The Essence of the Thing: A Novel

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"Short-Listed for the Booker" obviously means absolutely nothing anymore

Witty if predictable novel about being dumped

It does hurt that way

On Being Dumped and Being Dignified

amazing

The Essence of the Thing: A Novel
Madeleine St. John
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Astonishing Splashes of Colour (P.S.)

ASIN: 0786706791

Book Description

Nicola only went to buy cigarettes and upon returning finds a stranger in her apartment. He looks like her live-in boyfriend, Jonathan, but he can't actually be the dependable known quantity whom Nicola loves that goes by the name of Jonathan. Can he? Before Nicola stands a man who is strong and adorable just like the old Jonathan, only this one is no longer hers!
This sad tale of love gone south still has its funny side. You have either to laugh or cry when you see, as acutely and elegantly as St John captures it here, the things women will do to hold on to love, and the things men will do to escape it.
"St John's intelligence transforms a simple story into a much larger commentary on love and loss." - Mademoiselle
"The Essence of the Thing grabs the reader's sympathy and attention from the startling first pages and doesn't let go." - Newsday
"A brisk, sophisticated, and artful narrative" - New York Times Book Review

Customer Reviews:

"Short-Listed for the Booker" obviously means absolutely nothing anymore.......2007-07-16

It can only have been a very, very slow year in the offices of the Booker Prize in 1997. There's no other way to explain why this preternaturally dull and astonishingly constipated novel could have wound up on the Booker short list or on any list, for that matter -- save, perhaps, for the list entitled, "Additional Reasons Why British Women Writers Must Be Compelled to Stop Reading Jane Austen, On Pain of Death, If Necessary." There's no way to write a spoiler for this novel -- unless it would spoil it for you to know that absolutely nothing happens: "Jonathan dumps Nicola. Nicola whinges to her friends. Her friends ride it out. Nicola, who, like every other human being in the same situation, has absolutely no alternative, moves into a new apartment and gets a new job. The End." I mean really; that's it. Along the way, St. John ordered about a dozen stock characters from the Modern Brit Lit warehouse: Stiff Upper Lip Bores - 5; Steel Rod Up their Backsides Parents - 4; Promiscuous London Queen, Xenophile - 1, and so forth. Instead of giving her characters emotional depth or having them respond in any meaningful way to what we are evidently supposed to consider a Serious Life Moment, St. John has them make tea. At least 47 times, which is quite a lot in a book this short. The world view here is so tiny you could fit it onto a postage stamp and still have room to do aerobics. Claustrophobic and painfully, utterly irrelevant. I'd like five hours of my life back, please.

Witty if predictable novel about being dumped.......2006-05-14

The Essence of the Thing is a very short novel (about 47,000 words), by Madeleine St. John. It was published in 1997 and shortlisted for the Booker Prize. I know nothing about St. John. Apparently she lives in England, but went to Sydney University, so she may be an Australian. I picked up the book on impulse because it looked interesting. And it's a pretty nice novel.

Nicola is a 30ish Londoner living with a lawyer named Jonathan. She fully expects that they will marry, but one day she walks into their flat and Jonathan tells her coldly that he has decided they must part. He seems surprised that she is devastated by this.

The rest of the novel follows her and Jonathan's reaction. Despite her friends' advice, Nicola still feels devastated by the breakup, and still feels in love. But she slowly disconnects. She leaves the flat, which was originally hers but which she can't afford to keep. She moves in first with married friends, then with friends of these friends who have a little girl and a spare room. She applies for a job she has no belief she can get. At the same time Jonathan only slowly tells anyone, despite visiting his parents for a weekend and being given his mother's engagement ring to give to Nicola. He is shown realizing that his shirts aren't magically getting ironed, and that he misses other aspects of Nicola's presence. There are also some very witty scenes with Nicola's various friends -- lots of supple and clever and believable conversation. The final resolution is fairly predictable, though aspects are (wisely) left open ended. As I said, I liked it.

It does hurt that way.......2005-03-08

I agree with a previous reviewer that this novel relies heavily on dialogue, but, contrary to what that reviewer thought, I didn't feel that this detracted from it in any way. I also thought that it relied pretty heavily on emotions, and some of them are depicted so well it's scary. I know the feeling - the sheer horror - of trying to imagine life, a long life full of long days, without the person you love. Nicola's utter despair was completely recognizable for me - she is a character I could empathise with. Granted, it may not be a very deep-probing novel, the characters may not be drawn in too much detail, but it is a novel that manages to convey certain awful feelings, and portray some dreary situations, in a compassionate and realistic way. And that is no minor achievement.

On Being Dumped and Being Dignified.......2002-06-07

In contrast to an American character, who might wallow in self-pity, eat Haagen-Das and plot revenge, Nicola takes the high road when unceremoniously dumped by Jonathan, her live-in lover of five years. Deeply shocked, she maintains her love for him and her belief in herself through the process of finding out what happened, why he's asking her to leave, and accepting the outcome of that process.

Madeleine St. John uses realistic and often witty dialogue between peripheral characters to demonstrate how the break up of two people can have an effect on almost everyone they know. Although she writes with a light touch, she explores the relationship dynamics between four other couples while giving play to the fragility of any love relationship. The Essence of the Thing is a quick and entertaining read, but it could not be described as shallow by any stretch of the imagination.

amazing.......2002-04-30

I'm sure that whoever reads the book will want to encounter Ms. St John in person. She's great in depicting character's psychology - so much as we think it's our best friend(s) she's writing about. Certainly great book to read - truthful, sincere and catching...

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majipoor--silverberg's terrarium

Personally thought it was the best of the Majipoor so far.

You've read it before...

The Author lost the plot.

Deus Ex Machina Ending
Sorcerers of Majipoor (Prestimion Trilogy (Paperback))
Robert Silverberg
Manufacturer: Eos
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Silverberg, Robert | ( S ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0061057800

Book Description

The Long-Awaited Prequel!

A thousand years before Lord Valentine, the destiny of kings is hostage to sorcery and deceit.

On the planet Majipoor, it is a time of great change. The aged Pontifex Prankipin, who brought sorcery (and prosperity) to the Fifty Cities of Castle Mount, is dying. The Coronal Lord Confalume, who will become replacement is chosen. It is no secret that the next Coronal will be prince Prestimion. By law and custom, the blood son of the present Coronal--has a secret quarry--the Starburst Crown. Visited by an oracle, Korsibar has heard a prophecy that will plunge the planet into a fearsome conflagration and alter destiny itself: "You will shake the world!"

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A thousand years before Lord Valentine, the destiny of kinds is hostage to sorcery and deceit. On the planet Majipoor, it is a time of great change. The aged Ponitfex Prankipin, who brought sorcery (and prosperity) to the Fifty Cities of Castle Mount, is dying. The Coronal Lord Confalume, who will become Pontifex, begins the Funeral Games before his own replacement is chosen. It is no secret that the next Coronal will be Prince Prestimion. By law and custom, the blood son of the present Coronal?Korsibar, an avid hunter?cannot rule. But Korsibar has a secret quarry?the Starburst Crown. Visited by an oracle, Korsibar has heard a prophecy that will plunge the planet into a fearsome conflagration and alter destiny itself: "You will shake the world!"

Customer Reviews:

majipoor--silverberg's terrarium.......2005-08-25

beware--one of the richest worlds in scifi is really only the hobby terrarium of an old pro--its all about the scenery, the sex, and the thokka (liquor-filled berries).

its a great venue for short pieces (majipoor chronicles) but the novels are shameless blather--

the old "fantasy-series-retirement-plan", i suspect.

read jack vance's dying earth books instead.

Personally thought it was the best of the Majipoor so far........2004-05-29

This is the Tale of the coming to power of the Coronal Lord Prestimion. Its really got the flavor of an epic saga, the way the book progresses through time and events. It's got friends, enemies, lust, idealism, betrayal, sorcery, defeat, triumph, and war. There is really very little that this book lacked. The characters are bad-ass (good and bad) and the plot is interesting. Very few parts of the book dragged out too long and the story progressed very quickly, keeping the reader interested, throughout the entire book (and its a long book). I strongly reccomend this book to anyone and can't wait to read Lord Prestimion, the next in the series.

You've read it before..........2001-09-05

An oddly uninspired rehashing of every throne usurping novel you've ever read. Silverberg even manages to plagerize himself, reusing the premise behind "Lord Valentines Castle", but without the interesting parts.
In one of the most puzzling coups in the history of monarchial fiction, the books villian steals the throne from it's rightful ruler, by simply picking up the crown and placing it on his own head. Majipoor has always had a fascinating juxtaposition of high-tech and feudalism, but common sense never seemed to be a rare comodity before.
The book then becomes a listless repetition of: raise and army, fight and win, fight and lose, raise a new army, fight and win. The book culminates in one of the most anticlimatic methods possible, a character who has barely put in an appearance kills the villain and the fight is over. Except for the one token good guy who has to die to toss some credibility into the mix.
Had this been a first time authors submission, no way would it have ever seen paper.

The Author lost the plot........2001-08-30

Silverberg is one of my favourite authors and I've read all the Majipoor novels.
Generally I don't think the Majipoor novels are his best work and I get the impression that he churns out another Majipoor novel when he runs out of ideas for new work.
But the Socerers of Majipoor is I'm afraid the worst of the series. After an interesting start the novel seems to have gotten out of the authors control and just goes on and on and on and on..... Eventually it becomes a glorified soap opera, but I won't spoil the end for those he want to read it.
All I can say, he has done better Majipoor novels and a hell of a lot better other work.

Deus Ex Machina Ending.......2000-06-09

We have the good ol' "good triumphs through no direct action of the hero" ending here. I really, really hate that sort of ending.

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Sorcerers of Majipoor

Manufacturer: HarperPrism
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000CSYSEY

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Sorcerers of Majipoor :Majipoor 5
Robert Silverberg
Manufacturer: HARPERCOLLINS @ PUBLISHERS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UCF1E8

Sorcerers of Majipoor (Prestimion Trilogy (Paperback)) by...

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Sorcerers of Majipoor (Prestimion Trilogy (Paperback)) by...
Robert Silverberg
Manufacturer: Eos
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OF0MJA

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SORCERERS OF MAJIPOOR - Signed
Robert Silverberg
Manufacturer: Harper Prism
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GRDSNI

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It's A Stotter!

More About O'Mara

Mind Changer : A Sector General Novel
James White
Manufacturer: Tor Science Fiction
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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General Practice: A Sector General Omnibus

ASIN: 0812541960

Book Description

It's where human and alien medicine meet: a massive hospital space station on the Galactic Rim, with 384 levels and a multispecies staff of thousands.In the course of practicing deep-space medicine, that staff has seen more than its share of challenges--from plagues caused by cafeteria food, to cafeteria food that resembles alien species. But now they are facing a disquieting new development: the terrifying Chief Psychologist, Dr. O'Mara, has been promoted to head of the hospital.Worse, he's been given the job on a temporary basis, for just as long as it takes to train his own replacement. After that, he is up for mandatory retirement. Nobody at Sector General can begin to imagine what they'll do without him--assuming they last long enough to find out.

Customer Reviews:

It's A Stotter!.......2003-05-10

Grrrrrrrrreat! James White does it again with another interesting story. I like the humour that runs through it.

More About O'Mara.......1999-04-01

Until *Mind Changer* came along, I hadn't realized how much I'd missed by not knowing more about the "nasty" Major O'Mara, even though I liked him. It's time for Major O'Mara to retire, and this book, like O'Mara himself, moves from the present to the past, and back. We learn more about the early days of Sector General and O'Mara's role in bringing about many items that are familiar to the series. Although the final revelation was obvious before chapter 15, that didn't spoil the book. Everything leading up to the end was interesting. I think anyone who cares about O'Mara will be pleased at his fate. [Note to the publisher: On p.217, full paragraph one, Padre Lorien is named, but the context makes it obvious that Padre Carmody is meant. If that IS an error, you may wish to correct it for the paperback.] Ann E. Nichols

Mind Changer (Sector General Novels Ser.)

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Mind Changer (Sector General Novels Ser.)
James White
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTLZC4

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GREAT reference book

Alton on steroids

The Hobo Philosopher

on food and cooking

Food Science Bible

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Harold McGee
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Essays | Gastronomy | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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The Professional Chef, 8th Edition

ASIN: 0684800012

Amazon.com

A classic tome of gastronomic science and lore, On Food and Cooking delivers an erudite discussion of table ingredients and their interactions with our bodies. Following the historical, literary, scientific and practical treatment of foodstuffs from dairy to meat to vegetables, McGee explains the nature of digestion and hunger before tackling basic ingredient components, cooking methods and utensils. He explains what happens when food spoils, why eggs are so nutritious and how alcohol makes us drunk. As fascinating as it is comprehensive, this is as practical, interesting and necessary for the cook as for the scholar.

Book Description

Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking is a kitchen classic. Hailed by Time magazine as "a minor masterpiece" when it first appeared in 1984, On Food and Cooking is the bible to which food lovers and professional chefs worldwide turn for an understanding of where our foods come from, what exactly they're made of, and how cooking transforms them into something new and delicious.

Now, for its twentieth anniversary, Harold McGee has prepared a new, fully revised and updated edition of On Food and Cooking. He has rewritten the text almost completely, expanded it by two-thirds, and commissioned more than 100 new illustrations. As compulsively readable and engaging as ever, the new On Food and Cooking provides countless eye-opening insights into food, its preparation, and its enjoyment.

On Food and Cooking pioneered the translation of technical food science into cook-friendly kitchen science and helped give birth to the inventive culinary movement known as "molecular gastronomy." Though other books have now been written about kitchen science, On Food and Cooking remains unmatched in the accuracy, clarity, and thoroughness of its explanations, and the intriguing way in which it blends science with the historical evolution of foods and cooking techniques.

Among the major themes addressed throughout this new edition are:

Traditional and modern methods of food production and their influences on food quality
The great diversity of methods by which people in different places and times have prepared the same ingredients
Tips for selecting the best ingredients and preparing them successfully
The particular substances that give foods their flavors and that give us pleasure
Our evolving knowledge of the health benefits and risks of foods

On Food and Cooking is an invaluable and monumental compendium of basic information about ingredients, cooking methods, and the pleasures of eating. It will delight and fascinate anyone who has ever cooked, savored, or wondered about food.

Customer Reviews:

GREAT reference book.......2007-10-08

This book is exactly what I was looking for. Tons of information on why things need to be done certain ways and some history of where it came from. No recipes, but really focuses on what it takes to cook everything well.

Alton on steroids.......2007-09-24

Okay, I read a lot of cooking stuff. I'm a big Food Network fan.

One of the things I hate about most cookbooks is that I can only read the introduction and then I only read recipes as I need them.

This is NOT a cookbook. This is a culinary encyclopedia. I recently found out that my room-mate went to high school with the author in Elmhurst, IL. How cool is that? He was the one I sprung the Alton on steroids phrase to and proceeded to tell me he knew the guy. Enough gushing.

There is more in this book about culinary science than most of us need to know. It still makes for a great read. You CAN read it like a book because of that. I love the fact that it starts out with the most basic nutritional item in life, and then tells us why we really don't need it as adults. What an eye opener! Fortunately, it also explains why milk products are so useful to adults in other ways. I could never live without my Parmesano Reggiano or all those wonderful blue cheeses.

Why is meat and fish so important to our diets? Why would anyone want to be a vegetarian after reading the benefits of these high protein foods?

We should all be reading books like this so we know all the little things. Those of you that think it's too technical, go get a book on the english language.

The Hobo Philosopher.......2007-09-13

This book is not a cook book. If you are looking for recipes buy another book. This book is for students. My Niece graduated from chef school and my gift to her was this book. This book is a history and science book on food and cooking. Here is where you learn to understanding what you are doing in the kitchen and why you are doing it. You learn all the myths and fables and the reality of what actually happens.
I bought this book when I suddenly found myself the sou chef assisting a professional French chef. By the time I finished this book, I could actually have an intelligent conversation with my new boss. When I hit him with terms like "carmelization" and "emulsification" or asked him what exactly is a burr blank sauce, I rose in stature from "good cook" to potential chef.
This book is a science and chemistry book also. It tells you what is actually happening to the food when you are cooking or processing it. Since I liked reading history and science and I was an aspiring chef - this was the perfect book. It is also great to read just for the fun of it. It is the most entertaining and informative book on food and cooking that I have ever read.

on food and cooking.......2007-08-23

I have read the first eddition, and when I heard they put out a 2nd I had to see what changed. I'm only 50 pages in to it but it is just as good as the first

Food Science Bible.......2007-08-23

This is one of the best books I've bought in a while. I now understand what's going on in my bread during all stages and with different ingredients (though it's not as in depth as some bread books), ,, why onions make you cry and what that asparagus smell is about. I recommend the updated hardcover edition if you can afford it. After checking out the paperback, I purchased the hardcover and gave the other one to my sister as a present.

The Curious Cook: More Kitchen Science and Lore

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The Hobo Philosopher
Master recipes and some food for your inner nerd
Sloppy Writing, Sloppy Science, Part 2
How You Too Can Apply Science to Food. Excellent Read
Curious Indeed

The Curious Cook: More Kitchen Science and Lore
Harold McGee
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

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General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

Culinary Arts & Techniques | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0020098014

Book Description

When Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking was published in 1984, it proved to be one of the sleepers of the year, eventually going through eight hardcover printings. It was hailed as a minor masterpiece" and reviewers around the world prasied McGee for writing the first book for the home cook that translated into plain English what scientist had discovered about our foods. Like why chefs beat eggs whites in copper bowls and why onions make us cry."

Customer Reviews:

The Hobo Philosopher.......2007-09-26

I loved his first book On Food and Cooking and I enjoyed this one. I made my living in the restaurant business, as a manager,then as a chef and finally an owner. I've always enjoyed cooking and eating. I'm retired but I still grind my own hamburg, fix my own sausage, make my own sauces and my wife cultivates a small herb garden. This book is fun. The point of view is fun, the writing is fun and the science is always interesting.
Once again this is not your typical recipe book. This is in another category. It's entertainment for the culinary inclined. It's history and science. The author now has his own blog or web page. It is called ... the curious cook ... of all things. I enjoy reading this fellow more than any other cooking expert that I have ever read.

Master recipes and some food for your inner nerd.......2006-08-30

If the author's mother ever told him to stop playing with his food, we can be glad he ignored her. Most of The Curious Cook is the happy result of what sounds like great playful time in the kitchen. There are essentially three focuses set out for this book:

*The first and most useful is a set of master recipes based on the author's experiments with food. The chapter on fruit ices alone is reason enough to buy the book and anyone thinking about buying an ice cream maker will have a lot more fun if they buy this book too.
The section on beurre blanc is both a how-to and a paean to this simple, quick and beautiful sauce.(chapter 6) Anyone who ever makes their own mayonnaise will be grateful for chapter 8.

*There is a bit of lab science:Chapter 11-the pleasures of merely measuring-is a recounting and tribute to the truly nerdy curiousity that some of us cooks develop. McGee's writing is fluid and friendly and it makes the laboratory-manual topics seem positively inviting.

*The third section is some food and health stuff that recalls things you've probably read in consumer food-oriented magazines a dozen times. You could skip chapters 12-14 without missing much.

The Curious Cook is definitely a bed table cook's book (rather than a kitchen cookbook), and a delightful one. It's hard to imagine a food-lover not enjoying it.

Lynn Hoffman, author of The New Short Course in Wine
and the forthcoming bang-BANG from Kunati Press

Sloppy Writing, Sloppy Science, Part 2.......2005-06-25

This book, a sequel to On Food and Cooking, is a look at the culinary world through the eyes of pop science. Despite a drastically different approach by the author this time around (real kitchen experiments as opposed to just spinning endless yarns loosely based on a myriad, unfootnoted sources), the results are similar: closer to Danielle Steel than Scientific American. If you liked this book's predecessor, then you will certainly like this one; if you thought it was worthy of a garage sale, you are unlikely to have a different view of this sequel.

This book has 2 distinct parts. The first one (190 pages) has eleven chapters, each focused on a specific subject and a series of related kitchen experiments that are fully documented. The nicely systematic approach of the author reminds one of a similar technique used by Cooks Illustrated magazine for their recipe development. The subjects are: cooking meat, oil splatter, simmering meats, green color of vegetables, de-gassing sun chokes, buerre blanc, hollandaise and bearnaise sauces, mayonnaise, artificial ripening of persimmons at home, fruit ices, and miscellaneous. Some of this material is of substantial practical value: the chapters on sun chokes and fruit ices have good recipes you can actually use. Those who are mystified by buerre blanc, hollandaise, or mayonnaise, or who have trouble making them, will find the appropriate chapters quite enlightening.

The second part, consisting of 6 chapters (120 pages) is mostly drivel. 3 chapters are devoted to the kind of stuff you can find in health magazines at the supermarket checkstand: dietary fat and heart disease, food and cancer, Alzheimer's and aluminum cookware. 3 chapters are devoted to a bit of culinary history: Brillat-Savarin, Maillard.

In the end, reading this book is fun, but I would not take the information it presents too seriously.

How You Too Can Apply Science to Food. Excellent Read.......2004-04-10

Harold McGee is probably the most widely cited writer in American culinary writing today. Alton Brown literally genuflects at the mention of his name and complains that he is hard pressed to find a subject on which Herr McGee has not already explored at some length. His major work, `On Food and Cooking' appears to be on the short list of Culinary Institute of America references for their students, next to Escoffier and their own references.

This work, `The Curious Cook', is a bit different that the other work, in spite of the subtitle `More Kitchen Science and Lore'. The larger book is largely theoretical. This book is largely experimental and its subtitle should be the title of the first and longest section `Playing With Food'. The lesson taught here is probably the single most important lesson you can learn in any endeavor. That is, when in doubt, try a little experiment. When I was studying philosophy, this largely took the form of thought experiments, not unlike the development of a Science Fiction plot. `What would happen if there were artificial people who were indistinguishable from biological humans. The result is the story `Blade Runner'. When I worked with chemistry, this step was obvious. Oddly, I had to relearn the lesson when I became a professional programmer. It took a few years and more than a few books to learn the value of prototyping code, even for some of the most simple algorithms. All this means is that when you cook, YOU ARE ALLOWED TO TRY THINGS OUT WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF SEEING IF SOMETHING WORKS. My favorite example is in making and using a simple bechamel sauce to make macaroni and cheese or creamed chipped beef without having the sauce break.

I am constantly amazed at the blissful ignorance behind some common misstatements by very good professional chefs who have established themselves as celebrity educators on various TV cooking shows. I suspect the most common is the statement that laying meat into a hot saute pan sears the flesh to seal in the moisture. This misstatement is the subject of McGee's first chapter, where with a simple kitchen scale, he demonstrates what should be common sense to anyone with some knowledge of physics. Application of high heat reduces the moisture in the meat. This essay was published before the Food Network was a gleam in network entrepreneurs' eyes, yet Emeril and Tyler and Rachael and even Wolfgang repeat this misstatement on a regular basis. The lucky thing about this statement is that searing meat or any other food for that matter, has a very important benefit, in that it develops flavor through caramelization and the Maillard reactions. By design or by chance, the explanation of the Maillard reactions come in the very last chapter of the book, providing the reason we have been searing food for millennia.

There are other books that deal with food and science. Some of the most recent and most famous are `Cookwise' by Shirley Corriher, `I'm Only Here for the Food' by Alton Brown, and `What Einstein Told His Cook' by Robert Wolke. All of these works are exceptionally good books. But, none of these works give the kind on encouragement and the kind of clues you need to find culinary answers on your own.

One warning may be in order. Science, i.e., the method of experimentation and observation is the most powerful method developed to answer questions and acquire knowledge, but it is certainly not enough to make you a superior cook. For example, I really like Alton Brown's `Good Eats' shows and I often use his recipes, but whenever I see Mario Batali do something in a different way than Alton, I invariably use Mario's recipe or method rather than Brown's suggestion. The heart of the reason behind this is that Mario Batali is a very, very good professional chef and Alton Brown is not. Preparing food is a fine mix between knowledge and artistic expression. Professional chefs know the best ways to do things to achieve the most desirable culinary result, even if they do not know the scientific explanation for why they do things in a certain way.

I will warn you that some of the essays in Parts II and III are a bit long on reflection and a bit short on practical application. I may even go so far as to say some of these sections are just a bit dull. In spite of this, the first section on `Playing with Food' plus the essays on aluminum and the Maillard reactions are all pure gold for the dedicated foodie.

Very highly recommended for anyone interested in food.

Curious Indeed.......2004-01-25

This is an odd sort of a book. If you were expecting to be enriched by lots of kitchen lore and simple explanations (which was my original aim) you would be disappointed. This book tells you much more about tidbits of history, physics, chemistry and physiology than tips and tricks for cooking and is, in truth, quite long-winded.

Now if you are also interested in the acquisition of knowledge of various sorts, common as well as obscure, and don't mind being the "most knowledgeable amateur" among your friends, this is an excellent source of information. The author spares no ink in serving up history, scientific theory and experiments (The famous oil drop experiment by physicist Millikan, a Caltech cohort of the author, was featured! Plus many of his own), findings in medicine, etc. in covering a subject, even "simple" ones like browning of vegetables by salad dressings.

If you managed through the first couple of chapters, you will probably go on, and you will quickly find that the author is a no-nonsense scientist (Ah! the Caltech imprint) and his stuff is well baked, so to speak. By the time you finish the book, you will learn much more than a few useful tips to augment your cooking skills, and find your reading time quite well spent.

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ON FOOD AND COOKING the Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Harold McGee
Manufacturer: Scribner's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JVEDL2

Average customer rating:
On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Harold McGee
Manufacturer: Fireside/Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PMZY72

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On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Harold; McGee, Harold J. McGee
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OLSO0S

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On Food and Cooking: the Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Harold J. Mcgee
Manufacturer: Scribner Book Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N67SBU

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On Food And Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Harold; McGee, Harold J. McGee
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KW94MI

Average customer rating:
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Harold McGee
Manufacturer: SCRIBNER
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OLKYMY

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