Peter Books

I loved the movie so I thought I'd try the book. I was not disappointed. In fact, I believe a second movie based on this book, focussing on the early career and post "Greatest Game" highlights of Harry Vardon, would produce an excellent movie, as well.

My older brother recently retired. My gifts to him were a Caribbean Cruise and a copy of this book to read as he suns on the deck of the cruise ship. When presented with both (gifts), he noted that he too had seen the movie and seemed just as excited to have received a copy of the book, as he was the cruise.

This is a terrific book and I'm not even a golfer. I didn't care much for the movie; a buddy of mine recommended reading the book and WOW, it's so much better. I'm not sure who wrote the movie but Frost does a great job of telling the story and holding on to your interest. I loved the biographical background and personality insights he offers. He's a terrific writer.

Great detail is setting the stage of how society viewed golf and its champions and how this tournament took that to the next level in popularity. Gives great detail intothe lives of Vardon, Ray, Francis and even Walter Hagen at the beginning of his career. Great for anyone who loves the history of golf and a good old fashion underdog story.

My boss and I golf together and he enjoyed watching this movie several times so I bought the book for him and he said it was better than the movie, looking forward to reading it when he is done

Great true story, well adapted in the film version.
Bonus documentary on Francis Ouimet 50 years later
is interesing to see.

This is in my opinion C.S. Lewis's best nonfiction work. The premise has been done before, but rarely with the sort of insight given here. His overviews of Affection and Friendship are much too often overlooked and glossed over as unimportant, but here they're given a status they really deserve.

The section on friendship, and the idea that people are bonded through mutual passions, and his grim statement that people who are just looking for a friend will never find one, was spot on. Friendships are formed as an extension of a passion for something bigger than the individual. A mutual cause drives people, whether they be sports fanatics, a tribe pining for survival, or art critics.

The pitfalls he explains for the loves such as lust, bigotry, elitism, etc. are self explanatory, but it's also practical. Friendships are exclusive by their very nature, and there's nothing intrinsically wrong with such a thing. Eros is most certainly exclusive. He emphasizes that we can't be friends with everyone, love everyone with Eros, but we can love everyone with Charity, the final section of the book.

One could write a book three times longer and not come close to the depth portrayed in this little book. Strongly recommended.

CS Lewis does a wonderful job defining the four Greek words for Love. I would recommend this book most highly to the man (women are less likely to make this error) who thinks he needs no friends. Lewis shows the importance of friendship to a good life.

It Is One of those books that should be sitting on a coffee table. It defines the various types of pure love: agape, venus, and storge to name some. It truly defines where the 'heart' is and perhaps defining the brotherly love, the parental love, or the true love...



Susan Saige

I think most of the people who purchase Lewis' non-fiction do so because they are interested in his take on Christianity. One of the odd things about this book is that Lewis doesn't make it clear how he decided on these four Greek words. It turns out that the New Testament doesn't use the word eros or storge. This means that the New Testament usage is actually closer to colloquial English usage that you might guess from this book. I assume he chose these words because classical Greek philosophers classified love in this four-fold way.

When Lewis discusses friendship in this book, he gives it a rather odd definition that no longer seems appropriate in today's world, and probably even in his time almost no one except a university professor have. Lewis' concept is that a friend is someone with whom you share an arcane interest. It is an interest so rare that when you meet someone with a similar interest, your reaction is "What? You too?" Now that most people live in large cities and many have access to the internet, finding someone with an interest in say Wagnerian Opera isn't nearly so hard as it might have been for Lewis, who hated London and large cities. I think for most urban dwellers today, the people whom we consider friends are not so much those with whom we share a rare hobby, but people whose company we like and whose lives we are interested in hearing about.

If you are a hard core Lewis fan, you will probably enjoy this book, but if you are new to Lewis, you might have more fun reading something else like Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, or The Great Divorce.

Within this work, Mr. Lewis is quick to point out the inherent difficulty with regard to the concept of love facing individuals whose native tongue is English. That is, it is easily recognized that there exists an extreme deficit when one applies the same word to describe the sentiment shared with one's spouse, as well as their favorite food. In such extreme cases of difference in terms of the word's application, clarification is hardly needed and might be written off as an embellishment about that which one feels about, say, strawberries or chocolate. However, other instances are more difficult to write off as a poor choice of words; such as, love for friends, family, a spouse, and God. One must surely agree that the sentiment in each of these instances of love can exist and be experienced in significantly different ways. While love is the umbrella under which all of these sentiments rest, they are, as far as most people can tell, very different things. That being said, it is lucky for the reader that Mr. Lewis, almost immediately, circumvents the language barrier and begins to illustrate the foundational understanding which must be apparent for further exploration of the concepts of love to proceed. For those who have struggled with this, even the simplest concept of love's significance, as this reviewer has, the first chapter alone is worth the price of this work's purchase.

Building upon a necessary base of knowledge, Lewis begins to explore the nature of love beginning with that love which might be the gray area between the words love and like, or either of the two, as spoken in the English language. Lewis continues his endeavor by tackling what people often consider the more significant forms of love such as friendship, erotic love, and the love of and for God. While no attempt will be made here to convey the significance of the final chapter regarding actual Love in fear of diluting a brilliant message, each of the chapters leading up to that point share common threads. That is, Mr. Lewis illustrates the difficulty which can be had with love in any form if left to our own devices. This illustration is achieved in the author's typical fashion of profound analogies and appeals to common experiences. One can be certain that while this recognition of the volatility of human love is of extreme importance, it is the overriding concept that only by surrendering these loves to Love that one can achieve happiness, solace, and purity in Love which makes this work unquestionably valuable to those that are fortunate enough to read it.

If you like hard edged space opera, you'll this! It's Star Wars for adults, with more original ideas and better writing.

I have read the whole series and the first thing that strikes you is the question why is the series so long?(3000+ pages)

Simple, the writer has created a rich universe filled with various characters, society's, technologies, religions and linked them around a central theme of the battle between good and evil. He has taken his time to write the detail that is required to allow readers to contextulaise the activities in the book in relation to one another and the main plot. This is where a writer becomes a master storyteller, the attention to detail and the subtle nuances which go to make up the whole series.

The writing is graphic in relation to the sex and violence, part of the purpose in this is undoubtably to convey the true horror, and alieness of the threat to humanity.

The books are not really intended for kids, who says you can't write science fiction for adults only?

In conclusion I would recommend the whole series for the serious adult science fiction reader who is sick of skimming through a pulp science fiction novel in a night and wants to get into a more meaty read.

This is a work that now sits on my shelf at home and will be read again.

Highly recommended.

This is one of those books that keeps you up late at night, trying to figure out how little sleep you need to make it through the next day. This continues the story-arc begun in The Neutronium Alchemist Part 1, while opening new doors to the rest of the story. The series as a whole is well-worth reading, and The Neutronium Alchemist combines some of the most exciting intrigue and dazzling star-ship acrobatics I have ever read.

In book 4 (or 2b, depending on how you want to count it) of this intricate series, things are really starting to heat up and come together. Al Capone has decided to build an empire and is busily conquering other planets and systems. Keira is working to bring in more victims in order to improve the chances that long-term population in Valisk won't get boring once it is removed from the universe (including possessing void hawks), while Rubra continues to do his best to thwart her. Joshua continues to bumble around, get into the way of various things and end up saving the galaxy from certain doom. Alkad Mzu travels to get the Alchemist and almost ends up in Capone's hands. And much, MUCH more occurs in this very intricately plotted and busy novel.

This is a universe in which you can really lose yourself as a reader - Hamilton has created a huge story here and telling it - as well as reading it - is not necessarily a task for the faint of heart. Nonetheless, those fond of sweeping epics, space operas and the like would definitely enjoy this series (start from the beginning, please!).

There are six books in Peter F. Hamilton's "Night's Dawn" series:

- "The Reality Dysfunction - Part 1: Emergence,"
- "The Reality Dysfunction - Part 2: Expansion,"
- "The Neutronium Alchemist - Part 1: Consolidation,"
- "The Neutronium Alchemist - Part 2: Conflict,"
- "The Naked God - Part 1: Flight," and
- "The Naked God - Part 2: Faith."

Be warned: you CANNOT read these books individually. They are, essentially, chapters in one whopping great book. If you like the first book, then you'll have to read the other five books in order. There's no tie-up of any sort between any of the books. The publisher just broke the story up because it totals over 3,000 pages. If you pick up a book before you've read all the previous books (in order), put it down. It won't mean anything to you. Since these books are entirely dependent on each other, I'm writing this review on the series as a whole, not on the individual books.

This is one of the greatest science fiction sagas written. It ranks up there with David Brin's "Uplift Saga." It is literally a story of good vs evil and shows some of the potential (and pitfalls) of the human race. Over the years, I've read the whole series five times, and I still love it. I really only have two gripes with the book. First, and this is unavoidable in what Hamilton is doing, the evil in the series is definitely, graphically evil. This is not a book where the villain twists his mustache and laughs "nyah hah hah" as he forecloses on the orphanage or ties the heroine to the railroad tracks. The writing is fairly graphic in a lot of places. After five readings, this gets a bit wearing. My second gripe is one which somewhat limits the audience of the series (even more so than the evilness presented, and it's why I've given the series four stars instead of five): there's too much sex and the writing about it is too graphic. This is a problem with all of Hamilton's books, but it seems more prevalent in this series. Because of this, I wouldn't recommend the book for your children to read. But, as long as you're aware of that, I highly recommend the series and give it 4 stars out of five.

This book is deeply moving, inspiring and challenging. Thomas a Kempis lays out what it means to be an authentic follower of Jesus, not just an adherent or a church-goer. The simulated conversations with Christ in the book are especially powerful. Aside from the Bible, no other book has touched and moved me like this. Highly recommended reading.

Why claim trinkets when you can read one of the best devotionals on the market. I use it to keep my daily life in check, to remember to have the right focus and to live what I believe. This is the top of the charts for a "Christian" work. Brother A'Kempis was a great instructor and a wise disciple. So much of todays mediocre fluff is twisted by society, self centeredness and lazy Christianity where the thinking is done for those who don't see the value in meditation and self examination. Next to the Bible, this is my favorite work.

This wonderful book was written by the priest Thomas a Kempis in the 1400's and is very reminecient of the Apostle Paul's writings by encouraging readers to live a simple spiritual life. It recommends that peace is found in the heart of the humble and that in overcoming the ego you overcome the world. Joy is found in a quiet conscience and you are only happy when you have done what is right. This may also be the original source of the advice to choose the less of two evils. It also warns that pleasure and desire carry the seeds of sorrow. This book is spiritual focusing on living the inner life and not getting entangled with the world. A must read for all Christians or anyone on a spiritual path.

This is one of the best books I've ever read. It's a slow read, but not difficult - there's so much packed into these 280 pages that you'll have to take your time to get it all.

This is not a review of the book per se (just got it, have not read it yet), but thought I needed to share this. Book arrived with another book (a textbook) in the usual Amazon box, each laying side by side. It was left out in the rain for most of the day by the local carrier until I brought it inside. The entire box was soaked and ruined, tape fallen off and box literally gaping open, all of the paperwork inside was falling apart in pieces and soaked, my textbook was completely ruined (soaked through, wavy wet pages etc - got returned), yet this book was absolutely dry - not a trace of even a microdrop of water - perfect condition. Take away whatever message you want...

The best book I've about getting ready to face mountains.
Incredible amount of great info.
A wonderful learning tool.

I was gifted this book at age 16; nearly eight years later I look through it constantly, and realize I always have...it was used as a high-school outdoor-ed text, it is considered the bible by most I know, and it has been around for along time..Three Cheers for the Mountaineers!

This book pretty much covers everything you need to know about mountaineering. It does so in an easy to read, concise style. It really stresses the philosophy of being an educated and environmentally aware mountaineer. The illustrations are also great...very clear and informative.
You won't be disappointed with this book.
Here's the Table of Contents:

Part I (Outdoor Fundamentals)
(1) First Steps
(2) Clothing and Equipment
(3) Camping and Food
(4) Physical Conditioning
(5) Navigation
(6) Wilderness Travel
(7) Leave No Trace
(8) Stewardship and Access

Part II (Climbing Fundamentals)
(9) Basic Safety System
(10)Belaying
(11)Rapelling

Part III (Rock Climbing)
(12) Alpine Rock-Climbing Technique
(13) Rock Protection
(14) Leading on Rock
(15) Aid Climing

Part IV (Snow, Ice and Alpine Climbing)
(16) Snow Travel and Climbing
(17) Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue
(18) Alpine Ice Climbing
(19) Waterfall Ice and Mixed Climbing
(20) Expedition Climbing

Part V (Emergency Prevention and Response)
(21) Leadership
(22) Safey
(23) First Aid
(24) Alpine Rescue

Part VI (The Mountain Environment)
(25) Mountain Geology
(26) The Cycle of Snow
(27) Mountain Weather

Never before have I found such a complete reference manual for how to plan and execute trips in the outdoors. The book is timeless in its core message of preparedness and finding freedom in the outdoors. It collects information from a wide range of topics such as how to choose equipment for your needs to cooking in the outdoors and proper mountaineering skills. There is some discussion of ethics and philosophy, but no more than is necessary.

I purchased this book after recently jumping into the sport of rock climbing. This book is a great guide on many of the fundamentals of camping, hiking, rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering, and the outdoors in general. Freedom of the Hills is a very easy book to read and find information easily. There are many diagrams illustrating techniques, knots, and equipment. I was very impressed with this book and will take it with me on all my outdoor adventures from now on!

Young Adult Novel by Daniel Pinkwater is an amazingly witty story about five young dadaists, who are attempting to revolutionize the dull, strict, hyper-ordinary Himmler High School. One day, the main character (Kevin Shapiro) from a story they were writing is discovered to have the same name as a kid in their school. And that's when things really start to change at Himmler. One page of this hilarious short novel will make you want to finish the whole story. This book is for older children, but anyone will get a kick out of Pinkwater's ingenuous writing style!

by Clark

If you haven't read Pinkwater before, this is a good place to start. If you are familiar with his work then rejoice for here are five books in one. And not just any five books... oh no. This collection contains not only Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars and Young Adult Novel but the first and best of the Snarkout Boy books. Buy it, read it, and know that you and your children will never be the same.

I Loved these books. Daniel pinkwater is an old favorite from my adolescance. I fondly remember my older brother reading aloud from the "Snarkout Boys..." and "Young Adult Novel" on family car trips. More than holding up well with time, I found that now, at 32, I can finally grasp the great comic surrealism that is Daniel Pinkwater. This is a great compilation of old favorites and un-appreciated gems. This book is somehow bound with paper so light, I carried it on the subway daily until I finnished all 5 books and wasn't bothered by the size or weight. I highly reccomend this book to anyone who can appreciate inter-dimensional shopping mall parking lots, gourmets from space, enlightenment brought on by silly hats, socio-political revenge via soggy grape nuts and/or Psycho-kinetic guacamole. Yum...

The five novels in this book are genius. Alan Mendelson, boy from mars, takes youn through a boy going through being the new kid, goofing off with another weirdo, the wacky Klugarsh Mind Control, and... well I just can't give away the rest! I have to say i have a soft spot for The Last Guru, its so just... cool what happens to the boy :). This is an EXELLENT book for anyone to buy, I've read it so many times i tore off both covers and three pages. A great book to love and read again, again, again, and again.

This is an amazing, funny, incredibly random book with five comical masterpeices. Though I agree with the other reveiwers that alan medelsohn, boy from Mars is very good, my personel favorite is the last Guru. the idea of a self-made kid millionare is VERY intertaning. These books are, as I said earlier, random, and A Young Adult Novel is possibly the most random of them all. an example; the Dada's(the main character) beleive dishwashers should rule the world. Weird, isn't it? Any way, no matter wich story you read first, you'll laugh and have a great time reading it.

One of Peter Drucker's last books. He was originally going to write a life's work summary, but changed his mind to write a prophetic type of book. His two big topics are (1) the declining birth rate in developed countries, and (2) the transition from skilled laborers ("tin bending") work to the knowledge worker ("technologists").

His discussions are fascinating and I won't steal any of his thunder other than to say that he feels traditional management techniques based on time and motion studies (Total Quality Management is the latest rendition) do not motivate the knowledge worker.

Drucker's second big point is in extreme harmony with Marcus Buckingham's work (which I suggest reading first). Drucker has a similar message as Buckingham, motivated from a completely different viewpoint.

The book also has some self-help. Do you know what your boss' learning style is? Don't you think you should have asked that on the first day? Drucker thinks so, and explains why.

Peter Drucker writes a set of essays which present an outlook of the greatest challenges ahead such as the definition and role of the knowledge worker, the role of management, demographics and innovation. It will definitely make you think a lot... as all good books should.

Drucker challenges its readers to think about the future of society by addressing management challenges for the 21st century. By comparing yesterday's assumptions to today's realities, he helps connect the dots. Drucker strategically pinpoints what management challenges we can learn from the past, and at the same encouraging readers to ask the right questions to address how we can use this knowledge to prepare for what's ahead.

I also found Drucker's message inspirational and eye-opening. It's a reminder that today's Informational Revolution has been part of an evolving cycle, which started before printing presses were invented. He emphasizes, for example, that today's Information Revolution is not led by the technology folks but by those in other fields, such as finance and accounting. I applaud this, as the key message that should be emphasized today in preparing the future IT workforce is to diversify. Excitement over technologies such as the printing presses, software, and hardware is all part of what makes the IT industry exciting--but not THE key elements for career survival. Drucker does a great job addressing that in this book. Albeit unintentional, Drucker does a great job addressing this.

Management new paradigms, strategy, the change leader, information challenges, knowledge worker productivity, managing oneself, Druker proved himself more than capable in his definitions and unique challenge to managers. Rather of a retrospective of his past work "he set aside to wirte not the known past but the unknown future".
Peter Drucker discusses the profound social and economic changes occurring today and considers how management--not government or free markets--should address these new realities in the workplace. "Management is Business Management in all kind of organizations". This book is easy to read. For most content may be wider than how we think management usually is. Druker wrote in his introduction " the advice in this book requires a reversal of what most people have thought about management for more than a century". Peter Drucker discusses how the new paradigms of management have change and will continue to change our basics assumptions and principles of management.

Drucker outlines lessons that management can learn from the changing world economy and population.

1. Management is not just business management, but is the ability to take advantage of opportunities in sectors of the economy that are likely to experience growth in the future, like education, the professions, and healthcare.
2. Recognize that there is not one ideal way to organize an enterprise. Both "team" organization and the "CEO cult of personality" have their shortcomings. It can be difficult for teams to make decisions effectively and popular CEO's must have successors. You must find the right balance of organization that fits your company's business needs.
3. There is no one way to organize employees. You need to lead workers rather than manage employees. This is because management increasingly does not know the areas of expertise that employees possess, and employees are now seeking interesting and rewarding work.
4. National boundaries and regional markets will become less defining factors of the companies boundaries. Innovations in an industry don't necessarily come from within the industry anymore. Further, national governments will be less able to protect local industries from facing the competitiveness of the global industry leaders. Global competitiveness must become a strategic goal for the business.

Drucker also outlines the economic consequences of the declining birthrate in the developed countries. A declining birthrate means that the working population will become progressively older. New relationships must be forged with older workers, especially knowledge workers. Companies that attract and retain knowledge workers past retirement age will gain a significant competitive advantage.

Managers must become Change Leaders, who direct inevitable change in a controlled and orderly fashion. Managers must look to extending the lifespan of their companies and approaching change as a source of business opportunity.

I was so thrilled to see that Peter Bowerman had done it again, and was so close to publishing my second book that I bought the e-book, downloaded it, printed it out and spent several evenings happily employed with a hole-punch.

I couldn't wait for the print version, so now I've got a pretty bulky, but useful, product. I love it! I use it! It's great!

Thanks, Peter
Mary Lynn Archibald

I already wrote a book and after a never ending correction process, finally got it ready to print. BUT, at that point,got so many questions that I was paralyzed. After researching decided to go self-published. Here is when "The well fed...self publisher" rescue me from the jungle of choices, teaching me ALL I need to know to succeed. I appreciate very much your help Peter!!!!. A wrong decision means not only wasted time but a lot of wasted money too!!, from this point of view this book pays itself many times.
I recommend this excellent book to everyone looking for a COMPLETE GUIDE to be a self publisher. It is full of real world tips & tricks that helps you to find always the right path in each topic covered. I feel that the author teaches ALL he knows with the authority of his vast experience.

Thanks again !!

Anibal
anibal2100@hotmail.com

PS: just in case, no, I'm NOT a friend or relative of the author. Just a reader. I wrote this positive review because he deserves it

Peter Bowerman goes far beyond your typical how-to book on self publishing with the The Well-Fed Self-Publisher (TWFSP). Packed inside this info-packed gem is example after example of what to do AFTER the book is printed. Most of us self-publishers are looking for more than just seeing our names in print. We want to sell books, establish our expertise, or carve a niche for ourselves in our fields (or all of the above!) The Well-Fed Self-Publisher offers the specifics of self publishing as Bowerman shares every secret he's learned along the way as a self-publisher. He also shares a college course worth of knowledge in marketing this book. It's not enough to write your book, you've got to market it!

For all of the valuable information TWFSP provides, it reads like a chat with your favorite mentor. Bowerman's down-to-Earth style and his engaging wit make this an enjoyable excursion into self-publishing. I have kept this book by my side for the past few months as I complete my own self-published book. It's become my "go-to" reference as I navigate the printing and marketing of my upcoming title. There is no way I could have succeeded without it.

If Dan Poytner's "The Self Publishing Manual" is the bible of self-publishing, then Peter Bowerman's "The Well-Fed Self Publisher" is the new testament. Written in an engaging and likable tone, Bowerman lays the SP process out in a thorough and logical manner providing rationale and explanations based on first-hand experience. I've already successfully published one book, called 60 Minute Strategic Plan, using his book and am in the middle of publishing a second book. Bravo, Peter, and thank you.

I read this book and liked what it had to offer. I've also read Dan Poynter's "Self-Publishing Manual," which this book is similar to. Peter Bowerman explains the ins and outs of self-publishing and why it's more profitable than traditional publishing.

The reason I give his book 4 stars instead of 5 is because I simply don't agree with some of what the author says in the book. He says not to typeset your book in MS Word because the quality wouldn't be as good. I formatted and typeset my whole book in Word, and nobody suspects that I actually did it myself. Bowerman is also against POD. Again, my books are all POD. I published my first two with a self-publishing company. Then I published my third one myself, which is also POD. Bowerman doesn't seem to be using Amazon to its full potential either.

Having said that, I still recommend this book. It would be a good compliment to "Aiming At Amazon."

Brandon Simpson

This is a great gluten free cookbook. I have made a bunch of the recipes and they are wonderful!!

This wonderful book gives our family back the taste of real food - but keeps everything gluten-free. Annalise offers helpful tips, suggestions, and fabulous recipes. Cakes, cookies, even breads, Annalise has created recipes that are both easy and oh-so-tasty! THIS is my cookbook!

I got this cookbook about a year ago and have been happily using it ever since. It has the best recipe for GF choc chip cookies I have ever tried. I think the big difference is in the superfine flour blend, which I order now from authentic foods. I also love the pie crust. I have taken a pie and the cookies to a family reunion and no one even suspected they were gluten free. They were gone in minutes!! I make all my kids birthday cakes using this book. Also great muffin recipes, apple pie, pizza crust is wonderful if you like a crispy cracker thin crust like my family. If you buy one GF cookbook to bake with, make it this one. Everything I have tried in it is excellent. You will love it.

The recipes are great but I am a visual person when it comes to recipes. little or no color pics left me a little less than excited about my purchase...

It isn't often I feel passionately enough about a book or product to actually pen a review, but as the mother of a one-year-old with anaphylaxis-level allergies to wheat, I could kiss this author for "saving" my son's birthday party! My baby's wheat sensitivity is exactly the type parents dread, so severe it landed us in the ER the first time he was exposed to wheat, with such virulence his pediatrician banned wheat from MY diet as long as our son nurses. Overnight, our household became a wheat-barren landscape: our child never knowing animal crackers or teething biscuits, all of us happily substituting rice pasta into homemade mac-and cheese, my husband sneaking Subway at lunch.

A month ago, though, we began planning the ubiquitous overdone first birthday celebration. We had some degree of faith we'd find a cookbook, but having tried market-ready wheat-free products ourselves, slogging through the dry, dense world of commercially-prepared baked goods and deciding we'd rather go without bread in the house than provide storage space for yet another crumbling compacted rice block, we had little faith in our final preparation. I did the requisite research, reluctantly settling on Ms. Roberts' Gluten-Free Baking Classics; the reviews looked good, the recipes at least had some variety, and if it was going to be bad, at least it was the best of the awful available in our newfound wheat-free world.

So imagine my surprise when my husband, fearing social ostracization in the face of a probable brick-cake debacle, coyly suggested he'd like some cupcakes when our cookbook arrived? The author's introductory chapters list very specific mixing and handling instructions for her basic flour (another plus for this book, it uses a singular flour mix for the majority of the recipes), and while I followed her mixing instructions, I did defy the author's admonition not to scoop right out of the container once our project was underway! Having no idea how this wheatless batter would react anyway, I halved the recipe and only partially filled the cupcake tins, expecting little rise or texture. After all, these suckers would clearly not be something we wanted excess of cluttering our counter or fridge space with a party coming up. But within half an hour, lo and behold! Beautiful, peaked, butter-colored mounds rising just above the rims? The scent of warm vanilla permeating the kitchen?? My husband sneaking in, peeking into the oven, drooling with anticipation??? And me, ever the pessimist, shooing him away and reminding him this was, after all, gluten-free!

The final verdict, though?
Light, fluffy, sweet, moist cupcakes, spongy on the inside with delicately crisped edges: a resounding success! Ms. Roberts' vanilla cupcakes were our first outright baking success in almost a year!! We used the Coconut layer Cake recipe as a stepping-off point for my son's birthday cake (I adapted a certain cable "Network" that does "Food"s "Lime in the Coconut" cake instead, using this as my template). We've only had our cookbook two weeks, but if the rest of it is as good as what we've tried so far, we look forward to many continued successes!

I guess the two questions I had when I was looking to at least be able to give my son a REAL birthday cake were a) can you tell these dishes are wheat-free, and b) despite all the glowing reviews, are these things really any good-- or just good by a wheat-free standard? Well, when it comes down to it, they are a tiny bit different, but not in a way that's truly discernable, and certainly not in a way that's "bad." It's hard to put your finger on exactly what varies from the original, and unless you've been baking (or eating baked goods) for some time, there's nothing you'll sincerely miss from the original. These products' difference may be as simple as their "lacking" the flavor of wheat, but when it comes down to it, there's no negativity implied in that difference. It's simply a new breed of culinary aestheticism. Ms. Roberts' recipes are truly priceless in the niche they fill, representing works of culinary art and sensory pleasure in their own right. And yes, they are good. Great even in some senses. Nothing you will ever regret, and certainly nothing that would ever lead you to look back on the wheat and gluten-laden diet you once revelled in with any sense of longing.

This book quells the great carb demon, and re-establishes the parts of your diet you really do come to miss living wheat-free: pizza, cookies, sandwiches. Yes, even birthday cake, too. Follow the directions for the author's flour mix, blend well, and you'll have a canvas from which to work, take liberties, create your own decadent wheat-free treats.

This book was great. It was a little difficalt because it went back and fourth between the characters and things that went on in the past. This book is a gory one so it would be good for 7th grade and up. It tells the tall of the twins very good. but only read it if you read the first one time of the twins.

An excellent book and a great series quickly sent by seller very happy

Dragonlance series is beyond doubt one of the best known and loved works of heroic fantasy. Written with an exceptional honesty and story-telling talent, it sparkles with the authors' love for their characters and the world they created. The Twins Trilogy is a dark tale following all the patterns of heroic fantasy, but it still manages to be fresh and exciting like the best folktale. Raistlin remains one of the most striking tragic characters eagerly awaited to reappear in subsequent Dragonlance novels.

The Legends Trilogy- the Time of The Twins, the War of the Twins, and Test of the Twins, is the sequel to The Chronicles Trilogy- Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, and Dragons of Spring Dawning, which brings to life the ultimate battle between Good and Evil in the magical World of Krynn. The books are so incredibly well written that the reader feels that they have been transported to another plane of existence and are actually present among the characters, seeing what they see, feeling what they feel, sensing what they sense. The authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman have truly outdone themselves and have presented us with a masterpiece of literature the likes of which we have seen only in JRR Tolkien's work and RA Salvatore's The Dark Elf and Icewind Dale trilogies. Duty, honor, bravery, magic, dragons and heroes are all about. One should seriously start thinking about maybe turning them into movies...

War of the Twins is one of my absolute favorite books to come out of the Weis-Hickman machine. Mind-bending concepts of time travel and of the future locked in place combined with world-altering events makes for a dramatic and intense read that will keep you up late at night. It is also perhaps the most emotionally tense book in all of Dragonlance. The interactions between Raistlin and Caramon and Crysiana and Tas are fantastic. The strange love triangle between the brothers and Crysiana makes for interesting reading and also helps the reader really appreciate the emotions of the characters. Of all the characters, Raistlin in particularly really starts to reveal his true self: merciless and determined. While at times you feel like Raist must be starting to actually feel for the people that love him, it is quickly revealed that he only cares about his ultimate goal. Caramon comes into his own in this book, leading an army and realizing that he doesn't need his brother in order to live his own life. Crysiana doesn't evolve too much in this one but does grow in her sense of purpose and in her faith. Tas kind of gets left by the wayside for much of this novel, but comes back for dramatic impact on the overall story.

The only complaint I can think of is that the Dwarfgate wars were sort of skimmed over, not revealing too much detail as far as the actual battles are concerned. The leaders of the various armies and factions could have been better fleshed out, especially Kharas and the leaders of the plainsmen and hill dwarves. These are minor regrets thought and Weis and Hickman leave much to the reader's imagination which probably enhances the overall effect of the story. They focus on the main characters and the emotional battles they are going through, and that would have been taken away from some if they had included too much detail about the side stories and characters.

Overall I'd say this is one of the more mature and grim of the Dragonlance novels, without very much humor at all and a lot of tense and dark moments. The vivid characterizations of the book sold me. I'd recommend this entire trilogy to anyone in for a good emotional story.