Thus Was Adonis Murdered

Customer Reviews:

Introducing Hilary Tamar and the members of the Nursery at 62 New Square.......2007-04-05

"'I don't believe Shakespeare told Julia to try fainting,' said Cantrip. 'He's dead.'
'She is referring,' said Selena, 'to his early poem "Venus and Adonis". Julia read it at an impressionable age and has since regarded it as a sort of seduction manual.'
'It is a most indelicate work,' said Ragwort. 'Not at all suitable reading for a young girl.'
'It's hardly Julia's fault,' said Selena. 'They told her at school that Shakespeare was educational.'
'As I recall,' I said, 'the methods employed by the goddess in her pursuit of Adonis, though forceful, achieved only limited success. Doesn't Julia find that discouraging?'"
- the members of the Nursery, discussing with Hilary Tamar Julia's latest letter, herein

There you have a sample of the speech and manner of four of the principal performers of Sarah Caudwell's Hilary Tamar mysteries: honey-tongued Selena, who could get someone out of a deal with the devil on a good day; the incorruptably prudish Ragwort; legal scholar and Oxford don Hilary Tamar; and Cantrip, the token Cambridge graduate among a flock of Oxonians. It always tickles me that while the others dazzle us with floods of sophisticated wit, Cantrip sounds like an escapee from P.G. Wodehouse who might hang out with Bertie Wooster. Cantrip also has the least reputable skills, such as lockpicking, and associates, such as his connections at the newspaper that uses him to check for potentially libelous material before going to press.

As the story opens, the four junior barristers of 62 New Square, unable to take their own holidays thanks to the tyranny of their clerk, are whiling away their days of toil by looking forward to two things: holiday letters from their colleague Julia Larwood, and coffee and gossip sessions with their old mentor Hilary Tamar, at which the letters are shared around. The most they expect are cheerful travelogues of an Art Lovers' Holiday from their hapless friend who hopes for more Love than Art from her holiday, having spent a very stressful few months doing battle with the tax authorities. Her friends, for their part, hope that putting Julia on a packaged tour will compensate for letting their accident-prone friend out without a keeper.

At first, all is pretty much as expected: Julia reports a series of very funny mishaps and minor disasters in her encounters with her fellow Art Lovers, beginning with attracting the pursuit of the Major (old ex-army bore, now selling shady antiques and art objects), failing to attract the lovely Ned (already in a relationship with rising sculptor Kenneth Dunfermline), and accidentally giving the impression of attempting to attract her friendly shopping companion Marylou (whose husband broke a promise not to make it a working vacation, then picked an awkward moment to walk in on them). The last member of the group, wealthy art gallery owner Eleanor Frostfield, far from involving any attraction to/from anyone, distributes insults and starts fights with all the generosity she fails to show financially to her artists - or to fellow travellers who have to pick up the check at a cafe. Her holiday, naturally, is being put down as a business expense.

Speaking of working holidays, several characters turn out to have them. Timothy Shepherd - another member of the Nursery - amid many grumblings from his colleagues is sent to Venice to reason with a client who needs to take steps to avoid paying heavy taxes on an inheritance. Several of the Art Lovers are professionally involved with the Tiverton Collection forming part of the client's estate, though whether as legitimate valuators, potential buyers, or hopeful sneak thieves is an open question.

As Ragwort later remarks, if anyone were to be murdered, it's surprising that nobody murdered Julia. :) Fortunately, Cantrip at his part-time newspaper consulting job intercepts a report that she's a suspect within hours of the murder, he and the rest of Julia's friends need waste no time getting to work on solving the problem.

The story has very polished language, helped along by the fact that it alternates between long chatty letters and conversations among the recipients analyzing them both for clues leading to the actual culprit and for any plausible-sounding line of defence that might hold up in court. I highly recommend listening to the unabridged recording read by Eva Haddon, who handles all the characters superbly, from Julia's perpetual inability to understand what's going on if it doesn't involve the Taxes Acts to Hilary Tamar's discourses on the usefulness of scholarship in identifying and sorting out discrepancies in evidence.

Highly recommended.

Thus Was Adonis Murdered.......2006-11-10

"Scholarship asks, thank God, no recompense but truth." With such deceptively stately pronouncements do comic masterpieces like Sarah Caudwell's Thus Was Adonis Murdered all too rarely begin, and it's a big fat lie in the context of this novel anyway.

Barrister Julia Larwood is on vacation in Venice, recuperating from the distressing results of not paying her income taxes for four years. A beautiful young man is murdered, and due to a prior amorous assignation Julia is the chief suspect. Told in Julia's letters home read aloud to a group of Oxbridge friends, who regularly interrupt with witty, acute commentary, and in the dry observations of Julia's former teacher, history don Hilary Tamar, Caudwell is one of the very few authors who can tell a story, a) second hand, and b) almost entirely in retrospect. Veddy, veddy British, and veddy, veddy funny.

Followed by The Shortest Way to Hades, The Sirens Sang of Murder, and The Sibyl in her Grave.

Droll, and dry as champagne!.......2004-07-09

This was my first exposure to the (lamentably) late Sarah Caudwell. I am looking forward to reading her other three mysteries, but I will have to portion them out slowly, to prolong the enjoyment.

I am happy to note how many of the previous reviewers "got" this book. Of course it is improbable, arch, extremely verbose and polysyllabic, that is the total raison-d'etre of such a book. The situations and the characters are very funny, with the ludicrous misadventures of the hapless and hopeless Julia tying them all together. I found myself snorting out loud on numerous occasions, such as the moment after the Major tries to convince Julia that the beauteous Ned, object of her lustful attentions, is most likely gay, and not the sort of chap he would want to share a tent with. Julia reflects:

"... Indeed , if is a benevolent dispensation of Providence that those who express most dread of an unorthodox advance are usually those whom Nature has most effectively protected from any risk of one."

A splendid romp of a book. Oh, and by the way, I am convinced that Prof Hilary Tamar is a man.

Brilliantly funny whodunnit.......2004-07-04

This is the first of Sarah Caudwell's dazzling series of legal whodunnits narrated by Hilary Temple, Oxford professor of Legal History. Hilary's friends are a group of young barristers in Chancery Lane, her former pupil, Timothy, the elegant and austere Ragwort, imaginative, impulisve Cantrip, Selena, who is like 'a Persian cat that has just completed a succesful cross-examination', and romantic, suceptible, accident-prone Julia. Julia is having some unplesantness with the Tax man, so she decides to get away from it all by going on an Art Lovers tour of Italy. Here she succumbs to the charms of a grgeous young man called Ned. Then one day, after she has enjoyed an afternoon of passion with Ned, she finds him dead in bed. Ned was an employee of the Inland Revenue, which means, as Ragwort reasonably points out, that anyone might have murdered him. Unfortunatley, however, Julia is chief suspect, so her friends set out to prove her innocence. They track down the other participants on the Art Lovers tour to try and get at the truth. Cantrip has to interview a dodgy art dealer, the Major, who spends their time together telling Cantrip all about the women in his life. "He's known a lot of women. The right sort of women, the wrong sort of women. Wome who would, women who wouldn't, women who might have. He told me about them all." This is an absolutely wonderful book, ingeneous, complex plot, funny and likeable characters, witty dialogue, and a laugh in just about every paragrah.

Excellent, extremely funny mystery.......2003-05-29

I discovered Sarah Caudwell in the worst possible way: by reading her obituary in the New York Times. Once I read her books, I was even more sorry that she died so prematurely, because her mysteries are among the funniest books I've read. Caudwell has a wonderful ironic tone. She uses the standard mystery formula populated with her broadly drawn cast of regulars to send up academics, lawyers, tax collectors, amateur detectives...the whole lot.

As someone who conducts research for a living, I was particularly amused by the following, as Hilary (our narrator of indeterminate gender) makes his/her way to work:

"On my first day in London I made an early start. Reaching the Public Record Office not much after ten, I soon secured the papers needed for my research and settled in my place. I became, as is the way of the scholar, so deeply absorbed as to lose all consciousness of my surroundings or of the passage of time. When at last I came to myself, it was almost eleven and I was quite exhausted: I knew that I could not prudently continue without refreshment."

This quotation give the flavor of the whole book, really the entire series. If you turn to mysteries for their psychological characterizations or examination of the dark side of life, this book will not do it for you, but if you love intelligent satire, Caudwell can't be beat.

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Thus Was Adonis Murdered
Sarah Caudwell
Manufacturer: Scribners
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0002318547

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Thus Was Adonis Murdered
Sarah Caudwell
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OIY7C0

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Thus Was Adonis Murdered
Sarah Caudwell
Manufacturer: Viking Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000LNGEBU

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Thus Was Adonis Murdered
Sarah CAUDWELL
Manufacturer: Charles Scribner's Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UZQPYU

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Thus Was Adonis Murdered
SARAH CAUDWELL
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GOZAQO

Book Description

Quest to rescue a father's trapped spirit from the evil place between life and death.

Customer Reviews:

Well imagined fantasy.......2003-06-13

After I finished reading Carolyn Kephart's WYSARD, I wanted more - and there IS a second volume to this story of Ryel and his struggle against the evil soul Dagar. Ryel, a boy raised on the Steppes as the son of a gruff farmer and a beautiful foreign mother, enters into the art of wizardry. He trained by his mentor Edris to be the one wyzard powerful enough to defeat the body-dead but still powerful Dagar, an evil spirit bent on conquering the world. As an Overreacher, a wyzard who has crossed over to the realm of the dead and returned to the living, Ryel is both empowered and burdened by his art. As he was marked by Edris to be a savior, so is he marked by Dagar to be one of his rulers.

At times, Kephart's writing style and dialogue seem too stilted, as though she is relying on a pseudo-Middle Ages grammatical structure to give her novel atmosphere. However, at other times, her prose is smoothly lyrical, written with beautiful logic. Kephart's real strength, however, is her storytelling ability. While she takes far too many pages to set up the central conflict, I couldn't put down this novel once I had passed the midway point. By the end, the story was incredibly engrossing. Unfortunately, in this novel nothing is resolved. It ends with a cliff-hanger, necessitating the reading of Kephart's second volume to discover Ryel's fate.

Kephart clearly has talent. She has imagined her fantasy world well, with details that make it come alive for the reader. I only wish that much of the novel had been tighter and more judiciously cut, perhaps combining it with the second volume into one 250 page novel. Still, there is much to admire here. Avid readers of fantasy especially will be intrigued by Kephart's writing. While I could not give this novel four stars, three seems too few: three and a half stars for an up-and-coming fantasy writer.

Solid "Wysard".......2003-06-11

"Wysard" is an unusual fantasy -- no elves, dwarves, dragons or Dark Lords, just radically different human cultures and plenty of wysards (good and bad). If you are looking for something a bit away from the usual fantasy stuff, this might be the book you want.

Ryel Mirai left his family in the Steppes many years ago, to learn with the wysard Edris at the city of Markul, for studies that were dangerous, dark and gave him powers that the outside world could hardly believe in. But when he ventured into the void beyond life, he encountered the daimon Dagar -- who murdered Edris. Now he leaves Markul, with a strange mocking voice in his head and visions of his dying mother and a mad princess.

After healing his mother, Ryel travels to the city of Almancar, where the
Sovrena Diara has gone mad under Dagar's influence -- the same influence that whispers constantly in Ryel's mind. Even as he heals her, he learns two things: That Edris's rai (spirit) is still around, and can be reunited with his body... and that an evil wysard is trying to bring Dagar back with the same spell...

"Wysard" reads a bit like an earthier, sexier "Wizard of Earthsea"; it has some of the same themes, the same atmosphere, and one can imagine Le Guin using similar ideas (the misty, ascetic wysard city, the decadent Almancar with its incestuous royals and rich brothels, the proud horse-riding Steppes folk). Kephart manages to deal with Ryel's training quite well through flashbacks, more skillfully than most authors can.

Perhaps the biggest problem is that the pace is a little rushed; if it had been slower, it would have been easier to get acquainted with Ryel, Edris and the rest rather than paying attention to where the plot was going next. And readers may be frustrated by the big blinking "To Be Continued" that ends the book, leading up to sequel "Lord Brother."

Ryel is a likable guy, and his loving but tense relationship with Edris is exceptionally well-done; Edris himself is a bit abrasive, definitely not easygoing, and a good change from the usual wizard mentors. The voice of Dagar is mocking and nasty, more effective than a blustering villain. Diara, Ryel's future lover, while we don't see much of her, is perhaps the most likable of all.

"Wysard" makes a change for those who want a genuinely dark, adult fantasy without the cliched trappings. Intriguing.

Good Stuff.......2003-05-30

I am not a huge fantasy fan, but this one was good.

I'm not a fantasy fan, yet I was enthralled with this novel.......2003-05-27

I am not a fan of fantasy; I prefer sci-fi, no magicians, wizards or dragons need apply. Yet I like some authors who cross over into fantasy from sci-fi like Ursula LeGuin, Anne McCaffrey and Sherri Tepper.

Carolyn Kephart's "Wysard" starts out a bit like "Harry Potter." Ryel is highly gifted with magical ability, has a scar from a lightning bolt, leaves home and goes off to study with Master Edris. Here's where the similarity ends. "Wysard" is for teens and adults, not for kids. There's none of the whimsical Potter humor here. "Wysard" is PURE fantasy.

The strained relationship with Ryel with his mentor Edris, Ryel's subsequent quest and conflict in his role in the magical city-state of Markul are compelling. The struggles are heroic. There is a lot of action and good character development. My only criticism is that the scenes move back and forth between the mature Ryel and the youth Ryel and sometimes the transition is not smooth, so you have to pay attention.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this novel. If you are a fan of fantasy like the Earthsea books of LeGuin, you will definitely enjoy "Wysard."

Wonderful Writing, Just Couldn't Get into the Story.......2003-05-07

I'll begin this review by stating I am an unabashed admirer of Carolyn Kephart's talent. She writes lyrical, magical prose, the words as musical and mystical as the fantasy world created in her novel, WYSARD. Kephart has a keen eye for detail and description, and her eloquent passages are wonderfully and artfully crafted.

WYSARD is the story of Ryel Mirai, a young man born into the Art of spells and magic, trained and mentored in the mist-shrouded city of Markul. Decimated by the death of Edris, his uncle and mentor, Ryel leaves the sanctuary of Markul, first to heal his mother, then to confront Dagar, an evil, mercurial spirit looking to regain human form. Ryel's quest brings him to the city of Almancar in the Kingdom of Destimar, a city where he must pit his Art against the treachery of Dagar and his agents.

As well written as this book is, the story failed to involve me, to captivate me, make me care what happened next to Ryel or the other characters. Reading is, of course, a subjective experience, so by no means should my reservations hinder others who enjoy works of fantasy. I had some problems with the numerous flashbacks, which I felt interfered with the book's pacing, and I was troubled by all the last-minute storylines that popped up. (Yes, I know that WYSARD is but the first of two books, yet the addition of the new characters and storylines over the novel's last 20 pages left me frustrated.) Basically, I as the reader was on the outside looking in, never immersed in the story.

Personally, I hope this author will delve into other genres in addition to fantasy--historical fiction comes to mind--as her talent is more than sufficient to move all over the fictional spectrum. I'm a big fan of Carolyn Kephart, just not as enthusiastic a fan of this story.
--D. Mikels

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Wysard -
Carolyn Kephart -
Manufacturer: Sterling House Publishing -
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PXYIIW

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The Wysard Name in History
Ancestry.com
Manufacturer: Ancestry.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WRTZFM
Release Date: 2007-07-05

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Not what I thought....

Very Inspirational for young researchers

Great read for many reasons

The Nuns Have It

A Glimpse into Elder Appreciation

Aging With Grace: What the Nun Study Teaches Us About Leading Longer, Healthier, and More Meaningful Lives
David Snowdon
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Aging | Personal Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Nervous System | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Medicine | Subjects | Books
Geriatrics | Specialties | Medicine | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Aging Well: Surprising Guideposts to a Happier Life from the Landmark Harvard Study of Adult Development

Successful Aging

The Virtues of Aging (Library of Contemporary Thought)

Age Power: How the 21st Century Will Be Ruled by the New Old

The Eldercare Sourcebook

Accessories:

RESPeRATE Blood Pressure Lowering Device

Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator (AED)

ASIN: 0553380923
Release Date: 2002-04-30

Book Description

In 1986 Dr. David Snowdon, one of the world’s leading experts on Alzheimer’s disease, embarked on a revolutionary scientific study that would forever change the way we view aging—and ultimately living. Dubbed the “Nun Study” because it involves a unique population of 678 Catholic sisters, this remarkable long-term research project has made headlines worldwide with its provocative discoveries.
Yet Aging with Grace is more than a groundbreaking health and science book. It is the inspiring human story of these remarkable women—ranging in age from 74 to 106—whose dedication to serving others may help all of us live longer and healthier lives.

Totally accessible, with fascinating portraits of the nuns and the scientists who study them, Aging with Grace also offers a wealth of practical findings:

• Why building linguistic ability in childhood may protect against Alzheimer’s
• Which ordinary foods promote longevity and healthy brain function
• Why preventing strokes and depression is key to avoiding Alzheimer’s
• What role heredity plays, and why it’s never too late to start an exercise program
• How attitude, faith, and community can add years to our lives

A prescription for hope, Aging with Grace shows that old age doesn’t have to mean an inevitable slide into illness and disability; rather it can be a time of promise and productivity, intellectual and spiritual vigor—a time of true grace.

Customer Reviews:

Not what I thought...........2007-09-29

I really thought this would be a dry scientific book about results, showing graphs, etc, but it was not at all! The nuns told him he could only study them if he promised to get to know them, and he followed their wishes completely. I'm trying to make my sentences as long as possible and if you read the book, you'll know why and think I'm hopeless! The author has a wonderful way of weaving their lives into what he has discovered, as he leaves each little pause in the chapters with a sentence to make you want to read the next to see what they discovered about it. I learned a lot about what we have a little influence over in our own physical lives and what we might not. It's a very easy read. Oops! Short sentence. My bad!

Very Inspirational for young researchers.......2007-07-23

As a young geriatrist and researcher I found Dr Snowdon's scientific experience told in such a personal way very inspirational, puts into perpective and unwraps much of what aging and clinical research is about.
I found also amazing his ability to read details in each of the nuns lives named in the book to make conclusions related to how to become old in a "longer, healthier and more meaningful" way.
A "must read" book for everyone interested in gerontology...perhaps all of us: the aging people.

Great read for many reasons.......2007-01-23

Ordered for a class related to epidemiology and nursing. Turns out i would have loved it regardless. A scientist collects data from a unique nun population in search of data which leads him on a extensive journey related to Alzheimer's disease. Personal and subjective. Informative and endearing. Would and have recommended to many. Easy read.

The Nuns Have It.......2007-01-21

If your idea of nuns is none having fun, get ready for a surprise. Dr. Snowden made a study of 678 nuns, called The Nun Study. Many signed up to donate their brains to science, once having shed the mortal coil, for a study of alzheimer's disease. How thoughtful of the good sisters, one thinks, who, of course, in the dark, dank, life denying precincts of cloistered religion, of course all succumbed to this sad, mind- ravaging disease, after having soldiered on for so long, denied even life's smallest pleasures.

All true to form, except that's not what happened. The surprise is how many didn't get alzheimers, how many might be said to have cartwheeled rather than trudged on beyond a century, how many given unto helping the poor and AIDS patients retained their mental acuity and, if I may say, lust for life, and went dancing, as it were, towards the grave.

Contrast this with the absolutely opposite view of so many aging Baby Boomers (of whom I am one), who absolutely fear death, in the sense of trying to drag out existence as long as possible, who absolutely fear existence in the sense of trying to jazz it up and jam it full of diversions and amusements as much as possible, who having fearlessly announced that we are alone in the universe, absolutely fear being alone and, being in denial and avoidance of making any sort of plans for the sunset years, as well as having an aversion to any sort of community, continually pile psychic burdens on the tiny nuclear families of Generations X and beyond whom they expect to devote their modest resources to the full- time allaying of these fears.

The good doctor writes a lot about his relations with the Sisters in a likeable, chatty style, which is probably the main reason to read this book. But he sometimes gets rather technical about the research side, and you can't help hoping to seize on the magic formula for a long and healthy life. While the results are dramatic, his tone is tentative, but the helpers are pretty much what you thought: tomatoes (especially cooked ones), pink grapefruit, watermelon, spinach and dark green leafy vegetables (Popeye was right), carrots, nuts and beans. Pretty much the diet most Baby Boomers have switched to. Readers will like the next part. As they always suspected, a somewhat high "idea" quotient is good for something. The young, active brain likely grows into, no surprise, the mature active brain. Those of you not in the 40 percent who actively read books may want to start with this one. This recent paperback edition is a great deal; it used to be a $25 hardback.

A Glimpse into Elder Appreciation.......2007-01-03

David Snowdon has done an incredible job of sharing his research in the Nun Study with all of us. His understanding of the Grace-filled lives of these nuns in their years of service comes across in a truly genuine manner of respect. He not only helps the reader understand some of the mysteries of Alzheimer's, but he also helps to dispel some of the panicky myths that abound in our society. His title is not just a clue to the content; it is the content of his book. This is a MUST read for anyone who has a family member who shows signs of dementia or has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

Aging with Grace: What the Nun Study Teaches Us About Leading Longer, Healthier, and More Meaningful Lives

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Aging with Grace: What the Nun Study Teaches Us About Leading Longer, Healthier, and More Meaningful Lives

Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000BUT8PC

Book Description

Low-Carb Cooking With Stevia is the perfect companion for people on a low-carbohydrate diet. This hot new book contains revolutionary, delicious recipes like pastas, breads, even cakes and cookies all low in carbohydrates. Filled with practical advice, Mr. Kirkland is inspirational as he explains how he lost his extra weight and regained his life - All while enjoying a variety of favorite foods. Kirkland, an expert on stevia, includes in-depth information about stevia, the natural alternative to questionable artificial sweeteners. With over 175 delightful low-carb recipes and more than 60 pages of important information, Low-Carb Cooking With Stevia is the essential companion for a successful low-carbohydrate lifestyle.

Customer Reviews:

In reponse to the review..........2003-01-22

I would like to respond to the person suggesting the key to success for these recipes is to substitute Splenda for Stevia. Hello??!!! The whole point of Stevia is that it is a natural sweetener, not a chemical who's long-term effects ARE untested and will likely end up the way of toxic aspartame. This review did not help me decide at all whether this book is worth purchasing.

So Disappointing.......2002-01-30

I was so excited to find this cookbook as I am trying to eliminate harmful chemicals from my diet. I tried more than half of these recipes, each of them a total disaster. I thought it was the quality of stevia, so I bought several different kinds. Still, each concoction had a san turn out.

Flavor Enhancer Bible.......2001-11-06

I keep this cookbook in the drawer next to the stove. It has been a god send. I love the last chapter on flavor enhancers. The Sweet and Spicy Texas Rub goes in all the grill meats, and the traditional barbecue sauce makes killer barbecue wings, I would put these in competition with any sugar loaded barbecue wings. My key secret is that I replace the stevia with splenda and follow the packet requirements in the recipes. The only recipe I didn't like was a recipe for Peanut Butter balls. No-Bake Cheesecake recipe I have memorized (not intentionally). I have several Lo-Carb cookbooks this is my favorite.

Disappointing.......2001-10-28

Lots of recipes that only require a little sweetening, with stevia substituted for sugar. I could do that on my own. Too many of the "tough" recipes, like desserts, flopped and had to be thrown out when I tried them, and I am not usually too stupid to follow a recipe.

Finally muffins on a low carb diet!.......2000-06-21

This book is great- much more variety than any other low carb book I have ever read. Most recipes are easy to follow. I can finally have cookies, pasta, and muffins without cheating!

Sugar-Free Cooking With Stevia: The Naturally Sweet & Calorie-Free Herb (Revised 3rd Edition)

Average customer rating:

Disappointed
good book, some math involved
UNBELIEVABLY HIGH-FAT
Still Experimenting
I so wanted to love this cookbook...

Sugar-Free Cooking With Stevia: The Naturally Sweet & Calorie-Free Herb (Revised 3rd Edition)
James Kirkland , and Tanya Kirkland
Manufacturer: Crystal Health Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

Diabetic & Sugar-Free | Special Diet | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

Healthy | Special Diet | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 192890615X

Book Description

Stevia is an all-natural herbal sweetener up to 300 times sweeter than sugar it contains no calories, no artificial chemicals, and no carbohydrates. It can be used by everyone, even diabetics and children, wont promote tooth decay, and is great for cooking and baking. So why doesnt everyone use stevia?

Good question. Used for centuries in South America and the most popular non-caloric sweetener in Japan, stevia has been unfairly targeted by the FDA read more about the controversy in Chapter 3.

This revolutionary sugar-free cookbook is the ONLY book that gives you:

* Nutritional Information & Food Exchanges

* The Most Frequently Asked Stevia Questions and Answers

* How to Choose the Best Stevia and Use It Successfully

* Conversion Charts Complete and Easy-To-Use for Stevia, Sugar, and Artificial Sweeteners

* A Choice Between Cooking with Pure Stevia Extract, Stevia Blends, or Packets of Stevia

* The Use of Basic Ingredients You Already Have in Your Kitchen

* Best of All, Over 200 delicious recipes everyone will love!

Customer Reviews:

Disappointed.......2007-10-06

I ordered 3 Stevia recipe books, and this is the most disappointing out of all of them. If you are simply looking to replace sugar with stevia, this book's for you.
The pros are:
It has a bunch of recipes, more than the other books.
It gives you amounts for 3 different types of stevia (not the liquid) so you are not expected to purchase a certain type to make the recipies, unless you only have the liquid.
Most recipes do not contain other sources of sugar as some stevia cookbooks were reported to do.
That's about it for the pros.
I would think most people using stevia are also looking for healthy. If they were simply looking to cut the sugar from their diet, they would be using some sort of sugar alcohol which is much easier to come, by inlieu of the stevia. This book simply replaces the sugar with stevia. He recommends to use margarine in most recipies without thought to the hydrogenated oils. He uses processed refined flours, no whole grains. He does have a few recipies with hidden sugars like his Instant Cocoa Mix which contains powdered nondairy creamer, this can also have hydrogenated oils in it as well as the sugar. At least one recipe called for molasses. To use this cookbook in a healthy way, you would have to modify almost every recipe in one way or another. I haven't made anything from it yet because I'm not up to the task of trying to alter a recipe in the way this book needs.

good book, some math involved.......2005-03-27

The nutritional data is for the entire batch of whatever you are making. On a dressing it says it is 1018 calories per serving, but if you look up the ingredients it is for the whole recipe. So for the dressing, you have to divide by 8 if you use 2 Tablespoons on your salad, which ends up being 127 which is alot better than 1018.
There are good recipes, just you have to do extra math to find out how much calories, fat, carbs, protein, etc you actually eat.

UNBELIEVABLY HIGH-FAT.......2005-03-08

Perhaps I haven't read the nutritional information correctly - if so, I will feel like an idiot, but will at least feel that that's a more logical explanation than that these recipes are actually this high in fat. I can't believe that stevia can't be used in ways that are overall health-conscious. Many of the recipes are so high in fat and calories as to be unusable, certainly for diabetics, who need to watch their weight and who are at greatly elevated risk for heart disease. There are a few lower- or moderate-fat recipes, but the rest are outrageous - hot fudge sauce, for example, that has more than 120 grams of fat per serving? More, in other words, than three Big Macs? These recipes might be all right for occasional use by the very thin who are positive that they are not genetically predisposed to any sort of cardiovascular disease, but I can't recommend it to anyone else. I also have to say that this has discouraged me from buying cookbooks online - better to get them in the store where you can check this kind of thing out before you buy.

Still Experimenting.......2002-01-07

I am still working with the recipes in this book but overall, I have been pleased...especially with the conversion chart. I believe this is worth it. I am a low-carber and I'm told that Kirkland has also come out with a Low-Carb stevia book.

I so wanted to love this cookbook..........2001-07-21

Because I'm a sugar addict trying to break the addiction. When I started learning about Stevia, and how you can still have sweets without it jacking up your blood sugar, mood, and general health, I was overjoyed. But after trying a few of the recipes I'm selling my cookbook and chunking my stevia. Maybe I'm using the wrong kind or something, I don't know. All I know is that it doesn't taste anything like it's supposed to, and I'm a decent cook.

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