Sizzling sauté pans. Screaming spectators. Television cameras. A ticking clock. Fasten your seatbelt for the Bocuse d'Or, the world's most challenging and prestigious cooking competition, where the pressure and the stakes could not be higher. At this real-life Top Chef, twenty-four culinary teams, each representing its home nation, cook for five and a half grueling hours. There are no elimination rounds, no time to ease into the rigors of competition. The teams have just one precious chance to cook and present two spectacular platters of food, then plate them for tasting by a jury of chefs -- the ultimate test of their ability to execute their craft, with prize money, international acclaim, and national pride on the line. Surprisingly, although American cuisine now rates among the best in the world, a U.S. team has never finished among the top three at this "Olympics of Food." In 2008, a triumvirate of culinary... Views: 56
Twelve-year-old Cecilia Maria was named after saints and martyrs to give her something to live up to. Over my dead body, she vows. In the blinding heat of 1970s Queensland, she battles six brothers on her side of the fence, and the despised Kapernicky girls, lurking on the other side of the barbed wire. Secrets are buried deep, only to surface decades later when Cecilia drags her own reluctant teenagers back home to dance on a grave and track down some ghosts. Warm but tough-minded, DUST glitters with a rare and subtle wit, illuminating the shadows that hang over from childhood and finding beauty in unexpected places. Views: 56
When shy young heir Patrick is orphaned at the age of ten, the only family he has is his wealthy and eccentric aunt, a New York socialite named Mame. Prone to dramatic costumes, flights of fancy and expensive whims, Mame will raise Patrick the only way she knows how -- with humour, mishaps, unforgettable friends and lots of love. From progressive schooling and Mame's search for a husband to her short-lived literary career and the puncturing of some of Patrick's romances, Auntie Mame is the most magnificent and hilarious work of love, style, wit and the life of a modern American. Views: 56
Outwardly Nella's life was probably seen as ordinary; but behind this mask were a lively mind and a persistent pen - a pen that never gave up over almost three decades, reporting, describing, pondering, and disclosing. Nella, 55 when the war ends, writes of what ordinary people felt during those years of privation, hope and the re-building of Britain, providing a moving and inspiring account of the years that shaped the society we live in today. Her diary offers a detailed, moving and humorous narrative of the changing experiences of ordinary people at this time, and thoughts on the aftermath of war and whether 'peace' really meant peace, for everyone. Views: 56
Simon Schama explores the forces that tore Britain apart during two centuries of dynamic change - transforming outlooks, allegiances and boundaries.From the beginning of July 1637, battles raged on for 200 years - both at home and abroad, on sea and on land, up and down the length of burgeoning Britain, across Europe, America and India. Most would be wars of faith - waged on wide-ranging grounds of political or religious conviction. But as wars of religious passions gave way to campaigns for profit, the British people did come together in the imperial enterprise of 'Britannia Incorporated'.The British Wars is a story of revolution and reaction, inspiration and disenchantment, of progress and catastrophe, and Schama's evocative narrative brings it vividly to life. Views: 56
Return to the Star Rigger universe in the search for the legendary ghost ship Impris. A Nebula-nominated science fiction novel of galactic sweep, quantum weirdness, and deep-cyber romance. Views: 56
It's summer in the small seaport town of Astoria and The Goonies are restless. Big developers threaten to take over the town. Then Mikey finds an old pirate map and the kids take off to find the loot that can save their neighborhood. But they never counted on skeletons with swords, a booby-trapped underground passage and the murderous ex-con, all of whom want the Goonies' head. Take the oath. Join the adventure. Views: 56
Prism takes us to a slightly alternate universe in which medicine and health care do not exist, and in which sick people are allowed to die without any care. Set in New Mexico and California, the novel features three teens who fall through a cave at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico while on a field trip. They are plunged into a frightening parallel universe—seven weeks in the past, in which their "normal" worlds of family and high school remain the same...except for the fact that no medicine exists and when people die in the street they are picked up and disposed of. From School Library JournalGrade 6–10—Kaida Hutchenson, a purple-haired 15-year-old student at Buchanan High School in St. Denis (right outside "Hollyweird"), never expected the school field trip to Carlsbad to go so wrong. She thought that the worst part of it would be riding in a van without her best friend, Maria, and dealing with arrogant Zeke Anderson and laid-back Joy Tallon. But after the van crashes in the desert, catches on fire, and it begins to rain, the three enter a cave that strangely transports them to a parallel dimension in which everything, including their families, is the same—except that being ill is kept a secret and finding a cure is illegal. Kaida's narration of the events will keep readers' interest as they feel her frustration and confusion as to why she can't find an aspirin for Joy's throbbing arm or use any words associated with health care or medicine because the wrong people might hear. The mysteries unfold and dangers are explained through Kaida's new love interest, Ozzy, the rebel with a cause in a world without health care. This is an ideal concept for a story that is smoothly paced through new romances, new friendships, and suspicious family members while dealing with the underworld trafficking of medicine that can become deadly. Unfortunately, the ending is rushed, some seemingly important characters are left undeveloped, and there's no explanation of how and why the split in the parallel worlds came about. This powerful topic had great potential but it falters in its delivery.—Nancy D. Tolson, Mitchell College, London, CT Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review“Fast-paced action will keep thriller fans reading.” (Kirkus Reviews )“Kaida’s narration of the events will keep readers’ interest as they feel her frustration and confusion. This is an ideal concept for a story that is smoothly paced through new romances, new friendships, and suspicious family members while dealing with the underworld trafficking of medicine that can become deadly.” (School Library Journal ) Views: 56
