Techniques Books

I admit to getting this book solely for Dan Lepard and Pierre Herme's sections. I have books from both of these chefs and so I want as much new material as possible.
Also, I was interested in Ferran Adria's knowledge being shared (his comprehensive books are hideously expensive).
It's a small glimpse, but for the price, it's definitely worth getting.

In response to the reviewer who said beurre blanc is not an emulsified sauce, it is. It's definitely not a vinaigrette, though vinaigrettes are also perfect examples of emulsified sauces. Emulsions do not pertain to egg-based sauces. Milk is an emulsion.

This is a book that emphasises the basic and moderately demanding cooking techniques and more than 600 common recipes. The sections are contributed by different chefs from around the world including Pierre Herme from France (desserts), Marcus Wareing from Britain (meat), Charlie Trotter from the United States (vegetables and seafood), David Thompson from Australia (Thai cooking), Stephen Franz from Germany (cakes) etc. A lot of the things are basic like how to make a basic chicken stock and how a good roast beef and Yorkshire pudding is made, but there are also a lot of easy to moderate restaurant grade dishes like entrecote steaks bordelaise or sachertorte. It is by no means exhaustive and in a sense I have a feeling that it is trying to be too clever but comes short on both ends - a professional chef will find this nice although this will need to be supplemented by more detailed books as the coverage is too superficial, and home cooks will need something more like a household guide for more basic instructions to supplement this. Serious foodies will love this although they may decide to buy professional chef reference works altogether.

Having said this, I enjoy the chefs' takes on basic and not-so-basic recipes. And like some basic home cookbooks, photos of intermediate procedures are available for a majority of recipes which enables you to visualize how a dish done properly looks like.

There are some other reviewers who believe non-English speaking Western countries' cuisines should get their own sections. I believe their absence indicates more how the cooking of Germany, France, Italy etc are assimilated into the major sections. For example, much of desserts is French, cakes German, there is a specific section on pasta and gnocchis. In contrast, Chinese cooking presents examples on stir-frying and braising, Japanese section on sushi making, which are very different from Western techniques.

Although the book is touted as global in focus, in reality this belies the book is fundamentally Anglocentric by the fact that Britain has the largest share of home bases of the contributors. The selection of "ethnic styles" selected also reflects modern British tastes: Spanish is not counted as "ethnic cuisine" and assumed to be pretty mainstream, and the "exotic cuisines" receiving the most attention are Indian, Mexican, Thai, and Chinese. An Australian focus would probably have diminished the French flavours in the main sections and added non-Thai Southeast Asian cuisines like Malaysian, or an American focus would have more non-English speaking European cuisines like Italian and French as "ethnic" as well. It still doesn't hurt the quality of the book, but keep in mind the cultural background of the editor does influence the focus before you grumble.

All in all, this book is generally a worthwhile investment if you are interested in some serious cooking but do have want to invest your money on professional works or enrol into a culinary school.

Good cookbook for those trying to improve their technique. This book covers a wide range of food types. Just don't expect too many recipes.

Gave this as a gift. Has lots of recipes and kitchen tips for non-cookers as well as seasoned vets. Nice quality hardcover edition with lots of details and pix. Great gift for your anyone who wants to learn how to cook or improve kitchen skills.

"The Cook's Book" by Jill Norman is a text that has increased my kitchen skills by leaps and bounds. Regular pizza became stuffed pizza pie, ordinary chocolate chip cookies took on a cappuccino flare, and maduros were added to our realm of savory side dishes. (See site for photos.) More than these particular dishes, "The Cook's Book" expanded my knowledge of cooking techniques. I learned, for example, how to make an array of sauces, ranging from velouté to berbere and many places in between. But before you are even given a specific recipe the first page of the "Sauces and Dressings" chapter takes you step-by-step through the terms used when making sauces (skimming, sieving, deglazing), then explains the various ways in which sauces can be thickened (roux, butter, arrowroot, etc). All this is done through the use of clear explanations and - get this - photographs for every step. By page 57 an entire world of possibilities had opened before my eyes, and I hadn't even reached the "Foam," "Soups" or "Flavoring" sections, not to mention the remaining 537 pages of the book! It's astounding what a well-written, beautifully photographed cookbook can accomplish. The Editor, Jill Norman, collaborated with some of the world's best chefs when putting it together, including Rick Bayless, Pierre Hermé and Greg Malouf. I have to say that while working through this book you feel as if you are learning directly from the chefs you admire.

In addition to the chapters mentioned above, "The Cook's Book" includes sections on eggs & dairy products, fish & shellfish, poulty & game birds, vegetables, pasta & dumplings, breads & batters, and pasty & sweet doughs. The list goes on. These topical chapters are supplemented by sections on Indian cooking, Chinese cooking, Thai cooking, Mexican cooking and Middle Eastern cooking - each presented by a chef who has mastered the area and has created a menu for you. Hence, the Mexican cooking chapter written by Rick Bayless includes recipes for squash blossom-filled corn masa boats; tortilla soup with chili, cheese & avocado; braised pork in red chili sauce and lime ice cream with cajeta. Chapters in "The Cook's Book" are relatively short and by no means comprehensive, but that's alright because the point of this text is to teach you essential skills that will enhance your overall ability. Recipes range from simple (how to cook rice perfectly), to challenging (how to make frankfurter kranz), to difficult (how to make croissants), but I appreciated this fact. This is a cookbook that engages you, the cook, on every level. I had to make the stuffed pizza pie referenced above twice before it came out the way I wanted, the same goes for my gnocchi from semolina flour. Yet the end results were delicious and I gained a tremendous sense of accomplishment from learning such tasty new skills.

There isn't much that can be said about this book that would fall into the negative category. It is a huge text and hence a bit cumbersome, but that is to be expected from a book that transmits such a monumental amount of knowledge. At times the ingredients are a bit esoteric, yet I don't see how this can be avoided in a book that truly tackles the gourmet side of cooking and baking. Most of the less-common ingredients can be found at Whole Foods or your local speciality food store, and if those avenues fail there is always the internet. Overall I strongly recommend this book to cooks and bakers of every level.

Wondeful kit and healing book however, I think that more advanced books on crystal healing need to be used to supplement this kit.

As an absolute green beginner in crystals, this book is full of easy to read information as well as being very well organized. Great reference for each crystal and its healing to the parts of the body and the chakra system. As a start it covers enough to keep you busy for quite a while in your learning path of crystals. The tumbled samples are very smooth and seemingly big enough.

This kit is perfect for anyone just starting out. I remember always being attracted by the crystals in those nature stores in the mall, and since I've been having a host of personel problems lately, I decided that I was going to give them a try. I expressed an interest in crystals to my friend who got this kit for me and I have been nothing but impressed by how well they actually work. The book itself is a must have for anyone who works with crystals and you can't beat the price.

this is the kit to start with if you are a beginner : book and stones for a great price !

This book and crystal pack is the absolute BEST that I've seen and worked with in the 5+ years that I've been avidly exploring crystals and crystal-healing (and I've done A LOT of exploring)!

The 12 crystals alone (included in the pack) are worth more than the cost of the entire pack and are a generous size.

The book includes descriptions of each crystal, as well as general and very specific placement instructions that are very easy-to-read and follow -- and covers so many needs I still cannot think of one for which it doesn't provide!

The book is enjoyable to read as well!

This pack has ALL one needs for any-and-all types of healing -- physical, psychological/mental, metaphysical, and environmental -- as well as the crystals and instructions for protection of all kinds...and more.

The potential this pack has for great goodness is limitless!!!

I only wish I'd ordered it sooner -- this is a definite MUST-have!!!!

So -- don't wait -- order yours NOW!!!!!!!

This book is an excellent adjunct to use in studying for Step 2 CK. By challenging you with a gut-reaction recall type format, you will actively learn and reinforce important topics and associations. It's best used for a quick review in the final days of Step 2 studying to refresh your memory of all the high yield associations.

I found this book to be extremely helpful along with doing questions. It has high yield facts and it's easy to read. However, unlike other reviewers I wouldn't use it as my only source. This book does not go into a lot of detail, so you have to start with a solid background.

First thing first. I scored a 247 on Step 1. As many of you know that have taken the exam. The key is to know what to study for the exam since there is an infinite amount of information. Once you find the "tested" information you have to sit down and MEMORIZE. That is the key to these USMLE exams. For those that have trouble memorizing the necessary information, the best thing to do is to "do questions" so that way you can remember the key concepts. For Step 1 all you really need is First Aid for Step 1, Goljan audio, and Kaplan QBank + Qbook. That's it....

Now for Step 2 it is much different. First Aid is not as high yield as it is for Step 1. Even if you had First Aid for Step 2 in the exam room with unlimited time there will be information that is NOT IN THE BOOK. First Aid lives off of its Step 1 reputation.

For Step 2, I scored a 241. Which isn't spectacular BUT I studied for the exam during my interview season in January. I studied for 3 weeks. I memorized this book and did USMLE World questions. That is all you need. Most of the high yield information that is TESTED is not found in First Aid. Use your time wisely. My advice is to memorize this book, Step 2 Secrets, and do ALL of the questions (and read every answer explanation) in USMLE World. Keep in mind though there will still be questions that you have never seen but these will be fewer and far between if you use the "right" resources. Good Luck.

"Deja Review" was the reason I aced my USMLE Step2. Aside from doing practice questions, this is the only other resource you need to conquer the boards. It is extremely high-yield and concise... perfect for many students like myself who only had 2 weeks to study for the step2. The question-answer format of the text helps the reader actively learn and more importantly remember the material. I wish I knew about DejaReview back when I was studying for Step1. I highly recommend it to all medical students.

UCSD makes us take step 2 early on in the year and time is defintiely a limiting factor. If you are in the same boat, I would highly recommend this book. Even if you are not under a time crunch, you should still read this book to re-enforce facts you already know. The Q&A format is similar to that of Surgical Recall. I used a question bank and read this book to tie everything together before I took the exam. This book is very high yield, and works well as an adjuvant to a more cohesive detailed review source like usmle world q-bank.

After I took step 2, I passed the book onto a fellow panicked classmate going into derm and after reading the book, lets just say he didn't need an ativan or xanex hook-up before the exam. I read the book in 1.5 days (w/ several breaks) and my confidence defintely went way up afterwards.If you are worried about step 2, buy this book and you will realize that you know more from 3rd year than you think.

On radiology, my resident asked me what books I used for step 2 review. Being the slow person that I am, I didn't put two and two together. John Naheedy is now a radiology resident at UCSD and he is a nice guy. So besides donating to feed the "John Naheedy Foundation," your USMLE step 2 score will be higher than your step 1 score after Deja Review: USMLE STEP 2 Essesntials, guaranteed! Good luck on the exam! =)

My husband bought this for me when he bought me Photoshop Elements, and it was immensely helpful! I am now very comfortable in Photoshop, thanks to the easy to follow instructions and visuals.

The volume's strong point is its voluminous visual to illustrate every phase of digital photography from equipment to printing paper. It also bridges the gap from optical to digital photography. Technical in presentation ... for the experienced phohtographer ...

A profusely illustrated with more than 1500 full-color photographs, step-by-step 'how to' guide for taking great photographs and then digitally enhancing them using Photoshop, "Digital Photograph" by Michael Wright is very highly recommended both for its comprehensiveness and for being so 'user friendly' in its organization and presentation. Covering Photoshop essentials in general, including Photoshop 7 and Photoshop CS in particular, "Digital Photography" addresses simple and complex retouching techniques, removing 'red eye' from images, cloning, hand tinting, restoring old photographs, photo montages, digital painting, adding text to images, special effects, storing images, creating photo essays, printing, file size, composition, color theory, bracketing, lighting, backgrounding, and so much more. "Digital Photograph" is a single volume instructional guide that is strongly recommended for anyone aspiring to enhance their photography through Photoshop technology.

More pictures, less words, better understanding! This book truly is a step-by-step visual guide for taking pictures, and then whipping them into shape in Photoshop.

This book is not about about how to take better digital photos. It's a book that gives step by step instructions on how to do numerous photo editing. If you're not experienced in PhotoShop, then I highly recommend this book. For a novice, it might be a good refresher for you.

One of the things I love about this book is it actually does give step-by-step visuals on the how tos. It shows you what the photoshop box will look like, tells you were to find the tools you need, etc.

If that's what you're looking for, then this book is ideal for you. As I said, if you're a novice, it's a nice refresher or quick reference book.

This is a great book for beginners and professionals. Although, if you are a beginner, you will need some basic knowledge of Adobe Photoshop CS2 or CS3.

Ctein does a great job of walking the reader through the individual photo restorations. He also lets the reader know about different types of software that will help with the restorations and how the software works. I found this to be very helpful.

I wish I had this book when I did my first restorations.

Although I am most heavily involved today in taking new photographs, I have an interest in restoring and repairing many old photographs that I have digitized with my scanner. This book is the best guide I have found for everything from minor fixes to full-blown reconstructions. It is highly recommended.

This is an excellent guide to restoration of old photos and negatives. Everything you'd want to have explained, laid out in step by step detail. This covers most all of the situations you're likely to be confronted with. Highly recommended.

This book is thoughtfully written with many good photo editing techniques that I haven't seen in other books. Worth the money. The author explains multiple methods for accomplishing similar results. A good book.

Once I started reading this book I had difficulty putting it down until I had finished it. It was so interesting to read how it would be possible to transform sometimes hopeless looking photos into beautiful photographs. It explains a lot about masking & curves adjustments & I feel that this book will be my restoration bible. Since I've had a computer less than a year & Photoshop for a few months, I didn't understand a lot of what I was reading, so I don't know if this should be a beginners first restoration book. It provides a sophisticated approach to digital photo restoration from scan to print.

This book is a great book for children and adults who want a basic introduction to art mediums. DK always does a good job of describing and it is an enjoyable read.

I had to get this for school. It's not a bad book and certainly is useful. I flipped thorough it to get some ideas.

I've seen books like these on clearance at book stores, so I think paying full price for this was silly.

DK books are always a "best buy" when it comes to bringing clear, concise information on how to do almost anything.

The book is in wonderful shape! My daughter needed it for a college class so the price helped her out a lot. I am an art teacher and was very impressed with it. I told her when she is finished with it she needn't pay me back...just give ME the book.

We bought this for our 14-year-old nephew, who is just starting to exhibit an interest in art. It is truly a great introduction to drawing and perspective, painting (oil, watercolor, acrylics), and even mixed media. Don't expect great depth in any one area, but its easy to read and use, heavily illustrated to keep kids' attentions, has a nice glossary. All in all, a really really great value and a book that is exactly what its title says it is.

This book was well worth the money paid,the book covers many things from beginning to end,topics such as how to increase your drawing capabilities,steps to move from to get better,then slowly moves towards things such as learning figures and anatomy,then to drawing the figures and inking them,the 2 forms of inking,and what materials are best for making a manga*WITH PICTURES!*
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to improve, get tips, or just starting out

This is a useful guide for all ages and skill levels of drawing. Especially those that are not familiar with or from the culture of manga animation artistry. It gives the history and origins of manga to give the reader and artist a better of understanding of manga. It then helps the artist see how traditional manga artistry is performed and the processes to make "good" and "proper" manga characters and art. Moreover, it shows the reader and artist how to develop their own style of manga artistry based upon the principles of the tradition. Then it helps the reader and artist to create and develope manga stories, and characters to be in them with "good" plots and flow to create your own manga novel of equal greatness to all those that many/you know and love.

I got this book out of the library out of curiosity
and was very suprised by its content.

Most Manga books show you how to
copy the CONTENT/STYLE of Manga; this
this addresses Manga's FORM as well
as its historical background and relation
to Western comics.

The section on how to use computers and
various software to layout, ink, letter and color
your OWN comics and/or manga
is worth the price of the book alone.

Highly Recommended!!!!

After you finish practicing Bruce Lewis' tips and techniques, you cannot help but emerge with your own particular style. Instructions are clear, informative and inspiring.

Its actualy the most helpfull book I have purchased so far when it comes to drawing in that style. It stresses the importance of practicing your own style and mastering it before moving on to anime esk figures. infact heres some advice, master basic anatomy before you decide to try manga, you have to be experienced regadless. The "How to Draw Manga" series is flawed in that it expects the customer to already know how to draw...

At the beginning of the year, my second graders draw the pictures and copy the information provided about each animal we study. As the year progresses, they are expected to provide other information they learn about a particular animal. This is perfect to use during our study of habitats!

I bought these books for my granddaughters and we have enjoyed them together. It's a wonderful way to encourage young artists to expand their talent. My daughter is a teacher and is excited to use them also.

These books are incredibly helpful for teaching art, and for a supplement to science and history. We use something else for handwriting but no matter - they are a huge asset even if you just use them for learning to draw. I highly recommend splurging and buying the whole set at once as it makes the cost of the books only $7.50 each (at $60 for a set of 8) and then you have a wide variety of subject matter handy when you need it. I must say that for whatever reason though, this item took forever to get to me. I love Amazon and had never, and have never again experienced such a long delay, but of couse it was well worth the wait!

We love these books. We home-school and have been using these books since the beginning of the school year. My two boys are older, 3rd and 5th grade, but we still use this to practice cursive writing and to work on basic drawing skills. It has really helped the boys to break down their drawing subjects in simple shapes. The kids really like the animals in the last few books. We would recommend these for any family.

This book set is engaging and fun for children. The books show pictures that were drawn by other children. Each lesson has an object or scene for drawing and writing. The lesson includes a picture which has about six to eight consecutive and detailed steps to help the child complete the picture. The child is encouraged to look at the whole picture and then focus on the simple and common shapes that are arranged together to complete the picture. There are teaching tips that are easy to implement. The writing portion of the book is suitable for younger, early elementary aged children, however the drawing portion of the book is suitable for older children as well as younger. It is easy to adapt the writing portion to meet the needs of the older child.

Simply put, I love this book. I do some of the exercises for about 15-20 minutes before every practice and every gig, and it's exactly like doing calisthenics before a workout. It gets all the limbs loosened up and really improves coordination. No matter what type of music you play, and regardless of your skill level, this book is for everyone. My advice is to add it to your library.

This book will help drummers of ALL skill levels. If you want to improve your speed, timing, coordination, and just all around technique, this will get you to where you want to be. I don't know of any other publication with such a wealth of drumming knowlege for so little money. Rod Morgenstein took drum text books to a new level with this one. A MUST HAVE FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO BE A BETTER PLAYER!

My experiance with Amazon service was just great!
I completed the process whithin 10 min and received the item ehead of schedule and in great condition.

I am so glad I got this book. It is loaded with exercises to build accuracy, independence, and endurance on the drum kit. And like Joe Morello's Master Studies, you can just flip to a page and work through an exercise or an entire page of exercises. Work through them all and see which ones you need improvement on, or just pick a few to warm up with before playing. It's helped my accuracy in hitting the drum in the middle, my speed and coordination . . . all in a short time. Enjoy!

Every drummer should have this book in their library. Rod Morgenstein is an incredible drummer, instructor (and human being). This book is the real deal.

I feel this book is for intermediate players and not beginners. Beginners are better off learning new beats and feeling encouraged by being able to keep steady time and grooving to songs. This book isnt about that.

This book disects the drumset and gives you tons of mechanical exercises on how to move around the set with control, dexterity and endurance. Its much more than just licks for warming up actually... its designed to make you a more proficient technician. Once you can play basic beats, this book can help you take your playing and technique to the next level - more control, power and speed.

In contrast to the previous book by Rod which is extremely musical and targetted at beginners, this one is focused on mechanics only and is better suited to intermediate players.

I highly recommend this book!

I love this book. It's great for a party craft (as I first used it) or for sending/making cards.

I remember this book from when I was a kid. My 4YO loved it when he got this book. We've recently given it as gifts with a stamp pad. I would highly recommend it,since kids can make adorable pictures with little effort.

I used this book for 400 Girl Scouts at a day camp. The fingerprint animals and people worked for all ages and the girls loved to try new things from the book. Thanks for all the great fingerprint ideas. :)

I was not familiar with this book before I bought it; however, it was recommended by the teachers of the students for which this and several other Ed Emberley books were purchased. From the thank yous I have received, this book was a real hit! It is used in a Native American Mission School with great enthusiasm and even better results. What more could you ask for?

I used samples made from the book for a kid's craft at our library. The kid's and myself had a lot of fun.