patience with unusual culinary terms, I would take a pass on the Drennan book and try `Irish Traditional Cooking' by leading Irish cooking school owner, Darina Allen or `the Irish Heritage Cookbook' by Irish-American high school teacher and culinary writer, Margaret M. Johnson, both of which are very friendly to American culinary knowledge.
With the fact that it is available for a very reasonable price, the greatest virtue of the Drennan book is the fact that it's few recipes are all perfect archetypes of traditional Irish cooking. So, if that's all you want, this will give it to you for a pittance.
The Lennon and Campbell Book also focuses primarily on traditional recipes, but it also gives us much, much more. The book opens with a 30 page illustrated essay on a culinary history of Ireland. The very best thing about it is that it does not overlap much the two other essays on Irish culinary tradition in `Celtic Folklore Cooking' by culinary writer and folklorist, JoAnne Asala which concentrates on Irish pre-Christian folklore and religions and `Elegant Irish Cooking' by culinary scholar, teacher and professional chef, Noel C. Cullen Ed.D, CMC, AAC which focuses on a history of cooking and chefs in Ireland. Our book from Lennon and Campbell explains much more about modern Irish cuisine than the other two do. It even partially answers the question of why, when beer brewing is so popular in Ireland, the most popular types of breads are leavened with chemical leaveners. It is also much more informative of the differences in cuisine for different classes of people, so common and well known of Italy, for example.
This excellent section is followed by a second 30 page essay on `The Irish Kitchen' which outlines all the most important Irish food sources and products such as its eggs, dairy, cheeses, sausages, brewing, and distilling industries.
I am not a big one for photographs in cookbooks except when explaining a subtle or difficult technique such as pastry crust making or omelet cooking, but when the photographs are done very well, it can't help but add to the value of the book, especially when its in a genre where most other books in that genre are without superior illustrations. This is another reason this is an especially good book for a beginning cook or someone starting out with Irish cooking. Not that Irish cooking is complicated. It is generally no more complicated than Italian cooking, although it is much more similar, in general, to the cooking of northwest and western France, with its great output of dairy, apples, pears, pigs, and cattle.
The section on breads and cakes alone is worth the price of admission, as next to potato and corned beef dishes, the most distinctive thing about Irish cooking is its breads, biscuits, scones, and holiday breads and cakes with candied fruit. The most interesting recipe here for me is the `Quick barm brack', a yeasted Halloween traditional loaf whose name derives from the fact that it was originally made with leftover beer yeast.
While I have seen many excellent Irish cookbooks over the last three weeks, I can categorically recommend this as the very best `first' Irish cookbook or `only' Irish cookbook if your interest extends no further than two weeks in the middle of March. My recommendation is even safer due to the fact that the book lists for a mere $29.95, well below the average price, let alone the average price for a lavishly illustrated oversized book.
Very highly recommended.
Average customer rating:
|
The Irish Heritage Cookbook
Mercedes McLoughlin , and
Marian McSpiritt
Manufacturer: Careers & Educational Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
Irish
| European
| Regional & International
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0906121116 |
Book Description
Ireland's rich culinary heritage is brought to life in this sumptuous and entertaining appreciation of more than 300 traditional dishes. The recipes, many of which have been passed down through generations, are complemented by tips, tales, historical insights, and Irish customs. A marvelous celebration of the country's culinary pleasures. Darina Allen is Ireland's foremost culinary writer and founder of the prestigious Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork, Ireland. Her cooking programs have appeared on both British and American television, including "Good Morning America." Her previous book is Ballymaloe Seasons.
Customer Reviews:
Celtic cuisine.......2007-09-03
This book is absolutely fabulous!! I served my family a dinner with a Celtic theme for my daughter's 23rd birthday. What a success!! Who knew that the Irish are such good cooks. We had 6 courses and everything was wonderful.
In addition to the wonderful recipes, there is lots and lots of information about the history of the dishes. For instance, when baking Irish Soda bread, make sure to cut a cross in the top of the dough all the way down the sides before baking to insure that all the fairies get out!
Yummy.......2006-10-31
I received this cookbook as a Christmas Gift and have used it several times. Everything I've made so far has been wonderful. The recipes are easy to follow and delicious. There are wonderful pictures and interesting tid bits through out. A great cook book for experts and novices. A wide variety of food and dishes.
Recommended for the novice or the expert cook........2006-04-02
I first checked this cookbook out from the library. I was so impressed I just had to buy it. Page 8 shows Darina Allen with Lana Pringle in a traditional Irish kitchen making Barm Brack. That image took me back to the days of my childhood and the many wonderful memories of summer days spent visiting family in Ireland. Darina Allen does a wonderful job of implementing a heartfelt dose of Irish history into the book. As for the recipes, for the most part they are simple to make, yet tastefully superb!
A wonderful cookbook!.......2006-02-19
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this cookbook and cannot wait to try many of the recipes. It has a lot of history before each section as well as descriptions before many of the recipes to tell where the recipe came from and how it fits into Irish tradition. It had the overall effect of making me feel as if I'd traveled to Ireland and visited the kitchens of chefs and housewives alike.
The only disappointment was that at least one of the recipes I would like to try is written with antiquated measurements (ie. use two stones of flour).
Still, I would highly recommend it to anyone.
Excellent Survey of Authentic Irish Cooking. Buy It........2006-01-28
`Irish Traditional Cooking' by leading Irish cooking school owner, Darina Allen is the fourth Irish-centric book I have reviewed and the second which warrants attention as a sound source for genuine Irish recipes. The other worthy book on this subject is `the Irish Heritage Cookbook' by Irish-American high school teacher and culinary writer, Margaret M. Johnson. Of the two, Allen's book is the more scholarly in that it endeavors to give a relatively complete and authoritative view of the cuisine of all Ireland. While Ms. Johnson's book is very good, it is a much more personal view of both Irish and `Irish-American' cooking.
One area covered by Ms. Allen which are not covered by Ms. Johnson is the native Irish pantry with items such as homemade sausage, homemade vinegar, homemade marmalade, and the like.
It's interesting that the two books take very similar approaches to Irish cooking. Unlike the classic Italian cookbook, neither proceeds by course, but primarily by principle raw ingredient. And, unlike Ms. Allen's great `ballymaloe cooking school cookbook', this book is totally Irish.
Ms. Allen's chapter subjects are Broths & Soups, Eggs, Fish, Game, Poultry, Lamb, Beef, Pork, Offal, Potatoes, Vegetables, Food from the Wild, Desserts, Pancakes, Breads, Oatmeal & Other Grains, Cakes & Biscuits, and The Irish Pantry. In addition to all the recipes, and there are certainly a goodly number for the price, there is an excellent historical foreword by Irish culinary historian, Regina Sexton. There are also numerous heading sections on groups of recipes such as nettles, herrings, eels, and many others. There is also an excellent little Appendices on Irish cheeses and cheesemaking; The Potato and the Famine; and Cooking Pits of the Fianna (Bronze Age sites associated with Ireland's early pre-Christian heroes such as Finn McCool (Fionn Mac Cumhaill)). The number of Irish Farmhouse cheese sources, 48 in all, is truly impressive. Since I suspect almost all of these cheeses are not available at our local megamart, I wish she would have given commonly available French, Italian, or American cheese equivalents.
Almost all of Ms. Allen's recipes seem relatively short in procedure and in number of ingredients. I am very fond of how Ms. Allen has put her ingredients list in the margin rather than above the procedure, and I am also happy that all units are in purely English units, rather than both English and Metric. This is not because I disapprove of Metric. In fact, I prefer it, but in a book for an English or American audience, it is simply easier to read if all units are in our most familiar units.
One of my more interesting discoveries in this book is the almost total absence of yeast baking. In the chapter on breads, there are 23 recipes, of which only three (3) include yeast. All others are leavened with baking power or baking soda plus buttermilk or both. With the great popularity of beer in Ireland, it is odd that there is no more yeast breadmaking, especially with brewer's yeast. While I am very fond of Irish Soda Bread, I find it lacks something compared to a good yeast bread; however, if you are yeast impaired, 20 recipes for chemically leavened quickbreads is a great source for breadmaking.
I am also struck by the large number of recipes using apples in both this book and in the previously mentioned book by Ms. Johnson. The dessert chapter alone gives us 12 our of 34 recipes with apples. Oddly, the Irish notion of an apple dumpling recipe is quite different from the Pennsylvania Dutch recipe of a single peeled and cored apple encased in pastry. The Irish `dumpling' is much more like what we would call a `crumble' or `cobbler', as it is a layer of sweetened apples covered by a pastry layer. One may have to use a little local knowledge for the apple recipes as Ms. Allen recommends no apple varieties for most recipes and when she does, they appear to be varieties native to Ireland such as `Bramley Seedling cooking apples'. I guess Macintosh apples should do fine here.
This book is a real winner if you happen to love mashed potatoes. Among the champ, colcannon, and boxty recipes, there are at least 12 recipes for mashed potatoes, not counting the various recipes for making dishes from leftover mashed potatoes such as griddle potatoes and potato & caraway seed cakes.
Overall, while Ms. Johnson's book has a great selection of recipes, Ms. Allen's selection is even broader, without being more difficult. If all you want is easy recipes, Johnson is excellent. But, if you want a great lyric evocation of the foods native to Ireland, Allen's book is superior.
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