Some Lie and Some Die (An Inspector Wexford Mystery)

Book Description

A mutilated body found at a rock festival.

In spite of dire predictions, the rock festival in Kingsmarkham seemed to be going off without a hitch, until the hideously disfigured body is discovered in a nearby quarry. And soon Wexford is investigating the links between a local girl gone bad and a charismatic singer who inspires an unwholesome devotion in his followers. Some Lie and Some Die is a devilishly absorbing novel, in which Wexford's deductive powers come up against the aloof arrogance of pop stardom.

With her Inspector Wexford novels, Ruth Rendell, winner of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award, has added layers of depth, realism and unease to the classic English mystery. For the canny, tireless, and unflappable policeman is an unblinking observer of human nature, whose study has taught him that under certain circumstances the most unlikely people are capable of the most appalling crimes.

Customer Reviews:

Not one of her better works..........2005-09-06

...and possibly her worst. I've read two other SUPERB books, A judgement in Stone and The Babes in the Wood, and Rendell is equally adept at characterizing people and atmosphere. Her books are not very long, and I sometimes wish they were longer, that she would dwell more on her strengths like PD James does, but this one lacked almost everything--characterization, atmosphere, and length.

Added to which the plot was quite unbelievable--I was hit on the head constantly with Zeno's power over his fellow human beings, but in the end I did not quite think enough had been done to make me believe this to be true. And the professor in the second house was not developed enough either, especially since he plays a decently strong role in the ending (Bit of a spoiler)--the girl's reasons for meeting the professor were shabby, to the point of being ridiculous (Rendell does try to set it up earlier by introducing this obsession on the part of someone else...but that was not good enough and stuck out very obviously like a plant just to make this shabby ending work.)

I think this book lacks attention--it seems to have been put together hastily and without much thought, perhaps to meet a deadline?

There are better and really much much better and superb Rendell mysteries--read them, read this for comparision, but not much else.

Another superb early Wexford story.......2004-03-06

During the brilliantly depicted rock festival in the grounds of Sundays House - the atmosphere of this is brilliant, and is part of the reason why this book, like all her best, sparkles with an individuality that makes the experience of reading it so special - the bands play, the weather is fine, and a good time is had by all except one or two disgruntled locals. Oh, and the sometimes-grouchy Inspector Burden of course, but even he lightens up to the idea eventually. However, as the festival begins to wind itself down, two precocious lovers discover a battered body in a nearby quarry, and Inspector Wexford finds himself investigating murder rather than his earlier duty of making sure everything runs smoothly, and law-abidingly, at the festival. The body is identified as that of Dawn Stonor, a local girl who had moved to London, returning only on occasional trips to see her mother. As with all Rendell mysteries, the plot soon thickens considerably and little is as it seems...

Some Lie and Some Die ranks among Rendell's finest Wexford mysteries. It's one of my favourites, along with Wolf to the Slaughter, The Speaker of Mandarin, The Veiled One and Harm Done. It's a short little mystery, but Rendell packs such a lot in here, a lot of plot that it's an incredibly satisfying, fulfilling novel. Once again, it is a completely unique work (all of her best are; the ones which are slightly formulaic, or lack that special sparkle, like Put on by Cunning of A New Lease of Death, aren't quite so wonderful) and an excellent mystery.

It's absolutely fascinating to read; every word is palced perfectly, every shift in the story times impeccably. There is something so unique and special about reading Ruth Rendell, but it's something which is impossible to elaborate much on. It's just this little thrill; a little thrill you get at every perfect sentence combining into a perfect whole. It's also an incredibly powerful book, with an absolutely wonderful ending. I loved it.

As this book is certainly short, the characters aren't exactly incredibly well-rounded, as they are in some of her alter, longer books, but they are still sharp and pricked out with incredibly insight, almost shivering acuity. Wexford and Burden are great once more, but that goes without saying. This is another marvellous little book from Rendell - a fascinating, absorbing, special little read.

Sixties Revisited in Classic Rendell Mystery.......2002-02-10

Rendell portrays her own era and environment with subtle language use and style. This book is a description of a Woodstock-type gathering that uncovers a murder mystery. Rendell somehow remains non-judgmental while giving an accurate portrait of much that went on during the "hippie" decades. The plot is great and any Rendell is worth a read, in my opinion.

An Elegant Piece of Mystery Fiction.......2000-04-30

"Some Lie and Some Die" is a superbly crafted mystery novel. It's short--in pages, and in time-line, and it's not overly burdened with plotting or diverting details. It is, in a word, elegant. The events (a murder, a missing girl, a palette of suspects) are set against the backdrop of a rock concert, complete with egotistical stars and fawning sycophants, spoiled fans and irate neighbors. But underlying it all are the basic human failings of self-absorption and greed and it is these motivations which lead to the horror and the desperation of the characters and their actions. Rendell is, as usual, an incisive observer of the dark side of humanity, and a writer who can portray the consequences with the short, deft strokes of a master craftsman.

Did Ruth Rendell really write this?.......1999-09-23

Never before has a Rendell novel left me so cold. Totally untypical of its brilliant author, "Some Lie and Some Die" is dull and unsatisfying, and offers little to reward the reader for enduring such tedium. The characters--with a few exceptions--are uninteresting; detection is slow and scarce, and the motive for the murder turns out to be highly improbable. It's as if Rendell wrote a mystery starting with the body but forgot to include a plausible reason for it. Where is the seamless manipulation, the ingenuity, the stunning surprise twists interlaced with brilliant psychological insight, that are the hallmarks of Rendell's work? Not here. The few bright spots are the scenes between Inspector Burden and his son, which show us a humor, an energy missing from the rest of this dead, bleak novel. Let's just toss this one along with "Simisola" into Rendell's "Forget about it" pile.

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NO MORE DYING THEN SOME LIE SOME DIE
RUTH RENDELL
Manufacturer: ARROW
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S7MGR0

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NO MORE DYING THEN; SOME LIE SOME DIE.

Manufacturer: Arrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0091907454

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SOME LIE AND SOME DIE
RENDELL
Manufacturer: ARROW
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S66KD2

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Some Lie and Some Die
Ruth Rendell
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000JKQIFM

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Some Lie and Some Die

Manufacturer: DoubleDay
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 9997529782

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Some Lie and Some Die
Ruth Rendell
Manufacturer: Random House (UK)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OGP4WO

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Some Lie and Some Die
Ruth RENDELL
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RJSAJ2

Some Lie And Some Die (Wexford Collection)

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Some Lie And Some Die (Wexford Collection)
Ruth Rendell
Manufacturer: Random House UK Distribution
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OGRD32

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SOME LIE AND SOME DIE.
Ruth. Rendell
Manufacturer: Doubleday & Co.,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N755GO

Book Description

In the tradition of Louis L'Amour's Sackett series, Cameron Judd's bestselling Underhill novels chronicle the dramatic saga of the early American frontier, of the men and women who came together as friends, family, and enemies, and of the pioneers who pushed westward and marked a land with their courage and blood.They made their way across the Mississippi and carved out a home on the Missouri frontier. Not, Bushrod Underhill and his three youngest sons must leave it behind. From Texas, the word has come that Bushrod's son, John , has disappeared along with his family, victims of lawless land. Following the trail of a legend known as Davy Crockett, Bushrod sets out to save his eldest son. But in a journey that will bring them up against madmen and killers, innocents and old enemies, Bushrod and his boys cannot stop until they go gun-to-gun with a man who has built an empire of betrayal and violence-and who holds the key not only to John Underhill's fate, but to the future of a free land called Texas....

Customer Reviews:

Texas Freedom: (underhill series).......2001-05-31

I love every page of this book. I could not put it down. His characters and the places surrounding them are so vivid you can see them. His writing is excellent, great detail and suspence in each chapter. You cannot guess the end of this book unless you go to the last page. A great weekend read.

Voices of the American Revolution: Stories of Men, Women, and Children Who Forged Our Nation

Average customer rating:

Good for Getting ideas

Voices of the American Revolution: Stories of Men, Women, and Children Who Forged Our Nation
Kendall Haven
Manufacturer: Libraries Unlimited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

Reading | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1563088568

Book Description

Riveting accounts of real people tell the story of the American Revolution from diverse characters and viewpoints-from men, women, children, Patriots, Tories, pacifists, African-American slaves, Native Americans, Hessian mercenaries, and more. All major political, social, economic, and military viewpoints are represented. Political debates, military battles and maneuvering, the struggles of civilians, the role of children, and the fates of Tories and Continental soldiers at the end of the war are just some of the themes covered. With each story, Haven includes a variety of learning extensions-objective questions, research projects, hands-on learning activities, and open-ended "points to ponder" for discussion and debate. A bibliography of resources for further study completes the work. Packed with information, this engaging collection is a wonderful supplement to American History units, a great resource for read-alouds and student reports.

Customer Reviews:

Good for Getting ideas.......2007-08-14

This book was more like a text book in school than a reading item. However, it does give some information about children's participation in the Revolutionary War.

Canada's glory: Battles that forged a nation

Average customer rating:

Required Reading For Some Canadians

Canada's glory: Battles that forged a nation
William Arthur Bishop
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Ryerson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Canada | Military | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0075528096

Customer Reviews:

Required Reading For Some Canadians.......2007-09-10

Today, in Canada, there are those who are wringing their hands in anguish at the site of Canadian troops in action in Afghanistan, lamenting the fact that our soldiers have gone from being "peacekeepers" to - gasp - combat!

To this element of our society we should not be participating in this fashion in the war on terrorism but, instead, be utilized only as the distributors of "goodies" while other civilian elements engage in "dialogue" with the various terrorist networks around the world. To try to "understand" them and, perhaps, change them from wanton killers to stable members of society.

What these boneheads need to do is read this excellent account of our military's involvement in battles from the formation of our country in 1867, including the Boer War, WW I and WW II, right through to the Korean War. Those men were warriors in every sense of the word, not the namby-pamby collection of glorified Boy Scouts that some would like to see our army become.

Author Bishop, a WW II Spitfire pilot, and son of the famed WW I Canadian ace, William "Billy" Bishop, tells it like it was.

Our brave men and women now in Afghanistan are doing us just as proud as they do their part in the active southern regions, along with the Americans, British, and Dutch, to keep the murderous and fanatical Taliban from re-establishing their archaic rule. Now, if those reticent French, Italian, and German politicians would lend a hand by deploying their troops in the area, instead of languishing in relative comfort of the northern region, perhaps we can rid the world of those idiots.

FORGED BY FIRE: The Battle Tactics And Soldiers Of A WWI Battalion The 7th Somerset Light Infantry

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FORGED BY FIRE: The Battle Tactics And Soldiers Of A WWI Battalion The 7th Somerset Light Infantry
Brendon Moorhouse
Manufacturer: Spellmount Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

World War I | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Regiments | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Book Description

From the perspective of an 'average' infantry battalion raised from volunteers in 1914, this book shows the development of the battle tactics and the organizational and technical advances of the British Army that took it from a small professional army to being the most powerful force in Europe.

- This book describes the rapid and generally effective introduction of new weapons and fighting methods by the British Army that allowed it to develop the embryo of modern infantry tactics during the course of the war.

- Detailed descriptions of battle planning accompanied by clear maps, set the scene for the battalion's main engagements.

- The impact of many technological advances on the organization and tactics of the British Arm are clearly explained, in particular the introduction and use of important weapons like the Lewis-gun and the tank.

- Many taboo subjects are covered including indiscipline, self-inflicted wounds and officers threatening to shoot retreating soldiers, this book demonstrates a true and compromised historical accuracy.

- It provides a valuable and detailed insight into the fighting and tactics employed in many of the much debated battles of the war from the offensive battles of the Somme, Passchendaele and the front wave of the Cambrai tank attack, to the fierce defensive battles at Cambrai and during the German March 1918 offensive.?

Average customer rating:

ignore the previous review
Stay Away.

Forged in Battle (Warhammer)
Justin Hunter
Manufacturer: Games Workshop
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Epic | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Valnir's Bane (Warhammer)
Fell Cargo (Warhammer Novels)
Vermintide (Warhammer)
Grudge Bearer (Warhammer)
Blood on the Reik: Death's Messenger (Warhammer)

ASIN: 1844161536

Book Description

The Jarlsburg Freemen (not confirmed yet) are a newly enrolled unit in the Imperial army. Their main mission is to patrol the countryside for orcs and goblins, but their patrols take them right into the heart of a Chaos invasion force as they fight to save their town and themselves

Customer Reviews:

ignore the previous review.......2006-06-21

This, like all Black Library warhammer books is hack writing. Some do it better than others, but to argue for literary merit is like saying that a smash-up derby lacks elegence. File the last interview under 'NSS', for "No s**t Sherlock".

Anyway, Justin's strengths are a solid focus on small events in a small town, some good characterization of the important people to the story, nice little period details, and exciting battle scenes. This is an enjoyable little tale and good 'beach reading'.

If you want great literature, look elsewhere. If you're into Warhammer, you'll enjoy this book about a unit of Empire halberdiers fighting to protect the small town in which they live.

Stay Away........2006-06-05

The Good:
It's only 243 pages long.

The Bad:
It feels like 1000 pages long.

Forged in battle is in dire need for editor and Justin Hunter is in dire need for a basic writing course. Did no one ever tell him of the Show & Tell principle?

Dialogs - I don't think you can get more uninspiring and inane.

Characters - Tons of stereotyped totally flat characters. I had to flip again and again to the back up the book, just to remind myself of the main protagonist's name. Imagine that he was so well developed, rounded and inspiring, that I can't even remember his name. I swear that it never happened to me before.

Inflated Text, no proportion -
One sample out of thousands:
p.53 "Sigmund shook his head, stood up and moved to the doorway."
No kidding why didn't you write: "Sigmund shook his head to the left, then to the right, then he put his left leg forward, then his right leg followed, then his left again...
This is the 21st century, not the Victorian age.
Instead of writing:
The phone rang, Sigmud ran over to the phone, sat on a stool beside it, picked up the phone and said "Hello?".
It's enough to say:
The phone rang.
"Hello?" Sigmund said.

Maybe the author had a quota of words to fill?

I can keep up, telling howe Justine cuts his story into extremly short scenes resulting in something that resembles a long tiring stutter, or I can point out how chewed his plot is.
But why bother?
This book has already taken too much of my time. Don't bother picking it up even if you're a Warhammer fan.

Forged in Battle - the Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers

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Forged in Battle - the Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers

Manufacturer: Meridian
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HEOCPS

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Forged in Battle: The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers

Manufacturer: The Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ICOV3M

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Forged in Battle: The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers
Joseph T. Glatthaar
Manufacturer: The Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O5X67K

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FORGED IN BATTLE: The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers
Joesph Glatthaar
Manufacturer: FP
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000TWXCOK

The Broken Mirror: Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Average customer rating:

THE ANSWER...

Invaluable resource for a full understanding of BDD

Finally a book that sums up how to work with BDD patients

A complete introduction to BDD. Compassionate, a little repeditive, treatment section lacking. Highly recommended

Bible for BDD

The Broken Mirror: Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Katharine A. Phillips
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Pathologies | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Psychotherapy, TA & NLP | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Medicine | Subjects | Books
General | Psychiatry | Specialties | Medicine | Subjects | Books
General | Psychiatry | Internal Medicine | Medicine | Medical | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The BDD Workbook: Overcome Body Dysmorphic Disorder and End Body Image Obsessions

The Body Image Workbook: An 8-Step Program for Learning to Like Your Looks (New Harbinger Workbooks)

Feeling Good about the Way You Look: A Program for Overcoming Body Image Problems

Bodylove: Learning to Like Our Looks and Ourselves -- A Practical Guide for Women

Body Image: A Handbook of Theory, Research, and Clinical Practice

ASIN: 0195167198

Book Description

In a world obsessed with appearances, it is not surprising that body dysmorphic disorder, or BDD, has manifested itself as a troubling and relatively common problem for many individuals. In The Broken Mirror, the first and most definitive book on BDD, Dr. Katharine Phillips draws on years of clinical practice, scientific research, and professional evaluations of over 700 patients to bring readers her expertise and experience with this often debilitating illness. BDD causes sufferers to be obsessed by perceived flaws in their appearance and may afflict as much as two percent of the population, or nearly five million people. Many sufferers are able to function well in society, but remain secretly obsessed by their "hideous acne" or "horrible nose," sneaking constant peeks at a pocket mirror, or spending hours at a time redoing makeup. Others find their lives disintegrate because of their appearance obsessions. It is not an uncommon disorder, simply a hidden one, since sufferers are often embarrassed to tell even their closest friends about their concerns. The author presents the stories and interviews of over 200 individuals to show the many different behaviors and symptoms of BDD, and includes a quick self-assessment questionnaire. Four new chapters provide updated information on treatment of BDD, frequently obtained treatments to be avoided, and more detailed advice for family members and friends on how to cope with the disorder. Left untreated, the torment of BDD can lead to psychiatric hospitalization and sometimes suicide. With treatment, many sufferers are able to lead normal lives. The Broken Mirror is literally a lifesaving handbook for sufferers, their families, and their doctors.

Customer Reviews:

THE ANSWER..........2007-08-13

I purchased this book 12 yrs. ago when it was first published, and was moved to tears many times while reading it. That copy was read and reread so many times, that I had to purchase another. I am a parent of a BDD sufferer (gender withheld), and have suffered with that family member as the BDD took hold in mid-teens (always thought it was a passing phase then), and for the many years that followed. Dr. Phillips has written a compassionate and understanding book on a subject that had never been brought into the light of today's society. Reading it makes me realize how many others out there suffer as our now middle-aged child has suffered through all these years. Dr. Phillips gives sound advice to those who are spouses, parents, children or friends who are related or connected to a BDD victim. This book offers hope and guidance...a must read for any BDD sufferer and for those who--like me--suffer along with them.

Invaluable resource for a full understanding of BDD.......2007-05-27

Katharine has provided a most comprehensive resource of body dysmorphic disorder. As a health care practitioner, I found the numerous case studies and anecdotes exceptionally detailed and provided insightful background into the suffering that is BDD. As humans, we all have concerns about body image from time to time, however this book clearly delineates acceptable levels of personal attention with dysfunctional and often debilatating behaviour. I was dissapointed to find the treatment section quite heavily focused on pharmaceutical medications, though there is also strong recommendation for supportive psychotherapy, particularly cognitive behavioural therapy. I feel this book is intended for health practitioners and non-sufferers to gain a thorough insight into BDD.

Finally a book that sums up how to work with BDD patients.......2007-05-17

The book was just what I was after. It provided a good theoretical and psychological basis as well as what evidence based treatments that were effective in this population. It also provided great chapters on effective forms of medication to use, how to conduct an assessment and case studies. Definite recommendation if working with BDD patients.

A complete introduction to BDD. Compassionate, a little repeditive, treatment section lacking. Highly recommended.......2006-08-09

A through, informative, accessible introduction to Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), grounded in Phillips's clinical practice and interviews with patients. Body Dysmorphic Disorder is a psychological disease characterized with an obsession with perceived flaws in the sufferer's appearance. In reality these flaws are minimal or nonexistent, yet to the sufferer they are very real and can create extreme anxiety, obsessive thoughts, and compulsive behaviors. Phillips's book was the only one of its kind when originally published and is still one of the few books about BDD. She provides a well-written and researched introduction to all aspects of BDD, including diagnostic criteria, signs of the disease, and the impact of the disease on suffers as well as friends and family. At the end of the book she discusses treatment of BDD, but this section is limited by the lack of research done on treatment and remission. Despite this hole, the book is a well-rounded and educational introduction to the disorder, conveying both statistics and emotional impact and proving a lot of information about the how, why, and what of BDD. I highly recommend it to those interested in the subject.

My interest in BDD is primarily academic and casual, therefore I cannot give feedback on this book based on either personal experience of psychological knowledge. The Broken Mirror, however, is an approachable introduction to those with no knowledge about the subject. Phillips starts from square one, giving a number of descriptions of what BDD looks like, how it effects patients, and how crippling it can be. These patient histories are so prevalent they can get tedious, bu they do a fair job of introducing the subject and impressing its severity and reality on to even the causal reader. The body of the book is a through description of BDD: what it is, how it is diagnosed, the thoughts and behaviors it contains, the impact of those thoughts and behaviors, who suffers from BDD, where the disorder originates, and finally how it can be treated. The writing style is clear and simple, important points are highlighted and chapters and subheading are logically divided, sections end with a complete summary, and the appendixes and index are useful and complete.

For all of the strengths of the book, the section on treating BDD is unfortunately its weakness. The book was written ten years ago, before much study had been done on treating BDD, and so most of the information and recommendations comes from Phillips's own practice and observations. Even now then years later, research on the treatment of BDD and long-term nature of the disorder is severely lacking. All in all, Phillips's advice is good: she encourages sufferers to seek help, a good idea no matter what form of treatment they seek, and provides information and suggestions for the friends and family of BDD sufferers about how to provide support, encourage the sufferer to seek help, and maintain a healthy relationship with the sufferer. Hopefully as more research is done we will know more about BDD treatment options and effectiveness, but for now Phillips's book provides a number of suggestions to point patients in the right direction, and it is far better than nothing.

I highly recommend this book to those interested in BDD and also (although I speak without any personal experience) to sufferers and especially to their friends and family. Not only is Broken Mirror a wealth of information about the disorder, it also provides comfort to suffers and information to friends and family, validating the disease, describing others's experiences with BDD and what we know about the causes of it, and creating compassion for the disorder. Because the perceived physical defect in BDD isn't apparent to others, BDD can be a difficult disease to understand, accept, or help with; Phillips does a lot to right that wrong by providing information and compassionate insight. Although the book is a bit repetitive and the therapy section limited, this is a well-rounded and useful introduction to the subject and should be useful to curious, sufferers, and those who are impacted by it alike.

Bible for BDD.......2006-07-11

BROKEN MIRROR is simply Bible for "Body Dysmorphic Disorder"(previously called" Dysmorphobia").
Here in my country none is well-known about this debilitating disorder.
I showed to my Health-professional this book. He studied it and only then prescribed me some effective medication. I recommend all health-professional to read this book before they start treating a BDD-patient. Thanks.

The Broken Mirror - Understanding And Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Average customer rating:

The Broken Mirror - Understanding And Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Katharine A., M.D. Phillips
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IXF5X6

Average customer rating:

Broken Mirror: Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Katharine A. Phillips
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OK46FQ

Average customer rating:

Broken Mirror: Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Katharine A. MD Phillips
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKPO84

Average customer rating:

The Broken Mirror: Understanding And Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder.
KATHARINE A., M.D. PHILLIPS
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKJHWI

Baking in America: Traditional and Contemporary Favorites from the Past 200 Years
Average customer rating:

Excellent mix of recipes and historical perspective. Buy It.

Faking in America

This is Classic American Cooking

I love this book.

Big Bulky Book, few Pictures

Baking in America: Traditional and Contemporary Favorites from the Past 200 Years
Greg Patent
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
History | Gastronomy | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | U.S. Regional | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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Southern Cakes: Sweet and Irresistible Recipes for Everyday Celebrations

Perfect Cakes

ASIN: 0618048316

Amazon.com

Greg Patent, recognizing that many of America's worthiest breads, cakes, and other sweets have disappeared over time, retrieves them in perfected, easy-to-follow form, while also providing a selection of contemporary favorites, in his book Baking in America. From the first American cookbook, American Cookery, published in 1776, to and beyond the works of influential American cookbook writers including Eliza Leslie, Amelia Simmons, and Fannie Farmer, the book serves up such temptations as Mrs. Goodfellow's Dover Cake (a fine-grained, rice flour-based pound cake); Cornell White Bread (an exemplary sandwich loaf developed at Cornell University); and Chocolate and Gold Ribbon Cake (a Pillsbury Bake-Off prize winner). Among the newer delights are Ricotta Cheesecake with Blueberry Sauce, Spicy Icebox Oatmeal Crisps, and Rhubarb Raspberry Crunch Bars. Building upon often-sketchy formulas, Patent has seamlessly bridged past and present to produce a unique collection.

The book's organization--chapters cover topics from savory yeast breads and sweet yeast breads and doughnuts to pound cakes, layer cakes, cheesecakes, fruit desserts, and more--gives some idea of the arc of American baking, which has changed as kitchen technology has advanced. (The arrival of yeast-displacing chemical leaveners, for example, made the layer cake possible.) But American bakers have always been avid experimenters, Patent maintains, and have produced singular delights like Jalapeño, Cornmeal, and Cheddar Bread; Golden Pumpkin Loaf; Persimmon Cream Cheese Cupcakes; and, of course, brownies, for which the book gives variations including White Chocolate Chunk. With amusing advice from old cookbooks and other historical asides, profiles of cooking teachers, and useful glossaries of ingredients and equipment, the photo-illustrated book makes the re-creation of our charmingly homey baking past practical for modern cooks. --Arthur Boehm

Book Description

This groundbreaking collection encompasses both sweet and savory favorites: yeast breads and quick breads, layer cakes and loaf cakes, doughnuts and fruit desserts, pies and simple pastries. Taking as his starting point 1796, the year the first American cookbook was published, Greg Patent, an accomplished baker, has mined sources from across the country for exemplary baking recipes by and for home cooks. Perusing old cookbooks, journals, and handwritten diaries from libraries and private archives, he has skillfully recreated treasured recipes or used them as inspiration for his own thoroughly up-to-date creations. Included are historical finds like the original Parker House Rolls; Lindy's Cheesecake, from the world-famous New York restaurant; and a sensationally easy butterscotch cake that won a national baking contest in 1954. Here as well are hundreds of contemporary standouts, such as Malted Milk Chocolate Layer Cake, BlueberryLemon Curd Streusel Muffins, Peaches and Cream Cobbler, and Raised Potato Doughnuts.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent mix of recipes and historical perspective. Buy It........2006-01-24

`Baking in America' by professional Zoologist and baker, Greg Patent is different from the rich selection of books we have on American desserts from the likes of Nancy Baggett, Wayne Harley Brachman, and Judith Fertig in at least two ways. First, the scope of the book is broader, with close to 40% of the recipes being dedicated to non-dessert baking such as breads and breakfast items. Second, a substantial portion of the text is dedicated to the history of baking in the United States and how it is different from its antecedents in Europe. While this is a book with a scholarly bent, it should not be dismissed as a book of history or essays. Rather than being dry material, the historical perspective is more like a leavening that lightens up the book much as yeast lightens and flavors bread. I suggest you treat the author's historical point of view more as a unifying theme to his subject introductions and headnotes rather than a textbook on culinary history.

In addition to giving a very good historical perspective on `Baking in America', the author gives us a very good text on baking elements. His fundamentals may not be as deep as Peter Reinhart's lessons on bread baking or Nick Malgieri's tutorials on pastry or Maida Heatter's tips on cake baking, but they are good enough for the amateur baker who does not wish to invest in a whole library of baking books. His details on American wheat are just right. There is not quite as much detail as you may find in Rose Levy Beranbaum's `Bibles', but its good advice. It will guide you to the best brands and types of wheat to use for breads and biscuits and pastry and cakes without your having to mount a long search of the Internet.

One of the more interesting historical perspectives gleaned from this book is the fact that in 1900, over 70% of American flour was bought for home use, compared to about 10% today. This, in spite of the fact that home baking was enormously more difficult a century ago than it is today, in that one had to heat up a coal or wood oven, thoroughly clean it of ashes, and knead dough with no mechanical aids (actually, there was a very primitive version of the bread machine early in the 20th century, but I suspect it took almost as much muscle as hand kneading.).

In the very tricky realm of pie crust pastry, the author is firmly in the camp which prefers butter AND as many additives as possible (vinegar and egg yolk) to retard gluten formation which may result from the moisture (about 20%) in water. Parent's recipe for his `flaky piecrust' is virtually identical to the one I typically use, acquired from Susan Purdy's `As Easy as Pie'. Patent is also quite comfortable using the food processor to mix butter, dry ingredients, and wet ingredients. My inclination on this issue actually lies in the direction of the `Martha Stewart Baking Handbook' that keeps things simple with only the simplest list of ingredients of flour, butter, water, and salt. I'm certain Martha did not originate this schema, but her authors' endorsing it, as probably more similar to the classic French recipe, suggests that the add-ins are really not necessary if you are careful with using cold ingredients, cold equipment, and a light touch. As someone with warm hands, I even think it is time for me to go to the food processor to mix dough. The chemist in me tells me that even if it is no easier than hand mixing, it is more reproducible, so you are likely to get more consistent results with it.

But getting back to this book, it seems that Americans didn't invent any major baking techniques. That was pretty much taken care of by the French, Austrians, and Italians by the time Americans had enough cheap wheat flour to make use of it often. Rather, their primary inventions seem to be in new fillings and some interesting things done with corn, which was more plentiful up until the end of the 19th century.

Another theme running through much of this book is the evolution of leaveners, both chemical and microbial. Both seemed to come into their own with the perfection of baking powder after the Civil War and the packaging of yeast near the same time. While baking powder was touted as an easier replacement for yeast, it is not. It simply cannot achieve most of the flavor effects of long yeast rising.

There is one major and one minor oversight worth noting. The major oversight is the absence of any reference to sourdough. While San Franciscans didn't invent bread baking with artisinal yeast sponges (the French and Italians have been doing that for centuries), there is a very special yeast named after San Francisco which is responsible for our American sourdough. This is so well known that I'm surprised Parent makes no mention of it. I can only assume he had no interest in getting into the technique of natural yeast baking. The other lesser omission is that there is no mention of Shoofly pie (molasses cake), that very Pennsylvania Dutch speciality. This is especially odd since he enlists advice from Pennsylvania Dutch food expert William Woys Weaver for material on the Moravian sugar cake. I miss this recipe since it doesn't seem to make the cut for any of the latest American dessert cookbooks except for Judith Fertig's `All American Desserts'.

An excellent source of American baking specialities.

Faking in America.......2004-03-08

This baking book was disappointing. It represents itself as a survey of 200 years of baking in American kitchens. In the end, the result is a rather ordinary collection of baking and pastry recipes. This collection is supposed to be a collage of 200 years of baking recipes. The book has numerous references to old, out of print recipe books. Then, the author takes these recipes and updates it for the modern kitchen and grocery store.

In the bread chapter, for example, all of the dough make-up procedures are virtually identical. This is suspicious, as the sources, hydration percentages, and ingredients for the bread recipes go all over the place. I suspect that the author here has cheated a bit. Also, the procedures do not have very extensive descriptions of how to form the doughs into loaves. Some of the instructions for preparing the various fruits are either incomplete or wrong, as are procedures for cooking sugar into syrups, caramels, etc.

I like the fact that the procedures (for the most part) are very detailed, and many of the little steps that are often overlooked are thorough described here. The recipes often have as many as a dozen steps. The beginning of each chapter has some baking tips and hints, although they are far from complete. At the head of each chapter is a list of recipes, which is very convenient when you are looking for something specific. The most valuable part of this book is the bibliography, which lists many historic cookbooks, many of which are still available in facsimile editions. Very valuable, and hard to find, are the dozen or so recipes for doughnuts; these alone are almost worth the price of admission.

On the other hand, many chapters are collections of fairly standard recipes that you can find in almost any all purpose cookbook. The one about pies, for example, is very ordinary and commonplace, most of them currently popular ones, and not historic nor heritage in any sense of the word. It is a very decent collection of baking recipes that covers most of the major areas of baking, but it is not as advertised.

This is Classic American Cooking.......2003-11-15

Whoever wrote the review that said "Whose America?", must not have read the book thoughly. These realy are classic American recipes with interesting backgrounds. The introduction to each chapter is filled with interesting things you probably never knew about American history and most recipes explain how they are tied to American. Recipes include: Peaches and Cream Cobbler, Emily Dickenson's Black Cake, Honeyed Apple Torte, Kentucky Stack Cake, Chocolate Chestnut Torte, Ameretto-Amaretti Cheesecake, Maple Pecan Tart, and Buttercrunch Lemon Bars, to name a few of the recipes. And I have tried a recipe, the Lemon Genoise w/ White Chocolate Buttercream and Raspberries and it was AMAZING!!! I loved it, and so did our guests! I have checked this book out of the library about 4 times and just bought it from Amazon. Tonight I plan on making ladyfingers from the book for tomorrow's tiramasu (the tiramasu recipe is not from this book but from The Barefoot Contessa Family Style, which I also love just as much.)

I love this book........2003-08-18

I really enjoyed reading this cookbook. I learned so much about the history of American baking, the ingredients that were and are used in baking, and about the origins of some of the foods that I bake for my family. I read it cover to cover, like a history book, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Then I started baking from it. The first thing I tried was the honey apple torte, and it was one of the best baked goods I have ever made or tasted. It disappeared in a day--my family couldn't stop eating it. And it is a beautiful cake, too. I am looking forward to baking it for company. Next I tried the lemon sour cream pound cake, and that too was exquisite. I can't wait to try some of the other recipes. I found the recipes very original, and there were many that I haven't seen in other cookbooks. I also enjoyed reading the introductions to each recipe, which give history of the recipe or the ingredients contained in it. After reading (and baking from) this book, I feel like I have a better understanding of American culinary history. This was a very enjoyable cookbook. Thank you, Greg Patent.

Big Bulky Book, few Pictures.......2003-05-29

I recently received a copy of "Baking in America" and for such a LARGE book, I found the design extremely poor. The first 37 pages are NOT recipes but definitions. Some of which I felt needed no definition. Do we really need a full paragraph description of "Granulated sugar" or "Honey?" I mean, come on. this stuff belongs in a cooking theory book, or at least in the a section at the back, but not in the first pages...

Once we get to the recipe section, few recipes really caught my attention. I also HATE HATE HATE the cheap publishing trick of putting the photographs of only some of the dishes in the center. This makes work for the cook as he/she looks at the picture then must search out the recipe and who wants to do this? I prefer photos and illustrations to be next to the recipes so the cook can see what the finished product might look like. I also felt the recipes were poorly indexed and seemed to span several pages apiece. For a book this size I expected thousands of recipes instead of the measly few included.

Overall: A big beefy book, without a lot of recipes or contents useful to the experienced cook. Beginners might appreciate the length Patent goes to describe basic cooking principals. Lack of photos and poor design did not appeal to this reader.

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