While Other People Sleep (Bookcassette(r) Edition)

Amazon.com

In the old days, Sharon McCone was a scrappy, idealistic investigator working out of a rambling old San Francisco Victorian that housed the All Souls legal collective. In the 1990s, All Souls is a conventionally successful law firm, and McCone is on her own. These days her profile is a lot higher, thanks to a People magazine article, and her digs, both personal and professional, are decidedly more upscale. But the price of fame is higher than she knows; somewhere there's a woman with Sharon's face, Sharon's name, and a supply of Sharon's business cards. The impersonator isn't just drumming up business on her own--she's sleeping with McCone's clients and then stealing from them, destroying the agency's reputation, and threatening Sharon's family and friends as well as her livelihood. The mystery woman may even have found a way to screw up Sharon's relationship with Hy Ripinsky, her long-time lover. What's certain is that she knows the most intimate details of McCone's private as well as public life, and that wherever Sharon goes, her impersonator has somehow managed to get there first. What seemed at first like an innocent case of heroine-worship turns decidedly deadly, especially since McCone has no clue as to the mystery woman's motives, plans, or identity.

Marcia Muller almost single-handedly invented the genre of female P.I.'s, and she's in top form here, capitalizing on McCone's vulnerabilities as well as her strengths in a tightly plotted mystery with a dramatic climax, strong characters, and solid characterization. In prior installments, both Muller and McCone had started to lose their edge a bit, but fans of longstanding will be delighted by this engrossing adventure. --Jane Adams

Book Description

It starts when Sharon McCone's acquaintance tells her that someone was pretending to be McCone at a party. The mysterious woman is handing out McCone's business cards, advising clients, and picking up men for intimate encounters. The woman's physical resemblance is uncanny. Her knowledge of McCone's life is chilling.

To make matters worse, McCone's office manager, Ted Smalley, has been acting oddly. As she reluctantly decides to investigate Ted's behavior, McCone's double breaks into her house, interferes with her family, and leads McCone in a terrifying game of cat and mouse through the bizarre nightlife of San Francisco. McCone begins to uncover Ted's desperate problem, but the imposter escalates her dirty tricks. The determined PI must pull out all the stops to defeat the criminal hitting too close to home.

Customer Reviews:

Keeping It Going.......2006-04-14

A major pleasure of a series like Muller's Sharon McCone mysteries is getting an update on the characters you've become familiar with. It's somewhat akin to meeting an old friend and getting caught up. On that basis, WHILE OTHER PEOPLE SLEEP works just fine. Indeed, that's enough reason to buy and read it if you've read most of these and enjoy the company it allows you to keep.

There are actually two mysteries going on simultaneously here. The main plot revolves around McCone's attempt to identify and stop an imposter who is threatening her reputation and interfering in her personal life. A secondary plot revolves around McCone's gay receptionist, Ted, who seems to be having personal problems of his own. Both plots proceed satisfactorily enough through most of the book, but seem to bog down at in the end. The "Ted" plot, in particular, ended rather weakly, in my opinion.

Finally, I'm getting a little weary of the flying angle. So McCone is a pilot. OK, I have no problem with that, but when you reach a point where flying is a major factor in the outcome of every story, it's gotten out of hand. Enough, already! It's time to devote less energy to rhapsodizing on the joys of flying and more on writing an engaging whodunit.

WHILE OTHER PEOPLE SLEEP is a passable installment in the ongoing saga of Sharon McCone. If McCone is almost like one of your old friends, then getting this update is probably going to be enough to justify reading it. I was for me. As a stand-alone mystery, though, it's mediocre. A soft four stars for people into the series, but if you're a first-timer or occaisional reader, you might want to look for a better one.

Stalkers, unlimited!.......2002-09-20

Sharon McCone, female PI, begins to hear reports of someone who is impersonating her. This person uses her credit cards, breaks into her house, has affairs while using Sharon's identity, and begins to seriously mess up Sharon's life and psyche. At the same time, Sharon's secretary Ted is exhibiting strange and irrascible behavior. Eventually it comes to light that he, too, is battling with a stalker. Are these incidents related and is it the same person doing all of this mischief? Sharon has to investigate these problems without the support of her lover, Hy Ripinsky, who is off on an assignment for his company. The identities of the stalkers are revealed before the end of the book, but Muller still spins a good tale of Sharon's investigation and pursuit of them. As usual, flying plays an important part in this book and there is a good mystery told. This book will please Sharon McCone fans, old and new.

Inadvertently appropriate title.......2002-03-18

After the initial 50 pages or so, I became one of the people the title mentions. The plot of this book does not deserve this name, the solution (i.e. the identification of the "bad person") is ridiculous. The final sections seem to have been written because a certain number of pages had to be filled. The basic idea of the book is not bad, but Muller did not manage to develop a full-blown mystery.

While Other People Sleep.......2001-07-17

"While Other People Sleep" is a different type of novel for Marcia Muller. There are no murders in this novel, but there are 2 mysteries. There is a woman who is stalking and impersonating Sharon McCone, and McCone's office manager, Ted Smalley has been acting very strange. I thought that the resolution to Ted's problems was somewhat lame, but I did enjoy the suspense in McCone's tracking down the impostor who is making her life miserable. This is not Muller's strongest effort, but I found it entertaining.

McCONE vs McCONE.......2001-04-29

In this one Sharon McCone is going against herself, or so it appears. An imposter is using her name and is reading her mind. The book started off real well and I thought it was going to be the best McCone I had read in a while, then, after Sharon found out who the imposter was,the rest was anti-clamatic. Then we got into a severl pages about the planes again. I agree with one of the other reviewers, the books were better when the stories were much more simple. When Sharon was with All Souls. If you want some good reading, read the earlier books and leave the later ones alone.

How to Write While You Sleep: And Other Surprising Ways to Increase Your Writing Power

Average customer rating:

This is the most useful writing book I've ever bought

How to Write While You Sleep: And Other Surprising Ways to Increase Your Writing Power
Elizabeth Irvin Ross
Manufacturer: Celestial Arts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Creativity | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0890876886

Customer Reviews:

This is the most useful writing book I've ever bought.......2007-07-12

I've owned a lot of writing books and they've had varying levels of usefulness. "Writing while you Sleep" is the only one that I have kept and referred back to save for the basic reference works, such as "Elements of Style".

What's so great about this book is that the concept of writing while you sleep works both for nonfiction and fictional work. "Sleep on it," we've all heard that phrase relating to decisions. Fundamentally, people using that phrase are counting on your dreams processing the 'daywork' of your brain.

Along with the book, you need to buy a notebook and pen to keep somewhere close to your bed. You're going to wake up with ideas and the more you write them down, the more you're going to have. Don't think you're going to remember, because you won't.

Using the book to write didn't disturb my sleep. As a matter of fact, during a very stressful time while I was working on my Master's Report, I would read my research materials and tell myself as I was going to sleep that I would 'sleep on' what I'd read. I usually slept pretty soundly instead of tossing and turning worrying about whether I'd get the report done on time. When I woke, I'd make notes about what I'd processed during the night.

You can not only write scenes and reports, but re-write your dreams. Something else that might not have occurred to some is that you can use this concept to guide your dreams. If you start having a repetitive nightmare (in my case, the "I'm not going to finish this report" one) just program yourself before you go to sleep with the idea that you are going to finish the report and do well.

3 Titles By Myers - Dead End - While Others Sleep - Come Sundown

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3 Titles By Myers - Dead End - While Others Sleep - Come Sundown
Helen R. Myers
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Romance | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000NTDE2O

Product Description

3 massmarket paperback Titles By Myers - Dead End - While Others Sleep - Come Sundown

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While Other People Sleep

Manufacturer: Books On Tape
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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ASIN: 0736643184

Product Description

With her agency going great guns, Sharon McCone enjoys a reputation as one of the best detectives in the business. And thanks to a People magazine article, her profile is a lot higher these days and her digs decidedly more upscale. But the price of fame is high as an impersonator is threatening to tarnish her reputation. The faux McCone is handing out Sharon's business cards, sleeping with her clients and then stealing from them, and threatening Sharon's family and friends. She bears a remarkable physical resemblance to McCone, but more alarming is her knowledge of McCone's personal life. When her double breaks into her home, McCone knows she's up against an enemy with a plan so vicious that it will almost certainly be fatal to one of them. "Gripping...As always, Muller's straightforward, no-nonsense writing and fully dimensioned characterizations lend credibility and color to her deftly plotted tale." (San Francisco Chronicle)

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While Other People Sleep
Marcia Muller
Manufacturer: New York Warner Books 1999.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LTN5QQ

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While Other People Sleep
Marcia Muller
Manufacturer: Mysterious Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PSTSMI

Average customer rating:

EXCITING BOOK, GREAT READING
Very Exciting Book!
It's a Ten!!
Most riveting work yet from one of the suspense genre's best
Slow start - abupt ending!

While Others Sleep (Mira)
Helen R Myers
Manufacturer: Mira
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Final Stand

ASIN: 0778320413

Book Description

Who says lightning never strikes twice?

Campbell Cody has twice experienced the strike of lightning, and both times proved to be a deadly portent of things to come. The first time lightning struck, she lost her friend, and her job as a police officer. The second time, Maida Livingstone, the dear old woman she was hired to protect, disappeared.

Jackson Blade has also lost someone: a teenage girl he was tracking as a part of a drug investigation. Nothing about her murder makes sense to the undercover cop until he attends her funeral and discovers a connection to Maida . . .and Campbell.

Realizing their separate investigations are leading down the same path, Campbell and Jackson join forces to expose a killer. For Campbell, the encounter is as powerful as a bolt of lightning. But will it prove as dangerous?

Customer Reviews:

EXCITING BOOK, GREAT READING.......2004-05-10

I loved this book. Helen Myers has finally hit her stride. This is a fast-paced, well plotted story.

Romantic suspense should have a great romance, inside a great mystery. This book has both. I have read some of her other books and while they are passable, this one is great.

Campbell Cody is a likable, brave, determined woman. She is willing to go the extra mile for a friend. And when that friend disappears under strange circumstances, she sets out to find her.
Although Campbell has learned that life is not always just, that many, even in law enforcement are as corrupt as criminals, she is not. She still believes in right and wrong.

Jackson Blade is an undercover cop who has learned the same lessons as Campbell. Where she hasn't let life defeat her, Blade has just existed since his life was turned up-side down.

These two are brought together by seemingly unconnected crimes. However, as the plot moves forward, they realize they are on the same trail.

Working together to solve the mystery, they find what is missing in their lives, in each other. The mystery is solved, and two lonely people come to know themselves, in a very suspenseful and exciting way.

Overall, this is the best Helen R Myers book I have read.

Very Exciting Book!.......2004-04-15

While Others Sleep by Helen R Myers is a very exciting story. I really had a fun time reading this one!

It's a Ten!!.......2004-04-15

Helen, you've done it again! What a fantastic ride. Your talent astounds. Each new release reminds why I became a fan years ago after you hooked me with "Whispers in the Woods." WHILE OTHERS SLEEP shows the adept way you weave mystery, suspense, romance, and the complexity of human relationships into a memorable read. Rugged Jackson Blade could find no better mate than Campbell Cody - or "Bella Belle" as Blade calls her. Those two make an enviable combination! In addition, the secondary characters and lovable dog brought such richness to the plot. I'm thrilled and satisfied. This reader hated to reach the end. Thanks!! LB

Most riveting work yet from one of the suspense genre's best.......2004-04-14

Long-time fans of Helen R. Myers's work are well-acquainted with her incredible talent in creating characters you can reach out and touch. Never has this been more evident than in her latest release, WHILE OTHERS SLEEP.

Campbell Cody, the female protagonist, is just the sort of amazing lead character this author is famous for. Tough as nails with a touchingly vulnerable heart, Ms. Myers puts readers stoutly in her corner from page one.

Of course, no strong woman will accept anything less than a strong man, and that's just what fans will find in the male protagonist, Jackson Blade. A cynic by experience, this sexy-as-sin undercover detective plays his cards close to his vest and is all the more intriguing for it.

With a lush cast of absolutely unforgettable secondary characters and a plot that will keep you guessing until the last page, Ms. Myers has done it again. This is one suspense novel readers will continue thinking about for days after they've closed the cover for the last time. Bravo.

Slow start - abupt ending!.......2004-04-07

I normally enjoy this writer; however this book was a bit slow. The ending was rushed and it should never have been listed as a romantic suspence since there was little to no romance to speak of. The reader was also told about half way thru who did it so there was not even a mystery to keep the reader hooked.

A Wild and Lonely Place, the Broken Promise Land, Wolf in the Shadows, While Other People Sleep, the Shape of Dread, Eye of the Storm

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A Wild and Lonely Place, the Broken Promise Land, Wolf in the Shadows, While Other People Sleep, the Shape of Dread, Eye of the Storm
Marcia Muller
Manufacturer: Warner Books and Mystery Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SKUBM4

Product Description

Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone mysteries have won her critical acclaim and a devoted audience. With Sharon McCone, Ms. Muller has pioneered the hard-boiled female P.I. and created a character that has found a home in the hearts of mystery lovers everywhere.

5 Titles By Marcia Muller Sharon McCone Series 18-22 : 18. While Other People Sleep 19. A Walk Through the Fire 20. Listen to the Silence 21. Dead Midnight 22. The Dangerous Hour

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5 Titles By Marcia Muller Sharon McCone Series 18-22 : 18. While Other People Sleep 19. A Walk Through the Fire 20. Listen to the Silence 21. Dead Midnight 22. The Dangerous Hour
Marcia Muller
Manufacturer: Warner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Product Description

5 Titles By Marcia Muller Sharon McCone Series 18-22 : 18. While Other People Sleep 19. A Walk Through the Fire 20. Listen to the Silence 21. Dead Midnight 22. The Dangerous Hour. five mmpb books.

7 Titles in Sharon McCone Series - Wolf in the Shadows - Cheshire Cat's Eye - A Wild and Lonely Place - While Other People Sleep - Where Echoes Live - Pennies on a Dead Woman's Eyes - Shape of Dread

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7 Titles in Sharon McCone Series - Wolf in the Shadows - Cheshire Cat's Eye - A Wild and Lonely Place - While Other People Sleep - Where Echoes Live - Pennies on a Dead Woman's Eyes - Shape of Dread
Marcia Muller
Manufacturer: Warner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Product Description

7 massmarket paperback Titles By Marcia Muller in Sharon McCone Series - Wolf in the Shadows - Cheshire Cat's Eye - A Wild and Lonely Place - While Other People Sleep - Where Echoes Live - Pennies on a Dead Woman's Eyes - Shape of Dread

Book Description

This ground breaking material focuses on the psychological aspects of Life Energy. Learn how to assess the level of your Life Energy and determine the specific psychological factors which are interfering with its activation and expression. Here for the first time is a comprehensive explanation of our positive and negative emotions and how they specifically affect us mentally and physically. A complete study of the meridians and the emotions.

Customer Reviews:

More on "your body doesnt lie".......2007-03-16

Keep gaining depth in a fundamental health concept introduced in "Your Body Doesn't Lie".

Practical, thought-provoking, inspiring.......2003-07-12

This book has been essential for me in developing a concept of the healing force in myself and in everybody -- Life Energy, as the title succinctly puts it -- and how this force can be activated. The specific details about our emotions -- and how they relate to the acupuncture system -- are fascinating. I particularly find helpful and thought-provoking Dr. Diamond's use of etymology (the origins of words) in pinpointing and evoking emotional states. The many photographs and humorous or touching anecdotes -- all these contribute to this highly readable, very therapeutic volume. I find Dr. Diamond's affirmations and the acupuncture points, which are clearly illustrated, wonderfully helpful in creating a daily routine for health and happiness. I have gone on to read many other books by Dr. Diamond, but this one remains basic and essential. I highly reccomend this book.

Acupuncture meridians and the Emotions.......2003-06-14

In this ground-breaking book, Dr. Diamond presents his research findings concerning the links between specific acupuncture meridians and various precisely delineated emotional states. The connection between the acupuncture meridians and the organs of the body has been known about for centuries, and underlies much Chinese, Japanese and Korean traditional healing, and with Dr. Diamond's work connecting the meridians and the emotions we now have a link between the emotions and the physical body. Although it has been accepted that our emotional state can affect our physical well-being, and vice versa, Dr. Diamond's pioneering research is the first to examine this mechanism in detail.

This book should be required reading for anyone practicing, or hoping to practice the healing arts, either through conventional or through complementary medicine.

Just dopey........2003-02-18

I'm ashamed at myself for even reading this garbage.

The Emotions: Link Between Mind and Body.......2002-12-07

This book is a revelation! How does qi (chi) flow through the body and what impedes its flow? Dr. Diamond's research reveals that our Life Energy is basically EMOTIONAL with each acupuncture meridian representing a different aspect of our emotional make-up. Positive emotions represent a healthy flow of Life Energy while negative emotions represent an impedence of this flow. How can we transform our lives? By transmuting our emotions. This concept is so simple and its ramifications so profound that it is a wonder that noone has elucidated it with such clarity up until now. I cannot recommend this book highly enough, both for the health-conscious reader and the holistic health care practitioner!

Average customer rating:

Everything about Smoothies

Extensive

Lots of great recipes for what ails you.

Diapointed: Too Much of the Same Thing

Best Smoothies Book I have seen. Nutritional info may be dated

The Smoothies Bible
Pat Crocker
Manufacturer: Robert Rose
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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The Ultimate Smoothie Book: 130 Delicious Recipes for Blender Drinks, Frozen Desserts, Shakes, and More!

Product Features:

One of the easiest and most delicious ways to consume the recommended 5 to 10 servings a day...

Pat Crocker is a culinary herbalist and professional home economist with more than 25 year...

Sold individually (price is for 1 unit). See Product Description below for a complete description.

10"H × 7"W

ASIN: 0778800636

Product Description

One of the easiest and most delicious ways to consume the recommended 5 to 10 servings a day of fruits and vegetables is to drink them. Packed with nutrients and low in calories, smoothies are a fast, easy and great tasting way to achieve good health. The Smoothies Bible is the most comprehensive source of information to explore and detail the health benefits of these easy-to-make drinks.
288 pages, softcover.
Pat Crocker is a culinary herbalist and professional home economist with more than 25 years experience. Past president of an herbalist association, she brings her passion about herbs to many newspaper and magazine articles as well as lecture events.

Customer Reviews:

Everything about Smoothies.......2006-08-25

A to Z on smoothies....get this book and realy learn how good smoothies can be and how healthy they are.

Extensive.......2006-08-17

This is an all-encompassing book. I've tried many of the recipes and I've enjoyed most.

Lots of great recipes for what ails you........2006-07-16

I got this book for my husband for Father's Day, but I use it as much as he does! Simple to use and easy to follow, I recommend this book to anyone looking to add smoothies to their daily life.

Diapointed: Too Much of the Same Thing.......2006-06-24

I wanted a book with good smoothie recipes. I did an impulse buy and bought this based on B.Marold's rambling review found on this page. While some of the recipes are good. Most of them are just slight variations of the many other recipes found in this book. Alot of nutrition facts, too, But I don't really care about that. I'm 23 year old guy who like smoothies and things laid out simple. I was hoping to get smoothies like I get at juice bars, but this book only had recipes like the ones I found for free while surfing the net. It's the bible all right, and it will take you a lifetime to get thorugh it!

Best Smoothies Book I have seen. Nutritional info may be dated.......2005-08-16

`The Smoothies Bible' by Pat Crocker and `The Ultimate Smoothies Book' by Cherie Calbom both profess to be a complete guide to making all sorts of smoothies. In many ways, both are better than the book, `Smoothies for Life' by Daniella Chace and Maureen B. Keane which I reviewed recently. All three focus on making smoothies for good health, but `Smoothies for Life' does little else and depends heavily on ingredients available only in some health food stores.

Of the two subjects of this review, the first, `The Smoothies Bible' is clearly the better book. In fact, it is also clearly superior to a similar book by the same publisher, `The Blender Bible' which has many fine attributes, but which simply does not stack up to the `Bible' title.

`The Smoothies Bible' includes everything that makes it deserve its honorific title. The most important aspect of the book's organization is that it looks at all sides of smoothie making and even gives us a lot more information on blender use than `The Blender Bible'.

The book begins with an excellent two page `Guidelines to Good Health' with a brief on what one should eat and especially what we should avoid such as white sugar and flour, red meat, shellfish, excess salt, coffee and strong tea, and excess alcohol. I simply do not agree with the bans on flour, shellfish, red meat, coffee and strong tea.

I believe unbleached flour is simply too important an ingredient, in reasonable amounts, as a source of gluten in yeast breads to ban entirely. The stricture against shellfish is not based on the animal but on contaminants it may pick up. This is something that may not be true of all shellfish and it may improve as time goes on. I suspect the benefits of carefully selected shellfish outweigh the dangers. I feel one or two four ounce portions of red meat a week, especially for women (source of iron), is a good thing (I am especially wary of soy as a substitute for meat on seeing some warnings on soy products for some eaters in Ms. Calbom's book. It seems that there is simply no concoction on the face of this earth that has not dangers for anyone.) On coffee and tea, I believe the final jury is still out and the weight of informed opinion on something as simple as caffeine is still flipping back and forth with each new study.

I am not an expert nutritionist, but I always wonder about certain health claims for some regimens since I have never once heard from a family doctor that I should burn all my beef recipes, eat lots of seaweed, and drink pureed, cooked rhubarb, as the authors of these books seem to suggest. I am a strong believer in the value of moderation and variety. If you avoid eating a lot of any one thing and eat a wide variety of all sorts of foods, I believe you simply cannot go wrong.

But, If you buy into the superior properties of certain foods, `The Blender Bible' gives you the very best rundown of how to make the best of these foods. It continues with an `The A to Z of Smoothies' which advises us on all the different types of smoothies and how they fit into a healthy diet.

The second major section on `Health Conditions' offers us an index to the smoothies that are best suited as an adjunct to the treatment of 63 different common conditions. And, most of these conditions are pretty common and some, such as Anemia, Constipation, Diarrhea, Flatulence, Hangover, Heartburn, Hypoglycemia, Indigestion, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Overweight, Peptic Ulcers, and Water Retention may even be effectively aided by this book's recommendations. I single these out because most are directly or indirectly related to our gastrointestinal or circulatory systems, which can be quickly influenced by what we eat. Each of these 63 sections contains a brief description of the problem, general food recommendations for the problem, general suggestions on how much to eat and drink of selected items, and one or more, usually several, smoothie recipes for relieving the condition or its symptoms. From what I can see, the book is pretty careful about recommending that one rely heavily on a doctor's advice for most of the conditions.

The next section is `Ingredient Profiles' which I find interesting, but just a bit more doctrinaire than the rest of the book. Of the 76 herbs, I commonly stock or use 24, and I have no interest whatsoever in tracking down sources for the other 52 to put into my smoothies. I also disagree with a few of the health claims for some ingredients, such as when the author states that carob is healthier than chocolate, which is another of those things whose nutritional reputation is on the rise.

I really like the smoothie recipes in this book, as they are simple and contain both English and Metric units. Important since many smoothie ingredients are liquid and metric liquid measurement is far easier to double or half than English units.

`The Ultimate Smoothie Book' simply does not deserve its title when compared to Crocker's `Bible'. Three things were especially annoying. The first was that the author used the book to push her juicing products and slant the smoothie recipes toward using output from a juicer. The second was that there were several simple grammatical errors in the text. Not acceptable from a major house such as Warner Books. The third suspicious content was the fact that potassium and some other nutrients was given as a major benefit for practically every other ingredient. While this may be true, it is unhelpful when you are looking for the very best food for potassium (probably bananas). Ms. Calbom's smoothie recipes are good with elaborate nutritional analyses, but not as clearly written as Ms. Crocker's `Bible'. I recommend Calbom's `Ultimate' book only if you have a good juicer and like using it.

Average customer rating:

Blending Made Easy
Good reference for blender intensive recipes.
Disappointing

The Blender Bible
Andrew Chase , and Nicole Young
Manufacturer: Robert Rose
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0778801098

Book Description

More than 400 taste-tempting recipes for a household blender.

More than five million blenders are sold each year in North America. Whether a blender is used to make wonderful mixed drinks or healthy baby food, it is one of the most widely used kitchen appliances.

The Blender Bible is a comprehensive compendium that features more than 400 great recipes:

100 mixed drinks

100 baby foods

100 soups, sauces and marinades

100 other tempting recipes.

This cookbook gives a wide range of recipes to increase the use of this versatile and powerful machine, reflecting the latest research that baby food and mixed drinks each account for 40% of blender use.

Following in the successful tradition of The Juicing Bible and The Smoothies Bible this book offers a wide range of easy-to-use, kitchen-tested recipes.

The Blender Bible is the ideal recipe book for the basic kitchen reference library.

Customer Reviews:

Blending Made Easy.......2005-10-13

The Blender Bible was a throughly written cookbook that made using a blender fun and easy. The book is very diverse and contains recipes ranging from breakfast foods to smoothies to appetizers. This book encouraged me to take my blender out from the cupboard and make use of it. I loved this book!

Good reference for blender intensive recipes........2005-08-12

`The Blender Bible' by Andrew Chase and Nicole Young came to me as a big surprise when I opened the volume to its table of contents. Every culinary book with the word `Bible' in its title invariably comes with dozens of pages on general techniques. This book has but one page on generalities. It does not even have a section on how to evaluate blenders and the range of products you can expect at your local `Bed, Bath and Beyond' and on the interactive pages of Amazon.com. This may partly be due to the fact that the authors credit the Cuisinart Company with supplying them with machines for their recipe testing.

I do have to recant part of this rant to recognize the fact that late in the book there is a nice, three-page introduction to making baby food. Ms. Young happens to be an expert teacher on the subject of making baby foods, so I will assume that this section carries a lot more weight than your run of the mill chapter on the subject published by a blender manufacturer. This means, of course, that if baby food is one of your more important blender applications, then this book is definitely for you. Unlike all the other recipes, the baby food recipes include a nutritional breakdown, giving amounts for calories, carbohydrates, fiber, fat, protein, and iron.

I am mollified somewhat by the fact that the blender is really a very simple appliance. And, I heartily agree with the authors when they bemoan the eclipse of the blender in favor of the food processor. I firmly believe that there are tasks which the blender can handle far better than the food processor, and which cannot be done effectively by hand. While you can do as well or better than a food processor on most tasks with a very sharp knife and some rudimentary skills, you simply cannot match the results of the blender without the combined efforts of a mortar and pestle, a food mill, and a chinois. If I were forced to choose between having a blender and a food processor, I would always pick the blender.

Therefore, the better title for this book should have been `The Encyclopedia of Blender Recipes'. Appropriate to the `authoritative' tone of the title, I give this book extra credit for giving us all measurements in both English and Metric units. I really encourage any of you who do a lot of cooking to embrace metric recipe measurements, as it is so incredibly easy to size up and size down recipe sizes with metric units. And, a cookbook, which gives us the metric measurements, has already done all the hard work. My final word on this subject is that metric units are even more important with blender recipes where so many of the ingredients are measured as liquids. This advice is doubly important if you are concerned with the nutrition in the baby food recipes, as all units are metric, in grams and milligrams.

If your interest does not include baby food, your primary concern should be the quality of the recipes and the completeness of the recipe selection. As I have yet to find any cookbook on a major subject that can be said to cover its subject completely, the issue is how close does this one come.

The book's chapters beyond baby food are:

Appetizers, Dips, and Spreads 26 pages
Salad Dressings 14 pages
Condiments, Sauces, and Marinades 36 pages
Soups 50 pages
Breakfast 6 pages
Entrees 22 pages
Side Dishes 10 pages
Desserts 34 pages
Smoothies 26 pages
Cocktails 36 pages

It were me, I would have left out the Breakfast, Entrees, and Side Dishes chapters and devoted more space to dressings, smoothies, and cocktails, as these are the subjects for which one will naturally come to a blender book. Still, the selection is excellent in these key chapters.

Regarding recipe quality, I find the list of ingredients to be excellent, the procedure to be good, and the `tips' and headnotes to be worthwhile. There are only two things that caused me some puzzlement. First, I wondered why the recipe for bean soups pureed only part of the cooked beans and left most whole. My finest taste of black bean soup came from totally pureed soup. And, as this is a book on blender recipes, why not go whole hog and whiz down the whole thing. The other concern was in the cheese soup / Welsh rarebit recipes where there was no warning about heating the final cheese mixture too high, as there is a risk of its going grainy on you.

If you like single subject culinary reference books or you are especially fond of soups or smoothies or sauces or baby food (and you have no other good book on these topics), then this is a very good book to have. If you already have a relatively complete culinary library, you may wish to give it a bit more thought before laying out money for this volume.

Disappointing.......2005-07-31

When I picked up this book I was hoping for smoothie recipes that I can make in the blender. Thankfully I didn't buy this book. It only had about 10 or so pages devoted to smoothies. The Blender Bible is a comprehensive book that features more than 400 recipes: 100 mixed drinks, 100 baby foods, 100 soups, sauces and marinades 100 other recipes. I could see this book being helpful if you want to feed your baby natural foods but other than that, I found it useless.

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