Red Sea

Book Description

Alone on a hostile sea, far from home, Libby fights for survival.

Customer Reviews:

A Thrill of a Read.......2006-08-06

I picked up this book based on an NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) review. I read it in about four hours and enjoyed every minute of it. There was family conflict, there was a mysterious boyfriend, evil pirates and then racing for survival on a sailboat without a mainsail and limited provisions. I have recommended this book to my department chair and I'm hoping to be able to offer it to my 9th graders. I think it will be a high-interest book for even my most reluctant readers. While the narrator/main character is female, the adventures should appeal to male readers as well.

Mystery on Skull Island (American Girl History Mysteries)

Average customer rating:

Christiana Wolterstorff 5-2 Mystery of Skull Island Review
You will want to read this book.
Another Good One
Great new book from the History Mysteries series.

Mystery on Skull Island (American Girl History Mysteries)
Elizabeth McDavid Jones
Manufacturer: Pleasant Company Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1584853417

Customer Reviews:

Christiana Wolterstorff 5-2 Mystery of Skull Island Review.......2005-06-08

This book deserves 5 stars because it gives suspence, high vocabulary and a great ending.The book also has breath taking chapters everytime you get to the next one you can't stop reading. Beleive me you must read this book. but, i recommend you should be 10 and up to read this book because there are some scary moments and high vocabulary words. ENJOY THE BOOK!!!!!!

You will want to read this book........2004-07-12

Rachel Howell, 12-years-old, has lived in New York with her grandparents ever since her mother died. Rachel hasn't seen her father in 7 years and then, finally, he sends for her to come live with him in Charles Town, South Carolina. Rachel loves and misses her father, and she badly wants to live with him, but she is anxious, too. In 1724, sailing to the Carolinas is dangerous because of pirates. Rachel's worst fears come true when her ship, the Betsy Jo, is run down and boarded by pirates. They steal the pearl necklace that belonged to Rachel's mother!

Things don't get better when she arrives safely in Charles Town. Her father tells her that in a few weeks she will meet Miranda, the woman he's going to marry. He is very happy about it, and Rachel tries to be happy, too, but she wonders what her stepmother will be like, and she's jealous of having to share her father when she has only just been reunited with him.

Rachel makes friends with Sally, the daughter of a tavern-keeper. Rachel's father doesn't mind it until Miranda tells him that tavern-keepers are not the right kind of people for the daughter of a wealthy merchant to befriend. Mr. Howell forbids Rachel to see Sally again. He enrolls her in school, because Miranda tells him to, and he says that she will make friends there.

Rachel likes Sally, and she doesn't like Miranda. She and Sally figure out a way to stay friends and meet on an island where nobody will know that they're friends. They name it Skull Island, and it's a pretty place, but spooky, too. The island has a sinkhole full of quicksand and the girls discover strange symbols carved into rocks. Could Skull Island be a pirates' hideout? Will Rachel and Sally figure out the mysteries on Skull Island? Will they survive to tell other people if they do? Will Rachel get her mother's pearl necklace back?

You will want to read this book in the History Mysteries series by American Girl. It has charming illustrations, and a section on the history of Charles Town in 1724. If you don't already know about the History Mysteries series, you will be glad you discovered them.

--- (...)

Another Good One.......2002-11-30

The year is 1724 when twelve-year-old Rachel comes to Charles Town to live with her father. Her mother died when Rachel was five and she has lived with her grandparents ever since. She makes a new friend in Sally, the tavern-owner's daughter, but their budding friendship is ended soon after the arrival of Miranda, Rachel's father's fiancee. To continue seeing each other, the girls decide to spent time on a small island near the town. They dub the island "Skull Island" after discovering a human skull near some quicksand on their first visit. They also discover a hidden lagoon, an overgrown trail, and mysterious carved symbols. Are pirates hiding stolen treasure on the island? The plot thickens when Rachel finds evidence of a secret relationship between Miranda and Mr. Craven, her father's business partner. Then her father's business is ruined when his ships are attacked by pirates. Is Miranda betraying Rachel's father? Can she save her father from disaster and keep her friendship with Sally?

Though she's now eleven, my daughter still often enjoys having me read to her when she goes to bed at night. We have been including books from the American Girl "History Mystery" series for two or three years, now. These books combine engaging stories with real historical settings, giving young readers useful insights into how people lived in those times along with positive characters they can relate to. In general, we give the books in this series four stars. This one is one of my daughter's favorites, so this is an especially strong four-star pick and we strongly recommend it.

Great new book from the History Mysteries series........2001-09-18

Since her mother's death when she was just five years old, Rachel Howell has lived with her grandparents in the city of New York. The year is 1724, and Rachel is now twelve. Her father has finally sent for her, and she must make the sea journey from New York to Charles Town, South Carolina. When the ship is almost at its destination, pirates attack, and Rachel loses her most precious possession, a necklace that had belonged to her mother. When she finally arrives in Charles Town, Rachel is thrilled to finally be reunited with her father, but is devastated by the news that he plans to remarry and that his fiance, Miranda LeBoyer, will be arriving soon from Philadelphia. Rachel makes two friends, Sally and Todd, whose mother runs an inn. But at Miss LeBoyer's urging, Rachel's father forbids her to see her friends because they are from a lower class. Rachel and Sally decide to meet in a secret place, a small island near the city that they name Skull Island because they believe a pirate's treasure may be hidden there. After Rachel's father loses his fortune in a bad business deal, the friends begin to believe that his misfortune may have been caused by Miss LeBoyer, who is keeping a secret about his partner in the investment. Some very surprising plot twists follow, but I won't reveal what they are, because it would spoil the ending. I highly reccomend this book to young readers who enjoy historical fiction.

Average customer rating:

I hated this book . . . but I loved it at the same time
A good escape from the rat race!!
Don't waste your time
An interesting mixed bag
Agree w/Taxton: Gerardi's book blows up in author's face

The Pirate's Daughter
Robert Girardi
Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0385319525
Release Date: 1997-09-08

Book Description

It began with a chance meeting and led to a date at a small French restaurant in a city by the sea. She ordered expensive wine. He paid the bill. She spoke of the sea. He was haunted by her green eyes and copper-colored skin. Then, in a matter of weeks, the woman named Cricket Page would lead Wilson Lander away from the moorings of his familiar life, away from his relationship with a successful businesswoman and onto a tycoon's yacht called the Compound Interest--for a journey across the great Sargasso Sea.

Coming ashore in a world of searing mystery and danger, Lander will pay the price for his unquenchable desire for Cricket Page, for their moments of stolen pleasure and her cryptic promises of a life of luxury together. For she is a pirate's daughter, and in an exotic land exploding with cruelty and violence, populated by maniacs and plunderers, Wilson Lander must escape the woman who has stolen his heart--and given him his freedom. . . .

Customer Reviews:

I hated this book . . . but I loved it at the same time.......2006-03-01

Maybe due to simple youth and inexperience, this book made me horribly sad. I cried for about an hour at the end. I felt especially bad for Cricket. She was a bad person, but it was the only life she had ever known, and she wanted to escape from it, but needed to wait so she could escape without looking back. I felt sad for Wilson too. I mean, he was the good guy and he did what he thought was right and it was right, obviously, but to just forget? It seems so sad.
Anyway, the writing style was pretty good, easy to follow, unlike some older classics that can't say anything straight out, and with a really clever blend of reality and fiction. The characters were believable, and though it was a really sad, brutal story, I got snapped at three times in one class today for surreptitiously picking up this book to read.

A good escape from the rat race!!.......2006-01-18

Don't listen to the bad reviews about this book ( good grief folks..it's just a story!!). The bad reviewers here don't give the writer enough credit..This book will hold you captive from the first page! Who cares if all the info. isn't correct (again..it's just a story folks!!) If you want a book that has adventure, mystery, romance and suspense you will like it..It was a violent in some places but I held out just because I had to find out what happened next! I gave it 4 stars because of the violence but it's worth checking out!!

Don't waste your time.......2004-12-03

Where to start? This book is crammed full of phony history, phony geography, phony science, phony anthropology, and (most unforgivable of all) phony philosophy -- none of which is either relevant to the plot or convincing. The plot lurches from one impossible coincidence to another. People act in reckless disregard of easily foreseeable consequences. Pirates spout history lessons for no reason (as if they'd care). Sailors allow 30-foot waves to "hit the side of their ship" with no apparent harm (um, you're supposed to sail into them). One snort of magic potion cures a longstanding mental problem. The tarot cards at the beginning are harped on ad nauseam and then forgotten for the rest of the book. The author is in serious need of a dictionary to learn the meanings of words like "translucent", "phosphorescent", and "founder" (he likes that one so much he misuses it at least three times). His imagery rivals that of William Peter Blatty at his purplest. It's upsetting to think that this man is actually teaching writing rather than trying to learn it -- though there is little evidence that he could. Skip this.

An interesting mixed bag.......2003-03-25

I picked this up a year ago while browsing, intrigued by the cover and the title. It looked interesting, but I was reminded of my towering shelf of books to be read and so did not buy it then. The professor for my creative writing workshop class was going to be out of town for a class period, and announced that he was having a guest instructor for that class, who turned out to be Robert Girardi. The to-be-read shelf be damned, I like to know whose instructing I'm getting, so I went out and found this and his first novel, Madeleine's Ghost.

The story here is fairly straight-forward: Wilson Lander is a young man with a sense of dread, unable to complete his doctorate in archaelogy, and is working in the big city as a clerk to his girlfriend. He stumbles upon Cricket Page, who leads him into an exotic adventure as a galley cook on a tychoon's yacht called the Compound Interest. But Cricket is more than she seems (the title gives it away), and Wilson promises to be more than the nebbish than he initially seems.

I'm a pirate fan. There's something about the outlaw on the sea that intrigues me more than an outlaw on the land. Two of my favorites in this area are Tim Powers' On Stranger Tides and A.A. Attanasio's Wyvern. Long-time readers will remember a fairly lengthy discussion in 1992 or 1993 about Michael Scott Rohan's pirate book, Chase the Morning. So I was predisposed to liking this book, even though this describes a modern day piracy.

And I did like this book a lot--up until a certain point, the break between sections five and six, where Girardi lost my sense of disbelief in what the characters actually do. The motivations of the characters in other sections are a little hard to believe, but from a steady diet of a slightly more fantastical nature leads me to extend a bit more leeway to an author. The manner in which the story is told is very movie-like, and it was no surprise to me to discover that Girardi is also a screenwriter.

After our class meeting, I talked with Girardi about his book. During class he had made a disparaging comment regarding "genre," which seemed to me out of place, considering the fact that this book is basically an adventure story set in the modern era and his first novel is a ghost tale. His definition of genre (learned from his time at the Iowa Writer's Workshop, I think) was books that are essentially adventure and nothing more. Of course, as a "fan" of science fiction, I have always used genre as the word to describe the marketing labels placed on the various "types" of fiction: mainstream, SF, mystery. Later in the semester, I discovered that there is a third usage of genre: describing the "forms" of written communication, i.e., poetry, fiction, essay, biography, advertising, etc. From all this I have deduced that genre is a highly overused word and I have made myself a resolution to discontinue its use, in an attempt to promote more understanding between the three camps that have adopted it into their discourse.

Agree w/Taxton: Gerardi's book blows up in author's face.......2002-09-08

Must say I agree with Gene Taxton. Gerardi's lack of knowledge about firearms makes the book fall apart at key juncture. I disagree with the Australian lady. She misses Taxton's point entirely. How does she so keenly know what the author knows, and does not know? All we have is the text. The text clearly shows how little Gerardi knows about that which he is writing. He has never been to Africa and never fired a Wembley, and as Mr. Taxton so rightly puts it, who in God's name would seek out a Wembley in our time? This book reads like a "This Boy's Life" adapted by someone who grew up fantasizing on National Geographic magazine issues. By the way, where's the second edition of any of Gerardi's books? Nowhere. Quite.

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The Moneylender's Daughter
V. A. Richardson
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Action & Adventure | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Adventure & Thrillers | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

Historical Fiction | History & Historical Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1582348855
Release Date: 2006-06-27

Book Description

After the fall of his family’s fortune, Adam Windjammer finds himself sailing toward the Americas. There, he hopes to locate the remains of his uncle’s shipwreck and restore the family name to its former glory. So why can’t he stop thinking about Jade van Helsen, the beautiful daughter of the cunning moneylender who brought his family to ruin? Back in Amsterdam, Jade still longs to win her father’s approval, despite his ruthless ways. But saving him from making the biggest financial mistake of his life may cost her something much more precious.

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Arabella (The Pirate's Daughter)

Manufacturer: Perioodika
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000EAC3LA

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Arabella. The Pirate's Daughter
Aino Pervik
Manufacturer: Perioodika
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NUP930

$Kate Bonnet (Large Print Edition): The Romance of a Pirate\'s Daughter$
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Kate Bonnet (Large Print Edition): The Romance of a Pirate\'s Daughter
Frank Richard Stockton
Manufacturer: BiblioBazaar
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1434607607
Release Date: 2007-04-05

Book Description

Illustrated by A. J. Keller and H. S. Potter

Kate Bonnet (The Romance of a Pirate's Daughter)

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Kate Bonnet (The Romance of a Pirate's Daughter)
R. Frank Stockton
Manufacturer: IndyPublish
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1428084096

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Kate Bonnet The Romance Of A Pirate's Daughter
Frank R. Stockton
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Historical Fiction | History & Historical Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

Love & Romance | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1417925078

Book Description

1903. Thonias Hewlings Stockton, clergyman, wrote fantastic tales for children under the pen name Frank R. Stockton. He also wrote books for adults. Among his amusing books for children Rudder Grange is the best known. The Lady and the Tiger, Adventures of Captain Horne, Mrs. Null, The Casting Away of Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine, The Hundredth Man, Great Stone of Sardis, and Captain's Tollgate were also quite popular. The book begins: The month was September and the place was in the neighborhood of Bridgetown, in the island of Barbados. The seventeenth century was not seventeen years old, but the girl who walked slowly down to the riverbank was three years its senior. She carried a fishing rod and line, and her name was Kate Bonnet. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

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Kate Bonnet The Romance Of A Pirate's Daughter
Frank R. Stockton
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 054802295X

Book Description

A tough, no-nonsense Hollywood private eye, Dan Turner was written with gusto by pulp scribe Robert Leslie Bellem. This volume includes 13 never before reprinted gems, spanning nearly two decades of rough and tumble adventures. Bellem's writing style was filled with colorful euphemisms and similes. It's this writing style that gives Turner his greatest appeal. Each story comes complete with the original spot illustrations that showed the meaning of "Spicy" in the original pulp magazine that published these stories, Spicy Detective. A real page-turner from beginning to end, Roscoes In The Night is destined to be a favorite of the pulp fans.

Customer Reviews:

The Pulpiest Pulp Fiction Ever.......2004-09-01

Long-verdue collection of stories from Robert Leslie Bellem (1984-1968) the creator of Dan Turner, Hollywood Detective, most of which originally appeared in pulp magazines like SPICY DETECTIVE. Fast-paced and laugh-out-loud funny, these tales are full of cartoonish violence and endless variations on decribing the female anatomy, especially breasts ("Pert tiddly-winks," "Perky pretty-pretties"). Set in and around the movie biz, Bellem's work is like some crazed hybrid of James Ellroy and Moe Howard. Great 30's lingo, a mix of slang, rebop, and pig-latin ("She had what it takes to drive a man utsnay.").
After the pulp market dried up, Bellem finished his career writing for television, but the Perry Mason episodes he wrote don't hold a candle to the zany, sexed-up prose on display in these spicy tales. Highly recommended.

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Twilight on the desert
Roscoe G Willson
Manufacturer: Lollesgard Specialty Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006S9RZK

Customer Reviews:

Great Manga.......2003-04-20

First of all I dont see why everyone is complaing about how the manga leaves out a lot from the show-when actually its the show that added things.This manga did not come to be by the film to paper method,but rather the series came to be by paper to film. This said I feel the only real downfalls of the book are the sounds as stated previously, and the fact that you have to know quite a bit about gundam wing are you might not understand much. Great art and dialoge. Deffinatly a four out of five

Getting better..........2001-09-02

When I reviewed the first volume of this series, I reviewed it like a review and not an opinion. I'll try to do so again with this second review.

If one's bought the second volume in this manga series, then he most likely either loves it to death or hates it and wants to see if it has any hope lingering somewhere. For the most part, however, it's probably someone who is used to the obvious fast pacing of the story and questionable editing of material from the anime series. The fast pacing returns in this second volume, and if you loved the first volume you'll definately be used to the second one.

A few questionable cons of the first volume make it to the second volume, such as the sound effects ("Dash", "Step") and distorted characters. However, for me, I feel this volume managed to eliminate -- for the most part, at least -- weak dialogue and the sense that the artists were trying to rush the series. When one reads through the entire second volume, he instead considers the possibility that this migt be the artists' own take on the anime, like Tim Burton's remake of "Planet of the Apes." But one can only consider this possiblilty if he actually enjoyed the first volume.

Another thing I noticed is that characterization was a little more noticable than in the first volume. This is probably due to the fact that the pilots appeared more than they did in the first volume.

All in all, the second volume is probably better than the first, mainly because it managed to establish the pace and sense of purpose the manga series is trying to create. And, as before for me, the Domon comics at the end of the volume were just as hilarious. By now, I can safely say that they are like a satire of the anime (not the manga, for some scenes satired in the Domon strips aren't in the manga) and they satirize probably some of the things that are living trademarks of "Gundam Wing."

In the end, the second volume redeems any lingering doubts the first volume might've created. However, since the manga didn't stay true to the anime, I can't give it the highest rating of five stars. Again, I recommend this series to fans of the anime who don't mind leaving out the series' complex storyline.

PS -- For those who have bought "The Art of Gundam Wing", look out for the artwork at the back of this volume.

Gundam Wing RD (Reader's Digest).......2001-06-12

First off, this 3-part manga series is very different than the anime. Lots of stuff was cut out, some stuff was changed around, and some new stuff was added altogether. Call it "Gundam Wing Lite", if you will. The artwork is pretty good, the parody comics in the back were kind of funny, and Duo's suggestion on how to get Trowa's memories back made me burst out loud laughing (maybe because it was perfectly in character) but I cannot recommend this series. The artwork saves these books from being rated 2-stars. If you want the full experience, check out the series on DVD, then the Endless Waltz movie and the Ground Zero, Blind Target, and Episode Zero comics. But it's safe to skip these books.

GW ROCKS.......2001-03-20

This is a totally good book.If you haven't read the first one read that one first.In my opinion this is better than the first one, but that is only my opinion.I am a total GW fan so I know what's going on.If you watch the series then you need to read the book.It is almost totally different.BY IT!BY IT! BY IT!

Awesome.......2000-11-30

I love Gundam Wing and watch it on cartoon network everyday after DBZ, and as soon as I saw this book at Amazon... I was hooked. I couldn't stop reading! The pictures were great and the storyline was awesome! It has changed from the TV showin it but it is still great. I cracked up at the funny comics at the end too. I would recommened it to any Gundam fan old or new. It is an awesome book and once you pick it up don't expect to put it down until you reach the last page.

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Chaser Platoon #2 (Iron Infantry)
Tim Eldred
Manufacturer: Aircel Comics - Canada
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
ASIN: B000J4I9C8

Product Description

Incredible Chaser Platoon series, no longer issued for a decade and a half! A must have for any fan Get it while you can still find it!

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Gundam Wing G-Unit, tome 2
Tokita
Manufacturer: Pika
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

All French Books | French | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books

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Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 #3 Part 2 1994
Hajime Yadate
Manufacturer: Viz Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Manga | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Product Description

Based on the anime TV series.

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Comic #2 (Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, 2)

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Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Comic #2 (Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, 2)

Manufacturer: Mixx Manga
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

Product Description

Incredible Gundam Wing Comic Series. Gorgeous graphics! A must have for any fan! Get it while you still can!

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Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Ground Zero #2
Reku Fuyunagi
Manufacturer: Viz Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Ground Zero Comic #2 (Ground Zero)

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Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Ground Zero Comic #2 (Ground Zero)

Manufacturer: Viz Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Ground Zero Comic #2 - Reku Fuyunagi - Graphic Novel (Ground Zero)

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Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Ground Zero Comic #2 - Reku Fuyunagi - Graphic Novel (Ground Zero)
Reku Fuyunagi
Manufacturer: Viz Comics & Kadokawa Shoten Pub.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

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Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, tome 2
Koichi Tokita , and Yadate-Tomino
Manufacturer: Editions Pika
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

All French Books | French | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books

Gundam Wing Episode Zero #2 Comic (Episode Zero)

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Gundam Wing Episode Zero #2 Comic (Episode Zero)
Katsuyuki Sumisawa
Manufacturer: Viz Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

Product Description

Incredible Gundam Wing comic from the terrific Episode Zero series. Gorgeous graphics. A must have for any anime fan!

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Sumptuous, sensual descriptions of food celebrate dishes and history alike.

Best of the Bests

Best Food Writing 2005 (Best Food Writing)

Manufacturer: Marlowe & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Essays | Gastronomy | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Gastronomy | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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Best Food Writing 2006 (Best Food Writing)

Best Food Writing 2007 (Best Food Writing)

Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Restaurant Reviews, Articles, Memoir, Fiction and More

Best Food Writing 2000 (Best Food Writing)

Resource Guide for Food Writers

ASIN: 156924345X

Book Description

Best Food Writing 2005 assembles, for its sixth year, the most exceptional writing from the past year's books, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and Web sites. Included are the best writers on everything from celebrated chefs to the travails of the home cook, from food sourcing at the greenmarket to equipping one's kitchen, from erudite culinary history to food-inspired memoirs. Like past collections, the 2005 round-up will include pieces from food-writing stars such as Robb Walsh, John Thorne, Calvin Trillin, Amanda Hesser, Ruth Reichl, Colman Andrews, Jason Epstein, and Jeffrey Steingarten. Opinionated, evocative, nostalgic, brash, thought-provoking, and sometimes just plain funny, it's a tasty sampler to dip into time and again, whether you're in the mood for caviar or hot dogs.

Customer Reviews:

Sumptuous, sensual descriptions of food celebrate dishes and history alike........2007-01-07

Established food writers as well as newcomers who are passionate about foods grace the pages of a powerful collection which skims the cream from the food writing crop of the past year's books, magazines, newspapers and web sites. This is what makes BEST FOOD WRITING 2005 so wonderful: expect - and receive - only the best in articles which range from reflections on aforementioned cream and its history and qualities to baker Yockelson's reflections on the 'real cake' and its attributes and family bonds involved in a local bread baker's rise to fame. Sumptuous, sensual descriptions of food celebrate dishes and history alike.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Best of the Bests.......2005-11-05

Best Food Writing is NOT a part of the Best American Series (Essays, Travel Writing, Mysteries, Short Stories, Non-required Reading, etc.) The Best American series does include a best recipes edition, but those of us who don't actually cook aren't interested in reading recipes. On the other hand, the Best Food Writing series, which debuted in 2000 with Holly Hughes doing the editing each year, is more about the writing than about the food. Yes, it helps to be interested in food to enjoy these essays, but all you really need is an appreciation of good writing. (This concept was finally illustrated for me last year when I read Best American Essays 2004 and found that the best essay was a piece about knitting. Before reading it, I was completely ignorant about knitting and, I thought, completely uninterested.)

Okay, so Best Food Writing is not part of the Best American series, but I'm going to compare it to them anyway. It's better. I especially like the Best American Essays and Travel Writing, but every year Best Food Writing is my favorite. Is food writing inherently superior? Easier to write? As with a delicious meal, I don't analyze the preparation, I just savor the food.

The 2005 edition includes articles from magazines such as Gourmet and Bon Appetit, from the food sections of newspapers including the New York Times, and from books such as Garlic and Sapphires. Hughes has divided the essays into chapters that are more or less about baking, drinking, the restaurant business, etc. She could have included a chapter called Extreme Foods, because there were several entertaining essays about spicy or otherwise intimidating food.

Some of my favorites of the 2005 bunch were Mort Rosenblum's Nutella adventures, Nancy Grimes's whine about how tough it is to be the wife of a food critic (boo hoo), Gabrielle Hamilton's memories of killing her first chicken, Dorie Greenspan's revelation of the French host's secret to perfect desserts, Diana Abu-Jaber's story of her immigrant family's disastrous failure to keep the old traditions alive, and David Ramsey's account of some extremely spicy chicken.

This year Hughes has devoted an appendix to food blogs, because there are just too many to ignore. I guess she missed Julie Powell's blog chronicling her year-long project of preparing every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Powell turned her blog into a terrific book called Julie & Julia, and I wouldn't be surprised to see an excerpt from it in next year's Best Food Writing.

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