South America Books

We purchased this book because our family will be spending 7 weeks in Ecuador this summer. I was hesitant to travel with our children until I read this book. These parents are such inspirations! We are so excited to leave now! I couldn't put this book down because as I read I grew more an more excited for the upcoming trip. The family proves that you can travel with your children but you need to look at the trip from a child's persepctive. The author gives plenty of helpful tips on what to pack, where to stay, and what to visit. Although she gave plenty of tips, I wish she would have given even more. Her anectdotes and experiences were so fun to read, but several of them were a bit to long and detailed. Each chapter has a page written by her son-I found this interested and helpful to hear what he enjoyed and disliked. All in all, I recommend this book if you are planning or considering a trip to South America with your kids.

I really enjoyed reading about Robin, Fran and Christopher's adventures. It gave me ideas about enjoying life with my own family even here at home. But also it reminded me that the world is out there waiting, and that kids deserve to explore it just as much as anyone else. The book is a great insight into how to help them do that.

As a family just beginning the process of planning an extended trip abroad, we were both encouraged and reassured after reading this wonderful book. What sets this book apart from other family travel books is the practical information that is contained in each and every chapter. Checklists, contact information, and honesty in regards to each country visited make this a book we will reference frequently as our travel plans continue to form. On top of the practical information, their adventure is a joy to read! Thank you!!!!

What sets this book apart from the majority of other travel-literature is that the writer crossed a continent together with her husband and 8-year-old son. It is truly an eye-opener for anyone who believes the traveling life ends once you are married with children. There are no more excuses! So many people say that they wanted to go traveling in their youth but then came a job, a partner, a kid....Robin proves that there is nothing holding you back of living out your dreams. All it takes is a little bit of planning and off you go.

Robin and her family exemplify how to abandon the deferred-life plan for a luxury lifestyle based on time and mobility. Serving as a perfect example of how families can travel together for an extended period of time, BYOC: South America! provides all the details that other families need to create their own sabbatical or mini-retirement. From detailed planning to on-the-road notes from her eight-year-old son, it's a complete and eye-opening roadmap for parents who want to escape the grind and give their children the best education of all: amazing experiences

Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

while in France recently at Chalon-sur-Soane I visited their photography museum. They were doing a special exhibit of this work. I was so totally impressed on how Miller could capture these photos while seeming to be invisable to his subjects that I investigated when I returned and discovered that this book was available. I bought TWO; one for myself and one for my daughter who is a serious photographer.

These striking images of Bronzeville -- "Chicago's Harlem" -- will blow you away. The humanity they portray, in all its beaten-down, lifted-up, heartbreaking reality, makes me wish I knew personally every man and woman depicted herein.

Wayne Miller, a white photographer now well into his 80s, went into the Bronzeville ghetto over a two-year period and made these touching pictures; then they "went into a drawer" for 40 years, until finally the Univ of Calif Press published this book. (The book itself is as well-produced a book of photographs as you are likely to find anywhere.)

My grandfather Nathan Joseph ran the States Theatre at 3507 S. State St., in the heart of Bronzeville, for some 50 years (unfortunately the States is not depicted herein). I myself have written a novel of Bronzeville called "To Love Mercy" (Mid-Atlantic Highlands, ISBN 0-9744785-3-9). A historical Afterword appears at the end of "To Love Mercy;" it is an oral history of Bronzeville, in the voices of a dozen people who lived there in the '40s and '50s. This Afterword is illustrated with seven of Wayne Miller's photos from "Chicago South Side, 1946-1948."

I have given close to a dozen copies of "Chicago South Side" as gifts. I was coming to Amazon to buy two more copies when I saw this opportunity to write a review.

These photos have moved me to tears. Buy this book.

This is a marvelous collection of images from everyday Balck Chicago life in the late 1940s. There are scenes of street life, back alleys, patrons at a pool hall and tavern, and night life ranging from a female personator dressing to Duke Ellington hunched at a piano at rehearsal and an ebullient Louis Jordan on stage.

This book is a treasure. I wish I could find more by this photographer (my searches have come up empty). The photographs take you right inside each scene, and often pack a powerful punch of sadness, joy, intimacy, life. The printing quality is excellent. If the publisher can collect more of his work, I will be the first customer.

This is one of the best photographic books I've seen -- ever. Wayne Miller manages to make personal contact with the human beings who lived on Chicago's South Side in a way that few photographers have ever matched. The warmth and complexity of these photographs, the compassion and human understanding involved, are most remarkable -- especially since the photographer stood on the other side of America's terrible racial divide from his subjects. Anyone who loves classic documentary photography, or who simply loves human beings in their complexity, should order this book.

This is a valuable book. "Footprint Colombia Handbook: The Travel Guide," highlights Colombia's many wonderful assets. It also warns of its potential pitfalls.

In regard to travel...this book covers all the bases. Colombia is an immense nation with outstanding hotels, magnificiant places to eat and wonderful people. Moreover, its parks and natural beauties can hardly be matched anywhere else in the world.

However, one must not ignore the subtle warnings in this text. Colombia must be approached with open eyes. It can be a wonderful experience and this book allows one to take a bite of the best the nation has to offer.

I was in Colombia for three months and used this guide continually.

Peter Pollock writes for a broad audience, but he excels in providing insightful caveats for the adventuresome and ecologically focused traveler. He has information on shipping motorcycles and automobiles to Columbia. He has an excellent section on health, and his 'Background' section is succinct and informative (History, Culture Etc.). He covers the normal tourist destinations and encourages exploration of places that 99% of visitors to Colombia would miss (Tayrona National Park, Ciudad Perdia, etc.).

His accommodations and dining recommendations are adequate, generally accurate, reliable but are becoming outdated. Luckily, although this guide has been out for three years, the prices for lodging in Colombia have stayed relatively stable and accurate and eight out of the ten hotels I selected to visit in Bogota were still open.

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT: A serious omission for this 2000 guide is the absence of hotel web pages and hotel email addresses. Electronic addresses have become a "must have" for any competitive guide book. A good hotel web page allows you to view the property, get current rates (and specials), view the
property and rooms and make an on-line reservations. This is a must for the next edition.

Good maps are essential in a guide. Bogota, Cartagena, Barranquilla, Cali and Medellin are sprawling cities that desperately need good maps. Bogota has four maps, but they are upside down! Normally maps are oriented with North at the top of the page, not so here, North is at the bottom and South at the top. I had a hell-of-a-time orienting myself, until I got my compass out and discovered this wacko lay out.

Also confusing are references to map numbers that don't exist. Pollard mentions a number, IE in the Bogota section, 'Hacienda Santa Barbra #3 on the map', but the publisher did not print the numbers on the map. His recommended sleeping locations are noted on the maps, but not restaurants. Needless to say, this is an important area that needs significant improvement.

The above shortcomings notwithstanding, you will not want to go to Colombia without this guide. I strongly Recommend it.

I bought this book previous to my first vacation to Colombia to visit my wife's parents this year. This book is truly amazing because it explains the social and economic climate as well as providing detailed listings of destinations throughout the book, including small towns and remote destinations. Pollard's book does not ignore the fact that using common sense is important when visiting this beautiful country, but contrary to the US State Department warnings, he reminds us in his own words that this is indeed a wonderful country to visit and the people are as open and friendly as anywhere in the world. My friends and family who live in Colombia were truly impressed with the wealth of information presented in this book. The only criticism is that the book is now over three years old and some of the information regarding specific locales need updates. Overall, this may be the best travel book I have ever used.

I was in Colombia in 2000 and will go back next year. I checked on the places I know and really liked the stile and information provided. I liked the positive outlook, it warns of dangers but also makes you feel comfortable of going. I liked that. The book is compact, well organised and includes lot of unlikely and not too obvious places. It also hast lots of tips and adresses for nature travel, trecking, rafting etc.

I bought this book previous to my first vacation to Colombia to visit my wife's parents this year. This book is truly amazing because it explains the social and economic climate as well as providing detailed listings of destinations throughout the book, including small towns and remote destinations. Pollard's book does not ignore the fact that using common sense is important when visiting this beautiful country, but contrary to the US State Department warnings, he reminds us in his own words that this is indeed a wonderful country to visit and the people are as open and friendly as anywhere in the world. My friends and family who live in Colombia were truly impressed with the wealth of information presented in this book. The only criticism is that the book is now over three years old and some of the information regarding specific locales need updates. Overall, this may be the best travel book I have ever used.

Huasipungo(the villagers) truly is one of the best novels to read if you want to understand the transformation South American society was going through at the turn of the 19th and 20th century, as a result of the invasion of the Spanish. The native indians became slaves of their own lands now controlled by the powerful criollos or peninsulares of Spain and their descendants. It is sad to think that if you travel to Ecuador today you will still see the unfair distribution of goods and land relevant to what is going on in the novel. Although definitely there have been strong changes in society, in general those of prominent white background are way better off than the indigenous or the mestizos. This novel is one of those novels that stand the test of time and feel as fresh as when it was written in the middle 1930s. Very entertaining reading, and at the same time, compelling and sad. Very highly recommended especially for students of latin american studies and history and worldly people in general.

I read this book many years ago and it is the only book that has told of that brutality that is endemic and daily in this beautiful, yet sad country of Ecuador. Ycasa is the real heroe in our historical voyage. He has stuck his neck out and has told a story-amongs many- that reveal the destructive, oppresive, and racist nature of his society. His sense of justice and solidarity with the poor and the indians are as powerful as his indignation of the established oligarchy and it's system.

"The Villagers," a novel by Jorge Icaza of Ecuador, was first published in 1934. It has been translated into English by Bernard Dulsey. I think of "The Villagers" as a sort of Ecuadoran counterpart to "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (the classic anti-slavery novel by United States author Harriet Beecher Stowe). Like that earlier novel, Icaza's book is an impassioned expose of racially-charged violence and oppression.

"The Villagers" tells the story of the exploitation of Ecuadoran Indians by whites who are intent on taking economic advantage of the Indians' homeland. Icaza paints a fascinating portrait of the conflicts and twisted connections among three major groups: Indians, whites, and "cholos" (those of mixed blood). The "gringos," or white North Americans, form a sinister fourth group that lurks menacingly behind the scenes of the unfolding drama.

The novel is full of vivid, graphic details--lice infestation, a worm-infected wound, rape, suffering, and death. Icaza mercilessly satirizes the lust and greed of the white landowner, Don Alfonso. Icaza also savagely critiques the complicity of the church (in the form of the hypocritical village priest) in the abuse of the Indians. And the author also exposes the insidious debt bondage that turns nominally "free" people into virtual slaves.

Some of the more villainous characters seem a bit one-dimensional, but in my opinion the many strengths of the book outweigh this flaw. "The Villagers" is a powerful work of social protest that deserves a wide readership.

Vile language, adultery, human suffering, courage, fear, love, guile--Icaza portrays TRUE HUMANITY in his first book The Villagers (Huasipungo),one of this century's greatest novels. As a professor of French and Spanish literature I have had many students ask me who Jorge Icaza was and why there are no other novels by Icaza available for them to read. The answer is that Jorge Icaza is one of the most complex writers in the Spanish language. Translating him is a task that no one wishes to take on because it may take them their whole lives to complete. It is sad because Icaza wrote some of the greatest novels of this century, ie., El Chulla Romero y Flores. As a translator of 4 novels, I myself am terrified of Icaza's prose. Jorge Icaza is the author of 7 novels (he left behind the draft for an 8th novel), 4 collections of short stories, and 7 plays. Bernard M. Dulsey did a great job in the translation. Of course he had help from Icaza himself, something which no translator can now have since Icaza died in 1972. Readers are fortunate to have this novel available in the English. Perhaps the greatest pre-Magic novel of Latin-America.

Jorge Icaza had a dream just like Martin Luther King, except his dream was not meant toward the United States, his dream was meant toward his people of Ecuador who, like people in the United States, are prejudiced against people who are of different races, and different economic statuses, etc. Jorge Icaza wrote his first novel The Villagers as the first step (in a series of steps) to make the dream come true. In it he portrays the Indian people of Ecuador as they truly are, as well as the landowners and government leaders, and the ways in which these ruthlessly treat the Indians. Religion plays a big role in this novel. Icaza leaves no prisoners, everyone in Ecuadorean society is criticized, including the mestizoes, persons of both European and American Indian descent. Icaza's 1934 novel is studied in many of the top universities of the United States in classes of Spanish, Comparative Literature, and Anthropology. I suggest this book to those who are interested in learning about Latin America and its peoples. I think people will be shocked and appalled. Icaza is by far the most important Indianist novelist Latin America ever brought forth, as well as one of Ecuador's most finest and important writers.

I love this book. It was so exciting to be reading his journey into Native American Medicine. My sister, Debby Cody, is a reader of the Medicine Cards and I admire David's expertise and his boundaries of what is best for him.

David Carson is of Choctaw descent and has studied Native American spirituality since growing up in Oklahoma Indian country, but his latest CROSSING INTO MEDICINE COUNTRY is something more than spiritual reflection. Here he pursues initiation as a ceremonial healer with Choctaw medicine woman Mary Gardener, studying plant and animal forces and human energy manipulation for three years. Health and spirituality blend in a survey of Native teachings and health insights which blends a memoir with a set of special reflections.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This is one of the wisest books to come down the pike in a long while in my humble opinion. Mr. Carson is a great story teller, Medicine Man, who understands the power of humility and transformation. This book is a wide ranging exploration of events in the authors life working with some powerful healers, elders, and medicine people. He documents the road of the healer and what is required to advance on this path of solitary intent, finding pain and suffering along the way, but also openning one to some astonishing vistas of spirt. This book is probably for healers and others who have already embarked off of the shores of a status quo sensibility to find and recover the authenticity of one's soul. It certainly is not a journey for the weak of heart. As the author notes, not everyone is called to this path, but for those who are, a vigilance of courage is required to walk the winding road ahead. As one goes further down this road mystery opens to reveal something not everyone is capable of understanding at this moment in time.

This is one of the best books on Medicine Power I have read in a long time; and Mr. Carson is a guide worth the price of admission. This book speaks to more than just one's mind, it grabs hold of one's soul and teaches it something profound.

David, Thanks for sharing your gift of Storytelling!!

The entire book was incredibly mesmerizing -- couldn't put it down. The experiences Mr. Carson writes about with his teacher Mary Gardener are quite an adventure and very thought provoking. This book helped validate for me that there is so much more beyond this 3-D world we live in and to trust and accept what we see and feel in all of our experiences.

Mr. Carson speaks to bringing back our awareness to living in
harmony with the natural world and in so doing to see and feel the sacredness in all life. Maybe in reading this book more people will be able see the separateness we as a whole have created from nature and how being at One with all of life brings forth healing on all levels-- individually and for our dear Mother Earth.

This book really inspired me and touched my heart on so many levels. Great stuff!!

I've had some extraordinary experiences reading this book. It feels like I'm there on the journey with him and some really amazing synchronicities have popped up again and again. Something like a holographic journey, this tale strikes a chord that goes straight to the heart of the reader. Great work, David Carson!

Well written biography. Moves along with a smooth pace. Has the feel of an exciting novel rather than a history. Will be of interest to southern Californians and particularly Angelenos. Those who have seen the movie, "There Will Be Blood" will find this story worthwhile.

The book was very interesting and historical. The writer was excellent and easy to read and understand.

Margaret Leslie Davis has done it again with another fine biography. Ms. Davis shows us the inner man of Edward L. Doheny, one of the richest and greatest Californians in history, virtually the John D. Rockefeller, Sr. of the West. Doheny was flat broke at the ripe age of 40 and yet within a few years he became one of the richest men in the country through his wild-cat oil discoveries in Los Angeles and Mexico. The break-up of Rockefeller's Standard Oil by the U.S. Supreme Court left Doheny an opening which he exploited adroitly. Most impressive is Ms. Davis's keen legal understanding and her scrupulous attention to noting her sources. In fact, the "notes" at the end of the book are arranged so that the top of the page refers the reader to the page number of the text thereby making it very easy to flip back and check the source. A small detail, perhaps, but much appreciated. Ms. Davis is a true scholar; her legal training shows itself especially when discussing the Tea Pot Dome scandal that ultimately tarnished Doheny's reputation. In short, Ms. Davis is becoming our finest historian on the West and particularly California.

Good read, except for the fact that the author deliberately omitted the fact that Ned Doheny & Hugh Plunkett were gay. Ned Doheny probably was bisexual and he spent a lot of time with his buddy Hugh Plunkett. Certainly the Doheny family asked the author to downplay this issue in exchange for their co-operation with the book. Hugh was more than a "private secretary". I assume the author is straight; so she would not understand Ned's sexuality; Ned was spoiled rotten, an only child, and was given everything money could buy. It is a wonder Hollywood never made a film of this story; perhaps the Doheny family have something to do with this? In 1929, it was assumed that Ned and Hugh were lovers. Ms Davis has tried to change history? For a price? The public is not that stupid. Especially now with the scandals coming out of that seminary in Camarillo for pediphile priests that Estelle Doheny donated so many millions to. It is a wonder the Doheny family did not provide more photos as there are more at the USC library than Ms Davis was able to come up with in this book. The Beverly Hills Historical Society has a better collection of photos of Greystone; fully furnished in its heyday than you see in this book. Behind every great fortune there is a great crime. I expected to read something I had not heard before; but she is afraid to go there. Did Lucy Battson die with her secret? It was scandalous to be gay in those days, but not now. Maybe a gay author could have done the story justice. Her details about the oil fields are great; it is the social history that is lacking. We all know that the greatest export from Ireland is its people.......

This book is a fascinating look at the life and times of one Edward Doheny the onetime founder of Mexican Oil Company prior to the nationalization of reserves by the revolutionary PRI party in the early days of their power. The narrative follows the career of Mr. Doheny from his modest prospector days in the Wild West to the heights of his infamy during the Teapot Dome scandal.

This is perhaps a timely book as well given the questions being raised at the time of this writing about corporate malfeasance and corruption in the U.S. (Enron). Teapot Dome was one of the biggest political scandals in the first half of the 20th century and involved the leasing of government/public lands in preserve areas for energy development. More than one person went to prison and wrongdoing was proven against multiple individuals in the matter.

The book makes the case that Doheny was more or less guilty of poor judgment and being in the wrong place at the wrong time more or less. It is true of course that Doheny was found innocent on the charges and it is also true that despite this Teapot Dome is the matter for which he is best known (despite for instance being a contemporary and rival of John D. Rockefeller in the oil business). If in fact he was innocent of the charges then he paid a heavy price in terms of his health and the somewhat mysterious death of his son, which was either suicide or murder depending on who you ask and how you look at it.

For those with an interest in the biographies of the early titans of U.S. industry this is a worthy read in that it does detail Mr. Doheny's rise to power as well as his fall from grace. He came from a modest background and did not make his fortune until after the age of 40 in a time before life expectations averaged 70+. He suffered through personal loses and setbacks and managed at the time of his death, despite the misfortunes, to bequeath a sizeable fortune to his heirs. This book may also be of particular interest in the study of Los Angelos in particular and California in general in that the Doheny's were prominent citizens who built some noteworthy structures in the city including religious and educational facilities.

The author acknowledges that she had the cooperation and blessings of the descendants of Mr. Doheny and that a good body of original documentation was available for review and research. This provides an intimate look at the lives of the people in question but it also may cause the thesis to lean towards their views. The book does tend to exonerate Doheny in Teapot Dome and it does make a good argument that his involvement was not profitable and that the Navy Dept in fact sought him out because of rising fears of the Japanese Navy in the years leading up to WWII. It was a condition of Mr. Doheny's development of the area under lease to him that he build an extensive oil storage and supply facility for the Navy in the Hawaiian Isles out of his own pocket. This he did and subsequently was not reimbursed when the lease was negated despite having spent many millions in pre-WWII monies. It is also I believe true to state that it was Henry Sinclair who was the actual lease holder on the Teapot Dome acreage and that Doheny was leased an entirely separate parcel of public land. Sinclair along with Interior Secretary Albert Fall went to prison in the affair but Doheny was also tarred and feathered by the affair.
Whether the delivery of $100,000 in cash by Doheny's son to Sec. Fall was in fact a personal loan much as one might expect between old prospecting buddies (which they were) is really a matter of conjecture. At any rate there was clearly the appearance of impropriety in the matter and both Doheny's son and the man accompanying him that night were involved in a murder/suicide after indictment but before trial. With the principle witness gone and little other corobative evidence Mr. Doheny's celebrity legal representation did get him acquitted although he was convicted in the court of public opinion.

Personally I am inclined to believe a man of his stature might loan a friend the sum in question but I also would not be surprised if a quid pro quo were expected in return. You see there was any number of companies competing in secret for the government contracts and it is interesting that both men who won had either the appearance of impropriety or were outright convicted of bribery. Part of the reason Doheny was spared prison was in fact due to the death of his son and his earnest and teary eyed appearance on the witness stand where he looked the part of a grieving grandfatherly figure who had lost something money could not replace.
It is an intriguing story and well written book, not terribly long or archaic for the casual reader. While it is a history book it is in fact also the story of an interesting chapter in American business and personality history.

I was in the mood to find a good Latin recipe book and found this one.I thought I would buy it based on the feedback of other chefs etc on the back of the cover. They were right. This guy is good and he has versatily and innovative recipes. Nice pictures good instructions and not too complicated. You can find most of the ingredients easily from local store or a latin/mex market/ store. There not just ones you know about but ones I never heard of. Yje Huevo Aji I rated 9/10 and is great with eggs and more. The Tamarind serrano majo I rated 9.5/10 and was great. There are so many more I want to try. Take a look at this book if you want to try some new latin flavors!

I gave this cookbook a workout this weekend. I tried two appetizers -- cheese dip and grilled pork. This started the meal off right, as my guests cleaned-up every bit.

We moved on to the honey-mustard, fried-plantain crusted lamb, which is an incredible taste combination. (I complemented this with a corn recipe from another cookbook.)

The meal ended with the best chocolate dessert EVER: Chocolate Pound Cake. At one point, one of my friends exclaimed, "I'm not eating another bite because I just reached heaven." My husband and I have been fighting over the remains.

THUMBS UP for Mr. Rodriquez!

P.S. I have a leg of lamb from this book marinating in the frig now. It smells incredible.

The recipes are well-written, easy to follow and photographed beautifully. I love the comments the author provides at the begining of each recipe.

The Buena Vista Cocktails, Mole-rub Turkey Tenderloin and Chocolate Pound Cake are all excellent. This book is well-designed and beautifully presented. I have also made extensive use of Rodriguez's ceviche book. Can't go wrong with either of these. The more exotic ingredients are worth the search. Happy eating.

New York chef Douglas Rodriguez, known for his bold flavors and flashy, sophisticated approach to Latin cuisine, turns his attention to grilling in this beautifully illustrated, oversize book, full-page photos accompanying many recipes, from the Bacardi Cocktail to the Passion Fruit Trifle.

The backyard hamburger gets a makeover with ground pork and chile, cumin and coriander; boneless beef short ribs are served with an opal basil chimichurri; mango barbecue sauce perks up frogs' legs or grilled pork.

Most of the recipes call for some preparation time in the form of sauces, marinades or relishes. Mussels in Banana Leaves, for instance, requires a saffron reduction to be added to a softened butter, the banana leaves to be cut in a rectangle, dotted with saffron butter and thyme before being folded around the mussels, the packages then wrapped in foil and grilled. Follow this with Grilled Lobster with Coconut-Ginger Mojo or a classical Paella and you may be too tired to eat.

Simpler recipes abound though - Cornish Game Hen with Honey Mustard Garlic Cilantro Glaze is marinated in the glaze a day ahead; Ham Steak with Grilled Pineapple Tomatillo Salsa, Shrimp with Avocado Horseradish Salsa, Salmon with Dill Chimichurri.

Among the sides are a Spicy Radish Slaw, Yucca Hash Browns, Grilled Hearts of Palm and Cherry Tomato Salad. Breads include arepas, flatbreads and cornmeal biscuits and desserts, while not grilled, go well with the spicy fare: Cool Spiced Flan, Espresso Cream. Rodriguez also includes grill basics - adobos, glazes and vinaigrettes.

A book for the cook who wants to dazzle.

This is a handy, travel sized guide to eating in Peru that greatly enhanced our trip to Peru. There are two excellent glossaries, one for menus with the names of foods in Spanish and in English, and the second listing a number of markets. There are recipes for some typical dishes from different regions in Peru. I especially liked the history of dishes.

Our tour arranged for Sunday dinner at the home of a penal judge and an office manager; the family prepared the meal using many foods grown on their their own farm, and the judge and his law student son ate with us. The menu included guinea pig fried in deep fat served with large kernel white corn on the cob and sweet potato. The second course was braised beef served with carrots, cucumbers, green beans and tomatoes. Dessert was strawberry gelatin. Except for the guinea pig, the meal sounds quite American, but this book added interesting information which helped us understand the seasonings and enjoy the meal more fully.

My son and I are greatly addicted to street food, and the book was helpful on street dining as well. The steamed white corn at the railroad station on the way to Machu Picchu was superb; roasted beef heart at a greasy spoon in Miraflores was excellent; and we were delighted to learn more about the fusion of Chinese and Peruvian foods at the many chifa restaurants.

There are a couple of useful websites that make this book even more useful. The publisher, Gingko Press, maintains a website with news about the authors and other books in the Series. ginkgopress The site announced recently that this book received the 2006 Gourmand Award for Best in the World Award for a culinary travel guidebook. There is also the helpful perufood.blogspot devoted to the foods of Peru; Joan Peterson contributes suggestions on how to find ingredients, and suggests alternatives for those that aren't available in the US.

As a portable guide book on the foods of Peru, this one can't be beat. But,if you are really serious about Peruvian food, consider obtaining the beautiful and encyclopedic The Art of Peruvian Cuisine by Tony Custer. The Reviews on Amazon and elsewhere (including my own) are glowing.

Robert C. Ross 2008

Eat Smart in Peru by Joan Peterson and Brook Soltvedt, Illustrated by Susan Chwae is a travel guide for food lovers which guides the traveler in Peru through the market and the menu in order to have a savory tasting adventure. The unique concept of this book is one of many in the EAT SMART series. The guides include a history of the culture and development of its unique cuisine. There are many recipes sprinkled through the book to try before making your trip to Peru or to enjoy as a special memory after returning. Especially useful is the chapters about shopping in the market with the needed languages phrases.And every traveler to Peru needs this book even if it is just for the restaurant guide which lists the dishes and food items in alphabetical order with descriptions of what it is, with national and regional Peruvian favorites indicated. With this guide you will no longer be ordering mystery foods when you dine. The book is unique and really well organized. Be sure to pack it for your trip!

"...picarones, a doughnut-like snack or dessert made from a yeasty pumpkin dough. The rings of dough are formed by hand, deep-fried and served with raw-sugar syrup flavored with orange, aniseed, cinnamon and cloves." ~ pg. 14

The Eat Smart guides are an exploration of cuisine itself and are interesting even if you never reach the desired destination. You can order ingredients online for the recipes featured. There are pictures of delicious cultural favorites, food markets and unique ingredients. Some of the main sections include:

Early History through Pre-Inca Civilizations
The Regions of Peru
Tastes of Peru
Shopping in Peru's Food Markets
Resources
Helpful Phrases
Menu Guide
Food and Flavors Guide
Restaurants

Joan Peterson and Brook Soltvedt also show how various cultures influenced Peru's culinary world and the first part of this book contains a lot of culinary history that may appeal to food writers. Maps and pictures of the food make it easier to understand the cultural significance of food choices.

"Rare is the Peruvian dish that does not include chile pepper. Each river valley oasis along the western slopes of the Andes has a microclimate that produces unique varieties of chile peppers, which are, in turn, completely different from the peppers native to the jungle." ~ pg. 19

Recipes for Rice Pudding look familiar and if you can find gooseberries, you can make the gooseberry marmalade to serve with quinoa crepes.

Other highlights include a section on helpful phrases you can use in restaurants. List of foods like "nuez moscada" have translations, nutmeg. If you order a tortilla, you will get an omelet.

Eat Smart in Peru will appeal to anyone who is curious about new culinary discoveries and wants to either travel to Peru or incorporate new recipes into their cooking repertoire.

~The Rebecca Review

(Planeta Journal) - This latest title in the Eat Smart series helps travelers decipher menus and shop in the lively markets of Peru. There are so many options for visitors throughout the country, this book is the definitive guidebook for enjoying Peruvian cuisine. Includes tips on shopping in markets, a menu guide, helpful phrases and a list of helpful resources.

People who love combining great food and travel make pilgrimages to Italy's Po Valley, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Hanoi, Singapore, France's Lyon, San Francisco, Charleston, New Orleans and other shrines to fine cooking.

Add Peru to the list.

If you aren't aware that Peru has its very own fusion cuisine -- very approximately like that of New Orleans with a blend of Indian, Spanish and African styles -- plus contributions by Chinese and Japanese settlers, Eat Smart in Peru will open your eyes to yet another fine gourmet destination.

Authors Joan Peterson and Brook Soltvedt are way ahead of the curve in discovering Peruvian cuisine. I was only aware of Peruvian chicken, based on a carryout in my neighborhood that serves this dish, cooked on a rotating spit over charcoal, with a rosemary-based spice shoved under the chicken skin, and a fine salsa verde on the side. Peterson and Soltvedt found a vast variety of other dishes, including curries, desserts and appetizers. A section on recipes includes Aji de Gallina, a chicken stew that I plan to try.

In addition to the recipes, Eat Smart in Peru contains a history of the development of Peru's cuisine, a regional specialties chapter, a glossary of ingredients and menu guide.

Finally, Eat Smart in Peru tells you how to shop in a Peruvian market and how to locate rare ingredients stateside. It's an easy read, with nice illustrations and a logical organization.

By the way, the author has done other "Eat Smart" guides to Brazil, Mexico, India, Turkey, Poland and other destinations.

excellent book, all that you need to know about many things that have been hidden to us by many centuries by religion and things that shoundn't been hidden because they belong to humanity, to history, to everybody;it make you wonder how we been used and been confused century after century.

Simply excellent! tanys alfonso, west palm beach,florida.

Now this is a really heavy book, there is so much information its amazing! Lei esta version en el original ingles y luego en castellano. Poniendo religion a un lado este libro es espectacular, tiene tanta informacion que tienes que tomarte la lectura con tiempo y calma. Las posibilidades son increibles, y muy logicas si piensas abiertamente y dejando dogmas de lado. Este libro es definitivamente de esos que guardas y relees mil veces.

iT IS A VERY GOOD BOOK IF ARE YOU LOOKING FOR SOMETHING SIMILAR AS A DA VINCI CODE. PLEASE READ IT AND YOU WILL SEE HOW ENGROSS YOU WILL BE.
INGRID

Excelente en forma y fondo. Està escrito para que el lector no quiera dejar de leerlo de principio de fin. Historicamente espectacular, un golpe al cristianismo donde mas le duele, en la verdad. Ya era hora de romper los mitos y desenmascarar a la iglesia y toda su farsa de los ùltimos 2000 años. Afortunadamente ya no quemam brujas porque de lo contrario los 3 historiadores que hicieron el libro estarìan en la hoguera junto a los millones de inocentes que el cristianismo ha matado durante su historia

Esta es la verdadera fuente de la cual Brown tomo su idea para "El codigo da Vinci". Aqui la historia y las especulaciones en torno al tema de la descendencia de Cristo provienen de fuentes historicas. La informacion, mas "heavy" que esa aguada que aparece en el libro de Brown, requiere de un lector con cerebro, dispuesto a detenerse de vez en cunando a pensar en lo que le estan diciendo. Apasionante.

Growing up nurtured in the many faces and realities of nature - and the beauties & dangers therein - provided a school of knowledge for Archie Fire Lame Deer. Along side of this, were the brutalities and horrors of another type of school; this school sought to shame, beat, and abuse the native spirit out of him. This place was one of the many much written about Christian Indian Schools. Within both settings were men who set examples for Archie of humans who realized they had to do nothing else but provide him with acceptance and kindness: his grandfather and a priest at the Indian School. Archie was sent to this school by his Grandfather for the knowledge to be gained there. Grandfather was a Shaman;he knew that Archie would be one someday,too. I think the real reason he sent him to that school was to expose him - first hand - to the ugliest parts of human nature that he knew about. Archie going to Indian School was tantamount to hurricane Katrina being stopped by the frivolous levy systems in New Orleans. Despite all this violence, Archie was able to learn...the kindly Priest at the school was there, right on time, to provide support when Archie needed it most. After freeing himself from this place, his journey was soaked by alcohol. It accompanied Archie everywhere: with lots of women; in lots of fights; in just as many jail cells. It then took him to Hollywood where he became a stuntman. Under all of this was his calling as a healer and a Shaman: this is a terrifying calling. The physical and emotional demands are overwhelming. Here are the facts: only someone willing to throw away, time and again, friends, relatives, jobs, and opportunites is fit for such a job. It seems that such a person would be a narcissist; on the contrary, this kind of person walks with death and loss every day. They have no ego; they have no feelings. We have called them sociopaths. The difference between a sociopath and someone who grabs THE GIFT OF POWER is simple; the former dies or goes insane, while the latter somehow recognizes the destruction in him/herself - and in the wake they cast - as only another possession to be tossed aside. Then that empty hole is filled with the GIFT OF POWER. Archie's natural Father died. In this dying he passed the gift on to his son. Archie was born and raised in the Badlands; but other lands were just as bad. There is beauty in the Badlands...you just have to recognize it. This book should be on all required reading lists.

Stepping Off the Edge: Learning & Living Spiritual Practice
Archie Fire Lame Deer is the son of John Fire Lame Deer and succeeded him as head of his spiritual lineage upon his father's death. A "modern" medicine man with an incredible life story. He's funny, charming, impactful, tells the truth. If I were making a list of "must meet" holy men, he'd be on it.

This book was totally amazing. Written in Archie Lame Deer's own words. Archie really takes us deep into the Lakota culture and brings us into the world of American Indian life. The style in which Archie teaches instills in the reader the importance of laughter to the American Indian people as a way of dealing with the horror dealt by the government and settlers throughout history.

This is a first-person account of the life of a "medicine man," or Native-American shaman. The style is personal and engaging. This is a good introduction to the topic for the novice.

If you like me, before I read this book, are naive to what true American Indian culture is all about (or maybe you won't realize how naive you are until you read the book), then this biography of Archie Fire Lame Deer, a Lakota Indian is definitely an excellent crash course to bring you up to date! Much of American Indian culture, especially their religion and intense beliefs about people, animals and our earth make a lot of sense to me. So many suppressed or simply not understood parts of this culture are clearly explained and described in fascinating detail. Though I don't plan to change my personal Christian beliefs, I'm moved by the depth and intensity of this culture; Archie Fire's descriptions moved me to intense shame regarding the many horrible things that were, and are still being done in the name of Christianity to this culturally rich, intelligent, colorful and generally peaceful people (Archie Fire Lame Deer, somewhat similarly, also expresses his shame of so many false medicine men promoting Indian religion & culture). And we claim to be a free country guaranteeing freedom of religion? As has become apparent to me, so many things that we believe to be a part of our white North American cultures are actually rooted in American Indian tradition. I say thanks very much to Archie Fire for recording this valuable, enlightening information for we, the unindoctrinated. I wish him and the American Indian people the realization of all of the wonderful dreams described here (as I wish to share in them also).