Richardson Books

Tim Richardson embarked on a mammoth task to document the story of candy from an international perspective. In many ways, he succeeds -- his chapters on the origins of candy and chocolate in medieval Europe, and his discussion of labor relations in the chocolate factories at Hershey and Cadbury are superb. His writing even has a tinge of anthropology, too, explaining to us why we like sweet things in the first place.

However, towards the end of the book, Richardson tries to get you to believe that modern science has launched a conspiracy against candy by claiming that it will make you fat. Richardson says that sugar, since its a carbohydrate, is not actually so bad for you. I found this to be rather ignorant, since it is an extremely high-calorie carbohydrate and will definitely make you fat if you eat a ton of it! In addition, his final chapter reads like an unimaginative listing of candy from around the world rather than a narrative like the rest of the book, making that section a bit boring to read. Half of the "traditional Jewish" sweets he mentioned I had never heard of, making me wonder if he knew what he was talking about in reference to other cultures.

Still, if you are interested in the topic, it's worth picking it up -- if you can handle the at-times obnoxious British sense of humor!

American candy names have their own sweet, maybe cloying, attractiveness: divinity, Tootsie Roll, Slo Pokes, or Goo Goo Clusters. In _Sweets: A History of Candy_ (Bloomsbury) by Tim Richardson, you will find these, but you can also find Scottish curlie murlies, gundy, and soor plooms (sour plums); Australian Fizzoes, pollywaffles, and Freddo Frog Chocolate Bars; and candy with a more-or-less international appeal, such as Cowpats which are shaped like you-know-what. Tim Richardson has, in researching and writing this book, transformed himself into the world's first international confectionary historian, a designation he frequently, with self-deprecating humor, bestows on himself as he tells us about his efforts on our behalf. It's a wonderful post for him. He begins his book, "My grandfather worked for a toffee company. My father was a dentist. So I have always had strong feelings about sweets. But I have never been confused. I like sweets. I like them a lot." The enthusiasm shows on every page.

This is not a recipe book. Though many of the candies might be made at home, Richardson concentrates on manufactured sweets, and the recipes for them are deeply guarded secrets. Candy is so complicated that it is virtually impossible to copy a sweet exactly without inside information. Not only the recipes are closely guarded, but the machines and processes, too, and often Richardson didn't get a peep. But when he did get admitted to a factory, he was delighted: "...every time I entered one I was delirious with joy, ecstatic that the machines were exactly as I hoped they would be." Comparisons with Willy Wonka's factory are unavoidable. Richardson covers the long association of sweets and medicines; often in the past apothecaries and confectioners had bitter rivalries. It was not simply that "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down;" sugar preserved medicines and helped bind pills together. Shaping sweets into fanciful statues has a long tradition. The Duke of Albemarle a couple of centuries ago commissioned a tower of sugar eighteen feet high, inhabited by gods and goddesses; it was too tall to get into his banqueting room. These days we have more modest gingerbread houses adorned with candy for the holidays, but marzipan, sugar, and spun sugar used to be carved into ornate sculptures of windmills, temples, and ruins to make table decorations.

There are countless sweet plums pulled out here, amusing details about a universal human interest produced with the sort of good humor that the subject deserves. Richardson's puns are actually worth savoring; in a section on the eighteenth century's low price of sugar and high price for handmade sweets, he tells us "A good confectioner could make a mint." Richardson has informed us of his own favorites here, in a happily personal book of international history, and the boiled sweet known as Rhubarb and Custard is his top choice. "It is said that on his deathbed, the novelist Aldous Huxley called for a dose of mescalin, the hallucinogenic drug. If ever I find myself in a similar situation I will not call for mescalin. No, a quarter of rhubarb and custards will suffice."

Ahhh, what a book. From its scrumptious cover to its last tasty page, I devoured this book, and didn't even worry about what it would do to my teeth. Or my waistline. Tim Richardson's boyish exuberance shines through on every page. I would like to meet him and share some chocolate with him.

On second thought, I'll keep the chocolate to myself.

The only thing I didn't like about this book: it could have used some illustrations. Or perhaps a sampler of some of the candies Richardson describes in loving detail.

Tim Richardson's "Sweets: A History of Candy" is an extraordinary overview of confections from all over the world, and all through recorded history. He covers every continent (with special attention paid to the Brits and the Americans, who both have an enormous national sweet tooth) and every conceivable type of candy, from milk- and cream-based confections to those which have their foundations in nuts and fruits to those commonly enrobed in chocolate and beyond.

There is apparently nothing which cannot be made somehow into a sweet. Richardson reports that in India, "sherbet" is made from ground-up chickpea powder, sugar and baking soda. The Maoris, in the early part of the 19th century, commonly ate fern root "moistened with treacly brown sugar crystals from the pith of the . . . cabbage palm" and the Turks, known throughout the civilized world for the sheer breadth of their confectionary offerings, make pastries and nutmeats with the most fabulous names: lady's navel, glad eyes and sweetheart lips are but among a few.

Along the way, Richardson never fails to fascinate and inform. He tells us that writer Roald Dahl was told in childhood that licorice whips were made from rats' blood, tying this into other candy myths like the 1970s-era one about Bubble Yum being filled with spider eggs. Richardson has even managed to unearth some true-life horrific candies, such as "Kelly-in-a-Coffin," a popular 19th century sweet molded like, well, a baby in a coffin (more acceptable, apparently, when infant mortality was a more everyday part of life).

Despite the occasional unnecessary pomp (Richardson is overly fond of referring to himself in print as "The First International Confectionary Historian"), this sweet book is a special treat for anyone interested in either candy or history--or both!

As a child I took weapons, swords, daggers, Sgian dubhs, dirks hanging on the wall as the norm for decor. My Grandfather's home was covered with this items that looked wonderful. As I grew I came to appreciate the beautiful and craftsmanship in weapons that dominated warfare for millenniums, until the coming of the more clumsy equaliser guns. Anyone can pick up a gun and fire it, but to use a sword with proficiency was something akinned to a ballet. Thrust, parry, block, defence and offence, from claymore to épées were breathtaking to watch, even more so was the feeling of hold these metal wonders in your hands. So it was not surprising I went on to collect swords. And this book satisfies that love of the weapon. With various contributors, they trace the earliest origins from stone area, bronze age and bronze age to the swords of World Wars I and II. It covers swords from the Middle East, the unsurpassed Japanese Samurai blades, Swords used in China and Central Asia, even into India, Africa and Pre-Conquest America.

It is LOADED with colour pictures of the weapons, historical paintings showing them in use, even details spectrograms on the composition of the swords, how they were made, used from the most basic to the most ornamental dress swords. Every page just is simply amazing.

Highly recommended any any sword collection, anyone interested in knowing more about these weapons that forged our history and especially of interest to historical writer and historical romance writers. An Absolute MUST for them.

This is the most complete reference I have seen on the subject, rife with good photographs and superb research. Each chapter is written by a different person (experts I assume) and provides exceptional detail. It has sections on Bronze and Iron Age weapons; western weapons from Rome through WWII; Japanese swords; Indian weapons; and Chinese and Southeast Asian weapons; it even covers African weapons quite well. If you are starting a library of edged weapons, or already have one, this book must be in it!

I own the 2000 reprint of the book. The text copyright is by Coe et.al 1989; compilation copyright is by Prion books 1996. Apparently it is a compilation, and it shows, which is why I call the book schizofrenic. It is very well illustrated, but in the text there are no references at all to the illustrations. Generally you'll find an illustration of the type of weapon discussed in the text nearby, but sometimes you'll have to page back or forth or it cannot be found. So text and images are really separate.

I call the book myopic because of its focus on description of the appearance of the objects. There is almost nothing on metallurgy or materials science, forging, technical advances throughout history, fencing or tactical use, or the military or cultural circumstances why certain types have been preferred in a culture at some period of time (shape, length, straight or curved, one- or two-edged, piercing or cutting, etc.); only the chapter on Japanes swords touches upon some of these topics.

Overall I found the book disappointing.

This is one of the first books I bought when I started collecting arms and armour. The color photographs are detailed and of good quality, and there is a fairly good range of swords from European to Indian/oriental. I have found myself reaching for this book as a resource many times. I highly recommend it.

Charlotte Leibel has been studying the meaning of our handwriting for all of the nearly fifty years I have known her and doubtlessly long before that. She is one of the Wise Old Women of the tribe. There is no art or science that is infallible, but long experience with almost any technique can create a skill that can be highly reliable. What Charlotte Leibel says about handwriting analysis can be taken as highly reliable. What she says about those whose writing she analyzes deserves our consideration.

Charlotte Leibel has been studying the meaning of our handwriting for all of the nearly fifty years I have known her and doubtlessly long before that. She is one of the Wise Old Women of the tribe. There is no art or science that is infallible, but long experience with almost any technique can create a skill that can be highly reliable. What Charlotte Leibel says about handwriting analysis can be taken as highly reliable. What she says about those whose writing she analyzes deserves our consideration.

did Jeff Starkman really help you?

This book contains an amazing number of handwriting samples and examples which it uses to illustrate its key concepts and ideas. Not only is it valuable as a standalone handwriting reference tool, but it also addresses over 40 negative personality/character traits that can be corrected via conscious changes in one's handwriting. Enlightening!

What a book! Dr. Kroenke makes learning about MIS fun.

Finally, a book written for MY students and ME! Kroenke has incorporated hints and tips for making this "somewhat dry" topic truly "learner centered". Our students are coming to our Information Science Classes as Digital Natives. They don't need to learn "what computers can do", they need to learn how to make appropriate use of tools available for analysis, realize the potential of technology, and people. Emphasis is put on collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving. I especially like the "Guides" on Ethics and Computer Security. Bonus--Book available as an E-Text. I have adopted this text for my OnLine WebCT section at BCCC starting in May 2006! ALS (WebCT Certified Trainer)

Dear Amazon,

I am the author of this book. The review you have posted does not pertain to this book, but pertains to a different book that I published back in the 1980s. I hope you will soon correct the erroneous impression that this review makes with regard to Using MIS, the book that was published in 2006.

Please fix.

Thank you,
David Kroenke

Kroenke wrote a book dating back to 1994. As a lecturer I was advised to use this book, among others I'd choosen myself. After an extensive reading of this book I had to admit that some chapters are very good, because they give students a fundamental insight in management information systems, but for the title being "Management Information Systems" the chapters about personal information systems (5-7) aren't worth reading them. Also the book lacks actuality, e.g. a 486-PC with 8 MB is mentioned to be necessary for running windows. An update or revision, with more emphasis on Management Information Systems would be valuable.

This book is an excellent book for a Chemical Engineer final year student or Chemical/Process Engineer professional. It outlines the whole spectrum for Process Engineer design, from management skills for a project, preferrable site location, actual design of Process equipment/vessels, etc. This book is definately an execellent buy for a Chemical/Process Engineer.

It's a very complete guide for process design. It considers both standards and directives form US and EU. The main considerations about how to start and carry out the first steps on process design are very complete and helpful.

I found this book be an excellent summary of equipment capacities. There a several tables showing ranges of equipment based on a particular process variable and pro/con tables to aid in your selection. What is in short supply are anything but basic design equations for equipment. This is also true for an old favorite of mine: "Handbook of Separation Techniques for Chemical Engineers" by Philip A. Schweitzer. This textbook is less current, may be more useful for basic design, though more narrow.

My suggestion is to have Schweitzer and Sinnott's book in the design section of your professional library. Be careful with this book because it is paperback.

If this review was helpful, please vote. Thank you.

I stayed up until 3AM reading the book - getting page turners disease in the bargain. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

Although I have been reading novels for nearly 30 years now, I have NEVER read one with such suspence and excitement. This murder mystery is a true a 5 Star winner and is one of the best among our time. Usually when i start a novel i relax with it and take a few days to read it. However, with this novel i finished it the same evening without thinking to put it down. An "On the Edge of your Seat Mystery" ! It is obvious when you read this mystery that the author is a brillant one with many ideas. I happened to meet Mr.Steven Richardson at a book signing and can proudly say that he is both a gentleman and a scholar. I recommend anyone and everyone to go out and buy a copy of this book, or at least take the time to look at the authors summary and make your own decision. I guarantee you WILL NOT be wasting your time.

Great story line! Steve Richardson was a dedicated law enforcement officer who served his community well. His first hand knowledge of police work shines through in his first novel, Crossing the Chalk Line.

With artwork as delicious as one of Aunt Pinky's confections, this sweet picture book about the rewards of persistence and imagination will be gobbled up by young children and their parents, who may just recognize a kindred spirit in the hard-working but playful Pinky.

A cute story, fun to read. Very different look and colors. My kids really enjoyed it.

Gallow's Humor is a dark but amusing piece. Although it involves some issues that might be seen inappropriate, such as prostitution, it also deals with things that the everyday man can relate with. I'd love to see a company produce this daring work.

I picked up this book after buying a few others and getting even more from the library and this is the one I will be using for a long time.
Why?

1. Cute but simple patterns (How many parents of small children really want a lace cardigan anyhow?)

2. Clear and easy directions with pictures that actually show you what the piece looks like. I dislike knitting books where the photos are so artistic it blurs detail.

3. Very little finishing needed as most of the patterns I've read through are done in one or two pieces.

I am sure that this book will not appeal to those who love to make intricate and exquisite little knits, but I am sure it appeals to those of us who like simple, classic and lovely. The patterns in this book are adorable. I am particularly fond of the Papoose, The Little Dress and The Simple Sweater, the Overalls are quite adorable, but missing what they need which is buttons for diaper access. The book relies a little heavily as many baby knit books do on Debbie Bliss yarns, which are often soft and lovely, but not necessarily practical, particularly when it comes to washing and cleaning etc. for babies. However there are other yarns used and of course they can be substituted. What I love especially about this book is how wearable the items are, the babies look happy and like babies, not babies in adult styles that have been shrunk down like so many baby knitting books, besides, I don't have time to spend 3 months working on something that will only fit them for 1 month, they grow so fast. I would be tickled pink if anyone made me something out of this book for my little one and I plan to make many items from it. The book delivers as it says, easy baby knits, easy being the key word, and sure to provide instant gratification.

My girlfriend is becoming a grandmother times 2 soon so I was looking at knitting books for a birthday gift for her. I became so enthralled with this book and its darling patterns that I purchased one for myself too! No babies on the way to this household but I couldn't resist.

As beginning collector it was difficult to get an insight in what exactly was produced, when and what varieties exist.
This book fills the gap to a large extend, providing a lot of information. The illustrations/lay out are/is sometimes what eratic, and one example of a factory drawing would be nice, but so many eats up a lot of space, which might have been used for other purposes. However, the provides an excellent overview of all aspects of Dinky, and it is well worth its money.

Mike and Sue Richardson have been toy collectors
for over 40 years and experts on die cast toys.
This book represents the summary of all their knowledge on Dinky Toys, having met with production officers and workers from the factory in Liverpool.
A comprehensive guide to British Dinky Toys from 1933 to 1980.
Contains tables of all models by issue number with color variations and issue and deletion dates; including most photos of all models ever produced. Information is based on official records from the Meccano factory, in Liverpool, England.
It also has a large appendix with definitions and miscellaneous information, such as factory display photos, model plans, catalogs, etc.
The quintessential book for the passionate collector of these precise and beautiful die cast toys.
Very easy to use and helpful to identify any English model.
Has no price estimates as these parameters are irrelevant.
Beautiful printing and photography.
Large heavy volume in hardback printing only.
Highly recommended for research and model identification.

This book is the Bible of Dinky Toys as far as I am concerned.
A must for all Dinky Toys Collectors

The murmur of the crowd, the electricity in the air - "they're off" and the smell or dirt and cigar all permeate this fine book by Bert Sugar- Runyonesque, wheeler dealer, yarn spinner and general sports know-it-all.
You'll love the cast of characters; jock's, trainers, owners and the horses, colorful, and bizzare, a whole stew of odd ducks and delightful stories.

Horse Sense is a book written in order to either bring to life a flicker of love or reignite the passion for horse racing. Once you have read this book, your interest and fascination for this "Sport of Kings" will give you a desire to experience this for yourself, to be at a race, to watch the jockeys, the owners, the crowd. You will want to see and hear the sound of the horses as they sweep down the track.
Bert Sugar's book may contain some factual errors, but he introduces the novice to the charm, glory , dangers and the history of this amazing sport. His ability to reveal life at the track from the point of view of owners, jockeys, trainers and even those who wager at the windows is intriguing.
He gives a striking overview of the tracks, from the glorious tradition of Churchill Downs, to the grand and beautiful Arlington Park to the lesser ranked tracks.
The future of horse racing which took a major hit in attendance due to legal casino's and off track betting is also a subject that is well covered.
Bert Sugar shares the joy and intensity of watching the horses run and the appreciation for what goes into making winning horses, great jockeys, and successful trainers.

Bert Sugar goes behind the scenes, interviewing owners, breeders, trainers, jockeys and track operators with anecdotes, history and charm only he can do.
Horse Sense follows the money behind the business of racing which was once dominated by eccentric families and strange characters.
A real nice read for any horse enthusiast!