California Books

I have several cookbooks, but this is by far my favorite. I have never used a cookbook as often as I do this book, and I have consistently had great results. So far my husband and I have tried about 20 things out of this book, and they have all been delicious--cocktails, appetizers, main dishes, side dishes, and desserts.

The best part about this book is the simplicity. Most of the recipes in this book don't have a ton of ingredients, and the ingredients it calls for are usually things I have on hand, or I just need to get a few easy (and inexpensive)items. That is my main problem with other cookbooks that I own: they are beautiful to look at and the food is indeed delicious, but many of the ingredients are things I would never have on hand and I end up spending a lot of money just to get everything I need.

This cookbook has consistently produced delicious results with very little effort. The ingredients are remarkably simple in some of the dishes and it just makes cooking out of this book a really fun experience. I love the Southern California theme too. I am from San Diego and these recipes really do capture the casual yet elegant style of America's Finest City.

I have set a goal for myself that I am going to try every recipe in this book. It may take a little time, but I am looking forward to trying everything--and as I said before, I've never wanted to do that with any other cookbook. My other cookbooks look really pretty on my shelf but don't get nearly as much use as this one, because this one is not intimidating and doesn't require a huge shopping list to prepare the food.

I highly recommend this book. I'm getting one for my mom for Christmas too.

I got this book as a gift for my in-laws and my parents and they LOVE IT. The recepies are easy, yet sophisticated and the instructions are so simple even those handicapped in the kitchen are able to make all of the recepies. Easy to follow recipes, vivid pictures, and amazing food. A great buy!!

This is a fabulous cookbook. Everything I have made has been highly complimented by all who taste. I love the drink recipes, the Ultimate Sangria is to die for! The great introductions to each meal are a great read as well. The best part about the purchase is you know that your money is not only going to help you make good food, but to help Junior League of San Diego. This cook book is a worthy purchase!

Please buy this wonderful cookbook from the Junior League of San Diego. You only pay $[...] plus tax & shipping and the proceeds will directly benefit the community projects run by the Junior League.

By far this is my favorite cookbook to own and give as a gift for bridal showers, birthdays, or the holidays. I love that it includes recipes for cocktails. :-) I've given this as a gift to women AND men and have been warmly thanked by all. It even earned the approval of my boyfriend's sister, who has a Master's degree in Public Health from Johns Hopkins. She is a tough critic when it comes to food and was impressed by the variety in California Sol Food and the light, healthy dishes. Buy your own copy (or 2) today!

California Sol Food is my favorite cookbook with easy to follow recipes, beautiful photos, delicious results!!! I have a huge collection of cookbooks but I have found this book to be perfect for casual but elegant entertaining, San Diego style.

I bought this book after I saw some of Don Normark's pictures in a local gallery. I was impressed with his work that I had to have the book. After reading the book and trying to see the pictures as he did, I realized that this was more that just a photo book. This was history and how these people lived. This could have been written in 2008, the same problems and the same actions by the government that was felt then is still seems to be happening now. I have read other books written about the city of Los Angeles during the years before and this book helps me understand the people who lived there better.

I became aware of Chavez Ravine when I purchased a CD of music by Ry Cooder about the subject. Until that time I would have been unlikely to come across information about this amazing part of LA because I live in New Zealand and we are on the other side of the world - downunder you might say!

However, I have now been to Los Angeles a couple of times, in transit, and so feel as if I have a partial idea of the scale of this city and its surrounds.

I was therefore intrigued to see someone with a copy of this book and promptly looked for it on Amazon's website.

I now have even more insights into this community and it only further amazes me that the land that was home to so many immigrant families could just be taken out from under them - something I feel is quite shameful.

I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who wants to look into the past and read about the immigrant communities in the United States and how they are often overlooked and mistreated.....and then almost forgotten, but for people like Don Normark bringing their world to the fore.

My in-laws are of the families uprooted from La Loma-now Dodger Stadium. I'm looking forward to reading about the history of this long, forgotten place.

Nestled in the hills between downtown Los Angeles and Pasadena is Chávez Ravine, site of Dodger Stadium and its acres of parking lots. Few baseball fans here could tell you that long before the Dodgers left Brooklyn, Chávez Ravine was the home of three communities of Mexican-American laborers and their families.

Don Normark, a young photographer in 1948, was climbing in the hills looking for postcard-shot views of LA when he discovered La Loma, Palo Verde, and Bishop. Each neighborhood was a rambling cluster of buildings, dirt streets, and footpaths. The wooded slopes of Elysian Park overlooked the ravine, and beyond were the peaks of the San Gabriel Mountains. He felt he had found another world -- a kind of Shangri-La. For many months, he returned to take pictures of what he saw and of the people he met there. He didn't know that he was recording on film the daily life of a place and its people that was about to disappear.

The pictures, of course, are black and white, a rich range of gray tones and contrasts under the cloudless southern California sky. In a casual street scene, two men stand talking on the hard dirt, and a third, his back to them, leans across a low concrete wall. All is in sharp focus from the dusty tire track in the foreground to the pointed tower of City Hall nudging up over a darkly wooded ridge in the distance. The mid-afternoon light reflects brightly off one man's tee shirt and from the front of a small white house farther on. Meanwhile, the shadows cast by eaves, palm fronds, parked cars, and the men themselves are deeply dark.

There are many pictures of people, of all ages. Some look into the camera. Most are busy working, walking, talking, playing. A young girl wears her confirmation dress. A boy watches his father repair a car. Two men spar under branches thick with bougainvillea blossoms. An iceman stands in an open gateway, tongs slung over one shoulder. A young woman arranges flowers on an altar. A workman returns home along a winding footpath at the end of the day (see book jacket above).

Fifty years later, Normark gathered together his pictures and began looking for the people who had once lived in Chávez Ravine. This book is an album of those pictures, with commentary by the people he found, in their own words. Normark writes simply and clearly about himself and his experiences. Like his photographs, his writing style is sharply focused. In the opening pages of the book, he describes the forced relocation of the people of Chávez Ravine during the Fifties, and the various public and private interests contending for control of its development. Normark's book is both handsome and beautifully written, a fine example of text and image illuminating each other.

This book is full of classic, socially-conscious photography that bears a spiritual kinship with Dorothea Lange's Depression Era photos of Dustbowl Families. The images are doubly rich: as Old School black and white images shot on a reasonable speed film, with a broad and caress-ably subtle range of grays, and also as a record of a time and place that was stolen, and will simply never be again.

For those who don't know the story, in a nutshell: The residents of Chavez Ravine, who were almost entirely Latino, were offered the promise that their community would be replaced by public housing as part of a renewal project of sorts. (Some had called their neighborhood blighted.) But as the land acquisition proceeded, and as various official pledges were reneged and political cards played (including exploitation of the then current fear of creeping Socialism/Communism-- after all, I ask you, what could be more unAmerican than affordable replacement housing?), the project proved to be a lie. The final hold-outs at Chavez Ravine were bodily removed by deputies as the last remnants of the neighborhood were cleared to make way for a sports field and parking lot. (!)

This volume is great because these photos, which speak so eloquently of one specific place and time, also speak clearly of universal things. Children play; young couples tie the knot as family celebrates; honest and good people work to protect what is theirs, to better their lot, and just to get by. -- It is about nothing less than the struggle and joy of life itself.

If there is any uplift to the wistful story this book tells in beautiful images and words, it is in that the displaced people survived, persevered, and that their old home, and what happened there, is remembered today.

Sometimes, you have to search for the bright spot. A thought-provoking read. Recommended.

The books arrived in excellent condition, they are high quality books. The other reviewer mentioned the quality of the paper isn't high, I disagree, I think it's great. I bought this book for my wife. She is from Hong Kong and already cooks amazing chinese food (her father is head chef at an LA Chinese restaurant). She's now venturing into french food and has made several dishes (more so from Bouchon)

My wife is a former paralegal, now a stay at home mom. She's had no formal training from a cooking school. With that in mind, she can realistically make about 30% of the food from French Laundry and about 50% of Bouchon's recipes. The reason why they are so difficult is that it is tough to find fresh food that is mentioned in the book. You don't find rabbit, frog legs or veal at the local Schnucks or commissary (we're military). Some of the techniques require tools that aren't readily available to regular "non-chef" consumers.

Bouchon - Our favorite has been the flatiron steak and the trout from Bouchon. My wife said it was fairly simple to make. Very little prep time. The french fries came out delicious and they too were easy to make.

French Laundry - The salmon tartare came out nice. Again, the directions were easy to follow. The rest of the dishes in this book however are much more involved. The book itself has great pictures had great write-ups on certain techniques.

While the books were expensive (We normally get $5 cookbooks from the bargain bin), they are well worth it. I am one lucky man . ..

Beautiful coffee table book. Limited is use for an amateur, or even a serious amateur. But it's fun to read and the photography is stunning.

So much more than just cookbooks! It's very visual, makes you excited about cooking and partaking. Emphasizes simple flavors of food, don't complicate what can easily achieve perfection on its own.

The Complete Keller is completely wonderful. Beautifully written and photographed, these books are a wonderful escape to Keller-world.

These books are outstanding - the level of description, the quality of the books themselves, the full color pictures of what the dishes look like... I gave it as a Valentine's Day gift to my girlfriend who loves them - and keeps calling the books "Food Porn".

With "Cut My Hair," Jamie Rich has recreated the mythos of the early '90s music scene as seen through the eyes of one who had lived during the time. (No, it's true... there was some good stuff going on back then, though coming on the tail of the Decade of Greed, those who lived during the time are characteristly cynical over any reminder of said years.)

Mason, the narrator/protagonist of the novel, could concievably be a real-life person. None of his insights, emotions, or actions are one-sided. In fact, he most resembles a modern-day depiction of J. D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield, though somewhat more adjusted to the life in which he lives. And a life of glamour and rock 'n' roll it is not! Mason abides with parental apathy, poverty-line conditions, and a super-heated drought-stricken California, while discovering that life holds none of the Hollywood-esque promise made to his generation. In Mason's life of change and uncertainty, the only possession to which he places any trust and security is his leather jacket - his shell.

This book delves into the alternative music scene, and successfully captures its heart and soul. It doesn't apologize for retroactive weaknesses, because it doesn't feel it has to. It's merely presenting a backdrop which is as rich and vibrant as Mason and his inextricable band of friends and associates.

Most of the sporadic artwork contained therein equally displays a good feel for the characters and their times (Andi Watson's efforts especially accomplish this; Judd Winick's, not so much), and give the book a considerable amount of character.

Fantastic book, well-deserving of multiple readings.

Cut My Hair is written by former Oni Press Editor Jamie S. Rich with illustrations by such noted comic book artists as Judd Winick, Chynna Clugston-Major, Scott Morse, Mike Allred and Andi Watson, with the title taken from the Who song of the same name off of their Quadrophenia album. As I am a huge fan of both comic books and The Who, Cut My Hair sounded like it was right up my alley. Cut My Hair is a smart, well written, coming of age story. It's also about being in love, not only with another person, but with music. Specifically, Punk rock music.

Set in the early 90's, Cut My Hair is narrated by 19-year old Mason, who lives with his best friend Jack. Jack isn't just his best friend, but also his protector and as close to family as anyone he knows, as Jack hasn't spoken to his abusive, alcoholic mother since he moved out after High School. Nicknamed "Jailbate" (incorrect spelling intended) because of his small size and stature, Mason's life consists of working full time at a comic store, going to Punk rock shows and pining away for Laine, his High School crush. As with all things in life, nothing stays the same. Mason's life begins to change, as he meets and falls passionately in love with Jeane. Before Mason can fully enjoy his newfound happiness, an event occurs which sends him over the edge into a deep, alcohol-fueled despair, from which even the music he loves cannot save him.

Cut My Hair, filled with the longing and heartache of teenage angst, explores both the lifestyle and the music of the Los Angles Punk rock scene of the early 90's with authority and affection. Regardless of whether you're a Punk or not, you'll be quickly drawn into this fascinating, often violent world that, in it's own way, is infused with an underlying sense of romanticism, hope and love.

OMG! This book was amazing. I read about this book a few years ago in some music magazine. Somehow, I remembered the title and decided to look it up on amazon. I found it and ordered it and I am greatful I did. Jamie S. Rich did an excelent in developing the character of Mason. The way he uses the first person and really captures what it is like to be a teenager who feels like he doesn't fit in. He finds a way to really show the ups and downs in a teen's life. I could not put this book down. I would recomend it to anyone. I could not have agreed more with the musical taste in this book. And I was able to see myself through Mason. If you are a teenager or not, this book is definetly one to read!!!

I bought this book on a whim. As many of the people who have read it, I first heard of it through Oni Press. And I was not disappointed one bit.

My reaction was surprising most of all to me, since I've made the analysis of literary works my life (and my degree). There's nothing about this book that makes it astoundingly unique compared to all the other coming-of-age novels out there. But that's the beauty of it.

For different people with different experiences, certain elements of this book resonate on a deeper level than can be described. For those who cannot live without their music and all that's connected therein. For those who have the small store job and find happiness just fine. For those yearning away for the "Eternal Girl."

For me, who suddenly recognized a very close friend and was delighted at last to know who he was. I showed my friend this book and he wondered how on earth this author had picked up scenes from his life like they were pennies lying face-up on the ground. He started telling me about concerts he'd driven half the day to get to, fights he'd been in wondering who he was fighting... life's realization. Music. Friendship. Love.

So, for me, up to my neck in all the Shakespeare, Hemingway, and Palahniuk I can stand-- and this is my favorite of them all. There's something about it that just resonates deep inside. I *know* Mason. I know him even better now. His name may not be Mason, but he's got all the bad haircuts and scars to prove otherwise.

I bought this thinking it was a graphic novel, after enjoying Blue Monday and Scooter Girl.

It's not. Just a novel.

Caveat Emptor.

In "Earthquake Exodus, 1906", Richard Schwartz takes a look at the chain of events immediately following the 1906 earthquake from an entirely new and refreshing perspective. Instead of rehashing the enormous, well-documented physical destruction wrought by the earthquake in San Francisco, Santa Rosa, and elsewhere, Schwartz relates a number of facts and stories that he uncovered for the first time. For example, his extensive research has uncovered eyewitness accounts of the tidal wave that struck the East Bay shortly after the earthquake.

But Mr. Schwartz devotes most of this fascinating book to telling us how and to where refugees fled; where they were welcome and where they weren't; how they were fed and housed; how they re-connected with their loved ones; how they passed the hours of the day in the first weeks after the disaster; how their rescuers and benefactors organized the relief effort as well as themselves; and more. His book also provides a very interesting discussion of how the 1906 earthquake affected population growth and development in Berkeley and Albany.

The book is a refreshing look at the human aftermath of the earthquake and is also a tribute to the people of the City of Berkeley, who performed magnificently and from whose perspective much of the story is told. This book should be required reading for those responsible for ensuring public order, health, and other preparations after the next earthquake. Bravo, Richard, and please keep up your outstanding work!

Tom Panas
President, El Cerrito Historical Society

I had the honor of meeting Richard Schwartz at the 1906 Earthquake Expo in San Francisco during the week of April 18 and saw his book on display. As a former Bay Area resident and who survived the 1989 Loma Prieta quake, I wanted to add this book to my collections on earthquakes. I found the pictures to be outstanding and these photos were not in any other book so it was a treat to see them here. I never realized how much of a role Berkeley played in the 1906 quake and I was very informed of that in this book. It wasn't just San Francisco that was hard hit, but also places like Berkeley and the East Bay was hit too. I definitely would recommend this book if you're into earthquakes and information.

See a need and fill it. That's what Richard Schwartz has done so successfully with his books, and thank goodness. Like a preminition of sorts he has provided the reading community with a look inside the City of Berkeley's post-earthquake relief efforts which had been virtually untouched until now. Thankyou Mr. Schwartz for bringing the unsung into the light, time and time again. What will this author do for an encore? Whatever it is will make us appreciate his efforts all the more. His passion for reinvigorating things past makes that famous truism current: history never gets old, and explainers never go jobless.

Earthquake Exodus, 1906, is not a dry read by any means. Richard Schwartz brings to life a traumatic period of time. He shows us how the spirit of helping one another shines through. This book strengthens my belief that, in times of crisis, our best nature surfaces. The book highlights the spirit of giving that we displayed recently as part our recent disasters (the tsunami in South-East Asia, Hurricane Katrina, etc.). Richard's current book is a great addition to his "Circle of Stones" and "Berkeley 1900." I'm looking forward to what this author does next.

An excellent piece of history about one of the worst U.S.
natural disasters. It's full of great photos, many never published before (where did he get all of them!?)of the time before and after the quake. My favorite thing about the book is that he tells numerous personal stories of the people affected, stories that make you really think about how YOU might have reacted to such a disaster. It's amazing to think how the good people of Berkeley, right across the bay, managed to do such good work to provide for thousands of San Francisco refugees without any government help!(O.K., now you know my political leanings). Compare Katrina now to 1906 reactions. read this book!

Every Good & Perfect Gift "adeptly portrays the strengths of friendship, and the wonderful but often difficult relationships between mothers and daughters," as the Publisher's Weekly review says.

What the review doesn't mention is how realistic the characters are and how significant the story is. Written in the first person, but as much about another character as the "I," the novel gives unique voices to both women. And makes the reader care for both.

This book is not light weight. It "adeptly" deals with serious issues (not just friendship, though in saying "just" I'm not implying that friendship isn't a worthy topic to explore. Rather, this novel goes beyond that scope and treats something bigger) and "Souza laudably refuses to succumb to a pat ending that neatly ties up all the loose ends." Rather than frustrating, this ending seemed to me like the only one possible.

At one point, the PW review called Every Good & Perfect Gift "poignant." That's a good word to describe the story. "Sad" is inaccurate because the story has more to say than "what happened in the end." Besides, in places, the journey to the end is itself poignant.

At times I was laughing, at other times I wanted to shake one or both characters, but in the end I cried. And cried. If one sign of a successful novel is that it evokes emotion in the reader, then Sharon Souza has written one very successful novel.

Mind you, it is most definitely women's fiction. It is contemporary, and it may touch on some raw edges for some people. But in so doing, it also might help those readers process what is almost an untouchable subject (or subjects) among Christians.

Yes, this book is also overtly Christian, but without any platitudes or pretension. It is simply a moving story, one that touched me even though I am far from the target audience. Good books have a way of doing just that.

I loved Sharon's book. Her prose was fresh and original. She wrote it in first-person point of view, which is my favorite approach. It's challenging to do, and she made it look easy. She wrote with such depth and heart, I have to applaud her! I highly recommend "Every Good and Perfect Gift."

If this debut novel is any indication, readers are in for a treat with this new voice. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, even laughed out loud a few times.

When Gabby's friend, DeeDee announces she wants to have a baby, the reader is taken on a journey with the first person story teller as we glimpse the life of a seemingly very real character. We become one with her as she struggles to conceive and then faces even more challenges beyond the birth. We are treated to a story of enduring friendship.

Hysterically funny at times and hammer-on-the-nail true to life, the writer explores a topic that has long been avoided in Christian Fiction. The ordeal and pain of childlessness. Without preaching or without judging, the author takes us inside the heart of very special people.

I highly recommend this book. I can't wait to see what Sharon will produce next!

In her debut novel, Sharon Souza introduces herself as an author of depth, compassion, and faith. Her first book, Every Good and Perfect Gift is a beautiful look at friendship and sacrifice.

Gabby Whitaker and DeeDee McAllister have been best friends since sixth grade. Theirs is a rare and beautiful friendship born of time and shared faith. Gabby always considered DeeDee the strong one and herself the follower.

Not only are they best friends, but they married best friends. As they near their fortieth birthdays, DeeDee announces her decision that she does want to have a baby, despite her adamancy for the past twenty years she didn't. The four embark on a journey of infertility, tests, trials, failures, and the birth of a beautiful baby. Through it all, Gabby and DeeDee's friendship grows ever stronger. After the birth, Gabby becomes increasingly concerned over disturbing changes in DeeDee's behavior. The diagnosis changes everyone's life forever and challenges their faith. Gabby finds the greatest joy is in sacrificing for your friend.

Sharon Souza has written a modern day story similar to the friendship of Jonathon and David in the Old Testament. This heartwarming story will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you want to call your best friend and say 'thank you.' The characters are as real as your next door neighbors. I highly recommend this book. Maybe give it to your best friend and read it at the same time. Sharon's debut novel leaves the reader eagerly anticipating her next one.

Nearing forty, best friends Angel Gabby Whitaker Nevin and DeeDee McAllister-Kent feel they have lived great lives. Both married their college boyfriends and each couple decided on a DINK (Double income no kids) lifestyle.

However, DeeDee suddenly feels her biological clock running down as she desperately wants a baby. While DeeDee tries to become pregnant, Gabby wonders whether she should reconsider her decision to remain childless. DeeDee continues to fail to conceive, which begins to cause a strain between her and her spouse and between her and her best friend until DeeDee's medical diagnosis shakes up everyone

This is a fascinating look at friendship between two people who never had differences until they tried to get pregnant. Gabby is the one tested especially when they learn what is wrong with DeeDee as she will need patience like she never needed with her best friend before. Sharan K. Souza explains that she modernized and gender changed the biblical bond between David and Jonathan as Gabby wonders why bad things happen to good people, but accepts this is God's way and vows to the Lord she will be there for DeeDee.

Harriet Klausner

This is one of those must have items when you're facing a trip with your grandkids (that's TWO generations away from your own days on any wild ride) and I must say this guide to the park was enormously helpful even before we got there. Thanks a lot! Our trip was a huge success and Ms. Wiley's book gets a lot of the credit.

I first read an earlier version of this book several years ago, and Kim's sound advice has stayed with me, several trips on.

If you want to learn which rides to stay away from with young children, and what the must sees are, this is the book to read. And don't ignore Kim's most important tip of all. If you're travelling to Disney World with children, make sure you take that afternoon nap.

Catherine Noble
Webmaster
www.mywdwtrip.com

This is a really useful book, tons of tips, saved me a lot $$ and time. The most valuable thing I learn is to rent a multi-family vacation house with my friends, 16 people for $199 a day. We all enjoy the stay at a luxury emerald island resort. check this out: http://www.cyberrentals.com/index.cfm/property/126687

I purchased this book as a guide to help plan a 5 day trip to WDW with my family. We just got back and let me tell you this book saved us a lot of waiting time for the rides, helped us know what to see and where and how to focus our energy. Ms. Wiley is right on the mark in her descriptions of the attractions and her tips about getting around the parks. The book was so helpful, I tore out the sections about each park and took it with us into the park. This version is missing info that wasn't available at the time of printing about some of the newer shows Disney has put in for its 50th anniversary celebration. The Cinderellabration show is wonderful especially if you have a princess lover in your family and the Wishes fireworks display over the castle in the Magic Kingdom. I would highly recommend this book even if you've been to WDW before.

This book is a must read before and during your trip. It has great money saving ideas and is easy to understand. The scare factors are extremely useful if you have children under 10.

Dr. Rothenberg is one of most famous doctor in anti-agind medicine. His presentation at medical conference is very interesting and understandable. So many physicians attend his lecture evry time. This book is very organized, so it is very helpful to study preventive medicine such as nutrition, exercise and stress reduction for medical doctors in various fields and also it can be a exellent guide book for people's daily life. I reccomend it for everyone who want to live longer and more healthily. MAKOTO MD JAPAN

Forever Ageless: Advanced Edition - Review

Chef Rothenberg and company have successfully cooked up the most up-to-date and artfully presented "tomato sauce" of Preventive and Regenerative Medicine to date. Whether it's a quick, nuts and bolts reference for patient education and treatment algorithms (the CD power points are great for patient ed) or a thorough, in depth, peer review supported guide to complex, multi-factorial, treatment decisions...from history, evaluation and testing, treatments, exercise, diet, clinical and legal implications, supportive abstracts and references, "It's in there!" The book is written, depicted and organized in a practical, user friendly manner for both patients and "in the trenches" practitioners. This state of the art opus breaks a complex area of medicine down and puts it back together, an ingredient at a time, in an understandable, common sense, open-minded fashion that is hugely educational and an enjoyable read. Forever Ageless: Advanced Edition is destined to be a top seller and deserves a place in everyone's personal library. Help your patients and lengthen your own "Healthspan". Get this book...read it...live it ... and "live long, healthy and prosper"!

Ed Zimmerman,MD Private Practice, Cosmetic Surgery, Las Vegas, Nevada

This book can serve a a textbook for physicians in the field of regenerative medicine yet is understandable enough for any interested person. It is a milestone for this new field.


Michael D. Berger, MD

This is an amazing threatise on antiaging. It is a MUST for patients contemplating any antiaging treatment. In addition,for physicians practicing antiaging medicine it is a great resource. I recommened this book whole heartedly to anyone in the antiaging field and to those considering adding this scope of medicine to their practice.

As a practicing physician I have used this book many times as a reference. It has proven to be very helpful with all my HRT problem solving needs and it is also loaded with references which support the science of antiaging.

Dr. Lionel Bissoon
Author, The Cellulite CureThe Cellulite Cure (TM)

Dr. Rothenberg's most recent book "Forever Ageless", Advanced Edition is an updated overview of Anti-Aging Medicine that has no peer. This rapidly emerging field of medicine provides the answer to the inadequacies of traditional western medicine. The treatise is versatile enough to provide a Reader's Digest overview of selected topics while also providing references from the medical literature that in turn provides the scientific basis for this new approach to health care. The format explores the impact of various lifestyle modifications as well as the more recent additions to our armamentarium, supplements and hormone replacement. Theory is brought alive with specific algorithms understandable to both the physician and the patient. Specific information is provided on daily requirements of various food groups, supplements, ect. Dr. Rothenberg is truly a proven leader in this field that will eventually change the way we practice medicine. I highly recommend this valuable resource to the layman as well as the healthcare professional. James F. Lineback MD

This is the way weight loss should be approached - by a real person with real emotions. Carole is so honest that you can't help but laugh in recognition of your own foibles. But she found a path to fitness and the rest of us can do it too. Better yet, our whole communities can become supports for health. Highly recommend!!!!!!

This book offers a lot of information for any reader who has struggled with their weight. Its filled with great ideas, and a whole host of professionals to give you motivation to loose weight the right way, the healthy way. Carol Carson's story of her transformation is one we all should read and use it for motivation to get fit and stay fit.

Carole Carson took our already wonderful community and made it even more wonderful! She has struggled with issues many of us have had throughout our lives. Her book has humor, helpful suggestions, and examples of people challenging themselves. Not to mention a map on how to loose weight and stay fit.
A must read for people interested in being fit.

Susan Michalski

This is one of the Best motivational books written about obesity and how to get people motivated to loose those extra pounds, make friends, and get positive reinforcement from within. It inspired me to start moving.

I actually met Carole Carson and THEN read her book. Believe me, seeing the "after" first had a great impact on me. I never could have imagined the "before" Carole. She went from a pleasantly round grandmotherly type to a toned, energetic, athletic and strikingly attractive woman who looks like she could take on the world! Oh, did I mention that I met her on a tennis court in the Hawaiian Islands? My group was so impressed with her play, confidence and effervesence. Imagine my surprise when I read her book. After only a few chapters, I decided, "I want that!" Her ideas are easy to implement and I love hearing, "Are you thinner--you look great!" Better yet, I have new-found energy and confidence. Her story can be your story. You'll laugh out loud as you read how an entire town jumps on board as Carole motivates them to healthy living.

My husband and I recently heard a taped interview with Father Boyle that aired on NPR. We were very interested in learning more about his unique outreach efforts with LA Gang members. This book is excellent.

"G-Dog and the Homeboys" shows how Father Greg Boyle and a select few adults, including the author, completely changed the lives of teens in East LA. Greg opened the homies' and his followers' eyes to the world outside of their lives in their little neighborhood. Many kids would not think past selling drugs to earn a little extra cash, or firing off a couple of rounds of bullets in order to simply stay alive. Boyle changed all of this.
In actuality, the homies were not violent, cruel, or evil kids at heart. Many had rotten home lives and joined gangs to find love. Others joined for protection. Gangs offered support if they were ever in serious danger.
Father Greg understood and felt for these teens. Greg lent them helping hand in any way he could. He gave them money for school, jobs, even a roof over their heads. However, the best gift he gave the homies was his love and caring for them.
As one follows the stories of numerous homies, one realizes how much of an impact one man, Father Greg, had on their lives. This story is touching, at times frightening, and over all, enlightening. It is highly recommended that you read "G-Dog and the Homeboys". Your eyes, too, will be opened to the world around you.

Although I have not read this book, I did watch a lecture by Father Boyle given at Regis University. It is amazing what he has accomplished in LA with these gang members. It is a true testament to what God can do if given the chance!

This book is quite unlike any other that I have read on crime or gangs, both in style and in substance.

The style is very simple. Fremon makes no attempt to be objective. She makes no effort to put the story into any larger context. She does not come across like a professional writer of any kind. Her ego is absent from the work. Instead, she tells a story, a simple, moving story.

The subject of her story is extraordinary. John Paul II liked to say that there are many more saints around us then we recognize. This story is another example of that. Father Greg Boyle is a normal suburban white guy who became a priest, and was sent to East LA. He found himself surrounded by gang violence. Nothing unusual in the story so far.

But his reaction was extraordinary. He responded to the situation in a radically Christian manner. He did not get into any of the usual left wing politics or posturing. Instead, he offered the gang members uncondititional love, just as the Gospel teaches. He spent time with them. He visited them in jail. He visited them in the hospital. Whenever the guns went off, he was there trying to bring peace. In one extraordinary incident, he put himself between two gangs who were starting a fire fight, and told them that if they wanted to kill each other, they would have to kill him. He was risking his life doing this, and the gang members knew it. They did not shoot; his Christian witness brought them back from their madness.

It took time, but the gang members responded to Father Greg's ministry with tremendous enthusiasm and love. It is an incredibly inspiring story. It reminds us of why we are Christians. It shows us the transforming power of Christian love.

I would like to be able to draw some political conclusions from all of this. I would like to somehow replace our current approach to gangs with Father Greg's approach. I do not know how to do that. I can not see how to make his saintly approach work in ordinary political or police work. But I do know that we are all better people with someone like him among us. If we had more like him, the world would be healed.

A wonderful read that can be shared with reluctant readers to bring them face to face with their place in modern literature. A book that should be shared with more teenagers. A look at gang life/ prisons in our urban world through the eyes of someone on a shared journey. I shared this book and another series that Celeste wrote in LA Weekly (2005) with my students as a combination class: experience of life literature and morality. Father Boyle is a master at understanding humanity and our call to larger social responsibility. We are not permitted to dismiss the world around us after reading this book that tugs at the corners of your heart. Greg gives hope where it is needed the most - to everyone. If the opportunity to hear Father Greg Boyle speak presents itself, do yourself a favor and go.