Book Description
At Stanner Hall, a Victorian mansion-turned-hotel, Ben Foley hosts murder-mystery weekends and strives to prove that his hotel is the house on which Arthur Conan Doyle based his immortal Baskerville Hall. As the days shorten and the weather worsens, Foley’s dabbling uncovers more than he can handle. For the history of Stanner Hall is linked not only to the Victorian fascination with spiritualism and the legacy of a terrifying medieval exorcism—but with a chain of deaths that is far from fictional.
Customer Reviews:
Altarside Detection.......2007-01-24
This sixth in Rickman's Merrily Watkins series picks up after several of the more dramatic volumes in the series and finds the diocesian exorcist and minister of Ledwardine confronting a thorny problem. Merrily has started having informal evensong services and unexpectedly, one of the attendees is cured of a fatal tumor. Merrily isn't ready to accept this sudden sign of the Lord's blessing at face value, but her congregation does. Now she must deal with her and the church's mixed attitude toward healing. Which, she discovers, many think goes hand in hand with exorcism.
The other piece of good/bad news is that Jane, Merrily's daughter and chief critic, has managed to get a weekend job as waitress and general assistant at a struggling new inn that is trying to use its tenuous connection to Arthur Conan Doyle and the hound of the Baskervilles to build a clientele. All of this on the forbidding border with Wales where, as we are often reminded, long memories and getting even is a way of life. The legends of the area include a number of characters almost as grim as their remaining heirs. Throw in mysterious black dogs and bulls, a fair amount of inherited insanity, séances, and film crews and you have the perfect environment for trouble. As usual, Jane's youthful enthusiasm leads her into the worst of the fray.
Merrily must cope with healing, spiritism, a terminally determined daughter and her blossoming relationship with Lol. Compelled by her nature she is soon in the thick of things, trying to deal with phenomena that are unresponsive to either intellect or faith. The result is a complex story that is part history, part supernatural, and part psychological thriller. Rickman is one of the few writers who seem to be able to bring the supernatural into a mystery story without destroying the overall effect.
For all the darkness of the themes, The Prayer of the Night Shepherd is much lighter in tone than the past few volumes. Not for lack of horrible events but because Jane's self confidence and Lol's gentle wisdom balance Merrily's introspectiveness perfectly. The inner story that develops around them keeps some of the dark insanity around them at bay. I found myself enjoying the break, as well as all the bits of Sherlockiana and bleak border history. For all that this is volume 7, it stands pretty well on its own. I've managed to read this series completely out of order and don't feel I missed anything but an occasional bit of context.
Holy hounds, Batman!.......2005-10-14
Phil Rickman is one of my favorite authors. His West Country mysteries, always with a generous sprinkle of English history, Celtic mysticism and superstition, never fail to captivate. Prayer is no exception. The Reverend Merrily Watkins is a winningly human sort of priest, with a neo-pagan daughter and a former rock star boyfriend. Supporting characters are equally well-drawn. While Rickman's plot this time round is quite complex, he moves it along at a fast pace, dropping clues to the reader if the reader's sharp enough to catch them. The surprises don't end till the very last page. If you think evil is an abstract concept, read one of Rickman's books.
Phantom dogs and family curses.......2005-07-03
Stories of phantom black dogs abound in Britain. Almost every county has its own variant, from the Black Shuck of East Anglia to the Bogey Beast of Yorkshire. In this novel, the ghost hound of Herefordshire on the Welsh border foreshadows a death in the Vaughan family. The family is also cursed with an ancestor named Black Vaughan, who is believed by the author to be the basis for the hellish Hugo of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles." Did Sir Arthur really take his tale of the phosphorescent Hound from the Welsh Border rather than foggy Dartmoor?
According to an article in the 06/01/04 "Telegraph," Rickman's theory on the origins of 'The Hound' is about to appear in the magazine "Sherlock."
Evidently this author discovered that Herefordshire had a population of medieval Baskervilles, not to mention Mortimers and Stapletons, and many local people still refuse to walk near Black Vaughan's home of Hergest Croft at night for fear of seeing his ghost and that of his hound.
Sherlock Holmes fans might want to read this book just to ferret out Rickman's research on Arthur Conan Doyle and his most famous dog story.
Since "The Prayer of the Night Shepherd" is also a Merrily Watkins procedural, many familiar characters appear from Rickman's previous novels. Merrily, Vicar of Ledwardine and Deliverance Consultant to the Diocese of Hereford reluctantly takes on a new role as a healer of physical ailments. Gomer Parry, the manic digger-for-hire who is one of my favorite Rickman creations, has a minor walk-on. Merrily's daughter Jane is as usual, in the thick of the supernatural goings-on at Stanner Hall. Poor Lol, the musician is still trying to spend quality time with Merrily, but is thwarted by a snowstorm, a couple of attempted murders, an attempted suicide, and a real murder--not to mention a phantom hound.
This book is an unsettling mix of murder mystery, indigestible lumps of Rickman's 'Hound' research, and swirls of supernatural vapor. What really happened to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle when or if he visited Herefordshire? What did Jane really experience in the tower room under the witch's hat at Stanner Hall? What did the medium from the White Company really see?
I was left scratching my head over this latest installment of Merrily Watkins's venture into the dim, dangerous netherworld of Anglican theology.
Book Description
The fifth spiritual-procedural mystery featuring the Revd Merrily Watkins as exorcist. In a Victorian mansion-turned-hotel on the Welsh Border, Ben Foley, a redundant TV drama producer, hosts unprofitable murder mystery weekends and nurtures his dream-to show beyond all doubt that this hotel is the house on which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle based his famous Baskerville Hall. It's a local tradition that the origins of The Hound of the Baskervilles lie not on Dartmoor but in the Herefordshire legend of a black dog foreshadowing death. Young Jane Watkins, whose first weekend job is at the Stanner Hall Hotel, is intrigued. But Jane's mother, the Revd Merrily Watkins, Deliverance Consultant to the Diocese of Hereford, is unhappy when she learns how Ben Foley proposes to try to prove his theory. As the days shorten and the weather worsens, Foley's dabbling uncovers more than he can handle. For the history of Stanner Hall is linked not only to the Victorian fascination with spiritualism and the legacy of a terrifying medieval exorcism but with a chain of death that is far from fictional. - The latest occult mystery featuring Revd Merrily Watkins, an increasingly compelling heroine, and the fifth in her role as exorcist - Follows the increasingly successful relaunch of the Merrily Watkins series
Customer Reviews:
Altarside Detection.......2007-10-06
This sixth in Rickman's Merrily Watkins series picks up after several of the more dramatic volumes in the series and finds the diocesian exorcist and minister of Ledwardine confronting a thorny problem. Merrily has started having informal evensong services and unexpectedly, one of the attendees is cured of a fatal tumor. Merrily isn't ready to accept this sudden sign of the Lord's blessing at face value, but her congregation does. Now she must deal with her and the church's mixed attitude toward healing. Which, she discovers, many think goes hand in hand with exorcism.
The other piece of good/bad news is that Jane, Merrily's daughter and chief critic, has managed to get a weekend job as waitress and general assistant at a struggling new inn that is trying to use its tenuous connection to Arthur Conan Doyle and the hound of the Baskervilles to build a clientele. All of this on the forbidding border with Wales where, as we are often reminded, long memories and getting even is a way of life. The legends of the area include a number of characters almost as grim as their remaining heirs. Throw in mysterious black dogs and bulls, a fair amount of inherited insanity, séances, and film crews and you have the perfect environment for trouble. As usual, Jane's youthful enthusiasm leads her into the worst of the fray.
Merrily must cope with healing, spiritism, a terminally determined daughter and her blossoming relationship with Lol. Compelled by her nature she is soon in the thick of things, trying to deal with phenomena that are unresponsive to either intellect or faith. The result is a complex story that is part history, part supernatural, and part psychological thriller. Rickman is one of the few writers who seem to be able to bring the supernatural into a mystery story without destroying the overall effect.
For all the darkness of the themes, The Prayer of the Night Shepherd is much lighter in tone than the past few volumes. Not for lack of horrible events but because Jane's self confidence and Lol's gentle wisdom balance Merrily's introspectiveness perfectly. The inner story that develops around them keeps some of the dark insanity around them at bay. I found myself enjoying the break, as well as all the bits of Sherlockiana and bleak border history. For all that this is volume 7, it stands pretty well on its own. I've managed to read this series completely out of order and don't feel I missed anything but an occasional bit of context.
The best of the Watkins series but no Crybbe..........2004-10-04
Rickman's sixth Merrily Watkins is a huge improvement over the past couple of efforts. With its snowbound denoument it redraws the Rickman reader back into a chilling novel that makes reading this novel at night not something to do easily. Rickman, over the last few novels - essentially the Merrily series - has moved from supernatural to crime thrillers with a supernatural edge and whilst he is making a grand attempt at creating what might be a new genre, it's not quite as good as his purer supernatural efforts.
In this latest, Jane has a greater starring role as she moves into womanhood - to Merrily's reluctance - by taking a weekend job up at Stanner Hall near Kington. Jane is working as a kitchen maid for Ben Foley and his wife, Amber (who is acting as the chef) who have resurrected Stanner Hall as a hotel. Dead keen to get the place established Ben is eager to prove the link that the plotline for the Conan Doyle story, Hound of the Baskervilles, was actually based on events initiated by the Chancer family several centuries back and not based on Devonshire links. Inevitably the theory is holding no water with the firmly established Baker League, but is with the White, a spiritual group keen to adhere to the spiritualism that dominates much of Doyle's later life.
Two plots lines run (though they must inevitably merge) - the first that of Stanner Hall and the local magistrate, Sebastian Dacre JP. The latter has hired some locals to hunt down a huge black dog he feels is savaging his flock which has its home on the farm of Jeremy Berrows (whose girlfriend, Natalie is also the Stanner Hall hotel manager). This enables our ever-friendly Gomer Parry and Danny to get involved in a few fights whilst Jane runs around trying to make sense of the seances that are now being held at Stanner Hall. The other plot line has our erstwhile self-doubting Deliverance Minister trying to stop her new Sunday service turning into a miracle parlour. She focuses on one Dexter Harris (unwitting culprit in a joyriding tragedy when he was a child) whose boorish character overshadows a greater truth. Unwittingly herself, Merrily finds herself the target for two groups to perform an exorcism whilst in the background a hereditary insanity wreaks revenge on the Kington farmers.
The lengthy denouement brings the usual cast of characters of Jane, Lol, Gomer, Merrily, DI Bliss et al together during a snow-bound night at Stanner Hall after Dacre is found dead and the child murderess, Brigid Parsons, claims guilt and a desire to confess all to Merrily. As deception becomes clear and Rickman unravels the family histories and personal links amongst our protagonists it all begins to make a painful sense as he expertly weaves stark relationships in with a spritism that brings Merrily together with all for an exorcism before the all too-human culprit is found.
There is no doubt that Rickman is a fine author and he expertly crafts crime thrillers that have that touch of chilling supernatural fear, creating an ambience that the reader can easily visualise and be drawn in to. My only problem is that Rickman's authorship began as pure supernatural thrillers and his legion of fans for that reason will find themselves with a creeping disappointment as the Watkins series becomes more and more of a crime thriller with a meagre touch of the supernatural. In fact, if it ended up on ITV shortly it wouldn't be a surprise. So, as brilliant as ever and Rickman demonstrates yet again the skills of an author at the peak of his powers, but, for this reader at least, I'd like more of the supernatural and less of the crime....
Elementary, Rev. Watkins.......2004-08-12
Phil Rickman's latest novel, The Prayer of the Night Shepherd, has it all -- the historical legend of Black Vaughn and the Black Dog, the literary legend of Conan Doyle's Hound of the Baskervilles, the Rev. Merrily Watkins, the local "deliverance minister" (read "exorcist")whose work is fast becoming legend in the village of Ledwardine -- as well as a number of local murders, past and present, that are very real indeed. The result is a psychological thriller and supernatural whodunnit, artfully anchored in the culture and landscape of the Welsh border.
Merrily and her 17 year-old daughter, Jane, share center stage in Rickman's latest effort. Jane, now an "independent working woman on the Border," has just taken her first "real job," working weekends at a possibly haunted hotel owned by Ben and Amber Foley, a couple "from Off". Ben, a one-time TV producer, and Antony Largo, a Scottish film-maker, enlist Jane and take advantage of her enthusiam to help them with a project -- recording a seance to be held at the Foley's hotel. However, during the filming, Jane discovers that her co-workers and the guests at Stanner Hall are not what -- or who-- she was lead to believe.
Back at the Vicarage, Merrily has reluctantly agreed to use her newly-emerging healing ability to help the rather unpleasant nephew of a parishioner become free of the anxiety-induced asthma that has plagued him since childhood and the tragic death of his young cousin. She must also play the good shepherd trying to save a young sheep rancher bent on suicide, having found himself caught in a dangerous game of fox and hound with a local landowner and his hired thugs.
Rickman once again works his literary magic, blending disparate themes with a diverse cast of richly-written characters. The result is a taut narrative fusion of the supernatural and detective genres, what Rickman calls "a spiritual procedural," and he makes this story all the more intriguing with what is becoming another hallmark of the Merrily Watkins series: the intricate lacing of fiction with fact. Whether you're already a fan of the Rev. Watkins or a first-time reader, you won't be disappointed with Phil Rickman's latest offering.
The Hound of the Baskervilles Not.......2004-06-17
Stories of phantom black dogs abound in Britain. Almost every county has its own variant, from the Black Shuck of East Anglia to the Bogey Beast of Yorkshire. In this novel, the ghost hound of Herefordshire on the Welsh border foreshadows a death in the Vaughan family.
This family is also cursed with an ancestor named Black Vaughan, who is believed by the author to be the basis for the hellish Hugo of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles." Did Sir Arthur really take his tale of the phosphorescent Hound from the Welsh Border rather than foggy Dartmoor? Rickman's theory on the origins of 'The Hound' appeared in the most recent issue of the magazine "Sherlock."
Evidently this author discovered that Herefordshire had a population of medieval Baskervilles, not to mention Mortimers and Stapletons, and many local people still refuse to walk near Black Vaughan's home of Hergest Croft at night for fear of seeing his ghost and that of his hound.
Sherlock Holmes fans might want to read this book just to ferret out Rickman's research on Arthur Conan Doyle and his most famous dog story.
Since "The Prayer of the Night Shepherd" is also a Merrily Watkins procedural, many familiar characters appear from Rickman's previous novels. Merrily, Vicar of Ledwardine and Deliverance Consultant to the Diocese of Hereford reluctantly takes on a new role as a healer of physical ailments. Gomer Parry, the manic digger-for-hire who is one of my favorite Rickman creations, has a minor walk-on. Merrily's daughter Jane is as usual, in the thick of the supernatural goings-on at Stanner Hall. Poor Lol, the musician is still trying to spend quality time with Merrily, but is thwarted by a snowstorm, a couple of attempted murders, an attempted suicide, and a real murder--not to mention a phantom hound.
This book is an unsettling mix of murder mystery, indigestible lumps of Rickman's 'Hound' research, and swirls of supernatural vapor. What really happened to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle when or if he visited Herefordshire? What did Jane really experience in the tower room under the witch's hat at Stanner Hall? What did the medium from the White Company really see?
I was left scratching my head over this latest installment of Merrily Watkins's venture into the dim, dangerous netherworld of Anglican theology.
Average customer rating:
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous hound? Maybe.
|
Prayer of the Night Shepherd
Manufacturer: PAN (MACM)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GPGAXK |
Customer Reviews:
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous hound? Maybe........2007-02-03
Stories of phantom black dogs abound in Britain. Almost every county has its own variant, from the Black Shuck of East Anglia to the Bogey Beast of Yorkshire. In this novel, the ghost hound of Herefordshire on the Welsh border foreshadows a death in the Vaughan family. The family is also cursed with an ancestor named Black Vaughan, who is believed by the author to be the basis for the hellish Hugo of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles." Did Sir Arthur really take his tale of the phosphorescent Hound from the Welsh Border rather than foggy Dartmoor?
Evidently this author discovered that Herefordshire had a population of medieval Baskervilles, not to mention Mortimers and Stapletons, and many local people still refuse to walk near Black Vaughan's home of Hergest Croft at night for fear of seeing his ghost and that of his hound.
Sherlock Holmes fans might want to read this book just to ferret out Rickman's research on Arthur Conan Doyle and his most famous dog story.
Since "The Prayer of the Night Shepherd" is also a Merrily Watkins procedural, many familiar characters appear from Rickman's previous novels. Merrily, Vicar of Ledwardine and Deliverance Consultant to the Diocese of Hereford reluctantly takes on a new role as a healer of physical ailments. Gomer Parry, the manic digger-for-hire who is one of my favorite Rickman creations, has a minor walk-on. Merrily's daughter Jane is as usual, in the thick of the supernatural goings-on at Stanner Hall. Poor Lol, the musician is still trying to spend quality time with Merrily, but is thwarted by a snowstorm, a couple of attempted murders, an attempted suicide, and a real murder--not to mention a phantom hound.
This book is an unsettling mix of murder mystery, indigestible lumps of Rickman's 'Hound' research, and swirls of supernatural vapor. What really happened to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle when or if he visited Herefordshire? What did Jane really experience in the tower room under the witch's hat at Stanner Hall? What did the medium from the White Company really see?
I was left scratching my head over this latest installment of Merrily Watkins's venture into the dim, dangerous netherworld of Anglican theology.
Customer Reviews:
A Must for Urban Werewolf Adventures.......2002-04-05
At first, I was hesitant to buy this book. After all, I already had the original edition, would there really be much of a difference? Absolutely! The history is deeper, their views on breeds and auspices as well as the other tribes is more thought out, and it is made abundantly clear that these are not just the down-and-out cousins of the Glass Walkers.
The Bone Gnawers are looked down upon by the rest of the Garou Nation, and it's easy for players to turn their noses up at them as well. But after reading this new look at the tribe, it's easy to see that they as a family of outcasts, they have created a new way to insure their survival. They can also use the new totems, rites and gifts that didn't show up in the first edition (there are also rules for using the gifts and rites in a live action game). As for Storytellers, Bone Gnawers are more numerous than their Glass Walker counterparts and would therefore be more prevelant as NPC's in an urban setting. Additionally, after reading this, you'll have a better understanding of how to make cities more dark, foreboding and dangerous. The artwork is great, though some artists tend to make these Garou almost as hideous as Nosferatu. And be aware that, since these Garou tend to live rough lives, they use rough language (in case you are easily offended).
Easily surpasses it's initial edition.
Customer Reviews:
I have smelled gaians armpit...and liked it!.......1999-06-21
GREAT BOOK! Two thumbs up here
Gnawers Listen Up!!.......1998-08-24
This is a wonderful book if you play or have ever wanted to play a Gnawer. It goes down deep and dirty into all the little secrets that make playing a Gnawer fun and disgusting. I recommend it to anyone who ever wondered about the dirty life of the Bone Gnawers...Great read and an essential to any World of Darkness library.
Average customer rating:
- A great handbook on Business Etique
- Great read
- Tons of helpful advice if taken with a grain of salt
- Waste of time
- Fantastic Advice-Lots of Substance
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Talking the Winner's Way: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Business and Personal Relationships
Leil Lowndes
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
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Book Description
"You'll not only break the ice, you'll melt it away with your new skills." -- Larry King
"The lost art of verbal communication may be revitalized by Leil Lowndes." -- Harvey McKay, author of “How to Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive”
What is that magic quality makes some people instantly loved and respected? Everyone wants to be their friend (or, if single, their lover!) In business, they rise swiftly to the top of the corporate ladder. What is their "Midas touch?"
What it boils down to is a more skillful way of dealing with people.
The author has spent her career teaching people how to communicate for success. In her book Talking the Winner’s Way (Contemporary Books, October 2001) Lowndes offers 92 easy and effective sure-fire success techniques-- she takes the reader from first meeting all the way up to sophisticated techniques used by the big winners in life. In this information-packed book you’ll find:
- 9 ways to make a dynamite first impression
- 14 ways to master small talk, "big talk," and body language
- 14 ways to walk and talk like a VIP or celebrity
- 6 ways to sound like an insider in any crowd
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In her trademark entertaining and straight-shooting style, Leil gives the techniques catchy names so you'll remember them when you really need them, including: "Rubberneck the Room," "Be a Copyclass," "Come Hither Hands," “Bare Their Hot Button,” “The Great Scorecard in the Sky," and "Play the Tombstone Game,” for big success in your social life, romance, and business.
Talking the Winner’s Way is based on solid research about techniques that work!
Customer Reviews:
A great handbook on Business Etique.......2007-02-19
The book is easy to read and very easy to apply. The techniques are sound and can make a difference at your very next business exchange. I highly recommend this book. I've given it to my son and he has used it at school, at parties, etc. and it has changed the way he acts when meeting new people. I wish I had this book in high school or college! Call me if you would like to discuss this book and the way it can make a beig difference in your relationships.
Great read .......2007-02-01
Great book to read and keep as a reference, totally enjoy what she had to offer, found the material excellent and very helpful.
Tons of helpful advice if taken with a grain of salt.......2006-12-27
This is an easy and enjoyable read; I find Lowndes' style engaging, entertaining and instructive at the same time. Some of the "92 little tricks" probably can make a real difference in someone's life. Some of the advice is a little repetitive, but most ideas are novel and readily applicable in various social situations. Some reviewers felt that Lowndes' style is too colloquial; I felt that her writing made it an easy and enjoyable read. What I especially like is the way the author summed up every tip in a little grey box so you can pick up the book at a later time and quickly reread what you're interested in. I can highly recommend this book, but I yet have to apply its tips in my life and see how valuable they are.
Waste of time.......2006-10-10
This book is pretty pathetic. Writing style is cheesy and even ridiculous at times. Waste of time.
Fantastic Advice-Lots of Substance.......2006-08-01
This book is a gem. The author offers a lot of tips and techniques on making the most out of social encounters. She does not claim to have written a book about making life long deep friendships, which some reviewers complained about. This instead is a roadmap to succeeding on a social level, where you have a little over a minute to make the best impression possible on a complete stranger.
I bought a couple of other books on this subject and this one is by far the best. She will not waste your time on advice that doesn't work. My husband and I tried applying some of her advice right away (really lighting up with pleasure when meeting someone new, turning your body completely to face the person)and we were floored by the results. People really responded to our enthusiasm for them, and we really responded to their enthusiasm right back.
The only reason I give the book four stars, not five is because the author tries to come up with catchy phrases for each tip she gives you...and the phrases are not catchy or memorable, they are just annoying.
Amazon.com
Peter Berley was introduced to macrobiotic cooking by a Japanese acupuncturist during the 1970s. His appreciation for this new and, at that time, slightly radical way of eating and cooking led to a career as a vegetarian chef. Berley started simply, hosting small dinner clubs; by 1992, he was executive chef at a strictly vegan restaurant in New York, Angelica Kitchen. In his first cookbook, Berley shares unique color and flavor combinations to demonstrate both the visual and toothsome possibilities of creative vegetarian cooking. But at the heart are the staples. A chapter on salads lists dishes by season--to encourage the reader to take advantage of seasonal fruits and vegetables. An assortment of bean recipes provides imaginative uses for chickpeas, white beans, black beans, and lentils. Bread recipes are complemented by a variety of tapenades, pestos, and herbed oils. Desserts include the expected pumpkin pie but also temptations such as Pear-Cranberry Crisp and Chocolate Mousse. Through it all, Berley proves that eating the vegetarian way can offer as much in cuisine as it does in health. --Teresa Simanton
Book Description
Peter Berley's mission is to show how the simple act of cooking food can enliven your senses and nourish your life--from going to the farmer's market and outfitting your kitchen with the simplest, most useful tools to learning techniques and sharing meals with friends and family. The much-admired former chef of Angelica Kitchen, one of New York City's finest restaurants, Berley takes you through the seasons, with more than two hundred sumptuous recipes that feature each ingredient at its peak, including:
- Summer Corn and Vegetable Chowder
- Hearts of Romaine with Creamy Miso Dressing
- Baby Artichokes in White Wine, Lemon, and Herbs
- Fresh Asian-Style Whole-Wheat Noodles in Dashi
- Wild Mushroom Stew with Crispy Pan-Fried Tofu
- Wintry Root-Vegetable Risotto with Porcini Mushrooms
- Authentic Country French Sourdough Bread
- Coconut Cream Tart
A cooking teacher for many years, Berley has kept the needs of his students continually in mind in this book. The recipes are written to feature the basic techniques and background information needed to create wonderful meals with fresh vegetables, fruits, and grains. He truly inspires both novice and experienced cooks to understand what they are doing and why, to learn to work with the ingredients, and to apply their skills creatively. This wonderful book brings vegetarian cuisine to a new level.
Customer Reviews:
I love this book!.......2007-10-07
I've had this cookbook for almost 8 months and it is one of the most used, most turned to cookbooks in my library. I use it every week. Being vegetarian for 22 years I have gone through a lot of cookbooks and have never found one this satisfying. Every recipe I have followed has been excellent. The recipes often require some time to prepare, but are well worth every minute. For those who don't have a huge amount of time for the kitchen I highly recommend Peter's book, Fresh Food Fast. Beautiful food, amazing flavors, and precise directions. What more could a cook ask for?
the modern vegetarian kitchen review.......2007-04-02
this is a wonderful introduction to vegetarian cooking. the dishes are very savoury and simple to prepare.
the taste complex. thank you for writing this book
keep in your own library!.......2006-09-19
worth it!
I just love this book!
Every vegetarian should have a copy of this book.......2006-07-23
What a great book! I turned vegetarian earlier this year and stumbled upon this book in the library and after one day of reading it I decided that I needed to own this book. This book opened up and changed my perception of food preparation and cooking. It provides vegetarian recipes and also cooking techniques, and importantly, why we prepare and cook certain food in certain ways. With this book, vegetarian cooking is easy and the food comes out so great that my husband is awed all the time.
The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.......2006-05-03
Reading the list of the relatively easy to find ingredients in each recipe does not adequately convey the flavors of the dish. The preparation methods, like the sequence of preparing, waiting, cooking, flavoring, make the mixture of flavors fresh and new.
Book Description
This encyclopedic cookbook presents 220 of the world's greatest vegetarian dishes, all adapted for the modern home kitchen.
Organized geographically, with every continent represented, and featuring 220 authentic recipes,
World Vegetarian Classics is a definitive collection. Responding to the difficulties facing the modern cook—such as finding exotic ingredients or understanding traditional cooking methods—the author has adapted each recipe to suit today's kitchen. Feature spreads on key ingredients and interviews with international experts, who share their tips on shopping and cooking, combine to make this book truly unique. Encyclopedic in breadth, extensively researched, and beautifully photographed, this sumptuous recipe collection will be an unending source of inspiration for the discerning cook.
Customer Reviews:
Well rounded selection.......2007-03-07
This ambitious book has plenty of glossy pictures and is filled with details about ingredients and their origins. The authors present a variety of recipes. No matter what your taste - you will likely find something that will catch your eye. The recipes are relatively do-able, not so exotic that they're seem impossible to make in real life.
The downside is that it will never serve as a comprehensive collection of your favorite ethnic recipes. Theres just too much to cover. Its a good solid starting point, albeit slightly pricey, for everything from mashed potatoes to satay sauce.
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- Running Dark: A Woods Cop Mystery (Woods Cop Mysteries)
- Sanctuary Sparrow (Brother Cadfael Mysteries)
- Silence of the Loons: Thirteen Tales of Mystery by Minnesota's Premier Crime Writers
- Sins of the Fathers: An Inspector Wexford Mystery (Formerly Titled : a New Lease of Death)
- Southern Discomfort (Deborah Knott Mysteries)
- Stories and Early Novels: Pulp Stories / The Big Sleep / Farewell, My Lovely / The High Window (Library of America)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Secret Past
- After the Affair: Healing the Pain and Rebuilding Trust When a Partner Has Been Unfaithful
- The Sonoran Desert Tortoise: Natural History, Biology, And Conservation
- Troubleshooting LC Systems: A Comprehensive Approach to Troubleshooting LC Equipment and Separations
- A Short Guide to Writing About Art
- Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudi, Miro, Dali
- A Perfect Glass of Wine: Choosing, Serving, and Enjoying
- More Annotated Alice: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass
- Victorian Gothic House Style: An Architectural and Interior Design Source Book for Home Owners
- Not Quite Dead Enough
The Lamp of the Wicked (Merrily Watkins Mysteries)
Smile of a Ghost (Merrily Watkins Mysteries)
The Cure of Souls (A Merrily Watkins Mystery)
A Crown of Lights (Merrily Watkins Mysteries)
Midwinter of the Spirit (A Merrily Watkins Mystery)
