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Eating Up Italy
by Matthew Fort

Matthew Fort’s infatuation for all things edible and Italian are wonderfully palpable in this gastronomic treasure. Heady and sumptuous as a fine red wine, Eating Up Italy: Voyages on a Vespa — part travel memoir, part specialty recipe book — recounts Fort’s journeys all over the stunning Italian countryside, while lavishly showcasing each region’s own unique culinary “nuances”.

Italy’s romance and mystique lay in its beautiful language, hearty people, culture, fascinating history…and, of course, its wide array of mouth-watering edible delights. One would be hard-pressed to find a better qualified author for the task. Fort, one of Britain’s most renowned food critic and writer, formed an enthusiasm for Italy at the tender age of 11.

The love affair with the country and its cuisine has only deepened with time, as Fort, at age 50, takes a “gastronomic tour” of the beautiful country from its southernmost tip at Melito Di Porto Salvo to the northern region of Turin.

Fort brings the tastes, aromas, and regional culture of Italy directly to the reader, in stunning clarity, coupled with a signature wit. Eating Up Italy is a bonafide travelogue on its own merits — nonetheless, Fort doesn’t rest on his laurels, expecting us to take his word for it. The tried-and-true age old recipes, generously peppered throughout, involve the reader and add an inimitable richness to Fort’s personal experiences, on his travels.

From regional delicacies to every-day local cuisine, Fort’s selected recipes and instructions, layered amidst engaging anecdotes teaming with insight into the lives and food of the locals, are easy to follow and tempting to try. Fortunately, many of the recipes are ‘formalized’, using easily recognizable standard measurements, as many Italian cooking techniques are known to use vague measurements such as “a little bit of this, a little bit of that.“

Some recipes may be easier than others, as some call for ingredients that would be challenging for a typical North American ‘foodie’ to find at their local market.

The book, itself, is bound beautifully with a ‘foodified’ rendition of Venus di Milo. Its lovely thick buttery paper and dark brown ink, lends itself an “old world” feel. At the back of the book is a comprehensive index, in case a particular recipe or notation requires reference on a whim.

Truly a voyager’s enchantment and a food lover’s bible, Eating Up Italy captures the incredible country that has it all, and will have any food lover or travel enthusiast shouting “Bella! Bella!”

One can only wait with bated breath - and grumbling stomach - for Fort’s upcoming labour of love, Eating Up Sicily. A 5-star treat!

Thank you to Beverly Wong-Kleinjan for submitting this review.

Eating Up Italy: Voyages on a Vespa is available from Amazon or your favorite bookseller
-by Matthew Fort
ISBN-10: 1933572027
ISBN-13: 978-1933572024
296 pages (2006)

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Grady Harp is Amazon’s #7 Reviewer 

Sandra J. Gerencher addresses many issues in her well-written, entertaining, informative book  Second Chance: How Adoption Saved a Boy with Autism & His Shelter Dog.  Not only is this a tale that deserves wide attention among proponents of animal shelters and readers seeking a degree of understanding of autism, it also stands alone as a beautifully illustrated (by Virginia Cody) book for informing children about the concept of adoption.

For this reader this book is one of the finest explanations for sharing the meaning of adoption with youngsters - a definite assist to parents who adopt and are searching for the best way to discuss the topic with their family.

But Gerencher goes further than the usual author of books for children by engaging the reader using a dog’s view of the process. The warmly human ‘lady’ of the story goes to the animal shelter, adopts a German Shepherd/Rottweiler pup that is seemingly unwanted, and takes the pup ‘Chance’ home - adopting (a strange word to the narrator Chance) yet another animal for her houseful of Pomeranians.

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Brandon Simpson must be one of the more modest instructors in language to commit his concise help to students on paper. With a disarming simplicity of style he leads those who are studying (and those who need refreshing) Spanish in this small in size but large in value book DEMYSTIFYING SPANISH GRAMMAR: Clarifying the Written Accents, Ser/Estar, Para/Por, the Imperfect/Preterit, & the Dreaded Spanish Subjunctive (yes, that is the complete title!).

In addition to explaining the importance of accent placement, the use of the tilde, the meaning of the upside down and right side up question marks, etc and of course in his explanation of the topics he succinctly lists in the title, Simpson very quietly offers information such as the codes of the use of creating accents on the computer.

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Grady Harp is Amazon’s #7 Reviewer

Nancy Polikoff, author Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage: Valuing All Families under the Law, and a professor of law at the American University Washington College of Law, has researched the very current topic of ‘marriage rights’ that for the most part are regarded by the general public as the battle between same sex and different sex marriage, an area where there is very little equality or respect to be gleaned from the media, and hence the public.

Polikoff wisely approaches this disparity of human rights from an angle that allows every reader to become involved in her plea for reconsideration of what is labeled (and respected) as ‘family’.

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THIRD EDITION OF PAUL AND BEN ENO’s NEW TALK SHOW AIRS JUNE 15

BEHIND THE PARANORMAL WITH PAUL & BEN ENO: Before the main part of the show even begins, Paul and Ben will explain how they uncovered a possible paranormal explanation for what happened on last week’s show!

In a Father’s Day - Family double feature, Paul and Ben welcome Dave Kane, author, New England radio talk-show host and father of the youngest victim of the 2003 nightclub fire in Rhode Island, which claimed the lives of 100 people. Dave and his family have experienced some of the most amazing ongoing communication from their son that Paul has ever run into. Dave talks about it in his book “41 Signs of Hope.”

This show is a must-hear for anyone who has lost a loved one!

In the second half of the hour, “Donna from Connecticut” will update Paul and Ben on the amazing happenings at her 1783 New England farmhouse, where the last 220 years of her family members appear to be living together, with some fascinating results. Paul and Ben have been monitoring this case since 2005.

Listeners may call in or instant message with questions and comments.

As time allows, Paul and Ben may deal with other actual cases from around North America while on the air, and offer “The paranormal in the news this week.” There will be a preview of June 22 show, and announcements of upcoming events.

All on the Phoenix-based Achieve Radio Network. Listen live Sunday at 7 Eastern, 4 Pacific or listen to the archived shows online anytime.

As you know, Paul is one of the world’s most experienced ghost hunters AND one of the most unusual psychics. He is the bestselling author of seven books who has appeared on “Coast to Coast A.M.” with Art Bell, the History Channel, and many talk shows. Paul will be making appearances in the U.S. Southeast and in New England in the next few months, but he is also taking suggestions that he start doing online events and teleconferences. This saves you the tremendous cost of travel, gasoline and parking, and you can interact with Paul from your own computer or telephone.

Accordingly, Paul is offering two “webinars” through New River Press in June. You will actually be able to see the whole show, and participate, using your own computer.

If you’re into the paranormal, Paul and his teenage son and assistant, Ben, will present “Inside the Paranormal with the Enos” on June 19, an audio-visual show about Paul’s experiences during 38 years of ghost hunting, and recent experiences with Ben at his side. Paul’s unusual theories and incredible cases will blow you away.

If your interest is more in the psychic, Paul will offer “Other Sides: Learning to Use Your Psychic Power” on June 26. You will be amazed at Paul’s unique approach, not to mention his own psychic power – and your own!

Find out more about these two programs, and register online.

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The Indie Book Awards has named WWII veteran and author Leon Cooper’s work, The War in Pacific: A Retrospective, as a Finalist in the History/Historical Non-Fiction category of the 2008 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

His book will be listed among other finalists in the Indie Book Awards catalog to be distributed at Book Expo America in Los Angeles in June. This award means that Cooper is privileged to add “Finalist” gold award stickers on the cover.

This outstanding new book is written from the point of view of a participant, one “who was there” in the battles the author analyzes. He was a Navy landing craft officer, charged with leading Higgins Boats carrying assault troops on to the beaches of Japanese island strongholds. In this capacity, he was able to observe firsthand the fatal mistakes made by area commanders, resulting in the needless sacrifice of American lives.

Unlike other histories of the Pacific conflict, the author relies on personal experiences—his own “original sources,” in describing how these mistakes came about. His views will be regarded by many as “unorthodox,” but he saw up close, the consequences of “orthodoxy.”

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“So it was that in early 327 B.C. one-half of Alexander’s army marched through the Khyber Pass . . . at the narrow confine by Ali Masjid, where the Khyber closes to just feet in width, the army would have squeezed through, two or three abreast, looking up warily at the steep heights immediately above them; unknown creatures might inhabit these mountains, for assuredly Indian was full of wonders.”

The Khyber Pass - the name alone is filled with a palpable sense of danger. This steep gorge separating Afghanistan from Pakistan and the northern states of Indian, the pass extends 30 miles through the White Mountains from Afghanistan to the plains of Peshawar in the east. This new book, The Khyber Pass: A History of Empire & Invasion, by Paddy Docherty (who traveled extensively through the pass in 2003) combines the close observations of the sympathetic traveler with the analysis of the engaged historian.

Using historic documents, Docherty traces the history of the pass from the campaigns of the Persian emperors Cyrus and Darius to Alexander the Great, to the days of the British Raj, and modern Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Highly recommended.

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The winter of 1944 was the most dangerous time to be a combant airman in the RAF Bomber Command.  The chances of surviving a tour were as low as one in five. Morale was rock bottom.

The daily heroism of those fighters come to life in this comprehensive and compelling history of that year, encompassing the most dangerous periods of the Battle of Berlin and the unparalleled losses over Magdeburg, Leipzig, and Nuremberg.

Men of Air includes personal accounts of how ordinary men coped with the constant pressure of flying, the loss of their buddies, and the constant threat of death or capture. By exploring famous events such as the Great Escape and D-Day, the reader finally learns how the Men of Air turned the tide against the Germans.

Highly recommended.

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Jane Mersky Leder hit one out of the ballpark with her well-researched, fascinating look at how World War II changed the way Americans viewed sex. You’ll find Thanks for the Memories: Love, Sex, and World War II an eye-opening read.

After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, young Americans knew instinctively that their lives would never be the same. The “normal” sequence of events – education or work, marriage, children – had been blown to bits and, as they would soon discover, so had long held attitudes toward love and sex.

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Abraham Lincoln, The Illustrated Edition: The Prairie Years and The War Years

This magnificently produced and illustrated edition of Carl Sandburg’s masterpiece is the compilation of Sandburg’s original six volumes, which sold more than one million copioes.

This illustrated edition, with an introduction by Alan Axelrod, gives readers a glimpse into Lincoln’s world as he journeys from country lawyer to the Presidency.

The photographs, many in color, depict several of Lincoln’s personal effects, including his personal copy of the Gettysburg address. Of course, among the most interesting images are those of Lincoln himself–most notably the two showing 1860 President-elect Lincoln, and the 1865 image taken one week after Lee’s surrender. We all know the presidency ages a man, but the change in Lincoln

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