The Radiance of the King (New York Review Books Classics)

Book Description

At the beginning of this masterpiece of African literature, Clarence, a white man, has been shipwrecked on the coast of Africa. Flush with self-importance, he demands to see the king, but the king has just left for the south of his realm. Traveling through an increasingly phantasmagoric landscape in the company of a beggar and two roguish boys, Clarence is gradually stripped of his pretensions, until he is sold to the royal harem as a slave. But in the end Clarence’s bewildering journey is the occasion of a revelation, as he discovers the image, both shameful and beautiful, of his own humanity in the alien splendor of the king

Customer Reviews:

One of the most beautiful and important books ever written.......2006-07-27

Beautiful mystical and absolutely perfect.

An exciting read with some lofty symbolism.......2006-06-27

Clarence is a European with a gambling debt, who has been austracized by his countrymen in an ambiguous place in colonial Africa and without anything more than the clothes on his back. He is determined to meet the king, thinking that the monarch will certainly take him in as a "worldly" advisor. When initial attempts to catch the king's attention fail, Clarence is lead south by an old beggar and two young boys to await the king, who will be touring this area of his dominion. Time passes as Clarence waits, and as this happens our young and arrogant hero becomes a more humbled through a series of events deep in the forested South.

This story was intriguing to me, and it reminded me very much of Alejo Carpentier's "The Lost Steps" with the theme of a man arrogantly thinking he is capable of anything, but whose ignorance is exposed once he is taken out of the culture and environment he is accustomed to.

There is a twist in the plot of the story which surprised me, but I think some readers would see it coming a lot earlier than I did. There is a lot of symbolism that I completely missed until I read Toni Morrison's introduction after finishing the book. I wish I had read this for a book group because it would spark a great discussion!

Too Much of an Object Lesson for Me.......2004-03-30

Although Toni Morrison's introduction to this book raves about its unique character and its genius, to me the introduction is more about the deeply thoughtful mind of Toni Morrison and not about this book. I found the main character, Clarence, to be rather shallow and naive and uninteresting, which is why my interest was not able to be sustained throughout its narrative. I understand this work was published in 1954, which makes its author a revolutionary in even conceiving of it, but for me it is allegorical and is teaching an object lesson to white civilization about African civilization. And that lesson is hammered home on every page until finally there is an understanding reached. I think I get it.
Perhaps it's me, but I just can't read novels that are constructed in this way. They are too didactic, too unliterary. I'm sorry Mr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., but I am a lover of literature and I did not admire or enjoy this book. But I do appreciate its historical and sociological importance, and for that alone I gave it 3 stars.

readable, but superficial.......2001-06-19

Artistcally, Camara's novel displays many of the weaknesses of a young novelist's first work: too often lush images do not equate character development, enthralling scenes seem to be written for themselves without significantly contributing to the novel's overall construction or character development, and the conclusion seems to surrender to his inability to have a clear (moral or ideological) intention behind the very problematic quest of the hero Clarence. In significant ways, I doubt that Camara had a clearly articulated or organic vision for the novel or the main characters: one increasingly recognizes the colonizer's satiric portrait, but the depictions of the major African figures seem even more dismissively caricatured. Ultimately, this novel sits uncomfortably between a colonized and a nationalist mentality, between the coopted view of a Sekyi and the mature nationalism of Soyinka's great novel "The Interpreters." Granted, from an African point of view, Camara is seeking to explore the very unsavory history of a people's colonization, if not their romance with the colonizer's image, but Achebe does it much more astutely in "Arrow of God," but both pale in comparison to Cheney-Coker's stunning epic "The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar."

By far the best French African novel I have read.......1999-08-31

This book is a wild trip. The main character is a white French man, living in an unidentified African setting (although the author must have been inspired by his Guinean background), who is totally broke. We don't know anything about his backgrounds, his reasons for being in Africa, or his prior professional occupations. Rejected by the French community, he is bummed. To get out of his misery, he wants to meet a mysterious African king, and apply for a position as advisor at the court. In his quest to find the king, the white man gives up his 'white' identity, and gets in touch with a variety of weird and fascinating characters: an old griot, two annoying boys, a mad village priest. During his journey, 'regular' situations rapidly degenerate into eery hallucinations.

One of the things I especially liked in this breathtaking literary masterpiece was that Camara Laye didn't emphasize human weaknesses of a white oppressor (like Oyono enjoys doing, although I like Oyono a lot); Laye didn't try to denounce Colonialism as a system either, like Cheikh Hamidou Kane or Pramoudya Ananta Toer have done (quite well, of course) - I think that a novel is not the most suited platform to do that: characters quickly tend to become boring academic abstractions rather than interesting people and the literary power of the work suffers. Instead, Laye gradually "forgets" the whiteness of his main character, emphasizing the humanity of all players.

Anyway, Camara Laye's "The radiance of the king" (I read the original French "Le regard du roi" - I can only hope the translation is just as good) is a truly unique book in style and content. Definitely a must-read!

Average customer rating:

Why bother?

Just be patient.

Intense, Demanding, Powerful, Worth Reading

Don't read this for the pleasure of the English language

Picking up the baton

Radiance: A Novel

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Similar Items:

The Amount to Carry: Stories

ASIN: B000HWYOA8

Amazon.com

Carter Scholz has made a difficult subject highly relevant and entertaining with Radiance, his debut novel investigating the darkness at the heart of the nuclear defense industry. With the eye of an insider, Scholz focuses this daring work on a California nuclear testing lab in the mid-1990s and declassifies the motivations and manipulations of its senior planners. The novel follows Philip Quine, a reluctant weapons research scientist whose whistle-blowing report on lab data falsification leads to his promotion as interim lab director. As Quine gradually discovers the defense industry's deep-seated deceptions and self-sustaining tactics, the novel turns its attention to human nature and the unspoken drives and fears that propel us to contention.

An excellent novel on all counts, Radiance succeeds most notably due to Scholz's extensive research and use of detail. He provides plenty of complex scientific information, and in his hands it's accessible and fascinating. A gallery of well-developed characters helps dramatize the novel's revelations and illuminate the varying backgrounds and beliefs of those influencing defense policy. A part-time composer of electronic music, Scholz has an ear for dialogue and sound, which is made evident by his musical prose and use of realistic punctuation. Intricate and dark, Radiance is saturated with fragmented transmissions, signs, and conversations that may well resemble puzzle pieces. Where these puzzle pieces intersect we see an intertwining of fates and a bleak future. On the other hand, all that information could just be minutiae distracting us from the obvious and unavoidable. Either way, it's one more reason to investigate Radiance. --Ross Doll

Book Description

Born from the threat of nuclear weapons comes a program to build an impenetrable defense against them. The technical obstacles are enormous, the costs exorbitant, and the results dubious. Philip Quine didn't come to the Lab to work on weapons, but his expertise with X-rays leads him to Superbright, in theory an orbital battle-station to shoot down missiles, in reality little more than spotty test data. Superbright is only the beginning, as Quine is drawn further away from the pure physics he set out to do and deeper into the machinations of those who would use the Lab for their own monetary or ideological advantage. Radiance is a brilliant and entertaining expos of the way in which the bright hopes and fond dreams of talented scientists are turned on the grindstone of political expediency until all that remains are the rough deceptions of self and nation.

Customer Reviews:

Why bother?.......2005-08-03

Good concept, definitely appeals to the geek in me, but I could not finish this book. There were too many sentence snippets that were supposed to recount conversations, and none are attributed to the speaker(s), so you must stop reading, go backwards, and start counting to figure out who said what. And what do they say? Not a whole hell of a lot. There are a lot of
--And
--No but,
--Wait
--What about...
etc. HUH?

I take issue with the idea that this style of writing is somehow "realistic". Who goes to meetings or talks with friends, and allows others to get out one word (two at most) before interrupting? I've never actually witnessed a conversation like that.

The page-long sentences are also a bit over the top. It strikes me that the author is indulging himself to the detriment of the reader.

Overall, I found the book too difficult to follow due to these confusing writing styles. I am not averse to following a complicated plot, or learning about an arcane technology, but I have no patience when the writer deliberately obfuscates the issue.

Just be patient........2003-02-05

Radiance, if you didn't know better, could sound a lot like a Tom Clancy novel (man works at nuclear lab, man finds invalid data, man blows whistle, etc.) but nothing could be further from the truth. This book is all about the prose.

Reading previous reviews of this novel, you may be lead astray. The story here is quite well developed, and Scholz's obvious knowledge of the Nuclear/Defense community seems quite valid. But the story is told more as a pseudo-perspective of a data-stream mind. Characters come and go, relationships come and go--some quite rapidly. But even though this is a tale of manipulation and dominance, it is its lyrical content that makes it worth reading.

However - while the story keeps its grip through the unique story-telling, it seems labored and, at times, taken too far. I had to read some pages a few times because the stream-of-consciouness riffs actually made me drone out.

It's worth reading, and worth noting Scholz as a writer who not only shows great promise, but may define a new style in the upcoming years.

Intense, Demanding, Powerful, Worth Reading.......2002-08-06

The novel takes place in a Department of Energy laboratory somewhere in California. The laboratory had been working in nuclear weapons research but with the end of the cold war it must find new missions to justify itself and keep the funding coming. The physicists who work there find themselves getting away from science and into politics and becoming more and more disillusioned. Every day they have to fight their way through protestors to get to work. And the protestors also find themselves disillusioned, getting nowhere. That is the plot in a nutshell. But the author executes it with intensity, energy, and a painful probing of the human spirit.
Scholtz has a remarkable style--a kind of acoustic reality, I would call it--in which conversations are reported exactly as they sound, without quotation marks, words broken off, sentences broken off, hard to tell who is talking. The effect is like wandering into a large crowd of people and being inundated with fragments of speech. It is like actually being in the story as opposed to being told the story.
I must say this was not an easy book to read, and I would not like to read a book of this intensity very often. Nor is there a happy ending to lighten things up. The characters are complex but dark, idealists who have lost hope in their ideals, searching frantically for something (or someone)to believe in, but never finding. A dark, painful, difficult book, but well worth reading!

Don't read this for the pleasure of the English language.......2002-07-23

The story appears interesting but is plagued by overemblellishment of the language and infatuation with the dictionary.
Having come from the background the author uses for his story (High Energy Physics, research labs, grants and academia) and sharing some of his thoughts and fears, I found the notion compelling. Alas, the lassitude caused by the lack of measure in how far a sentence can be carried before stupor ensues, tired me out at page 75. Long sentences - a page-and-a-half long sentences! - without proper punctuation, meant to match the carelessness of badly constructed speech turn irritating after a while. Long, multi-person dialogs without proper indication of who says what are confusing. And speech snippets overheard during the beeline departure of the protagonist from a party (two-page-long fragments of non-sensical sentences!) are infuriating: you read them hoping for a ray of purpose to only find the meaninglessness of the whole thing.
Bottom line, opt for the Cliff notes of this book as the story may be good but the story telling is awkward and irritating.

Picking up the baton.......2002-06-14

As the previous review notes, this extraordinary novel is written in the style of William Gaddis...perhaps to a fault. The reader is presented with a hectic (but always well-controlled) stream of information in the form of competing signals and noises: dialogue fragments, headlines, TV and radio broadcast snippets, extracts from computer files and science reports, as well as some oldfashioned (and terribly poetic) narrative description, out of all of which the attentive reader extracts a horribly funny picture of mid-90s America. If you're read J R or A Frolic of His Own, you know the drill; if I have a complaint, it's that Scholz may have subsumed his own voice (whatever that proves to be) in emulation of the late master Gaddis. Here the characters are involved with a science lab (obviously modeled after Livermore), so long entwined with the defense industry that actual research is perpetually set aside in favor of generating "test results" (rigged, if necessary) that keep the Pentagon trillions rolling in. Never fear: we meet real characters here, flawed, loving, struggling. Buy this book! I'd hate to see Scholz imitating Gaddis in another unfortunate area, that being sales.

Average customer rating:

Radiance Descending: A Novel
Paula Fox
Manufacturer: Laurel Leaf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PYF5GA

The Retreat of Radiance: A Novel of Revenge

Average customer rating:

a great Australian novel

The Retreat of Radiance: A Novel of Revenge
Ian Moffitt
Manufacturer: Henry Holt & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Customer Reviews:

a great Australian novel.......2005-10-14

Ian Moffitt's great, nostalgic story is one of my favourite novels. It's 'a novel of revenge' and its unlikely antagonists are a middle-aged and grief-stricken Australian journalist and a Taiwanese billionaire, formerly an avaricious Nationalist general in China's civil war. The title is from an eponymous temple where the much younger and callower Australian witnessed a terrible massacre decades ago.

Ian Moffitt obviously loves China and knows the country well. His descriptions of the dry, harsh Chinese landscape are vivid and dreamlike. He also has a very good sense of humour, so the novel never becomes self-important. He writes beautifully.

Stained Radiance: A Fictionist's Prelude (Polygon Lewis Grassic Gibbon Series)

Average customer rating:

Stained Radiance: A Fictionist's Prelude (Polygon Lewis Grassic Gibbon Series)
James Leslie Mitchell
Manufacturer: Polygon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Scottish | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Average customer rating:

Radiance, a novel
Carter Scholz
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTKF84

Book Description

For a thousand years, there have been no great wizards in the world -- and even longer since a wizard-king reigned.

Now all must welcome and fear the coming of

The Amber Wizard

As Gerin Atreyano takes his place as the Crown Prince of Khedesh after his father ascends to the throne, a stranger appears and proclaims that Gerin may be the amber wizard foretold long ago. Now young Gerin's training, both as prince and wizard, must begin in earnest. But his enemies place a secret enchantment upon him, pulling him down a path of darkness.

As opposing forces mass across the land, arming for bloody war, he inadvertently opens an ancient portal using forbidden magic. And suddenly Gerin Atreyano faces a dual destiny as savior or destroyer of a world in chaos -- as he prepares for the dread reemergence of humanity's most powerful enemy: Asankaru, the vengeful and terrible Storm King.

Customer Reviews:

A Trashy Novel.......2007-06-23

What I hoped for when I opened up this book was a heroic fantasy that was easy to read, but put in some interesting vocabulary and nice, crisp desciption. I *DID NOT GET IT*.
The vocabulary got about as challenging as 'overtly', a word I use in low-key *conversation*. He will either describe things enough to make you sick, or say 'he was handsome' and move on! And, to top it all off, it was as easy as one f the sixty-three word picture books. A *preschooler* could have read this!
The plot could be figured out by a six-year-old, the violence was bland and much too common, and the characters were arrogant idiots who had not a single flaw!
No scope at all, a classic ending and a predictable magic scheme. I felt bad for the villain, because he was a) completely flawed and b) had the only sense of character in the book and c) was kind of comical. I really wanted to lov this book, but, but, it was Shannara x 10!

Picturing: F
Description: F
Characters: Worse than an F
Action: D-
Challenge: F
Overall: F

What happened to good writing craft?.......2007-03-18

After getting to the end of Chapter Six, I am putting this book down for good! It is so incredibly poorly written that I cannnot even get to the point of commenting on the quality of the story. The author insists on "telling" rather than "showing" almost everything. During non-action scenes it slows the story down with wardrobe descriptions, and depictions of yet another great pillared hall (a standard fantasy image), or historical fact. In action scenes, it just ruins any attempt at pacing. So one minute the Prince/hero is being attacked by the badies, and the next you're learning his horse's name, and the name of his bodyguard's horse too! If the horses had any type of character or quality to them it would be understandable - but they don't! The author goes on to pin names and descriptions to countless other people, historic eras, magical objects or acts - but there is no purpose to any of it! I would far rather learn of a hero's character and image through his actions. Instead, the author "tells" us one thing, and then contradicts that initial impression by having him/her do something that does not build on that initial impression. The end result is that the character's of this story are wooden at best, and confused at worst.

If you want to read something more impressive (though of a slightly different ilk) pick up "Moonshine" - the second book by Rob Thurman. Beyond Tolkein, there is little fantasy that is truly well written, but Thurman's writing is tight, fast, fun, and character intense.

I Liked it A Lot.......2006-12-05

All the people who wrote that Gerin was naturally "too perfect" completely missed the point of Gerin's character. He knows that hes to perfect, and buckles under the weight of expectation. Also, Gerin never uses his "amazing sword skills", its just to establish Therain's "second best" mind set.

I can't wait for the next book. Thats actually why I'm on amazon right now. I was checking to see if it was out. I recommend this book for people who want a good, solid story. It may not be flashy, but thats what gives it its unique storytelling perspective.

blehh..........2006-06-28

It was alright, I suppose. the ending is really dull, you start out expecting something exciting, but in the end it becomes a mediocre plagerism of a Tad Willams Series: Memory, Sorrow and Thorn.

The similarities are glaringly obvious: the villain is the "Storm King" of race exterminated through a human genocide, now the powerful undead king wants to return from the land of the dead and destroy all life. He even has red-robed priest/mage henchmen. Its really depressing, you should just buy the DragonBone Chair, its the first book in a series that David Forbes plagerised for the Amber Wizard and the series is superior.

You start out excited and interested in the characters, but that fades. Gerin is perfect, as Rashel, his Wizardess sister, and Hollin, the Wizard who trains them. Although they don't seem to need much training, almost immediatly after their power is awakened, they are master wizards and from that point onward recieve zero training, but somehow do just fine.

The characters are paragons of noble perfection, Therain is the only one who posseses any sort of flaw whatsoever: an inferiority complex. This isn't at all suprising considering that the author made his older brother and protagonist Gerin quite literally perfect. He is the most powerful Wizard ever, a master tactician, master swordsman, benevolent Duke, charismatic, smart, handsome and responsible. Even his one bad act in the book is forced by an evil compulsion spell rather then a possible imperfection in his character.

Interestingly, considering how perfect and glorious Gerin is, after halfway through the book, he does virtually NOTHING. He sits in his castle until the very last chapter when he runs off alone and banishes the evil king back to the land of the dead.

Therain is really the protagonist of this book, he held back the Storm King's army until their father the king could arrive to crush them, even though he is the book's sole imperfect character.

This book had a lot of potential, but I wanted a book about Gerin, not his brother. And when I read a book, its nice if the characters seem like actual people. The characters here are perfect virtuous Gods whom we cannot hope to relate to.

Weak heroic fantasy.......2006-04-26

I'm rather weary of fantasy about people without flaws. The main character is a well intentioned young prince, clear and unquestioned heir to the throne, gifted with wealth, power, a fantastic sword skill. He's also the most powerful wizard in recorded history! All his opposition is external - he's forced by an evil spell to do an evil thing, but everyone forgives him because he was forced to do it. Then he has to defend the world against an evil being. But he's helped by the evil being's twin brother, and in the end salvation arises from the actions of his kid sister - through the climactic scene he's just a powerless pawn. I find it difficult to be sympathetic with someone who is handed everything and whose only opposition comes from external god like figures.

Which is a pity, cause the writer shows promise. The minor characters are in many ways more interesting. Reshel, the kid sister and Therain the kid brother are more interesting than the protagonist. They do things and make choices that make a difference. The world in which this is set is original, complex and has the potential to be interesting. All too frequently the writers spends time telling us about his world, when he should be telling us about the characters. The book would have been far better if it had been split into a series, so that each story could concentrate on, and develop, a few interesting characters. Instead this is a precis of a richer and more interesting epic. Kind of like an appetizer portion of an entree, the taste is present, but satisfaction is absent.

Average customer rating:
We Open On Venus
Chistopher Stasheff
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S9HNSK

Average customer rating:

The Company Store

A lovely blend of theatre and fantasy

We Open on Venus (Starship Troupers, Book 2)
Christopher Stasheff
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Stasheff, Christopher | ( S ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

A Slight Detour (Starship Troupers, Book 3)

Company of Stars (Starship Troupers, Book 1)

Saint Vidicon To The Rescue

The Witch Doctor: Book III of A Wizard in Rhyme (A Wizard in Rhyme, Book 3)

ASIN: 0345368916
Release Date: 1993-12-29

Book Description

The Star Company, a renegade theatre troupe, was run off of Earth, so they set their sites on New Venus. The name sounded good, but life on the planet was thoroughly regulated by Amalgamated Petroleum--where even the air and water came at a high cost. Enter the Star Company, with its incendiary mix of veteran troupers, innocent ingenues, and volatile prima donnas. When Amalgamated approved a production of MACBETH, little did anybody imagine how much trouble those three witches would stir up!

Customer Reviews:

The Company Store.......2005-05-11

After barely making it off planet Earth our valiant band of troupers land at the first colony world, after having spent the 3 week trip working up several possible plays to play there. New Venus is run by the big bad oil companies the same way the worst mill towns were during the early industrial age. Heck it was worse, because the company was the government on New Venus. On top of this the compny bosses don't want them to put on a play. This is how We Open On Venus starts. A well plotted out novel with descent characters and witty dialog it is Sci-Phi's answer to the Circus World for those who want to understand the inner workings of an acting company; I only wish it was as good as any of the Circus World books. This is not a criticism persay, because the Circus World books are some best books I have read in any genre. Yes, alot of the characters are cliches, but the constantly changing view points of the action as seen thru the eyes of the different compamy members, and the ongoing education of the warrior turned gofer on the history and psychology of the theatre is what makes it a 4 star book.

A lovely blend of theatre and fantasy.......2001-07-07

Well, speaking as an actor and a Stasheff fan, I can say I found this book (and indeed, the whole series) perfectly delightful. While a few of the characterizations are a little bit stereotyped (no character actresses? Really, Mr. Stasheff!), I have to admit that, to one extent or another, I've trod the boards with each and every one of those folks---guess things only get to be stereotypes because they're true. The plot is fast-paced and beautifully developed, and Stasheff has obviously done his research. The technical details (at least, those connected to the theatre) are beautifully accurate, and Mr. Stasheff is one of the few authors I've seen who can actively capture on-stage, off-stage, and audience reaction simultaneously without being a single bit boring. There's a nice tie-in with his Warlock series, as well, but only if you're paying close attention. All in all, this is an excellent book, and I recommend it quite highly. Now, if he'd only *finish* the series...

Average customer rating:

We Open on Venus
Christopher Stasheff
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000PHMMJU

Average customer rating:

We Open On Venus
Stasheff
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OVN3DG

Average customer rating:

pleasant memories!

Too many prepared foods

A Great Primer

Blast from the past

Great Sugar Cookies!

Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls
Betty Crocker
Manufacturer: Betty Crocker
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound

Diet & Nutrition | Health | Science, Nature & How It Works | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Cooking | Sports & Activities | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
Cooking, Food & Wine | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Betty Crocker's Kids Cook!

New Junior Cookbook (Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen)

Junior Cook Book: 1955 Classic Edition (Better Homes & Gardens)

Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook (Betty Crocker)

Betty Crocker's Cooky Book

ASIN: 0764526340

Book Description

Betty Crocker's classic cookbook for children is back-in an authentic reproduction of the original 1957 edition

A whole generation of Baby Boomers grew up with Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls, and they have helped to make it the one of the most requested titles in the Betty Crocker archives. Now back by popular demand, this timeless favorite stands ready to capture the hearts of a new generation of budding cooks. Packed with recipes that are just as popular with kids today as they were 45 years ago, it shows how to make everything from Ice Cream Cone Cakes and Pigs in Blankets to Cheese Dreams and Sloppy Joes. The small format, easy recipes, charming color illustrations and photographs, and even the cover, are all the same as they were in the 1957 edition-and just as delightful as ever. The only innovation is the concealed wire binding that lies flat for easy cooking while being sturdy enough to withstand energetic handling by kids in the kitchen. It's the ideal book to give or to keep, for retro appeal, and for getting today's kids started in the kitchen.

Customer Reviews:

pleasant memories!.......2007-09-26

This is the same cookbook all of my sisters and I used when we were kids. Some of our favorite recipes came from this book. I am going to use it to teach my grandkids how to cook and hopefully they will treasure it as well.

Too many prepared foods.......2007-05-16

I was a bit disappointed with this cookboook. Too many of the recipes called for box cake mixes or bisquick. I was hoping for more "from scratch" recipes.

A Great Primer.......2007-01-15

I had the original Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls when I was a child in the 1950's. I so enjoyed following the recipes and creating tasty treats for my father, mother and brothers.
After all these years, I still have my original cookbook, and recall it with great affection. I've also come to appreciate the many cooking and baking tips that I learned from the book so many years ago. (How to accurately measure; handy tips on organizing ingredients; a simple glossary of cooking terms; even "Kitchen Manners", such as, "Is everything spic and span? Then, your mother will be glad to have you cook again!") So, I was delighted to see Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls available on the Amazon website.
I purchased three copies as Christmas gifts; One for my sister-in-law, to enjoy with her grandchildren, one for my daughter, to share with her daughter, who is three years old, and another, to save for a future grandchild.
The book might be spiffier if some of the sepia, pen-and-ink illustrations were replaced with colorful photography. But such a change might, also, damage the "kitchiness" of this time-honored favorite. And I suggest that a table of common substitutions would be helpful. But, all-in-all, I highly recommend Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls as a great introduction to the kitchen for our budding chefs.

Blast from the past.......2006-12-23

I have had this book for.....wow, almost 50 years. My daughter was here yesterday and tried to steal it from me. I cannot give it up. It is in pretty good shape but there are many stains from use.
I ordered her one today, even though she is no longer a kid. I am intrested to see if all the recipes are in here. I understand the "Hobo Joe" thing and am not surprized, but how about the peanut butter creams, and the egg nog? These two recipes were made with raw eggs, a big no-no now. I do not care, I never got sick, and only use fresh eggs. The peanut butter creams were the thing my daughter wanted to make. They are her favorite and she remembers making them as a child. They taste like payday candy bars.
The cookie recipes are great! I also love the tuna burgers and eggs in a frame.
Yes, the book has a few items that are just put together, but this helps promote ideas, and are easy for kids to do.
This book is NOT just for children. I cannot bear to part with mine!!!!

Great Sugar Cookies! .......2006-08-23

I have the original 1957 book which is falling apart because of use when I was a child. I recently purchased two Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls to give as gifts for two young women who were looking for a great sugar cookie recipe to make with their children. The one in this cookbook is the best!! In fact I used it so much growing up I gave the recipe to my grandmother who continued to bake these cookies and send them to me when I was in college. With so many complicated and fancy recipes out there today, it was great to see this book still in print. A must have for families with young children!

Betty Crocker's New Boys and Girls Cookbook

Average customer rating:

The 1965 edition is better ...

Betty Crocker's New Boys and Girls Cookbook

Manufacturer: Golden Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H5MMHW

Customer Reviews:

The 1965 edition is better ..........2007-04-18

Many kids (including me) who grew up before the microwave learned to cook with this book.
I guess it's only natural to prefer what you grew up with, but I really prefer the 1965 edition. It's larger with more recipes, and it had the advantage of a second round of kid-testing.
Great gift for a child old enough to treat it gently (and, obviously, old enough to be safe with stove, sharp knives, etc.)

Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys & Girls

Average customer rating:

Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys & Girls
Betty Crocker (pseudo)
Manufacturer: Golden Books Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 030709927X

Average customer rating:

Betty Crocker's New Boys and Girls Cookbook
Betty Crocker
Manufacturer: Golden Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound
ASIN: B000LB38ES

Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls

Average customer rating:

Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls
Betty Crocker
Manufacturer: Golden press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VFXESO

Betty Crocker's Boys and Girls Microwave Cookbook

Average customer rating:

Betty Crocker's Boys and Girls Microwave Cookbook
Betty Crocker
Manufacturer: Macmillan General Reference
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Cooking | Sports & Activities | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0130855499

Average customer rating:

Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys & Girls

Manufacturer: Western Publishing for General Mills
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0307098796

Product Description

Stir up some fun...it's easy with this very special cookbook for the junior generation. 1980 revised edition, includes recipes from the original publication.

Average customer rating:

Betty Crocker's Cookbook for boys & girls
Betty Crocker
Manufacturer: Golden Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Cooking | Sports & Activities | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0307096173

Average customer rating:

BETTY CROCKER'S COOKBOOK FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
BETTY CROCKER
Manufacturer: Golden Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSHPSS

Average customer rating:

BETTY CROCKER'S COOKBOOK FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
BETTY CROCKER
Manufacturer: Golden Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0307096475

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books