Sprouts Books

As much as I like the "revealed" series, this book had more detail (on snorkeling particularly), so it was money well spent.

We used this book every single day we were in Kaua'i. It has the best info of any guide book for Kaua'i if you are there to do any adventuring. A+.

Guess where my wife wants to take me on her summer vacation? Hint: she likes lush resorts with hiking opportunities.

I've been to the other islands of Hawaii several times, but never to Kauai. I don't need the usual 50 pages of cajoling to enjoy myself that most guidebooks feature, and in this era of goooogle, I certainly don't need out-of-date hotel listings. This is a book crammed with info that I may find useful when I get there, concerning the rugged activities that make flying all those hours worthwhile, written in a plain and honest prose. I'd venture to say that this is the most convincing guidebook I've ever encountered.

Another reviewer complains about the absence of maps. I'd agree that lack fo maps would be a problem, except that the maps one finds in other guidebooks are almost always next to useless. My advice: get a real full-sized map and correlate!

Have only made it partially through the book and am very impressed with the outline and the depth of knowledge of the subject. My wife and i are returning to PoiPou on the south shore at the end of April, 2008 and we are making daily plans from this book.

We returned this year with their new third edition for 2008 and found remarkable changes. Hiking the Kalalau Trail again.....was even better the second time around. When it comes to organization and finding ez access to all the cool trails, this one is the winner. The strategies for getting around this beautiful island were incredibly useful.

The book scales the island down in a very nice way and is easy to follow. Heed their water safety and driving with "aloha" tips. Squirts out all the best things to do and made our daily itinerary decisions slamdunks.

Take it with you on the road. I strongly recommend seeing the Hana Highway in a convertible. Our twisty ride out there in the early morning was awesome.

The places we did get to check out were awesome. I know we wouldn't have found the "aquarium" without this book and that was our favorite snorkel spot. I wish we had more time in maui to explore.

Where this one shines: compact and to the point, definitely our style. It covers all of the island and the hikes they list inside Haleakala Crater and near Hana were terrific. Bring your binoculars for the whale and windsurfer action. We had several guides with us, but the most consistent useful information came from this one.

Friends asked us how we saw and experienced so much in just a week and we attribute it to doing our homework first - mapping it all out with the Trailblazer.

Beaches are the reason we went to Maui and this was the guide we used to find them. There were several dozen to higrade. When we arrived we noticed many of the street signs were missing or twisted the wrong way so we navigated using the maps and mile markers in the Trailblazer guide. Even our rental car map didn't have the detailed streets this book had.

We have three kids and they spent hours and hours boogieboarding and their UV protected rashguards that we also bought on Amazon paid off plenty. The bike tours were closed so we hiked in Haleakala State Park. Trail distances we needed and trail distances we got. We felt like we were on another planet. They suggested we bring warm clothes and water, thank goodness we did.

Organized, detailed, dangerous places to avoid, the advice was priceless. This was our first time on Maui and this book really did blaze the trail.

We decided to visit two islands because we had heard how different they were: Maui and the Big Island. We chose the trailblazer books to guide us since they were both crammed with incredibly helpful information. For hikers and snorkelers and sightseers they are a gold mine. They are written in clear language and the outings are well arranged with accompanying maps.

The tips for getting out to Hana were treasure trove status and put us out in front of the chain of cars we saw heading out at 2pm. Leaving at 7:30 am before the tour buses made all the difference. We could have used another few days on Maui and regret taking only one hike down into the crater. We plan another visit in 2009 and our first order of business will be watching the sunrise on Haleakala and taking a helicopter tour.

Thanks Trailblazers for sharing and demystifying wowie Maui.

This guide gave our vacation itinerary a real boost. It has wonderful timeless images of places and people which simply exude calm, chill, beach culture latitude attitudes.

Photography is top notch and the information is partioned into sections so you can chew off each piece to explore at your leisure depending on how much time you've allowed for your vacation. Trailblazers do it good.

Lots of detailed info, good maps, great pics, best directions and extremely well laid out for picking out all the cool places everywhere on the island. We lucked out and got to see lava flowing down the mountain near the volcano. For driving directions and staying out of danger, it's full of dos and don'ts.

This was this best thing we took with us on our honeymoon. It's so well organized and we used it as a tool to plan our daily escapades. I highly recommend this book for travelers who haven't been before and are looking for ideas and advice from authors who tell it like it is.

Two years ago we took a cruise around the Hawaiian Islands. Unfortunately we were in port too short a time and only went on a few packaged bus tours. We returned to the island we liked the best (the Big Island) last month and fortunately had the Trailblazer along as our prime guide. We hiked to and swam in the Blue Lagoon which is on the cover: the highpoint of our vacation.

In the back of the book are hotel and restaurant suggestions from which we made our reservations and were quite pleased. For accuracy and good practical advice it's right on target.

Great book, I bought it after having figured out which islands to visit using the book by the same authors, no worries Hawaii, which is a must buy if you don't know where to go and what you want to do. Following input from the first book we picked 1 day Honlolu, 5 days big Island and 9 days Kauai.
The big island trailblazer is unique in that the information on trailheads and how to find them is really really accurate, if you have to follow a dirt road for 2 miles and then stop next to a hidden bridge then that information is there. You rarely spend hours searching for stuff, the detail on where to look for something once you get to the end of the trail is less good, but that is because in the islands appear not to go in for signposts in a big way, so we were often looking at something and wondering whether or not this is it. Best ofs were generally good, didn't understand focus on Hilo, we went there on a Sunday and it felt like a run down sad little town, but maybe on a weekday there is a different vibe. The only negative is that restaurants mentioned a little more information on them to help you chose would help unless you like the sticky table-top ketchup bottle and drip coffee atmosphere and generic grub, this is fine if it is what you want, but you don't need a guidebook to discover such places, of course to be fair the book doesn't target the foodie population nevertheless a little more selectivity would help though or just a little more text on the restaurants. From personal experience if you are staying in Kapaa on Big Island try the restaurant Rapanui, a small hole in the wall joint run by a saturnine chef from New Zealand and his partner, its location is not attractive (in a mall when you enter Kapaa on the coastal road from the north on the left after the bend in the first mall), and it is BYOB but the food is really, really well cooked, from a European stand point, fresh, flavourful, beef melts in your mouth, rice/coconut nuttily satisfying, great, cooked but crunchy veggies, freshly made sauces, not a bottle or deep fryer in sight. Another great place to eat is Jays on the road towards southpoint, before the turn-off to Puuhoonuau (I forget the spelling) national park, two step snorkeling and the painted church from Kappaa, it is described in the guidebook, really spectacular and don't be put off by the appearance of the kitchen/living area. Oh and for sandwiches, a satisfying stop is Choicemart on the Highway 19 approximately in the area of the Manago Hotel, Choicemart is on the left, there is a great Vegan Cafe next to Choicemart and the sandwiches sold there and in Choicemart are spectacular. The locals recommend Choicemarts plate lunch especially on Lau Lau Friday. We tried to get it on Sat and it was all sold out. And the snorkeling at two step was the best we had on the island. Ok after all that digressing: if it is culture/food you are after then you need an additional book or to do some food research ahead of time online, for hiking, biking, walking and general reliable information then the trailblazer is a great book. Another option is to get the No worries Hawaii that has almost all information on all islands best ofs etc and then supplement that with a more foodie cultural guide for the islands depending on what you want. We did this for Kauai, although Fodors Kauai while better on culture etc really did badly for hiking and trails and was way less reliable than the Sprouts books.

YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK. We have traveled to the big island many times, but still have not discovered or seen everything. This book reaches beyond of the general guide books and one of the other more popular reads about the island. Great for those who are into hiking and especailly for driving tours. Snorkelers will like some of the off the beaten path places to go.

A great book that uses a gardening analogy to teach how to improve your sales ability. Even though I'm not a sales professional, this book gave me excellent ideas how to go about improving customer relationships in my consulting business. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to build relationships with other people.

Top sales performers are rare. They consistently exceed plan year after year. The secrets of consistent overachievement are clearly laid out in SPROUT! Having personally nutured some some of the top sales overachievers in the Medical Industry, I see those key success factors in this easy-to-read book. Sometimes the most simple things are the most powerful. SPROUT! is one of those things.

The notion of growing your business like a garden may not seem particularly original, but the direction these authors take their sales advice in is quite fresh. In an unusual and welcome act of focus, they dwell on one aspect of the sales professional's life: how to prolong your career and stick with it, despite the weeds and rocks hurled continually at today's selling professional. Their advice is practical and couched in colorful anecdotes and garden metaphors. Sales advice blooms throughout the story of an imaginary sales professional, Marsha Molloy, who is struggling to get her professional groove back. Since burnout is an epidemic in the sales profession, this book is a valuable addition to the topic. It offers solid advice, or "sales seeds," in a colorful and engaging way. We strongly recommend it to all those who seek to do more than make a sale - and, rather, aim to build a sales career.

I read Sprout! in a couple of hours. Once I started I couldn't put it down. I loved the gardening methaphor, the simple elegance of the model and the meaningful insights from the discussions between the key characters. Already, I have reaped the benefits of implementing some of the actions recommended in my own job -- and I'm not even a sales person!

In Sprout!: Everything I Need To Know About Sales I Learned From My Garden, Alan Vengel (consultant, speaker, and educator in management training and organizational development) and Greg Wright (San Diego based business consult) collaborative in using the garden and gardening as a model to illustrate easy and practical ways for sales professionals and managers to generate peer support and motivation. Job burnout rates in professional sales is very high, as a result, the loss of employee talent, experience, and the consequent expenditures for rehiring and re-training replacements is a corrosively expensive drain on the corporate bottom line -- not to mention the emotional toll burnout represents in devastating so many men and women in their careers as sales professionals. By adhering to the "user friendly" steps outlined, explained, and illustrated in Sprout!, salespeople can beat "career blues" and successfully continue in their chosen profession with renewed vigor and appreciation. Very highly recommended reading!

We live about four hours from the Bay Area. We own two of the other Trailblazer books. Since we trust their accuracy and like their layout, that alone convinced us to try their Golden Gate guide. Just don't make the mistake of buying this older version. Click on the author's name and it will take you to the newest edition. It blows away all the other hiking books for the region. We use it for 3-day weekend getaways to where it's cool.
Golden Gate Trailblazer: Where to Hike, Walk, Bike in San Francisco & Marin

I just bought this book based on the reviews and will be returning it. We live in Sausalito and the Marin Headlands are essentially our backyard. I bought the book to find new areas in the Golden Gate area to explore but when I looked at the area I know well, the Marin Headlands, the information ( map and route description ) were inaccurate and misleading.

This book is excellent but readers should know the authors have recently revised it for 2004/2005. They've added more maps and photos and a section for family outings. The easiest way to find the new edition is to click on the authors name. Note the title has changed slightly too. It's now Golden Gate Trailblazer: where to hike, walk, bike in San Francisco and Marin.

My vacation to San Francisco lasted three weeks. I bought Golden Gate Trailblazer when I arrived and walked many miles with it as my guide. Treasured memories are Limantour and McClures beaches at Point Reyes National Seashore which I never would have found on my own. There's so much more to the Bay Area than Fisherman's Wharf and the cable cars and traffic. This book excels when it comes to organization with maps in every section and a very detailed index. I highly recommend it to hikers and walkers who have never visited this part of California's coast. Like me, you'll probably be surprised at all the places these local authors have packed inside.

Simply said . . . wow. What a find! High on my list for seeing all the offbeat and major sites around the City and along Marin's rugged coast and bay wetlands. For years I've been the chauffer when guests come and stay. Now I just hand my friends a copy of Trailblazer and tell them to begin at trail #1, The City. For trails in the Golden Gate National Recreation area and Mt. Tamalpais, this is the most detailed book. You really get a feel for northern California and its history by reading it. Maps are A+ too.

Authors Jerry Sprout and Janine Sprout have explored the Sierra Nevada for more than twenty years; Alpine Sierra Trailblazer: Where to Hike, Ski, Bike, Fish, Drive from Tahoe to Yosemite is the culmination of their combined experience. Written for families and veteran hikers alike, Alpine Sierra Trailblazer covers 88 different trailheads suitable for assorted levels of experience, 51 cross country ski and snowshoeing spots, 72 places ideal for fishing in lakes and rivers or creeks, 6 driving tours, 148 black-and-white photographs, 7 maps, and much more. Organized primarily by site - each ideal location to visit is listed successively, along with notes about its highlights and extensive directions - Alpine Sierra Trailblazer is an excellent supplementary resource for anyone seeking to see Sierra Nevada's natural beauty and wonders for themselves.

My first visit to Lake Tahoe last week and not knowing where to go I picked up this travel guide. Off trail and on trail the seepsprings were alive with yellows, blues, oranges and it's only going to get better. Some of the hikes at the higher elevations are still snowbound but there are plenty of listings around the lake to keep me going. The list of dayhikes in this book is staggering and since it's written by locals has real credo. You can't beat all the clean air up at Big Blue.

Since I live downslope from Yosemite and Tahoe I consider it my backyard recreation area. Cross country ski trails, hiking trails, trails bordering the Great Basin, they're all in here. I like to fish and this serves as my river guide too. It's very user friendly and has a real personal touch. These guys are trail experts and list all the good ones and those less traveled. My son and his wife have gone to Hawaii with their Kauai book and tell me it's also a winner.

This is the third guide we've used in this outdoor series. The Kauai and Golden Gate books have become mainstays in our hiking collection. I like their system for organizing their activities according to region and this one follows the same format. It spans the area from Yosemite's Tioga Pass, takes in Ebbetts and Monitor and Carson passes and covers south Lake Tahoe's turf. This is the author's home base and they certainly have the credentials for knowing all the best trails and sightseeing backroads.

There aren't many adventure guides that feel as personal or are multi-use like this one. We cross country ski, fish, hike, camp and mountain bike so for our family it's a perfect fit.

Two books you most definitely need if you're hanging out at Tahoe is this one and the Tahoe Rim Trail guide. This area has some of the best hiking in the western U.S. We found both books to be extremely current and clearly written.

So far we've used them for both dayhiking and and overnight backpacking trips up at the north end of Lake Tahoe and due south around Carson Pass. Having two to compare has given us extra ideas for sidetrips. We're a family of four and have gotten alot of use from these top notch trail resources.

We took two guidebooks to Oahu, this one and No Worries Hawaii planning guide. They made a good pair. The one in color (NW) clued us in how to plan our itinerary and decide which island we really wanted to visit first. Hotel decisions were made so much easier. My husband was inspired by the surfing, so Oahu won out.

The Oahu Trailblazer was very detailed and motivated us to explore a chunk day by day. They cover all the beaches and trails in a well thought out format. There are driving maps in each section which make it easy to skip through the pages and still know exactly where you are on the island. There are hundreds of photos so you can picture where you're going.

Surfing was as good as it gets. Put their walking tour of Honolulu on your agenda. The architecture and history and restaurants and museums were very interesting and we're glad we spent one whole day cruising around downtown and following it up with the Pearl Harbor tour.

I'm glad we brought this book with us. It's the second in the Trailblazer series that we own.

It's very comprehensive and covers all the highways and offshoots, places that our friends who live there didn't even know about. Everyone knows about Waikiki, but there are better beaches to be found right in this book. The tone is positive and a splash of humor comes along with their valuable advice.

We do a great deal of hiking and this one contains just about every recreational activity you can think of. It sure beats researching on the internet. Having all the info collectively right by our side made all the diff.

This is the one with the most adventure outings and the one that is the most accurate. We went to Oahu with another couple and this guide provided all the fun.

It was a tremendous advantage having this Trailblazer guide along. The large walking maps of Waikiki and Honolulu were extremely helpful. Not having to drive made this a relaxing vacation since bus and trolly transportation stops were everywhere. Long beach strolls, great little restaurants, surf lessons, free entertainment and shopping were right at our fingertips. They directed us to San Souci Beach and Kapiolani Park where we grabbed a little alone time. They include the island's history, something most guides don't bother to do. There were so many great excursion listings all around the island, we were sorry we didn't have more vacation days.

We found this to be an extremely well organized book for getting around and not feeling lost. It's a good one to read well before leaving to get an idea of what's there. Driving can be tricky and their maps inside were much needed.

Places we never thought to explore delivered big payouts. Lanikai Beach for instance, was the most beautiful walk we've ever taken and famous Waikiki was wall to wall sunbathers, what we expected.

This book has plenty of maps and photos, step by step driving directions and was a perfect size for carrying right along on our daily escapades. It was indispensible for our first vacation on Oahu.

Our familly is looking forward to returning to Hawaii for a reunion on the island of Kauai this spring break. The Trailblazer book will be first choice.

I find that the manga of this series is a lot more entertaining and a lot more interesting than the infamous anime. The first volume is actually cool because Utena hasn't come to the academy yet; she and a friend of hers figure out clues she's been sent over the years to find that her 'prince' is at the academy. You find out that she has an aunt she's been living with up to then and that she's not a complete orphan. Then of course she goes to the academy and is thrust into this very strange and seperate world of duelings and winning the Rose Bride as a prize as a step towards "revolutionizing the world." The drawing can be a little wierd, people's faces for exampe are very long and even the women can look a little "mannish." Utena and Anthy as prince and rose bride have a very cute relationship together and along with Chu-chu Anthy's best friend and pet monkey it's all very adorable. As I said though, I like this manga mostly because I can actually make some sense out of it and the mysterious plot lines, unlike the anime which had me banging my head on the wall.

Going on fromwhere the 2nd book leaves us off on:
IS TOUGA UTENA'S PRINCE?!!!
I'll give you guys just one little spoiler...he's not.
n this volume it basically talks about the Rose Bride and Utena's determination to go through any kind of challenge to see her prince. Deception and Manipulation. The question in this book is who's telling the truth. Most importantly, is Utena so desperate to find her prince that she'll belive just about anybody? We also find out more about Anthy and her brother. Including more in depth detail about World's End. Why the Dios has the power to revolutionize the world. And the most impotant part... Iwillnotspoilthestory Iwillnotspoilthestory..... OK I won't give you a spoiler but it deals about Anthy and her heart "belonging to no one."
AND WHO COULD FORGET THE COMIC RELIEF OF CHU CHU IN THE END?! ( Chu ) All in all this manga is just awsome.The artwork has gotten better and I rccommend it to all shojo or just any manga fan. GO AND BUY IT NOW!

This is a series like no other. Deeply symbolic, nearly every person, object, and incident means something else on a higher level in addition to the face value. The characters are not just human--they *represent* humanity, both good and bad. They highlight our weaknesses and emphasize our strengths. In this world, power means everything and concepts such as friendship, devotion, and love mean almost nothing. In the pursuit of power and prestige, families and friends are sacrificed for desires. And the life and happiness of one girl are bound to the power to change the world.

This is a controversial series dealing with life, death, change, love, betrayal, belief, truth, and more material concepts such as sex, attraction, and adventure. It messes with your reality, rights it, then scrambles it up again.

For those prudes and parents out there, be forewarned--this does contain incest (love between brother and sister), rape (can you call it that?--Anthy doesn't fight when it happens to her), and lesbianism. That's not to say that it is a bad series--just be warned that their are some controversial themes recurring in the story.

Read this manga or watch the TV show or watch the movie--you will never look at anime or manga the same way again!

I have seen the series in its entirety, and the movie, and I have seen the Japanese manga. Finally READING the manga is a treat.

Having seen the series and movie (I'm praying that they translate the movie manga!), I was prepared for the extremely controversial themes that make this a milestone in the history of anime and manga. There is incest, which is where a brother and sister are a little bit closer than need be; rape (I call it that since Anthy just accepts it as a part of her duties as the Rose Bride ;she's not unwilling, and she's not willing--she's just there)and lesbianism (those of you who have seen the movie know what I am talking about). Death is abstract here; I can't tell you anything more without spoiling some major details of the story. Reality is twisted, as evidenced by the Castle of Eternity, which floats upside down in the air above the dueling arena. Love and friendship come up very rarely, and usually only when dealing with Utena. Power is the ultimate prize--indeed, a girl's life has been sacrificed for the pursuit of power.

The characters play upon each other's emotions, hopes, dreams, insecurities, and fears. Utena fights to protect Anthy, but wavers when Touga implies that he may mean more to her than she thinks. Miki's insecurities and fear drive him to challenge Utena, while Juri's jealousy and hatred are what cause her to raise her sword. Saionji is obsessed, and in his slight insanity, loses reason.

You need to read this series, if only to see what everyone is talking about.

The 3rd volume of the RGU series has turned out to be the best thusfar... For those of you who were disappointed by the 2nd volume, be prepared for the trip of your life with this one. It. Is. Fantastic. You'll read it more than once, I can guarantee it.

The plot flushes away its fluffy-sweet, gaggingly-predictable overtones to reveal an underlying storyline that gets more dark, horrific, and complex with each passing page (while still keeping an innocent PG rating! Now that's talent!) You learn more about all of the character relationships (and I'm happy to say that Juri is less of a joykill in this one) including the practically unmentioned one between Anthy and her older brother, Akio (who you can't help but love.) Our favorite little Dios boy in the sky also makes a guest appearance, which always calls for extra brownie points, though most readers will get mixed signals about Touga and what his motives really are (I'm trying to avoid spoilers. Can you tell?) The whole story becomes an enigma!

Prepare to be drowned in symbolism and rich imagery--and watch out for that killer cliffhanger at the end. It'll leave you BEGGING for the release of the 4th volume! The artist, Ms. Saito's drawing technique has also changed vastly AND apparently...the images have improved so much that you'll feel HONORED to own a piece of her work! You'll definitely start to appreciate how truly talented and professional she is. Even if you've already seen the series and know the ending (which is going to be interestingly warped by the 5th volume anyway) you'll still get a kick out of this book and the memorable circumstance between Wakaba and Utena as it was meant to be. And, of course, there's a funny little bit about Chuchu at the end and character profiles (of Miki, Juri, and the members of Be-papas) scattered throughout the book.

It's a great buy. No regrets at all. Just mix the right amount of fantasy, romance, slapstick comedy, mystery, and plain old talent, and you'll get the miracle that is RGU 3: To Sprout. :D It's so cool. Really, it is.

If you like getting outdoors for a walk or hike in San Fran or Marin and want to get advice from two Bay Area natives, get this guide. I recommend it for its thoroughness and presentation. For people like me who have just moved here, it's worth every penny.

The authors style puts adventurers at ease as they dissect the complex world of city streets and highways that lead to the trailheads. There's no trolling through pages of dense text. It's all broken up with pictures and maps and cleanly numbered trail lists and descriptions. It's by far the best I've come across for this area.

We just discovered this great hiking book. Our weekend trips have been put on hold and we're finding some pretty places along the Marin coastline to explore. Doubles as a tourist guide for our out-of-town friends. They look at the pictures and tell us where they want to go.

There's alot of advice and information in here and it's nicely arranged for reference. Chunky and spunky, good to go!

I would say it's one of the most helpful travel books I've ever bought. The detailed descriptions for family walks around San Francisco and through the Marin woods were especially good. It's organized. The writing style is colorful, direct, and amusing. Buy this book and you might want to buy a restaurant guide to to along with it. Going to California is now going to be a yearly ritual.Zagat 2008 San Francisco Restaurants

A great resource and really user friendly. We loved the whole feel and layout. We parked the car in one spot and spent one entire day walking and hopping the cable cars. All the action is grouped so our time was well spent and car expenses kept to a minimum. Strongly recommended for a city fix.

Our carcamping trip to the West Coast last month was a big success. Our first stop in the San Francisco Bay Area was Muir Woods where the Trailblazer untangled the trail system for us. Our Marin campsite was a perfect staging area for our daily outings.

This book is fully illustrated with photos and locater maps and they've even included a little California history to spice it up. Clean graphics, well organized. You can dip in and out of the pages and get clued in on the fly. The route from Fisherman's Wharf to the Golden Gate Bridge by bike provided beautiful views of the bay. For us an excellent way to see the area on a limited budget.

This book is so helpful that I bought an additional one for my daughter in college. We are about 90% raw and this book is really helpful with real recipes we can use.

It is a good book just not what I wanted. Not the kind of recipes I was looking for.

Sproutman Publications is a specialty publisher with an impressive roster of health books to their credit. One of the best of these is the "Sproutman's Kitchen Garden Cookbook" by Steve Meyerowitz who began his interest in the relationship of foods to health in 1975 when he sought to deal with a lifetime condition of allergies and asthma. After the traditional medical establishment had failed him for some twenty years, he was able to restore his health through diet and fasting. he at 100% live foods for five years, practices 'fruitarianism -- a diet of fruit, nuts and sprouted seeds -- and fasted on raw juices for as long as 100 days. The resulting improvement to his personal health was amazing. In "Sproutman's Kitchen Garden Cookbook", Steve has amassed superb collection of recipes for sprout breads, cookies, soups, and salads, as well as 250 additional low-fat, dairy-free, vegetarian recipes. The recipes are presented after the reader benefits from an informational presentation on the pros-and-cons of dairy, dehydrating foods, nutrition charts, sprouting, food drying, low temperature cooking, how to be a healthy vegetarian, and so much more. From Cashew Cottage Cheese; Mighty Millet Bread; Sunflower Nut Milk; and Banana Chips; to Manhattan Sprout Chowder; Braised Tofu; Spinach Marinade; and Creamed Potato Mash, "Sproutman's Kitchen Garden Cookbook" will prove to be a popular and invaluable addition to the cookbook collection for anyone having to deal with the problems of food related allergies and illnesses, as well as the recipe collections for general vegetarians. Also very highly recommended for those concerned with food related health issues are the other titles from Sproutman Publications (available through their website at www.sproutman.com) including: "The Organic Food Guide"; "Power Juices, Super Drinks"; Juice Fasting & Detoxification"; Wheatgrass: Nature's Finest Medicine; "Water: The Ultimate Cure; and "Food Combing and Digestion".

I got this book because I wanted to make sprout bread. The book is very informative. But 95% of the sprout recipes are for wheat. That is great if you want to sprout wheat, but I don't. It does repeat the same info in many parts of the book. But I would say over all I still say it is a great book. I am on a special diet so a lot of what he has in his recipes I can't use. But I did learn a few things.

I guess I'm not the typical reviewer here - I am interested in healthy eating, but without the context of a major life change for myself and my family of five... I'd like to find new ways to eat well, without undermining our entire familiar (mostly vegetarian, mostly well-balanced) diet.

Let's start with what this book IS: an excellent guide to using all types of sprouts, and to which types are good for which occasions - baking, stir-frying, salads, etc. It's also a rather overt advertisement for "Sproutman's" own website and sprouting tools (sprout bag, greenhouse, seeds, etc); fair enough.

The book is full of interesting, simple recipes and ideas for using sprouts either raw or with low temp cooking to get the most nutrition out of every green, crunchy bite. He's also thrown in a bunch of related nutrition stuff - non-sprout items like vegan ice creams and helpful alternatives to salt and other seasonings.

Still, I found that most of the recipes were impractical for family cooking. If two cups of sprouted wheat make a single small loaf or several crackers or cookies, it doesn't take long to realize I'm going to need wheat berries bursting out of every corner of my tiny kitchen in order to create one meal for the five of us.

And that's just bread! To create enough sprouts for us to eat a single salad, a single stir-fry, a single helping of sprouted nuts... well, we're probably going to need to renovate other areas of the house to accomodate all the grow-bags or baskets.

Also, many of the recipes are just variants on previous recipes. Like, he'll take a page to describe how to make a cracker, and then ANOTHER page - this is just an example from memory - on how to make seasoned crackers, and it's obvious the ingredients and steps are identical, just with seasonings added.

Finally, having tasted sprouts and fermented products, I have some idea of what kinds of flavours to expect. Suggesting that his fermented "rejuvalac" beverage will taste similar to lemonade sounds way overblown. He actually hints that it may taste more "like sauerkraut" - to me, that's a BIG difference. Sorry, but I don't curl up on a summer's day with a tall, cool glass of sauerkraut.

Similarly, I realize our dependence on added sugars is overblown, but if I call something a "cookie", my kids (10 & 11) are going to know I'm lying if it's only sweetened with natural sprout maltose and a few raisins. Yes, sprouts give a nice malty sweetness to bread - but only the most idealistic parents would believe kids would accept it as a special-occasion treat.

I guess I was looking for a book that would help me incorporate sprouts into every aspect of our regular household dishes - stir fries, yes, but also to add flavour/nutrition to standard yeast breads, cakes, cookies, veg patties, etc.

Being almost totally vegan (he practically apologizes in the one section where he asks you to put a bit of butter into your rice cereal), there is too little range of dishes for our family's tastes and the dishes offered seem too monotonous for long-term enjoyment.

This book may be ideal for a single person or a couple who want to try an "extreme" veg or raw-foods or minimal-cooking lifestyle. For our family lifestyle, the overhaul required is too enormous to even begin imagining - and trust me, I have plenty of imagination!