This is My Daughter: A Novel

Amazon.com

If divorce rips a family apart, can a second marriage mend the tear, piecing the remnants together into one big Brady Bunch quilt? Of course not. In This Is My Daughter, New Yorkers Peter Chatfield and Emma Kirkland learn this the hard way. Roxana Robinson--whose dissection of WASP mores in Asking for Love and Summer Light earned her comparisons to such white-shoe masters as John Cheever, Edith Wharton, and Henry James--is on familiar ground here, placing Peter and Emma within the gilded cocoon of Manhattan's Upper East Side. Recently divorced, socially superior, and smarting from subhuman ex-spouses, the two have much in common, not least the desire to marry again. Emma's daughter, Tess, warms to the idea immediately. But for Peter's sullen seven-year-old, this union signals a disaster rather than a fresh start: "Amanda could not be happy that her father was marrying Emma.... She was already, at seven, in mourning for her life, for her past and happy life, that other world."

Over the next eight years, Amanda's inability to deal with her father's remarriage, which the adults dismiss as mere adolescent angst, becomes a sizable thorn in the family's side. Despite all of Peter and Emma's best-laid plans--private schools, a picture-perfect summer home in New England, tennis clinics, invites to exclusive parties--Amanda grows increasingly alienated, and with one desperate act she forces the family to peel back their moneyed exterior and examine the heart of the matter. In This Is My Daughter, Robinson has created a skillful and sensitive portrayal of divorce and its post-nuclear-family fallout.

Book Description

When Peter and Emma, both refugees from failed first marriages, decide to create a new life together, they do so with an optimistic commitment to creating a union -- and forging a new family from two existing ones -- bonded by love and trust. Their young daughters, however, are not partners in this new venture, but helpless participants. Like all children of divorce, the girls feel sorrow, loss, and a longing for their earlier lives. As the tensions and complexities grow steadily more powerful, This Is My Daughter moves inexorably to a stunning and emotional climax. Roxana Robinson, who has established a reputation as a perceptive chronicler of WASP family life, delivers a beautifully moving and compassionate account of a marriage in peril, proving once more that class and privilege provide no protection from the passion of opposing desires.

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding characterization.......2005-04-23

It's really necessary to read this book more than once. The author has created great depth of character, and every personality is well-developed. It's true that the characters are not "nice" or particularly likable, but they are endlessly interesting and realistic. I can't believe this whole story came out of the author's imagination; she must have known some of these people. Roxana Robinson is really a phenomenal talent and I agree with one of the other reviewers that this would be a good book for a discussion group.

Amanda isn't spoiled. Her parents are indifferent, not indulgent. Amanda does whatever she wants because no one bothers to find out what she's doing. Peter leaves the marriage and his daughter for purely selfish reasons, resulting in a drastic lifestyle change for Amanda and her mother, which he doesn't seem to notice. He wants Amanda's presence every weekend, but he spends no time getting to know her, finding out what she likes, what she thinks, how she feels about the divorce or anything else. He lets Emma have all the responsibility for her. Caroline was dealt a bad hand, but she proceeds to drown in self-pity and pays no attention to her daughter. It's easy to see she is thinking only of herself when she brings men home for one-night stands in the bedroom next to Amanda's. Caroline does nothing to help herself or her daughter to move forward.

It is Tess who is the child from hell, who is really spoiled. At the age of three she is already a master of manipulation. If she remotely senses things may not go exactly the way she wants them to she has spectacular tantrums, sometimes several within the hour, crying, screaming, throwing herself on the floor, banging her head on the furniture. She ends up having Emma apologize to her! If she isn't the center of attention, she interrupts adults and shouts over other people's words. At one point she yells at her nanny for not looking at her when she wants to say something. She doesn't outgrow this, either. At the age of twelve she crawls into bed for the night with her mother and stepfather because she has a nightmare or is afraid of the dark. This is really inappropriate behavior, as Peter says to Emma. Emma refuses to listen to him. She always behaves as though Tess can do no wrong.

Emma is trying to be the perfect mother, but she doesn't succeed. Several characters tell her she is rigid and intolerant, and it's true. She has rules for the kids that border on the ridiculous. They aren't allowed to chew gum. Amanda, at 15, isn't allowed to have a cup of coffee. The kids are never allowed to watch any television. It would be reasonable to set a limit on the time they spend watching, or to say they couldn't watch certain programs, but Emma takes it to an unbelievable extreme. Meanwhile, Amanda is doing drugs all summer and Emma doesn't have a clue. Emma really has trouble getting along with everyone, including her parents, her sister, her co-worker, her ex-husband, and even Peter.

Although the book does end on a hopeful note, here are my predictions for five years later:

1. Emma and Peter get a divorce.
2. Amanda goes off to college, has little or nothing more to do with Caroline, and less to do with Peter than he would like. I think he is going to realize it's too late.
3. Caroline continues her downward spiral unless she is able to leave New York and move back to where her family is.
4. Tess may grow up and grow away from her mother. Emma may try to live vicariously through Tess.

I could go on and on, but dont want to give the story away. It's one of the best books I've read, period. I'll want to see more of this author's work.

- I would definitely take a chance on this book.........2001-12-19

I waited a couple of weeks after reading this book to write the review. My opinion was changing daily and I decided that I needed to fully digest it before I could discuss it. In some ways, this book is so different from my own life and in some ways mirrors it too closely.

The book follows the journey of a couple, Peter and Emma, as they try to make a "family" when no one else seems to want it. The exes are hostile to say the least. Reading passages about how Peter's ex-wife acted reminded me of posts on the second wives club website. In addition, his daughter was truly PAS'd and harbored enough anger and resentment for three children. Though Emma's ex-husband was also difficult, he faded in and out of the picture, like many ex-husbands do.

I realized partially through the book that this couple really doesn't communicate, doesn't understand each other, and really isn't happy. When a tragedy threatens the relationship, I had a hard time understanding how they had stayed together as long as they did. Then I realized something very important...the entire book could be excerpts from the website. I am so blessed to be in a great relationship with a wonderful stepson. My big issue is the ex-wife. Many of those who are second wives are not nearly as lucky. Many have problems with almost every facet of their lives. The feeling must be overwhelming, like it was to Peter and Emma.

Though I couldn't directly relate to the book, I couldn't put it down (just like I can't log off sometimes). It was the "can't stop looking at the car accident" syndrome. If nothing else, it might make second wives feel like they are not alone. They can see how these fictional characters made choices, good or bad, and then had to live with them.

I would definitely take a chance on this book. It's a quick read and you can probably finish it in a few sessions. The only thing I really didn't like was the detail that the author would sometimes inject in the middle of an important part of the book. I could not care less what the trees and buildings looked like, I wanted to see what happened in the relationship. Luckily, she didn't do that too often and I could go back to watching Peter and Emma struggle through their days.

MommyQ - SWC.COM Member

Turgid Prose.......2001-10-04

I received this book as a gift from a friend after my wife and I divorced. At the time, I was grateful for a book that addressed issues of family trauma but after reading the novel, I can't imagine a more thoughtless present.

The author has no ear for language. Overall, the prose is flat and lifeless. The characters are heartless and entirely unsympathetic-- to the point of charicature. There is a ridiculously long description of a nanny brushing a child's hair that went on longer than my marriage. It's unclear to me what the publisher saw in this book. I was truly disappointed.

Struggles of a Second Marriage and Blended Family.......2000-12-11

A promising story that fails miserably.

Where do loyalties lie when a man and woman bring children to a new marriage? According to this story, the woman loves her daughter and expects her new husband to do the same. But she also expects him to keep his life with his daughter seperate from theirs.

Peter's daughter, Amanda, is deeply affected by her parents' divorce. She despises both her mother and father and resents her new step-mother, Emma. But resentment barely describes her feelings for Emma's daughter, Tess, who now lives full-time with Amanda's father.

For her part, Emma makes attempts to bring Amanda in to the family circle, but they are attempts on her terms. For example, she decorates a room for Amanda, but it's decorated to Emma's tastes.

The main failing of this book is the weak characters. I know nothing of what brought Peter and Emma together. Why did they feel a second marriage could work? Why did they feel their children would adjust and they could build a happy life together?

I also found the writing weak. Each time a character was introduced, it was a programmed description of height, hair, clothes, etc. "Emma's mother, Aline, was also tall, but slightly stooped...Her eyes were blue, her cheeks full and pink. She had a small bow-shaped mouth and fine light straying hair. They [Emma's parents] were in their mid-sixties; both wore khaki pants, blue sneakers, sweaters." Boring!

The Bad Seed Part 2.......2000-09-04

The star of this terribly boring book is a young spoiled child named Amanda. Or shoud I call her the Bad Seed? The child is so disturbed and so miserable she made me miserable too. How anyone can find this book to be anything near wonderful is beyond me. Sorry to sound so negative but it was a painful read.

Book Description

Centaine de Thiry grew up with privilege, wealth, and freedom on a sprawling French estate. Then war came crashing down around her, and a daring young South African aviator named Michael Courtney stole her heart amidst the destruction. But the tides of fate and battle sent the young woman on a journey across a dangerous sea to the coast of Africa.

When Centaine’s ship is torpedoed and sunk, she is plunged into a shark-filled sea miles from the unseen shore. And when she reaches land, Centaine puts foot not in the lush world that Michael Courtney described to her, but on the edge of a burning desert—alone and fighting for her life.

In a strange world, under a great rushing sky, Centaine sets forth in the company of wandering Bushmen—and then into the arms of a renegade white soldier who may be her savior or destruction. As Michael Courtney’s family searches for Centaine, she comes near her promised land—and the untold tragedy and riches that it holds...

Customer Reviews:

Survival: physically in an unforgiving land, mentally in difficult circumstances, and politically in a less forgiving time.......2007-08-06

______________________________________________
Fluff or not? Fluff
______________________________________________

---- Comments ----
After losing her beloved horse, familiar home, dear father, and her new lover to a war not of her making, Centaine is shipwrecked and washes up alone on Africa's skeleton coast. There her survival depends on her resourcefulness and the kindness of strangers who take pity on her plight and yet are on a journey of their own. There's death and destruction aplenty but ultimately this story is about the will to survive anything and the cost that such survival exacts.

---- What I liked ----
I really enjoyed how this story centered around a single character and that there were fewer separate plots and extraneous characters mucking up the story. There was plenty of `Africa' thrown in the main characters were more believable and very easy with which to identify. This is one of Smith's works where I felt fully invested in the lives and deaths of each character.

---- What I didn't ----
I liked it all.

Average customer rating:

Other Books
Great epic
another great wilbur smith novel
Not the best of Wilbur Smith
Wilbur A.Smith

Burning Shore
Wilbur Smith
Manufacturer: Fawcett
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Men's Adventure | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0449211894
Release Date: 1987-01-12

Book Description

Two daring men. Men who could not possibly be more different. Michael Courtney, the dashing and generous British flying ace, who fights over the smoke-streaked skies of Europe. Lothar De La Rey, the bold and cruel German gunrunner, whose battleground is the awakening continent of Africa. And an extraordinary woman -- the sensual Centaine de Thiry, whose courage and cunning match that of any man -- unites these two extraordinary men.

Customer Reviews:

Other Books.......2007-09-03

Wilbur Smith likes the African historical saga. He doesn't mind having a pilot adventurous type or two in his stories, either.

Here we have the strong brave woman, the dashing husband, struggle for survival in the wilderness, and an impregnation. Add in a dastardly bloke or two, and there you have it.

Great epic.......2005-09-17

I had been craving a good historical fiction epic for a long time when my husband brought this book home for me. If you like John Jakes (North and South) or Gone With the Wind, you'll like this compelling story of Centaine de Thiry Courtney's adventures in South Africa. Be forewarned - once you read one, you'll want more, and these books are somewhat hard to find in the U.S., although copies are usually available through Amazon sellers.

another great wilbur smith novel.......2005-02-26

the courtneys of africa is a must read....The only reason I gave this one 3 stars instead of 4 was that it took too long to get into the book. When you put the courtney saga together, it is one of the all time great epics....try to read them in order....

Not the best of Wilbur Smith.......2002-02-08

I'm only 18, but i've read River God and The Seventh Scroll, and i absolutely fell in love with them! But the Burning Shore just didn't do it for me... Centaine De Thiry is forced to live through the torchers of lonlinees, hunger, thirst and survival as she finds herself stranded in the namibian desert. She fights not only for her life, but for the life that her dead husband, Michael Courtney, has left inside her womb.

You will fall in love with Centaine... But Wilbur Smith decided to give the ending a dull and unhappy twist.

Wilbur A.Smith.......2001-09-30

I read all of Mr. Smith's books I can find. He is very
popular in Europe & Canada & has only in the past 5 yrs or so
been in the bookstores here. I would say that 95% of his
writings have been top quality reading for adventure, love stories & African history. And that's in each book.

Average customer rating:

It was ok
Exciting
Premature Publication?

The Burning Shore (Warhammer)
Robert Earl
Manufacturer: Games Workshop
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Epic | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1844161293

Book Description

Florin D'Artaud escapes his life of reckless waste and bad debts by tricking his way into a flotilla headed to the legendary new world, Lustria. But a simple treasure hunt in the dense, steamy jungle turns to a sinister expedition for forgotten lore--but the ancient guardians of the> jungle will not let their secrets be plundered so freely

Customer Reviews:

It was ok.......2006-05-26

This is a decent book featuring Kislevites, Bretonnians, Dwarfs, and Lizardmen.

Florin d'Artaud is a Bretonnian nobleman whose debts and debauchery land him in trouble. Thankfully his friend arrives in town via boat and explains to Florin that there will be an expedition to search for gold in Lustria. The mercenaries searching for gold need another officer, and so the journey for gold and glory begins.

The story was pretty interesting but it seemed to lag quite a bit in certain spots and while there were a good deal of funny things in here (Florin dealing with an Arabyan merchant, for example) there were also, unfortunately, quite a lot of ridiculous things (The story Florin spins in order to become an officer, as one other reviewer noted, was pretty lame).

If you love Warhammer (and 40k and Necromunda) books like me then you will probably pick this up (I plan on getting all the black library books eventually). If you only want to read really good books then I would suggest you pick up Grudge Bearer and Liar's Peak--these are the best Warhammer books I have read so far.

Exciting.......2006-02-08

I enjoyed this book. I burned through it pretty quick. A couple chapters lagged but the rest of the book kept me beyond interested.

Premature Publication?.......2004-06-05

The Burning Shore is about Florin d'Artaud, a Brettonian thief and con man who runs card games to earn enough money to pay off his debts. When he decides that the water is too hot for him to keep living this life, he and his "manservant" decide to flee. Where to go, they wonder. And just when they think there are no options, ta da!... the solution falls right in their laps when an old friend pops up out of nowhere and invites them to join him on an expedition to the jungles of far away Lustria.

And after this, it's one silly plot construct after another, as Florin and his "manservant" get out from under the thumb of their bosses with relative ease, con their way onto one of the ships, where Florin manages to land a job as a captain to a group of mercenaries by telling one of the most bogus battle stories I've ever heard. And to make matters worst, his friend is supposed to be keeping an eye on him, but for some inexplicable reason, they're put on different ships. Give me a break!

I won't go on with more illogical elements, but needless to say, there are many more. And that's not all...

There are several illegal Point-of-View shifts, where the author jumps from one viewpoint to another in sequential paragraphs. I've never seen so many in one book. All the authors and editors I've ever talked to say this is a definite no-no, so I wonder just how much time was spent on this novel before it was published. It's a shame, because most warhammer novels are much tighter than this. Admittedly, this is the author's first book, but there's no excuse for some of its problems.

It's only saving grace is that, despite its POV problems, the author's style is relatively simple and easy to read, and that's a good thing. It doesn't take long to get through.

I can only recommend this one to those who MUST read a book about lizardmen and Lustria. Otherwise, there are far better warhammer novels out there.

Average customer rating:
The Burning Shore
Wilbur Smith
Manufacturer: Pan Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Action & Adventure | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Power of the Sword

A Sparrow Falls

Rage Rage

Golden Fox

A Time to Die

ASIN: 0330292277

Book Description

'Centaine screamed and drove the point of her stave down into the jaws with all her strength. She felt the sharpened end bite into the soft pink mucous membrane in the back of its throat, saw the spurt of scarlet blood, and then the lion locked its jaws on the stave and with a toss of its flying mane ripped it out of her hands and sent it windmilling out and down to hit the earth below.' The passionate love of a beautiful French aristocrat for a courageous South African aviator is begun and extinguished in the blazing skies of war-torn France. But Centaine de Thiry is bent on realizing some of the dreams which she and Michael Courtney had shared - and sets out to seek a future for his unborn child in the country of Michael's birth. But in a monumental odyssey of disaster and adventure she must first brave all the combined terrors of war, shipwreck, thirst, fever and the burning vastnesses of Namibia's Skeleton Coast before she sees another living soul...

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THE BURNING SHORE
WILBUR SMITH
Manufacturer: WILLIAM HEINEMANN
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Burning Shore
Elleston Trevor
Manufacturer: Book Club
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UL120G

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The Burning Shore
Elleston Trevor
Manufacturer: Books on Tape, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

General | Books on Cassette | Audiobooks | Formats | Books
ASIN: 0736607331

Book Description

THE BURNING SHORE is set in Malaya, where Hugh Copland is appointed manager of a jungle airstrip menaced by Communist guerillas. He soon becomes dangerously involved in a struggle for power between the Sultan of Tamarah and elusive enemies.

"...nicely calculated to give pleasure in the best sense of the word...the more the author writes, the better he does." (Eastern Daily Press)

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The Burning Shore
Elleston Trevor
Manufacturer: Heinemann
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UJALQO

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The Burning Shore

Manufacturer: Book Club
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GKXQ5A

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The Burning Shore
Wilbur Smith
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000LNJLA6

Average customer rating:

Well worth the price

Makes you fully aware of the pitfalls of patterning in our minds & to encourage you to constantly challenge your assumptions!

Questions and More!

You can come up with these

Actually useful

75 Cage Rattling Questions to Change the Way You Work: Shake-Em-Up Questions to Open Meetings, Ignite Discussion, and Spark Creativity
Dick Whitney , and Melissa Giovagnoli
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Communications | Skills | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Running Meetings & Presentations | Skills | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace

RULES OF THE RED RUBBER BALL: FIND AND SUSTAIN YOUR LIFE'S WORK

Get Weird! 101 Innovative Ways to Make Your Company a Great Place to Work

Unstuck: A tool for Yourself, Your Team , and Your World

Crisp: Wake Up Your Creative Genius (Quick Read Series)

ASIN: 0070700192

Book Description

Asking the old questions, according to authors Dick Whitney and Melissa Giovagnoli, means getting the same old answers. And that can be deadly for any group or company that wants to move ahead. Instead, they offer 75 outrageous, thought-provoking questions that clean out the corporate cobwebs and get workers’ minds working in new and productive directions. Drawing from their own experiences as top international business consultants, Whitney and Giovagnoli provide field-tested "cage-rattlers" that can help improve leadership, resolve on-the-job conflicts, stimulate innovation, facilitate better communication, and much more. Additionally, the guide benefits individuals as much as it does teams, small groups, small businesses, and larger corporations.

Customer Reviews:

Well worth the price.......2006-11-03

I'm the author of "Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative Thinking Techniques" and pretty much read everything that is published in the creativity field. I find this book useful, entertaining and enlightening. Buy it. It's well worth the price.

Makes you fully aware of the pitfalls of patterning in our minds & to encourage you to constantly challenge your assumptions!.......2006-10-21

75 Cage Rattling Questions to Change the Way You Work: Shake-Em-Up Questions to Open Meetings, Ignite Discussion, and Spark Creativity
by Dick Whitney, Melissa Giovagnoli

This book has been around for almost a decade. I have found it to be a very good book as it teaches readers how to break the normal thinking patterns in the mind. To use a popular neuro-linguistic term, how to do a 'pattern interrupt'!

Patterning is one of three principal operating principles of the human mind. (The other two: selective recognition & self-organising.)

The good thing about patterning is that you don't have to relearn the same pattern if you are comfortable with it or it works for you, e.g. riding a bike or driving a car or using a piece of software. The bad thing about it is that you may get stuck with it, especially when the old pattern doesn't work any more. In the same vein, the patterning makes it hard for a new idea to get fair treatment in your mind.

Edward de Bono, the father of lateral thinking puts it very beautifully: "The mind is habitually uncreative - it is usually preoccupied with organising masses of incoming data into convenient patterns. Once the pattern is established, then the mind tends to rely upon that pattern in future situations, in order to facilitate decision making & action in an otherwise complex world."

Dr David Perkins, author of 'Outsmarting IQ: The Emerging Science of Learnable Intelligence', explains further: "...As we go through life, puzzle out problems, & gain experience, we store up patterns that work well for us. In meeting new situations, we automatically try to make a match to what we know & select a pattern from our storehouse that might apply. This matching process gets influenced not only by what patterns we have stored up, but also by our goals, prejudices & passions."

So, how does one break old patterns or get out of complacency? On workable method is to pose to ourselves challenging, thought-provoking questions. Better still, wild & crazy ones!

Why such questions?

Well, for one thing, they set off processional effects that have great impacts beyond your imagination. Questioning your limitations is what tears down the walls in life - in business, in relationships. I believe growth & progress are often preceded by new & challenging questions.

This book offers 75 outrageous, thought-provoking questions that can clean out the cobwebs in your minds & get you working in new & productive directions.

The essence of the book is not so much using the 75 field-tested "cage rattlers" to shatter the complacency. I feel that the primary objective of the two authors is to make you fully aware of the pitfalls & dangers of patterning in our minds & to encourage you to constantly challenge your assumptions!

This book has 75 short chapters, fully corresponding to the self-described 'cage rattling' questions. Each chapter opens with the question, provides you with some ways to use the question, shares a war story & gives you further tips for using the particular question.

Frankly, I would encourage readers to formulate your own list of 'cage rattling' questions to be used in your own different situation. Certainly, you can make use of the book's questions as a springboard.

Sometimes, the questions to be asked don't even have to be 'cage rattling'. All you need to do is to reframe the question. For example, in problem solving, I always like to ask myself, 'what else can I do?' instead of 'what can I do?'; 'what has not yet happened here?' instead of 'what has happend here?'...

Questions and More!.......2006-05-06

This book has 75 short chapters, one for each of the self-described "cage rattling questions." Each chapter opens with the question, provides you 3-5 ways to use the question, shares a "war story" and gives you some tips for using this particular question.

I have long been a proponent of, and encouraged people to build lists of questions they could use in different situations. This book would be a good place to start your list if you are a trainer, consultant, facilitator, or team leader. You will find many of these questions useful to spark conversations, trigger new ideas and build synergy.

Look at it this way... if you got only one great question that you use to great advantage it would be worth the cost of the book. I'm sure you will get at least several more than that

You can come up with these.......2000-12-19

I wouldn't disagree with any of the other reviews, but it's a matter of personal preference where I spend my money. I wouldn't spend it on this book. Once you focus on what you want to accomplish (ie., "shake-em-up"), you could come up with a lot of these challenges. "If your company were a car...If your company were a footbal team.." and so on. In a word, analogy. I've found in workshops I've conducted, whether they're on Creativity, Problem-Solving, Leadership, or other topics, I'll use this "provocative" technique maybe once or twice in a full day. Beyond that the novelty has worn off.

Much of the text that accompanies each question is also a little repetitious - the "war stories" all start to sound alike.

Actually useful.......2000-09-09

I was surprised at how useful this book is. When I first looked at it, I thought the questions looked obvious and simplistic, but they work very well to start off team meeting sessions. The authors provide lots of good ideas about how to use them, and little anecdotes to inspire you to believe that the questions can actually change the way you do business. I've used them for meeting kick-offs and to jump-start moribund discussions.

John Cage Visual Art: To Sober and Quiet the Mind

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John Cage Visual Art: To Sober and Quiet the Mind
Kathan Brown
Manufacturer: Crown Point Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1891300164

Book Description

“What I'm proposing to myself and to other people, is what I often call the tourist attitude—that you act as though you've never been there before. So that you're not supposed to know anything about it. If you really get down to brass tacks, we have never been anywhere before.” -John Cage, 1992

John Cage advocated paying attention to the world around us, and “to the life that we are so excellently living.” He is mainly known as a composer who affected the course of music in our time, but he also lectured, wrote commentary and poetry, and made prints, watercolors, and drawings. He died in 1992, but his work continues to affect people conscious of shaping their own lives. Cage worked at Crown Point Press, publisher of fine art prints, every year from 1978 until his death. During that period he produced 27 groups of prints, mostly etchings, totalling 667 individually composed works of art. Kathan Brown worked with Cage on these prints that make up the largest and most sustained aspect of his visual art. In this book, she speaks from her own experience about how he worked. The many illustrations make it easy to see what she is talking about, and she often uses Cage's own words to describe particular works or reflect upon the nature of his art.

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Shadows in Cages: The Forgotten Women and Children in India's Prisions
Ruzbeh Nari Bharucha
Manufacturer: Himalayan Institute Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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It's Always Possible: Transformation India's Largest Prison

ASIN: 0893892599

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Personal accounts of life for mothers and children in India's prison system.

Average customer rating:

Trapped... weird book
This book is SO good!
I loved this book!
Excellent Short Stories

Trapped!: Cages of Mind and Body

Manufacturer: Simon Pulse
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0689830823

Amazon.com

Subtitled Cages of Mind and Body, this collection of short pieces by critically acclaimed young adult writers explores the plethora of ways in which human beings can feel like trapped animals. Lois Duncan edited the collection, and in her introduction she tells readers that the theme was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," a story she still finds "resurfacing in fever dreams in hideous detail." Poe's terrifying tale is about a character being sealed alive into a crypt, but Duncan has not limited her foray into claustrophobia to horror. Humor, romance, fantasy, and adventure all make appearances here, as do a variety of literary forms, including the traditional short story; a play by Rita Williams-Garcia; an unusual dual-perspective piece by Walter Dean Myers; and poetry written by Duncan during her teenage years. Topics range from physical to emotional to mental entrapment--Francesca Lia Block writes about the shackles of anorexia, Rob Thomas explores a day of upheaval at a battered-women's shelter, and Joan Bauer takes a humorous look at a fastidious pancake-house waitress overwhelmed by a sudden Sunday morning rush. Readers will not only find the stories compelling, but are also sure to recognize the queasy sensation of being trapped. --Brangien Davis

Book Description

TRAPPED!

Featuring original works by:

Apollo, Joan Bauer, Francesca Lia Block, Gary Crew, Lois Duncan, Lois Lowry, Gregory Maguire, Walter Dean Myers, Gillian Rubinstein, David Skinner, Marc Talbert, Rob Thomas, and Rita Williams-Garcia

Customer Reviews:

Trapped... weird book.......2003-06-10

This is a strange and demented book that will make you wonder how these stories might have come about. You have nothing to worry about if you read this book because after each short story is an author's note about why they wrote their story. The stories are about how a human can feel trapped in a cetain siuation, may it be mentally, or physically. The author of the story has something to relate to their work in their note. The psycological ways of our minds is unveiled in Trapped!. The uncomprehensible human mind is manipulated and isolated in words to show our fear and apprehension. If you read it, you might learn the ways of nature, and how humans react in a situation when they are TRAPPED!

This book is SO good!.......2000-02-26

Some of the stories in this book were a little boring but I really loved Pancakes by Joan Bauer and the Woeful Princess. It's really worth reading the book cause all the stories are interesting. Just some are a little slow. Read it!

I loved this book!.......1999-04-18

This book was simply wonderful. It was interesting to read the different definitions of the theme "trapped" illustrated magnificently by these extremely talented young adult authors. I loved the story "pancakes" written by Joan Baurer, and "the Woeful Princess" and "Fountain of Youth" was good too. If you're looking for a good read, you should definately buy this book. Trust me, it's worth the sixteen bucks!

Excellent Short Stories.......1998-11-17

If you like Lois Duncan, you will love this!! It shows a different side of everyone from all sorts of views. My personal favorite was "Pancakes" by Joan Bauer. A Must Have!!!!

Average customer rating:

The Mind Cage
A. E. Van Vogt
Manufacturer: Simon and Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K0EGVY

Average customer rating:

The Mind Cage
A.E. Van Vogt
Manufacturer: POCKET Book
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000K083LI

Average customer rating:

The Mind Cage
A.E. Van Vogt
Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K1Z8AQ

Average customer rating:

The Mind Cage
A. E. van VOGT
Manufacturer: Simon and Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000FMLOQW

Average customer rating:

The Mind Cage
A. E. Van Vogt
Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OVQ8MO

Average customer rating:

The Mind Cage
A. E. Van Vogt
Manufacturer: Avon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S9SJV0

Average customer rating:

... and made easy!

Home Sausage Making

Underwhelming

I agree: Good Coaching, weak sausage

Excellent book for hands on advice. Buy It.

Home Sausage Making : How-To Techniques for Making and Enjoying 100 Sausages at Home
Susan Mahnke Peery , and Charles G. Reavis
Manufacturer: Storey Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Meats | Meat, Poultry & Seafood | Cooking by Ingredient | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Reference | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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Build a Smokehouse: Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin A-81 (A Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin)

KitchenAid FGA Food Grinder Attachment for Stand Mixers

ASIN: 158017471X

Amazon.com

Making sausage at home is simple and pain free. Once you've learned the basics, experimentation and sausage innovation are bound to take over. Then before you know it, you will be making gourmet sausages that are better than anything you can buy in the market, and at half the cost! Charles Reavis's Home Sausage Making introduces a world of banger possibilities--from traditional pork to salmon and poultry. However, you will need more than just the book. A meat grinder is recommended as is a sausage stuffer and sausage skins. Beyond that, ingredients are pretty basic. This is, after all, reaching right back to the peasant kitchen--and the mindset that there's a way to use everything from snout to tail except for the squeal. Start with Reavis, then reach beyond. --Schuyler Ingle

Book Description

HOME SAUSAGE MAKING is the classic in the field. Now completely revised and updated to comply with current USDA safety standards, this new edition features 150 recipes. Included in the lineup are 100 recipes for sausages (cased and uncased) and 50 recipes for cooking with sausage, all written for contemporary tastes and cooking styles. There are instructions for making sausages with beef and pork, fish and shellfish, chicken and turkey, and game meats. Ethnic favorites include German specialties such as Bratwurst, Mettwurst, and Vienna Sausage; Italian Cotechino and Luganega; Polish Fresh and Smoked Kielbasa; and Spanish-Style Chorizo, Potatis Korv (Swedish Potato Sausage), Kosher Salami, and Czech Yirtrnicky. On top of all the meat varieties, there is an entirely new section on vegetarian sausage options.

Customer Reviews:

... and made easy!.......2007-10-04

I got the book to make bratwurst for an Okotberfest we were having and was nervous about making sausage for the first time. The book's instructions were very clear and easy to follow. I'm looking forward to trying many of the other sausages in the book!

Home Sausage Making.......2007-03-27

I think it is a great book in instructing you on making sausage.

Underwhelming.......2006-06-08

While the book is informative and provides good instruction about some of the basics of sausage making, it is nonetheless lacking in many respects. First, most of the book's recipes that I've made come out under-salted and under-spiced. While this is something that you can test for and adjust during production, it would have been better for the authors to simply provide quantities that produced sufficiently seasoned sausages. In short, most of the sausages end up bland, tasting more like plain ground meat than sausage.

Furthermore, the recipes utilizing sausage are unimpressive as well. Most cooks experienced enough to make fresh sausage probably don't need a recipe for a sausage omelette or sausage pizza.

Finally, and most importantly, the book misses some important techniques that are essential to proper sausage making. While they do make mention of freezing meats for 30 min. before stuffing, they don't sufficiently emphasize how essential it is to maintain near-freezing temperatures throghout the process until the casings or stuffed. Failure to do so will result in dry, crumbly sausages, something I learned the hard way. Additionally, there is no discussion of the "primary bind," an essential step in sausage making whereby the ground & spiced meat mixture is beaten (either by hand with a wooden spoon or with a paddle attachement in a stand mixer) for a couple of minutes before stuffing. This allows the meat to bind together, preventing a loose & crumbly sausage, yet this essential step is entirely absent from the book.

My recommendation would be to look at "Charcuterie" by Michael Ruhlman & Brian Polcyn. Not only does that book provide all the ins & outs of sausage making (plus the reasoning behind them) from award-winning professionals, the recipes are perfectly seasoned every time. The book has the added benefit of providing information on some more exotic things to do with meat as well, such as dry-curing hams, prosciutto, salami, etc.

I agree: Good Coaching, weak sausage.......2006-04-27

Two days ago I made about 9 pounds of sausage using 3 different recipes in this book and 3 different meats.

This is my first sausage making attempt and the book did a great job of teaching me the process. But I agree with the 'Good Coaching, weak sausage' review. The recipes are pretty under-spiced and generic. I guess it gives me a good baseline for creating my own recipes, though.

So, if you know what you're doing and are looking for recipes- look elsewhere. If you're a sausage newbie, this is a great book to teach you what you need to know.

Excellent book for hands on advice. Buy It........2006-01-06

`Home Sausage Making' by Susan Mahnke Peery and Charles G. Reavis is a great small book in its third edition since it was originally published in 1981 by the very small publishing house, Storey, which specializes in culinary titles. Reading this book shows up the dangers to a reviewer in reviewing the very first book one encounters on a specialized subject such as home sausage making. Just three days ago, I reviewed `Bruce Aidells' Complete Sausage Book' by meat and sausage experts Aidells and Denis Kelly, published by cookbook behemoth, 10 Speed Press. Naturally, with Aidells' reputation and my liking the previous two books this pair have done, I gave the book a very complementary review.

Now, I read another book on exactly the same subject and I find an even better book that addresses all of the criticisms I had of the Aidells and Kelly book. Specifically, it makes liberal use of illustrations of both equipment and technique, with the added bonus of being very specific about health hazards and the means for avoiding them, by being clear about cooking, aging, and smoking temperatures. Thankfully, there is enough difference between the two books and they are both inexpensive enough to make it worth your while to own both. If you really need to limit yourself to one, the Aidells / Kelly book is better for the armchair sausage buff, who is more interested in things to do with sausage and with the scoop on what is in the sausage he buys at the deli, megamart, or specialty meat store. Peery / Reavis is better for people who are really interested in actually making sausage, based on the much better illustration of sausage making equipment and technique, and fewer recipes, compared to Aidells / Kelly on what to make with sausage.

Peery / Reavis also has a much broader interpretation of what constitutes sausage. In addition to all the obvious preparations, this book includes recipes for making scrapple (2 recipes) and other American favorites. While both books include lots of famous international recipes for fresh and cured sausage, Aidells / Kelly presents these recipes is a more organized fashion which is better suited if you happen to want to make a Spanish or Cajun or oriental sausage.

I compared the recipes for `basic breakfast sausage' in both books and found the ingredients to be virtually identical. The only difference in ingredients is the presence of dried marjoram in Peery / Reavis and their substitution of brown sugar for granulated white sugar. Peery / Reavis' procedure was also more detailed, especially since it was oriented toward making sausage in casings while Aidells / Kelly refers you the general technique on filling casings without repeating the instructions for the specific recipe.

While Aidells / Kelly organizes their recipes by region, Peery / Reavis organizes their recipes by ingredients, giving us chapters on:

Pork Sausages
Beef, Lamb, and Veal Sausages
Combination Sausages
Game Sausages
Poultry Sausages
Seafood Sausages
Vegetarian Sausages

Both books have lots of sidebars on the origins and trivia about sausages. The introduction giving the history seems like one of them cribbed from the other, as they both seem to touch on the same bases, right down to the references to sausage in Homer's `Odyssey'. Aidells / Kelly is just a bit more interesting in this background information; however the charm of Peery / Reavis' background from U.S. bratwurst central in Sheboygan, Wisconsin is not lost in their obvious love of their subject.

As a trivial aside, I must object to Peery / Reavis' comment on Otto von Bismarck's comparison of sausage making and lawmaking, as Bismarck's intent was clearly to illuminate the nature of lawmaking and politics and not to make a culinary comment.

Both books are very good. Get both, but get Peery / Reavis first if you really want to make sausage yourself.

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