Q Books

We live in a bustling, whirling, noisy, roller-coaster of a World. Mrs. Baker reminds us that this is what life is and we can gain a great deal of healing by accepting the ever-changing terrain of life and enjoy it. Her book is filled with gentle reminders of how we can regain composure, focus and inner peace. Each "thoughtful moment" is like planting a seed. As I go through the days, weeks and months, this seed continues growing and begins to yield bountiful fruit as I maintain that inner reflection on my interactions in life ... this is a must read for all people who work with people and especially for those who work in stressful settings.

A Thousand Paths to Tranquillity is an amazing collection of quotes and sayings intended to help one achieve a state of mental peace and calm.It is organized into sections each devoted to a different aspect of tranquillity,such as calmness or perspective.It also includes a section of inspiring quotes from various historical figures,each carefully chosen for the depth and impact of their meaning.The pages themselves are quite beautiful,with a glossy finish and a images of flaura and artistic designs.With sayings like "Look at a situaton from a different perspective,and new possibilities open up",this book is perfect for getting a new look at life.

As a cookbook collector I have certainly seen hundreds of cookbooks, some wonderful and some less so. Sometimes the author has a wonderfully approachable style and very easy-to-approach recipes, but the recipe selections just don't fit my palate. And sometimes the very opposite is true. Lately I have found how much I enjoy cookbooks that are filled with full-color photos -- it is almost better than eating to page through the book and just "devour" the photos!

Now we come to Three-star Cuisine. Not very impressive at first glance. No lists of ingredients in the recipes, no step-by-step instructions, no colorful photos (or even line drawings). And yet, this is one of my absolute favorite cookbooks ever. It is chock full of the most do-able "three-star" recipes I've ever encountered in one cookbook. No fuss, no muss, no complicated list of spices with odd names, or ingredients one can only buy in a well-stocked deli.

The recipe for Duck l'orange is one simple paragraph. And the last line is a suggestion to serve it with a mixed salad, shoestring potatoes, peas or stringed beans. Yet this recipe is all you need to produce a delicious Duck l'orange, I assure you. I have never once failed. Likewise, the recipe for flourless Sacher Torte. One even shorter paragraph. And again, this recipe has never failed me. This is an indispensable cookbook for cold buffets or dinner parties. It can also make an everyday meal into a special occasion -- without fuss. The hors d'oeuvres and desserts sections are worth the price of admission alone.

The recipes are all followed with wine suggestions, which is a nice touch. There are recipes for sauces, hors d'oeuvres and cold buffet, soups, fowl, meat, fish, egg dishes, chafing dishes, desserts, and a well-organized index. (Have you ever noticed how important a good index is to a cookbook?)

Bomer von Marx was "to the manor born" -- and has "lived on both sides of the kitchen door," as both a squire being served exquisitely-prepared dishes, and as a fine chef in his own right. He was also a restauranteur and a cooking school director. He knows good food! When this book was published in the 1960's a "three-star" restaurant would have been a pretty fancy establishment. But no matter how many stars one would assign to von Marx' cuisine, this is a real gem of a cookbook. If you love continental cuisine and want to prove to yourself that you can turn out one after another delectable masterpiece without fail, then find yourself a copy of this out-of-print cookbook. And one word of advice -- be careful not to loan your copy to anyone -- you won't get it back!

Trust me, I know. :)

I don't love this novel because it's perfectly crafted. I love it for its sweeping scope and the way it captures the essence of the aviation revolution. The author has among his credits five other novels and the screenplay of "Star Wars, the motion picture", but for me "Touch the Sky" is his masterpiece.

It begins as modern aviation did; above the trenches and fronts of World War I. Two men, one American, the other a German ace seeking revenge, meet in an aerial dogfight that ends with Simon Conway pulling unconscious Karl Eisler from the burning wreckage of his aircraft. This sets up a lifelong relationship between the men, first in a German POW camp - where Simon's amoral approach to life confounds Eisler's Prussian militarism.

Both men burn with the desire for success in aviation, and after the war, Simon Conway succeeds in building a successful business. The time comes when only one man can design the aircraft that will keep Si afloat in his competitive world - Karl Eisler - and as Hitler gains ascendancy in Europe he convinces Karl to come to work for him. Together, they build wonderful airplanes but Si's need to always win no matter the cost eventually drives his long time friend into the arms of Hitler and the third reich.

The story line follows them and developments in aviation faithfully, paralleling Conway Air's fictional progress with actual American and German manufacturers. The story line goes deeper too, into the personal lives of both men and there much of the interest is to be found.

Livingston takes liberties many authors would not be allowed. He sprays POV around like it's coming from a lawn sprinkler. He has some bad prose habits too, but these will only be visible to other writers, not the general reader. I've kept this book and read it several times not because of its mechanics but because it carried me into the world of early aviation and let me fly with those wonderful pioneers.

Highly recommended. Art Tirrell, author of The Secret Ever Keeps, coming April 2007 from Kunati Books.

This is one of the best works of "post-" theory that I've read, and the essay on paranoia is a much-needed light in the haze of contemporary grad school education. My copy is dog-eared and dirty and filled with underlined passages / scrawled notes to myself (mostly reading "YES!" or "come back to this"). Sedgwick's essays are brilliant, quirky, challenging, and deeply moving. I really can't find words sufficient for my experience -- this is certainly one of the most synaesthetic and vertigo-inducing books I've read in a long time. The final essay, in particular, continues to call me back.

Hi.
I'm writing this review because i really liked this book. it was very fun and suspensful and my favorite character in it is Justin. He uses funny words.

This story deserve a 5 because it tells you a lot about valcanoes.Also did you know that scientists don't spend a lot of time in the laboratories.Their are more people on the fields setting traps for valcanoe ash.Many people spend lots of time exploring volcanoes learnig about earth wonders.Many explores visit the volcanoes. they think learning about earth wonders are very wonderful.The spend time sleeping nere the volcaneoes.they love to explpore the volcaneoes that they come back every year.

This publication is virtually unique for Mensa (the international high I.Q. society.) Instead of measuing I.Q., it is a measure of C.Q. (culture quotient.) You see, this book measures how much you know and not simply how intelligent you are. As a member of the society, I can personally attest that there are many people out there that may be very intelligent, unfortunately, they are also profoundly ignorant....
As the introduction points out, this book will not teach anyone to be a cultured person- culture cannot be taught, it can only be learned.
The book covers mythology, literature, and legend; art; etiquette and manners; music, theater, dance, and film; math and science; etc.
Of course I may be personally biased here, after all, I scored a 289 C.Q. (anything over 150 ranks as a "cultural genius.")

Though dated (1994) Mango's book complements his later works. An easy read, he picks nine topics of interest to those concerned for the future of the Turkish Republic. It has an honored place on my desktop (when not loaned to friends) and is in the top five of books I recommend on the subject.

-Joe Kennedy

W.W.A.D
"What Would Ataturk Do?"

Magnificent classic on the history of United States Gold Coins, illustrated, giving the reader, student and collector a guided tour of how these coins were made, and of the special interests these coins hold for collectors, such as Eliasberg, Virgil Brand, T. Harrison Garrett to name a few.