Matt Urban: America's Most Decorated Soldier in World War II

Product Description

The wartime exploits of Matt Urban, the most combat-decorated soldier of World War II.

Customer Reviews:

A Great Solider's Story Poorly Told.......2002-06-16

Somewhere in the pages of this paperback book is a story, but Robert Boven is not the person to be telling it. This is suppose to be the story of the most decorated soldier in WWII, told by Mr. Robert W. Boven who was suppose to have served in Europe in this same War. When the author refers to "Patton Tanks" coming in at the end of the War to take on the better armored German Tanks, the German "Long Tom" artillery, and planes going down because of "motor failure" (how about the word "engine"), he lost too many points with this historian. In his credits he list his 10 years of interviews and travels with Matt Urban, yet there is fewer than 40 words in quotes throughout the book, and 35 of those are on page 89. Save your money folks, this poor quality item should serve as an example on how to not write a book. The author's credits show him as a writer of travelogues, that must be his forte because writing history certainly is not.

Average customer rating:

Bending time's arrow

This book SCREAMED for a good editor

Self indulgent essay, precious little about Fleming

An extremely dull experience for a casual reader

Not really the book it should be

Time Lord : Sir Sandford Fleming and the Creation of Standard Time
Clark Blaise
Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: B0001OOU88

Amazon.com

In the 1880s, a businessman traveling by train from New York to Boston needed, on arrival, to adjust his clock, moving it ahead by 12 minutes. The strange increment, writes Clark Blaise, was a matter of local interpretation, some enterprising Bostonian having determined that the rising sun touched the shore of Massachusetts a dozen minutes before warming Manhattan.

Such local interpretations of time made the job of establishing railroad schedules a matter of guesswork and hope, as the Canadian entrepreneur Sandford Fleming discovered when he missed a train in the west of Ireland in 1876. Frustrated, Fleming realized that a new system of universal time would need to be created if railroad travel were ever to realize its full potential. As Blaise writes, "the adoption of standard time for the world was as necessary for commercial advancement as the invention of the elevator was for modern urban development," and nations such as England that had a system of standard time in place owed much of their economic superiority to the predictability and reliability such a system put in place.

Fleming discovered that getting the world onto the same schedule required years of negotiating and browbeating, a nightmare that Blaise ably recounts. Fleming's efforts eventually paid off, and as Blaise writes, "Of all the inventions of the Industrial Age, standard time has endured, virtually unchanged, the longest." His entertaining account of how that came to be will be of appeal to readers who enjoyed Dava Sobel's Longitude, Henry Petroski's The Pencil, and other popular works in the history of technology. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

It is difficult today to imagine life before standard time was established in 1884. In the middle of the nineteenth century, for example, there were 144 official time zones in North America alone. The confusion that ensued, especially among the burgeoning railroad companies, was an hourly comedy of errors that ultimately threatened to impede progress. The creation of standard time, with its two dozen global time zones, is one of the great inventions of the Victorian Era, yet it has been largely taken for granted.

In Time Lord, Clark Blaise re-creates the life of Sanford Fleming, who struggled to convince the world to accept standard time. It’s a fascinating story of science, politics, nationalism, and the determined vision of one man who changed the world. Set in a time marked by substantial technological and cultural transformation, Time Lord is also an erudite exploration of art, literature, consciousness, and our changing relationship to time

Customer Reviews:

Bending time's arrow.......2007-09-24

How could i possibly pass by such a title? As an avid fan of Doctor WHO, the original time lord, captured the eye firmly enough. But this is hardly a book of science fiction, although few novelists could adequately depict the subject. This book is the rendering of one of the 19th Century's most notable autodidacts. An almost penniless emigrant from rural Scotland, Sandford Fleming revolutionised the world's concept of time. In this fascinating, but rather disorganised, account, Blaise weaves numerous themes around Fleming's aim to make the world's time measurement coherent - and universal.

The prompt for Fleming's quest was a missed train in Ireland well into the era of the Industrial Revolution. Driven by steam, that age first used that power to raise water from coal mines. Applied to transportation of goods and people, one of steam's legacies was changing the nature of time. Factory workers now laboured to the clock, and travel speed increased dramatically. Rail travel quickly overtook animal prowess, but also revolutionised our lives. In North America, the spread of the land led to rail companies becoming the index of industry, and a force in politics and society. Each rail company kept time according to its head office. Its schedules granted it dominion over time, leading to such anomalies as the city of St Louis, which observed six different railroad times. This, in addition to the common practice of each town marking its own time by the sun's overhead passage.

Without question, Blaise' most eloquent chapter is "The Aesthetics of Time" in which he renders the influence of changing concepts on time on the arts, notably impressionism and literature. While the world was moving toward more uniform means of dealing with time, the arts recognised that the established "natural time" with its easy, regular flow - "time's arrow" - had been demolished. Readers and viewers came to accept disjointed time in stories and paintings. Blaise uses Cailllebotte's "Paris Street, Rainy Day", which was composed from a string of photographs, as the prime example. Nothing is still and the figures appear detached from "normal" concepts of time. In a similar manner, novelists could break up stories into disconnected parts, skipping about in the chronology to build new forms of narrative. Blaise' own narrative follows their pattern, forcing the reader to accept his irregular presentation. Given the quality of Blaise' insights and ability to discuss them, this book is half the size it might be.

Fleming's missed train kept him apart from most of this social upheaval. A tightly focussed engineer, his aim was standard time around the planet. He understood the desire for a "prime meridian", but wanted a mechanism that would transcend national or commercial interests. He devised a complex scheme with a time centred within the Earth. It would have obsoleted every clock and pocket watch in existence, but had the advantage of universality. Ocean shippers also favoured a standard scheme, with nearly all ships using Greenwich, England as their temporal starting point. Resistance from nations who'd already established their own primes obstructed Fleming's project, which came to a head in Washington, D.C., in 1884. A prolonged, three-week negotiation ultimately led to the standard time zones we live within today. In Blaise's view, Fleming is justifiably renowned for his contribution to this achievement. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

This book SCREAMED for a good editor.......2006-12-21

After he set out the initial scene and made narrative inroads, the author proceeded to regale us with his views on time and why they're important. These pseudo-science views could have all made a great short story but had no place interspersing with an actual narrative. It really screamed for a good editor to sit the poor man down and say "No."

Self indulgent essay, precious little about Fleming.......2006-08-26

Most of Time Lord should have been about Sir Sandford Fleming, about how he grew up, about why he left home (Scotland) and crossed the ocean to a new land (Canada), his trials and tribulations, the events of his life, great and small, that shaped this great but mostly forgotten man. Then after three or four hundred pages of this, an author can permit himself to give his personal views in a few pages.

Instead of doing this, Clark Blaise reverses the precepts and gives us 200 pages of his Views on Time and how Deep the Concept is. He gives us a mishmash of poetry and literature and badly thought out espresso philosophy. Nothing about Fleming. I would have loved a day-by-day account of the Prime Meridian conference, or of Fleming's days as chief engineer of the Canadian Pacific Railroad. No such luck.

After finishing the book, I went to the shortish wikipedia entry on Fleming and found more facts there than in Blaise's book. Until someone writes a better book, that might be the best thing to do.

Vincent Poirier, Tokyo

An extremely dull experience for a casual reader.......2005-12-19

Although Time Lord weighs in at fewer than 250 pages, this book took me a great deal of time to read in part because it constantly put me to sleep. Usually the combination of history/biography/science is favorite of mine, and finding out where our notion of time originated sounded like a fascinating topic to me. In the end, however, the story just isn't that exciting and it felt like the author was padding the book with unrelated filler material.

To be fair, Sir Sanford Fleming is an interesting and admirable character. Intelligent and hard working, he was a self-made man who emigrated from Scotland to North America to seek his fortunes. In addition to the creation of standard time, he was also largely responsible for the trans-Pacific cable and the trans-Canadian railway.

While Fleming's accomplishments are all duly noted by the author, much of the book felt like filler material. Entire chapters are spent waxing philosophical about the "nature of time" and how various notions of time affected everything from art to literature. If you happen to have done postgraduate study in art or literature, you may genuinely enjoy these distractions, but I found them to be a bit too much. Blaise spends as much time (one chapter) discussing Sherlock Holmes as he does discussing the actual Prime Meridian Conference.

Time Lord is not without its pleasures. It is truly fascinating to read how the world worked (or attempted to work) with an infinite number of local times, and how the advent of rail travel in particular created the need for time standardization. It was also interesting and, at times, amusing to study the role politics and national pride (particularly between the British and the French) played in the entire affair. Unfortunately such topics do not constitute the majority of the book, as they are what I was most looking for.

If you or the person you are shopping for enjoy this genre, you might first want to consider The Measure of All Things (which chronicles the creation of the meter) or Pendulum (on the life of Leon Foucault), both of which I found to be more enjoyable reading than Time Lord.

Not really the book it should be.......2005-10-15

What one would want to see in a book about "Sir Sandford Fleming and the Creation of Standard Time" would be a biography of Fleming, some historical background on timekeeping up to the time of the standardization of time, and perhaps some material evaluating the contributions of Fleming and such others as William Allen and Charles Dowd to the process. In fact, the book is pretty good regarding Fleming's biography, but has an incomplete summary of the historical background, and a little on the roles of Dowd and Allen. And it has a large amount of irrelevant material, which I found tedious to read, eager to get on to something more relevant.

Much of the book, in fact the whole ninth chapter as well as other portions, is taken up with relating standard time to various literary works, a relationship that isn't there and diverts the reader from what really matters. And to expect the reader to be familiar with writers from Flaubert to Joyce is too much, yet when he supplies the specifics of what he is talking about, as in a reference to Conan Doyle's characterization of Sherlock Holmes, he really gives no more insight into the standardization of time. I felt like telling the author to please can the literary criticism and get on with the task at hand.

This is not a book I would recommend, except that I know of no better one on the topic.

Time Lord : Sir Sandford Fleming and the Creation of Standard Time

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Time Lord : Sir Sandford Fleming and the Creation of Standard Time
Clark Blaise
Manufacturer: Knopf Canada
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Time | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This is the biography of an idea, and the remarkable story of the man who created—and then convinced the world to adopt—a unified standard for telling time.

Today we take the accurate telling of time across the world for granted. Yet little more than a hundred years ago, people even in neighbouring towns lived by different time schedules: noon was simply whenever the sun happened to be overhead—Toronto time, for example, was different from Hamilton time some forty miles away. None of this mattered when people travelled in the slow style that had been the norm for generations. But then, as Clark Blaise makes vividly clear, trains arrived—and in the new age of communications myriad local times became a mind-boggling obstacle, and the rational ordering of time an urgent priority.

Sandford Fleming, a young emigrant from Scotland, performed the remarkable task of solving the unfathomable temporal riddle of how to knit together a world stippled with thousands of local times. That invention was the start of an exhausting campaign to persuade the squabbling international powers, the diplomats and scientists, to adopt a unified time system—a campaign that came to a dramatic conclusion at the Prime Meridian Conference in 1884. His achievement turned out to be one of the greatest gifts of the Victorian Age to our global modern world.

This was the great "Decade of Time," as Blaise calls it, that extraordinary ten years that also saw the invention of electric light, the telephone, Impressionism and high-speed cameras. Time Lord is an absorbing reflection on the mythic origins of time itself, as well as a meditation on science, psychiatry, art and literature (from Dickens to Sherlock Holmes to Hemingway); the roots of depression and anxiety; and the results of one man's fascination with clocks and watches and railway schedules. At the heart of the story is the mild but fierce-minded communications genius who sketched and surveyed his way from coast to coast, oversaw the building of the great Canadian railroad, designed the first Beaver stamp, and invented the world-circling, sub-Pacific cable; who saw the world as a whole and changed its nature forever.

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Time Lord : Sir Sandford Fleming and the Creation of Standard Time
Clark Blaise
Manufacturer: Random House of Canada, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NZVZZ6

Book Description

Your wedding day is one of the most memorable of your lifeespecially if you're the bride. From unique proposals to hilarious and touching tales of actual ceremonies and receptions, this book will inspire anyone looking ahead to the big day. Chicken Soup for the Bride's Soul features a final section on Anniversaries will give it a long shelf life, and open the market to those remembering the joy of their wedding day in later years. It's the perfect gift for bridal showers, weddings and anniversaries.

Customer Reviews:

Warm and Soothing Soup for the Soul.......2007-07-16

I got this book for my niece, soon to be married. She LOVES the Chicken Soup series, and, who can't use some soup for the soul, to sooth the nerves on such an important day!

This book is a must have for all new brides!.......2004-11-06

I saw this book advertised online and I bought it at our local book store when I became engaged. If you are a bride to be or in love or just love romance? This is the book for you the stories will tug at your heart strings, make you laugh,cry and even think about your new love. I am getting married this Nov 04 and the stories are AWESOME!

When you get busy with life's details reach for this book and find a comfortable chair and get cozy. You will not be sorry that you bought this book.I'm glad I bought this book it's fantastic.

The Important Things.......2004-08-31

Upon reading this book, I am immediately reminded of how strong the bond between couples in love must be, and how they can be. The stories in "Bride's Soul" consistently serve to regenereate and reinforce the fact that a lifelong love becomes a relationship in which the importance of the individual's existence gladly takes a back seat to the value of the couple's happiness together.
Love is a matter of respect, understanding, admiration, loyalty, strength, honor and commitment; and this book exemplifies all of these grand qualities in a language anyone could understand. I recommend this heartwarming book to any person who wonders about love, and all the power that it holds.

Thank You

Chicken Soup for the Bride's Soul.......2004-08-17

This great book had me laughing and crying with touching stories on every page. It is not only a great gift for any new bride, but for anyone who has ever been a bride. An excellent anniversary gift idea. This book puts the important things in life into crystal clear perspective. If you like a good love story you will LOVE 101 of them in one book!

Energizes the motivation to plan your wedding.......2004-05-02

This book is great for Bride's to be and Veteran Bride's alike. I bought this book prior to my March 2004 wedding. It offered me insight and motivation to keep planning my wedding. It is hysterical and touching. The cartoons are amusing and they can almost guarantee you will find at least one you can relate to. Highly recommended for anyone who has or is about to embark on the path of marriage.

Book Description

The ultimate guide to the quintessential Derby drink!

A simple concoction—bourbon, mint, sugar, and water—the mint julep is legendary. Few people know its history and even fewer know how to properly mix this classic cocktail.

Lighthearted, entertaining, and informative, The Kentucky Mint Julep explores the lore and legend of the Kentucky Derby's traditional tipple. Joe Nickell looks at the origins of the julep and the etymology of the word itself, offers a brief history of American whiskey and Kentucky bourbon, and shares some classic julep tales, including Irvin S. Cobb's theory that a disagreement over a julep's ingredients was the real cause of the Civil War.

Information on julep cups, tips on garnishing and serving, and reminiscences from the likes of Charles Dickens, Washington Irving, and General John Hunt Morgan give a fun, historic look at Kentucky's favorite drink. The book includes numerous recipes—for classic juleps, modern variations on the drink, non-alcoholic versions, and the author's own thoroughly researched "perfect" mint julep. This delightful book is illustrated with historic photographs, a map of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Quintessential Kentuckiana.......2007-07-03

This great little book will make a wonderful gift or stocking stuffer for anyone from Kentucky, anyone interested in Kentucky, or anyone who has a keen interest in "adult beverages"! Joe Nickell brings the same method of meticulous research honed in investigating everything from weeping icons, haunted hotels, UFO sightings, and sleight-of-hand hoaxers to this charming and quintessentially Kentuckian drink. Way to go, Colonel Nickell!

Average customer rating:

What a fun romp!
Quagmire of horse feathers
Annie goes to the Dixie Book Festival
A very fun read!

Mint Julep Murder
Carolyn G. Hart
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0553572024
Release Date: 1996-09-01

Book Description

One of America's most beloved mystery writers, Carolyn G. Hart, the Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Award-winning author, returns to her original mystery
series that features Annie Darling, owner of the Death on Demand Bookstore, and her husband, Max, with Mint Julep Murder.

Normally, Annie Laurence Darling would be eagerly awaiting her trip to Head Island, where this year's Dixie Book Festival is being held. But this year Annie has agreed to be the author liaison to five authors honored with the much-coveted Dixie Book Festival Medallions, and she fears she is going to have her hands full juggling murderous egos. What Annie doesn't count on is the untimely death of ambitious Mint Julep Press publisher Kenneth Hazlitt. Hazlitt arrives at the Festival peddling a proposal for Song of the South, a trashy roman clef that details the indiscretions of some famous Southern authors at a writers' conference--writers who more than resemble the Dixie Festival Medallion winners. When Hazlitt drops dead after drinking a hit of bourbon from his private stock, the evidence points to Annie--the fatal glass is imprinted with her fingerprints. As more and more evidence points her way, Annie and Max must act fast to catch a wily killer...before the police throw the book at Annie!

Customer Reviews:

What a fun romp!.......2007-05-03

These books by Carolyn Hart are lots of fun. They make for nice light mystery reading. This book is set on Hilton Head Island, and Ms. Hart shows her love for this island in the writing of this book. There's lots of sleaze and glamour when Annie and her husband Max attend a Southern Book Fair on this island. If I have a complaint about these books, it is that each one always puts Annie or her nearest and dearest as prime suspects in the murder. Why can't they just try to solve a murder because it happens in their vicinity, not because one of them is suspected of killing someone? But the books are still fun, and I always enjoy the references to mystery writers and mystery books made throughout each book.

Quagmire of horse feathers.......2006-09-04

Many times I said it: female authors suck. So does Carolyn Hart with her "Death on Command" baloney. I first found out that my gender cannot write, when I followed Oprah's Book Club. All female authors are beneath mediocricity. What a bunch of literary losers! Then she picked a book "House of Sand and Fog" by a male author. I loved it and promptly was made into a movie. Carolyn Hart I thought had talent when I read one of her short stories. Mint Julep is a disaster. I made two attempts to read it, landet on page 50 and still find myself in a quagmire of boredom. No logic, no story line, just horse feathers.

Annie goes to the Dixie Book Festival.......2002-06-30

Annie Darling, proprietor of the bookstore Death on Demand, goes to the Dixie Book Festival, where many southern authors are being featured. She agrees to be an author liason for the five authors who are to receive special awards at the Festival. Publisher Kenneth Hazlitt, a book publisher, arrives and announces that he is writing a "tell-all" expose of the five authors who are being honored. When Hazlitt is poisoned, Annie reasons that it must be one of the five authors, but the local police chief uses circumstantial evidence to accuse Annie! She investigates each of the authors and finds that they all have something to hide. She also announces that she will now take over the book that Hazlitt had threatened to write, in order to flush out the murderer, much to her husband Max's dismay. This is another book in the charming Death on Demand series featuring Hart's delightful couple, Max and Annie Darling. Cozy readers will enjoy this book, as well as the others in the series.

A very fun read!.......1999-08-19

This is a very enjoyable book, as are all the the Death on Demand titles. As in A Little Class on Murder, Henny, Miss Dora and Laurel join forces (they've all written books and are looking for publishers!) to "help" Annie and Max solve the mystery and to try to drive Annie batty in the process. You'll enjoy it.

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Mint Julep Murder
Carolyn G. Hart
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GLY2JS

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The Mint Julep
Richard Barksdale Harwell , and George (FWD) Garrett
Manufacturer: University of Virginia Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Spirits | Drinks & Beverages | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

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Kentucky Mint Julep

ASIN: 0813923778

Book Description

For anyone who has ever enjoyed unwinding with a refreshing cocktail or two, Richard Barksdale Harwell's elegant volume The Mint Julep provides a delightful foray into the ceremonial, traditional, and regional history of the Old South's favorite drink. Taking the reader through several often-debated recipes for creating the perfect julep, Harwell also unveils the elusive history behind the drink, from its highly contested origin in Virginia, through Oxford University's establishment of Mint Julep Day in 1845, and beyond. Summoning voices and anecdotes from the past, Harwell's handsome little book offers an efficient and enthusiastic voyage into the realm of mixing, stirring, and enjoying the perfect mint julep.

The ceremonial undertaking of making a mint julep -- which is not simply the product of a recipe -- has always been the subject of much debate, from the use of "cool, crystal-clear water bubbles" and "snow ice" to the embellishments and spells that go hand-in-hand with making the drink. Harwell summons various voices from as early as 1803 to help unlock the mystery behind creating the perfect julep, while also uncovering the cultural impact the julep had on the American South and abroad. Always remaining an impartial guide, Harwell offers his own enthusiasm for the mint julep in both his text and the book's lively footnotes. For anyone interested in the history of the South or in learning how to make an outstanding drink, The Mint Julep offers a refreshing and light-hearted contribution.

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7 Titles in the DEATH ON DEMAND Series: (1) Death on Demand; (2) Deadly Valentine; (3) Engaged to Die; (4) Honeymoon With Murder; (5) Mint Julep Murder; (6) Southern Ghost; (7) Murder Walks the Plank (Set of 7)
Carolyn G. Hart
Manufacturer: Various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WUM48O

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Totally enjoyed

History Comes Alive

The Continuing Saga of the LaPierre Family: Mint Julep (Day Two) as Told to Gracie Buckhalter (The Lapierre Family)
Nita Clarke
Manufacturer: PublishAmerica
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1424182786
Release Date: 2007-07-16

Book Description

They're back! The fictitious LaPierre-Menard family, celebrating their family reunion and, of course, the traditional telling of the family stories to an audience of an incoming generation of young boys! Grab yourself a chilled mint julep, stick a fresh magnolia blossom in your hair and sit yourself down in a quiet place to enjoy The Continuing Saga of the LaPierre Family, including Dolice Marie and Jean Pierre LaPierre with all of the other wild characters from Mon Village, on the Bayou Frou-Frous. You're invited to a wedding, but whose wedding will it be? Find out as you follow the frolics of Angeline, Miss B B Carson Declouette and Obadiah, as well as all of the lovely ladies doing business at the New Orleans House in the great city of New Orleans…if you know what I mean. Follow Jubil down a trail smothered on either side with that pesky mint, all the way to the noble Commonwealth of Kentucky where he slams head-on into history! And meet all of the brand new characters and all narrated by Alexandra Menard LaPierre, as told to Miss Gracie Buckhalter. And now… Laissez le bon temps rouler!

Customer Reviews:

Totally enjoyed.......2007-08-24

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I laughed out loud several times. I live in Lexington Kentucky, so the story surrounding Lexington and the Kentucky Derby were the most enjoybale to me. I learned more about the Kentucky Derby from this book than I have living in Kentucky for the last 30 years. The characters in this book are fantastic. I found my self rooting for some, crying for some and laughing with them all. The author makes you fall in love with each and every one of them. The history that is throughout the book is very interesting. From New Orleans, to Lexington, to New York, I could feel myself in every city. Plus I learned things about these places I never would have without this book. The author really did a great job on the research. There were several times I had a really hard time putting this wonderful book down. I read the first book in this series when it came out a few years ago and was on pins and needles waiting for this one. Now I can't wait for Day Three. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

History Comes Alive.......2007-08-23

Only rarely have I picked up a book of historical fiction--and really enjoyed it. THIS book changed my perspective for many reasons. Looking at all the organizations Ms. Clarke acknowledged made me realize the incredible amount of work, interviews and research--labors of love--that went into the crafting of this work of historical humor/fiction. Having lived in Kentucky for more than 15 years now, I have become aware of some of the incidents which make up the 'meat' of this book. Having lived in NY the majority of my life made me recognize the history and lore relating to many other situations which arise in the course of this novel. A friend mentioned she smiled while reading most pages--and actually laughed out loud while reading others. So did I! Makes me truly hungry for Day Three to be ready for publication RIGHT NOW! Well worth the read--but read Mint Julep, Day One first--you won't be disappointed!

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HILTON HEAD ISLAND PICTORIAL COOKBOOK

Manufacturer: Terrell Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0935031650

Product Description

It was not so long ago that Hilton Head, South Carolina was a small, sleepy community on a barrier island accessible only by boat. Now a world class resort connected to the mainland by two dual lane bridges, Hilton Head Island is at once both metropolitan and Low Country, cosmopolitan, but with its Southern heritage lingering as does the Spanish moss on the trees lining the 4-lane Wm. Hilton Pkwy. And so goes the Island's cuisine. From Mexican to Continental, regional home-cookin' to haute, New American to wooden-table seafood, you can find it all here. This cookbook takes you on a visual tour of Hilton Head, while also providing an array of Island foods. A sunset dinner on the historic site of The Old Fort Pub gives you a bountiful table of Low Country Gumbo, Blue Crab Cakes and Fish Daufuskie from a neighboring island. The Sunday morning brunch shown on a porch overlooking the Harbour Town golf course features a favorite all up and down the coast: Shrimp and Grits. And there's She Crab Soup to be had with a view of the famous Harbour Town lighthouse. Included is a taste of super sandwiches and salads - all just right for a picnic on the beach or a boat outing. A light and eye appealing offering, perfect for an afternoon of croquet, is accompanied by a stellar Mint Julep. Also, the Planter's Punch -every island has its own version! Vistas of the marsh and the water make for lovely entertaining; try the Grouper with Lime Butter and Bread Crumbs or the Carpetbagger Steak - stuffed full of oysters. For the height of Hilton Head formality, you visit the South Carolina Yacht Club at Windmill Harbour for champagne and hors d'oeuvre served on a silver tray. Never to be forgotten is dessert - the South is known for its sweets. The choices range from Fudge Pecan Pie to Cold Lemon Souffle - and a classic version of Peach Cobbler highlighting a beach picnic. Southern Hospitality is a tradition which has not been lost in the growth of Hilton Head.

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MINT JULEP

Manufacturer: W.D. Lane & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HQXQX0

Mint Julep (Day One): As Told to Gracie Buckhalter

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a WONDERFUL read!
There's spice in this Mint Julep

Mint Julep (Day One): As Told to Gracie Buckhalter
Nita Clarke
Manufacturer: PublishAmerica
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1413731945

Book Description

Fasten your seatbelts and hop aboard a roller coaster ride through the shenanigans of the fictitious Menard-LaPierre family as they celebrate Day One of their three-day family reunion in the shade of a big Magnolia tree, and the traditional “telling of the family stories.” You'll meet the old storytellers as they share their family tales of Dolice and Jean Pierre LaPierre; their beloved Mama Mozelle; the notorious Mistress of the LaPierre Plantation, Madam Frou-Frous; the powerful Juju of the Voodoo Priestess, MamaDel; the charm of Savannah, Miss B. B. Carson Declouette, and the introduction of a tall, redheaded Canadian that changed their lives forever, named Menard. Mint Julep will take the reader from plantation life on the Bayous of Louisiana to life in the great City of New Orleans; from poverty to society, rags to riches, shacks to Bordellos and fine clothes and the joys of Zydeco music, all with laughter and just plain old good fun! (Find out the secret of that pesky Mint!) Relax and enjoy your narrator, Alexandra Menard-LaPierre, as she describes Day One of the Menard-LaPierre family reunion to Miss Gracie Buckhalter, (fine writer that she is!) in long, drawn-out sentences that represent the very essence of true Southern finesse while supporting the very idea that everyone who reads Mint Julep is a true Southerner, if not just for the moment!

Customer Reviews:

a WONDERFUL read!.......2005-01-04

couldn't put this book down until i got to the end. look forward to day 2.

There's spice in this Mint Julep.......2004-10-06

What a spicy little read ! Be prepared to enjoy each and every one of these enticing characters. From the little jezebel Dolice to her steadfast 1st cousin Jean Pierre to the Frou-Frous and the La Pierres, Ms Clarke's colorful narrative will assist you in your own imagery and joy in reading this delightful tale. Underneath the energy and the love of life the characters share, you may see, if you like, a deeper story of triumph, of creativity, of tenacity and perseverance. All of those aspects are there for you to enjoy and admire as you so choose. Ms Clarke's narrative is driven, developed and lives through these characters. As she writes, "we are delicate daisies, lavish lilies, ravishing roses, viral violets and most certainly, a few hidden hydrangeas" and indeed it is true. You will want to meet this family and embrace each one. They will carry you along with them on this journey known as Mint Julep. And I am sure that at the end of the story you will be thinking ahead, as I am, to the 2nd day of the Menard-LaPierre Family Reunion. You will be anticipating each character's continuing journey and smiling as you think of their future antics and escapades, enticing as they may be - "if you know what I mean".......

Mint Julep an' Cracklin' Bread: Maude Patterson Varner ("A Lou Rivers, Maryann/Richard Hanley, Richard Patterson Book.")

Average customer rating:

Mint Julep an' Cracklin' Bread: Maude Patterson Varner ("A Lou Rivers, Maryann/Richard Hanley, Richard Patterson Book.")
Maude Patterson Varner
Manufacturer: Perspectives/City Tech Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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