John Wayne Books

Kevin Sheehan has simplified the great qualities of important leaders and placed them in an entertaining text. A gift which I have passed on to my dearest friends, this book is both inspirational and educational. My highest recommendation.

Poignant, powerful stories. Beautifully written with a distinctive and important design. This book's not to be missed--by you, your friends, your business colleagues. Bravo!

Within his book A Leader Becomes A Leader, Kevin Sheehan delightfully illustrates the essence of true leadership. He poignantly definies a diverse group of past and present leaders; while exploring their life events and characteristics of greatness. Encourage your friends, family and coworkers to read this motivational book!

The author does a phenomenal job of breaking the topic down into small manageable and inspiring readings; also covers a great cross-section of leaders and the characteristics that made them successful. I ordered a dozen copies as executive and motivational gifts.

J. Kevin Sheehan presents a celebration of what's possible in his biographical snapshots of great leaders. By focusing on the unique character traits of outstanding leaders the author transforms the mysteries of leadership into something very real. He answers the question "what made them great?" in an extremely concise and inspirational style. Great as a corporate gift or graduation present. My children have used it for school projects and I have found inspiration for my own business. No home or school library should be without this most valuable tool.

The book was used but looked brand new, came quickly and with it looking so clean, I should have no problems selling it back. Thanks!

If students plan to do well in class, this is definitely a got to have study guide for any student taking beginning Psychology.

I got this book very quickly and in great shape! I believe I did a great buy! I definately recommend buying from here.

This is a very interesting text!Chapters are a bit long & boring at times but overall great material. I just wish my professor didnt read the text word for word! Not the books fault! LOL

When asked to choose a book to use in my Introduction to Psychology class, I was somewhat unsure because there are armadas of books out there. For students, I think someone should take in price as a factor, look at what they are given in the way of student-aid and multimedia, and how good the book really happens to be. I initially chose this book because I knew someone that had used an older version of it and said that it was a good choice and, well, I couldn't be happier.

As far as the cost of the book, it really isn't bad for a new book. It keeps up with newer stuff, not really leaving you behind with outmoded material you really shouldn't learn anyhow. It also adds in newer elements to the study of the subject, allowing a student to feel out the subject without feeling like they've stepped onto the Intro bandwagon. This isn't to say that all the beginner's concepts aren't covered because they are - this is simply to say that the book takes the subjects and runs with them a lot more than most beginner material. Another thing to take into account if you are teaching a class are the number of chapters vs. the filler material. With classes becoming shorter now (many schools now have a 14 week series v. a 16 week one) the material needs to be able to sink in faster.
Happily for the students reading this, the material will do that AND the book will come with A LOT of help to making testing a positive experience.

One nice thing that comes with the book is the Concept Charts, making it east for people to see the ideas "come to life." It is easier to explain how a science goes from an idea to a modern approach by placing it in a nice graph, and the points that are added make it easier still to separate one person from another. The Chart book follows along with the book amazingly, too; I looked into it first off and saw that it took into account everything the Chapters were trying to say.

Running through the book, it covers: Evolution of Psychology, Researching, Biological Biases for Psychology, Sensation and Perception, Variations on Consciousness, Learning, Memory, Language and Thought, Intelligence and Testing, Motivation and Emotion, Development across the Life Span, Personality, Stress and Coping, Disorders, Treatment, and Social behavior. Combine this with the CD, web help, and you've got a full book of concepts.

If your teacher picked this out, MAKE SURE you get the concept charts with your book. It is good, will help you if you are going into any field dealing with psychology, and is a book that is worth keeping instead of recycling.

This important book reveals another dimension to Tolkien that remains obscured by his monumental storytelling. Tolkien was gifted with a many-sided creativity, as most artists are, and his visual creativity casts as vivid a vision of re-enchantment as his written work.

This book is much better than I thought it would be. Mostly I was curious to see more of Tolkien's art, but the text that goes along with it is wonderful. Christopher Tolkien asked the authors to write this book to showcase his father's art, and they do a wonderful job of describing the pictures, pointing out details that I missed, and putting them in context of when and where and why Tolkien drew them. Several versions of the same pictures are shown so you can see how Tolkien worked through a problem until he found the best final product. Plus the inspirations for some of the pictures are also shown, to show that Tolkien copied others sometimes, but in the end put his own mark on it. By copied, I don't mean plagarized. He drew his eagle from a book of birds to make sure he got it right, or was inspired by other artists particular works. Highly recommended if you are a Tolkien fan. If you are just into art and not a Tolkien fan, then I don't think this will interest you.

This book is a great way to collect some of Tolkien's best works of art and to get a glimpse behind the scenes of one of the greatest literary figures of the 20th century. Highly recommended.

Lleno de ilustraciones color, y algunas en blanco y negro. Me gusta porque es lo que Tolkien imaginó para sus obras... eso es lo que lo hace más hermoso. Además demuestra que Tolkien era un alma muy sensible, amante de la naturaleza, y esto se refleja no solo en sus libros sino también en sus dibujos. Me gustaría que estos dibujos estén incluidos en sus obras, no solo los dibujos de otros artistas. Hermoso, hermoso, para todos los admiradores de Tolkien.

This book features many of Tolkien's ink, watercolor, pencil, and colored pencil works. The detailed descriptions of each drawing include history, explanations, and dates. Quite a few maps are included, as well as illustrations for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It is wonderful to see how Tolkien imagined Middle Earth and its inhabitants. The colors he used are very earthy and lovely.

My favorite drawing in this book is "End of the World" done in pencil and colored pencil on a sheet of notebook paper - you can actually see the lines of the paper. It is so simple; yet, the story it tells includes subtle intricacies and complexities similar to those in his writings. I also love the pencil and colored pencil drawing, "The Tree of Amalion," which obviously blooms with the flowers of Tolkien's imagination since they do not resemble traditional flowers. Finally, the hand drawn Christmas cards are beautiful mini-stories with dancing bears and penguins, and Father Christmas making deliveries.

This book is truly exquisite, full of details and surprises for those of us who didn't know Tolkien was an extremely talented artist. It is a worthwhile purchase in my opinion.

J.H. Sweet, author of The Fairy Chronicles

We learn to pray by repeating what we hear others say. Our first prayers may be nothing more than a simple memorized prayer before bedtime or mealtime that we learn as a child. I was raised in a tradition that looked down on "prayer books" and instead advocated using one's own words in prayer. Inevitably, however, one would end up using the words and phrases they heard others say when they prayed. A prayer book is essentially the same thing, except that the prayers have been carefully constructed and often refined and polished through years of use.

One advantage of Boa's wonderful prayer book is that it incorporates the words of scripture to form the backbone for one's daily prayer while, at the same time, provides a rotating list of instructions which encourage one to pray, using their own words, over a variety of topics.

The book has provided a helpful jump start for my often lifeless attempts at prayer. It helps me pray when that is a low item on my priority list for the day. It has also helped me develop consistency in prayer. I give these books often as gifts and in the beginning of 2008 each family in our congregation was encouraged to purchase a copy that we might all grow together in our devotion to prayer.

I love the format of the daily prayers in this book and the way that scripture is incorporated into the prayer as well as promptings for personal prayer time as well. This is a great way to have daily worship and prayer time, as well as reinforcing God's word into our memory.

This is a prayer book that turned my quiet time into something i began to look forward to. Dr Ken Boa shows how verses from the Word of God, when prayed in the structure of the Lord's Prayer can transform your relationship with Him. Buy the book for yourself or better still, gift it as a blessing to somebody else!

Face to Face has become a mainstay for my time in the Word of God. The daily scriptures always apply to personal life - always timely. I like the size and covering of the book - I can take it with me anywhere - usually it goes with me daily to the gym. It is a great source of refreshment and getting my thoughts grounded back on the absolute Truth of God's Word. There's always a verse or two that I end up copying on an index card to keep before my eyes regularly.

In the introduction to this book the author writes, "The problem with prayer is heightened by the fact that people often succumb either to the extreme of all form and no freedom, or the opposite extreme of all freedom and no form". I was pretty much in the all freedom trap and felt my time spent praying was wasted a lot of times due to my inabilty to get my mind in order. This book has really helped me to improve my prayer life.

I really enjoyed the way the book is organized with gentle nudges at the end of each section to get you going in the right direction. My previous prayer efforts consisted of me basically free associating. Since purchasing this book I have found myself getting to my point or just finding what I want to say much faster and with much, much more clarity. I also learned work in a time to stop and listen for a change, too!

Another problem I had had with my prayer style was the pure inabilty to pray out loud. I'm not talking about in front of people or groups; I mean just praying out loud, alone, in my house. It was like my brain would freeze when I opened my mouth. Reading aloud the passages inluded in each section allowed me to let my mind get 'warmed up' and my prayer just flowed out after I finished reading a section.

This isn't a Book of Prayers that you just read out loud. Rather, this is a book that lets you pray God's word back to him and then nudges you in a general direction that you fully expand on yourself. I found this book series recommended on my church's website and am very glad that I found them. Just to be clear, the book isn't a Bible replacement or a list of prayers. Face to Face is organized based off the Lord's prayer and is merely a guide to developing more meaningful prayer. I highly recommend it.

There are several outstanding books on the general subject of Six Sigma and Eckes has written two of the best. Previously in The Six Sigma Revolution, he examined major corporations such as Motorola and GE in which Six Sigma programs really did create revolutions which continue as I compose this review. These are properly acclaimed successes. Of course, little (if any) attention has as yet been devoted to those organizations which initiated and then later abandoned Six Sigma programs. The reasons for doing so vary, of course, but most can be classified within two categories of resistance to change: cultural and technical. As O'Toole brilliantly explains in Leading Change, it is a formidable task to overcome what he characterizes as "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom." In this volume, Eckes suggests all manner of strategies and tactics by which to overcome resistance and then sustain Six Sigma programs, once launched. Correctly, he stresses the importance to an organization of achieving a "balance" between its culture and its technology. Moreover, at a time when change is (literally) the only constant and occurring at an ever-increasing velocity, its is also a formidable challenge to maintain the proper balance of the two. For many years, I believed that most people fear change. I no longer believe that. Rather, I have become convinced that most people fear the unfamiliar. Hence the importance of constant and effective communication between and among everyone involved. Eckes suggests that this book will show his reader how to "Create the need for Six Sigma" but, in fact, the need probably exists already so there is a need to help everyone recognize that need and appreciate the importance of responding to it. Therefore, Eckes also shows his reader how to "Shape a vision of Six Sigma so that employees understand the desired results and new behaviors of a Six Sigma organization." Also, he shows the reader how to "Mobilize commitment to Six Sigma and overcome resistance" which is inevitable. Only then can any organization change its systems and structures "to support the new Six Sigma culture." Next: "Measure Six Sigma cultural acceptance" and "Develop Six Sigma leadership." All of these components are absolutely essential, difficult to integrate, and even more difficult to sustain in appropriate balance. In this volume, Eckes explains how and he does so with precision and eloquence.

In recent years, I have become more involved in Six Sigma or process improvement programs which vary somewhat in terms of their design and scope but all of which encountered several of the "pitfalls" which Eckes discusses in Chapter 8:

1. Feeling obligated to achieve quick success

2. Clogging up agendas with competing distractions

3. Having unrealistic time frames

4. Ignoring previous quality efforts

5. Conducting poor Six Sigma cultural planning and follow-through

6. Delegating (i.e. dumping) cultural development or seeing it as a one-time event

7. Not having appropriate cultural goals or objectives

8. Not allowing for unexpected interruptions

9. Allowing false or cosmetic positive readings to suggest authentic cultural transformation has been achieved

10. Underestimating resource allocation

Of course, whether or not involved with Six Sigma initiatives, any organization can experience some or even all of these "pitfalls." In this book, Eckes offers sound, street-smart advice on how to avoid them. Time and again, he places great emphasis on the importance of cultural values by which everyone involved in a Six Sigma can be guided and, when under duress, sustained. Herb Kelleher has this in mind whenever he explains what Southwest Airlines competitive advantage is: "Maintaining excellent customer service involves a process of getting people to understand the importance of it to them in their daily lives as well as in others'. We were a little concerned as we go bigger that maybe some of our early culture might be lost so we set up a culture committee whose only purpose is to keep the Southwest Airlines culture alive. Before people knew how to make fire, there was a fire watcher. Cave dwellers may have found a tree hit by lightning and brought fire back to the cave. Somebody had to make sure it kept going because if it went out, there would be serious problems. That cave dweller was the most important person in the tribe. I said to our culture committee, `You are our fire watchers, who make sure the fire does not go out. I think you are the most important committee at Southwest Airlines.' I really do believe that to be the case." This is precisely what Eckes means by "culture" in this book. For everyone in any organization already embarked on a Six Sigma program or now considering one, this is a "must read."

Think about it. Seriously think about it. What was the downfall of your quality endeavor? Your performance improvement plan? Your Six Sigma initiative? Was the wrong strategy used or was it the wrong tactical approach? Mostly likely it was neither your strategy nor your tactical approach. The failure was most likely do to people. Most likely your people hadn't really bought in. Buy-in from your people is necessary for an initiative such as Six Sigma to be successful. The people in your organization create your organizations' culture. How do you get cultural buy-in? How can you sustain that buy-in?

In the book Making Six Sigma Last, the author, George Eckes shows us how. Through heart-felt stories, humorous personal examples, and real business illustrations the author takes us through the process needed to create and sustain a culture that supports Six Sigma.

First we learn about Q x A = E. This powerful formula shows us that: "Q" Quality, the technical and strategic elements of a Six Sigma initiative, times "A" Cultural Acceptance, of the technical and strategic elements of Six Sigma, determines "E" the success of the Six Sigma process. Then, the author addresses resistance. We are reminded that it's a natural process for people to resist change. Eckes describes four types of resistance and offers specific strategies for overcoming each. The next chapters show how to sell it and then manage it. Now it's time to ask did it work? Did you get the cultural buy-in you were attempting? How do you know? In Making Six Sigma Last, Eckes offers a model that is used to measure the cultural acceptance within the organization or as Eckes says, "how well Six Sigma has been baked into the organization". Five case studies are used to illustrate these concepts. Then through profiles of leadership, the author shares real business examples of what worked, what didn't and why. Finally we learn how to sustain the culture that will support Six Sigma initiatives with the chapter on pitfalls: 10 things to avoid.

Making Six Sigma Last is an informative and easy read. It's effective and efficient, hallmarks of Six Sigma. The book leaves you inspired and hopeful that this stuff really can work. Don't start without it!

What I enjoyed most about this book was the applied "psychology of business" in other words, how to get people (organizations)to do what you want them to do and like it!

The book gives you answers to the "what if" questions that anyone trying to succeed in changing their corporate culture has. The examples and the personal tone of the book make it a fast, informative and easy read.

No one knows Six Sigma, which seeks near perfect customer satisfaction, like George Eckes, the consultant who literally wrote the book on it (The Six Sigma Revolution: How General Electric and Others Turned Process into Profits). In his second book, Eckes emphasizes the importance of molding organizational culture to generate broad acceptance of a Six Sigma initiative, using illustrative examples from his workshops. He describes ways to overcome internal resistance to change, to sell the program's benefits and to get key people as well as the masses on board. If you are launching a Six Sigma program, Eckes provides many specific suggestions of strategies you can employ. But because much of Eckes' wisdom can be applied more generally to organizational change efforts, we [...] recommend this insightful book to any executive, whether or not Six Sigma is your strategy of choice.

The new book: Making Six Sigma Last, by Mr. George Eckes, is the the most comprehensive and excellent road map to reach corporate cultural excellence.

The previous book by Mr. Eckes: The Six Sigma Revolution, successfully teaches us the way to implement the tactical component of Six Sigma: process management excellence.

The current book is the only book to date that offers a complete process to achieve the key strategic component of Six Sigma: corporate cultural excellence.

Mr. Eckes has again produced an enjoyable, very enlightening and important Six Sigma book that is easy to read and comprehend.

It is perfect for corporate executives, managers, employees, consultants, quality practitioners, and students of best business practice.

Thank you for the opportunity to express my high regard for the outstanding book: Making Six Sigma Last.

Regards,
Marc St.James
November 24, 2001

Almost like a brief history of the era and new insights into how those movies were made. Enjoyed the ancedotes of fellow artists.

With John Wayne's 100th birth date coming up I started looking for books on him that I have not read. This book is very enjoyable reading. You learn alot about the man from his fellow co-workers and friends. I would recommend this one to any one.

Critics complain that he was a Johnny-One Note who played the same person over & over, & wasn't very good at it. I say this is Baloney.

The annecdotes & observations of the people who lived & worked with him that are found in this book show that he was able to do so much, physically, & emotionally with the characters he played.

You come away with a better sense of why you cheered, laughed, & cried under the spell of his performances. Whether you agreed or disagreed with the actions of his character, you still cared for him & cared about what happened to him

His friends, family, & co-workers loved & admired him & it shows very clearly in this wonderful book.

Sure, he drank, & smoked, & was a staunch anti-commie, but he was also a loyal, funny, kind & gentle family man who worked hard to perfect his craft & cared about his co-workers.

Read this book & understand.

I am a huge fan and relative of Herb's writings. He has a true gift for the written word and I have enjoyed all of his books. Herb, my prayers and thoughts are with you during these very trying times. I am thinking of you incessantly and the entire family prays for you daily. Godspeed.

One of the reasons Wayne was so popular was that he symbolized everything America wanted to be; strong ,brave,loyal,savvy and honest.His character was a fighter who never backed down when he knew he was right. He was a role model to millions, his screen actions were a roadmap to manhood. That was John Wayne,Icon.
But there was another side to Wayne. He was a real man,flesh and blood, and he had real thoughts and feelings,strengths and weaknesses. He was as brave as his larger-than-life screen persona in his real life,such as in the way he faced up to cancer, and very very human.This is John Wayne,the Man.
This book does an excellent job of showing both sides of the John Wayne coin,Man and Icon. It does it with stories told by people who really knew him. After reading this book you actually feel like you've had a bull session with Duke's friends and co-workers. It's got a very amiable feel to it.
The book also reminds me of Studs Terkel's books. Studs would just turn on a tape recorder and let his subjects pour their hearts out. The author here uses a similar approach. Each story is like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle and at the end of the book you can put all the pieces together to get a clear picture of the Duke.
After I finished reading, I wished I had known him too.

I just recently bought your book for my 7 year old daughter. She has a lot in common with your book. Her older brother is packing to leave for college and my daughter, Brooke, is really having a hard time adjusting. We sat down the other night and I watched as her brother read her the book. Brooke now understands that she has a "Wiggles" inside of her and that "Wiggles" will take care of her heart while her brother is gone.

My name is Korey and I am 6 years old. My mom bought Wiggles for me. My daddy went on a work trip and I was sad and my mom read Wiggles to me so I wont be sad until he gets back.

Wiggles is a fantastic book for any child. The book tells a story of a journey of a white blood cell that makes it fun and easy for kids to understand. Whether it's for a bedtime story or anytime reading, this is a book you will want to add to your child's collection.

My mom bought me Wiggles the White Blood Cell and it is a wonderful book. I am six years old and the book has helped me learn how our bodies are fixed. I enjoyed listening to wiggles travel through the body and I loved to here that wiggles home is in the heart. I am very excited to bring this book to show and tell at school. Thank you!

Brielle Clark,
Winter Haven, FL

I just bought your book for my 5 year old son. It really captured his attention and found myself enjoying reading it to him as much as he did looking at the pictures.

Let me share a quick anecdote. The last time I was in Detroit was in 1991. What I saw there so depressed me that I wrote the city off as an urban-industrial wasteland, a veritable dystopia. A few years ago I moved to Houston. While Houston certainly isn't a pretty city, I've always told myself, "Well, at least it's not as bad a Detroit."

This guide proved me wrong on both points: Detroit is a treasure-trove of marvelous 19th and early-20th century American urban architecture (albeit, much in disrepair). And while far more prosperous, Houston is, in fact, a very unattractive large American city, save the few remaining structures (perhaps a dozen) by Staub, Watkin, Cram and Finn. Sorry to irritate all my Houstonian friends, but it's true.

Ecclesiasticus! The catalog of beautiful historic churches and cathedrals ALONE is worth the price of the book. Then there are the old skyscrapers and the public buildings (such as the Art Institute). Written in standard AIA format with relatively few (400) exceptionally well-chosen entries, this book will feel familiar to all architecture lovers who've ventured into buying one (or many) of these expensive guides. You're collection is incomplete without this one, if only for the fact that it documents one of the most important and impressive collections of American urban architecture in existence. Many of the most important architects of the late 19th and early 20th centuries worked in Detroit, and most of their work remains. One thing to keep in mind is that the book features more public and institutional architecture than residential, but important residential sites are included.

The book format is perfect. The sites are well chosen. The photography is all monochrome, but the views are good and reveal the buildings well. There are even a few interior shots. Simple maps, introductory essays and architect biographies round out this benchmark entry in the AIA-sponsored series. The book includes excursions to Cranbrook and Grosse Pointe.

Detroit is still a poor and dangerous city (thanks to a completely incompetent government), but the building stock is enough to inspire a revival. And it's all still there waiting to be discovered! This guide is valuable for the architectural historian, preservationist, and armchair traveler. It may even inspire you to take a trip to old Motown for a visit!

Thoroughly researched, this book is a must have. Patterned after the W. Hawkins Ferry book I had decades ago as a student, this book updates and adds significant content about the rich architectural history of Detroit.
The writeups are informative from both a building and historical context. I loved the descriptions, such as from the Guardian Building (my favorite), "a lightning bolt of spirited inventiveness".
Take this book with you as you stroll downtown and you'll find new treasures, like the Water Department building.

Excellent!

This book covers virtually every building of note within the city limits, and many in the suburbs as well. Each building is photographed and its history and usage are described. The author is willing to criticize where he sees fit. An excellent read!

This guide it very thorough and well done. I consider it up with the AIA guide to Houston and the guide to New York as the best of these wonderful guides. I appreciated that the author also explored outside of the core city and studied Grosse Pointe and the Cranbrook; wonderful history and well researched. I was surprised that the Dodge mansion Meadowbrook Farm was omitted, but that does not detract from the fact that this is a very comprehensive guide. I have never been to Detroit, and quite frankly it has an notorious reputation, but having explored this guide I would consider a trip and that is high praise indeed.

Thoroughly researched, this book is a must have. Patterned after the W. Hawkins Ferry book I had decades ago as a student, this book updates and adds significant content about the rich architectural history of Detroit.
The writeups are informative from both a building and historical context. I loved the descriptions, such as from the Guardian Building (my favorite), "a lightning bolt of spirited inventiveness".
Take this book with you as you stroll downtown and you'll find new treasures, like the Water Department building.

Excellent!

Grat book for the beginner and experience alike. Worth the buy.

Great book for the beginner and experience alike. Worth the buy.

You can't go wrong with Wayne Gisslen's books. After being introduced to his books in Culinary School (CHIC), he is still my point of reference for recipes & techniques. Anyone who wants to cook & present like a pro - can with this book's help. The book is wonderful!

If culinary schools use him as their reference - why shouldn't you?

This is quite a valuable textbook, worthy of a place on your professional cooking bookshelf. The only fly in the ointment is the author's own confusion as to who exactly the intended audience is. IMHO, it is an advanced textbook for the student chef going to cooking school. The author makes clear that he also intends that this book be aimed at the home cook, to bring professional cooking techniques to the home kitchen; this aspect is rather more problematic. The emphasis in the recipes is on North American food circa 1993 rather than classic (i.e. French) cooking. In spite of the book's age, I find the recipes to be mostly current. There are many recipes that I like.

For the culinary student, the author assumes that you already have cooking basics under your belt, so there is little or nothing about technique or the basic mechanics of cooking. Here, the emphasis is on explanation and understanding. Each chapter starts out with a rather lengthy and informative essay; the rest of the chapter is a simple list of recipes. In the sauce chapter, for example, the various ingredients and their functions are explained, and the usual litany of families and mother/secondary sauces are dispensed with. The recipes have both English and metric measurements. They also have two yields: 4 portions (home size) and 16 portions (restaurant size). The recipes are all bunched together at the end of each chapter, so this book also makes a useful reference for those who simply want a specific recipe. Better yet, there is a listing of all recipes in each chapter right after the TOC, making it super easy to find that recipe you are looking for.

For the home cook, the situation is a little more dicey. The author assumes a rather high level of experience and proficiency ("The recipes for these small sauces are given in abbreviated format rather than in detail, since you should be familiar with the basic techniques for making small sauces from the leading sauces". In Soups, "The recipes included in this chapter are primarily new and sometimes unusual ones. For the most part, you will not find traditional recipes that you probably have already learned". Most chapters contain similar warnings about the explanations provided.). Even so, you have to be careful about wending your way through some of the chapters (in Sauces, the author assumes that you already have a ready supply of brown stock, chicken stock, and demi-glace). While he is correct in stating that many professional cooking principles can be successfully brought into the home kitchen, there is much that is not really suitable for the typical home cook. So, if you are an accomplished amateur chef, this is a good resource for you. Better, it gives you a glimpse into the professional kitchen, just in case you have an inkling to turn your avocation into your vocation; in this case, save this book and pick it up again towards the end of your schooling.

One of the best statements I seen recently about cooking: "The only real `secret' of professional cooking is that there are no secrets. The techniques are based on easily understandable concepts that are as relevant to the home cook as to the professional". Indeed so.

In Soups: "Sometimes unusual combinations work, but sometimes they are just strange". Chefs/restaurateurs of "fusion" restaurants, please take note.

p.197 (talking about flavored liquids for poaching fish) "It is helpful to note that, while the combinations of ingredients in these kinds of recipes are new, the basic procedures are based on the classic methods. This again is an important reason for learning the classic cuisine well". Hallelujah.

Referring to garde manger: "This does not mean, however, that the most elaborate or intricate presentation is the best. `Keep it simple' is a good rule of thumb. Food is not made more appetizing by excessive handling". Amen.

The only disappointing material is the chapter on vegetables (sigh...).

It has these chapters: The Professional Approach to Cooking, Basic Cooking Methods, Sauces, Soups, Salads-Pastas-and Other First Courses, Fish and Other Seafood, Poultry and Feathered Game, Beef-Lamb-Pork and Veal, Miscellaneous Meats, Vegetables, Garde Manger.

`The Chef's Art' by Wayne Gisslen is a textbook on modern French technique, as interpreted by American chefs and American cooking schools. Two of the few problems with the book are when the author tries to represent this book as an embassy from professional cooking to the home cook and as a manual of American cooking.

This is through and through a book of professional techniques. One of the very few concessions Gisslen makes to the home cook is to begin with a chapter of material that a freshman at the Culinary Institute of America would already know. One of the most impractical assumptions the author makes is that by reading this book, the home cook will buy a good kitchen scale for weighing ingredients to the gram or to the quarter of an ounce. Yeah, right! There is no question the minds of anyone who knows anything about baking that weighing flour carefully is clearly a good thing. But, TV chef / educators such as Rachael Ray, Tyler Florence, Giada De Laurentiis, and Jamie Oliver would simply not be as popular as they are if they did not liberate the home cook from careful measurements when doing savory dishes in a saute, braise, stew, grill, roast, or bake. This doesn't mean that this ad libbing style of cooking doesn't need a fair amount of experience so that you can have a pretty keen sense of how much a tablespoon of olive oil looks like. This is why I like metric quantities so much, since I spent ten years as a professional chemist and can tell the difference between 5 ml and 15 ml a lot easier than I can between a teaspoon and a tablespoon, until I memorized the fact that a teaspoon was 5 ml and a tablespoon was three times the size of a teaspoon.

I say all this because this is really an excellent book. It's just that if you believe the glosses on the cover and think you are getting recipes for home cooking, you would be very disappointed. You would be much better off spending your money on a copy of `The Joy of Cooking', because what you are getting is much closer to Escoffier than it is to Irma Rombauer or even to Julia Child, for that matter. Child taught us French home cooking. Gisslen's book is `haute cuisine' straight down the middle.

On the other side of the coin, Gisslen's book is really great for conveying general techniques, especially the great techniques of French stocks, sauces, braises, gratins, soups, salads, and vegetable cookery. While this is new breed Escoffier, there are many classic French dishes and techniques that are not here. There is not a hint of a souffle, a crepe, an omelet, or a pastry. Not even any savory tarts. But for those techniques he does cover, Gisslen is very, very good. He may even be as good as Jacques Pepin for explaining techniques, although I think the photographs in Pepin's `Complete Techniques' are better (not as dark and with better focus and more of them) and for a complete treatise on sauces, James Peterson's classic on `Sauces' is better. But, this is still a very good book for covering the important bases of French technique.

One application for which I have found very few good cookbooks is in cooking for a crowd, as you may do for a large potluck gathering or a church social, or even for school cafeterias, where you need soup by the dozens of servings and stock by the tens of gallons. For cooks with such needs, this book may be a godsend, as long as what you want to make is in Gisslen's Franco-American lexicon. Gisslen accomplishes this by giving the quantities for all his recipes in four different measurements. Two columns of units are in standard U.S. units giving four or 16 servings and two columns in metric measurements for the same two serving counts. And, I encourage you to use the Metric unit columns, as I believe it is as easy or easier to measure out 60 ml than it is to measure 2 oz.

Since there are no omelet recipes, I loose one of my favorite means of evaluating a cookbook, but there are still plenty of recipes for stocks for me to ponder. And, I am humbled, because Gisslen is quoting Escoffier and other French culinary authorities chapter and verse in calling for very long simmer times for stock making. While I am certain Gisslen's stock recipes will produce excellent results, this is a bit much for the casual home cook and may even strain the avid foodie's patience. And, I would not suggest you leave 8 quarts of hot water sitting on a live burner unattended for more than a few minutes. Especially if this is your first time at major league stock making.

If this book interests you, I strongly recommend you read the first several chapters from front to back, at least through the chapters on sauces, stocks, and soups. From there, skim over the recipes, but read all the general information from cover to cover. The placement of the stock and other utility recipes at the end of the book is a bit annoying, but you can live with it, as this is a very, very nice book to become familiar with professional doctrines and techniques. It may not be quite as good as Pepin on technique or quite as authentic or complete as Escoffier, but it is a worthy book if you need to cook it right and in large quantities.

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It's a great product. My grandparents were big fans of John Wayne, so I grew up surrounded by everything from collectible plates to the movies and absorbed it all like second hand smoke, so for me, the calendar is a double dose of nostalgia.

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The JW 2007 Calendar was very good the photo's taken of the Duke with the different scenery background were very spectular and the photos are superb.