Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes

Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes
Average customer rating:

Makes baking bread easier!

A must for any bread baker

ONE OF THE BEST BREADBOOKS

Not really for the home baker

Finally, a book by a real baker!

Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes
Jeffrey Hamelman
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Bread | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Desserts | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0471168572

Book Description

The warm, complex aroma of a fresh-baked loaf of bread can be utterly tantalizing; the first bite, a revelation. In Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes, award-winning master baker Jeffrey Hamelman presents the definitive, one-stop reference on the art and science of bread baking - a kitchen essential for seasoned home bakers and professionals alike. Hamelman, a professional baker for nearly three decades, was a member of the United States national baking team that won first place in the 1996 Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie, the bread-baking World Cup. Here, he shares this experience, putting world-class artisanal loaves within reach of any serious baker. Opening with a comprehensive overview of the foundations - essential ingredients; hand techniques for kneading, scoring, and shaping; the basic process from mixing through baking - he lucidly guides bakers through all elements of this richly rewarding craft.

Bread contains 118 detailed, step-by-step recipes for an array of breads: versatile sourdough ryes; breads made with pre-ferments; and simple, straight dough loaves. Recipes for brioche, focaccia, pizza dough, flat breads, and other traditional baking staples augment the diverse collection of flavors, tastes, and textures represented within these pages. From the delicate flavor and aroma of classic French baguettes to the mellow smoothness of Roasted Garlic Levain, a bread for every season and every palate is here.

Each recipe clearly outlines the key stages, with easy-to-use charts that list ingredients in both American and metric measures, quantities appropriate for home baking, and baker's percentages. Hundreds of drawings vividly illustrate techniques, and 35 handsome color photographs display finished breads. Sidebars accompany each recipe and section with valuable tips, from the subtle art of tasting and evaluating breads to the perfect fare to complement Vollkornbrot. A complete chapter on decorative breads - with instructions on techniques as well as a wide variety of exquisite patterns - will inspire magnificent display creations.

Laced throughout the book, Hamelman's personal narratives offer a compelling portrait of a lifelong love affair with bread and vividly communicate this passion. For bakers seeking to finesse this time-honored craft or simply to learn the tricks of the trade from a real master, Bread is a resource to be consulted time and time again.

Customer Reviews:

Makes baking bread easier!.......2007-09-17

One of my friends asked me about helping her make a different kind of bread - I usually bake my grandmother's Greek bread and my family really loves it - I also make it in wheat bread for my brother and sugar free versions - but had not gone beyond that - Bread takes you into many recipes and gives you regular and metric measurements as well as quantities for large batches and a few loaves - It helps you learn how to knead, and how to fashion, braid breads to make them beautiful.
I learned to knead bread the hard way - after having some breads that felt like hockey pucks, I finally got the hang of it and make a mean bread.
If you enjoy that wonderful aroma of bread baking, you will enjoy this book. It is a great price on Amazon - many cooking catalogs sell it for its entire suggested price -

A must for any bread baker .......2007-09-01

I have been baking bread 30+ years and didn't know what I didn't know about bread and why it does what it does under certain conditions. I love this book. Not your typical cook book. Doesn't just give you recipes and lets you take a stab at baking. It tells you the history of bread and what you can do to make it absolutely wonderful. I thought I knew a lot about baking bread. Never had a complaint, but with this book and some of the tricks, my bread is so much better. Now I can't bake enough and I had trouble keeping my baking urges at bay before.
An excellent book for a bride to be.

ONE OF THE BEST BREADBOOKS.......2007-08-23

I am a professional baker/patissier with a special interest in flavorful, traditional bread and the methods to make it. I can wholeheartedly say , taking into consideration the price, the layout and the content of this book, that it is probably the best breadbook around. 'The taste of bread' by Raymond Calvel is also an excellent book but with a triple price tag. Another good book (actually a series) is 'Special and decorative breads' although beginners will find it a bit difficult to follow.
All in all Mr Hamelman has presented us with an excellent source of information on the preparation and baking of bread and other baked goods. Unlike other breadbooks, he is using a variety of methods to achieve good results and upper and foremost in his procedures is consistency of the product and taste. Most books care more about doing bread the easy way. That is how to make bread that looks good, fast. To the knowlegable this is bread that looks good, tastes bland and is stale by the next day. Also, very few books explain the reason or logic behind each step in the recipe. Not so here. Even though I am a professional I learned quite a few new things just by flipping casually through the book. When I started reading it I started finding out many tips and methods that have improved my skills and techniques. The explanations are thorough and precise, the information abundant, the recipes clear and flavorful. I particularly like the tables that are dispersed throughout. Some are for troubleshooting, others for comparison and others for extra information. Their usefulness cannot be overstated.The style of writting is so easy that even a person with no knowledge on the subject can find his way through and acquire theoretical skills that they can put to practice. I only wish I had this book when I was learning to be a baker.
I live in Cyprus (Europe) and many of the products included in the book are European. The methods and end products are consistent with the best one can find in the Old World. Another aspect of the book that I like is that it has temperatures both in Celsius and Fahrenheit and quantities are in both Metric and Imperial, as well as in percentage formulas. Rarely has an American book such sensitivity towards the non American consumers.
For all the above a very well deserved 5 star rating.

Not really for the home baker.......2007-06-12

This seems like quite a good book with a lot of important information. For me it has been a great disappointment as the total majority of that information is oriented towards a professional bakery operation rather than for a home baker such as myself who prefers to knead by hand. So for the home baker i'd give 2 stars. For a professional baker operating in large volumes, 5 stars...

Another disappointing factor has been the fact that this book doesn't have any recipes with 100% whole grain which is my personal preference... I am getting this book for which I read some good reviews on the net: The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book: A Guide to Whole-Grain Breadmaking.

Happy baking!

Finally, a book by a real baker!.......2007-05-17

I have been obsessed with bread baking for a few years now and have read loads of books on the ins and outs of getting bread to rise and turn out consistently. This is one of the best.

Mr. Hamelman has been baking bread his entire career. He is not a pastry chef who wrote a bread book. That said, his explanations of why you should do each step and how to calculate amounts, if you want to modify things to your liking, are clear and invaluable. The recipes are wonderful. He describes everything from how to get the best flavor out of white flour to how to cultivate, nurture and utilize rye sourdough starter. The breads I have made from this book have been really quite delicious and rival or exceed the most expensive loaves from the stores.

The only downside to this book is that it could be said to be written more for professionals than for home bakers. A lot of the breads should be baked with steam, and that is hard to do at home. Nonetheless, I guess it is better to try to duplicate the effect of a steam oven at home than to ignore the recommendation altogether and miss out on what could be a real improvement in taste and texture.

Biggest Book of Bread Machine Recipes (Better Homes & Gardens)

Average customer rating:

good book
A Let Down
Big disappointment
Well designed, but slightly complex recipes
So-So

Biggest Book of Bread Machine Recipes (Better Homes & Gardens)
Better Homes and Gardens
Manufacturer: Better Homes and Gardens
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Plastic Comb

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

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Betty Crocker's Best Bread Machine Cookbook: The Goodness of Homemade Bread the Easy Way
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Bread Machine Magic, Revised Edition: 138 Exciting Recipes Created Especially for Use in All Types of Bread Machines
Breadman TR2500BC Ultimate Plus 2-Pound Stainless-Steel Convection Breadmaker
Progressive International Clearly Fresh Bread Keeper

ASIN: 0696218534
Release Date: 2003-09-15

Book Description

More than 375 recipes keep fresh loaves of scrumptious bread in the pantry.

By varying seasonings and ingredients, custom bread making is easy and fun.

Two bonus chapters on Soups & Stews and Sandwiches offer more recipes and suggestions for enjoying delicious homemade breads.

Recipes, from sweet to classic, suit all tastes.

Basics chapter answers frequently asked questions.

Customer Reviews:

good book.......2007-09-15

Has a lot of no noncence recipies .It is not flsahy but the recipies work .

A Let Down.......2007-08-29

i was hoping to expand on bread machine recipes from the booklet that came with my mahine. This book has tons of recipes, but they're all pretty much the same, just switches flavors. Imagine any kind of fruit and nut combo bread, and they put it in there.I was hoping for more variety as far as type o fbreads and dough. Plus they have alot of sourdough recipes, which takes three days to make sourdough, somethinig I'm not inclined to do. It was kind of a disappoinment. i did try the banana bread recipe, but it came out like reguar white bread with a banana flavor-not very good.

Big disappointment.......2007-08-16

So sorry I wasted my money on this book. The recipes are too large for my machine. Some of them sound good, but since I have a 1 pound machine and all the recipes are for 1 1/2 & 2 pound machines, they did not do me much good. I was not expecting the soup and sandwiches portion of the book, either. If I had wanted soup recipes, I would NOT have bought a cookbook about making bread. It is a very nice looking book, however and lays flat for easy reading. The recipes are easy to read, also. Format is good.

Well designed, but slightly complex recipes.......2007-07-11

I have no complaints about this recipe book except that many of the recipes are very complicated and not basic. For instance, there is no basic honey wheat bread recipe. Every recipe has on average about 15 different ingredients, which is not very basic and makes utilizing the recipes a bit tedious when you have to hunt down ingredients, like gluten, rye flour, etc.

So-So.......2007-06-09

The first time I tried a recipe from this book, I thought it had too much salt and not enough yeast. I was right! Since then, I have increased the yeast by about 1/3 and decreased the salt by about 1/3, and they are about right.

The alternating orange & blue type is supposed to make it easier to read, but it makes it harder. For some reason, you tend to skip the orange lines. Be careful not to leave out ingredients!

I do like that there are separate lists of ingredients for medium and large loaves of bread, and the recipes tell you which cycle is recommended for each recipe.

I wish there were some pictures of some of the recipes. No pictures makes it feel like a cheap, fund-raising textbook or something. It doesn't feel like a professional recipe book.

Bob's Red Mill Baking Book: More Than 400 Recipes Featuring Whole & Healthy Grains

Average customer rating:

Bob's Red Mill Baking Book Review
BOB'S RED MILL BAKING BOOK
Great Concept, But Many Recipes Unreliable

Bob's Red Mill Baking Book: More Than 400 Recipes Featuring Whole & Healthy Grains
John Ettinger , and Bob's Red Mill Family
Manufacturer: Running Press Book Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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

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The New Book Of Whole Grains: More than 200 recipes featuring whole grains
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ASIN: 0762427442

Book Description

From Bob's Red Mill, the nation's leading miller of the most diverse selection of natural whole grain foods, comes this exciting collection of more than 500 wholesome baking recipes that reflect Bob's Red Mill's dedication to healthful eating. This invaluable baker's resource provides home bakers with delicious ways to use whole and other healthful grains and flours to suit their dietary, allergic, and basic baking needs. Including new and traditional recipes, and featuring a collection of recipes from prominent bakers and chefs, Bob's Red Mill Baking Book allows bakers to take full advantage of the healthful benefits of whole grains.

Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods was founded in 1978 and has become a multimillion-dollar business with international distribution. Inspired by a commitment to whole grain nutrition, Bob and Charlee Moore started their business with a mission to support the health and well-being of people in their community. But the demand for healthy whole grains made their small northwest business grow nationwide. Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods offers a diverse line of all natural and organic flours, cereals, meal and mixes for pancakes, bread, and soups. The company's more than 300 products are available throughout the U.S. and Canada at all natural food and major grocery stores. Bob's Red Mill brand products may also be purchased by phone, mail order, or on the company's website.

Customer Reviews:

Bob's Red Mill Baking Book Review.......2007-07-31

Lots of information on various grains. Good recipes but not necessarily low in calorie or sugar (wanted more healthy recipes). Many recipes use items not commonly found in the pantry, most likely having to buy more than needed at a health food store. Uses the ingredient "hard white whole wheat flour" in many recipes but fails to give a description of that ingredient except in an excerpt from another recipe I happened to peruse which states it is AKA bread flour. Why not simply state "bread flour"? Will adapt many recipes to use Splenda and less white flour. Overall a good book but wish there were pictures of the finished product and the nutritional information.

BOB'S RED MILL BAKING BOOK.......2007-06-10

This was a much sought after and anticipated book for me. Not everyone has the knowledge to pass on about baking with such a variety of whole grains as BOB'S RED MILL. He has been ahead of his time for many years offering foods that are good, and good for you. I look forward to using this book both proffesionaly and at home for my family.

Great Concept, But Many Recipes Unreliable.......2007-05-28

I use a lot of Bob's Red Mill products and have baked with whole grains for more than 25 years, so I was excited when this book was published. The format is easy to use and appealing, and the directions are clear,although there are no photographs or drawings.

After a description of different kinds of flour and cereals, the book is divided into chapters on whole grain yeast breads, rolls, and sourdough; quick breads, muffins, biscuits, and scones; flatbreads, focaccia, crackers, and pizza; pies, tarts, cobblers and crisps; cookies; and cakes.

There are many ideas for using spelt, teff, quinoa, barley, buckwheat, and other less common flours, and there are quite a few gluten-free recipes, including cakes, gingerbread. and even sugar cookies. There are recipes for seven kinds of pizza dough, from yeast-free to cornmeal, and an unusual recipe for a strawberry pie that calls for baking the strawberries in a double crust. There are also many kinds of piecrust to try, ranging from sorghum and almond oat to whole wheat and barley.

The first recipe I tried was Bob's High Fiber Bread, which turned out dense and dry. I made Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread, which was dull, dry, and heavy (I threw it out),and Gluten-free Rice Bread, a two-day project that didn't rise properly and had to be thrown out, also. Maple Pecan Muffins were very dry as were Whole Grain Bread Rings.

Here are some winners: the whole wheat pizza dough was very good, as was the Italian sausage and fontina calzone. Oatmeal pancakes were excellent, and the oatmeal muffins and orange spelt muffins were good.

It seems that often the proportions are wrong. Bob's Energy Boosters contained too much butter and didn't hold together. Five-Grain Daybreak Cookies taste great, but the recipe called for way too much butter and should have used baking powder instead of soda to prevent spreading. It made 48 very large, floppy, sticky cookies instead of the predicted 24.

I'm not ready to give up on this book, because the recipes sound so good, and every once in a while, I hit a winner. But not often enough. When I want to be sure of a success, I turn to King Arthur's Whole Grain Cookbook, The Baker's Apprentice, or Berenbaum's Bread Bible. Hodgson Mills just published a whole grains cookbook--it will be interesting to compare their book to Bob's Red Mill Baking Book.

Average customer rating:

a delicious lesson
Frances Books
Kids love it.
Mother and Father Badger handle another Frances crisis
Very cute book

Bread and Jam for Frances
Russell Hoban
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Humorous | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0064430960

Book Description

Frances, one of children's best-loved characters for over 30 years, now springs to life even more in Bread and Jam for Frances,beautifully reillustrated in sparkling full color by Lillian Hoban. In this memorable story, Frances decides that bread and jam are all she wants to eat, and her understanding parents grant her wish'at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even snacktime. Can there ever be too much bread and jam?

Customer Reviews:

a delicious lesson.......2007-09-20

I love this book! The drawings are charming and the text is just as wonderful. Parents can give in to their picky eaters or be too heavy-handed in dealing with them. Frances's parents wisely choose to allow Frances to only eat bread and jam for several days, until she realizes that she is missing out on many other foods. They are gentle but firm with her, and in the end, we are all glad to see her enjoying a variety of foods again. We started making poached eggs on toast for breakfast after reading this book-- yum!

Frances Books.......2007-09-05

Russell Hoban's Frances series is a must read for all small children. The illustrations are delightful and the text shares common problems small children face. My 32 year old son loved these books and now his 3 year old son is enjoying them.

Kids love it........2007-08-24

Mine, that is. I read the Frances books when I was young and was delighted to rediscover them for/with my own children. The illustrations are great, and the little songs Frances invents are priceless. The kids are going around the house now, singing to their food.

Unlike some of the other reviewers, I'm not shocked or horrified that only Mother is seen cooking and Father has a job. Maybe Mother is a better cook; I'm sure she's a better mom. My kids are homeschooled, but I'm not even offended that Frances goes off to a traditional school on a school bus. Can't we all just get over ourselves already?

Mother and Father Badger handle another Frances crisis.......2006-07-18

The irrepressible badger Frances, now an older sister to baby Gloria, decides that she likes the predictability of her favorite meal, bread and jam, and refuses to eat anything else. In a gentle way, Mother Badger shows Frances just how boring life is when you always eat the same thing. For fans of Frances, it is as much of a treat as the other books. For example, Frances's thoughts on the drawbacks of eggs is laugh-out-loud funny. However, do be forewarned that the gender roles in this book are even more traditional than usual with Mother Badger whipping up every meal and Father Badger praising her for it. It actually doesn't bother me because at least the father is appreciative, but I thought readers should know what to expect.

Very cute book.......2006-04-06

My 4 year old daughter loves this book. She loves reading about all of the foods Frances' family and friend Albert try.

Average customer rating:

Substance and Beauty, Too
A meticulously researched historical novel
Moving story of a mine strike's politics and dangers.
Beware that movement that generates its own songs.

Bread and Roses, Too
Katherine Paterson
Manufacturer: Clarion Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0618654798

Book Description

Rosa's mother is singing again, for the first time since Papa died in an accident in the mills. But instead of filling their cramped tenement apartment with Italian lullabies, Mamma is out on the streets singing union songs, and Rosa is terrified that her mother and older sister, Anna, are endangering their lives by marching against the corrupt mill owners. After all, didn't Miss Finch tell the class that the strikers are nothing but rabble-rousers;an uneducated, violent mob? Suppose Mamma and Anna are jailed or, worse, killed? What will happen to Rosa and little Ricci? When Rosa is sent to Vermont with other children to live with strangers until the strike is over, she fears she will never see her family again. Then, on the train, a boy begs her to pretend that he is her brother. Alone and far from home, she agrees to protect him . . . even though she suspects that he is hiding some terrible secret. From a beloved, award-winning author, here is a moving story based on real events surrounding an infamous 1912 strike.

Customer Reviews:

Substance and Beauty, Too.......2007-03-23

This lovely story tells about two children caught up in the infamous Lawrence, MA, mill strike of 1912. Rosa Serutti is caught between the anti-union pronouncements of her teacher and the harsh reality of tenement life for her immigrant family. Jake Beale runs from his alcoholic father and finds friends among the Italian mill-workers. As the story progresses, Rosa and Jake are taken in by Mr. and Mrs. Gerbati in Barre, Vermont. Here they receive clothing and food and love from Mrs. Gerbati, but both Jake and Mr. Gerbati are troubled by something from the past. Through the beauty of roses blooming from granite, Jake finds a new life and Mr. Gerbati breaks out of his shell. The strike ends and Rosa returns to her Italian mamma, the woman who deserved not only bread for her family, but roses too.

This is historical fiction of the highest calibre, with authentic details, well-developed characters, and a touching ending. It is a story of substance and beauty, too.

A meticulously researched historical novel.......2007-02-09

Bread and Roses, Too is told from the alternating perspectives of two very different children. Jake Beale has faked his papers to work at the local mill, is largely illiterate, and spends most of his time running away from his abusive, drunken father. He respects no one, and sleeps literally in garbage heaps. Rosa Serutti is the daughter of Italian immigrants, and attends school, though her mother and older sister work in the mills. She's studious, prissy, and quiet, and worries a lot.

Though they have different backgrounds and experiences, both children find their lives turned upside down when the Lawrence mill-workers go on strike. To tell the truth, neither reacts well. Jake steals, lies, and fails to appreciate people's kindness to him. Rosa lectures her mother about the perils of striking, and slinks along on the fringes of the marches and demonstrations that arise, even as she is sometimes inspired by them. I didn't much like either child, early in the story. But things do get better. Eventually, Jake and Rosa's lives intertwine. Rosa is sent away to live in safety with a family in Vermont, and Jake escapes along with her, towing a dark secret.

All of the major events in the book are based on meticulously researched historical events (as detailed in a historical note at the end of the book). The Lawrence strikes are depicted as they happened, in terms of local and state responses, the presence of union organizers, and the humanitarian "vacations" provided for many of the mill-workers children. Barre, Vermont really did host several children from Lawrence during the strikes. A photo of the children inspired the author to look further into the story.

The historical detail does slow the book down a bit, especially in the early part, when Jake and Rosa are still in Lawrence. Because of this, I had a bit of trouble getting into this book. However, it won me over by the end, and had me in tears (in a good way). The two strongest aspects of the book, I think, are the depth of the immersion into the world of the immigrant mill-workers, and the complexity of the characterization.

Regarding the immersion, this is a book that will make readers feel lucky to have food, and warmth, and clean water, and not to have to worry about basic survival. Here's an example, when one of the Italian strikers buys lunch for Jake, giving him a platter of spaghetti:

"It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. The tomato sauce even sported a few bits of greasy sausage. Jake forgot the crowd around him, forgot the strike, forgot the menace that waited for him in the shack, and fell to, his nose almost in the steaming plate. He hadn't had a full platter of food to himself in his entire thirteen years of life."

None of the characters in this book are one-dimensional, with the exception of Jake's dad, who is largely off-screen. Rosa's teacher is not very nice to the children in her class, and she tries to coerce them to convince their parents not to strike. And yet... she travels though the violence-prone streets to ask why Rosa isn't coming to school anymore, and she ends up providing lunch every day for the kids who remain in her class. The man in Barre that Rosa and Jake are sent to stay with, Mr. Gerbati, starts out silent and grouchy, and especially resentful of Jake. But when Jake actually gives him reason to be disapproving, Mr. Gerbati displays unexpected kindness "like his flowers blooming from the cold gray granite." Rosa's mamma is uncouth and uneducated, and somewhat careless of her children, but she has a voice like an angel, and she wants better for her Rosa than she ever had. Isn't that the immigrant dream?

I think that the book is accurate in capturing Rosa's struggles as the "smart one" in an immigrant family. She wants to fit in with her family, but even though she's still a child, her education is taking her beyond them. She's the only one who reads and writes fluently in English. At one point she thinks:

"She would be an American, an educated, civilized, respected American, not a despised child of an immigrant race. When she grew up she'd change her name and marry a real American and have real American children. She wouldn't go out to work in a mill and leave them in the care of someone's old granny who couldn't even speak English. She'd stay home and cook American food and read them American books and ... But even as she thought these determined thoughts, somewhere in the back of her mind she could smell rigatoni smothered in tomato sauce with bits of sausage in it and could hear her mamma's beautiful voice singing Un Bel Di."

I think that there are plenty of immigrant kids today facing the same sort of conflict between the promise of being American and the pull of their own culture.

This is a book that I'll remember for a long time. There is so much unflinching detail: Jake sleeping in the garbage; the welts on Jake's back; the wide-eyed awe of the children when they visit the Gerbati's house for the first time; and the feeling that Rosa has of being part of something larger than herself, during the demonstrations. I think this is one of those books that gets better in your memory, the longer it stays with you. I hope that kids will be able to get past the "good for you" feeling of the early historical parts, because the story has a lot to offer.

This book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on February 8, 2007.

Moving story of a mine strike's politics and dangers........2006-12-10

Rosa's mother seems happy again after recording from the mining death of Rosa's father - but she's out in the streets singing union songs, and Rosa's frightened of the corrupt mill owners. When she's sent away to live with strangers in Vermont until the strike is over, she worries she'll never see her family again. Her adoption of a younger boy will help protect them both in this moving story of a mine strike's politics and dangers.

Beware that movement that generates its own songs........2006-09-25

Doggone it, Katherine Paterson, stop making me cry! Under normal circumstances the number of books that make me tear up is a slim number that could be counted on one hand. And most of those books, if I was going to be honest with you, were probably written by Katherine Paterson. Ms. Paterson is a bit of a wonder. Year after year, decade after decade, she churns out consistently well-written meaningful pieces of children's fiction. The last book of Ms. Paterson's that I read was her rather remarkable, "The Same Stuff As Stars". Now, however, she's decided to traipse back into the world of historical fiction, alongside all the other authors this year, and produce a bit of fascinating history that can show a situation clear distinctions between good and bad, and yet leave enough room for people with nebulous motives. If complex narratives is the name of the game, consider Paterson a player.

On the one hand there's Jake. On the other hand there's Rosa. Both children live in Lawrence, Massachusetts in less than stellar conditions. For Jake, life is especially rough. His father's a drunkard who steals his son's money all the time and beats him senseless. And though Jake can usually make a little money in the local mills, it's rarely enough to keep him fed and warm. Rosa, in contrast, is relatively lucky. She lives with her mama, elder sister, and little baby brother in one of the city's many tenements. But life at the mill has been getting worse and worse and when it looks as if the mill owners are going to cut the workers' pay yet again, that's the straw that breaks the camel's back. Now Rosa's mother is joining in with the 1912 strike alongside workers from a variety of different backgrounds. And that might not be so bad except that Rosa is firmly convinced that her mama is putting their entire way of life in jeopardy. Her worst fears are confirmed too when her mother puts her on a train to Barre, Vermont to wait out the strike with a kind family there. On the train Jake meets up with Rosa and though they are only barely acquainted, he convinces her to say that he's her brother so that he can get out of town fast. As it happens, Jake has a secret he's trying to escape while Rosa has a life she's trying to remember.

Though it's clear from the get go that the mill owners are bad and the mill workers are good, Paterson works tirelessly to muddle the issue through Rosa's eyes. As far the girl is concerned, joining in the strike is dangerous and common. And Jake's no better a person with his constant schemes on how to get ahead and lie his way out of most situations. When he finds himself with the striking workers the book reads that, "This was the excitement of being a thief in the middle of hundreds of thieves, all set to steal away the world of Billy Wood", who is the mill's owner. In fact, you could probably say that there are few main characters out there half as self-centered as Rosa and Jake. For a long time all they think about is themselves. It takes a long time for them to get on that train headed for Vermont (150 pages or so), though once they do they're taken far enough away from what they're used to to think about something other than me me me. Rosa's schoolteacher Miss Finch is another complicated character. Unlike the mill schoolteacher in "Counting On Grace", Miss Finch is completely on the side of the owners. She doesn't want Rosa to be taken out of school, but she also encourages the children vehemently to keep their parents from striking. Rosa is, of course, completely on her teacher's side, and it's interesting to watch as Paterson pulls the child reader's strings back and forth and back again. She never tells her audience what to think and she doesn't have to. This book is an excellent example of "show, don't tell".

For those amongst us who don't know their American history as they should, I think I might not be the only one who thought that the title, "Bread and Roses, Too", meant that this story was a sequel. I know, I know. I'm a Neanderthal. I accept that. Really, it wasn't until the story showed how Rosa participated in naming the Bread and Roses Strike personally that I knew where the title even came from. Ms. Paterson, who is always good with clarification, mentions in the book's Historical Note at the end that no one really knows who came up with that phrase. She just took the liberty of assigning the job to Rosa, and it works like a dream.

Part of the privilege that comes with being a writer is that if you would like to set a book partly in your own hometown, you have that right. Ms. Paterson sets part of this book in Barre, Vermont where she herself lives. The people of Barre have long been known for the role they played in hosting the children of the Lawrence strikers. Ms. Paterson used all kinds of Barre historians to aid her in the writing of this book, and the result is a story that certainly gives the city its due. The writing for its own part is, of course, pitch perfect at all times. And while the book's first sentence is nothing to crow about, its last one is amazing. You won't understand much of what it means without having read the book, but I'll write it here just so you can get a taste of what Paterson's about. "How strange, how wonderful it semed to be running, not away from petty crime or deadly fear, but toward a new life where bread was never wanting and roses grew in stone."

It's interesting to note that Paterson doesn't go into the details of what working in a mill would entail in this book. We see the result of horrid working conditions rather than the cause. Technically she already showed the cause in her book "Lyddie". And if you happen to be desperate to read about what it was like for mill children, definitely seek out Elizabeth Winthrop's remarkable, "Counting On Grace". If children reading this book can get past Rosa's self-centeredness (she doesn't ever seem to get behind the strike until it seems as if she's named it herself) and they don't get bogged down in the story's first half, they'll be rewarded with a remarkable addition to the Paterson oeuvre. Reading "Bread and Roses, Too", makes you feel, when you are done, as if you've become a better person for the reading. A lovely little novel.

The Book of Yields: Accuracy in Food Costing and Purchasing

Average customer rating:

The Book of Yields: Accuracy in Food Costing and Purchasing
Francis T. Lynch
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Plastic Comb

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Accessories:

Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

ASIN: 047145785X

Book Description

This hands-on reference provides a substantial collection of accurate food measurements for more than 900 raw food ingredients. Complete with helpful information relating to food preparation, purchasing decisions, and controlling costs, the book is organized by food type and measurements reflect the way specific foods are typically measured in recipes.

Mom's Big Book of Baking: 200 Simple, Foolproof Recipes for Delicious Family Treats to Get You Through Every Birthday Party, Class Picnic, Potluck, Bake Sale, Holiday, and No-School Day

Average customer rating:

I have been looking for a cookbook just like this one....
Easy Delicious baking
YUMMY!
Great Book!
I'm a mom and I like this book!

Mom's Big Book of Baking: 200 Simple, Foolproof Recipes for Delicious Family Treats to Get You Through Every Birthday Party, Class Picnic, Potluck, Bake Sale, Holiday, and No-School Day
Lauren Chattman
Manufacturer: Harvard Common Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1558321942

Amazon.com

Lauren Chattman is both a pastry chef and a mom, so she's in the perfect position to offer Mom's Big Book of Baking, a cookbook filled with recipes the whole family will love. This collection of 200 recipes for simple, home-style baked goods lets already busy moms bake for bake sales, slumber parties, the family cookie jar, and other special occasions, without spending what little spare time they might have tied up in the kitchen. Tips called "Kids Can Help" describe different ways to involve children in the kitchen, and there are also plenty of funny sidebars, entitled A Good Excuse to Make..., that will give you a chuckle whether or not they convince you to try the recipe. Chattman includes favorites like Caramel Swirl Brownies, Rolled Sugar Cookies, Lattice-Top Apple Pie, and Chocolate Milk Pancakes. You'll be well prepared for birthdays with recipes such as Strawberry Cupcakes with Vanilla Whipped Cream and Strawberry Roses, a "magical" Marble Pound Cake, and Chocolate Birthday Cake Frosting. --Leora Y. Bloom

Book Description

If your mother made the world's best apple pie, you probably know that baked goods made for and with children are the stuff of family memories. But before creating warm and fuzzy memories, you need recipes that allow you to bake without fear and don't keep you chained to the kitchen for hours. Find those recipes in Mom's Big Book of Baking, which has more than 200 recipes tailor-made for today's extremely busy mom. The recipes are all tested in a real mom's kitchen (Lauren Chattman's) and tasted by real kids (her own). Chattman has created streamlined recipes that produce the highest quality baked goods with the least amount of fuss, striking a balance between familiar favorites and new twists. Try Caramel Swirl Brownies on a rainy afternoon, Strawberry Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream at the next school bake sale, Thin and Crispy Pizza for a slumber party, and Chocolate Milk Pancakes at breakfast the next morning. Chattman provides you with advice on when and how to let kids participate. There are loads of tips on vital topics including how to mass produce cupcakes, how to make the most Christmas cookies in the least amount of time, and how to make a birthday cake your child will remember forever without losing your own mind.

Customer Reviews:

I have been looking for a cookbook just like this one...........2007-09-01

for years! I always have the ingredients in the house, and the recipes taste wonderful. With Cheap Fast Good and Mom's Big Book of Baking, I can get rid of the rest of my cookbooks!

Easy Delicious baking.......2007-08-31

I checked out this book from the library and was inspired to buy it, I had to have my own copy! My favorite recipe is the blueberry muffins with the crumb topping, so easy to whip up. My 14 yr. old daughter loves to use the book often and surprises us with delicious treats. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to bake, specially with such easy, delicious recipes.

YUMMY!.......2007-07-13

I have made about 10 of the recipes out of this book and we have loved all of them. I am looking forward to baking my way through it. The microwave brownies are so simple and our families quick chocolate fix.

Great Book!.......2007-05-21

As the mother of 2 little girls, I am finding a huge need for baked goods for all kinds of functions. So far everything I've made has been awesome - and simple. If you have children, this a great book to add to the collection!

I'm a mom and I like this book!.......2007-04-08

Like the author, I am a mother of 2 small kids and a professional chef. I work, I can cook fancy dishes with the best of them, but for birthday parties, playdates and bake sales. I have to put on a different hat and make simple, delicious things kids love - this is the book I use for that purpose. I've made a number of the recipes - the brownies and their variations are particular favorite. After I discovered the Microwave Brownie recipe, I think I gained 5 pounds, because I can now make brownies in 10 minutes from start to finish and I usually have all the ingredients in the house!

The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book: A Guide to Whole-Grain Breadmaking

Average customer rating:

The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book: A Guide to Whole-Grain Breadmaking
It is worth every cent!
A classic
Baking Bread
The staying power of "Laurel"

The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book: A Guide to Whole-Grain Breadmaking
Laurel Robertson , Carol Flinders , and Bronwen Godfrey
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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

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ASIN: 0812969677
Release Date: 2003-09-09

Book Description

The Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book is the classic bestselling cookbook devoted to baking light, healthful, delicious bread entirely from whole grains. This specially updated edition includes an entirely new chapter on making excellent whole-grain loaves in a bread machine. Now even the busiest among us can bake the delectable loaves for which Laurel’s Kitchen is famous.

New research proves what we’ve known all along: Eating whole grains really is better for your health! Here, the switch from “white” is made fun and easy.

Like a good friend, the “Loaf for Learning” tutorial guides you step-by-step through the baking process. You’ll make perfect loaves every time, right from the start.

Here you’ll find recipes for everything—from chewy Flemish Desem Bread and mouthwatering Hot Cross Buns to tender Buttermilk Rolls, foolproof Pita Pockets, tangy Cheese Muffins, and luscious Banana Bread—all with clear explanations and helpful woodcut illustrations.

The brand-new chapter on bread machines teaches you to make light “electric” loaves from whole-grain flour. No matter what your schedule, you can come home to the wonderful smell of baking bread, fresh, hot, and ready to enjoy.

Customer Reviews:

The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book: A Guide to Whole-Grain Breadmaking.......2007-08-31

I love to make bread and I wanted a good recipe book with whole grain recipes in it. I have her cookbook and like it so I decided to give this one a shot. This is a good book for the beginner as the author walks you through every step of the bread making process. There are recipes for yeast breads and quick breads with plenty of good tips and advice. It's my favorite bread making book and I wouldn't be without a copy.

It is worth every cent!.......2007-06-28

This is an amazing book for home bread bakers, I especially like her insistence on whole grain for even recipes such as banana bread. A lot of whole grain bread recipes I had seen before in reality use part whole flour-part white flour, this book doesn't believe in half ways and I love it. The whole wheat bread has a wonderful texture and my 18 month old toddler loves the brown stollen. As a vegetarian, I also find her minimal use of eggs very welcome. Every time I have tried a recipe it has been fabulous. I kept renewing it at the public library before deciding that I absolutely needed it for my recipe book collection. In fact, I bought two, for myself and as a gift for a close friend. I do not own a bread machine and find the oven very friendly to bread baking, (I also like to really work a dough!) but I am sure that people will appreciate the added section on bread machines. Overall, go for it!

Nirmala

A classic.......2007-05-12

If you are into whole grain bread baking this is the book you need to get. Seminal when it was written, this book remains as relevant today as when it first came out. A must have!

Baking Bread.......2007-02-07

I like this book as it presents me with other peoples adventures in the making of home baked bread.
Bread making and baking has fascinated me for many moons and in my latter life I have mastered the art of making sour dough and using it instead of commercial yeasts. Failures I've had but not with my sour doughs so far.
This book will show me the results and efforts (and new recipes) of the author's love in the making and baking of different kinds of bread.
I collect and buy selected books on bread and have a small library now.
Besides appealing to me generally, this bread book was also on "special" when I bought it.

The staying power of "Laurel".......2007-01-16

Back in the '70s I immersed myself in the 'back to the land' experience in Maine...which included Laurel's Kitchen cookbook (I could only afford one cookbook when I settled there, and this was my choice). My (now) 29 y.o. son and his 24 y.o. sister were raised with the help of these recipes. OH: I also was a cook in a local restaurant--lots of people experienced 'Laurel'!

Just this fall, we celebrated the life of my father-in-law who died at the age of 96. I gave him a copy of Laurel's Kitchen 20 years ago; at this memorial we all enjoyed the pea soup recipe that became his signature!

Anyhow: I am SO enjoying the Bread Book. I don't bake or cook for the numbers I did in the past. However, everyone who shares the fruits (and breads) of my labor always compliment me. FOr good reason...

Paris Boulangerie-Patisserie: Recipes from Thirteen Outstanding French Bakeries

Average customer rating:

Too difficult to read
French Baking
It is a helpful book....
The pastries of Paris.
Great Vicarious Tour of Paris Baking. Less value for recipes

Paris Boulangerie-Patisserie: Recipes from Thirteen Outstanding French Bakeries
Linda Dannenberg
Manufacturer: Gramercy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Paris Sweets: Great Desserts From the City's Best Pastry Shops
Gourmet Shops of Paris: An Epicurean Tour
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Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague
Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme

ASIN: 0517224909
Release Date: 2005-03-01

Book Description

    The compelling aroma of fresh, buttery croissants, the delicacy of Savarin au Chantilly, the bliss of the chocolate-mousse Le Pleyel, these are just a few of the specialties that make Parisian boulangeries and pâtisseries the best in the world. Now, in the sequel to her acclaimed Paris Bistro Cooking, Linda Dannenberg presents the gourmet breads and pastries from thirteen of Paris's unsurpassed bakeries and pastry shops.
     PARIS BOULANGERIE-PÂTISSERIE offers more than 70 tempting recipes, including Bombes Amandés (Lemon-Almond Cakes) and Mousse au Caramel et aux Poires (Caramel-Pear Mousse Cake) from Paris's oldest pâtisserie, Stohrer; the signature Délice cake (Chodolate-Cream-and-Chocolate-Macaroon Cake) and lace Florentins from the world-renowned chocolatier Maison du Chocolat; and Pain de Campagne (Hearty Country Loaf) and the classic Gougerés (Giant Gruyére Cheese Puffs) from the archetypal neighborhood bakery Haupois. Linda Dannenberg gathered these one-of-a-kind recipes from the great bakers themselves, and presents them in clear, easy-to-understand recipes specially designed for the American home kitchen.
     More than 150 spectacular photographs and evocative descriptions of the bakeries and the people behind them bring the essence of Paris to your kitchen. PARIS BOULANGERIE-PÂTISSERIE is rounded out with a comprehensive guide to authentic French utensils (although most recipes can be prepared using equipment found in ordinary kitchens), and a directory that includes sources for everything from crystallized violets to baking stones.
     PARIS BOULANGERIE-PÂTISSERIE is the quintessential cookbook featuring the peerless baked goods from the most romantic city in the world.

Customer Reviews:

Too difficult to read.......2007-09-07

This might be an okay cookbook but the font is so hard to read that I don't find it worth the time when there are other cookbooks out there that are not hard to read. I hope this printer of this book reads this.

French Baking.......2007-02-01

Beautiful book, enticing photos and the recipes, when they work, are excellent. This is not a book for beginning bakers, though. It requires some experience with home baking and patience because some of the quantities given are not exact and need a bit of adjusting and the essembly procedures need improvisation as well. Because many of the recipes are so involved, it takes some dexterity to reach the desired look and taste of the pastries. But when it works it is superb. I enjoyed the challenges, but buyers should beware.

It is a helpful book...........2005-12-04

Do all recipes in this book work? Yes and No. I bought this book 8 years ago, every since then I tried each of the recipes to the dot. Few worked, most didn't come out close like in the pictures. The pictures are certainly pretty. BUT, the contact info regarding the locations of the pattiseries are very helpful. I didn't waste any seconds trying all the boulangeries/pattisseries while I was in Paris. And some newcomers are popping up near the address mentioned in the book. So if you fail make breads or pastries from this book, use this book as one of your 'travel guide' books when you go to France.

The pastries of Paris........2005-09-10

Linda Dannenberg's Paris Boulangerie Patisserie is not only a book for French pastry lovers, but it is also a perfect coffee table book that your guests will love to glance at. This book is full of visually stunning pictures and mouthwatering recipes of traditional French pastries. Going through the book brought memories of the time I spent in Paris. I actually met Jean-Luc Poujauran who is mentioned in the book and got to taste many marvels of his creation (page 111).

Great Vicarious Tour of Paris Baking. Less value for recipes.......2005-04-01

`Paris Boulangerie Patisserie' by culinary journalist, Linda Dannenberg, subtitled `Recipe's from Thirteen Outstanding French Bakeries' has the look about it of being a book on the fast track to the budget book piles. This impression is reinforced by the fact that it is published by Gramercy Books, a division of Random House Value Publishing. This gives some explanation of some printing and editing gaffs such as the fact that the very first page of text is Page 9. Counting backwards, page 1 is the frontispiece. This is very, very odd by American publishing standards. Another odd symptom is that there is a reference to sources on page 00. Needless to say, the sources do not appear on the front cover. They start in the middle of page 155. One last observation I sense is that the recipes are printed in the very awkward three (3) columns per page. This means that it is very common to find lists of ingredients split across two or more columns. Adding to this test of our eyesight is the fact that many line items on the ingredient list are split into two lines. Topping of this museum of typographical errors is the fact that the steps in the procedures are not numbered. Everything is stated in a narrative style as if being recited in a Tony Bourdain novel.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, let me say that this book does have a lot to offer. While there are several books such as Dorrie Greenspan's `Paris Sweets' and `The Art of the Tart' and `Tarts With Tops On' by noted English culinary writer, Tamasin Day-Lewis which get the culinary content better, these books give you nothing of the travelogue or museum tour or sources catalog aspects of this attractive book. The art and history and photographs all contribute to a strong urge to find my passport and book passage on the QM2 to Paris. As someone who has been to Paris without the benefit of reading a book like this, I strongly suggest that you check out this volume before boarding your Air France Aerobus.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book is its explanation of the distinction between patissiers (pastry makers) and boulangers (bread bakers). The story is a cross between tales of inter-union differences on a Broadway stage job and the sneers heard between Optometrists and Ophthalmologists on professional qualifications. The bright side of this history is the fact that these two disciplines have largely been merged into dual function shops which happen to specialize a bit more on bread or a bit more on pastry. But, at least this book explains the two different counters of bread and pastry at my local Wegmans megamart that, I might add, makes some of the very best artisinal bread found in the Lehigh Valley. But back to the book.

Since my primary interest is in culinary content and, in all modesty, I suspect that is what my two review fans look for in my reviews, I have to say that the best culinary content in this book is in the appendix of sources. It tells me, for example that there is a mill producing artisinal flours just a stones throw down the Pennsylvania Turnpike from me in Great Valley. The value of the recipes is diminished by the organization, spread out across articles on the thirteen shops covered by the book.

I must say, at long last, that the recipes are of good quality. The level of detail is just enough to prevent a total amateur from committing a major gaff; however, it is not on the level of a first rate manual on pastry making. So, even though recipes recommend not overworking pastry dough, chilling it for 30 minutes before rolling, and rolling out carefully on a floured surface, this task can fail without a fair amount of practice. The long and the short of this point is that these are advanced recipes whose primary objective is to show off the products of these Paris shops, not to teach pastry making. My conclusion to all this is that if you are an experienced pastry maker, this book will give you lots of ideas. If you are a complete novice, read the interesting stories and start with something just a bit simpler. It is important to note that the author is reporting these recipes. There is little guarantee that the author checked the procedures by baking them herself. In contrast, Dorrie Greenspan can be trusted to have rolled out all her pastries herself as she puts electronic pen to paper. So, there are no guarantees that these recipes work as written and some expertise may be needed to fill in the blanks.

Note that while the picture on the cover is dominated by bread and the first of the two specialties in the title is bread baking, most of the recipes in the book are for pastries. A crude estimate would put it at 25% bread and 75% pastry. And, there is virtually nothing about artisinal bread baking techniques except for a reference to `sur poolish' described as a `turn of the century method of preparing dough using a starter...'. There is little mention of interest in or detail about this method for producing artisinal bread. If your love is bread, check out Peter Reinhart's `The Bread Baker's Apprentice'. If your love is Paris, buy this book before your next trip!

Bread And Wine: Readings For Lent And Easter

Average customer rating:

Loved it!!
A unique spiritual experience.
TERRIFIC!!!
A Wonderful Collection
small, beautiful, inspirational

Bread And Wine: Readings For Lent And Easter

Manufacturer: Orbis Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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Religion & Spirituality | Blowout Books | Stores | Books
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Watch For The Light: Readings For Advent And Christmas
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Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith
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ASIN: 1570755728

Book Description

From the world's best-loved spiritual writers, here is an unparalleled gathering of reflections for Lent.

A time of self-denial, soul searching, and spiritual preparation, Lent is a fitting season for daily reading and reflection. Grouped around such themes as temptation, crucifixion, resurrection, and new life, Bread and Wine can be dipped into at leisure or used as a guide to daily devotions--and returned to at any time year for spiritual revitalization.

Selections include writings by C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Philip Yancey, Madeline L'Engle, Henri Nouwen, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, John Donne, Thomas Merton, St. Augustine, Mother Teresa, John Updike, Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and many others.

Customer Reviews:

Loved it!!.......2007-03-20

See my review on the other book in the series, "watch for the light: readings for advent and christmas."

A unique spiritual experience........2007-03-13

These 72 brief essays are loaded with inspiring and challenging spiritual insight. The authors are incredibly diverse--Leo Tolstoy, Thomas a Kempis, Meister Eckhart, Martin Luther, Mother Teresa, and John Updike, to name a few. Not every contributor is a household name, but every reflection is moving and powerful...

"Christianity is the only religion on earth that has felt that omnipotence made God incomplete." G.K. Chesterton

"If the ultimate, the hardest, cannot be asked of me; if my fellows hesitate to ask it and turn to someone else, then I know nothing of Calvary love." Amy Carmichael

"The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man." John Scott

"A follower is or strives to be what he admires. An admirer, however, keeps himself personally detached." Soren Kierkegaard

Those thoughts alone might supply forty days-worth of spiritual reflection! For preparation and renewal, this book is can be opened again and again.

TERRIFIC!!!.......2006-06-13

I purchased this book as it looked interesting per the Bas Bleu book review. I read it even outside the Lent season; I feel that reading a short essay or two each day keeps me grounded and remembering to pray, and to be thankful every day. I am not a big church goer, and I found this book to be very engrossing. The variety of writers and topics holds the reader's attention; I think anyone who believes in a higher power will find this book very enjoyable.

A Wonderful Collection.......2003-06-09

"For Breadth of scope and depth of insight nothing rivals this collection", says on the dust jacket. I heartily agree! This collection of readings is the best supplement to Lenten and Easter devotional reading that I have ever used. I've never seen such a selection of great authors' writings between the covers of one book. Each of the 72 selections are about 4 or 5 pages long. They are grouped into 6 sections that form a progression from the Invitation prepare for Easter by seriously examining oneself and following through on the themes of Temptation, Passion, Crucifixion, Resurrection and New Life. There are quite a variety of perspectives represented in these writings. Every one of them will reward the thoughtful reader in different ways. There isn't a dull one in the bunch. These aren't shallow "inspirational" writings. They will challenge and encourage, and sustain serious reflection. It's hard to pick a favorite, but I'd say that Malcolm Muggeridge's "Impending Resurrection" was the high point. I highly recommend this book.

small, beautiful, inspirational.......2003-03-27

This is a small, easily-carried book organized into the topics of Invitation, Temptation, Passion, Crucifixion, Resurrection and New Life. The 72 essays are from an eclectic mix of authors: Oscar Wilde, Thomas Merton, John Donne, Kahlil Gibran, Blaise Pascal, Martin Luther, G.K.Chesterton, Mother Teresa, Dylan Thomas, John Updike, Dorothy Sayers, Madeleine L'Engle, Leo Tolstoy and many others. Selections are typically five to six pages long, and printed in a large clean font on heavy paper. There are a few poems, but primarily prose is used to inspire and to comfort.

A wonderful little book.

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