Average customer rating:
- A true artist.
- Through the Looking Glass
- Light and Fun
- Review of R. Mesnier's book on serving for 25 years as the White House pastry chef
- self-serving
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All the Presidents' Pastries: Twenty-Five Years in the White House, A Memoir
Roland Mesnier , and
Christian Malard
Manufacturer: Flammarion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Memoirs
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Desserts
| Baking
| Cooking, Food & Wine
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General
| Baking
| Cooking, Food & Wine
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General
| Gastronomy
| Cooking, Food & Wine
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General
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Similar Items:
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White House Chef: Eleven Years, Two Presidents, One Kitchen
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Dessert University: More Than 300 Spectacular Recipes and Essential Lessons from White House Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier
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Talking with My Mouth Full: Crab Cakes, Bundt Cakes, and Other Kitchen Stories
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Eating Royally: Recipes and Remembrances from a Palace Kitchen
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Real Life at the White House: 200 Years of Daily Life at America's Most Famous Residence
ASIN: 208030559X
Release Date: 2007-02-13 |
Book Description
This extraordinary success-story-told by the hero himself-of a young French pastry chef who climbed his way to the top, embodies the great American dream. After working at the Savoy in London, the George V in Paris, the Princess in Bermuda, and the Homestead in Virginia, Roland Mesnier took on the job of a lifetime as pastry chef to the White House. He provides behind-the-scenes insight into the characters, tastes, and obsessions of the five presidents and first ladies he served during his 25 years in Washington. Having witnessed major world events from the hub of the world's superpower, Mesnier has unique perspective on both crises and celebrations. He recounts stories such as Carter's incessant battle for the return of American hostages in Tehran, the aftermath of the attempt to assassinate Reagan, Bush senior's doubts after the war in Kuwait, and the shock of September 11. He uncovers intimate details such as Mrs. Reagan's bad moods and Prince Charles's embarrassment at not knowing how to use a tea bag. Fiercely loyal to each of the first families, Mesnier's bipartisan message is positive and inspirational. Twelve easy-to-follow recipes include the favorite desserts of presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.
Customer Reviews:
A true artist........2007-09-02
When I checked this book out from the library, my intention was only to check out the recipes in the back. But I started reading Roland Mesnier's life story, and found myself totally engrossed in it. What an inspirational life story this is.... Mr. Mesnier grew up poor in France, and through talent, determination, and a lot of hard work, he became probably one of the best pastry chefs on the planet.
Several things stood out for me in this book. The first was how interesting his early life was.. how he grew up with basically nothing, became an apprentice, perfected his craft, and continually pushed himself to become better and better--even during his later days at the White House. He never once rested on his laurels, although he easily could have.
The second thing that stood out for me was how he regarded each of the "first families" he worked for. He clearly grew very attached to whoever he worked for, and through his eyes I was able to see the various Presidents and First Ladies as the normal human beings they are. That's an interesting perspective you don't usually see.
Thirdly, I could barely keep my mouth from watering while reading about all the amazing desserts that were prepared over Mr. Mesnier's 40-something year career! Note: don't read this if you are hungry.
One last note: One of the reviewers mentioned a left-leaning slant to Mr. Mesnier's politics. I simply did not see that. In fact, he seemed particularly attached to the family of Bush Sr. And when the Iraq war was looming, he was in full support of it, so much so that he couldn't believe that his home country of France was against it. There are many other examples, but the point is, Mr. Mesnier was very loyal to whomever he served, whether Democrat or Republican.
Through the Looking Glass.......2007-07-02
In All the Presidents' Pastries, Roland Mesnier provides a glimpse into a hidden world
of White House power through the eyes of its renowned former pastry chef. For those of
us outside the concrete street barriers of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the cocktail
circuits of policy wonks, pundits, and political celebrity, his memoir makes
us feels privy to select secrets of the rich and famous even as he respectfully shrouds
prominent indiscretions and missteps. They were there, and no doubt they would offer
tantalizing fodder for curious gossip mongers. Instead Mesnier's enthusiastic recollections
of his White House adventures read as delectably as President's Reagan's favorite
chocolate mousse tastes rich, but without the bite and heat of the crystallized ginger
melded within the mix. For those seeking to recreate executives' favorites, there is a
small collection of recipes at the end of the book.
Similar to Mesnier's first successful book, Dessert University, one discovers within the pages of All the President's Pastries, a mind that thrives on continual challenge, creates success through extensive thought and preparation, and moves on when an occasional snag clutters his mindscape. In preparation for Tony Blair's White House visit in 1998, Mesnier envisioned London's parliamentary clock, Big Ben, as the dessert's stunning chocolate centerpiece. Unaware that logistics and time would become formidable obstacles to execution of the Big Ben replica, he "decided to take the bull by the horns and invent a new way of molding chocolate." In his characteristic humility, Mesnier shares that he and his staff "pulled off this minor tour de force thanks to a great deal of extremely fast work"; therefore, saving themselves from a metaphorical Go Straight to the Tower of London jail card.
I hope you all will enjoy reading Mesnier's Upstairs/Downstairs disclosure of White House anecdotes to discover the convivial yet complex Roland I know.
Light and Fun.......2007-06-01
I enjoyed reading about the pastries that were prepared in the White House. It was very light hearted reading and I thought that Mesnier's life journey from a small village in France to the White House made for good reading. When I noticed that there were glossy colored pages in the middle of the book, I became very excited. All along he states that the desserts he prepares are photographed. Yet, most of the photographs in the center of the book were of the presidents and their wives. Every glossy page could have been a picture of a delectable delight. What a disappointment.
Review of R. Mesnier's book on serving for 25 years as the White House pastry chef.......2007-05-28
Roland Mesnier's book is on his career as a pastry chef, from his early years working in France, Germany, England and Bermuda and culminating as serving for 25 years as the White House pastry chef was a good read. He is a talented and driven man. I enjoyed the book for its historical context (the presidents and their families and significant events that took place during their presidencies) to detailed descriptions of his fantastic dessert creations.
self-serving.......2007-05-22
After reading the excellent White House Chef, I was looking forward to reading this chef's account of his time in the White House. I found him to be a self-serving braggard and at the end of the day this book was a waste of time. He also made no bones about his political leanings.
Book Description
If you really want to know exactly how to grow a garden from beginning to end, this is the book for you. Jorge chronicled five different growers from beginning to end. He lists everything they use to layout and construct their grow room including all the prices for everything. He also clues you into all the facts and figures and how to achieve the gram of dried sinsemilla per watt of HID light. Get the inside story from five growers. Every last detail on their grow operation (except location) - how they harvest heavy crops of potent marijuana indoors. They tell everything-how to choose a safe house, build a grow room & cloning chamber, install ventilation, hydroponic gardens & grow lights. Sixty full-color photographs, more than 80 black & white drawings, charts, and graphs illustrate the text. An index and an indispensable appendix of formulas and conversions are also included.
Customer Reviews:
excellent.......2007-03-08
I think this book is great for anybody interested in the growth process of marijuana, it is step by step and very easy to follow. For people that smoke weed and never really thought of growing their own, reading this book will deffinately show you that it is an easy way to save money by growin your own weed.
Good book for setting up grow area.......2006-06-27
5 different gardens, from small to large, are profiled here. Many great ideas. Highly recommended.
Small book with some garden designs.......2003-12-22
Five easy gardens is what you are buying here and is exactly what you get to see. This book is suitable for anyone who wants to see how some other growers do it. Cervantes goes to Europe to interview and photograph growers. He then uses the information they give him to write a book about how they grow. Interesting.
Great for the small timer.......2003-04-29
Jorge Cervantes, Mel Frank and Ed Rosenthal to the literate (not quite stoned out of thier head smoker) these names should mean something, these three guys have not only writen books that have recieved international recognition but have grown crops that have won yearly at the Cannibis Cups, all you people who say you read and review High Times, please take a break from your swag stuff and do some reading.This book is full of info for the first timer and those who want to start and stay on a small scale, if you just want to know how to start this will get you there, but if you are going to hang with the big boys get off the porch and start studying.
This book rocks!!.......2002-06-22
This book rocks! It really shows some excellent examples for everyones level of interest. I only wish it would show a Garden using a 250w system.
Book Description
A virtual tour of thirty-five landmark houses, 1947-1966, built in a quiet New England community.
Since the fifties, "the Harvard Five" has been the catchphrase for the five architects featured in this book, who all built houses for themselves and for clients in New Canaan, Connecticut. Other architects, well known (Frank Lloyd Wright, for example) and not so well known, also contributed significant modern houses that elicited strong reactions from nearly everyone who saw them and are still astonishing today. An introductory essay by Jean Ely, "New Canaan Modern" (reprinted by permission of the New Canaan Historical Society), recounts the history of the area and how New Canaan came to be the locus of the modern movement's experimentation in materials, construction methods, space, and form. The book is done as a "house tour" in chronological order, with photographs and floor plans. 50 color, 50 black-and-white illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
New in Canaan.......2007-09-20
William Earls reveals an interesting fact in his introduction: that a small group of brilliant young architects uniquely designed houses for themselves and others in this conservative small town in the post-war years. The book details thirty-seven modern houses though it has to be said that nine were demolished. Each house starts on a spread with photos, floor plan and a brief description.
This should have been an interesting editorial concept but I thought it had all the signs of a quickie production not helped by a rather bland design. The distribution of pages to each house varies quite a lot (most likely depending on what images were available). Philip Johnson's Glass House estate gets sixteen pages, Frank Lloyd Wright's Rayford House gets six pages but Marcel Breuer's demolished Mills house gets a spread with one photo. The book's title refers to the Harvard Five and they have the most houses but twelve architects are actually featured.
Many of these houses are standing and occupied but there is no contemporary reference to them. The author rightly says that private homes are not open to the public but surely it would have been worthwhile to contact the owners and ask them what they thought of the house and were there any technical problems in living in a 'modern' house that is now some decades old. Some owners would probably have agreed to allow a photo of their house so the reader can see its contemporary look.
Because the screen size is only 133dpi so many of the photos are grey and also much of the cropping does not bring out the best in these buildings. I wish more thought had gone into the design. Some photos have nearly unreadable text on them, captions are sometimes white out of a photo while others are placed (correctly) underneath the image.
Certainly this is an interesting idea for a book but I don't think it really comes off.
***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.
Black and white interior and exterior photos abound........2006-10-15
New Canaan was a household name according to a 1953 issue of House and Garden magazine: it referred to five architects who designed houses for themselves and their clients in New Canaan, Connecticut. An introductory essay provides the history, recounting how the town became the figurehead of a new modern movement in housing experimentation: chapters which follow analyze the structures and works of Marcel Breuer, Landis Gores, John Johansen, Philip Johnson and Eliot Noyes. Black and white interior and exterior photos abound.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Book Description
Mike Wombacher's second book, "There's a Puppy in the House" is the latest and best guide to raising your puppy available anywhere. It leaves literally no topic relevant to puppy raising untouched. Written in an easy and engaging style, it includes an in-depth look at housebreaking, covers every area of concern for new puppy owners including home manners, socializing, obedience training and much much more.
Unlike any other book on the market, this book contains a day by day, week by week timeline explaining exactly how and when to introduce the exercises in this book. It also contains over 200 photos and illustrations (more than any other puppy book) to clearly demonstrate how to perform every exercise discussed. It's also heavily cross referenced for ease of use and filled with dozens of resources to other areas of puppy raising and dog training.
The layout of the book makes it exceedingly easy to find the topics you're looking for in short order and the advice itself is simple, direct and easy to implement.
In short, this is a user friendly, highly functional guide to maximizing the joys of puppy ownership while minimizing its frustrations.
Amazon.com
Part melodrama and part parable, Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven weaves together three stories, all told about the same man: 83-year-old Eddie, the head maintenance person at Ruby Point Amusement Park. As the novel opens, readers are told that Eddie, unsuspecting, is only minutes away from death as he goes about his typical business at the park. Albom then traces Eddie's world through his tragic final moments, his funeral, and the ensuing days as friends clean out his apartment and adjust to life without him. In alternating sections, Albom flashes back to Eddie's birthdays, telling his life story as a kind of progress report over candles and cake each year. And in the third and last thread of the novel, Albom follows Eddie into heaven where the maintenance man sequentially encounters five pivotal figures from his life (a la A Christmas Carol). Each person has been waiting for him in heaven, and, as Albom reveals, each life (and death) was woven into Eddie's own in ways he never suspected. Each soul has a story to tell, a secret to reveal, and a lesson to share. Through them Eddie understands the meaning of his own life even as his arrival brings closure to theirs.
Albom takes a big risk with the novel; such a story can easily veer into the saccharine and preachy, and this one does in moments. But, for the most part, Albom's telling remains poignant and is occasionally profound. Even with its flaws, The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a small, pure, and simple book that will find good company on a shelf next to It's A Wonderful Life. --Patrick O'Kelley
Book Description
From the author of the number one New York Times bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie comes this long-awaited follow-up.
Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him as he tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination. It s a place where your life is explained to you by five people, some of whom you knew, others who may have been strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie s five people revisit their connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his meaningless life, and revealing the haunting secret behind the eternal question: Why was I here?
A moving and profound contemporary fable,
The Five People You Meet in Heaven is an important reminder of the interconnectedness of us all.
Customer Reviews:
Great Gift Idea! Read it and pass it along!.......2007-10-11
This is a quick read that I found charming and uplifting. It's not based on any religion and you won't find any profound theories on the afterlife here. It reads more like a short story saying, "Everything in life has some sort of meaning, and we all have a purpose."
I read this book in a few hours and loved it. I sobbed at the end like I have NEVER done over a book, and absolutely loved Eddie. It's like a heavy dose of Chicken Soup for the Soul, only infinitely better!
Easy to read and very short, this is a book anyone can read. And they should! Enjoy!
Existential Food for Thought.......2007-09-30
This tiny book is huge in provoking thoughts about life after death. It provides the reader with another theory of the after-life, the author's. According to Albom, five people whose lives we have touched, meet us in their very own heaven, endowing us with answers and experiences. It is a moving, thought- provoking, and uplifting book.
I would have enjoyed it more if the characters had been more finely developed. But in this little book, there wasn't enough time.
always a great read.......2007-09-29
I love this book. This was the second time I read it and it was better than I remember.
A Parable More Applicable To Life Than Death.......2007-09-08
I have read and liked Mitch Albom's other works, especially the brilliant "Tuesdays With Morrie." I was given this book as a gift, and was a less sure about it because I am not generally fond of fiction, especially spiritually-based fiction. I shouldn't have been concerned: Albom delivers as usual.
The book concerns the life, and more to the point, the death of a man who had lived an ordinary life, and who finds himself entering heaven as Albom envisions it. While I certainly don't agree with or endorse Albom's specific spiritual or religious views, the point of the book isn't really about the specifics of heaven or life after death, but rather it is a reflective parable which focuses the reader on the relationships and situations of genuine importance in life.
The book follows Eddie, an elderly widower, as he meets five people who played key roles in his life on earth, even though their roles were rarely what they first seem to be. I was most impressed with the two lives which intersected Eddie's in wartime, the Captain who was his commanding officer in World War Two, and Tala, a little girl whose life most dramatically intersected with Eddie's in a defining moment of his life. I read the book in one sitting, and while I was captivated by the entire book, the encounter with Tala was one of the most emotionally charged passages I have ever read, and is in and of itself a good enough reason to recommend the book.
This book is easy for intellectual snobs to dismiss with an elitist sniff, but I think that's an inappropriate response. The book, while not conforming to the specific religious beliefs of many (including myself), is a great reminder of the importance and value of relationships in this life, and teaches readers to never take people, especially friends and family, for granted. With that in mind, I can say that the book is generally excellent, and has moments of utter inspirational brilliance. I recommend the book highly.
5 Stars for 5 People.......2007-08-24
I would recommend this book for anyone. It is a smooth good read. Not at all what I thought when it was recommended to me. You will enjoy this book.
Customer Reviews:
Hibiscus and 1920's Mystery.......2007-08-17
You can almost feel the gentle trade winds of Hawaii during the 1920's in these two classic novels by Earl Derr Biggers. Romantic and full of atmosphere, they are a most enjoyable read that was our first introduction to Charlie Chan. Biggers was always a great romance writer who simply incorporated mystery into his books to propel the story forward. This was never more evident than in The House Without a Key and The Chinese Parrot. Some Chan fans are less fond of the first two books featuring Charlie because he is not the central focus as in later novels, but it is for that very reason I find them to be his best.
Biggers' second Chan entry, The Chinese Parrot, follows the pattern of the first as a young Bob Eden finds both mystery and romance involving the delivery of some pearls. Chan is along for the ride, of course, and there is plenty of atmosphere and a dash of romance in the old-fashioned vein to keep the reader interested. One must begin with where it all started, however, and The House Without a Key is an enduring masterpiece of mystery and romance.
The story centers around young and very proper John Quincy Winterslip of Boston, who has been sent to retrieve the elder Minerva Winterslip from the semi-barbaric Pacific Islands of Hawaii. When his ship stops in San Francisco on its journey to the islands, however, John Quincy's idea of who he is begins to change, and the possibility that there is a world outside of Boston and Beacon Hill begins to take shape. A mysterious errand in the city by the bay for the black sheep of the family, Dan Winterslip, also living in Hawaii, will begin an adventure that will in the end make him a man.
The murder of Dan Winterslip shortly before John's arrival will reveal old family secrets from a time when Hawaii was wild and dangerous, and a port for all the world. John Quincy does not understand the nostalgia Minerva and others feel for this time in Hawaii's history. But there is romance in those trade winds blowing the cocoa palms. John will meet Carlota Egan, a girl who could not be further away from the fiancee awaiting him back in Boston. But as John Quincy begins to help his lovely cousin Barbara and Minerva get to the bottom of Dan's murder, Boston seems like a distant memory.
Luckily for John, Hawaii's best police detective will help him unravel the clues that will lead to an exciting revelation, and in the process become his friend. That detective is Charlie Chan. An Asian who has been in Hawaii many years, Chan navigates the mystery with little to go on, but with much wisdom and humor. The Charlie Chan of The House Without a Key is subtle and endearing. Chan may be Chinese, but his very American take on a piece of pie he is not happy with is a hoot!
Biggers truly makes both his characters and the islands of Hawaii come alive in his first novel in which Charlie Chan appeared. His descriptions of Hawaii through the eyes of those characters are nostalgic and filled with beauty. The House Without a Key is that rare novel which can be read with pleasure by both those who love a good mystery, and those who love a light and atmospheric romance. If both are your cup of tea, this great classic is definitely for you.
Having Charlie Chan's first two appearences together again is fabulous for his many fans. They are great reads during summer when things are bright and cheery, or during winter, when you want to escape. Make yourself one of those drinks with an umbrella in it, or just grab your oversized Hawaiin luau shirt and head on out to the lanai to begin your adventure.
Romance, historic settings, race relations, and murder.......2002-04-19
Between 1925 and 1932, Earl Derr Biggers wrote six novels about Charley Chan, a fictional Chinese detective, who was to become a pop culture icon through his representation in Hollywood movies. It is said that the author based his character on a genuine Chinese detective in Honolulu named Chang Apana that he read about while vacationing in Honolulu. In a time when "white priviledge" was assumed, Detective Chan overcomes racial barriers as he pursues white murderers in a white society. The only other Chinese in evidence in these stories are servants and laborers. The novels take place in the Honolulu and California of post World War I America and the descriptions of these long-gone settings are wonderfully rich and rewarding. Each story not only tells how a puzzling murder is solved, but also has a sub-plot of young people finding true love. Romance, historic settings, race relations, and a murder mystery are all the earmarks of a Charley Chan novel. They are a joy to read and much better than the movies of the 1930s and 1940s. I am disappointed that the book has only five of the six Charley Chan novels. Included in this volume are: The House Without a Key (1925); The Chinese Parrot (1926); Behind That Curtain (1928); The Black Camel (1929); and, Keeper of the Keys (1932). The one novel left out is: Charlie Chan Carries On (1930). I hope that someday we will be able to buy all six in one volume with an introductory essay that gives some background on the author and discusses the influence of these novels.
3 excellent + 2 poor books = a very good bargain.......1998-09-27
This anthology of five novels written between 1925 and 1932 break cleanly into two groups. The first three books (House without a Key, Chinese Parrot, and Behind that Curtain) are clever, entertaining and quite enjoyable. That last two are contrived with the proverbial red herrings dragged everywhere to confuse the issue but not to add to the enjoyment. An interesting footnote to 'House without a Key' is its characters' comments that the beauty of Hawaii is being destroyed by the commercialism and tourists. This, in 1925.
My advice is read the first three books and stop at that point. You'll have gotten your money's worth and you'll avoid the bitter aftertaste the latter two books impart.
Customer Reviews:
Nice Compilation, but why not all 9?.......2007-08-22
For those looking for a nice reading collection of the Little house books, this is a great start. One large book containing the first 5 novels in the little house series.
The illustrations are somewhat sparse, but well done. The writing of course is unchanged from the original books. It's very nice to have them all in one large book, but I wish they had all been included - as of this time I'm unable to find a similar such collection for the remaining 4 books.
The text size is generous and the two column format is easy to read with kids clustered around.
A Little House Collection: The First Five Novels (Little House).......2007-03-21
My children and I love this book. I grew up watching Little House on The Prairie when I was little and wanted to share this delightful experience with them. They both enjoy the unfolding tale, particularly my 7 year old. She is eager for tomorrow and the next episode! There is great attention to detail in the writing, yet there is a feeling of it being easy to read and take in.
Book Description
It's summer, school is out, and the five little monkeys are bored. "There is nothing to do!" they tell Mama. "Oh yes, there is," says Mama. "Grandma Bessie is coming for lunch, and the house must be neat and clean." Well-meaning as ever, the five little monkeys clean their room and go on to sweep the floors, scrub the bathroom, and pick berries for dessert. But then . . . Children will welcome the return of the five little monkeys, who make the same kinds of messes they do.
Customer Reviews:
Five Little Monkeys with Nothing to Do.......2006-03-27
We loved it. I ended up getting almost all of them. We had already purchased some of the books in the series from Amazon. They were so enjoyable that I went ahead and purchased the last one. Thank you!!
I didn't know that boredom could be so hilarious.......2003-02-06
This book threw me into a laughing fit when I read it to Max in the children's books section of one of the large bookshops in Singapore (the perfect refuge on week-ends during the rainy winter season). Max is two and a half years old, and he is very tolerant of his dad's monkeying around. To judge by the looks I got when I guffawed, it seems that most parents regard reading children's books as a serious matter.
Anyway, kids have a great sense of humor, and they will enjoy it when you chuckle while reading this book to them. The little monkeys of the title are five clumsy but well-intentioned, lovable creatures that mess up the house while trying to please their mom. That is probably what happens to many two or three-year-olds who hope to do the right thing and end up spilling the milk when they try to assist mom. Enthusiasm combined with clumsiness can produce some rather chaotic results. "Five Little Monkeys with Nothing to Do" teaches parents and kids to see the funny side in such mishaps.
Recommended for parents and children alike.
Contentment.......2000-06-17
I love reading this book to my 2 year old daughter. She runs around chanting about the 5 monkeys. I first learned of them from my daycare provider, and came to amazon.com to find them. Thank you
Amazon.com
Although it probably over-emphasizes the London scene, this book provides a well-written introduction to the history of house music as well as to 20th-century dance music in general. Citing the Stonewall Riots as a cultural turning point, Matthew Collin shows how the emerging gay rights movements created innovative clubs that demanded a newer, more vibrant music. Finding other pieces of this hidden history in Jamaican dub, mainstream disco, rap, European electronic music, and New York club mixes, Collin develops an interesting and previously undocumented narrative of contemporary hip sounds.
Customer Reviews:
The E's of TeXas are upon you.......2004-07-01
As someone who "came of age" in the club culture of Austin, Texas in the mid-1980s (Halls, Stephanie's, 606), I have been quite surprised that the Dallas (Starck) and Austin dance subculture has not been fully explored in many books as "ground zero" for the ecstasy-fueled rave movement that developed in Europe during the late-80s and early 90s. Although MDMA had been around for a while, if it wasn't for a chance meeting between a certain Austin DJ and one of Britain's top new wave bands after an Austin concert, England's 1988 "summer of love" might not have happened (or at least it would have been delayed for a few years). That "three days of love" on Lake Travis had a tremendous influence on the social history of youth over the next twenty years! The book mainly focuses on Britain's experience with the rave and dance subculture. However, it is the first few chapters that I find so fascinating . . . the development of MDMA and its infusion into the mainstream population through unassuming college students who had no idea they were guinea pigs for the multitudes to follow. Well worth the read, especially for those of us who experienced the phenomenon first hand.
Sorted for E's and Wizz?.......2004-04-19
Garage, House, Acid House, Techno, Balearic, Drum & Bass, Jungle, whatever you call it: this is the book about the real history. Sometime in the past fifteen or twenty years rock died finally, amd weren't you glad? I was happy but I was on E and my vote doesn't count. I was taking alot of smart drugs too and I wrote a few novels on those so-called "pep pills." But I wasn't hanging out in Ibiza with Danny Rampling of Claire Manumission, or even Larry Levin at the Paradise Garage. I was still listening to Wire and Gary Numan. Like most people, at first I didn't care for most techno or house, but you know what? It's all I listen to now (I am still living in 1999). How did that happen? Before I used to listen to a lot of punk, ska and reggae, and then dropped out of the music scene for a while. I liked punk music especially since there were no rock stars, and anyone with long hair (or even looked remotely like Evan Dando) was immediately uncool and we used to beat them up. Boy, we were thugs back then, eh? But sometime in the late 1980s, someone slipped me a hit of E, and this disco record came on and it sounded like the best record I ever heard, and I was in love with everyone and I dove in the middle of the groping room. A few years later, I got serious and became the literary insider, and read Joyce, Proust, Beckett, Pynchon, Irvine Welsh, back to back, you know the story.... Well, what I'm saying is this book is a wonderful read, and adds a little narrative to the no-narrative techno policy. It also documents the most profound youth movement of the last ten or fifteen years. That's what I like about Techno: no rock stars!
Informative and Inspiring.......2003-11-08
This book is well written from start to finish and is hard to put down. It provides a real inside viewpoint of not only the music put the politics of ecstasy culture. To those who seek alternatives to corporate-consumer-culture this book is very inspiring. In particular the stories of how groups like Spiral Tribe live(d) their lives.
To me this book really captures a lot of the emotion that those inside the 'rave movement' feel. Even though the book is centered on the London scene it seems to capture the universal essence of the culture. Reading the book felt like reliving the rave experience all over again. It's like a trip taking you from a ravers first mind-opening dose of MDMA to the realizations that come after continued exposure to underground dance culture and politics.
This book also provided a great account of the actions taken by the opponents of youth dance culture; the ignorance of the politicians and police using scare tactics to try and control what they clearly don't understand, the attempts by the alcohol industry to take the culture away from the underground and commodify it into regular bars for their profit, and the problems created in the culture by organized crime.
Altered State also delves into the issues of prohibition and harm reduction. This is another area where the book's message transcends the London setting it describes. These topics will resonate with anyone familiar with the current political climate in the USA. With the 2002 RAVE (Reducing Americans Vulnerability to Ecstasy) club owners can now be held responsible for what their patrons ingest. Meanwhile organizations like DanceSafe.org offer harm reduction strategies to the millions of ecstasy users who defy prohibition.
I couldn't recommend this book more highly.
Lot's and lot's of information.......2000-10-13
This book is truely entertaining, it covers music, culture, politics, drugs, ect... It was hard to put this book down, I was sucked into it and learned a great deal about the scene in Eroupe. I recommend this book to people who are looking for answers to questions they didn't know they were asking...
Excellent "history" book on the rave scene!.......2000-04-19
Excellent, informative history of the rave scene in England... everything is in here: how influential Ibiza was to the scene, MDMA and its history, smiley faces, baggy pants, all the main players and djs... it brought back a lot of happy memories of my raver days in NYC in the early 90s. A must read for those interested in this scene especially the beginning which shows that it all started in America: Larry Levan and the Paradise Garage, Frankie Knuckles's Warehouse parties, Dr. Shulgin and his MDMA studies... Britian took it to the next level in the 80s beginning with the Summer of Love and raves and was then past back to the US in the early 90s: Frankie Bones and the Storm raves, NASA, and the rest. This book tells you all about it!
Book Description
A behind-the-scenes look at people who make presidents talk.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting if a little overblown.......2000-05-04
"James Humes is over the top!" exclaims the introdcution (written by Humes pal and British MP Jonathon Aiken). Indeed he is. This book reflects that sentiment in both the positive and negative aspects, though on balance it is highly entertaining. Humes has many good stories to tell and tells them well. He does, however, give off the feel that there might be SOME exaggeration going on. Still, the book is quick and enjoyable to read.
Interesting memoirs........1997-06-24
The author, "lawyer, legislator, diplomat, author,
historian, actor, professor, and White House
speechwriter", recipient of the Order of the
British Empire and dance-partner with Queen
Elizabeth, seems to have been everywhere and met
everyone, most notably the several U.S. Presidents for who whom
he wrote speeches.
Humes' chatty narrative style, marred only by a
few regrettable typos, painlessly shares some
remarkable insights into high politics and
diplomacy, with such highlights as; Nixon's
candidate for "Deep Throat", and the real reason
Ford pardoned Nixon.
Not incidentally, Humes is today a professional
speaker whose tips on public speaking would be
well worth the price of admission here to anyone
who speaks publicly.
Very entertaining.
(The numerical rating above is a default setting
within Amazon's format. This reviewer does not
employ numerical ratings.)
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