Mitchell Books

I love this book! Delicious appetizers displayed beautifully... with clear instructions. These appetizers would be enjoyed by vegetarians and meat eaters alike. I am so pleased!

We had some parties over the holidays and this book was a key resource for pulling out some creative, interesting dishes that everyone loved. Mushroom pate was a particular hit. The flavors are interesting but not weird, variety throughput the book is great. Most of our friends are meat eaters so it was fun to do an hor d'oeurve party where no one missed the meats. Highly recommended! It made it easier for me to enjoy the holidays! Great resource.

Packed with creative approaches to the enhancement of fresh foods, Vegetarian Appetizers is a sampler of gourmet, internationally influenced, sophisticated, yet simple appetizers that are designed to appeal to inclusive palates (vegans, vegetarians, and others). Divided into five chapters, the 144-page hardback covers Appetizer Basics, Light Bites, Mezzo Bites, Sizable Bites, and Sweet Bites, plus Paulette's tips and an appendix for vegan recipes. Most of the 70 plus recipes take just one page, and there are many accompanying color photographs to illustrate the presentation.

Experienced teacher/author/T.V. host Mitchell takes the intimidation out of such taste experiences as Caramelized-Onion Fritatta With Chimichurri Sauce, combining Italian and Argentinean flavors, or Yam Croquettes With Tangerine-Sherry Sauce, or Five-Spice Diced Vegetables in Endive Leaves with Plum Sauce, or the cover feature, East Indian inspired Cumin Scented Potatoes in Filo Cups.

Sprinkled throughout the recipes are invaluable tips for flavorful shortcuts, such as in the referral to Penzeys Spices for making Lebne with Zaatar, a middle eastern herbed yogurt cheese. From the simple, such as Guacamole, to the exotic, such as Quail Eggs With Olivada, to the challenging, for example Vegetable Pates with Creamy Horseradish Sauce, Vegetarian Appetizers packs a punch you and your guests won't forget to appreciate.

Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer

Ms. Mitchell packs her book with fresh ideas. If you are looking for something new, this is it. Even if the title of the recipe suggests something that you have read before, rest assured that Ms. Mitchell has added something different and delicious to it.

Anybody can create a tasty dish by drowning it in butter or melting lots of cheese over it. Many standard appetizers are unhealthy for this reason. Although Ms. Mitchells does use cheese from time to time, her recipes are not drowning under it. Don't get me wrong I love cheese as much as the next person but so often I have had to pass by the standard appetizer plate because it is full of cheese laden appetizers. Ms. Mitchell uses imaginative combinations of ingredients and spices and herbs to make her recipes stand out. This is also a great book if you are trying to get your family to eat more vegetables. Just increase the size or number of her appetizers and serve them as delicious vegetable side dishes. Wish I had more than five stars to assign to this book.

Zen Master Seung Sanh iterally materialized in front of me at Walden Pond one day in 1988 and my life hasn't been the same since. All of his students bear the imprint of his strong teaching. His emphasis on maintaining absolute openness to life as it is, his willingness to challenge us at our most stuck places, and his compassion and love were all inspiring. These things all shine in this book.

This koan collection brings together many traditions: Seung Sanh was not shy about bringing in the basic teachings of Taoism and Christianity into his Zen Buddhist world, and we all benefit from that ecumenical spirit.

Take these koans as daily questions. Try living your day with the koan in the back of your mind, try looking at everything you do, all of your thoughts, through the lens of that koan. You may find your eyes will open and you'll see things differently. I was never good at koan practice with Seung Sanh. But I still use this book. If you buy it, it's likely you will, too.

This collection does not take the place of the more traditional koan collections from China and Japan (The Blue Cliff Record, the MuMunKan, etc.); it should be viewed as a supplement.

I also strongly recommend Sengh Sanh's "Compass of Zen" as one of the most provocative presentations of Buddhist cosmology and practice.

As Seung Sanh would say, "Only do it!" And he said that long before Nike coined its slogan!

Andrew Weiss, author
"Beginning Mindfulness"

after you leave a retreat, you may not remember the koan that a zen master asked you. at least not in complete detail. this book contains many koans that are used in koan (kong-an) practice. if you're stuck on a koan and can't seem to remember exactly how it was phrased, you can refer to this book.

Compiled by a great contemporary Zen Master with Westerners in mind. If you're interested in kong-ans (aka koans), this is as [in]comprehensible as it should get.

Wow, I can't believe that no one has ever reviewed this book; the reviews must have been lost in cyberspace. What can I say about a book that I refer to everyday since its release in 2000? I am deeply indebted to Zen Master Seung Sahn (Sŭngsan) for his life long commitment to spreading the Dharma, I miss his physical presence deeply. This collection of Kongans (Japanese: Koans) is a gift that has allowed me to slowly come to terms with my own delusions. My teacher, Zen Master Robert Moore, as with many of the other dharma heirs of Zen Master Seung Sahn, uses this collection to teach their Zen students. Contained in its pages are many interesting kongans that have come from everyday life, and as a living, breathing document, it allows us a glimpse of our own true nature.
To some it may be just a collection of Zen stories; however, the questions following each of the stories become foundational to understanding your true self. If you haven't read `The Whole World is a Single Flower,' order it today and you won't be sorry. Even if you have never practiced Korean Chogye Zen Buddhism, you may find that these new kongans can challenge even a seasoned student of Zen Buddhism. It is with humbleness and gratitude that I highly recommend this book.

If you were ever interested in any silent film comedies, then you must have this book. Besides profiling the major comedians like Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, Langdon, and Laurel and Hardy, this book has large articles on W.C. Fields, Raymond Griffith, Lupino Lane, Colleen Moore, Larry Semon, Mabel Normand and others. One "classic" film from each is discussed in detail. Just about every obscure comedian that ever appeared in their own series or as a supporting player. There are also sections on topics such as different types of comedy, European comedy, etc. There are also plenty of illustrations. This is one reference book that a silent comedy fan will always want to have near.

As in his previous books on Laurel & Hardy, The Marx Brothers and Charlie Chaplin, British author Glenn Mitchell has brought his unique insight and wonderful writing style to this encyclopedia on silent film comedy. This book will delightfully jog the memory of almost anyone who had ever enjoyed a silent fun fest. Everyone is here from legends such as Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd and Langdon...to the more obscure such as Lloyd Hamilton, John Bunny, and even the Ton of Fun! You too can have a ton of fun within the pages of this bit of must reading for any film comedy fan.

When you are a silent film comedy enthusiast, a book like this one is a must. There are very few reference books on silent film comedy, making this book essential for one's collection. Many books cover information about the stars, but very few cover the rich and varied history of the film studios famous or otherwise, another big plus for this book. Praise to Mr. Mitchell for his meticulous and massive research. The only improvements to this book would be a larger format and filmographies. And now Mr. Mitchell, when will your Keaton encyclopedia be coming out?

British film historian Glenn Mitchell has once again produced a most welcome paperback dealing with silent screen comedy. This time, Mr. Mitchell covers the entire spectre, from Jimmy Adams to Tammany Young, thus succeeding where others in recent years have utterly failed. There are plenty of places where to look up pertinent information on Keaton, Chaplin, Lloyd, etc.; even Charley Chase now has a biography on the market. But where can you read about the careers of Dee Lampton, the fat boy in "A Night in the Show," or George Ovey, of the long-ago "Cub Comedies"? Only in Mr. Mitchell's fine -- and thankfully! -- reasonably priced book. The "A-Z of Silent Film Comedy" is a must-have for any serious film scholar and highly recommended even for the casual fan.

This book is easy to read with stories that will draw you in from the start. It is a close up look at how to live out and be real in demonstrating God's love in action at work. It is creative in its approach and allows you to enter each life from a variety of ways.

It will both move you and engage as you keep reading not wanting to put it down. It is also a book with practical applications and will lead you to an enlightening viewpoint of each of the stories in the book. If you have ever struggled in your life with fear then this book will show you the many faces of fear and how to gain victory in your life.

This book will also help you with your daily walk and how to live your life as a Christian in a world that is filled with many distractions and people that live in a world of uncertainty. You will be surprised at how much you will get out of such a small book.

This collection of compassionate life lessons is a quick, engrossing read. Be sure to get several because you will be recommending this book and giving your copies to people you love.

This book is an amazing collection of personal encounters that will touch your spirit and encourage you in your daily walk in the marketplace. It is a genuine example of the "Great Commission", portrayed in a humorous, realistic and inspiring fashion. I loved the focus, detail and very "real and modern-day" situations that the book exhibits. Anyone could easily relate.

Its an amazing book of how God touches people in unique, simple, yet very profound ways. It will remind you how awesome God is and how his clock never stops...how He orchestrates every step along the way, and knows exactly when to send in the right connection at the right time. I thought of it as Jesus in action at 38,000 feet!

The book is great...genuine, easy to read, back to basics, and reminds us again of what God wants us to do in our daily walk...reach out to people and share His goodness. It encouraged me to kick up my boldness in the marketplace, and i think it will have that effect on many of its readers!

For a realistic, hearfelt look at what it was like to dance at an infamous strip club, have a long love affair with porn king Artie Mitchell, and hang out with Hunter Thompson, this is the book to read! Full of uncanny detail, Corday's story is affectionate, funny, sexy, and a real page-turner. With a searing account of Artie's slaying by his brother Jim and the motives behind it, the murder trial which cost him $1.3 million, and the political connections that helped him get off with serving just 3 years at San Quentin.

An absolutely unmissable read for anyone interested in this bizarre story of two brothers who had the world on a string and then stuck a pin in it.

Simone Corday not only provides intimate details about working at the O'Farrell Theater, she kept track of conversations between she and her long-time lover Artie Mitchell, and her compadre Hunter S. Thompson in journals.

In her memoir, you are like a fly on the wall, drinking in so many delicious details about her life with these over-the-top counterculture icons.

It's a sensual, emotional page turner. You won't want to put it down, and then you will be crying out for more, lingering on that final page, and searching for old Mitchell Brothers' films to get more glimpses on her extraordinary life.

I was drawn into a "reading trance" from the first paragraph of this amazing book by Donald Mitchell. The contents of this book put all his other works in context. As he explains, he undertook the ambitious and heroic task of finding ways to help the world make 400 years worth of progress in 20 years. This is a sort of report card on his journey so far and what else remains to be done.

The author begins by outlining utterly possible outcomes of current positive and negative trends.

Taking the radical position that avoiding problems and "shifting focus to what you want" (which is usually based on the current pace of progress) cause you to miss your best opportunities, Donald Mitchell urges you instead to think in terms of the best that is available.

The result is progress that is several orders higher than what you would normally have expected.

When I read George Orwell's 1984--thirty years before much of his fictional forecast became fact--I wondered how accurate his life style predictions were. Amazingly, many of the personal and societal changes he anticipated became reality.

Donald Mitchell's Adventures of an Optimist could easily reach cult classic status, as Orwell's book did. The first pages grip the reader with a startling historical illustration--and he never lets you catch a breath until you have covered these pulsating twenty-one pages.

However, Adventures of an Optimist does not rely on mere fantasy. Mitchell offers thorough documentation of trends in work, family life, health care, retirement plans, and much more. Additionally, his research provides the framework for assessing where we are headed--and how we can participate more actively in shaping our destiny.

Mitchell amazes me. Ordinary people have a thought process that helps them endure life until Friday at closing time. A few people design five year plans for themselves and their families. Yet Mitchell challenges us to join him in reshaping the entire world for a twenty-year span.

The title fits the text, because Mitchell goes beyond a frightening forecast of where current trends could take us. He offers solutions. They make sense. They are doable. That's why the reader can remain an optimist--truly an adventure.

Read this fabulous book. Adopt Mitchell's suggestions, and as he proposes your life will become 400 times better by 2035.The Complete Communicator: Change Your Communication-change Your Life!

"Adventures of an Optimist" exudes the unlimited optimism of the author, who, based on compelling evidence combined with inspiration, have a extraordinary synopsis of a promising project. The fantastic rates of improvements at 20 times the normal rate can appear unachievable, until you read and grasp the premise upon which the optimism is based. Donald Mitchell offer readers creative examples and guidance for achieving performance breakthroughs. His insightful and creative recommendations are supported by numerous examples of how companies and nonprofits leverage their scale for greater impact.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Adventures of an Optimist as it enabled me to think out of the box and clearly see the unlimited possibilities that can be achieved in various fields. The Adventures of an Optimist combines daring and practicality into a phenomenon for dramatically improving performance at 20 times the normal rate for the whole world between 2015 and 2035.

I highly recommend Adventures of an Optimist. It is a delightful and worthwhile read that should improve your outlook on life. The wealth of information and material it contains is carefully organized and lucidly presented. Reading it has the potential to create an upward spiral of exponential gains in your life and work. The book has plenty of enlightening and perceptive quotes at the beginning of each section that are a valuable bonus for the reader.

I loved this book and CD!

You can't help but smile and bounce along to these fun filled tales. The music is bright and lively and the characters so lovable!

As a past teacher, I also appreciate that this book does not limit its vocabulary for children. It's full of all sorts of rich and whimsical words - children and adults will love sharing it together!

A must hear to appreciate!

I have known the author all my life, she is my Mother! While this is her first published work I have had the good fortune of hearing and being enchanted by her stories all my life. They are all a magnificent journey to enjoy and are as good as any, in fact better then most published childrens books you'll find. Big Shot And Teeny Weeny is something that the adults enjoy as much as the children because the stories reveal so much simple wisdom and takes you to a giddy understanding of lifes joys. Adults are constantly saying to themselves "oh, isn't that clever". While the kids are enjoyng the fun rythm of the story and just getting it! The 2 CD's that are included in the Book are REAL easy on the ears and are asked for by my three year old all the time (then we all have a pleasant ride!). I think this book would be enjoyed by kids through 10 years old and then again when they are all grown up. So save it for the Grandchildren!

I was at a luncheon show casing authors. I heard some of the CD that is part of this book's entertainment package. The irrepessible quality of this author and the sound of her music and voice convinced me to get a copy for my granddaughters.

How sweet it is to have music an adult can love, too, when driving in the car with little ones. How sweet it is to have a story an adult can relate to when reading to them at night. Thank you, Mary Ann Mitchell.

(Carolyn Howard-Johnson's first two books have garnered eight awards in less than a year. The reviewer hopes that they will be read by her two granddaughters when they are old enough. In the meantime, literature like Mitchell's will be training them to love books.)

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of "This is the Place"

Gayle Mitchell has written an informative guide to the sometimes overwhelming world of BVS (Bonus Video Slots). The number and variations on this new technology often leads to confusion on the casino floor and confusion translates into losing money. In clear language, Gayle leads us through the ins and outs of these multiline machines.

In All Slots Made Easier #2, the author untangles the 'Jungle of Bonus Video Slots' for readers by explaining, rating and reviewing over 80 versions in a concise guide. I have chosen several from the author's recommendations and now enjoy my casino visits and profits. My hat is off to Ms. Mitchell.

This book is another winner in the Casino Gambling Made Easier Series by Gayle Mitchell.
The 'how-to' and 'what' versions of play, re: new bonus slots is revealed.
Three of my favorites are Little Green Men, Easy Street and Slingo--what fun.

I can't believe I waited so long to read this book -- it truly is a classic. This is the way AI should be done: by focusing on the right level of abstraction, situated above the level of neuroscience but below the level of simple input-output function mapping. Finally, a computer model that makes those first steps towards doing the same thing that people do.

True believers in those original goals of artificial intelligence take heart -- this book gives new hope to a field that has come to be dominated by engineering approaches that only work in special cases like the logic behind the cruise control switch in a car. Mitchell's model provides the fluidity and flexibility that is lacking from classical machine learning techniques.

Melanie Mitchell's analogy-making as perception is a remarkably original book. It documents an artificial intelligence project known as copycat, which was implemented as the author's PhD project under Douglas Hofstadter.

Copycat is unlike anything in artificial intelligence. It is not a symbolic system, neither a connectionist one. The major goal of the project is to study the nature of concepts. Concepts, as we all know, are flexible, context-sensitive creatures. For instance, DNA has nothing to do with a computer program, but there is a sense on which we can see DNA as a computer program that guides embrionary development. DNA can also be seen as a zipper, as it "zips down" in two parts (for cell reproduction). Still another view would be DNA as a will, for it carries valuable hereditary "property". Now, DNA is in truth just a molecule, and nothing else. The question is, how can we see the same thing (such as DNA) as so many different things? Moreover, how can these fluid context-sensitive concepts be implemented in rigid, rule-obeying computers?

To which the answer is: what we view is the abstract roles that DNA plays in embrionary development, cell division, and in individual reproduction. And this is the very idea of "Analogy-making as perception".

Well, not so fast. The copycat project is not designed to grasp such extremely complex subjects as DNA, but, on the other hand, it presents a computational architecture that suggests what the nature of concepts is like, and how flexible concepts may emerge from inflexible mechanisms.

Copycat can solve analogy problems such as abc->abd:ijk-> ?. But it is not restricted to trivial ones. Consider the following analogy: abc ->abd:xyz->?. How would you solve it? How do you think that copycat solves it?

Obviously, this project doesn't fit in very easily in classical artificial intelligence, as it attacks some of the most pervasive ideas of the field, such as the separation of perception and cognition. In fact, I think this book redefines the major questions of artificial intelligence (and although Mitchell does not state it, I think the copycat model does not fall prey to either the frame problem or to the symbol grounding problem).

It is very unfortunate that this is not one of the best-selling books in AI. But I believe that it will ultimately make its mark on the History of the field, if for no other reason than it simply is the right approach to genuine intelligence and authentic understanding.

Should one day Amazon.com let me give a 6-star to a book, but charge me a dollar for giving it, this is one that would definitely deserve to be such a 6-star.

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PS. I would also recommend Hofstadter's Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies; and Robert French's Subtlety of Sameness.

Since AI researchers are generally engineers, they historically did what engineers do: they broke up the mind in very clear-cut divisions, one for the perception of the things out there in the world, and another, symbolically, to do "abstract cogitation".

For deep reasons, this was an invalid move, but only a few could see it. Melanie surely could, for her highly original copycat project exhibits some of the best insights in Artificial Intelligence ever.

AI is still so much pervaded with the wrong ideas that this book will need to take some time to make its definitive mark on the history of the field.

If genuine understanding is ever to be built into a machine, understanding of the kind that Searle's gang will be forever denying, then it will come from an architecture similar to that proposed in this book.

Then again, I could turn out to be wrong. But let us let History decide on this issue.

An outstanding review of civil rights cases were people stepped up to represent and provide for the freedoms of others and protected what America is all about. High School, college students, and others can really appreciate our history and from where today's societal norms came.

Another brilliant piece...Lief has done it again! A must read for the legal novice or the established professional. Lief has a gift for dissecting the subject cases like the legal Ninja he is. This latest work of legal art engages the reader's interest and won't let go... Should be mandatory reading in all the law schools.

Couldn't put the book down. Every chapter was well written and to the level of the average reader. You don't need to be a lawyer to read and enjoy this book. If you love Law and Order this is the real life stuff. Would recommend to anyone.