Scott Wolf Books

TALKING WITH MY MOUTH FULL is a collection of winsome essays with recipes attached by Bonny Wolf, journalist and NPR correspondent. It seems as if today's food journalists come from one of two diametrically different backgrounds: either they were raised by parents who nearly poisoned them (think Ruth Reichl) or they were raised by parents who passed along their delight in food. Wolf belongs to the latter group, having grown up a baby boomer in Minneapolis reveling in particularly middle-class American institutions which she celebrates and has elaborated on as an adult. Just when you think America has gone to the food dogs with the endlessly vacant discussion of green bean casserole at holiday time, along comes Wolf to say, really, we're eating some good stuff here and we should just enjoy it. Much of it is comfort food and none of it is more difficult and elitist than what a family might serve at a dinner party for friends and family.

Her joie de vivre is contagious as she explores everything from the history and revival of Bundt cakes, regional foods, aprons, dinner party disasters, state fair fare, pot luck suppers, DC's (pre-fire) Eastern Market, Baltimore's crab cuisine, etc. Food as she talks about it is inseparable from place, friends, family, memory and living. Before I knew it, I was marking recipes to try and jotting down titles of old cookbooks to seek out. I doubt I'll overcome my aversion to Jell-o and do the retro thing and make a molded salad, and I'm not going to use lard or suet in the pastie pastry, but Wolf otherwise has me hooked.

I loved this book -- I had originally checked it out of the library, but had to buy my own copy. I wanted to write notes in it, mark passages to share with my parents -- it's a book that inspires you to think about families and food, plus it has some wonderful recipes. A must read.

Bonnie Wolf has written an absolutely beautiful meditation on the subject of food and its relationship to people. Throughout the reading of the book, I found myself nodding and thinking "The woman knows of what she speaks", particularly in her fantastic section on comfort foods. In the photograph on the book cover, Bonnie looks like someone I would very much like to know -- her kindness and joie de vivre shine through on every page. And the recipes, the recipes. Alas, too often reliant on processed ingredients which are not (and God willing never will be) available here in Eastern Europe where I live, but the recipes, the recipes! Thank you, Bonnie!

I loved this book. It was so real, reading made me hungry to try the many recipes. Though on some subconscious level I realized the importance of food, cooking, and recipes in my life, to have it written in such a way made it wonderfully apparent how. I too was a bit disappointed with how abruptly the book ended, I wanted a conclusion of sorts. Still a very wonderful book with special meaning to those of us who realize our lives are intertwined with food experiences.

"Talking with my Mouth Full" had me laughing with my mouth full of Bonny Wolf's comfy recipes.

What a book! I recently saw Mr. Deming's presentation at a national conference in Dallas. After his presentation, he did a book signing and I bought The Brand Who Cried Wolf. I had it read from cover to cover by the time I got home the following day! This is one of the most inspirational and TRUE books I've ever read. Mr. Deming has not invented anything new here. What I mean is, the processes and ideas are already out there, but the way in which he explains them - with the stories and the humor and the compassion - it's just incredible. I found myself captivated by his style and message during his presentation and the same thing happened reading the book. It's just full of wonderful ideas that you can immediately apply to your personal and professional life. I am buying a copy for every member of our customer service department. Whether you're a professional wanting to improve your organization, or an individual wanting to improve the relationships with those around you, this is the book! I highly, I mean HIGHLY recommend it!

This book reads more like a fast paced, New York Times best selling story, rather than a business book. Don't get me wrong, this is definitely a business book. In fact, probably one of the best business books I've read in many years. But it doesn't read like one. It's fun, full of incredible ideas and processes, inspirational and incredibly transfomational. When reading this book, I felt like I was having a conversation with the author. That's how he writes. As if he's standing there having a one on one discussion with you. Because of Mr. Deming's ideas and unique processes, I have already changed the way I approach situations and relationships, both personally and professionally.

My favorite chapter is chapter eight. This is where he teaches the reader how to truly understand their own brand. No faking, no veneer as he puts it. No pushing hot buttons to make a sale. Just understanding who you are and then creating sincere and unique interactions with those around you. This in turn will get people to trust you forever and become your evangelists. I also love his take on the ripple effect. As he writes "Your actions generate far reaching ripples." He tells about the real effects of our actions, both positive and negative, then he gets into a true story about Sears that is both eye opening and absolutely hilarious!

This book is going in every office in our organization. It's a fast read and one you'll want to read over and over again. I highly recommend this book to anyone with the sincere desire to improve their personal and professional image. Or as Mr. Deming puts it- your Brand.

Deming's message is a must read for anyone who has competition. How do we make our competition irrelevant? How do we create customers for life? The Brand Who Cried "Wolf" delivers a proven and effective approach to develop lifelong customer relationships. If you want to create a leadership position in this experience economy -you must read and re-read this book and then act on the wisdom Deming skillfully presents!

Chandler

Wow! What a great book. It arrived this afternoon - never intended on finishing it this evening. After reading the first chapter, I was hooked. It's that good! This is the second book on branding I've read this month. The first was "Footnotes" by Kenneth Cole. That book, also excellent, shows the finished product. In "The Brand Who Cried Wolf", Deming shows you how to get there... and stay there. Whether you run a large corporation or a home based business, you will learn a great deal from this fun read. Just like Disney, Deming understand the power of a good story. Each of the ten chapters cleverly starts with a brief fable to illustrate a key point. Deming then follows up with countless up to date examples of how companies succeed, and more importantly, fail to achieve success in branding and customer satisfaction. Deming really hits the nail on the head with his comparison of Costco and Walmart.
This is a very well written book filled with stories to inspire. The type of writing that obviously comes from years of experience and a passion to help others. As Deming mentions in chapter eight, "you can't fake sincerity".
To sum it up - Don't think you need to be a business owner to buy this book. This is a great lesson of customer satisfaction and communication skills for anybody who interacts with others on a daily basis. Deming seems well versed in what it takes to form a successful relationship - both personal and business. I'm just glad he took the time to share some of his insightful stories with the rest of us.

I'll admit that I was a bit skeptical when I first felt that the title of this book didn't sound grammatically correct to me (I'm the guy muttering "It's 15 items or FEWER" to my wife, every time we're near the express lane at the supermarket) - I thought that the right title should have been "The Brand THAT Cried Wolf." But, Deming quickly and convincingly explains that "The Brand" is more than an inanimate corporate symbol ... it's my company, it's my department, it's me ... and, thus, deserving of the "Who" in his title. Deming uses a pleasing blend of children's fables (which, I will admit, were enjoyable to get caught up on and, in some cases, to read for the very first time), business cases, hypothetical situations and personal experiences and anecdotes to put his principles into meaningful perspectives. I continually found myself playing a mental game of "Can You Top This" with Deming every time he gave examples of unique, emotional, memorable business experiences that caused him to become, as he would put it, a "Brand Evangelist." Likewise, I found myself playing the same game (probably with a little more fervor) whenever he gave his examples of such poor service that caused him to become a "Brand Antievangelist."

Coincidentally enough, just 2 days before reading this book, my family and I rented a movie that seems to be a perfect and real-life exemplification of Deming's "You-Are-Your-Brand" hypothesis: "The Pursuit of Happyness." Based upon a true story, it's about Chris Gardner, a down-on-his-luck salesman who can't buy a break, even after he is given the "opportunity" to compete against 19 other unpaid interns at a stock brokerage for 6 months for one permanent position. His successes started only after he began creating unique experiences for his prospects and clients rather than just those typically provided by such brokerages. His first big "splash" took awhile, but the ripples that resulted got him the business he needed to beat the other 19 and earn the job. (I wish that I had read this book first!)

Definitely a good, fast and worthwhile read. And definitely not you father's book on branding. And that, here, is a good thing.

Appeared in Sing Out! the Folk Music Magazine, June, 2003 by Rich Warren
Scott Alarik is arguably the finest contemporary journalist covering the folk community. Alarik begins with a succinct, well-reasoned definition of folk in his introduction and moves on. (He considers the word 'folk' to include the contemporary aspect of the music, and prefers using 'traditional' or 'traditional folk music' when describing the older music.) For this book, Alarik has collected more than 300 columns primarily written for the Boston Globe (along with a few written for these pages) over more than a decade; from Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer in September 1991 to The Mammals in August 2002. As a performer himself, Scott brings considerable knowledge to the table, knowing what questions to ask and how to approach his subjects. You'll find conversations with Dar Williams, Pete Seeger, Gordon Bok, Hankus Netsky of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, a good number of Irish artists and even Patricia Monteith, station manager at WUMB. However, unlike some others writing about the community, Scott is objective without an axe to grind or a chip on his shoulder. He handles the descriptive prose and invites the artists to do the talking. While Scott removed dated references, the book does read like a collection of columns, often ending abruptly. As a newspaper writer myself, I know the brick wall of column length limitations. Many times I wished the short pieces were longer with a more graceful flow. One very distracting newspaper style element is putting one quote in each piece in large type, about 10-points larger than the body text. Obviously, the book is Boston oriented, but that should not lessen enjoyment for readers in Omaha or Sacramento. Sadly for researchers, the book is not indexed. The sub-title, Adventures in the Modern Folk Underground, captures the essence of this book. It is rich with nuggets of intelligence and insight. Scott gives us the stories behind the songs, the singers and the music. He covers a multitude of subjects, with many artists turning up in more than one chapter. Even if you never read a word, the scores of Robert Corwin's black and white photos are worth the price of admission. Corwin's lens brings to light whatever soul Alarik might miss with words. While some interest in the folk community is likely a prerequisite to an interest in this book, others would do well to understand that, in a broader sense, the folk community is a microcosm of the larger music community. There's a lot to learn here. If someone approached me wanting to know more about this music that I love so dearly, I would buy that friend a copy of Deep Community.

Author, songwriter, and folksinger Scott Alarik is fully qualified to document the current U.S. Folk Scene. His new book, Deep Community: Adventures in the Modern Folk Underground (2003), is comprised of articles he has written between 1990 and 2002 for the Boston Globe newspaper and Sing Out! The Folk Music Magazine. Black & white photographs by the noted music photographer, Robert Corwin, add immediacy and drama. Published by Ellis Paul manager Ralph Jaccodine's Black Wolf Press, Deep Community is comprehensive in scope, detailed in its appraisal, and accurately researched. There are illuminating interviews and articles here about older generation performers, musicians of every stripe, from traditional to pop, including Celtic, Klezmer, bluegrass, old timey, new acoustic, cowboy, blues, and songwriters, some Music Industry acts as well as grass roots & DYI performers, the New England dance community, managers, agents, record producers & labels, coffeehouses & commercial venues, festivals, concert promoters, folk radio, folk arts & educational organizations, and, of course, today's hottest young stars, all presented up-close & personal. Mr. Alarik writes from a valuable three-pronged perspective: his Boston Globe pieces are tailored for broad readership, his Sing Out! articles for a targeted folk music audience, and all are informed by his many years as a professional folk performer. Throughout the book, his extensive knowledge of folk music, its values, and its value to the culture is obvious. Mr. Alarik writes with insight, humor, curiosity, and profound respect for his subject. This is a fascinating, intelligent, and imminently readable book presenting ideas & perspectives that resonate far beyond the boundaries of the folk world. My only complaint is the lack of an index.

Appeared in Sing Out! the Folk Music Magazine, June, 2003 by Rich Warren
Scott Alarik is arguably the finest contemporary journalist covering the folk community. Alarik begins with a succinct, well-reasoned definition of folk in his introduction and moves on. (He considers the word 'folk' to include the contemporary aspect of the music, and prefers using 'traditional' or 'traditional folk music' when describing the older music.) For this book, Alarik has collected more than 300 columns primarily written for the Boston Globe (along with a few written for these pages) over more than a decade; from Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer in September 1991 to The Mammals in August 2002. As a performer himself, Scott brings considerable knowledge to the table, knowing what questions to ask and how to approach his subjects. You'll find conversations with Dar Williams, Pete Seeger, Gordon Bok, Hankus Netsky of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, a good number of Irish artists and even Patricia Monteith, station manager at WUMB. However, unlike some others writing about the community, Scott is objective without an axe to grind or a chip on his shoulder. He handles the descriptive prose and invites the artists to do the talking. While Scott removed dated references, the book does read like a collection of columns, often ending abruptly. As a newspaper writer myself, I know the brick wall of column length limitations. Many times I wished the short pieces were longer with a more graceful flow. One very distracting newspaper style element is putting one quote in each piece in large type, about 10-points larger than the body text. Obviously, the book is Boston oriented, but that should not lessen enjoyment for readers in Omaha or Sacramento. Sadly for researchers, the book is not indexed. The sub-title, Adventures in the Modern Folk Underground, captures the essence of this book. It is rich with nuggets of intelligence and insight. Scott gives us the stories behind the songs, the singers and the music. He covers a multitude of subjects, with many artists turning up in more than one chapter. Even if you never read a word, the scores of Robert Corwin's black and white photos are worth the price of admission. Corwin's lens brings to light whatever soul Alarik might miss with words. While some interest in the folk community is likely a prerequisite to an interest in this book, others would do well to understand that, in a broader sense, the folk community is a microcosm of the larger music community. There's a lot to learn here. If someone approached me wanting to know more about this music that I love so dearly, I would buy that friend a copy of Deep Community.

Library Journal
Alarik, folk writer for the Boston Globe and music critic for National Public Radio's Here and Now program, has compiled nearly 125 of his brief articles to capture the spirit and substance of folk music at the turn of the 20th century. Initially published in Sing Out!, the Boston Globe, and Folk Music Magazine, these sketches portray a wide range of folkies, including the well known (e.g., Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, and Emmylou Harris), the seasoned veterans (e.g., Utah Phillips and Ronnie Gilbert), the up-and-comers (e.g., Bill Morrissey, Dar Williams, Greg Brown, and Chris Smither), the relatively obscure (e.g., Jerry O'Sullivan, Natalie MacMaster, and Aine Minogue), and important folk entrepreneurs (e.g., Chris Strachwitz and Ralph Jaccodine). Though focusing on singer-songwriters and the sounds of his home base of Boston, the author defines the folk genre to cover a broad expanse of musical styles, including Celtic music, bluegrass, country dance, acoustic blues, the women's music movement, and the Latin revival. He emphasizes such themes as the crippling effects of the fickle music business, the potential of the Internet for folk, the importance of tradition, the definition of folk music, gender in folk, and the sense of community engendered by folk artists. Fascinating, informative, well written, and enhanced by Corwin's photos, this book offers an essential primer to the continuing folk revival that first blossomed during the 1980s. Highly recommended to anyone remotely interested in American music, folk, and the music industry.-Dave Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

CORRECTED REVEIW:

DEEP COMMUNITY by Scott Alarik
July 15, 2003

Reviewer: Susan E. Naiman-Pascar (see more about me) from Lynn, MA United States
"Deep Community," authored by Scott Alarik, is an incredibly insightful, exquisitely written and well put-together book, a patchwork quilt woven of stories and reviews about the modern folk genre and the music that comes out of a music community segregated (Thank goodness!) from the mainstream of the pop music culture. It has always been so, and as most mainstream music trends have been born and died, folkmusic stays ever-bouyant and followed by its loyal fans. It has evolved to include ancient, traditional, topical, blues, and merging new styles of music such as "Afro-Celtic." "Deep Community" is a DEEP examination and look inside the hearts and minds of the artists, songwriters, singers and musicians who create this music and perform it.
I have been a "folkie" since I attended my first Newport Folk Festival in the summer of 1963, entered art school in Boston that same September and Harvard Square became my "hangout." I became a member of Club 47 on Palmer Street just outside the Square and was a regular attendee every Friday and Saturday night until the club closed its doors in October of 1968. The club opened again a few years later, has changed hands several times and is presently a strong and ongoing folk establishment now known as Club Passim.
Once again I am proud to be a member and recently attended a book release and music night the club hosted for Scott's book. Present were Ellis Paul, Vance Gilbert, Robbie O'Connell, Catie Curtis, Aoife O'Donovan and Aine Minogue. To start off the evening, and between the two sets by all of the performers, Scott read exerpts about each one from his book. It has to be one of the best evenings of folkmusic I've ever attended.
Like that evening, "Deep Community" is a collection of reviews I've been reading for many years from Scott's career as Boston Globe's folk critic. The artists run the genres from Pete Seeger, Tom Rush, Judy Collins, Bill Morrissey, Joan Baez and Utah Phillips to newer and younger artists such as Ellis Paul, Vance Gilbert, Dar Williams, John Gorka, Eddie from Ohio, Christine Lavin, Richard Shindell, Patty Larkin, Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, just to name a few.
Aside from Scott's individual, truthful, creative and unrepetitious reviews, the artists' thoughts and feelings about their reasons for being folk performers, their love of the music, and their dedication to preserving and keeping folkmusic alive are interspersed throughout the book. The book is written from Scott's own experience as a folk performer and his perspective as a gifted writer. I don't want to say too many specifics or make too many references because I want you to buy the book, read it for yourself, and see why it should be an important and integral part of your folk library.
Along with Paul Stookey's and Geoff Bartley's reviews, and artists I've personally had the good fortune with whom to discuss Scott's book, I feel there isn't enough to be said about what a folk masterpiece and fitting tribute "Deep Community" is to a medium I hold passionately to my heart and to the man who wrote it. Thank you, Scott!!!

PS.....By the way, Scott is also a talented and diversified singer/songwriter and musician in his own right. If you have a chance and he's playing in your area, be sure to catch his show. Though he often performs on his own, he also has a wonderful and unselfish habit of doing shows that showcase and expose to us folk fans several new and gifted performers on stage within one evening's entertainment.

This is a wonderful collection of images. One of the most beautiful wildlife collection I've seen in a long time. A must for wolf lovers!

THIS IS THE BEST OF THE MANY BOOKS I'VE SEEN ON THE DAILY LIFE OF WOLVES. THE PHOTOS ARE GRAND AND MR. BARRY'S WRITING BRINGS YOU INTO THEIR WORLD. IT SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING IN EVERY CLASS ROOM IN THOSE STATES THAT WANT TO HUNT WOLVES AGAIN. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR ALL AGES.

This book was awesome, if you're a wolf lover at all you'll love this book. It has great photo's of the wolves lives and their personalities really shine through on each and every page!

The pictures were fantastic. A great book for anyone interested or wants to learn about wolves.

I have a deep fascination with wolves and I'm always on the lookout for more to read about them. This book was a gift from my husband, and it didn't disappoint. Barry's writing is friendly, informal, and informative. He is clearly in awe of his subjects and treats them with respect, but also has a sense of humor that makes his text and his photography equally engaging. If you skip over the text, that's fine, because the main attraction is the photography. Barry captures some truly intimate pictures of wolves. They are at once as familiar as domestic dogs and as fierce and mysterious as folklore has always depicted them. The elaborate rankings and rituals of wolf society are depicted and helpfully explained, but what really interested me were the shots that showed the individual personalities that make up a pack, and the pictures of wolves' faces that were so expressive. The stark black and white tones allow you to focus fully on the wolves, but Barry's descriptions of a wolf's eyes or the subtle shading of color in its fur made me wish at least a few pictures had been in color.

Ok somehow the guys and girls at white wolf already know how to do excellent books and superb things. This is a great book. The first edition also was excellent but this second edition rulebook is AWESOME.

Full of great charms, rules, animas even better, more things to do and have.
The story is full of possibilties, every House is great and all trademark characters have been redefined. WOAW.

A must have. Trust me.
Worth every cent! [or pesos]

All in all, I'm enjoying the 'recasting' of Exalted, and this book is no exception. This book greatly expands on the first edition book, and with the Realm setting shunted off into a companion volume (Compass of Celestial Directions 1: the Blessed Isle), the extra room is well-used in presenting Dragon-Blooded society, along with great ideas on how to run a DB-based campaign, as well as how to leverage DB's in a Solar-based campaign.

Excellent product. Great imagination and inspiration for a game based on this location. Way better than anything I could have thought of doing.

Eldritch Sorcery is exactly what it says it is: a giant book of spells.

This book contains hundreds of new spells for all of the core d20 spell casting classes, plus Assassins and Blackguards. I was impressed with the number and variety of spells available. There's a heavy emphasis on Evocation, Necromancy and Transmutation, but all of the schools are well represented. Illusion is the only school that seems to have gotten the short end of the stick.

The book is well laid out and very text dense. Unlike most d20 sourcebooks, Eldritch Sorcery contains no new Prestige Classes and only a handful of new Feats. This is a huge plus for me.

I love this game! I love this book! War Is Hell! This book makes it heaven...

Captian Buzzy Wilson U.S.A.F. Ret.

If there is one RPG book you need about Medieval Europe, it is this one. It covers almost every part of the continent and has details that could enrich your medieval chronicle, no matter the system. I still read it to find new information, even after so many years. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Companion not only includes the Merits and Flaws left out of Lasw of Ascension, but it also contains information on the Technocracy, more optional rules, information on Archmages, Wonders, more rotes and even ideas for places to host your LARP game.

I have found this book to be absolutely necessary for my game.