Book Description
On picturesque San Juan Island, love and lavender are in the air. So, unfortunately, are jealousy, pettiness…and murder. Wedding planner Carnegie Kincaid has come to the Puget Sound paradise to oversee her best friend’s wedding. But when her own mother announces her engagement to a local millionaire, Carnegie inherits more than two hostile about-to-be stepsisters and a new father she doesn’t quite trust.
Juggling cops and caterers, secret lovers and sullen in-laws, Carnegie finds a season of love in an idyllic setting turning into chaos. But when the millionaire’s key employee turns up dead and the local police–including one gorgeous blond hunk of a deputy–start breathing down her neck, can she stop a match made in heaven from becoming an invitation to murder?
Download Description
Deborah Donnelly is a sea captain's daughter who grew up in Panama, Cape Cod, and points in between. She's been an executive speechwriter, a university librarian, a science fiction writer, and a nanny. A longtime resident of Seattle, and a bloomingly healthy breast cancer survivor, Donnelly now lives physically in Boise, Idaho, and virtually at www.deborahdonnelly.org.
From the Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
Pretty good read........2006-08-19
I have tried very hard to get into this series. I like them enough that I keep reading them as the come out, but not so much as some of the other current authors. I really wish there were more Barbara Jaye Wilson books available. She writes a good humorous book.
I enjoy this series about a Seattle wedding planner.......2006-03-27
Carnegie is planning her good friend's wedding, which will take place on one of the islands off the coast of Seattle -- a lovely area made lovelier for Carnegie by the fact that she's staying at the fabulous waterfront home of her mother's boyfriend. The only problem is that the boyfriend's adult children are rude and obnoxious to Carnegie and her mother (things are getting serious and they don't want to share Daddy or his money). Carnegie goes for a walk and discovers a corpse -- murdered. She's kind of a suspect, and then finds herself getting the attention of a local policeman. Her boyfriend Aaron (injured in the last book in the series) is being difficult and she doesn't know the status of their relationship so she's sort of receptive. Of course, it's difficult to plan her friend's wedding when she's a suspect in this murder...
It's a picturesque setting and a quick-paced mystery. A great book to take on vacation or to read on a rainy day. I like Carnegie, the wedding planner motif, and the whole series. OK, this is a light and breezy mystery, but what's wrong with that? It's entertaining.
A fun, breezy read.......2006-03-08
Set on beautiful San Juan Island, YOU MAY NOW KILL THE BRIDE has all the elements of an entertaining whodunit: an intelligent and witty sleuth, a spooky mausoleum, two snarky soon-to-be stepsisters, and a couple of dead bodies. While trying to figure out who killed gorgeous Guy Price, Carnegie must sort through her feelings about her maybe-boyfriend Aaron, deal with attentions from a cute cop, fend off an annoying reporter, and plan her best friend's wedding. The romantic ending suits the story perfectly.
Good, But Not Great.......2006-03-04
I like this series a lot, and I enjoyed reading this installment. However, when I was finished with it, I had to wonder if I really did enjoy it after all.
The supporting cast that makes this series so much fun, mainly Boris and Eddie, were either non-existent or just a blip on the radar. Aaron, who I can't stand on a good day, was even more loathesome than usual. I was so hoping that Carnegie would finally dump his sorry butt for the cute police officer, so I was extremely disappointed by the ending of the book.
I also felt there were a lot of loose ends. We know why the main murder took place, but we never really got much of an explanation for the second one. If Carnegie wasn't really a suspect, why was her date wired and why was the tracking device left on her car? If she told the sisters that she didn't want to be called "Carrie" and they kept doing it, why didn't she start calling Kimmie "Kimberly," which she was told not to do early in the book? What was the big secret being whispered about behind closed doors when she first arrived at the lavender farm? A few loose ends are fine, but there were just way too many questions when this book was done.
I'm not sure I'll continue with this series based on the way this book ended. I'm very disappointed about that.
4.5 Stars.......2006-03-02
After being so disappointed with the last one of this series, I was glad I stuck with it for this book. Granted Boris was missing and there wasn't much Eddie but the plot more than made up for it. It was very straight forward and I would have to say my favorite in the series. And the ending was touching in a corny romantic way. I loved it.
Book Description
This book presents three patristic texts on the Priesthood and the Holy Eucharist by Saint Symeon of Thessalonica (A Discourse on the Priesthood to a Pious Monk, who Had Become a Deacon and Priest and Later Became a High Priest), Patriarch Kallinikos of Constantinople (A Guide for Priests and Deacons on How They Must Serve in the Church, How They Should Prepare for the Sacred Service of the Divine Liturgy, and How They Should Amend Sudden Eventualities and Difficulties that Emerge in the Course of Rendering such a Service) and Saint Mark Eugenikos of Ephesus (Exposition of the Church's Acolouthy). These texts serve as a reminder to clergy and laity that prayer and liturgy are primary functions of priests and are designed to put forward in a constant way the Mystery of Christ, which constitutes the basis of the Church as the Arc of salvation.
Book Description
With a preface by H. A. Grueber. This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1911 edition by the British Museum, London.
Average customer rating:
- Not the dispassionate, neutral scholarly tome you would hope to find
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Cyril and Methodius of Thessalonica: The Acculturation of the Slavs
Anthony-Emil N. Tachiaos
Manufacturer: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press
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Cyril & Methodius: Illuminators of the Slavs
ASIN: 0881411981 |
Book Description
At the height of the tumultuous developments taking place in Central and Eastern Europe in the ninth century, two Greek missionaries from Thessalonica came to the fore. Their work of acculturation among the Slavs had far-reaching and lasting changes upon European life. This book looks back over the life and work of these two outstanding figures and analyzes their ecclesiastical and cultural mission. Their presence in the Crimea was closely bound up with several aspects of Byzantium's ecclesiastical policy and programs of acculturation, and also with the Russians' first encounter with Christianity.
In presenting the Slavs with an alphabet and the written word, the brothers transmitted to them the world, and this it was in Cyril and Methodius' time, and thanks to their work, that Great Moravia reached the height of its vigor and prosperity as a central European state. The Cyrillo-Methodian tradition lived on, spreading among the Slavic peoples and laying the foundation of their spiritual life.
Anthony-Emil N. Tachiaos is Professor Emeritus of Slavic Ecclesiastical History and Literature, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He has written extensively on cyrillomethodian problems and the influence of Byzantine hesychasm on the Slavs, and has been the editor of the review Cyrillomethodianum.
Customer Reviews:
Not the dispassionate, neutral scholarly tome you would hope to find.......2006-02-21
CYRIL AND METHODIUS OF THESSALONICA: The Acculturation of the Slavs is an overview of the lives of the Apostles of the Slavs, the work they did, and the Byzantine society in which they lived. It was written by Anthony-Emil N. Tachiaos, professor emeritus of Slavic ecclesiastical history at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
The book gives abundant attention to the work of the brothers before the mission to Moravia. Prof Tachiaos upholds the theory, stated before by Sir Dmitri Obolensky, that much of the work of translation was done years before the call from Rastislav, during the brothers' sojourn on Mt Olympus. The three theories on the nature of the writing that Cyril encountered in Kherson are presented, although the author rather rashly dismisses Vaillant's theory that "Russian" was misspelt for "Syriac". After recounting the end of the apostles' lives, the author goes on to discuss their legacy, mainly the continuation of Slavic philology in Bulgaria and their cult.
I found the work fairly unpleasant. For one, it reads like something from the age of colonialism, where the Slavs are portrayed as entirely uncouth people, pitiful before the arrival of Byzantine influence. Again and again Prof Tachiaos speaks of the Byzantines giving culture to the Slavs, as if they had none before. No Orthodox reader would deny that Christianity was an important addition to the Slavic world, but the Slavs indisputably had music, lore, a distinct pottery tradition, and so forth. Phrases like "the circle of civilized nations", with the Slavs and Bulgars placed outside, abound.
Furthermore, the work seems tainted by a bit of a Greek nationalistic bias, because the author insists that the brothers were not native speakers of Slavic, and ignores entirely the tradition that their mother was a Slav from the hinterlands of Thessaloniki. Other faults in the text include poor typesetting resulting in plenty of typos--even the placement of the wrong letters in some parts of Old Church Slavonic quotations--and a use of non-standard nomenclature such as "Mohammedanism" and "Old Slavic". Prof Tachiaos even uses the term "Turanian", which refers to the theory of genetic relation between the Uralic and Altaic language families, even though this fell out of favour decades ago.
I can't really recommend this book. If you are interested in the lives of Sts Cyril and Methodius, read the Vita Methodii or the Life of Cyril. Sir Dimitri Obolensky's portrait of St Clement of Ohrid in SIX BYZANTINE PORTRAITS (Oxford University Press, 1988) actually starts with a fairly extensive life of his teachers.
Average customer rating:
- Excellent Story
- More of the Same
- Leave it and move on.
- Excellent Concept!
- The Sin of Presentism
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Thessalonica (Baen Fantasy)
Harry Turtledove
Manufacturer: Baen
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Wisdom of the Fox (Baen Fantasy)
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Fox and Empire
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An Emperor for the Legion (Videssos Cycle)
ASIN: 0671877615 |
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Story.......2003-06-25
I was very pleased with Turtledove's novel "Thessalonica". He did an excellent job of keeping the fantastic elements in with the historical fiction elements.
Turtledove, who has a PhD in Byzantine history, accurately portrays Christian life in the Roman Empire during the 7th century AD. Details buffs such as myself will note that from time to time he makes glaring errors such as messing up the "Trisagion prayer", but if you are not an Eastern Christian this won't bother you a bit. Also, the bishop's prayers are borderline silly at times.
One other negative aspect of the book is Turtledove's obsession with describing the status of the satyrs' sexual organs (in mythology these animals are oversexed, and Turtledove uses vivid descriptions of the satyr's erectile state to determine his mood, which gets annoying.)
The book's action moves quickly, and the author incorporates the main character George's home life quite well into the thread of the action.
I loved this book and would recommend it to those who have an interest in the genre of historical fantasy.
More of the Same.......2003-03-25
Sorry Harry but is just like "Between the Rivers" but with Christians and left overs from the Greek Panthon of mythical creatures.
Now I'm not saying the book isn't enjoyable because it is but there is nothing that you read here that can't be read in any other(much better) Harry Turtledove book
However there was one part I just loved and that is why this book gets 4 stars instead of 3. I am refering to the very funny conflict resolution at the end of the story. Great way to handle that little problem!
Leave it and move on........2002-12-12
If you need something to put yourself to sleep then this book is for you. Three quarters of the book deals with a town under siege and the militia defending it. I might add it deals with it in a very dull manner. A lot of talking between characters, and rather uninteresting conversations they are to boot. Very little in the way of character development, dull plot...blah, blah, blah. This is one you won't regret missing.
Excellent Concept!.......2001-08-24
"Thessalonica" by Turtledove is a great work of fantasy. It pits Christianity against the dark gods of the Slavs. A splendid work for those of us with a little crusader inside them!
The Sin of Presentism.......1999-08-06
I enjoy reading Harry Turtledove's alternative histories, and this one was no exception. It's an enjoyable book, and I strongly recommend it. I must, however, point out one flaw that irked me throughout the book. The scenes with George and his commedian friend John in the town wine shops struck me as contrived. The barkeeper acted more like a modern-day comedy club operator than an ancient wine seller, and John's jokes just didn't fit the time period. This is the type of strained writing one would expect to find in an episode of Xena Warrior Princess, but not a Harry Turtledove novel. Despite those distractions--and they are minor--this is still a great book with which to kill an evening.
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Conflict at Thessalonica: A Pauline Church and Its Neighbours (Journal for the Study of the New Testame Series, 183)
Todd D. Still
Manufacturer: Sheffield
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1841270032 |
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From Hope to Despair in Thessalonica: Situating 1 and 2 Thessalonians (Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series)
Colin R. Nicholl
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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The Letters to the Thessalonians (Pillar New Testament Commentary)
ASIN: 0521831423 |
Book Description
Colin R. Nicholl examines the situations giving rise to each Thessalonian Epistle to determine how the two relate historically. His book presents a compelling hypothesis, arguing that the two letters reflect two stages of a single crisis plaguing a recently formed Greek Church, (which spiralled from hope into despair because of confusion about the "end" time.) This monograph is the most up-to-date and comprehensive account of the Thessalonian Epistles currently available.
Amazon.com
Technology, philosophy, politics, and mystery combine in this well-told tale of murder and corporate machination. Archform: Beauty weaves together the stories of five people in 24th-century North America who find themselves involved in a political conspiracy that spawns a string of murders. An old-style singer despairs over graceless contemporary music that uses overlaid resonances to emotionally manipulate the listener; a police investigator identifies a disturbing pattern of suicides and murders; a powerful senator and an equally powerful corporate tycoon pursue their own agendas toward a potentially violent collision; and a news researcher with a flair for background finds himself drawn into all of their affairs as pieces of various puzzles begin to come together.
Modessit handles the five voices well, particularly those of the detective, singer, and researcher, and sets their stories against a well-realized social and political background, incorporating interesting philosophical questions about reality and beauty into the action without slowing the pace. --Roz Genessee
Book Description
Most readers recognize L. E. Modesitt, Jr. as the author of a favorite fantasy series, be it The Magic of Recluce or The Spellsong Cycle. It's always a special treat when he turns his hand again to SF, and Archform: Beauty is no exception. Four centuries in the future, the world is rich -- nanomachines watch the health of the wealthy and manufacture food and gadgets for everybody -- but no utopia, as we see in the lives of five very different people. A singing teacher suffers for her music and fights bureaucracy and apathy. A news researcher delivers the essential background details but can't help looking deeper and wondering about the real story behind the grim incidents that make the headlines. A police investigator, assigned to study trends, begins to see a truly sinister pattern behind a series of seemingly unrelated crimes and deaths. A politician aids his constituents, fights the good fight and tries to get re-elected without compromising his principles. A ruthless businessman strives to make his family powerful, wealthy and independent. Theirs is a world where technology takes care of everyone's basic needs but leaves most people struggling to extract a meaningful life from a world crowded with wonders but empty of commitment and human connection. Alternating the voices and experiences of these five characters in a tour de force of imaginative creation, Modesitt overlaps, combines and builds their disparate stories into a brilliant tale of future crime and investigation, esthetic challenge and personal triumph. In the same way that he has built fantasy landscapes of surpassing fascination, Modesitt creates a believable future, one imbued with a deep understanding of the way politics works and how people act and react when their sense of themselves, of justice and truth, is exploited by others for power and control. When there's nothing left to need or want, will beauty live on in people's lives or disappear forever? L.E. Modesitt, Jr. asks difficult questions, sets himself unlikely challenges and, once again delivers an absorbing tale that enlightens, entertains and uplifts all at once.
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
Another riff on the whole music teacher thing. Unfortunately this one is pretty dull. It looks at a very commercialised world of music where being a classically trained music teacher is not all that financially rewarding. e.g. not necessarily a lot different to know.
He has made up another genre of music to be the 'rap' of the time.
Underlying all this is some dodgy goings on. Needed to be a bit more of that to be interesting.
If you are a music teacher type, you might enjoy it more.
Beauty in Action.......2007-09-01
Archform: Beauty (2002) is a standalone SF novel set about four centuries in the future. After the collapse of the Commonacracy, North America was re-unified, with the capital in Denv. The political climate is very different, however, as are the laws and enforcement. A major change is the privacy laws.
In this novel, Luara Cornett is an Adjunct Professor of Music at the University of Denv. She teaches two classes in Music Appreciation and has six private students in Voice. Still, university pay is not enough even for her rather frugal lifestyle. She also does backsinging for rez-based net commercials and occasionally she is hired for art song recitals.
Lieutenant Eugene Tang Chiang is Trends Analysis Coordinator for the Denv District Department of Public Safety. His staff is finding signs of social disturbance, but not in any particular location. The new strain of Ebol14 from the West Asian biowar labs is causing some of the unrest, but the unexplained overdoses and suicides among the young are the most unsettling.
Jude Parsfal is a senior researcher for NetPrime. He searches out historical data and interesting angles to current news stories. He is working on the background of water diversion within the southwest, but his editor diverts him to the McCall death. While the initial investigation concluded that this death had resulted from an accident, the Regional Advocate now claims that her husband had reprogrammed the electral's defense screens to crush the car.
Eldon Cannon is the Senator for Deseret District. He is Chairman of the Economics and Commerce Committee. In the upcoming elections, Cannon is facing a strong bid for his seat by Hansen. His campaign consultant has discovered that Hansen will be depending heavily on a new type of rez-ad tailored for each genotypical group. Cannon decides to anticipate his opponent by using the new techniques early in the campaign and with a positive message.
Christopher Kemal is the new family head since the death of his father. He had been running the family business for ten years, but the death will now make it official. He moves from the office of the President to that of the CEO after the funeral and then continues his normal routine. He has a private conversation with Evan McCall about the death of his wife and the DPS suspicions, then discusses his father's will.
In this story, Luara performs art and classical songs at a private party and gets into a conversation with an older man about music. She passionately argues that music is an essential element of civilization. It promotes rational thinking and accelerates learning. When the older man points out that rezrap and rezpop have widespread followings, Luara declares that they are not music in the same sense as classical works.
Senator Cannon thinks on the subject and has his staff prepare a small prototype program to increase the amount of music appreciation in the colleges. He also suggests that the program will make good publicity for his campaign. Then he proposes a small documentary of the subject with an interview of Luara Cornett as the centerpiece. His campaign manager quietly laughs at the idea, then points out that Luara has been doing the backsinging for his rez-ads all along.
When Evan McCall seemingly commits suicide out of remorse by jumping off his sixth floor balcony, Lieutenant Chiang is asked to focus on the case. Certain aspects strongly suggest that the death was not suicide, but murder. He gets his friend Kama O'Doull of Westside Physical Systems to check the building systems with a couple of DPS techs. They find signs of tampering.
This story digs into the affairs of the Kemal family. Although they are protected by the privacy laws, physical evidence of wrongdoing provides a hole into these affairs. Then information about foreign influence in Noram corporations becomes available and the privacy barriers crack open a little further. Chris Kemal has been a very bad boy.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One person's beauty is another individual's noise. Still, some forms of beauty are admired widely and for a long time.
As the title implies, this story portrays each protagonist as creating or protecting beauty in their lives. It describes examples of beauty in music, politics, the media, problem solving and family guidance. Yet such efforts sometimes conflict with each other. In reality, the sense of beauty is a product of value systems, for that which is valued is seen as beautiful.
If beauty can be ranked, then the scope and duration of each form of beauty might be the key factors. Music is an abstract and universal form of beauty, although it is an acquired taste. Politics sometimes is a quieter, but still long lasting form of beauty. The media can convey a more restricted and fleeting sort of beauty, although recordings provide some persistence.
Problem solving is probably very constrained in scope and consequence, but can occasionally have rather widespread effects, especially when these solutions create new technology. Family guidance produces the most limited form of beauty in many respects and often is the most likely to conflict with similar efforts; still, raising a family is a very widespread artform.
The author is much like Senator Cannon in at least one respect. He is married to a woman much like Luara Cornett and obviously listens to her about music. One hopes that his wife approves of the portrayal.
Highly recommended for Modesitt fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of human relationships, political machinations, and true romance.
-Arthur W. Jordin
A Brilliant Sci-Fi Thriller.......2006-01-02
This is my first time reading L.E. Modesitt, Jr.'s work, and I'm blown away by this author's creative melding of art, science, commerce, and politics into a highly entertaining crime story.
Proceeding slowly at first, Archform: Beauty explores the every day lives of 5 very different individuals (music teacher/singer, police investigator, powerful senator, proficient news researcher, and ruthless businessman). The story picks up steam as the police officer investigates a series of fatal accidents, and all five protagonists are connected in some way. Yet, the investigation is really secondary for the author, whose focus is more on what our world will look like in the 2400s. Mondesitt's prognostication for our future is both somber and inspiring.
Archform: Beauty is a fascinating read for sci-fi and mystery fans alike.
Interesting ideas, mediocre writing.......2005-08-07
Ultimately, there's nothing original or effective enough in "Archform: Beauty" to set it apart from the SF herd. Modesitt creates a fairly convincing world and sets up an interesting web of relationships among his narrators, but the whole effort is undermined by poor writing. Descriptions are flat. Dialogue is artificial and stilted. Future-slang is unnatural -- in some cases, practically unpronounceable. Language naturally evolves in directions that are easier to speak aloud, not harder. "Counterfeit" would never evolve into "feit" (sounds too much like "fit," and many more colorful synonyms already exist), nor "Denver" into "Denv," nor the already well-established "condo" into "conapt." Maybe I've been spoiled by Neal Stephenson, but I like my science fiction to be good writing, not just good speculation.
Superb Future Thriller from L. E. Modesitt, Jr........2004-12-28
L. E.Modesitt, Jr. explores the nature of art versus commerce in this spellbinding thriller, "Archform: Beauty", which is set four centuries from now, in a world that isn't too radically different from our own. Modesitt explores such issues as bioterrorism and Islamic fundamentalism while keeping his aim squarely on the notion of what exactly is art, successfully interweaving the lives of a classically-trained singer and professor of music, an Internet researcher, a detective, tycoon and politician, as they are plunged unexpectedly into a murder mystery. All of this is told in an engaging, well written thriller which never once lost its suspense or ability to surprise. Modesitt, one of our foremost writers of American science fiction, succeeds in writing a big novel of ideas coupled with engaging characters; this is exactly what excellent science fiction tries to accomplish. This is without question a fascinating exploration of the question, "Is there in truth, no beauty?", and a brilliant commentary on the issues which beset us now in the early 21st Century.
Book Description
First published in 1988, Bruce Cost's Asian Ingredients was immediately hailed as one of the most comprehensive and fascinating books on Asian foodstuffs ever written. Now fully revised and updated, Asian Ingredients offers a wealth of information on identifying and using the often unfamiliar ingredients in traditional bottled condiments. This book's clear black-and-white photographs make it easy to identify ingredients in your local supermarkets or Asian grocery, while Cost's carefully researched notes explain how to select, store, and cook with these wonderful foods. Cost also includes more than 130 simple recipes for sumptuous Asian specialties. Cooks can create the dramatic flavors of China, Japan, and southeast Asia in their own kitchens with this indispensable resource.
Customer Reviews:
Buy This Book. Superb Presentation of East Asian Foods!.......2005-02-02
`Asian Ingredients' by Bruce Cost is one of those books like Patience Gray's `Honey from a Weed' and Claudia Roden's `New Book of Middle Eastern Food' which gets cited as THE authority on its subject by culinary heavyweights such as Ruth Reichl and Alice Waters. So, in my quest for the perfect culinary library, I really need to read and review this book. I am very happy to say that the reputation of this book is not overdone. It is one of the finest books on culinary ingredients I have seen on either Oriental or Occidental cuisines. The author states from the outset that his objective was not to give us an encyclopedic work. What we get is much closer to some of the finer books on Mediterranean cuisine such as Nancy Harmon Jenkins `The Essential Mediterranean'. In many ways, Cost's book is far more practical, albeit less analytical than Jenkins' work.
Cost deals with the fairly homogeneous food world of Japan, Korea, China, Viet Nam, and Thailand. He mentions India as an influence on Thai cuisine, but does not deal directly with Indian cuisine, as it is substantially different from the cuisine of China and the rest of the Far East. The book also does not deal with the cuisine of the Philippines or Indonesia, as the cuisines of these two nations are heavily influenced by European colonization beginning in the 16th century.
One of the best things about Cost's book is that it is organized in such a way to make it a pleasure to read for background information. While I have never sat down to read the Larousse Gastronomique for pleasure, I read Cost's book from cover to cover with great pleasure, skipping a very few subjects on which I was very familiar. Costs book is divided into the following seven (7) major chapters:
Fresh Ingredients including Herbs and Seasonings, Vegetables and Fungi, Meat, Poultry and Eggs, Fish
Preserved and Processed Ingredients including Dried Ingredients, Cured Ingredients, and Soy and Coconut
Condiments and Sauces including Soy based condiments, Fish based sauces, Chili based sauces, Vinegar and spirits, and Flavored oils
Spices, Sugars, Nuts, and Seeds, including Spices, Sugar, Nuts and Seeds
Rice
Noodles and Wrappers
Flours and Thickeners
Cooking Fats and Oils
One of the most dramatic lessons to be learned from this book is the fact that like the Mediterranean respect for dried and preserved ingredients such as salted cod, dried pasta, and dry beans, Asian dried ingredients such as seaweed, vegetables, fish, and mushrooms are highly regarded ingredients in their own right. They are not `second best'. By drying and concentrating their flavors, they bring something to the party that is simply beyond their fresh precursors.
Another fairly dramatic discovery is the fact that while so many of the spices prized by Europe and so greatly desired by Renaissance Europe were grown just next door to China and Japan, these spices such as black pepper, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon (cassias) really did not and still do not play a big part in East Asian cuisine, except for Thailand, which is influenced by the curries and other spices of India. Northern China and Japan almost totally reject the use of the `cookie spices' except for ginger, which is used heavily throughout the region covered by the book.
It is interesting to see both the harmony and the dissonance created when one lays Mediterranean and Far Eastern cuisine side by side. Some of the biggest parallels are the importance of garlic, pork, mushrooms, cilantro, and New World (capsicum) chilis. Some differences are in the relative importance of drying versus salt curing. As Nancy Harmon Jenkins points out, salt is much more important in the Mediterranean cuisines simply because the Mediterranean is saltier than the oceans, so it is a lot easier to acquire than on the Pacific Rim. There are some salt cured pork products, with hams very similar to Smithfield hams, but nowhere near as much of the Charcuterie / salume culture of Western Europe. The greatest differences between the two areas lies in the use of milk. There is simply no milk culture in East Asia from cows, goats, sheep, or buffalo. The Chinese and Japanese feel the same towards Europe's more aromatic cheeses as westerners may feel about fermented fish sauce, birds nests (dried bird saliva), and seaweed. Where the European uses animals' milk, the Asian uses milk refined from soy or coconut.
An important part of this book, more important than similar samples in most other books of this type, is the recipes, especially for things such as fish and chicken stocks, which are far simpler than comparable French stocks. They are not just simpler; there is a whole rationale in the Chinese cuisine against including vegetables in chicken stock recipes.
Two of the most useful aspects of this book are the recommendations on how to best use Asian markets and which commercial preparations are of a high quality. I had some reservations regarding a local Chinese run farmer's market with a fish counter until I read Cost's description of Asians' regard for freshness in fish. The `Iron Chef' episodes where virtually all seafood ingredients are presented live is not for the sake of show business. These people are SERIOUS about their fresh fish! Note that while this book was originally written and published in 1988, the new paperback edition was revised in 2000, so the numerous comments about which prepared brand name ingredients are the best should be fairly current.
This book is so good you will be remiss if you buy any other book on East Asian ingredients without first reading this new edition. Other books may offer better coverage of selected aspects of this subject, but this book is certainly the gold standard against which other books should be measured!
Very highly recommended, especially if you like to read about food as well as eat it.
A Cookbook in Reverse.......2004-07-07
Asian Ingredients is a cookbook in reverse. The familiar formula dictates that a little of the cookbook is dedicated to some cultural background titbits and a glossary; the rest is devoted to recipes. Cost, as his title indicates, offers us a major tour of the foodstuffs with just a sprinkling of recipes throughout. And that is exactly why the book appealed to me. Here you get the best bookish knowledge mixed with personal experience as he gives ingredients not just names, but cultural context, almost bringing them to life as if historical characters. Soy sauce, he tells us in the introduction, "evolved from ancient methods of fermenting and preserving meat and game ¡K" The Chinese value fresh water fish above salt water because the latter are considered to be already partly preserved (less fresh) - salted by the water they swim in. Amongst gems like these are plenty of practical advice for both the market and kitchen. But while the book includes a Region of Use listing for each ingredient, the geographical origin of each recipe is unfortunately left a mystery. The book is also crying out for a separate recipe index. You would not buy this book for the recipes alone but I tried four or five and whenever I wore my reading glasses and did not try to cut corners, I ended up with some really good food. Simple Roast Chicken with Sichuan Pepper (I was drawn to the word Simple), for example got the thumbs up from my friend Linda. The photographs being black and white are not always as illuminating as they should be, and there may be a few questionable facts. For instance, we learn that Dong gwa (gua) is Cantonese for Winter Melon. Not mentioned is the fact that this pronunciation is virtually identical in Mandarin. All in all I would call this an excellent reference.
Ingredient Encyclopedia.......2003-01-03
A terrific reference for people like myself: round-eyes who want to learn about authentic asian ingredients and cuisine. The book is a great guide to many obscure and, to outsiders, mystifying ingredients. What's most important is that the book clearly describes the ways in which they are commonly used and (often) provides sample recipes; this allows you to utilize previously unknown items correctly and learn how their flavors are part of traditional asian dishes.
The book is well-written, though this version is the first I've seen, so I can't comment on whether it's really "new and expanded". Someone with a keen interest in food can sit down and read it cover-to-cover. I was also impressed by the care taken to differentiate national/regional applications of ingredients. Much discussion is given to how the region and history shaped the use of ingredients and what is accepted in contemporary cuisine.
All in all, a great reference book.
"Fully revised and expanded"...NOT.......2001-10-21
This excellent, informative book deserves to have been reprinted (how could such a fine book have gone out of print?), but beware of the "fully revised and expanded" claim. I ready owned the out-of-print hardcover and bought the new paperback edition to check out the updated information. I've looked pretty closely, and the only new copy I can find is very incidental (i.e., changing the locations of farms from exotic locations to the US as more domestic farmers are now growing Asian produce). No new recipes, either, although some new titles (to throw unsuspecting readers off the scent?). If you don't have this book, and you are an Asian food aficionado, do add it to your collection. However, I am very irritated at the publisher's suggestion that this is a new edition (it's a good old-fashioned reprint, and that's all) and at the previous reviewers who didn't find it necessary to warn other buyers of this important fact. I would rate it much lower for readers like me who own the original, but newcomers to this classic will find no quarrel.
a unique book.......2001-05-03
this is a unique book that is most useful in "de-mystfying" asian ingredients. I have bought and seen a lot of food related books and this one is remarkable for its accuracy and user friendliness (the pictures help so much!!). I bought it back about 10 years ago or so and it taught me a lot. A very good investment for anyone interested in asian food and asian flavours michael
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