A Finer End

Amazon.com

Although P.D. James has made it to the top of American bestseller lists, she's not the only talented female writer of British mysteries who is popular here. Like James, Deborah Crombie is another exceptional stylist who uses every new book in a series as an opportunity to explore the emotional complexity of her central characters and further reveal the many dimensions of their personal and professional lives. Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his partner and lover, Sergeant Gemma James, are at a crossroads in their relationship. But far more compelling to both of them are their investigations in Glastonbury, the mythical burial place of King Arthur and Guinevere, where Kincaid's cousin Jack has discovered a thousand-year-old secret. Jack hasn't deciphered it yet--it's being transmitted to him by "automatic writing" in communiqués that seem to be coming (in church Latin, of course) from a monk who's been dead for centuries. Of course there's a murder involved--a couple of them, actually--but by the time Kincaid's involvement is officially sanctioned as an investigation rather than a favor for a relative, the reader has been drawn deeply into a much more ancient mystery.

As usual, Crombie creates secondary characters who are as interesting and carefully developed as Kincaid and James: a middle-aged vicar whose life is nearly snuffed out just as she's fallen in love for the first time; a pregnant teenager with apparently psychic abilities that are somehow linked to the ruins of Glastonbury's old abbey; a mendacious historian who understands the true value of the mysterious "letters" from Brother Edmund; and especially the Company of Watchers, the spirits who guard Britain's spiritual heart, who are said to watch over King Arthur until he rises again. There's more than a smidgen of New Age-iness about this somewhat atypical Crombie thriller, but perhaps that will help widen her appeal and bring her the attention her brilliant but largely unknown books deserve. --Jane Adams

Book Description

Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his partner Sergeant Gemma James return in another spellbinding novel of mysteries--one contemporary, one ancient--an investigation that will challenge them personally and professionally as no case ever has. From the award-winning author of the acclaimed Kissed a Sad Goodbye...

A FINER END

When Duncan Kincaid’s cousin Jack calls from Glastonbury to ask for his help on a rather unusual matter, Duncan welcomes the chance to spend a relaxing weekend outside of London with Gemma--but relaxation isn’t on the agenda. Glastonbury is revered as the site of an ancient abbey, the mythical burial place of King Arthur and Guinevere, and a source of strong druid power. Jack has no more than a passing interest in its history--until he comes across an extraordinary chronicle almost a thousand years old. The record reveals something terrible and bloody shattered the abbey’s peace long ago--knowledge that will spark violence that reaches into the present. Soon it is up to Duncan and Gemma to find the truth the local police cannot see. But no one envisions the peril that lies ahead--or that there is more at stake than they ever dreamed possible.

Customer Reviews:

Great series.......2007-01-25

I have read all of the Kincaid/James novels by Deborah Crombie. Wonderful books, great characters. Lovers of English murder mysteries should not miss these books!

Not Crombie's best.......2006-09-17

I've only started reading Deborah Crombie but I found this not not nearly as well written as Kissed A Sad Goodbye. I found the plot to be thin and the characters to be poorly developed, definitely not up to par with others I've read by Crombie.

I found it ironic and funny that Crombie lives in a small town in Texas, because she concentrated her stories in London. However, I suppose the thing that irritated me most about this book is Crombie's ignorance of religions. Her book hinges on a New Age-Pagan-Goddess religious connection but she doesn't seem to understand the Goddess knows all things, sees all things. There are a lot of loose ends, again unlike some of Crombie's other better works.

Not the best place to start reading Crombie, and perhaps one to skip if you're a fan and haven't already read this.

Murder & Mayhem On the Mysterious Tor........2005-11-07

Glastonbury was thought to be the mythical burial place of King Arthur and Guinevere, but it started out to the time of the earliest Christian settlement in Britain. Thurstan had been the first Norman abbot there, brought in from Caen in France by King William after the Conquest in 1077. Aethelnoth had been the last Saxon abbot from 1053 to 1078.

This is a British who dunit with fictional characters filling in between the historical passages. Todd Garnet took in stray cats, and had one kingly feline named Dion. There was Phoebe the Spaniel who surveyed the comings and going in the little settlement around the Tor, a multi-layered mound used on All Hollow's Eve.

Winnie Gatesby lives in the vicarage and falls for the blue eyes of Jack Montfort. She'd been happily self-sufficient until she met Jack unaware of any void in her busy life. "So, why now did the thought of a future without him fill her with such desolation?" She had been the vicar at St. Mary's in Compton Grenville.

Although Thurstan was a godly man, and a builder like all Normans, he made the monks of the abbey stop the Gregorian chant they had used and substituted a French chant. The original chant had been a part of the very fabric of their lives, and so the monks protested. The church had been destroyed by an earthquake, and only the tower was left standing. There was a lovely church downhill called St. John the Baptist.

Chalice Well Gardens lay in the gentle valley between Chalice Hill and the Tor. The gardesn rose, level by level, until the last, an enclosed leafy bower housed the well where Garnet was drown by an unknown assailant. The Lion's Head pool below had a constant temperature of fifty-two degrees Fahrenheit. The well's intricate wrought-iron cover had a carving of an ancient called the 'vesica piscis,' two interlocking circles.

Jack, it turns out, is an ancestor of the French painter who hid the manuscript he had been searching for behind one of the paintings. He had not been interested in history until he started researching his geneology.

Ms. Crombie has written IN A DARK HOUSE and ALL SHALL BE WELL, among several other British mysteries. She uses the slang we hear like "Cheerio" "ring him up," and the typical mismash Agatha Christie was so good at purveying. Rodney Crowell was warned by an English fan not to use the word "suspenders."

A Fine Mystery.......2004-08-22

This book was certainly better than the last, although the mystical part was unexpected and unwanted. Kincaid and James relationship is doing better, but she still is struggling with the results of her selfishness. She is finding the results unexpected and unwanted as well.

A good read!

A Wonderfully Well-Written Mystery.......2004-03-15

This book is beautifully written and Deborah Crombie has a way of weaving the very distant past into the present that is seamless and utterly beautiful. Her descriptions of the countryside around Glastonbury are also beautifully drawn, and it sure made me want to visit this ancient place. She draws her main characters very well, but it's her secondary characters that seem to come alive from the page. She is an incredibly talented writer. This book gets off to somewhat of a slow start, but once about halfway through the pace picks up and it moves very quickly. I find this book almost has a dreamlike atmosphere to it as Ms. Crombie spins her yarn and as she decribes things from the medieval ages and how it applies to the modern-day. Kincaid and Gemma go to Glastonbury at the request of Duncan's cousin. While there they meet all kinds of wonderful characters - some remnants from the hippy era, a very young unwed mother, a middle-aged female vicar, and Gemma particularly is touched by the magic of the place and of the old abbey. It turns out that ancient violence ends up cropping up in modern-day Glastonbury and Gemma and Duncan are on the tail of a killer. Are all the accidents and murders that are occuring around them committed by one person or more? That is something they have to find out before someone else pays the ultimate price with their life.

Average customer rating:

Finer End
Deborah Crombie
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OVAHMG

Average customer rating:

A Finer End
Deborah Crombie
Manufacturer: Pan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OUR2WA

The Robin & the Kestrel (Bardic Voices, Book 2)
Average customer rating:

Improvement, but still slightly superficial.

A continuing saga of the Free Bards

Who picks the cover artist!

My Favorite Bardic

eh, I wanted to be the first . . .
The Robin & the Kestrel (Bardic Voices, Book 2)
Lackey
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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The Free Bards

ASIN: 0671876287

Customer Reviews:

Improvement, but still slightly superficial........2001-11-04

The Lark and the Wren left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth. It was a *good* book, but truely lacked in several elements. It's sequel, the Robin and the Kestrel seems to have picked up some of the pieces to produce an interesting novel.

The main characters are developed nicely, and for the first time, I didn't find myself groaning at the idiocy of either of the leads. The 'enemies' though, made me wince a little because of their resemblance to cardboard cutouts. While we do hear a little about the antagonists past, it's hardly enough to satisfy a curious reader.

A small annoyance for me, was also the 'fade to black' scenes. It's wonderful that the leads have such an intimate relationship, but it doesn't need to be mentioned every night if the author won't follow up with a scene.

Finally, this book does seem to bash a modern religion a little, but most shouldn't take offense, because it also provides some sympathetic characters from identical beliefs.

All in all, Mercedes Lackey is a wonderful writer, and while I feel a bit generous about giving this book four stars, her unique style helps ease the decision a little.

A continuing saga of the Free Bards.......2001-07-18

This is a tale of free bards, gypsies, non-humans, evil priests, and magic. It is book two of the series, and both continues characters from the previous book and introduces new characters that reappear in later books. The series should be read in order. The book begins with Free Bard Kestrel (a.k.a. Jonny Brede) and his wife, the gypsy Robin (a.k.a. Gwyna), traveling from Birnam in a gypsy wagon. The first half of the book takes them through a series of adventures that lead them to Gradford. The second half deals with events in Gradford, including the attempt of an evil priest to take over the city as a dictator (one can recognize the usual historical process of scapegoats, strong-arm police, a charismatic leader, etc.). It describes the strategies used by the general population to survive during such a reign, and has an eventual confrontation between good and evil. Overall, it is an entertaining book that holds your interest.

Who picks the cover artist!.......2000-05-17

I liked this book very much. It is light reading, and although some of the characters lack depth, it's still a good story. What I'm wondering, though, is who selects the cover artist, and does the author have no say in it? The picture on the front of this book couldn't be more inappropriate to the content of the story if the artist had deliberately set out with that in mind!

**POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT

Robin and Kestrel are investigating a plot by an evil priest who, among other things, has imposed very harsh rules on the inhabitants of the town, including modest dress for women. Robin must attempt to be inconspicuous as she pretends to be a respectable trader's wife instead of a gypsy. Yet the front cover has her dressed in some kind of jacket thing that opens to the waist with no apparent form of fastening, and the swell of her breasts visible. Very modest, to be sure. Meanwhile Kestrel is dressed like some kind of court jester. Do these artists even read the books they are illustrating?

I have the same complaint with the art on the cover of the Eagle and the Nightingales. Nightingale is described as a tall, slim and elegant woman with very long black hair. The picture shows a dumpy woman with mid-length brown hair. If I were the author, I wouldn't be too thrilled!

My Favorite Bardic.......2000-04-28

This book is my favorite one in the bardic series. Although I enjoyed Rune's story, and also liked Nightingale, I love Robin and Kestrel. They are such an awesome couple, and are good at fighting 'old time crime' if you will. Although the bad guys were a little steryotypical and easily defeated, that is the way short novels work when you don't continue them into a series. I suggest that everyone read it, and if you like it, buy it!

eh, I wanted to be the first . . ........1999-03-19

No, I don't think that this is a _bad_ book. I was quite interested throughout, and was satisfied with the ending. It just wasn't a great book. The villians (in this case, priests and other clergymen) are all treated as prop charactors, as if Lackey meant to go back and edit in some personalities once she finished sketching out the plot. All of the "bad" guys were steriotypical villians with no clear motive and no originality. But the book was entertaining, I'll give it that much.

Robin Hood: A Pop-Up Rhyme (Viking Kestrel Picture Books)

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Robin Hood: A Pop-Up Rhyme (Viking Kestrel Picture Books)
Nick Bantock
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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Averse to Beasts (book & cassette edition)

ASIN: 0670849898

People Might Hear You (Viking Kestrel Picture Books)

Average customer rating:

An unsettling yet fulfilling read
Super!
if it was my choice, it'd be my ....! :P
An amazing book!
Mansha's Review

People Might Hear You (Viking Kestrel Picture Books)
Robin Klein
Manufacturer: Viking Juvenile
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Essays | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary Criticism & Collections | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0670803030

Customer Reviews:

An unsettling yet fulfilling read.......2004-11-01

Frances lives with her Aunt, who moves around often - school to school, apartment to apartment. Frances is distressed but curious when her Aunt informs her that they she is getting married to a widow named Mr. Tyrell. She is not allowed to see the marriage, and later taken to a large, fortress like home. She meets her new family and step siblings, and discovers the family are part of a religious group preparing for Judgment Day.

Super!.......2003-04-10

Like the other reviewers,I am disappointed that the story was cut off so quick, with no follow up as to what happened.Although the impression is left that all ends well.

The story is this: Frances , a 12 year old girl down under lives with her Aunt, who reminds her what a burden she is while she works dead end jobs.
Then her Aunt meets and marrys a man who belongs to a strange group called the temple.Frances is swept off to live in his house with his 3 daughters who have been members all their lives.Life in the house is an insane series of rules and regulations. Her aunt becomes a stranger, her husband is a cruel tyrant.Frances is desperate to escape.
She has a bond with one of the daughters Helen and she longs for freedom as well,but is very frightened.
The last few chapters had my heart pounding.

if it was my choice, it'd be my ....! :P.......2003-03-18

my english made me read this book, and i found it about the most boring piece of work ever. if i wasn't made to read it i'd have closed the book in no time. it was lifeless and dull, as for the end. nothing happened! maybe i'm just being so harsh because it's a book for younger ones (it says 4-8 on the info page) and the teacher is giving it to a year 8 level one class.

An amazing book!.......2002-09-14

As soon as I finshed reading this book, I started reading it again. This would have to be one of the best books that I have ever read. It is creative and unique- there is no other book quite like it. People might hear you is one of those books that you just can't put down no matter hard you try and is definetely one of Robin Kleins best work. The only fault I could find with it was the fact that the ending was so abrupt.

Mansha's Review.......2000-11-06

Well, as per my opinion, this book was on the OK side. It taught us a great deal about religious cults and the way they live. I've read better books, but this one has to be one of the most different. As much as I like Robin Klein books, I was a little disappointed with this one. The ending needed to be expanded to tell us what really happened to Frances and Helen unless Robin Klein is writting a second addition to it.

The Robin & the Kestrel: Bardic Voices Book II

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The Robin & the Kestrel: Bardic Voices Book II
Mercedes Lackey
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NL5PMO

The Same But Different (Viking Kestrel Picture Books)

Average customer rating:

Great for kids, wonderfully offbeat -makes you laugh too!

The Same But Different (Viking Kestrel Picture Books)
Tessa Dahl
Manufacturer: Viking Juvenile
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Customer Reviews:

Great for kids, wonderfully offbeat -makes you laugh too!.......2002-09-17

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

This book, at first glance, is no different from any other toddler/preschool book about the daily routine of a family.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

When you read it, though, the little differences in daily routine between mom, dad, granpa, daughter and baby, are described in a way that is witty and wacky. They will vary between tickling your funny bone to laugh out loud humor. This tounge in cheek humor at the different perspectives of normal daily routines done by grandma , dad or baby, is very insightful, and the kids loved it.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Customer Reviews:

Great but missing something..........2007-10-11

Did I miss something here? Yes, this book really speaks to you personally. It describes in detail how you are feeling and what you are going through - it's amazing that Dr. Weeke's knows you as if she has gone through it all herself. HOWEVER, I kept waiting for detailed instruction or for her to go into more depth about what she means exactly by her advice to "float" over your anxiety. She does mention what you need to do - accept, face, float and let time pass and does acknowledge that this is very simple advice. I find it so simple though, that I don't understand it. I feel like the whole time she promises to help you recover from anxiety and then forgets to write the chapter on how to do it. That being said, just reading about my symptoms and seeing how common they are did help. To be told to "accept" my fears was a big relief. I was exhausted by fighting my fears.

Only thing that has helped my son........2007-09-29

Only thing that has helped my son.
Only thing that has helped my son.
Only thing that has helped my son.
Only thing that has helped my son.
Only thing that has helped my son.
Only thing that has helped my son.
Only thing that has helped my son.
Only thing that has helped my son.
Only thing that has helped my son. period.

I must read for panic suffers.......2007-06-16

Years ago I suffered from panic disorder. This book was recommended to me. I have since bought dozens of copies for friends and family that I think should learn how powerful the mind can be. Dr. Weekes is a genius at making you understand that the more you resist the more the symptoms persist. A nervous mind sees no end in the fear of another panic attack. The fear is what keeps it alive. Read the book if you've ever had a moment or feeling that you're not yourself. This book will change your life.

Great!!!!.......2007-05-18

It has really helped me out alot. Also it has given me some good advice.

Great for anyone suffering with anxiety.......2007-05-13

I bought this book after several months of suffering with severe anxiety and panic attacks. The book is written as if Dr Weekes was speaking directly to me. I highly recommend this book.

Average customer rating:

Hope and Help for Your Nerves
Dr. Claire Weekes
Manufacturer: Hawthorn Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Anxiety Disorders | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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Hope and Help for Your Nerves (Signet)

ASIN: 0801535824

Product Description

*Discover the revolutionary method of "desensitizing" fear and tension; *Understand and analyze your symptoms; *Overcome your bodies nervous resistence; *Cope successfully with loss of confidence and feelings of depression, sorrow, and exhaustion; *Break up your "cycle of fear. By the author of "Peace from nervous suffering".

Average customer rating:

Hope and Help for Your Nerves

Manufacturer: Greenland Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Hope and Help for Your Nerves (Signet)

ASIN: B000EHCU20

Product Description

Dr. Claire Weekes's remarkable book offers hope and help to everyone who knows what it is to experience the symptoms of nervous illness.

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Hope and Help for Your Nerves
Claire Weekes
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000QA890M

Average customer rating:

Hope and Help for Your Nerves
Claire Weekes
Manufacturer: Greenland Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NS2D7C

Average customer rating:

Hope and Help for Your Nerves

Manufacturer: A Bantam Book
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0553137654

Average customer rating:

Hope and Help for Your Nerves
Claire Weekes
Manufacturer: Penguin Books Canada, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000KL5PIG

Here In America's Test Kitchen: All New Recipes, Quick Tips, Equipment Ratings, Food Tastings, and Science Experiments from the Hit Public Television Show
Average customer rating:

Wonderful mix of Steps 1 and Expert

Buying more in the series

Quality Cooking Advice & Phenomenal Ribs!

Just As Good As the PBS Show!

Yet another winner from ATK

Here In America's Test Kitchen: All New Recipes, Quick Tips, Equipment Ratings, Food Tastings, and Science Experiments from the Hit Public Television Show

Manufacturer: Boston Common Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Amazon.com

At a certain point you have to ask yourself, do you really need another couple of hundred recipes all carefully clustered around a food concept, or do you want a more manageable number of recipes that all work--guaranteed? Welcome to Here in America's Test Kitchen by the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine. Not only can you rest assured that the results will taste as good as they look in the color photo, you get to learn along the way exactly why these recipes work so well. If you are a little confused about which salt or which pasta is going to bring you the pleasure you deserve, that information's in there, too, along with the inevitable concerns about kitchen tools. Ingredients, tools, technique, kitchen science, good humor, insatiable curiosity, bonhomie--this is the world of Here in America's Test Kitchen.

With Here in America's Test Kitchen, a companion book to popular PBS TV series, the kind editors of Cook's Illustrated have placed the busy cook first and foremost in their concerns. Fine, the rustic bread is going to be a weekend project. But what about coming home after work knowing a few friends are going to fall by and being able to crank out award-winning nachos, Buffalo wings, fresh guacamole, and delicious sangría with complete confidence? That's where this book starts. Along the way you'll find the perfect fried rice and kung pao shrimp, or steak au poivre with a brandied cream sauce. Beef burgundy, Texas chili, barbecued salmon, pasta classics, American casseroles--these editors know what you want to put in your mouth. What they do best is showing the process they went through to get the exact result they were looking for. If you cook your way through this book, cover to cover, you will not only be a good cook, you will know exactly why that is so. And you can take that to the bank. --Schuyler Ingle

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful mix of Steps 1 and Expert.......2006-11-13

As a beginner with cooking, this book has led me places I never thought I'd go. It has been a guide for the basics and an inspiration for the heights. And meanwhile it saves me money by steering me away from useless gadgets and fad techniques.

Buying more in the series.......2004-01-14

This is the one cookbook that has not gone on the shelf, but instead sits on the corner of the counter. So far I've made the beef burgundy, pan roasted chicken, smothered pork chops, lemon meringue pie, macaroni and cheese, nachos with salsa and guacamole, and more. I'd've done more in the past two weeks, but I do have a job to go to. These may not sound like extraordinary recipes - they're all in my Betty Crocker cookbook or Good Housekeeping cookbook - but this is the cookbook that tells you the how and why, what works and what doesn't work (based on their own testing, which is an interesting read in itself). One of the things I like most is that they make an honest effort and usually succeed at restricting themselves to ingredients found in nearly every supermarket. Serving sizes are extremely generous. I ate nachos for four days --- luckily, they were delicious.

I do wish they would include nutritional analyses. These recipes are all about taste and optimal preparation to ensure the best results; nothing particularly low cal or low carb and certainly not low fat here; and it doesn't purport to be a diet cookbook. That's okay, but it would still be nice to have the numbers. And it would be nice if they would test a few ways of cutting calories and/or carbs and/or fat while developing the best recipe.

As a novice, I also got tripped up in the pan roasted chicken because the recipe didn't give me even a clue as to how long the pieces would be in the oven; I guessed about 30 minutes but turned out to be 50 minutes to get to temperature, which threw off the timing on the side dishes...minor, novice issue.

Finally, I also subscribe to Cook's Illustrated published by the same people. In the Nov/Dec issue was an incredible recipe for pumpkin cheesecake (beg, borrow or steal it from someone). Their technique explanation ranted about the wonders of cooking a cheesecake in a waterbath. Indeed it made a great difference. But in this cookbook, there's a recipe for a New York Style Cheesecake with no mention of a waterbath. I'm not a pro, so maybe the different techniques deliver two distinct textures, but it was curious why both ways aren't discussed in the cookbook since they touted it in the magazine (or vice versa).

I've bought a couple pieces of their recommended equipment and believe they've been right on target there too.

It's an impressive book that has pursuaded me to buy both the Italian Classics Cookbook and the cookbook for the 2002 television series. Looking forward to receiving those soon.

Quality Cooking Advice & Phenomenal Ribs!.......2003-12-14

As someone who consider's themselves an elite "home chef", I stopped using recipe books years ago and just built on the basics that I'd gleaned from reading what I considered the "essential" cookbooks. Then, one stormy Saturday afternoon when the husband was at work and the kids were away at Grandma's, I stumbled on America's Test Kitchen on PBS. Needless to say, I loved what I saw.

Now I am a Cook's Illustrated fan. I have not come across anything done by these folks that isn't absolute quality cooking instruction - no matter what your level of cooking expertise. That's because ATK doesn't just write the recipes - they write articles and background about every recipe that breaks down each element of the recipe and explains why certain ingredients, techniques and equipment work so much better than others in producing the best tasting recipe. Even if you never follow an America's Test Kitchen or Cook's Illustrated recipe step-by-step, the things you learn just by reading the recipe books can be carried over into all of your cooking. If, like me, you are a non-recipe cook, there is still much to be learned here.

"Here in America's Test Kitchen" carries on the standard of excellence that Cook's Illustrated has established for itself. Detailed recipes that are actually essays about what goes into creating each recipe and why certain ingredients and methods are used will elevate the level of every home cook - regardless of your current level of expertise.

This book contains some of the best recipes I've ever had. The BBQ Rib recipe prepared with a dry rub and slow cooked over a smoky grill is simply the best rib recipe I've ever made - spicy, smokey, fall of the bone tender with a wonderful crisp skin on the outside. At a recent 4th of July party, these ribs and the ATK buffalo wings were a huge hit. And the cookie jar favorites - chewy, flavorful double chocolate cookies and ginger cookies are family favorites. The recipes here aren't always the quickest, the cheapest or the lowest in fat and calories, but if you are looking for the best in flavor and texture, with America's Test Kitchen you can't go wrong.

Just As Good As the PBS Show!.......2003-07-17

I have been watching this series on PBS and the book is just a delightful. The receipes are pretty easy to follow, ingredients are available in most grocery or gourmet shops. Plus they have done all the testing and we get to prepare the perfect combinations! Highly recommend it, especially as a gift!

Yet another winner from ATK.......2003-07-04

This is my third Amerca's Test Kitchen cookbook. In all of the meals that I have cooked using these books, I have never had a flop. As a male and a physician, I really appreciate the "clinical" approach to cooking that ATK applies. Want to make good, gooey chocolate cookies? Then try a dozen different methods and see what works best. They have used this method for all of their recipes, and the reaults are tremendous.

ATK avoids pretentious cuisine. They aim to make the best steak, best french-fries; things that my kids will eat. Yet, some of my favorite meals for guests come from the book as well. (Twice-coked potatoes with pesto...mmmm). Even though I live in a small town in a remote area, I have always been able to find the ingredients they suggest.

They have a "Consumer Reports"-like approach to rating ingredients and equipment. What a delight when Morton's table salt out-performs...sea-salt in blinded taste-testing.

I can't wait for next year's book to come out!

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