Bean Books

John gives people of all walks of life the opportunity to become a PhB (Professional Human Being), a degree which can be attained through the assignments he lays out in his book. One can discover his or her higher purpose and be ready to `step up' to meet professional and personal challenges. We can get outstanding marks, earn our PhB, and yet through continuing education grow to become even more outstanding in the future. It's a book you'll want to read again and again in years to come to uphold your PhB.

- Kian K. Dwyer Author, Living Your Chosen Eulogy: Live Today How You Want to be Remembered

This is a great book for anybody interested in becoming a better human being. Very well written and full of valuable insights. A must read!

PHB is a book you can pick up after a hard day at work...you know, the ones where you feel terrible about yourself and everyone else...and read a section of it. Guaranteed, it will not only remind you of what's important, but you'll feel reenergized to face your next day. It's not too long so I reread it from time to time. I get something out of it every time.

The book is about bringing humanity to the workplace. The best part is that it gives you these great philosophies and ideas that can actually be implemented in your life (home and work). You'll feel extremely motivated after reading it.

If you have a boss who's a good person, give it to them and they'll thank you. If you have a boss who needs some work on their people skills, sneak it in their office and hopefully you'll see a difference in their attitude. If you are a boss, you'll want to buy it for all those working for you. Enjoy!

Having met the author and experienced her loving heart, I discovered reading her work opened her loving heart to me, and enabled me to experience the humor, pathos, and everyday life of a remarkable community. I had to buy the book to share my experience with others.

Excellent collection for a Louisianaian or someone missing the Creole Culture of the state. Also, an easy trip for anyone -- learn the aspects of the Creoles in their Native Habitat.

Mona Lisa Saloy, formerly of New Orleans, tells a story of growing up in segregated New Orleans in her book of poetry, Red Beans and Ricely Yours. This is a slim volume packed with the flavors, sights and sounds of the author's beloved native city. Displaced by Hurricane Katrina, Saloy, a former professor at Dillard University previously resided in the Bay Area of California and recently won the Oakland Pen Award for poetry.

Written in sections with titles like Shotgun Life, Red Beans and Ricely Creole Quarters and Black Creole Love, the book yields poems that pay homage to her light, bright Creole father (My Creole Daddy) and her jet black mother (My Mother's the Daughter of a Slave), the real native foods and a way of life that are now far away memories, maybe gone forever. She humorously tells how she came by her name in Nat King Cole Babies and Black Mona Lisas and waxes philosophically about Catholic School in Parochial Product.

There is a glossary of terms at the end of the book as she uses a lot of Creole/French words and phrases and Louisiana language that is foreign to the rest of the U.S. You can taste the galait (fried bread) and beignets, smell the aroma of chicory coffee and visualize the Second Line parades as you take a journey through the Seventh Ward in an hour or less. Highly recommended even for those who do not normally read poetry.

Dera R. Williams
APOOO BookClub

I rate cookbooks not on how they look, or even on how difficult they are to follow, but on how good the recipes taste. In this category, Mr. Stein excells. The food is delicious. His recipe for Tom Yam Gung is one of the easiest and best tasting recipes for this classic Thai soup that I have ever tasted. The wonderful blend of fresh seafood and asian spice is unbeatable. Highly recommended.

Rick Stein is not only a superb chef but his writing is clear, simple and enthusiastic - like his food. He gives plenty of tips from what utensils to buy, to how to store fish and how to make excellant stocks. All the way through the book he carries you along with his passion and almost cooly, simplistic aproach. If you like fish - or even if you don't - I am sure you will find this book rewarding, not only for the food but also the interesting little tit bits he incorporates.

Ideal for anyone who wants to cook fish but is either worried about how difficult it might be - or bored with the same old same old.Rick's passion and enthisiasm is contageous.

If you are like me - love seafood, and always eat it in restaurants, but not sure about tackling it at home - this is ideal.

Its a good read even if you dont want to cook!

I didn't think the New Covent Garden Soup Company could match the quality and variety of its last recipe book, `Book of Soups' but I have been pleasantly surprised. Full credit to them on their second recipe book, `Soup and Beyond'. I am not normally an adventurous cook but the recipes are so easy to follow, I have really enjoyed cooking them. The best thing is, they have all turned out deliciously, with not a word of complaint from my usually critical children.

The illustrations all through the book are a really nice touch, especially the ones at the start which introduce you to the New Covent Garden Soup Company team. They emphasise the home made feel that I always associate with the company.

I was quite surprised at the variety of different recipes in the book, what with its sections on beans, breads, stocks and `other things'. My kids loved the soup lollies! There's certainly a lot more to this book than soups.

The recipes really work, its fun to read and there's something for everything. Worth a look.

With a distinctive maroon coloured cover, it's not hard to spot the latest offering from the New Covent Garden Soup Co. Dedicated `To everyone who enjoys fresh natural food as much as we do', we are introduced to the company and people who actually come up with and test the recipe ideas and learn that each page was hand-written, with the designer using over 70 black pens!

The book retains the rather quirky, home-made style of the New Covent Garden Soup Co - there's no photography, just tiny, fun cartoon illustrations. Recipes range from the basics (how to make a good stock) through to the more adventurous (Curried Banana Soup!).

As the title suggests, they didn't stop at soups ... the book also features sections on Beans (Broad Beans with Cancetta & Cherry Tomatoes), Breads (Dilly Casserole Bread) and mysterious `Other Things' (garnishes, dumplings, relishes ... even soup lollies!).

Each section is clearly introduced with a short history and basic rules, and, most charmingly, each recipe is preceded with a brief story about the person who donated the recipe, and where it was conceived or discovered, making the book as good a bed-time read as in the kitchen! Stories range from soups happened upon whilst backpacking in Russia (Salmon & Dill) through to a bean dish (Captain Beany's Boston Baked Beans) surreally donated by a self-professed `bean expert' (his girlfriend is called Tina Beans) Captain Beany!

All in all, a compelling and refreshing look at healthy food by a familiar brand name unusually willing to share some of their secrets and help dispel the myths that abound about soups being difficult to make.

Working in a large, US-based corporation that has taken an accelerated path toward globalization in the last three years, I have come to realize that our ability to work together effectively across distance and across silos is key to our success.

I have read several books on the topic of global teamwork, and while I have learned a lot from each, this one above others does a great job of pulling all the relevant elements together into a single, coherent model that I find myself refering to again and again when I look at global teams in the company.

I have found the approach presented here very helpful in the sense that it goes beyond theory and provides tools and processes that can be put into practice, including tables, lists and worksheets.

The following aspects are presented clearly:
1. The importance of virtual distance and the impact it has on the team's bottom line
2. How to analyze virtual distance in a team
3. How to identify critical areas of improvement
4. Suggestions on how to improve in those areas

The model and process are building on extensive research and this is a refreshing approach, looking at other books on the subject that seem to be based mostly on anecdotal experiences.

Even though the title implies the model presented here is specific to global organizations, I would say it an asset to anyone working in any kind of organization above a certain size.

I think this book is a great read, whether you are a part of your company's HR organization or just leading in a distributed setting.

Highly recommended.

This new addition to the Wiley Microsoft Leadership Series provides an updated perspective, not only for business leaders, but for executives, managers and leaders of all types of organizations. Whether we work in public libraries or for Hewlett Packard, communication in the digital age is a challenge!

Authors Lojeski and Riley present a timely, innovative response to workplace teams. Their virtual distance model cleverly intertwines the threads of physical distance, affinity distance, and operational distance into a visual shape that helps to understand the broader picture of today's workplace and its impact on work success or failure.

The reader learns about the history of the notion of teamwork. This context is not only relevant to corporate society, but all societies where work is done, both the private sector and the non-profit and government sectors. The discussion of pre-Industrial Age teams and Guilds to the teamwork models of today conveys a chronology of the past that helps to put the workplace of today in clearer perspective. The authors state: `...it is no longer possible that virtual workers build emotional ties to one another in the ways that people have done for centuries. The loose organizations of the Digital Age are not usually built for this purpose." This is a thought-provoking insight encouraging all leaders to take more responsibility for bridging the "affinity distance" gap.

Overall, I recommend this work to all readers currently in the workforce, not just managers, not just students, not just academics. This is a book that "takes the reader aside" to reflect on where we've been in the workplace, what we're grappling with now in the digital age, and what might be our path into the future.

Having worked for the better part of my career with widely scattered teams with and without the benefit (??) of technology, I can attest that Virtual Distance is real. I experienced it as well when working in a building with over 200 cubicle-mates. Authors Karen Sobel Lojeski and Richard Reilly have finally put a name to the problem businesses have been struggling with for years. As they so aptly point out, we are still reaching for the old paradigms and they are not working. There are other books available that attempt to address this problem without fully understanding the complex ramifications. This is the book to read. Virtual Distance is not limited to the workforce, it is an issue that affects the very core of our interpersonal relationships.

What a grand pleasure it is to read a book that is not filled with moral didacticism, whining, or political posturing. One may read these stories in safety, certain to emerge from the pages not a bit better ethically, nor worse, but surely happier, and THAT must count for something.
Grimshaw's prose is crisp and sharp. The dialogue crackles with realism. His characters are consistent and so, so life-like. I like these guys and want to read more about them-and in the final analysis, how can one praise a book any higher than to say, "I want more."

I've been reading the weekly humor columns that Grimshaw has been writing for the newspaper for years. I never fail to laugh at least once. This book collects a bunch of the best ones: Great characters and comical situations that are either true stories or made to sound like they're true in the best Jean Shepherd tradition. Each is a neat, self-contained story that can be read in one, er, sitting, making it the perfect book to keep in the bathroom. If you have two bathrooms, buy two copies of the book.

Finally, a unique voice to emerge in the sea of Dave Barry and David Sedaris imitators. Grimshaw is easily one of the best chroniclers of geek-boyhood in the world of literature. WING-DING AT UNCLE TUG'S is populated by a sublime collection of losers, miscreants, and ne'er-do-wells, each funnier and yet more poignant than the last. Bravo Grimshaw!!!

Dr. Sampey proves beyond a shadow of a doubt the American Dream is very much alive and attainable. Technically correct, historical, informative, hilarious and above all, inspirational. A must read for those who have a few beans to work with and an "Outer Lab" mentally within.

By Ruth Heinen

I RECENTLY BORROWED THIS BOOK FROM A FRIEND AND DID NOT EXPECT IT TO BE AS ENTERTAINING AS I FOUND IT TO BE. MR. SAMPEY HAS HAD A LIFE THAT MANY PEOPLE SEE ONLY IN MOVIES. HE HAS OVERCOME MANY HARDSHIPS IN LIFE AND STILL SEEMS TO HAVE A POSIOTIVE OUTLOOK. THE SCIENTIFIC PARTS OF HIS BOOK CAUSED ME TO SLOW DOWN A LITTLE IN THE BOOK, BUT I NEVER LOST INTEREST IS WHAT HIS NEXT EXPERIENCES AND ADVENTURES HAD IN STORE FOR HIM. ALONG WITH BEING VERY ENTERTAINING, THIS BOOK SHOULD INSPIRE PEOPLE TO NEVER GIVE UP. MR.SAMPEY IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THE AMERICAN DREAM COME TRUE. HIS STORY WOULD MAKE A GREAT MOVIE.

This is a life story that fits in with "The Greatest Generation" theme in our time. Dr. Sampey has shown us what perseverance and creativity can create. His story is well worth the read.

The story of Annabelle, a young Confederate girl coming into her womanhood during the Civil War, is one of the most well written fiction novels I have ever read. The author does a magnificent job keeping the reader on the edge of their seat throughout the entire piece. The struggle for Annabelle to find her father, coming to terms with the hardships of war and loss of life, the mixed emotions towards a Union spy and the mystery of a murder in her small town makes this story grab the reader and suck them into 1863 Virginia. McMath uses historical battles and information to weave a fictional masterpiece. The reader can't help but feel the way Annabelle does by the end of the novel. As a teacher, I have read this book to my own History students 3 years in a row; each year, they are engrossed in the story.

This is a very good story.....I enjoyed reading it very much. You can hardly put it down once you start! They don't get much better than this one.

Born of the vote, not of a war (I've borrowed that from the Australian Centenary of Federation), the Commonwealth of Australia, barely 13 years old, faced involvement in the First World War as a test of its young resolve. Emerging from the conflict with a sense of identity perhaps not attainable by less traumatic means. This book is a condensation of the Official Australian History of the 1914-18 War, edited by the author (C.E.W. Bean). It seeks to make the events of this time more accessible to the general reader (the Official History is in 12 volumes), especially the original readership, who had just faced the next war (first edition published 1946). The author establishes a sense of authority which no modern writer could ever hope for: photos of the Anzac day landings (25th April, 1915), at Gallipoli, credited as "Photo by the writer". While the Allies eventually lost this campaign (making it a fitting way to remember lives lost to the futility of war), the soldiers who had gathered and given meaning to the title ANZAC (both Australian & New Zealand) went on to serve with distinction on the Western Front (and other notable places). It is here that the book makes its greatest impact revealling lesser known details (the Gallipoli campaign is still actively recalled today on Anzac Day). The soldiers known for being a disciplinary nightmare behind the lines showed themselves to be amongst the most disciplined in the front, under enemy fire. Masters not only of the physical aspects of this war, but also of the psychological: the morale crushing "peaceful penetrations" of the enemy lines. The author does have a pedantic way to his writing, unless you're specifically interested in the units you learn to faze out the extra (though understandable) detail. He also has a tendency to use language that could now be called quaint. I have a strong desire to include specific details from the book, but I genuinely don't know what to include and what not to. The only real option is to recommend that you read it.

This book by noted Australian military historian, C. W. Bean is one of the classics of Australian military history. The book was first published over 70 years ago, and has an immediacy and relevance to the audience of its time. This is a chronological history of Australian (and New Zealand's) participation in the Great War in Europe. Modern perspectives of Australian participation in that conflict have taken on what appears to be a new, and more critical (and decidedly anti-British) bias in recent years. Yet revisionism is no claim to originality. It is surprising to see, in his pedantic style, that C. W. Bean, even as a man of his times, reveals a critical (though controlled) eye to British deployment of Australian forces that were supplementing the well-tested French and British units in the field. At times the language of the text seems quaint, due to its descriptive attention to non-salient matters, such as names of units, officers, and specific communications. The book discusses detailed troop movements before and after specific battles. Through these accounts, the reader obtains, through immersion, an appreciation of many forgotten aspects of tactical, logistical and strategic military operations issues of the time. Of interest, for example, are C. W. Bean's detailed descriptions of the procedures that were adopted to condition new Australian units to the destructive bombardments on the Western Front and the process by which units exchanged places in the front line trenches, without alerting the enemy, is of interest. C. W. Bean was renowned as a man who visited actual battle sites, to confirm contradictory claims made by different unit commanders. When he could, he reviewed the results of Australian actions through captured enemy reports where possible. He was also the man who saved Australian military records from a destruction order, mandated due to government disinterest. This book was perhaps the first popular account that resulted from this digest of actual Australian battle reports. The author utilizes vivid accounts of actions, both major and minor, from the original dispatches, and clearly shows the gradual evolution of the Australian army into a able and dependable ally in a global conflict. The book continues to be valuable as a handy, concise, one-volume review of Australia's total contribution to Allied victory in Europe in World War One. The extent of continued Australian involvement in European campaigns which followed the failed and famous Gallipoli landings in 1915, will surprise many readers, including Australians. The author is a product of his time, and does not question Australia's involvement in the War. But the author does reveal his patriotic and critical temper, through a controlled and detailed analysis of British-dominated decision making at the command level. This criticism is levelled at the perceived lack of appreciation of Australian initiative and command capability, of course, and thereby provides an insight into British-Australian tensions apparent at the time.

If you are interested in the Arts of the Huichols and their sacred rituals than find this book. I've looked over several books offered in Mexico and the United States on the Huichol and have found that this book is still king. I visited their cultural center in Nayarit this past summer and what is offered now pales by comparison. This book is written in a style that is like a sociological study at times but the case studies are fascinating and worth reading. The author covers the religious use of peyote and the often drug induced weavings that result from their visions. Although the ritualistic use of peyote and their yarn paintings are some of the things the Huichol are known for, the book is much more complex and delves into the social structure of the group as well. There are many color plates and black and white photographs that lend a realism to the book . The various contributing authors take the reader on a journey with them into the world of the shaman, including his initiation and rituals. There is a very intersting chapter that deals with acculturation and economics. This is an extremely beautiful book that will please the senses for years. Recommended for those interested in one of Mexico's indigenous groups that has resisted the onslought of European culture for centuries. Buyer beware, if you find this book you may get spoiled with the other offerings out there on the Huichols of Mexico. Recommended for seekers of knowledge of a seperate reality and the magnificent Art of the Huichol Indians.

This book gives great insight into the mysterious Huichol Indians of Mexico and their rituals. Although an art book, there are many color photographs, as well as black and white photos of the Huichol in their day to day lives. Truly a fascinating study of a group of people living as they have for hundreds of years. A cultural anthropology art book would be a better descriction. One learns about the old tradions that still exist to this day and the wonderful often peyote induced art that results. Pleasing for the eyes as well as the mind, reads like a college text but still the pictures and insights make it worthwhile.