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Hostile Witness
William Lashner
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ASIN: 0061009881 |
Book Description
Hard-luck Philadelphia lawyer Victor Carl is just itching for the opportunity to sell out. Then good fortune comes knocking at his door in the guise of William Prescott III, a blue-blood attorney from one of the city's most prestigious firms. Prescott wants Victor to represent a councilman's aide who is on trial, along with his boss, for extortion, arson, and murder. It's the juiciest, highest-profile courtroom extravaganza in years -- and all Carl has to do is show up, shut up, and follow Prescott's lead.
But it soon becomes clear that somene's setting him and his client up to take a long, hard fall. Victor Carl may be desperate and unethical but he's no one's patsy. And to survive in this legal snake pit of secrets, lies, and lethal double-crosses, he's going to play the game his way.
Download Description
Victor Carl wants out of his private law practice. His debts are huge, his partner's gone, and his dream of posh digs in an exclusive Philadelphia law firm are in the gutter. Enter William Prescott III, the man who can give him everything, as long as Victor follows his lead. Unfortunately, Victor likes to play the game his own way. Hard-luck Philadelphia lawyer Victor Carl is just itching for the opportunity to sell out. Then good fortune comes knocking at his door in the guise of William Prescott III, a blue-blood attorney from one of the city's most prestigious firms. Prescott wants Victor to represent a councilman's aide who is on trial, along with his boss, for extortion, arson, and murder. It's the juiciest, highest-profile courtroom extravaganza in years -- and all Carl has to do is show up, shut up, and follow Prescott's lead. But it soon becomes clear that somene's setting him and his client up to take a long, hard fall. Victor Carl may be desperate and unethical but he's no one's patsy. And to survive in this legal snake pit of secrets, lies, and lethal double-crosses, he's going to play the game his way.
Customer Reviews:
You Can't Put it Down!.......2007-01-30
This is my second book by this author and he has a marvelous talent for including some of the most intriguing and different characters I have read in a legal thriller. Just about everyone in this book falls into this category. Starting for the high class Winston Osbourne who is being sued by a client represented by Victor Carl (Victor is the main character in the book) all the way to the mysterious Veronica, Morris, the Mafia Don, and Jimmy Moore.
The book is told in first person which is told marvelously since we get a deep sense of what Victor is thinking throughout. He feels intimidated by Osbourne and his ilk because they represent the high class with old money for which Victor can only observe but never be accepted into their "club." Victor brings down Osbourne and then is pulled into a case involving a city councilman (Moore) and his aide (Concoran) being charged with the murder of a nightclub owner. Victor is asked by Moore's attorney (Prescott) to represent Concoron and basically stand by and do nothing while Prescott runs the whole show. In reward for Victor being a "good soldier" and doing what he is told, Prescott offers Victor a lucrative future.
Victor starts to smell a lot of things wrong with everyone and starts believing that his client is in fact innocent. Victor has to decide if he wants to be a man of principal and throw everything away that was promised by Prescott and go against his instructions. The choices are like this throughout especially after Victor meets the troublesome Veronica who he falls madly in love with. The author places Veronica on one end of the spectrum like a siren luring sailors to their death and Victor's partner, the "pure" Beth on the other side. Victor has to decide whether to go with his libido or his common sense.
To further complicate matters, a slew of people may want Victor dead including Moore, a drug dealer, a Mafia Don, his former partner and possibly even Osbourne. The story just sucks you in and doesn't let go until the last page. Excellent work!
Impressive debut.......2006-11-23
This was the first of William Lashner's novels and it is an impressive debut. It's not a simple read -- I found his later novels to be more easy to get through -- but it's worth the trouble. The characters seem real, he knows the Philadelphia of those days well, he writes his "hero," Victor Carl, as a less than heroic individual (more like real people). The plot is well worked out and his writing style is a genuine pleasure to read. Ironically, I read it last, having discovered Lashner only recently. It explained a lot about Carl I'd been guessing at in the later novels. A great read, great depth, great characters -- impressive!
Great Debut, but Overlong.......2006-06-22
This book is the excellent debut of William Lashner, a former lawyer and graduate of the Iowa writers workshop. This book introduces the character of Victor Carl, the hard luck attorney who has appeared in all of Lashner's subsequent books.
This book is a legal thriller, and is VERY well written. My major problem with the book is that it's overlong -- over 600 pages. The middle of the book drags somewhat, and we have a lot of redundant scenes, especially ones involving the many women in Victor Carl's life (for such a hard luck guy, he seems to have a way with gorgeous women). I was also slightly disappointed with the ending, but I can't say more without spoiling it.
Overall though, I highly recommend this book.
A writer who isn't afraid to throw you curveballs; expect the unexpected.......2006-05-24
Victor Carl is a down-on-his-luck, morally dubious lawyer from Philadelphia. But he's given a chance of a lifetime: defend the Councilman's aide against extortion and murder charges. Also charged with coercing money from a local businessman is Councilman Jimmy Moore, a very passionate and crusading black politician. After the businessman's partner convinces him to stop paying, the partner is then beaten to death with a baseball bat. Councilman Moore has hired the best law firm in the city, so all Victor Carl has to do is sit back and let them handle the case for both defendants. Happy to drink the Councilman's champagne, profit off of his connections, and even sleep with his mistress, Victor is having the time of his life. That is, until he starts asking his own questions, which land him in a tangled web involving the Councilman's henchmen, the Mafia, and drug dealers. The internal conflicts within Victor are what really drive the story, but expect the unexpected. The best part of this book is that Lashner has the courage to throw curve balls, especially towards the end of the book.
A special touch to mystery writing all his own.......2006-03-02
There are many writers of fiction that have detectives, lawyers and murders, but Lashner has a touch all his own. His character is a man without money but high principals. He can be laughed at by the establishment, and he might even lose the biggest case of his life, but somehow he will still end up on top.
Victor Carl is the "woodyallen nebish" of legal fiction. He has not money few clients and even fewer prospects. He went to a no name college, and then a no name law school. After going into business with two law school collegues, one absconds with their best clients, with his girl friend to go to a 'name' law firm.
The legal matters at hand, are just there to have something to hang his story around. The true greatness of this book is the people that Lashner creates, and the way they handle their very prozaic lives. But, don't take my word...read the book.
Book Description
Some secrets aren't uncovered. They are unleashed...
The national bestselling author is back with a gripping legal thriller of a brilliant lawyer caught between her client, a powerful family's hidden legacy, and the truth...
Josie Baylor-Bates returns to the practice of criminal defense when her friend's sixteen-year-old daughter, Hannah, is arrested for the brutal slaying of her step-grandfather-a California Supreme Court justice. Although all evidence points to Hannah's guilt, her family's disturbing relations may play a more significant role than anyone could guess. As Josie unravels a circle of secrets, she discovers a shocking truth that could save her client-or destroy them all...
Customer Reviews:
Edge of your Seat legal thriller!.......2007-09-09
The true test of a thriller is in keeping the book and rereading again! This is one of those. I have read Hostile Witness, Silent Witness and Privileged Witness. Loved following the same characters through all three books. I am still waiting for the 4th book to bring us up to date with Hannah, Josie's mother, all of the folks so vividly described in exciting detail as the book moves at lightening speed, keeping me up nights to finish.
Absolutely riveting from start to finish.......2005-02-24
I haven't read many legal thrillers in the past few years, but I think I am going to have to add more books of this genre to my future reading list - especially those written by Rebecca Forster. Hostile Witness is just a fantastic, completely absorbing read, the kind of book that makes you hate your job because having to get up early for work means having to set the novel aside in the wee hours of the morning just so you can get a few hours of sleep. Any thriller is best judged by the number of hours' sleep you miss, and Hostile Witness is right up there with the best of them.
Usually, legal thrillers have a few passages that are dry and boring or feature cardboard characters lacking any spark of life in them. Not so with Hostile Witness. Forster has given life to some vivid, remarkably human characters - the heroic, sympathetic lawyer who puts a painful past behind her to defend a young girl accused of arson and murder; the 16-year-old defendant, a troubled teen lost in emotional chaos and harboring shocking secrets, the girls' seriously dysfunctional mother and step-father seemingly hiding behind mysterious secrets of their own, the hard-nosed yet somehow slightly noble prosecuting attorney, even the victim himself, a man already dead when the novel begins.
The protagonist of the novel is Josie Baylor-Bates, a lawyer who finds herself back in the criminal defense game she left some years ago. Not only is she still dealing with the pain of being abandoned by her mother when she was just a young girl, she is haunted by an old case. An accused murderer she successfully defended (and truly believed to be innocent) turned around and killed again - only this time it was her own children. The sense of guilt that tragedy engendered in Josie led her to abandon criminal defense cases altogether and settle down in a quiet beach community with a quiet little legal practice. Then an old college roommate turns up at her door and begs her to defend her daughter. This will be no ordinary case; it will, in fact, explode all over the media. The girl, Hannah Sheraton, is accused of killing her step-grandfather, a man who just happened to be a prominent justice on the California Supreme Court. In the middle of everything is Hannah's step-father, the governor's choice to take his father's place on the high bench. The case has media circus written all over it - even before a series of shocking revelations about the murdered judge come to light, but Josie agrees to take the case after meeting Hannah. She sees a little bit of herself in the young girl, a frightened lass with deep emotional troubles manifested outwardly in obsessive-compulsive behavior, self-mutilation, and a powerful overdependence on her mother.
Convinced of her client's innocence, Josie's defense of the girl runs into a number of obstacles, including the girl's own mother and step-father, neither of whom, Josie comes to believe, has Hannah's best interests at heart. All too soon, this case has become intensely personal for Josie, and that leads her to question her own motivations. Forster does a wonderful job of developing these characters, showing you increasingly significant cracks in their facades while holding out on the goods until the very end. You have your suspicions, but you just don't know the truth about what is really going on and who is really responsible for the victim's death until the very end.
The novel's most memorable moments take place inside the courtroom, culminating in some unforgettable moments of witness testimony, but the case takes drastic turns (more than once) away from all the cameras and watching eyes. It's an emotional roller coaster for Josie, trying to deal with her own personal baggage alongside the heavy burdens placed upon her by Hannah's incredibly dysfunctional family and the intense pressures of such a high profile trial. A wondrously human heart beats inside the chest of this particular lawyer, though, and that - plus a beautifully constructed plot - is what makes Hostile Witness a novel you just can't put down.
An Exciting Legal Thriller.......2004-05-27
I like a good deal. You know how when you go to the grocery store and you find your favorite cereal is buy one get one free, you almost feel like you've won some sort of lottery. Now, you know the store has upped the base price of the cereal, but you still snatch it up and through it your cart. There is a great feel to a two for one deal. That's how I have always felt about a good courtroom drama. You're getting two dramas for the price of one. The first drama is outside the courtroom. The incident, the lives affected, secrets, conspiracies and so much more pepper the events leading up to a trial. Then the trial, the legal maneuverings, the back room deals, the attorneys and judges, you can't get much better than that.
Recently there has been more and more legal thrillers that forgo the courtroom. The lawyer turned detective who solves the mystery without even filing a motion. While these books are often quite entertaining, I sometimes feel like I missed something. In Hostile Witness by Rebecca Forster we get the whole enchilada.
Josie Baylor-Bates is a talented yet flawed attorney. Tortured by her past and by her success as a criminal defense attorney, all Josie wants now is to settle into a small neighborhood practice taking care of wills and eveyday legal problems. Then her old college roomate Linda Sheraton shows up at her door, her daughter having just been arrested for the murder of her step-grandfather, a California Supreme Court Justice. This was exactly the kind of high profile case that Josie wanted to avoid. Josie's intentions were to meet with the girl, get her through the bail hearing then hand her off to a qualified attorney, but after meeting with Hannah she can't get the image of the beautiful yet troubled girl out of her head. Putting everything at risk, her new practice, her relationship with her boyfriend and even her life, Josie takes on the case with a passion. A passion for a girl everyone believes is guilty.
Hostile Witness is more than just a legal thriller. It is a story of motherhood and abandonment, both physical and emotional. It is also the launch of a new series with an intriguing new protagonist. Like Ben Kincaid or Dismas Hardy, this is a character that you'll want to follow. Along with a strong and complicated hero, Forster creates an intriguing cast of peripheral characters. Archer, the solid as a rock boyfriend and private investigator. Rudy Klein, the honest and well intentioned prosecutor and Hannah the troubled young girl stuck in the eye of the tornado. These characters are the glue that hold this story, and most likely future entries into this series, together.
Hostile Witness is an excellent start of an interesting new series. The pace was brisk and readable. The story sucks you in immediately, and the ending is full of thrills and surprises. For anyone who reads this novel, I suggest after completing it going back to reread the first couple of chapters. Doing this will show you how truly well this book was put together.
Great plot, great characters.......2004-04-30
Forster is a terrific writer with a great feel for the small details that make characters come alive. If you're like me, always looking for a new author, do yourself a favor and track down this one. Hostile Witness is a fine, fine read.
Great Read!.......2004-04-27
An on line pal of mine recommended Rebecca Forster's new book to me, Silent Witness. As soon as I got my copy and started reading, I quite literally could not put this book down. It grabbed me from the opening scene and wouldn't let go until the thrilling conclusion. I had never read this author before and I can promise you that I will be tracking down more books by her. The book has great legal detail, suspense till the very end, and the characters are so well developed. I wish I didn't have to wait until next February for Silent Witness! Don't miss this book!
Average customer rating:
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Hostile Witness
D. A. Munson
Manufacturer: Pinnacle
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary
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| Literature & Fiction
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ASIN: 1558176403 |
Average customer rating:
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Hostile Witness
Manufacturer: Arrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000FMJD7O |
Product Description
Movie tie-in.
Average customer rating:
- Note from the Author
- It gets into your blood stream.
- New York Suspense at its best. It will keep you riveted
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Hostile Witness
Richard Berman
Manufacturer: Avon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary
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ASIN: 0380778130 |
Customer Reviews:
Note from the Author.......1999-08-18
Since I wrote the book you may want to take the rating with a grain of salt. ;-)
I am writing to respond to my reader from London. There is a prequel. (Is that a word or just a Hollywood affectation?) Anyway the prequel is Unjust Death. Many of the same characters.
I haven't planned a sequel with David Cohen yet, but have another Brooklyn legal thriller coming.
Thank you again for the kind words.
Rich.
It gets into your blood stream........1997-12-23
As an occasional visitor from London to Philadelphia it brought the place alive when reading at home in the UK. Its a good book to take on holiday/vacation. There was supoosed to be a sequal. Can we know when ?
New York Suspense at its best. It will keep you riveted.......1997-10-09
Hostile witness is one of those books that you hate to put down because he grips your mind and holds you till you've finished. Excellent.
Product Description
a pocket-sized book of poems, exceptional in their ability to clarify and identify emotions, inspirational
Average customer rating:
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Sacred Mandates of Conscience: Interpretations of the Baptist Faith and Message
Manufacturer: Smyth & Helwys Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Baptist | Protestantism | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Catechisms | Theology | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Theology | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Protestant | Theology | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1573121657 |
Customer Reviews:
Creedalism Castigated.......2002-02-13
This book comes of not only an intellectual endeavour for Dr. Pool, but also of personal interest. Having experienced the use of creeds (whether overtly or covertly) as a "litmus test" in his work at a large theological seminary, Pool has shifted his attention to not only exposing creedalism as a "non-Baptist principle" within the Southern Baptist Convention and its agencies, but he has recruited the work of some well-respected scholars (among them, the late William Estep) to offer some helpful critiques of the Baptist Faith and Message. Beginning with a textual criticism of the BFM 1963, Pool traces some of its clauses and theology to other confessions of faith that served as guides and reference tools for it. The work of the other authors offer some theoretical and practical insight for the utilisation of the 1963 BFM (now long since amended) within contemporary contexts, informed by new critiques and theological traditions, to be used by both pastor and layperson alike.
Average customer rating:
- Thought-provoking
- Best Book I've Read this year
- Are good and evil a valid dichotomy?
- I really enjoyed this
- Scientific magic? It works for me
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The Sacred Pool
L. Warren Douglas
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | 18th Century | 19th Century | 20th Century | African American | Asian American | Classics | Collections & Readers | Drama | General | Hispanic | History & Criticism | Humor | Jewish American | Letters & Correspondence | Native American | Poetry | Short Stories | Women Writers
Douglas, L. Warren | ( D ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0671319566 |
Book Description
A MILLENNIUM IN PROVENCE
A lost little girl weeps in the high wilderness, and her cries are heard...Is her rescuer a crazy, lonely woodsman, or a timeworn Celtic god, and she his only believer? Does an ancient female deity live beside the pool, among the ancient trees of the cool beech grove, or is she little Pierette's "imaginary friend," a poor substitute for a murdered mother?
Will the Black Time come, when dark, evil machines tower over the sunny little harbor of Citharista and all the goodness of the world is locked in an ebon box, or will young Pierette indeed become the great sorceress of her dreams, with fire at her fingertips to stem the evil tide?
Journey with her across the ancient landscape, wander among the bleaching limestone bones of dragons that lie still atop the hills, and see for yourself whether the old gods yet endure....
The Sacred Pool stands at the midpoint of a vast historic tapestry, looking both forward and back: From the sea-girt Paleolithic caves of Sormiou and the enchanted forests of ancient Gaul, to the steamy swamps of Midicor IV, a million years hence; from old Polybius in his leather tent at the siege of Numantia, to Achibol the Charlatan in a cybernetic fortress buried beneath the Columbia Icefields of Alberta, L. Warren Douglas is there -- and he takes his readers with him.
Customer Reviews:
Thought-provoking.......2002-07-13
The nature of magic changes, this novel theorizes, as human beliefs change. First there was matriarchal paganism, then patriarchal paganism, then the coming of Christianity, then reason and science, and each of them affected people's assumptions about how the world works. In medieval Provence, where all of these belief systems co-exist, a worker of magic never knows for sure who or what she will call up when she casts a spell. For some spells don't work anymore, and others work in frightening new ways. And with the rise of Christianity, and the idea that everything is either absolutely good or absolutely evil, the old gods and spirits are in trouble. They meet one of two fates: They either become prim Christian saints, or are subsumed into the figure of Satan. Needless to say, the practice of magic is perilous these days, and a sorceress must always be on her toes.
Enter Pierrette, an intelligent young girl who sees an apocalyptic vision of the future. She can only save the world by training to become a sorceress, and _The Sacred Pool_ is the story of her education. Pierrette must experiment with long-forgotten spells and newfangled science in order to defeat a demon that plagues her sister, and in the long run, to save magic itself from being destroyed.
This book starts out slow, but gets interesting once Pierrette begins her studies. It is thought-provoking and intelligent, and one of the few novels dealing with paganism and Christianity that says anything more profound than that one is "good" and one is "bad" (take your pick which is which; there are plenty of books taking each side). If you like fantasy that makes you think, check out this tale of magic, belief, science, and philosophy.
Best Book I've Read this year.......2001-08-03
I am a lover of fantasy and historical fiction. This has been my favorite book this year. It even prompted purchase of the second book in the series.
Are good and evil a valid dichotomy?.......2001-06-23
This trilogy examines the duality of good and evil in the context of the spread of Christianity. Historically accurate and very engaging, you will learn much and have cherished beliefs challenged in an intellectually refreshing story. Good stuff.
I really enjoyed this.......2001-04-19
This book is brilliant. Although the concepts of magic and myth are fictional, they make complete sense. I came away from this feeling as though I had learned a great deal about the world. The ending dissapointed me though. I want to know about the rest of Pierette's life. This book obviously took a lot of time and patience, and I think that it is definitely worth reading. It is also worth re reading because there are a lot of details that the reader may not pick up the first time.
Scientific magic? It works for me.......2001-04-05
As a Christian, I was offended by some parts of this book, but that in no way detracts from Douglas' amazing ability both to tell a story and to recreate the past.
I enjoyed accompanying Pierette on her journey through life and regretted parting company when I reached the last page. Sacred Pool is the first book by L. Warren Douglas and I am eager to read others. The author has a rare genius for storytelling, innovative ideas, and obviously knows his history. While the idea that gods and magic depend on humanity's collective belief in them is not a new one, Douglas takes this paradigm to amazing extremes, reality and time itself is mutable and dependent on human perception.
Sacred Pool cannot be categorized as a single genre: it's either a fantasy with elements of science fiction or a sci-fi book that reads like fantasy, its the story of a young woman trying to discover herself and the world, and its a recreation of midevial France so realistic you can almost hear the crashing waves and see the Eagle's Beak in the distance as you read. The book is also filled with the historical origins behind many of the truthes and traditions embraced by today's religions, and though I remain a Christian, Douglas has openned my eyes to many things I had taken for granted.
I recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
Book Description
Women who used the best-selling Your Pregnancy Week by Week have come to love and rely on the same authors to guide them through the mind-boggling changes of their baby's first year. Thoroughly updated and expanded to reflect the latest pediatric guidelines and recommendations, Your Baby's First Year Week by Week includes helpful charts and illustrations to help parents understand what they are witnessing and how to care for their baby in a way that supports and encourages his growth.
Highlighting the milestones of a baby's social, emotional, intellectual, and physical development on a weekly basis, the book also advises on:
Common medical problems
Bonding
Diapering and dressing baby properly
Introducing first foods
Playing with baby to develop cognitive, social, and motor skills
Sleeping habits
Baby gear-carriers, highchairs, swings, cribs
Talking to baby
Customer Reviews:
I wanted to like this book...but..........2007-09-03
During my pregnancy, Your Pregnancy Week By Week was my constant companion. I looked forward to reading the chapters for each week, learning about my baby's development, and considering different baby-related issues as my pregnancy progressed. The book was user friendly, cleanly laid-out, and easy to follow. Logically, as I was looking for books about infant care, I considered Your Baby's First Year Week By Week.
The layout of the book was similar to Your Pregnancy Week By Week. It included the familiar weekly chapters containing useful nibbles of information about what to expect from my baby and what kind of care to offer him. It covers a wide variety of issues, including baby gear, bathing, diapering, pets and babies, and all the things you would expect from a comprehensive parenting "manual."
However, as I dove below the surface a bit, I was disturbed at some of the content and appalled at some of the blatant errors I found in there. The most shocking example was in reference to the care of uncircumcised baby boys. The authors advise parents to gently retract a baby's foreskin to clean. Every reliable medical source, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, states clearly: don't ever retract a boy's foreskin, as forcible retraction could potentially lead to problems later in baby boy's life. I was also very upset to see the authors' take on breastfeeding, which again contradicted the official positions of the AAP and the World Health Organization. If Your Baby's First Year Week By Week can't even provide reliable information on these two fundamental infant care themes, then I don't feel inclined to trust the knowledge of the authors in any other matters.
In the end, I put this book back on the shelf and opted instead for a copy of Dr. Sears' Baby Book. I would strongly advise any expectant or new mother to give Your Baby's First Year Week by Week a miss.
Excellent book for those with COMMON SENSE.......2007-08-09
This is a wonderful book. It tells week by week, what the AVERAGE baby will be doing. It can be used as a wonderful guide to know how to assist your baby in growth, or it can be used as a guide to drive yourself insane because your baby is not doing a certain thing by a specific week. For example: Babies get their first tooth at the average age of 7 months. Since some babies are born with teeth, that means some must not get them until they are a year old. If you are the type of person who can see the book as a guide, it is a great one. If you are paranoid or a hypochondriac. DON'T BUY IT!
My favorite baby book!.......2007-07-05
I'm surprised by this book's bad reviews. This is my favorite baby book! I actually gave away my other baby books and kept this one. I saw all of the reviews when I was online buying a copy for a friend! I like how the book discusses baby's development week by week and the milestones are fun. The book has practical information and it's an easy read. Maybe to minimize distress, new parents should realize that their baby's development probably won't track precisely with the book's week by week discussions since every baby is different.
Great addition to your parenting library!.......2007-06-30
I must admit that I am a little baffled by the negative reviews about this book. I have many parenting books, but this one is one of my favorites. I don't bother getting too technical about what exact week my son is on, but I guesstimate which chapter to read by the month guidelines in parentheses in the chapter headings. This organization style works really well for me, actually. I love reading the short chapters when I have a minute during naptime or bedtime. I skip over anything that doesn't interest me and use the index to reread any sections that I have an immediate interest in--i.e. rashes if I see a red spot on my son's skin. The developmental milestones in the book have corresponded amazingly well to my son's progress. Sometimes I didn't even notice a new ability or behavior until I read about it in the book and then recognized it in my baby.
My favorite part, though, are the Toys and Play This Week sections at the end of each chapter. I love these extra songs, games, and play suggestions that correspond to my baby's development, and so does my son. The book is worth buying for those alone. I have not agreed with all the advice in the book, certainly. I use cloth diapers and I have not fed my child as many types of solid foods as the book recommends for a baby of his age, for example. But like many other parents, I have lots of different books and I like to read the different opinions and then do what my doctor and I think is best for my baby. Babies are so different and parenting advice so varied that I can't imagine there is a book out there that would completely, 100 percent correspond to my baby and my parenting style. I wouldn't take anything I read in a parenting book as incontrovertible truth. The bottom line for me is that this is a wonderful book to use to get a general idea of what developmental milestones to look for in your new baby and find some creative games to play with your child as they progress through their first year of life.
This book was our bible! A+A+A+.......2007-05-13
This book was our bible!!!! It went with us everywhere. We had our first son and didn't know what the heck we were doing! He had alot of issues in the beginning with jaundice, acid reflux, diaper rash, fifth's disease, you name it and this book answered so many questions for us on whether or not we were overreacting or being safe. I read the other reviews on the book and maybe it wasn't on point on the one subject for that one reviewer but overall, the book covers nearly any problem that may arise and gives some sound advice that worked great for us and since, my sister, 2 cousins, 3 friends and a 2 co-workers...I highly recommend!!!!!!!
Customer Reviews:
Very good.......2007-03-08
you have an idea of what to expect every week and some activities to do with your baby.
Very helpful with ideas!!!.......2005-10-04
My husband and I are first time parents and we really recommend this book. It is nice to see a week by week review of things that might be happening in your child's life as well as how to interact with them on sights, sounds, etc. It is an easy read -- yet totally informational! I love all the examples they give.
Good and Well-organized.......2003-03-24
Well organized, scientific, and full of useful material. What else do you need?!
How to Play with Your Baby.......2003-03-17
GREAT!! I give it 5 stars!! This book has great information about your child's development in any given week and how to play with her to help her develop. I love this book!! I am only on week 8 but the material has been consistently informative. I have recommended this book to my daughter's daycare and even offered to buy the book for them (I could not find the book locally or they would have had it this morning.). This book is easy to read and is well organized. It is very concise, which makes it very managable when you only have a few minutes to spare. Buy this book, you won't regret it.
Book Description
With almost thirty easy-to-follow recipes and complete instructions, And That’s How You Make Cheese! is the definitive guide for making fresh and aged cheeses right in your kitchen. With just a little effort, anyone can make fresh and aged cheeses such as Swiss, Feta, Monterey Jack or even an aged Stilton. Read about the history of your favorite cheese and the follow the recipes to make it yourself without additives, preservatives or chemicals. Your family and friends deserve the best and now you can give it to them with And That’s How You Make Cheese!
Customer Reviews:
A new hobby that's fun for kids too........2006-05-18
I am not even sure how I happened upon this book, but I ended up buying it out of curiosity. It's been a great little guide to making some great cheeses. The best part is that I was able to get our kids involved and make some of their favorite cheeses. Most Americans have no idea how cheese is made. But, my kids now do and they ask all the time when the last cheese we made will be ready to eat. Everything we've made has been excellent so far. If value is the most important thing, this is worth far more than its price in toys or knowledge.
A must try! Plenty of fun, easy and tasty!.......2006-02-16
A great title to get for the whole family. Fun to try. The cheeses we made came out excellent. Very impressive! The kids loved to see how cheese was made and we are making more right now. Truly a lost art!
Awesome little book for beginners.......2005-08-25
I have the propensity to buy "How to make..." books only to find them in an unused collection on my kitchen shelf. This book, however, was actually used and enjoyed by myself, my family, and friends that received "Cheese and wine" gift baskets for special occasions.
This book is a very easy read. (There may be a typo here and there, but unless you are phonetically challenged, it's not that big a deal. It's infomative, not Hemmingway). This book is precise and to the point. There is no fluff or unnecessary information that can make one easily bored. (This problem, I have found in many other books that hold their own architectural position on my kitchen shelf.)
In addition, in spite of some of the contrary remarks made about this book, I did not find it to be a ," Grocery store pamphlet" style read at all. I think you get what you pay for, which is much more than I expected when I purchased it.
If you want to learn a short and sweet way to make cheese, buy this book. I highly recommend the Gouda recipe!
New Meaning to the Word Cheesy .......2005-06-29
This is a low budget, skinny (one-third inch thickness), small format, paperback that is both short on content and effort. The paper is newsprint quality. The mostly impertinent, blurred, grainy, black and white snap shots are homegrown. Surely, this is not the same book receiving so many accolades.
It was not surprising to locate type-o's and errors during the most vague, and cursory of editorial glances. I cannot explain what value meticulous chefs or those with a respect for their ingredients will find for this imprecise, loose effort.
I found objection to the book's predilection towards choosing the fullest fats, added fats, or heavy creams when they are not essential (in many cases) to an excellent result. Alternative suggestions to moderate or reduce the heavy fat content are not given.
Another personal objection is the unnecessary addition (in some cases) of chemicals/ingredients not commonly found in natural recipes.
Too many errors.......2005-01-06
I learned to make cheese with this book, so it couldn't be all bad, but I found myself going to the internet to check out proportions that looked wrong, going to another recipe in the book when the one I was using said, "Add salt," but there had been no salt in the ingredients list (I assumed that I could use the amount listed in another 2-gallon recipe), and making Muenster with no starter culture since it was not listed in the ingredients or referred to in the process description. I got cheese, but it sure wasn't like any other Meunster I ever ate. Wasn't too good, and an experienced cheese maker told me you have to use a starter culture in Meunster.
The book gave equivalents in some recipes (rennet tablets vs. liquid rennet / powdered starter cultures vs. fresh cultures), in others it gave only one and in some it didn't tell you which it was listing. If anyone made the Colby first and put in three ounces of powdered starter culture, you would have an expensive cheese to say the least. Also, I checked with my supplier and found out the 1/2 tsp. mesophilic starter culture the author lists in two-gallon recipes was twice what is necessary, which cranks up the cost a good bit. But now I know and I'm buying only half as much starter culture.
I am puzzled when I read these good reviews. Did they just do a batch of chevre or cottage cheese and call it quits? If you follow these recipes exactly, you will have many failures.
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