Amazon.com ReviewBill Buford's funny and engaging book Heat offers readers a rare glimpse behind the scenes in Mario Batali's kitchen. Who better to review the book for Amazon.com, than Anthony Bourdain, the man who first introduced readers to the wide array of lusty and colorful characters in the restaurant business? We asked Anthony Bourdain to read Heat and give us his take. We loved it. So did he. Check out his review below. --Daphne DurhamGuest Reviewer: Anthony Bourdain Anthony Bourdain is host of the Discovery Channel's No Reservations, executive chef at Les Halles in Manhattan, and author of the bestselling and groundbreaking Heat is a remarkable work on a number of fronts--and for a number of reasons. First, watching the author, an untrained, inexperienced and middle-aged desk jockey slowly transform into not just a useful line cook--but an extraordinarily knowledgable one is pure pleasure. That he chooses to do so primarily in the notoriously difficult, cramped kitchens of New York's three star Secondly, the book is a long overdue portrait of the real Thirdly, Heat reveals a dead-on understanding--rare among non-chef writers--of the pleasures of "making" food; the real human cost, the real requirements and the real adrenelin-rush-inducing pleasures of cranking out hundreds of high quality meals. One is left with a truly unique appreciation of not only what is truly good about food--but as importantly, who cooks--and why. I can't think of another book which takes such an unsparing, uncompromising and ultimately thrilling look at the quest for culinary excellence. Heat brims with fascinating observations on cooking, incredible characters, useful discourse and argument-ending arcania. I read my copy and immediately started reading it again. It's going right in between Orwell's --From Publishers WeeklyBuford's voice echoes the rhythms of his own writing style. Writing about his break from working as a New Yorker editor and learning firsthand about the world of food, Buford guns his reading into hyperspeed when he is jazzed about a particularly tangy anecdote, and plays with his vocal tone and pitch when mimicking others' voices. At its base, Buford's voice is tinged with a jovial lilt, as if he is amused by his life as a "kitchen slave" and by the outsize personalities of the people he meets along the way. Less authoritative than blissfully confused, Buford speaks the way he writes, as a well-informed but never entirely knowledgeable outsider to the world of food love. Listening to his imitation of star chef Mario Batali's kinetic squeal, Buford ably conveys his abiding love for the teachers and companions of his brief, eventful life as a cook. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

FOR HER CHILD's SAKE Years ago, Charlene "Charly" Phelps had been talked into leaving her hometown and her baby behind – to giver her son the life she never could. Then, on a visit home, she saw a picture of a boy who seemed impossibly familiar – and knew she had to get out of town. Again. How she ended up in jail was another matter – the question was, how could she get out? She had only one phone call… .which Troy Starr happened to answer. He knew that Charly had a reputation for trouble, but troubleshooting was Troy's business. And though she acted as if he was the last man on earth she wanted to be near, Troy figured it was only a matter of time before this soft-at-the-core lady fell for him – and time was something Troy had plenty of…

Robert Harvey brilliantly recreates the story of the greatest conflict that stretches from the first blaze of revolution in Paris in 1789 to final victory on the muddy fields of Waterloo.On land and at sea, throughout the four corners of the continent, from the frozen plains surrounding Moscow and terror on the Caribbean seas, to the muddy low lands of Flanders and the becalmed waters of Trafalgar, The War of Wars tells the powerful story of the greatest conflict of the age.

It is 1942 in the Dutch East Indies, and Nick Duncan is a young Australian butterfly collector in search of a single exotic butterfly. With invading Japanese forces coming closer by the day, Nick falls in love with the beguiling Anna van Heerden. Their time together is brief, as both are forced into separate, dangerous escapes. They plan to reunite and marry in Australia but it is several years before their paths cross again, scarred forever by the dark events of a long, cruel war. In The Persimmon Tree, Bryce Courtenay gives us a story of love and friendship set against the dramatic backdrop of the Pacific during the Second World War.About the AuthorBryce Courtenay was born in 1933 in Johannesburg, South Africa, and has lived in Australia for over forty years. Bryce wrote his first book, The Power of One, at the age of fifty-five. It has now sold nearly three million copies worldwide! His other bestselling titles include Tandia, April Fool's Day, The Potato Factory, Tommo & Hawk, Jessica, Solomon's Song, Smoky Joe's Cafe, Four Fires, Matthew Flinders' Cat, The Family Frying Pan, Brother Fish, Whitethorn and Sylvia. From AudioFileWhen the Japanese invade Indonesia in 1942, 17-year-old Australian Nick Duncan escapes by sailing a yacht across the ocean. It's a harrowing journey made manageable, in part, by Nick's hope that his new love, Anna, is safely on her way to Australia. Unfortunately, Anna is stuck in Indonesia, a prisoner of the Japanese. This love and adventure story is overlong. However, Humphrey Bower's narration makes it a pleasure. His skills should be a model. He reads with anticipation--so that a line written as a laugh or a sob is read as a laugh or a sob without being overdramatized. His characterizations reveal personality and motive, and hold steady throughout the book. And his pacing keeps us interested even when the plot is predictable. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

THE ZONE 3 • HUNTER-KILLER The Russian plan a sea borne attack on the NATO flank through the Baltic. Parachuted on to a Swedish island Major Revells’ team ambush the Soviet warships and transports using captured weapons to ensure it is not NATO that takes the blame. SYNOPSIS The Warsaw Pact land forces, brought to a halt by determined NATO defences and counter attacks, plan a powerful sea borne assault on the NATO flank through the Baltic sea in the depths of winter. Parachuted on to a Baltic island in the grip of viciously cold weather, the Special Combat Force has to avoid detection. If they are discovered then some of the Scandinavian countries, presently in a precarious state of neutrality might no longer supply the west with essential materials. To avoid any such accusation Revells’ men have to employ an array powerful captured weapons to destroy the enemy warships and transports. In terrible frigid conditions they must fight first the cold and then without being detected, rain destruction on the massively armed Soviet task force. PUBLISHED First NEL Paperback Edition March 1981 First IMPRINT Publication E-Book Edition May 2005 First Revision IMPRINT Publications E-Book Edition April 2007