Exotic Books

This is a phenomenal book for any one serious about their orchids. If you want to know what orchids work for the home, either on the windowsill or under lights, what potting medium to use, what pots to use, how to pot, how to split plants, when to repot, watering, light, humidity levels (and how to get to the right humidity levels) plus why individual plants need what they need, its in here. If you want to know how to identify pests and diseases plus what to do - its in here. It has a comprehensive list of 75 orchids and their individual requirements. It includes the details a serious hobbyist needs - including simple, yet extremely important, things like having to sterilize your tools and how to do it so that we don't spread infection between plants. All this along with absolutely beautiful pictures of many, many orchids!

This was one of the first orchid books that I purchased when I became interest in growing orchids as a hobby. I still use it as a quick reference. I highly recommend this book if you are new to growing orchids.

This book has all the information that I need to successfully grow orchids.
It is the ideal book for all orchid enthusiasts, from the beginner to the experienced orchid grower.

I have several Orchid books and this is my favorite. It's a great book for the beginner, or even the amature orchid grower. The book breaks down each aspect of orchid care: lighting, humidity, watering, potting & mounting, diseases, and even reproduction. There is also a wonderful listing of common orchid genera and their care requirements. They're listed with ratings of beginner-experienced-expert for their ease of care. The pictures are absolutely stunning. The book is an easy read and I come back to it regularly for reference.

This book explains it all. From lighting to the different kind of Orchid. I recommend it highly to someone looking into starting their own Orchid collection or even those with years of experience with these wonderful plants. Has terrific colored illustrations as well.

Excellent book for anyone who loves birds. For that matter an excellent book to learn to love birds.

Everybody refers to me as "the parrot guy" so it was not exactly unexpected that a friend of mine browsing the shelves of a bookstore in Great Barrington would get me "Elsewhere in the Land of Parrots" as a gift.

I enjoyed everything about this book. Some people might find it incredible that a few random encounters with our psitticine friends might wind up snowballing into life-changing events, but this kind of thing happens more often than one might think (it happened to me)! I was also delighted to see that Mark Bittner (the real-life protagonist of "Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill") turns up as a character. I enjoyed the story and especially the many insights into the lives of our wonderfully complex bird friends provided along the way.

This book gets Five Squawks!

My wife gave me this novel last Christmas, but with quite a backlog of gift books, it was May 2007 before I read it. This turned out to be serendipitous, because unbeknownst to her, half the novel is set in and near Guayaquil, Ecuador, and we were due to visit there about a week later. She read the novel after me while we were traveling in Ecuador.

I enjoyed "Parrots" greatly at the outset. It was one of those novels I was reluctant to put down when the other necessities of live intervened. David and Fern were both reasonably complex, subtle, and likeable characters through most of the story. Yet by the time we were introduced to the lecherous wildlife poacher Qualles, the plot became very predictable and almost dull. Worse yet, in the last few chapters both Fern and David suddenly became as two-dimensional and lifeless as cardboard cutouts. What happened? Why the sudden and conspicuous abandonment of good creative writing? It's as if Jim Paul just got tired of writing the novel, or else his editor pressed him to finish and submit it, and he spent maybe one weekend quickly dashing off the last four or five chapters just to get it over with. It ended with all the creativity and depth of a typical made-for-TV romantic comedy chick flick.

It's a fun, worthwhile read if you don't mind a shallow, disappointing ending. In all fairness, I have to point out that my wife enjoyed it more thoroughly, [...]

The two characters, Fern and David, are poetically developed, in alternate chapters. Their passionate interest, not only in parrots but also in their ties to nature, lead us through a very unusual adventure and love story. Hopefully there will be a sequel!

Jim Paul's novel is a very enjoyable read. For anyone who has seen the movie "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill," this novel adds another dimension to that experience by explaining the native origin of the parrots as well as the "civilization" origin. Intermingled with the story of the parrots is a charming love story of a woman who is investigating the parrots in their native habitat and a rather grumpy, lost soul who has contributed to the fate of parrots who are released far away from their natural home. I would highly recommend this book; in fact, I've already given a copy to each of my children.

My fiance and I dreamt about having a small wedding in Europe with a few close friends and family, but we didn't know where, and we had no idea what would be involved. After reading this book, we fell in love with the idea of getting married in Scotland. The book got us on the right track for researching it and made us realize that getting married there would definitely be possible and feasible.

This book gives a great overview of the logistics of getting married in various countries...it even rates the countries in terms of the difficulty of getting married there if you are a U.S. citizen. It is a great starting point if you are thinking of getting married in another country.

If you are considering eloping, I highly recommend that you get your hands on a copy of Beyond Vegas. It is the best book that is out there on the subject. Though it may be more popular if the title reflected better what it was about.

I bought both this book and Let's Elope when planning our escape from a typical wedding. Let's Elope can get you excited about the idea of eloping, but does not really provide much good information on how you would actually go about planning an event in any of the countries in which you might be interested. Beyond Vegas actually gives you the details you need to plan your wedding (elopment) in 25 countries, and we actually used this information to plan our wedding in Scotland. The authors actually got married in all of the destinations discussed in their book, and give all the pointers you need, not just what can be found on the official country registrar web sites.

I enjoyed reading Tabb and Silverstein's Beyond Vegas quite a bit. While some chapters ended up relatively untouched for personal reasons (Wyoming ski lodge elopement, too cold: New Mexico kiva ruins shindig, too weird), all the ideas were creative and well thought out. I can only think of one chapter that seemed like something anyone could have thought of (Ch. 1, wedding in a castle in Scotland).

Beyond that, the writers/partners were quite ingenous and thrifty, finding wonderful wedding sites at the drop of an incredibly inexpensive hat. In Santorini, Greece, the couple married on the balcony of their rented villa, overlooking the black volcanic cliffs and ocean-covered caldera of the Cyclades. Cliche? I think not. In Figi, the whole crew geared up in traditional skirts for a native wedding complete with National Geographic-quality melee.

A word to the wise, though-- these vacations were a lot cheaper in 2002, just after 9/11, when Tabb and Silverstein eloped those dozen times. The preface says that the couple never spent more than $5,000 on their most expensive elopement. Elopements are rated in the book on a dollar scale from "$" to "$$$$", and Satorini was given a "$$". When my beau and I looked into what that would cost in 2006 dollars (going to all the same hotels and booking the cheapest flight), we were shocked to find that the price of the same vacation would be no less than $5,000. While that's still a fraction of the cost of a white wedding, it's no "$$" on a 5K max scale. Take that into consideration as you read along.

This book is about eloping --- not gambling. Hey wait a minute, maybe it is gambling!

Seriously . . . a fun read to stir up great fantasies.

...researching on your own. I bought this book because I'm a travel agent, want to evetually get marrried away, and am always interested in what others suggest to clients.

Honestly, I found the book an "ok" source of info. Sadly, I ended up wondering where the couple involved in the book would get married next and what they would wear.

I am not opposed to destination wedding guidebooks, but this one could be a bit more interesting.

This is a great book and DVD! It teaches you so much, and you can rewind, fast forward, pause soy you can get the technique down. Any one can do this! It is also SO much fun, even if you are by yourself!

All I can say is: AWESOME! This book is so great and the step by step guides are super easy to follow. My boyfriend is REALLY happy that I made this purchase!

My boyfriend has a pole in his house and challenged me to learn how to use it. So I ventured out to do some research and stumbled across this book. When it came, I watched the DVD first and was actually impressed! After watching the DVD, I read the book and it was awesome!

She not only talks about exotic and pole dancing techniques, but she also provides tips like how to wear your make-up, how to do your hair, what type of shoes to wear, and even trimming up the bikini line (VERRRRRY IMPORTANT)! She makes you feel comfy with your body since all of us aren't shaped like the poles we are learning to dance with.

All in all, I was thoroughly pleased with this book and I would definitely recommend it if you're just starting out and need some basic techniques and a little guidance!

Book and vidoe are ok. I have since purchased videos adn books which are much better.
Effective at showing the moves although the presenter looks a bit clumsy and not that sexy.
Felt it was a bit cheesy - the dance names, which other videos and books are pretty much consistent this one renames with "student and friend's" names.
Book is ok- for beginners and those just wanting to maybe use it for spice. For more professionally done woudl recommend Fawnia, or Edith Aboul-Hosn videos.

I think this book is a great reference manual. As a pole instructor - I focus more on tricks than dance, fitness vs. sensuality - I did find a few things in this book I would like to add to my warm ups.

I've never been an exotic dancer a day in my life so I cannot comment on other sections beyond the pole. I thought the lapdance and chair sections looked fun.

This book is easy to follow and understand. I think some of the movement is "over done" and far too dramatic but (hey what do I know? I'm a pole monkey) if you want a book to learn to be "sexy" for your hubby then this a great book full of all sorts of ideas and easy to follow choreography.

This is a good broad spectrum book about exotic dance. I would suggest buying it and looking through it if you are considering taking any pole fitness/dance or exotic type dance classes to see how you feel. It's easy sometimes to feel a little silly doing hip circles and rolls in class with a bunch of other women (but it gets very fun and silly!)

I really am enjoying this read, the anecdotes are funny, the music list is great, this book is just full of all sorts of cute little ideas. The instruction really is easy to follow - this is the main thing that I liked about it.

If you are looking for any type of advanced instruction this book is not for you. The most advanced this book gets is basic inversion. If you are an advanced pole dancer looking to be an instructor, this is a good read for you. You'll want to pay attention to the breakdowns of the moves and the sequences she explains them in. If you've never been an exotic dancer and want to teach, this is a great book about sensual movement - if that's the type of classes you would like to teach. I would even suggest allowing your students to borrow it.

If you're a "pole gymnast" (I just like the term, that's how I see it) then you'll likely not gain much out of this book. I would recommend Vertical Dance Videos to you. I'd also look into books by Eric Franklin which discuss more anatomy and body conditioning for flexy, bendy moves on the pole.

All in all - good beginners book, good reference manual for instructors, the DVD is fun!

This book is great and very informative. A must have for any corn snake enthusiasts!

a very well thought out book for beginers as it tells you all you need to know about keeping your snake healthy and well and to enjoy your snake

My family is in the market for a "Corn." We are actually looking to purchase one from the author of the book. It is very descriptive and detailed. The only reason why I gave it 4 stars is because we've never owned a snake and I think a check-list on what is recommended to buy before your snake arrives should've been included, along with how often to clean the aquarium and exactly how to clean it (just scoop out individual messes, or the whole she-bang). Anyway. It's excellent and informative and highly recommended!

I Bought this book the day I got my corn snake, Sayuri. It has been very handy to have around:) Most of the information can be found online for free, but it's very convenient to have all in one place at a moments notice. When I got my snakes (I also have a milk snake) they were living with no heat or light source in their own filth, and scummy nyquil caps used for "water bowls." I figured that even though I'm a beginner, I couldn't do any worse. My snakes now have CLEAN cages, CLEAN water dishes large enough for them to soak in, proper lighting and under cage heat sources, fresh clean substrate, and they are very active and (I assume) happy ^_^

I recently bought my first pet Corn, and picked this guide up as a reference for my new baby snake. This book is considered the bible of corn snake ownership, and for good reason. It's massively thorough, covering every topic a new snake owner needs to know about, as well as some other interesting stuff. I particularly enjoyed the section on genetics and the history of the different morphs.

My only nitpick is that the authors state a lot of their personal opinions about the value of different colors and patterns as if they're universal--they actually call dark colors "ugly" at one point, whereas I find them the most appealing. It would be better if they could remain objective, and simply present the facts.

When this book arrived yesturday I couldn't wait to dive into it. I'm doing a research project on medieval aviculture in China and had heard from a friend this book might have key information I was looking for. Sure enough, the information is golden. But the bibliography is NOT, so much that I have to downgrade from 5 stars to 3 stars. All over the notes section are abbreviations that you cannot readily find explained. Rather than just copying and pasting the names of the works, you get TTT and the like. hello, but what is that???

Bibliographies and notes have to be useful so that researchers like me can consult the same sources used in the work. This work is beautiful and reads well, but is terrible to check out. How can I check sources if there's no way to figure out what the sources used really are? How do I determine if there were rose breasted cockatoos in China if I cannot see the original for myself? Maybe this author doesn't know a cockatoo from a cockapoo! It's why I'm expected to check the bibliography and read the originals. So read the book but don't expect to get great research out of it.

Oh and one more thing: he doesn't use hanyu pinyin in this book. I don't know what romanization system he's using, but heck that I can figure out who, what, or where when it comes to Chinese language words and names! Again, this is important for a researcher!

Would it hurt to write "Beijing" instead of "Peking?"

I came by this book because of its tantalizing title: The Golden Peaches of Samarkand. Who can resist such a juicy exotic invitation? I couldn't, so I plunged into this intriguing essay on Tang exotics and I must say I emerged enriched.
Edward Schafer (1913-1991) was truly a great Chinese scholar because in an university scenario in which much had already been said on the Tang period and on the scientific and cultural life of Chine during the Early Middle Ages (that by the way for the Chinese represent what for Europe was the Renaissance if a similar comparison in proper) by major scholars such as Needham, he managed to create and original, interesting and nowadays indispensable reference book for that historical period. In a plethora of texts that all give a different view of the same topics endlessly repeating the known historical facts, this "microhistory" essay tangentially describes Tang civilization touching and exploring the lives and desires of rich men in another age.

The Tang Dynasty (618-907) ruled during a period in which China probably was the most advanced civilization of the world and as in all rich societies the search for the superfluous became a necessity. The development of commerce by land and see, the safety of the Silk Road to the West and the political necessity or at time the disinterested pleasure of foreign kings in sending gifts and tokens of gratitude to the Tang emperors all contributed to the afflux to Chang'an (the Tang capital of the times) of all the strangest, rarest and most expensive luxury goods. This stimulated the emperors' and the peoples curiosity giving way to more requests, descriptions in poetry, amazing tales, representations in art and downright falsifications of these exotic artefacts.

Kunstkammers have always been the expression of the culture and richness (remember Rudolph the II in Prague) and have represented a further stimulus to civilization. Reading this book we are amazed by the quantity and quality of foreign goods known by the Chinese. Schafer, with a beautiful prose, often interrupted by his own or A. Waverly's translation (translator of The Monkey) of Chinese poems by major Tang artists, leads us by categories to a deep knowledge of the period's reality and imagination. A apparently sterile catalogue of men, domestic and wild animals, birds, furs and feathers, plants, woods, foods, aromatics (spices), drugs, textiles, pigments, minerals, jewels, metals, secular and sacred objects and books in reality opens up like with a magical key an infinity of little rooms full of "mirabilia", each linked to stories, poems, sages and monks, pharmacists and alchemists, emperors and their wives and court men.

Other reviewers have suggested not to read the book cover to cover, but to skim through it following your curiosity. Actually I went through the book cover to cover, reading all the notes that represent more than one fifth of the text and I did not find it particularly heavy. Instead I was stimulated all along to consult other books for the illustrations, which unfortunately are missing for the major part. I received great help from the beautiful "Three Thousand Years of Chinese Painting" by Yang Xin and others, and I also from the old book on "China, a History in Art" by Bradley Smith and Wan-go Wen. For the historical reference I used J.A.G. Robert's the "A Concise History of China" that helps to understand the economical and political situation.

Naturally, this book would be best read with a solid preparation in Chinese history but I think it is enjoyable even without it. Surely it awakes curiosity for further study of that magnificent historical period.

A golden nugget in Chinese historiography.

This work is brilliant. That said, don't pick this up expecting to read cover to cover. View it more as a thematically-organized encyclopedia of T'ang exotics and you'll enjoy the experience much more. A must-read for any student of the T'ang period.

... I haven't read any book like this for a long long time. The flowing texture of writing, the unique choice of organization, the depth of the author's knowledge in T'ang empire and its relation with city-states in Serindia as well as other peripheral states, the grasp of Chinese classical literary texts, of this book, clearly set a high standard that's hard to surpass.

This is not a chronicle of events between 7 and 10th century. There is no clear time axis to the theme. Yet it reveals to us a vivid, alternative facade of T'ang empire. It is not an overstatement to say, for me, it is rather shocking to find out that so many things that are considered quintessentially Chinese are actually product of people of many origins. For example, in Chapter II Men | Musicians and Dancers, the most celebrated Chinese classic "Rainbow Chemise, Feathered Dress" was actually a rendition of Serindian song "Brahman". (This song is now lost. Once rediscovered by a lyricst of Sung era, 2-3 centuries later. Lost again later on). This once again strengthen my view of Sinic culture as a fruition of multi-cultural interation.

I do wish author had put in the book a timetable of major political events. He had only one for dynasties timetable, and one succession table for T'ang Emporers. For example, when he repeatedly referred to the conquest by T'ang (Emporor Tai Chung) of Kogoryo, if he has a table for political events we wouldn't have to confer a history book to find it out what year that's and how that's related to other major events (such as Rebellion of Rokhsan).

Except this tiny blemish, I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history as well as cultures.

To wrap up this petite review, I would like to put down a few footnotes to the book, for other intelligent readers:

1. The Grand Canal (referred to by the Author as "The River of Transport", a literal translation) was built in the reign of Emporer Young, Sui Dynasty which preceded T'ang.

This one thousands odd miles long acquaduct contribute greatly to the nation's unity, prosperity. Perhaps, for the first time, the economy of the south and the north are truely united.

2. In the book, Author translated Chinese old names for Rome as "the Great Chin". This is correct only in modern times if one is to interpret the word "Da Chin"(Rome) literally. According to some scholar, Da Chin came from the ancient word "Dasina" which means "the one from the west". The other proper name for Rome is "Fu Lin" which derived from "FRome", a phonetic variant of "Rome".

Enjoy the book

The Golden Peaches of Samarkand has been very well-beloved by professional Sinologists ever since it first came out in 1963. Happily, it still remains available, 44 years later, in this paperback incarnation. The book features an obsessivly complete listing, with judicious commentary, of nearly every trade product that came into Tang China by sea or land. Equally helpful, are the end notes which reference each such product to the Chinese sources that mention it.

However, general readers will want to know that this is a very detailed reference book that is mostly of interest to professionals. Don't be misled by the glowing (and deservedly so) scholarly reviews! An example:

"PATCHOULI

A Malayan mist yields the fragrant black oil which was called malabathron or phyllon Indikon, "Indian leaf," in the classical West. Its Sanskrit name is tamala-pattra, but we know it by a name derived from Tamil, paccilai, "green leaf." In Chinese, patchouli was called "bean-leaf aromatic," from its appearance..."

If the idea of reading 300 pages like this turns you on, hey, go for it :-)

Originally published in 1954 and quickly becoming a best seller; The Wilder Shores of Love portrays four admirable women who, by fate and conscious design, lived their lives brimming with dangerous adventure, passion and political savvy that threw nineteenth century society into a stir of envied condemnation.

Jane Digby, `impervious to scandal', made her way across Europe like a whirling dervish of all consuming passion. Among her many flames (the list is not exhaustive) were Prince Schwarzenburg, Balzac, King Ludwig I of Bavaria and his son; Otto, King of Greece, followed by an Albanian Chieftain and a couple of Arab Sheikhs. The last with whom she settled in Syria, alternating between Damascus and desert tribal warfare in which she participated; all of this at a time when `Queen Victoria refused to countenance the remarriage of widows'. She was also a woman of great intellect, spoke nine languages fluently and retained her naiveté until the end.

By contrast, Isabel Burton and Aimee Dubucq de Rivery displayed a singular sense of purpose that defied what was possible: Isabelle Burton, hypnotised by her husband to be, the awesome Richard Burton (explorer, orientalist, linguist - a kind of Livingston, Byron, T.E. Lawrence and Fitzroy Maclean all rolled into one), clung to a gipsy prophecy for nine years before she got her man. Blanch takes their relationship as a metaphor between east and west; Catholic, domesticated Isabel who was also a consummate organiser and genius Burton, who could disappear for months on end to go native, re-emerging with sensitive information that the foreign office rarely took on board.

Then there is the fascinating tale of Aimee Dubucq de Rivery; kidnapped by corsairs whilst sailing to France and despatched to the harem in Constantinople for the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. A worthy prize if ever there was one, her son became the famous reformer Sultan Mahmoud II. Blanch surveys European politics from the latticed seclusion of the harem, giving a unique perspective from this abducted beauty who was more powerful than we'll ever know. Her childhood cousin, Josephine, became Napoleon's first wife.

The fourth portrait is of Isabel Eberhardt; rebel, writer, adventurer. She has a hard act to follow and doesn't come off as fascinating as the previous three but is nevertheless extraordinary in her own right.

Lesley Blanch chose her subject matter well and contrasts her four portrait sitters with the backcloth of their age. The transition of nineteenth century England from the Regency period to the Victorian era she describes as `The century's smothering growth of prudery'.

This is a scintillating kaleidoscope of landscapes, personalities, cultures and attitudes that offers a political insight equal to its task. It reminds us in our politically correct age that there have been real women of daring who enlivened society and challenged its boundaries in an unconventional way; yet in the end, it is more a quintet than quartet, as Lesley Blanch herself is up there with the best of them: A must read!

I have only read the first story but it is great. Looking forward to the other two..

God what a beautiful collection of real life stories and ones about women that way up most braggart adventures of men!(and I say that as a guy folks!). I was in a state of awe & envy throughout, fell dangerously in love with 3 out of 4 of the characters and am left disappointed only by my own world in result. This book is highly detailed and revealing of ins and outs of secret minds, hearts, places, women, individuals, religion, history and in many ways is scarily telling about truths of all. Its a gorgeous voyage and I give this book away too often but its one of those you know? Men or women I dare you to call yourself the same by its end!

"Did I have adventures with foreign men?'' Lesley Blanch told an interviewer on her 100th birthday. "Many times --- I like them.''

Even at that advanced age, she was still writing. Always to music, most often reggae. At night, she'd greet visitors --- she was fond of hashish dealers --- to her exotic house on the French-Italian border in clothes that matched her environment: a caftan and turban, her neck fighting a load of ethnic jewelry.

To the very end of her life --- Lesley Blanch died in the spring of 1907, at 102 --- she was wildly entertaining. But her big personality is just icing. As "The Wilder Shores of Love" attests, she was a very good writer with a gift for telling remarkable stories, many of them probably true. And she was the ideal writer to profile four 19th century women who defied convention and went off to make fresh starts in North Africa and the Middle East. Or, as she called them, "four northern shadows flitting across a southern landscape."

Her focus was as exotic as her prose: "love as a means of individual expression, of liberation and fulfillment within that radiant periphery." Her women weren't head-in-the-stars about love; they were "realists of romance." And the book works brilliantly because, though the lives of Blanch's women were only superficially similar, their priorities were the same --- breathing the oxygen that was only available on the wilder shores of love.

Isabel Burton: Blanch chose her because she was "the supreme example of a woman who lived and had her being entirely through love." From the minute she saw them, she craved the East and the famous Victorian traveler, Richard Burton. (He spoke 28 languages. Blanch writes, one of them pornography.) Once she got him, their lives became a Greek drama: She colonized him and destroyed him, and, in the process, destroyed herself. But to what astonishing heights destruction took them --- Isabel worked tirelessly on Richard's behalf and, more or less singlehandedly, turned him into a celebrity. "I have undertaken a very peculiar man," she wrote in the early days of the marriage. He could have said the same: She traveled with 59 trunks, stayed for days in harems, and, meeting her wayward husband by chance in Venice, said hello and shook his hand.

Jane Digby: "She smashed all the taboos of her time," Blanch writes. "Hers was a life lived entirely against the rules, reasons and warnings, and it was triumphantly happy." You may disagree --- Digby experienced the ultimate tragedy when her beloved six-year-old son slid down a balcony, miscalculated and fell to his death at her feet. But the rest? One fabulous love affair after another, culminating in the marriage to Sheik Abdul Medjuel El Mezrab. Jane was always a great horsewoman; now she mastered dromedaries, and often raced at the head of a Bedouin tribe. She prepared her husband's food, stood as he ate, washed his feet. And the outcome? She never became old. "Admiration and love," Blanch notes, "are the best beauty treatments."

Aimée Dubucq de Rivery: Romantic? How's this: captured by pirates, flunk into a harem and enslaved. Her first sight in her new life in Turkey was "a great pyramid of heads, some so newly severed that they reeked and steamed with blood." She became "the French Sultana," the mother of Sultan Mahmoud II (who helped create modern Turkey) and a force for freedom and justice --- quite the tale.

Isabelle Eberhardt: She dressed as a man. She turned Arab. A Russian, she converted to Islam and died --- actually: drowned --- in the desert. "She adored her insignificant husband, but her sensual adventures were without number," Blanch writes, matter-of-factly. "Her behavior was outrageous; she drank, she smoked hashish, but déclassée, she remained racée." No one who met her ever forgot her. You won't either.

Subjects and author been rarely been better matched. For despite her sympathies with travel and romantic adventure, Lesley Blanch was a serious writer. Though well-born, she was also born poor; she worked hard from a young age, first as a book illustrator, then as Features Editor of British Vogue. Over her career, she wrote 18 books, all in longhand. The combination of a good education, intense research, remarkable subjects and a vivid style is irresistible --- "Wilder Shores" has never been out of print since its publication in 1954.

I wouldn't have known about this book if I hadn't read Lesley Blanch's recent obit in the NY Times (May 11, 2007). It sounded too good to pass up, and it's a great read. Her writing style, for a biography, is over the top even for 50 years ago, but it's obvious she was enjoying herself in the telling, and it's a very readable book. HOWEVER, as soon as you read Ms Blanch's intro, you find a reference to an illustration, but when you check the book for pictures, there are none. Turns out the hardcover first ed. had pictures, and some subsequent paperback editions printed in England kept the illustrations, but the newer paperback editions dumped them. Well, shame on Scribners for not including them! It does take something away from the narrative not to be able to see whatever the author was able to locate on the women, whether photos or portraits. But still an entertaining read.

I've been using this book for a couple of years now, and still find myself surprised by the range of recipes and flavors. The organization is clear and straightforward, none of the recipes I've tried have been laborious or time-consuming, and even new dishes disappear at the table like family favorites. A great resource.

I received this book as a present and I couldn't have asked for a better choice. I enjoy the varety of recipes and the editorial and notes about the Jewish tradition. The pictures are beauitiful and inspirational and the recipes are easy to follow. Of the many cookbooks I have accumulated over time, this one is my all time favorite!

This book shows how interesting kosher food can be. The recipies are from all around the world, with totally different flawors. Also the book is written in the order of the Jewish year making it easy to find a suitable recipy for the current season. I enjoy making traditional recipies like Challa (Bread for the Shabbat) and Indian traditional Jewish recipies like Potato Chops. The accompanying explanations and stories add a dimension to the cooking, and makes it a splendid gift item to anyone iterested in cooking in general and Kosher cooking specifically.

this is a very recommendable book. for a person like me not wanting to get entangled in complicated cooking and wanting to prepare kosher food and to know of the background for kosher and of the jewish holidays, this is a heavensent book. thus i have bought plenty as gifts and all recipients have been more then happy and satisfied. very recommendable and supervalue for money !

An underrated book, poorly written with dull recipies. I prepared a few times, for my guests, a number of recepies from this "book" and dinner turned into a total failure. I love my friends so I would not buy them this book. I bought it - big mistake.

i love guppies, and theres a great chapter on them i would deffintly recomend this book

Although it's been around for about thirty years, it has been revised and updated. This is an excellent guide for getting a grasp on what those little fish are in the pet shop tank, what they need to eat, what they need in terms of water temperature, pH, hardness and quality, how much space they need, how well they get along with others, and how big they grow. (That cute little fish with "C. managuense" on the front of his tank will get along just *fine* in the 10-gallon tank with your fancy guppies! [NOT!]) There is even rudimentary breeding information for a great many species.

Even for advanced aquarists, there is a ton of useful information here, even though much of it is dated. The looseleaf edition allows for updates.

The only reason this gets 4 stars instead of 5 is that it is somewhat dated. It's still one of the better all-around fish books you can get.

Exotic Tropical Fishes is phenomenal in both covering almost all commercially available (and some not readily available) types of tropical fish as well as providing color pictures and vital stat's on these animals. It was tremendously valuable in helping us to set up our aquarium, stock it with compatible fish, and quickly identify and treat the diseases which occassionally invaded. It is truly ashame that this tome of fish is no longer in print. I highly recommend buying it, even used, over any of the currently available, new books that I have seen on this subject. From experience, I have found that the information in most major pet stores is often incorrect; therefore, we always take this book with us when purchasing fish as it is a staple of any well-informed aquarist.

Has a medium ammount of information about alot of fish. Great place to get the basics about which fish you want to do what whith. Book looks a bit dated, but the information seems about the same.

This is an superb book that is well worth it's weight. Although expensive this is a publication which all who are deepley interested in tropical fish must have! This is the type of book that would be used by people in the tropical fish trade as well as the admirer.

I have to tell you that this was one of the very best nature books I have read in a long time. It has great stories, it is super-engaging, and it has a wonderful yet not overpowering environmental message.

Most books on Costa Rica focus on travel tips, but MONKEYS ARE MADE OF CHOCOLATE: EXOTIC AND UNSEEN COSTA RICA takes a different turn, examine how animals, plants and people interact in that country and providing over thirty essays which come from a conversion of a cattle ranch into a popular eco-tourism destination. Stories and essays provide literally decades of observation of the Costa Rican natural environment and its management. A 'must' for any who plan on seeing the country and who want to know more of its wildlife and habitats.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This book gives an excellent overall review of the Pacific rainforest and it's inhabitants in Pacific Costa Rica while encouraging the reader to contemplate preservation of the fragile ecosystems. Very readable. I recommend it to interested travellers to the region.

All I can say is: read it, you'll love it! (as well as learn more than you probably learn in a year of science class, change the way you think about the world, have a better understanding of what nature really is, be highly entertained, want to gather everyone you know and read them entire chapters [or the whole book!] be recomending this book like crazy...you get the idea)

This book is a series of easy-to-digest short stories and essays by a good storyteller. Some are lightweight and merely entertaining, some are likely to change your life. Over 30 years the author, who was born and raised on the midwest plains, gradually turned a typical Central America cattle ranch into a premier eco-resort. By simply being open to what the land and environment were trying to do, some amazing and highly encouraging lessons are taught. The environmental future shown here is lush, varied, and hopeful. This is a bright ray in a field that tends too much toward doom and gloom.