Bean Books

The book is worth any price just for the blueberry pie recipe.

Unexpectedly, this novel was richer and smoother than the other 5, in narrative style and in the dichotomies of small-town, trivial-tensions etched through the welcoming warmth of familiarity and intimacy. In the pilot to the series, THE COOKING SCHOOL MURDERS, it seemed that Rich was writing with all cylinders primed and pumping. At retirement age at the time, possibly she had harbored a long banked dream of writing this type of novel, and she was giving it all she had saved in her writer's soul through a rich lifetime. See my review (link page).

In BAKED BEAN SUPPER MURDERS, the second book in the series, the author's style seemed more relaxed. She seemed to have settled her author's hat comfortably on her head, and to feel she would be allowed by her publisher and readers to take time setting the foundation of an extensive collection of characters, which were her neighbors and friends with a few newcomers to the community mixed into the brew, most of whom would become suspects. Rich wasn't just developing depth into an intriguing group of characters to carry a "still waters run deep" plot. She was developing various types of Character from ethical, philosophical, sociological, and psychological perspectives. And she was "doing" an edgy Norman Rockwell portrait of small town life, this time with a slightly bitter twist (booze slurped tastefully, and socially tended), which eloquently exposed the dynamics of greed and offensiveness which can fester within a small community, especially when wide spreads of class structures, and a variety of social attitudes attempt to mix (or not) within a small, seasonally lush geography.

Below is a paragraph from my review of COOKING SCHOOL MURDERS, in which I noted the warmth Rich dramatized about another small town area, that of her own point of origin in Iowa:

You might expect a more simply sophisticated version of Mrs. Pollifax, a version of that feisty, restless, elderly spy; a version which is contented to settle into her last chapters of life by leisurely honing the luxury of cooking, of nurturing the body and soul by being comfortably in and seeing the significance of The Basic Life within small-town-communities existing in various places on "The Route 66 Literary Continuum" from Sinclair Lewis's MAIN STREET to Grace Metalious's PEYTON PLACE, with Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen cookie jar series taking the cake for the sweetest, perkiest view of small town life (warm hearts in cold places; see my Listmania).

THIS time many of Eugenia's friends and neighbors, with those among them who were neither, treated her like an old-lady-widow who should be done with the vital part of her life. Poor souls. They should have been warned. In one scene Mrs. Potter was rendered speechless several times, by this group, and each time I smiled, knowing this cattle rancher (her other home was in Arizona), horse riding lady would eventually get her feet under her (or in the stirrups), and the cow pies would fly. Loved that scene. Loved how Rich had Potter work herself out of the offensive affronts.

Since this # 2 in this sequence was my last novel in this series to read, I applied ginger to my reading recipe. I've reviewed the other two novels, by Virginia Rich, and those by Nancy Pickard who successfully published three Mrs. Potter novels after Rich's death. Possibly I had left this one to read last because I hadn't felt the pizzazz for THE BAKED BEAN SUPPER MURDERS title, as I had the others. I wondered if that might have been because baked beans, though I love them, didn't hit my palate as anything special in the currently jazzed-up culinary world. When Rich composed this one (probably during the transition from the 1970's to the 80's), especially from her secondary home setting in a lobster fishing village near Bangor Maine, brown bread and baked bean recipes were treasured and held close by the old guard cooks in the community.

While you're drooling over the opening supper entrees and ingredients, allow yourself to read leisurely through the character setting space in the early plot. I doubt any reader could have more trouble than I do with remembering a slew of names. I was helped by knowing that Rich doesn't just drip them and let the water run out without containment, she continues (underwater basket?) weaving names, faces, bodies, and social styles, through each other and throughout the mystery, completing several tangy tapestries which will thoroughly incorporate not only each name mentioned, but will add the reader into the design, from his complimentary side.

"Here's looking at you, kid."

This was an unusual mystery, in warm, spicy, and feisty ways. In this one I felt the characters' grief for the loss of each murdered character. I felt a deep disgust for some of the potential perpetrators.

Long live the soul of a true novelist who happened to have a plethora of mystery spices with which to season ... A Great American Novel.

Richness was achieved here, and shared well.

Thank you, Virginia. You've risen perfectly to your current residence and its unlimited views of many oceans. No old lady, you. Lady of the first water.

Holding a crystal water-goblet in both hands, looking through prisms of multi-colored light, I see not a cozy culinary. I see a true author, Virginia Rich, and a true novel with a tangy, tasteful mystery included.

Linda Shelnutt

Before you finish this splendedly composed mystery, Mrs. "Genia" Potter will seem like a member of your family. I loved all Virginia Rich's original books. She gave such life to her characters. What luck for us readers that Nancy Pickard kindly picked up the series and Mrs. Potter can continue to solve her little mysteries. Thank you ladies for the good stories and yummie recipes. I look forward to more.

This "Idiot's guide" seems random adn disjointed. Not worth while to purchase if Lincoln facts in context are your goal.

Even if you think you know all there is to know about Lincoln, this book will contain many revelations. It is way more than a history book. The author thoroughly examines Lincoln's life and analyzes his lasting legacy. I found it very intriguing to learn what a profound effect Lincoln had on the country (and the world) long after his death -- even up to our present times.

This is definitely an engrossing story for readers of all ages.

Abraham Lincoln lived more than 100 years ago, but his story is still relevant in our modern world. Lincoln didn't have his success handed to him; he had to go out and earn it, and there were plenty of twists and turns along the way. This rags-to-riches story is something we can all learn from and incorporate into our own lives.

The Legacy of Lincoln takes us from Lincoln's humble beginnings in a small cabin in Kentucky to his presidency and tragic end in 1865. So much of what he accomplished is still felt in our society today. All of these had their beginnings in the Lincoln administration: The Homestead Act, Land Grant Colleges, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the transcontinental railroad, the abolishment of slavery, and much more. Here is a man who truly had the best interest of the American people at heart, and he was willing to fight for the rights and freedoms of ALL people -- rights and freedoms we hold so dear today.

The book also provides extra tidbits such as Lincoln quotes and speeches, trivia, anecdotes, and common misconceptions and myths.

Many thanks to author Pamela Oldham for such an insightful look at both the public and private life of Abraham Lincoln. This book is very readable and gives us a wonderful overview of the man whose life still reverberates in our culture today. It's the perfect book for students first learning about Lincoln, as well as adults wishing to learn more.

For the past five years I have been searching for good recipes that use beans, rice, or both together. When I got this recipe book I found an old favorite (that I lost) that uses rice, broccoli,mushrooms, chicken,and cream/mushroom soup. I will use brown basmati instead of white long grain now. I also found two or three very good recipes that use red, pinto, or black beans with rice. Over time beans and rice has become a family staple. . .this is an excellant recipe book. I would recommend this little recipe book to the beginner. . .very good on the "how- to's," and the essentials.

This is a great recipe book to have on hand. It has allot of information, and a large variety of recipes in it.

This is a pretty good source of information regarding cooking with... well, beans and rice, enough that it's worth two stars. However, the editing is hideous, there were several moments when the recipe directions were unclear (many things are simply assumed) and overall it seemed as if none of the recipes were actually tested by Ms. Layton. If you are already familiar with cooking, especially cooking from scratch, this might be a good book to get, especially if you have time for "trial and error". If you are short on either time or experience, better look elsewhere.

In what promises to be a very exciting series, noted lifestyle presenter Joseph W. Bean has been enlisted to launch a series of instructional DVD/Book combinations that will provide safe and easy to follow instructions in BDSM play. The concept is simple: videotape a presentation in front of a studio audience, giving thorough and uncomplicated directions, and then transcribe the affair in a book that you can follow along while viewing the DVD in the privacy of your own home. DemLab opens the series with the topic, "Mummification: Down At The End Of Bondage Street."

Mr. Bean is an expert presenter and more than an expert when it comes to mummification. His two subjects allow him to demonstrate (and are easy on the eye, it should be added) the fine art of immobilizing your friends. The DVD itself is better than an hour in length, and the book is well apportioned with color pictures. In addition to the transcript of the demonstration itself, there are additional notations and a few vintage pictures from prior publications that Mr. Bean has been party to.

With a second volume utilizing Mr. Bean's skills in the flogger's arena already available and future releases already videoed or prepared, the DemLab series already looks like an essential series in the making. All in all, Volume One is a great way to introduce yourself to some spicier aspects of interpersonal play, and good for the adult entertainment value.

The DVD that comes with this book is simply a slide show. Imagine my surprise I thought I would be able to view a movie of the information. I think it was misleading.

Mummification: Down at the End of Bondage Street demonstrates everything clearly both in book and on DVD to make this a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone. The book and DVD allow you learn about all of the specifics and tools needed. I found this set to be highly intriguing and would recommend this to anyone who is interesting in experiencing new things!

Not So Profound was my first experience with any writing my Nathan Graziano and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Although it was a different writing style than I was used to I found it very easy to follow. I like his writing because it is honest, easy to follow and relateable. Over all I would say that this book is one that every poetry reader should try to come in contact with, and I am sure I will be reading it again and again.

I can appreciate Graziano's ability to capture those moments in life that others may choose to overlook. His use of irony gives strength to his work. His crude humor adds acidic flavor. This is a collection of poems I can read once, and then again to mull over during the course of a few days for a review, but be happy not to own. I would not put this book on my shelf for me to find someday in the future and accidentally read again. To do so would be futile. Unless you enjoy reopening old wounds or visiting dark alleyways, then this book is for you. I would much rather enjoy poetry selections written through a different perspective, an overall more positive, inspired view.

Don't let the title fool you, this book is quite a find for those who both love poetry and hate its guts. The book provides social commentary in "Night at the O'Aces", small-neighborhood life in "My First Apartment" and many other compelling themes, each with Nate's unique style of snarkiness and wit.
Nate breaks the paradigm of the poet, from one who walks around with a quill and beret or stuck-in-the-60s flower child to a beer-swilling, Red Sox-loving, exercise-inept schoolteacher. Nate's common use of swearing and adult themes (including drugs, sex and mild violence) may disturb from readers, but Nate uses those to give his poems some spice and pack a wallop. There's none of the flowery nature or life-sucks-I-want-to-die-woe-is-me writing here, and that is what makes this book a thumbs up. Give this book to a poetryphobic or a poetry hater and watch their eyes light up, for it sure lit up mine!

This book identifies all kinds of beans, gives their Latin names (handy since beans have so many different names), place of origin, and a brief history of their uses. Each is accompanied by a lovely drawing of the beans; some include drawings of the bean in the pod, fresh, and dried.

The book is arranged by type of bean, with a variety of recipes for each. Includes green beans, peas, soybeans, and snow peas. The recipes come from all over the world. Since the traditional recipes use olive oil, butter, and other fats liberally, the author provides a "lighter version" of each recipe.

NOTE: This is NOT a vegetarian cookbook. There are many vegetarian recipes, but also plenty of recipes using meat and and animal fats.

Too much white space, pictorials, and section headings. The recipes are inventive, and helpful cutting-fat-n-calories tips are given, and I know way more about beans than I did before I owned it. BUT my cookbook shelf is high-priced book realty, and if one book is gonna take up a selfish inch-an-a-half, it'd better have heaps of recipes inside. This one doesn't!

Having read both books on Dan Burros I thought the older book on him by Rosenthal called "One More Victim; The Life and Death of a Jewish Nazi" was far better. That one was better researched, maybe because it was written only a year or so after Burros killed himself so the people he knew were still around to be interviewed. The fact that the New York Times reporter who "outed" Burros, which directly led to him shooting himself as soon as he saw the article on page 1 stating his history and that he was Jewish, stated he had no guilt or regret for having published this even knowing Burros 'delicate' state of mind sure wouldn't fly in this era. They would have been sued for that by Burros relatives after his death as there were several witnesses to his death. The other book is hard to find but worth getting if you can. Burros certainly was a fascinating twisted and tormented man.

This is possibly the most intriging work of Jewish fiction published in the last decade. Based on the real life story of Jewish KKK Wizard Danny Burros (1938-65), this book explores the history, psychology and internal motivations of a young Jew, who out of his self hatred, turned violently against the Jewish people. The real life Danny Burros, committed suicide when the New York Times "outed" him as a Jew in 1965.

The book contains not only Bean's play ironically titled "The Believer" but also outstanding commentary by scholars David Kraemer and Sander Gilman. The play is set contemporaneously, but the course of a young Jew becoming a Nazi out of self hatred is somewhat archaic. Jews are more likely to support Palestinian "liberation" based on self hatred than Nazism these days.

But the truly interesting question is: Why the self hatred at all? This disease has struck Jews all through the history of the Jewish people, and frequently lead those who feel it to persecute the Jewish people, to the point of fanning massacres and riots. In the modern period, it began with towering figures like Marx and Heine, through Lenin and Trotsky, down to the present. Both David Kraemer and Sander Gilman give their own answers for this, derived both from Jewish tradition and modern psychology and literary criticism.

However, given that Jewish self hatred is as old as Judaism itself, these answers, for this reviewer ring quite hollow. I find the answers to this question in the nature of Judaism itself; in that Judaism is a religion of analysis, criticism and argument, which enshrines a tradition of severe self critique and reproof in the Bible itself. One sees the Jewish tendency toward almost violent disagreement from the Torah through the Writings to the end of the Prophets.

In general it takes a very strong individual, to observe and internalize this culture without finding it defacto flawed by excessive internal divisiveness. This reviewer so found Judaism similarly flawed for decades, until he made a thorough and searching study of the Bible and Jewish history, and realized that the God that inspired the Torah, is still with the Jewish people today.

I used this inspiration to write my own commentary on the ideas in The Believer; [...]However, in my case, I discuss in a much more profound way the true causes of Jewish self hatred, which is the illusion fostered by so many different'modernizing' Jewish groups, that God is a thing of the distant past.

Roger Bean and Russell Radford examine the history of innovation for ways that your organization can innovate continually. They ask why companies successfully innovate for a while and then lose steam. Their answer is a new organization-wide system that prioritizes innovation, management and strategy. This fairly academic structure - more like a proposal than a working process - encourages building systemic promotion of continual innovation by creating an environment that values, nurtures and encourages it, cascading from the executive to the managerial to the operational team level. However, toward the end of the book, the authors refer to using a Balanced Scorecard for assessing performance from a total quality perspective. That approach bypasses the inspirational, charismatic form of innovation and cuts right to the process, like an accountant or an engineer's model of innovation. Thus, if you are process-savvy but hesitant about new ideas, we suggest that this might just be the innovation book for you: lots of system, not much flash.

Roger Bean and Russell Radford examine the history of innovation for ways that your organization can innovate continually. They ask why companies successfully innovate for a while and then lose steam. Their answer is a new organization-wide system that prioritizes innovation, management and strategy. This fairly academic structure - more like a proposal than a working process - encourages building systemic promotion of continual innovation by creating an environment that values, nurtures and encourages it, cascading from the executive to the managerial to the operational team level. However, toward the end of the book, the authors refer to using a Balanced Scorecard for assessing performance from a total quality perspective. That approach bypasses the inspirational, charismatic form of innovation and cuts right to the process, like an accountant or an engineer's model of innovation. Thus, if you are process-savvy but hesitant about new ideas, we from getAbstract suggest that this might just be the innovation book for you: lots of system, not much flash.

Most of the book was interesting, but when I came to the section of the supposed Southern Sierra Miwuk shamans I was once again not surprised by the total misinformation that the Yosemite National Park Service's Craig Bates, who besides being a federal employee for the park for over 30 years, is an author.

Again he adds his own fable instead of fact this time about Charlie Dick, a Yosemite - Mono Lake Paiute. Craig Bates wrote that Charlie Dick was one of the most prominent Southern Sierra Miwuk shamans, which is interesting, because Charlie Dick was a full blooded Paiute. Even in the Southern Sierra Miwuks petition for federal recognition they acknowledge that most information about Charlie Dick states he was Paiute.

Charlie Dick's father Chief George Dick was related to Lancisco Wilson, who on his grave marker in Yosemite National Park's cemetery has a big "PIUTE" craved in it. Something that Craig Bates must have not noticed in his 30 years plus service for Yosemite National Park as the "official" Indian expert for Yosemite. His own office being about a couple of yards from the cemetery. Maybe the author, when he walks by it, diverts his eyes to something he does not WANT TO SEE. Yet the same author must have realized that when he wrote his jibberish, that does not make any sense.

In a 1930 census when others around Yosemite were claiming they were "Diggers", Charlie Dick specifically put down he was "PIUTE"...full blooded.

In the book The Ahwahneechees by John Bingaman it is documented that Charlie Dick, son of Chief George Dick, brother of Sally Ann, was a "Piute, born at Mono Lake". John Bingaman was a Yosemite Ranger who knew the Indians of Yosemite for decades. Bates came into the picture later when the so-called Southern Sierra Miwuks were starting to go for federal recognition. For federal recognition you need scholarly work and written documentation to prove that your tribe was in the area since the beginning of time. So Craig Bates writings, to me, look extremely suspicious and biased to wards that group.

In one of Bates' writings he states that Charlie Dick's mother was Mary Williams a Yosemite Indian. Yes, she was a Yosemite Indian, a Yosemite PAIUTE Indian, whose parents were Big Jim and Mattie Williams. Something, that once again Craig Bates in his position and writings should've have realized. Since it was his job for about 30 years to study.

I had heard the author of that section, Craig Bates, is a white man raised by a Miwuk family, that as a teen he was fascinated by Miwuk culture. He even grew and married a Miwuk woman, had 1/2 Miwuk son and dressed in Miwuk regalia, but who would've thought he would've TRIED to re-write Yosemite Indian history to match his own Miwuk lifestyle.

Than most of the religious pieces he quotes in the book are Paiute, not Southern Sierra Miwok. Once again a white man steals the legacy of the Indian people. This time my people, the Paiutes.

It is best to look at the book critically, than believing everything that Craig Bates, the federal employee and well-known author, writes.

That is just that section of the book.

"When the doctor sings it's like he's snake charming. The pain gets hypnotized by the songs and starts rising in the body to see what it is and when it's close enough to the surface the doctor can take it out by sucking, or with his hands." a Yurok shaman, p. 139

This is a seminal work edited by LJ Bean, today perhaps the foremost authority on CAlifornia Indians. It compiles, in one place, field data from the Northern tribes (Yurok, Karuk, Wintu, HUpa), Central California (Miwok) and the South (Cahuilla, Luiseno etc). In addition, there are chapters on rock art, toloache (the Datura-based religions of the Cahuillas, the Luiseno and even the Miwoks), the Kuksu (among Pomo and Maidu) religion and the Revival religions such as the Ghost dance.

A central concern of this book is that of the Native relationship with power: personal power, acquired by one's ability to perceive sacred beings and power sources (ritual paraphernalia, quartz crystals, human and animal bones, feathers, and plants such as angelica) and community power, derived from the shaman's status as a leader, healer and witch-doctor (In California as opposed to the Plains, priests and shamans usually came from chiefly families and were trained in high caste secret societies. Power was, according to the Indians, differentially distributed in both time and space and came from the sacred "Dreamtime" when the universe was created. The authors provide many anecdotes from transcribed sessions with their informants; what I especially liked was that, in general, the emphasis was on description and not on analysis. This makes for exciting reading.

Shamans were political leaders, and they supervised the regular yearly burning process under oaks, pines and mesquite to maintain good harvests, control plant diseases, parasites (mistletoe), bugs and poison oak as well as to improve the quality of seed and straightness of basket grasses and arrow reed. They were also healers, prophets and poisoners enaging in "doctor wars".

I found the discussions on the use of datura, Rattlesnake shamans, Deer- or Antelope shamans, Bear shamans, Acorn shamans, "Poison doctors" , soul loss and Singing doctors very informative. The poison doctors, for example, often obtained their powers hereditarily and were taught by a parent the use of quartz crystals and the eating of roots of poisonous plants, and they were encouraged to practice hitting a feather stuck in the ground as a target with porcupine quills so that they could successfully hit people with their darts. Many of these practices seem to me to be very similar to Australian aboriginal ones.

The book concludes with a couple of excellent chapter written by native Californian Indians themselves, and with an analysis of the worrisome encroachment of non-native traditions (such as the sweat lodge, as it is practiced by the Plains tribes) into native (Californian) practices which are consequently facing the danger of disappearing, as the young strut the sexier Lakota style. Also we see the tenuous and often antagonistic interactions between the the New Age "neo-shamanism" and indigenous tribes, who resent the encroachment of the white man and his perceived usurpation of their religion. This book doesn't take sides; it does however provide a valuable contribution that will be of interest to anthropologists and laypeople alike.

I found this text to be very helpful in designing interesting and meaningful ways for students to enjoy content area reading and developing ways to help them gain better comprehension of the read material. It was organized in an easy to understand format but the authors consistent use of graphic organizers throughout the text did not seem to necessarily help in my understanding of the chapters. I did like, however, many of the techniques they mentioned, especially for vocabulary and writing. The reading roulette and different word puzzles and anticipation guides mentioned are good ideas that are easily incorporated into any lesson in any content area. This text, at the very least, provided a good basis for any teacher to design interesting activities to make reading in the content areas a little less intimidating and a lot more interesting.

I found this text to be very helpful in designing interesting and meaningful ways for students to enjoy content area reading and developing ways to help them gain better comprehension of the read material. It was organized in an easy to understand format but the authors consistent use of graphic organizers throughout the text did not seem to necessarily help in my understanding of the chapters. I did like, however, many of the techniques they mentioned, especially for vocabulary and writing. The reading roulette and different word puzzles and anticipation guides mentioned are good ideas that are easily incorporated into any lesson in any content area. This text, at the very least, provided a good basis for any teacher to design interesting activities to make reading in the content areas a little less intimidating and a lot more interesting.