G Books


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G Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

G
The Omega Plan: The Medically Proven Diet That Restores Your Body's Essential Nutritional Balance
Published in Hardcover by HarperCollins (1998-01-14)
Authors: Artemis P. Simopoulos and Jo Robinson
List price: $24.00
New price: $12.99
Used price: $1.38
Collectible price: $35.00

Average review score:

Fascinating, practical information
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-08
I found this book to be a fascinating, but very practical study of nutrition. It was presented in a way that is easily understood. It lays out a plan that the average person can apply to their daily life to change over to a healthy life style. I would say that reading this book was a life-changing event for me----I have also shared this book with my family and loved ones.

Good explaination of Crete diet
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-20
I looked into buying some books to discuss the Mediterranean/Crete/Omega diet. I did like this book the best compared to the others I had bought (Mediterranean Prescription, and The Anti-inflammation Diet and Recipe Book). This gave a worded description of how the author ate growing up and gave a concise way to think about what you are eating - think fresh and simple.
Like most "diet" books there are sections on why this works scientifically and some meal plans for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is helpful but I did skim the first few chapters. There is also a "food pyramid" and many helpful tables as to what you should try to fit into your diet.
I have been following the advice of this book (adapting the meal plans to what is doable long term for my spouse and I) and I can honestly say that I feel good, calm, and not hungry. Plus I love it that drinking a glass of wine with dinner is acceptable!
For people who are looking for a face lift on your diet, I do recommend this book.

Really?
Helpful Votes: 10 out of 16 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-31
I was surprised that this book was copyrighted in 1998. It seems that we have just now caught up with what she knew back then about essential fatty acids. That part of the book is very good and I am glad that we have finally caught up with her on this.

I haven't tried any of her recipes but I it seems that many of the recipes do not follow her traditional Greek way of cooking. I mean canola oil, for instance, certainly is not a part of traditional cooking anywhere. It is a relatively modern phenomena. She also uses white sugar and white flour in some of her recipes. Come on! These things were not part of the traditional Greek diet. And, really, do you think they used low-fat dairy products. Give us a break!

Nothing special
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-28
Nothing contained in the book that hasn't already been printed about food and etc. They advocate Canola Oil over Olive and that is the first I ever read that. Other than that I wouldn't recommend to purchase it.

I have Lupus and was looking for a cleaner, something different daily eat book.

Lifesaving Stuff!
Helpful Votes: 9 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-03
Great recipes, great information. Two RN's and my cardiologist all give this book a really big thumbs up! Plus, and this is a seriously big plus, you never feel like you're dieting.

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A World Undone
Published in Kindle Edition by Delacorte Press (2006-05-30)
Author: G.J. Meyer
List price: $17.95
New price: $9.99

Average review score:

A fresh and intriguing WWI history
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-10
I have looked for a good and intriguing and accurate portrayal of World War One to read and everything I have come across is dry. This is not dry and is very easy to read and is very thought provoking. I really like it; it makes you really question the ideas you have about World War One, and the best part about it - its fun and interesting to read!

Great Book! Buy it!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-16
I read the other reviews and thought of getting it from the library or buying a used one (cheap) but once I looked at it in the bookstore I was totally sold. It really is a fabulous collection of info with an irresistable story line leading through it. Tough to put down.

Go into the "Look Inside" feature if you can, to see the first page opening quote of Arch Duke Ferdinand. That's what sold me.

Great Book on WW1
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-18
I generally read historical fiction or historical books. I have read a number of books on World War one and "The World Undone" is a very good one especially if you are looking for a book that has enough detail to satisfy an urge to learn about the topic without getting bogged down. The book is well written, easy to read and with very useful backgroud chapters on such things as the Hapsburgs, the Ottoman empire and so forth. These background chapters were well placed, provided context that was relevant and made the book that much more enjoyable. I would recommend the book to anyone interested in this topic or in history in general.

The Teacher You Wish You had Had
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-04
Having just finished Doris Kearns Goodwin's wonderful Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, I wouldn't have expected to be blown away by a history, but this one is really impressive! Meyer's sympathy for the characters, his humor, his concern for the needs of his reader and his uncanny ability to make a huge and complex story understandable makes this one of the best non-fiction books I've ever read.

His background sections and photos are interesting and informative, provide greater context or human detail, and a break from the descriptions of the horrendous battles. The brief final section, where he follows up on the lives of the main characters is outstanding. His use of first-hand accounts, anecdotes and memorable quotes kept me involved as in a novel. I read it on my Kindle, where his the maps are pretty much illegible, but his descriptions of are so clear that I didn't feel the loss, as I have in other Kindled texts (Two Years Before the Mast, for example). BTW: The quality of WWI photos is on a par with the ability of the Kindle to display them.

Meyer is that rare writer who appreciates the tactical and strategic issues in creating a narrative of this size and applies that knowledge admirably. After avoiding this subject for years, because of the confusing and piecemeal introduction that I had to this war, I feel that I have a general understanding of it and enough detailed information to pursue a deeper study of those characters, places and events that changed our world so profoundly.

Some Variations On Common WWI Themes
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-03
Meyer's work is a good, eminently readable account of the Great War that is a relatively quick read. It avoids getting bogged down in the minutiae of military maneuvers. Unlike Barbara Tuchman's works, he focuses on a limited number of characters. You won't be searching Wikipedia for arcane names every-other-page.

Otherwise, Meyer's work doesn't offer much new to students of WWI. The villains are oft recognized from their appearances in previous accounts of the Great War. The Kaiser, Czar Nicholas II, Haig, Ludendorff, and Joffre make their obligatory appearances as either incompetents, or in the case of Ludendorff, a military genius but political failure. To Meyer, many of these personalities were well meaning, but overwhelmed by events and the enormity of modern warfare.

Where Meyer varies from common themes is seeming to place much of the blame for the immediate start of the war on the Austrians Conrad and Berchtold. Conrad broods for an opportunity to attack Serbia without appreciating enough the Russian threat. Berchtold supports Conrad for selfish, political reasons.

Meyer also apparently feels that peace "feelers" in the later years of the war were sincere and might have saved Germany from a Versailles style capitulation if Ludendorff hadn't so stubbornly clung to his no compromise position vis-a-vis Belgium and parts of occupied France.

For readers new to WWI, Meyer's work offers a well organized overview of events with logical explanations. "A World Undone" makes the complex history of 1914-1918 approachable.

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The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax
Published in Hardcover by G K Hall & Co (1984-04)
Author: Dorothy Gilman
List price: $9.95
Used price: $9.95

Average review score:

Mom liked it
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-22
I bought this for my mom, who lives in Yuma, Arizona and hasn't a lot to do in 110 degree heat in the summer. She loved it, said it was a great, fun read, and that's enough for me.

You're never too old!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-05
Listening to this tape, I was surprised by how much of it really had a timeless quality. The book was set back a ways (there's a way to find out exactly when, having to do with a character's age and the print date of a book, but I've forgotten...) and there were clues to the fact that it was not a contemporary novel - the political setting and the level of technology - but the characters really could have been plucked out of any time period. And this made it very enjoyable to listen to because I could picture Mrs. Pollifax and it really was easy to like her and root for her. Though I figured out where the microfilm went about, oh, two tapes into the six, there was enough story around the central mystery to keep me interested. I would definitely recommend it as a wonderful book to listen to (or read, I'm sure). I believe I will try a few of the other Mrs. Pollifax books...

Unexpectedly Amazing!!!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-13
I thought this might be cheesy. It was fantastic! After having loved Ian Fleming, this was a great substitute. I look foward to reading the rest of the series.

Her adventures are truly unexpected
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-07
Bored and in excellent health for a woman who is retired with nothing more to look forward to than her gardening meetings, Mrs. Pollifax decides that there are only two choices in her life. Take one giant step off the roof of her building in New Brunswick, New Jersey or pursue a dream that she has had since childhood. With the decision made she boards a bus for Langley, Virginia and decides to be a spy for the CIA. Taking place during the cold war, Emily Pollifax is sent to Mexico to retrieve important documents, that doesn't seem difficult until she is forced to outsmart Red Chinese military men with nothing more than a pocketknife and a Christmas tree. This woman could definitely give MacGyver and Forrest Gump a run for their money.

Absolutely Delightful!
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-09
This is the second Mrs. Pollifax book I have now finished and I adore them. The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax is a delight in her adventures and this one is full of thrilling adventures. I am now hooked and will be reading every Mrs. Pollifax book there is. They are thoroughly enjoyable...

G
Constitutional Law Principles and Policies (Introduction to Law Series)
Published in Paperback by Aspen Law & Business Publishers (1997-04)
Author: Erwin Chemerinsky
List price: $39.95
Used price: $14.22

Average review score:

Recommeded for Con Law Class
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-01
This book is very helpful if you are looking for a Con Law study aid or explanation book. Many of my classmates also felt they had a better understanding of Con Law while using this book with the class.

the bible for con-law
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-04
If anyone is taking Constitutional Law and is using the Chemerinsky case book, this treatise is a MUST have. You can actually get along the semester perfectly without the big case book and just reading this treatise. It explains things way better than the big book. Unless you need to know the cases straight from the language in the case book, this is just enough to do very well in this class.

Perfect Condition & Tells you what you need to know
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-28
This book cuts out all of the "bull" from your textbook and just tells you what you need to know about the cases and will probably even tell you what your teacher is going to lecture about in class.

Direct and fairly concise
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-26
This is a very helpful study aid for Constitutional law, and believe it or not, it does qualify as concise. The topic is obviously expansive, and the book does a decent job of hitting the critical points without waxing too discursive.

great con law supplement!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-28
this book really clarifies a lot of the major concepts. i recommend it to any con law student.

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Team Yankee: A Novel of World War III (G K Hall Large Print Book Series)
Published in Hardcover by G K Hall & Co (1988-10)
Author: Harold Coyle
List price: $19.95
Used price: $0.99

Average review score:

One of the best war novels out there
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-12
Team Yankee is quite an interesting book. Harold Coyle describes a war between the Warsaw Pact and NATO in 1985 in great detail. But don't expect this to be like Red Storm Rising, this book focuses entirely on small unit tactics with zero politics. The action starts immediately at the beginning of the second chapter, and it never stops.

The battles are realistic and the tactics are described in great detail in the text as well as the maps that are in the book. The maps really help you figure what's going on and what platoons are moving where, etc.

The story focuses on Captain Sean Bannon of Team Yankee, a military unit deployed in Germany during the Cold War. When war breaks out in 1985, he must lead his unit to victory. There are several other main characters including several other tankers, and an infantry sergeant. This is definetly a book you don't want to miss.

If you want to know what armored battle is like, and not have to dodge shells, just read this book.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-09
This book is, IMHO, the finest of the cold-war era military novels, and one of the finest military novels ever written, includng the writing of Patrick O'Brian and C.S. Forester.

The only book that can compare is Clancy's "Hunt for Red October", and it does not give as good a feeling as being there as does Team Yankee.

If you like military novels, or just good writing, read this book.

A good read, but...
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2004-05-24
This was the second Coyle book I read (the first being "God's Children") and once again I was compelled by his gripping battle scenes and poignant view of today's combat environment. The story flows well and was generally enjoyable and engaging.

However, by the end of the book I became disappointed because of the constant, repeated stupidity of the opposing forces. I felt cheated because it never seemed that the U.S. forces won due to good strategy & tactics as much as because the enemy used tactics a learned high school student would shun. Don't get me wrong, the book is a good read. I only wish Coyle would create an antagonist with some brains to serve as a challenging foil for our heroes.

Yamabushi's mini reviews pt. VII
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-03
Setting aside all the geo-political baggage of the day, Coyle finds his real strength with one tank platoons story in WW III. It's a shame he never went back to this style. A real shame, as this is terrific, exciting stuff you wont find else where.

Coyle makes impressive authorial debut with Team Yankee
Helpful Votes: 9 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 2004-08-23
Harold Coyle's Team Yankee: A Novel of World War III (Presidio Press, 1987) was published a year after Red Storm Rising's triumphant debut in hardcover, and although it is thematically similar (Soviet forces invade West Germany after a series of crises escalate into an all out conventional war), Coyle's approach is very different from Clancy's. Instead of creating his own possible scenario for a NATO vs. Warsaw Pact confrontation, he asked for, and received, permission from British author (and retired General) Sir John Hackett to set Team Yankee within the scenario created in Hackett's two
"speculative fiction" books The Third World War: August 1985 and The Third World War: The Untold Story.

Team Yankee takes place within a two-week period in an August in the late 1980s. Since late July, a series of crises precipitated by the Iran-Iraq war has morphed into a clash between U.S. and Soviet naval forces in the Persian Gulf region. By August 1, word comes that NATO is mobilizing and ordering their armed forces, including Bannon and Team Yankee, to their wartime positions. Soon, the Soviets and their Warsaw Pact "allies" cross the Inner German Border in force. Team Yankee and the rest of NATO's forces in West Germany must then fight the invaders and stop them before the Red Army reaches the Rhine River. After that, assuming the Soviet attack bogs down, the mission will change from merely defending territory to taking offensive operations and pushing the invaders back. The question Coyle poses is, can American soldiers, using their weapons and tactics against superior numbers of Soviet and Warsaw Pact soldiers, defeat Russian weapons and tactics?

Readers familiar with Hackett's macrocosmic World War III will know the big picture, but first-time readers will be turning the pages to see who wins, who loses, who dies...and who survives in this outstanding first novel by a true master of the military fiction genre.

The only flaw, and this is not Coyle's fault, is that reality -- in the shape of the fall of communism and the end of the Cold War -- has made the novel's setting extremely outdated. Some of the then-modern weapons, such as the M1 main battle tank, have been since updated to M1-A2 standard, older weapons have been retired, and obviously there's no more Warsaw Pact.


All in all, it's an entertaining read.

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Trifecta of Suspense
Published in Hardcover by AuthorHouse (2004-07-22)
Author: G. Novitsky
List price: $34.50
New price: $34.19
Used price: $25.00

Average review score:

Would give it ZERO stars if I could!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-17
This is a classic case of the author's many friends/family members writing great reviews for him/her. The book is TERRIBLE. First of all you can barely get through a page without finding several spelling and grammar errors. The stories are supposed to be adult-themed (foul language and all) but are obviously written by a child. The thinking and facts do not make sense and are not researched. This is like a collection of some high school kid's short stories. I myself quit school without finishing but stayed long enough to at least learn proper grammar and how to spell! I feel terrible, I had my mother buy this because of the great reviews. She paid $25 for a joke. The positive ratings have been "spammed".

Something fishy...
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-26
There's something fishy about all customer reviews on this book. They all give 5 stars and all have 100% review-reader agreement that the reviews are useful...
Having read Trifecta of Suspense I liked it very much at first but then I grew tired of the characters.... The author does not make them believeable and while that's OK at first it ends up being like reading essays by a middle school student... I am a scientist myself so the desription of the scientist in "Sheep" is just downright laughable. Usually authors do a little research first above how there characters work, live etc.
That's just one example so if i take it as an artistic touch instead of plain lack of knowledge of what real people in the real world are doing, then OK, it's interesting...

TRIFECTA
Helpful Votes: 32 out of 32 total.
Review Date: 2005-06-02
Very gripping stories, well told. Makes you feel as if you are in the story. Character development was great. Meaningful and memorable cast.
Recommend this one highly.

NOVITSKY out did himself with SHEEP and THE CEMETERY FENCE. Putting them both in here with THE MISTY DINS, put this book over the top.
The Honeymooners quotes in THE CEMETERY FENCE were a nice touch.

Clearly a new and rising talent.

fabulous mixture
Helpful Votes: 32 out of 32 total.
Review Date: 2005-04-12
Amusing, creepy, scary, and romantic. Not that I look for romance in a book. My wife wanted to make sure I mentioned that. It was romantic in a manly way though. The stories were entertaining in many different ways. That is what I liked most about it. They also tie in so perfectly in the end. They make you feel like getting to the finish is worthwhile instead of being left hanging. The geography lesson of the US was a plus. I've never been to NY or some of the other states mentioned but now I feel like I know them a little bit better. I never heard of Radcliff Kentucky until reading the misty dins. All in all I would recommend trifecta of suspense to anyone looking for a mystery novel. It is actually three in one.

Looking forward to more by this author.

EXPLOSION
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2005-09-16
THE BOOK TAKES OFF LIKE AN EXPLOSION - I SEE A CULT LIKE FOLLOWING

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A Twisted Tale of Karma
Published in Paperback by Melodrama Publishing (2005-07-01)
Author: Amaleka G. Mccall
List price: $15.00
New price: $6.99
Used price: $3.00

Average review score:

Good book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-21
I really think that the author of this book trully out done herself a great book. I can not wait to read more from this auhor.

DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER!!!!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-24
Looking at the cover of this book, I wasn't eager to read this book. Once I started to read it, it was soo good! I read this book in one day! Please go out and get this book, you will not be disappointed!

Don't sleep on a cheezy cover!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-26
For starters lemme start out by saying that i slept on this book for 2 yrs b/c honestly if that is supposed to be a picture of Milton, the main characters boyfriend, 1 he aint cute and 2 he look like a dyke not even a man. And too me the cover is just cheezy looking, however this book was excellent. At first i couldn't see how this book could have so many twists and so much evil could happen to the main character but i must say all in all she overcame everything and good things come to those who wait. I understand Milton was abused but what he did to Myra was unforgivable and it was sad but things like this really happen. If you sleeping on the cover like i was don't immediately pick this up and read now. It kind of reminds me of "Harlem girl lost" by Treasure E. Blue just the way the turn of events took place. Go buy and read!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Grass Ain't Greener...
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-14
Such hardknock lives but I always like happy endings....this was my firs AG McCall read...she went back and forth but she kept it all under control...seems like everything got a little rushed in the end... it will keep you company because you won't want to put it down...all in all I gave it 3 stars.....plus there's room for a sequel....I think....

TWISTED,TWISTED AND MORE TWISTED
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-08-11
I do not know what to say about this book. I don't think words would do it justice. This book is one of the best well put storys. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT, YOU ARE SURELY MISSING SOMETHIN!!!

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Without You: The Tragic Story of Badfinger
Published in Paperback by Frances Glover Books (1998-03)
Author: Dan Matovina
List price: $19.95
Used price: $125.00

Average review score:

Cool book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-20
This is probably one of the few books you are going to find about Badfinger, who are another very essential but overlooked rock band. Sure they had hits, but they got screwed over. The book arrived in great shape and very quickly, so I was completely happy with everything.

My brother LOVED his present
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-01
I ordered this for my brother's birthday and he loved it! The book arrived in perfect shape. This is one of my brother's favorite bands from 'back in the day'!!! He was very happy with it. Thanks

THE BADFINGER STORY
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-30
A wonderful book. I knew very little about this band other than a couple of great songs I heard on the radio in the early 70's. By the time I finished the book I felt like I'd known them all my life. I couldn't help but get emotionally involved in their plight...Highly recommend

The greatest tribute to the greatest power pop band in music
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-25
The most engrossing band bio I've ever read, and also one of the saddest stories in music. I find it funny that the two biggest debunkers of the author of this book are also two people who haven't read it! The story spans the very beggining, when they were known as the Iveys, to the ASCAP debacle in which Pete Ham and Tom Evans were utterly disrespected in front of an audience for their wonderful accomplishment of having written Without You. No stone is left unturned and unfortuntely some of the people involved should crawl back under theirs but haven't.

Dear Joey and Kathie: You can fool some of the people, but you haven't fooled me. At least Pete doesn't have a grave, or else I'm sure you would have been dancing on it quite happily. Why did you have to be part of the problem?

A handbook on what not to do in the music biz
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-12-30
The "tragic" story of Badfinger couldn't be a better title for this book or this band. So much talent and ability and such bad management and naivete' destroyed not just a band but many lives in the process. I believe every young musician should read this book and learn from their mistakes.

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Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death (Agatha Raisin Mysteries, No. 1)
Published in Paperback by G K Hall & Co (1998-10)
Author: M. C. Beaton
List price: $28.95
Used price: $19.15

Average review score:

Very Cozy...
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-01
If you looking for a light hearted & easy read then Agatha Raisin is your girl.
I love the way she is written and can not wait to continue to read the series.
A cozy kind of mystery. Not to deep. No blood or gore. Just a cozy little mystery read.

Love Agatha Raisin mysteries!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-27
And Quiche was a great kick-off to start this series. Great characters, good mysteries, fun protag. Just a good read all the way 'round.

Agatha Raisin Breaks a Few Eggs with Her Store-Bought Quiche
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-24
As a devoted fan of M. C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth series, I was intrigued to keep reading reviews of Hamish Macbeth books by people who claimed they liked the Agatha Raisin series better. But every time I contemplated the title, Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death, it just seemed too tongue in cheek to be possibly any good. Well, I was wrong. Although the book couldn't be any more satirical and much punnier than it is, the book works very well both as a straight story and as a satire. It's like getting two books for the price of one.

Since the Hamish Macbeth series started first, let me address Hamish Macbeth fans first: Think of Agatha Raisin as being one of the optimistic incomers to Lochdubh who hope for peace and tranquility without realizing what village life in Sutherland is really like. But Agatha has mostly good intentions (except towards the women in the area who drive her batty) instead of being an incipient homicidal maniac like the incomers in Sutherland. Agatha is also her own woman, and not about to take any prisoners she doesn't have to. Like Hamish, she has a crime-solving partner, Bill Wong (of the local detectives), who helps her in ways she doesn't always appreciate (like Priscilla Halburton-Smythe does for Hamish). Agatha is based, however, in the gentle Cotswolds so there won't be too many stories about brutal winter blizzards in this series. You won't miss hearing about Strathbane.

In this inaugural book, Agatha has just sold her PR firm in London (where she succeeded by being a blunt instrument in plying journalists with meals and drink and then shaking them down for stories) and decided to retire to a cottage in the Cotswolds, an area she had once visited as a child. Naturally, she has a romanticized view of what life there will be like. Having been a busy businesswoman, she now finds herself not quite sure how to fill her time. Although she had made no friends in London, she expects to make many in rural Carsely. People nod and are friendly, but it goes no further. Agatha soon makes an enemy of her next door neighbor by stealing her housekeeper. While catching up on her reading of Agatha Christie mysteries, Agatha decides she needs to get everyone's attention. Why not win a prize for baking?

Plotting her strategy, Agatha invites the quiche competition judge, Reginald Cummings-Browne, and his wife, Vera, to an expensive dinner (expecting to curry favor as it were in the quiche wars). Agatha instead ends up with a very large bill and a not very high opinion of the Cummings-Brownes. Agatha makes a quick foray to London to buy a wonderful spinach quiche that she enters as her own.

But her plot is soon foiled when the woman who always wins the quiche competition once again triumphs. Agatha leaves her quiche behind in disgust, and Vera Cummings-Browne takes it home as a snack for her husband. That night, he eats the quiche and dies of poison! Naturally, there's a police investigation and Agatha has to confess that she cheated.

Feeling like she will never make it in Carsely after such a large faux pas, Agatha begins to think she should move out and go back to London. Soon, she's between two islands of discord and not sure what to do.

The police decide that the poisoning was an accidental death, but Agatha's not so sure. Before long, she starts acting on her urge to detect . . . with consequences that definitely heat up the story.

Where most detective stories are mostly about a crime and the process of uncovering the criminal, that element retreats into the background in this book. Instead, Agatha's search for happiness is the main focus of the story. The crime and its solution are merely incidents along the way. I liked that element. In fact, this would have been a very entertaining story even if it hadn't contained a mystery.

Any time your attention threatens to flag, you can just sit there and chuckle over the outrageous satirical elements. Although you know they are overdone, you can't help but laugh . . . as you might at good burlesque sketches with imaginative pie throwing.

Although I haven't read past this book in the Agatha Raisin series, I would have to say that Agatha could displace Hamish as number one in my affections for M. C. Beaton characters.

Enjoy!

An Incomer from London Breaks a Few Eggs with Her Store-Bought Quiche
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-24
As a devoted fan of M. C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth series, I was intrigued to keep reading reviews of Hamish Macbeth books by people who claimed they liked the Agatha Raisin series better. But every time I contemplated the title, Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death, it just seemed too tongue in cheek to be possibly any good. Well, I was wrong. Although the book couldn't be any more satirical and much punnier than it is, the book works very well both as a straight story and as a satire. It's like getting two books for the price of one.

Since the Hamish Macbeth series started first, let me address Hamish Macbeth fans first: Think of Agatha Raisin as being one of the optimistic incomers to Lochdubh who hope for peace and tranquility without realizing what village life in Sutherland is really like. But Agatha has mostly good intentions (except towards the women in the area who drive her batty) instead of being an incipient homicidal maniac like the incomers in Sutherland. Agatha is also her own woman, and not about to take any prisoners she doesn't have to. Like Hamish, she has a crime-solving partner, Bill Wong (of the local detectives), who helps her in ways she doesn't always appreciate (like Priscilla Halburton-Smythe does for Hamish). Agatha is based, however, in the gentle Cotswolds so there won't be too many stories about brutal winter blizzards in this series. You won't miss hearing about Strathbane.

In this inaugural book, Agatha has just sold her PR firm in London (where she succeeded by being a blunt instrument in plying journalists with meals and drink and then shaking them down for stories) and decided to retire to a cottage in the Cotswolds, an area she had once visited as a child. Naturally, she has a romanticized view of what life there will be like. Having been a busy businesswoman, she now finds herself not quite sure how to fill her time. Although she had made no friends in London, she expects to make many in rural Carsely. People nod and are friendly, but it goes no further. Agatha soon makes an enemy of her next door neighbor by stealing her housekeeper. While catching up on her reading of Agatha Christie mysteries, Agatha decides she needs to get everyone's attention. Why not win a prize for baking?

Plotting her strategy, Agatha invites the quiche competition judge, Reginald Cummings-Browne, and his wife, Vera, to an expensive dinner (expecting to curry favor as it were in the quiche wars). Agatha instead ends up with a very large bill and a not very high opinion of the Cummings-Brownes. Agatha makes a quick foray to London to buy a wonderful spinach quiche that she enters as her own.

But her plot is soon foiled when the woman who always wins the quiche competition once again triumphs. Agatha leaves her quiche behind in disgust, and Vera Cummings-Browne takes it home as a snack for her husband. That night, he eats the quiche and dies of poison! Naturally, there's a police investigation and Agatha has to confess that she cheated.

Feeling like she will never make it in Carsely after such a large faux pas, Agatha begins to think she should move out and go back to London. Soon, she's between two islands of discord and not sure what to do.

The police decide that the poisoning was an accidental death, but Agatha's not so sure. Before long, she starts acting on her urge to detect . . . with consequences that definitely heat up the story.

Where most detective stories are mostly about a crime and the process of uncovering the criminal, that element retreats into the background in this book. Instead, Agatha's search for happiness is the main focus of the story. The crime and its solution are merely incidents along the way. I liked that element. In fact, this would have been a very entertaining story even if it hadn't contained a mystery.

Any time your attention threatens to flag, you can just sit there and chuckle over the outrageous satirical elements. Although you know they are overdone, you can't help but laugh . . . as you might at good burlesque sketches with imaginative pie throwing.

Although I haven't read past this book in the Agatha Raisin series, I would have to say that Agatha could displace Hamish as number one in my affections for M. C. Beaton characters.

Enjoy!

British asocial Jessica Fletcher type.....
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-11
...And great fun to read! Agatha first comes across as hard to take, but pretty soon we begin to appreciate her vulnerability. Set in the Cotswold villages of Britain, Agatha's adventures are closely tied in with her inability to safely navigate normal social life amongst the village. The supporting cast is wonderfully diverse, and the humor that is liberally sprinkled throughout Agatha's observations and experiences kept me thoroughly entertained chapter to chapter. I don't much care for series, but look forward to reading more in this one. I appreciated that it was PG rated, and that the main emphasis was on characterization and solving the mystery. No blood and guts.

G
The I Ching or Book of Changes
Published in Hardcover by Princeton University Press (1967-10-01)
Authors: C.F. Baynes and R. Wilhelm
List price: $24.95
New price: $11.99
Used price: $7.75
Collectible price: $24.95

Average review score:

Old man's review
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-29
Very good book to use I Ching Oracle.
Good texts and commentaries according to the translation of Richard Wilhelm.

The I Ching or Book of Changes
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-02
This is by far and away one of the best translations/interpretations out there. Not necessarily the most understandable for beginners. A lot of the imagery is culturally specific and can be difficult to understand without a background in taoism and other asian ideas. However, the different sections offer different levels of interpretation and understanding, which i find very helpful. With persistence and patience, the illumination is well worth the trouble. One of the best, easiest to explore and get to know the I Ching, is The I Ching Workbook, by R.L. Wing. There are some inconsistencies in the divination method, but if you can look past that, it is an excellent beginning text.

The I-Ching Book of Changes
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-07
This is a very comprehensive book to be studied from front to back. If you are not familier with the I-Ching, I would strongly recommend that you start with the I-Ching for beginners, then move on to this book after you have a better understanding of what is going on and how the I-Ching works and the history.

Maybe I'm not educated enough
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-26
I just have a high school education but I'm spiritual. I can understand the Taroh, The Book of Runes, The Yoruba Dominos and the I ching as written by Sam Reifler or Brian Brown Walker. But this book doesn't make a lick of sense.

The Book Of Changes
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-06
A more technical book that gives a thorough history of the I Ching, how it was used in Ancient China and contains multiple interpretations for each of the 64 hexagrams. Moving lines are defined within the definition of each hexagram with more of the ancient poetics included and the readings are probably closer to the original texts of yesteryear. Definitions of the hexagrams are more detailed than other guides but still an invaluable resource for anyone working with the I Ching.


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