Product Description
Global business demands and new technologies have created a virtual workplace for many companies, with employees and teams routinely collaborating from distant geographical locations on the road, from home, at client sites--even on the other side of the globe. The Distance Manager provides practical information and tools to help managers bridge the communication gaps created by geographical separation, and get peak performance from employees they rarely see. This handbook is perfect for sales managers, project team leaders, senior managers, and anyone who manages people at more than one location. Key topics include:
• Using e-mail, teleconferencing, and videoconferencing for maximum effectiveness
• Mastering the people skills required to manage from a distance
• Virtual team building, and strategies for managing multiple locations ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Must read Book
I recently became a Distant Manager so I needed a book that would help me through it.This is an excellent book that gives you ideas as to empowerment and how to lead a team.I would highly recommend this book to any new manager whether Distant or not.

Easy to Use Guidebook
I ordered several books on virtual teams to design a leadership course on the topic.Out of all of the resources, this book was the easiest to read and had the most valuable data.I will be using this book as the main source of data for the class I am designing.

Good guidance on being a distance manager
Well organized if not a page turner, this book provides good guidance on what to do as a distance manager, what to watch out for, etc.

Highly Recommended!
Kimball Fisher and Mareen Duncan Fisher document the special skills needed for the new but increasingly common task of managing far-flung work groups. The approaches that they examine are becoming increasingly essential for all managers. Although they explore relevant technologies carefully, their human relations advice is probably more important. The Fishers emphasize the interpersonal and leadership skills that a manager needs to head a virtual team. If you read this book cover to cover, it can seem repetitive, since many of the rules and tips offered in one area overlap with those in other areas. However, the book is designed to allow you to review specific management challenges and technologies, and to ignore areas that are irrelevant to your situation. We [...] recommend this clear, practical work to anyone who leads virtual teams and to the telecommuters and freelance workers who report to them.

Ideas on Distance Management
This book presents a new approach to managing people from distance. It also gives clear examples and cases. This book is a must for managers who control their team from distance, either nationwide or global-wide. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

My serach
This is an excellent book for anyone searching and longing to find their true identity.I have reread it several times, feeling the emotions of this woman as I did my own search.

Very Dramatic
This is an extremely interesting book, detailing one woman's search for her birth mother at a time when ALL adoption records were sealed. This gives the story a lot of drama, as Florence must become her own private investigator while unearthing clues about her history over resistance from her adopted family. It's a story of perseverance with a great payoff. The book unfolds like a classic mystery, with the reader becoming as interested as the heroine is in her origins, the circumstances of her adoption, and her birth mother's whereabouts. One also sympathizes a great deal with the writer as she diligently calls government office after office, simply trying to find the name of the woman who gave birth to her. She knows the office employees have the name and file right in front of them, and that her fate is literally in their [disinterested] hands...yet they are precluded by law from sharing information with her. I do take exception to the idea, posted elsewhere, that all parties involved in an adoption need to consent before information is shared. If I gave up a baby some day, I can see how I might not want to discuss it or necessarily made public...but I don't have a right to cut another person, and perhaps their children, off from their family history. Everyone has the right to know who their family was and where they came from. It has a great deal to do with our identity.

I can still feel her yearning
This was the first book I read about an adoptee searching for "someone who looks like me" and it made me viscerally understand the yearning most adoptees have, despite the most loving adoptive parents and most fulfilling lives.They are always aware that there is someone out there with a truly vested interest in what became of them.This beautifully written addictively readable autobiography of a search made me realize that some form of open adoption is the healthiest adoption for the child and both sets of parents, even if they do not fully accept this at the beginning.Consciously ignoring one of life's basic assumptions, that of knowing the people who led to one's very creation, should never be attained without the full knowledge and consent of ALL parties, and most especially the one who is the focus of the new family. ... Read more

Product Description
Following up on the success of the Adrenaline title Mob: Stories of Death and Betrayal from Organized Crime, Adrenaline Classics brings back the New York Times bestseller (originally published as Killer) that helped pave the way for the latest generation of nouveau-mob stories, from Donnie Brasco to The Sopranos. “Joey”—a journeyman Jewish hitman, numbers king, and loan shark—collaborated with David Fisher (co-editor of the hit Adrenaline title Wild Blue) to lay out the rackets in gripping detail. His story includes detailed accounts of his chillingly “professional” murders of thirty-eight victims. The strong sales of Mob are further evidence that the best mafia stories—and this is one of the best—capture the public’s interest. Joey the Hitman’s original best-seller status reflects the quality of the writing, the frank intelligence of the subject/writer, and Joey’s convincingly matter-of-fact, regular-guy tone. When he writes, debunking The Godfather, “... Actually very few mob members even have Bronx-Italian accents ... a lot of mob people are not very tough, the people we meet and deal with are very ordinary, most of us stay home at night and watch TV, and we only shoot each other when absolutely necessary,” you know you’re listening to the original Soprano. This edition includes a new afterword from David Fisher, who for the first time reveals Joey's identity and the incredible story of how Joey finally died. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

joey the hit man
bloody good read starts off a little slow but gets you in i enjoyed it

Somebody Think
Look at these people, complaining that there isn't any proof provided in the way of corroborative evidence! Funny how people think they deserve something like this. Folks, OUR BUDDY JOEY MURDERED PEOPLE FOR A LIVING! Why would he, (or should he) provide readers the noose that would hang him? Still, there is plenty here with the ring of truth to it - running into Lenny Bruce shlocked out of his gourd on smack (Lenny worked at dive clubs owned by people like this), and the way women would get nauseous after having sex with him when he went from dangerous the night before to the stark realization of what he did as the sun rose the morning after to just mention 2 examples.

A great book, rare in the genre. I still have 'Killer'. Oh yes, never run the car radio while waiting for your mark, bring a portable. When Joey hit somebody, they never got a chance to see his face.

BACK COVER
JOEY IS for real. The services he purveys are death and destruction. And as a blood member of the American Mob he is also qualified to speak on hi-jacking, smuggling, loansharking, operating liquor stills and making porno films. But his specialty is murder, and he tells all about that.

This is the story of a man without conscience, in his own words.

"A good hit man goes out, does the job, comes home to his family and can ssit down and eat his dinner with no problems. See, the thing I do best is kill people."

" I have never killed an honest man. And I have never been convicted. All I need is a clientele- a demand for my services."

Doesn't Sound True, But It's Entertainment
The nagging things about this book are it's many inconsistencies.He said he was making 150 dollars a day starting at 11, but he later says he knows what it's like to make no money.What, as a 10 year old?Or he had 10 poor years with his family?He says he was a tough teenager, didn't care if he lived or died.Then he says he got that attitude at 28 when his wife was murdered.And he seems to have been everywhere and have seen and know just about everyone who is/was famous in organized crime.There's a bunch of others, I'll let you find them, as you can add an extra star for entertainment in looking for them.But these things point to a subject that was made up and not consistent because its not real.If you want a real account of "hit" men, read Murder, Inc.It still rings modern even though it was written in 1951.And you can't put it down.

I give this 3 stars because of it inconsistencies.

Real life autobiography of Jewish hitman.
I read the original "Killer", by Joey, back in the early 70`s.I also saw a masked "Joey" interviewed on the Sunday evening talk show "Open Mind" by David Susskind. Susskind berates Joey, at one point, for using the slur"Pollack". Susskind said"You wouldn`t want me to use an anti-Italian epithet, would you?"Joey retorted."I wouldn`t care, really, since I`m not Italian. I`m Jewish"(Susskind was stunned!) Also, in "Killer", Joey recounts a meeting in a NYC club with the reputed Columbo crime family soldier, Carmine Di Biasi, in which he describes shoving the barrel of his revolver into Di Biasi`s mouth after Di Biasi "insulted my Ethnic backround". All in all,this is not a Primer on organized crime.To really enjoy this book you are better off reading a few other books first, such as "Mafia USA","The Grim Reapers","Pictorial History of the Mafia" or "The Vallachi Papers". ... Read more

Product Description
Internet Marketing: Building Advantage in a Networked Economy, 2e presents a road-tested framework to help students and practitioners understand how to think about and implement effective Internet marketing programs. The focus is on using marketing levers to vary the level of intensity that the consumer has with a Website to build a relationship with the customer through four stages: from Awareness, to Exploration/Expansion, to Commitment, and possibly through Dissolution. This four stage customer-centric framework shows readers how to use the Internet to create intense and profitable relationships with their customers.In addition to comprehensively discussing the key levers that marketers can use to create relationships, the authors focus on two primary forces that the Internet brings to marketing – the Individual and Interactivity - detailing how these forces influence key marketing levers and how these forces can be leveraged to create intense relationships with customers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Relevant in 2002, but not in 2009
I'm sure this book was cutting edge for marketing in 2002, but in 2009 it missed the social media marketing revolution boat by several hundred miles.It does a good job of explaining basic marketing principles that apply both offline and on, but the focus of the book is e-marketing and some of the advice and theories it gives for online marketing are way off base.

For example, we know that segmenting and targeting by demographics is WRONG for online marketing.We also know that online communities aren't a "maybe" but a must in this connected world.

This book needs to be seriously updated to make it more in touch with what is going on in the 3rd generation of marketing.If you have to use it for a class I'd strongly suggest you challenge your professor to rethink their decision and point out the various shortcomings of the book.

Marketing is moving at the speed of light; and 2002 is ancient history.

Internet marketing, Building Advantae in a networked economy
I found this book to have all the essiential elements necessiary begin a database marketing compaign clearly explained. The marketing tools, e-commerce levers and platforms and diagrams were well illustrated. My only complaint is that the book was published 6 years ago, I wish the author had an updated pdf version, however it is a great starting point. ... Read more

Product Description
Fisher Price Ready Readers introduce young children to the joy of reading through stories that are just right for their age level. Each collection features 10 colorfully illustrated, lively stories that are fun and gently challenging. As they build their reading skills, Stage 1 readers will gain the confidence to read on their own. This collection features Stage 1 stories. They are written specifically for children who are getting ready to read or beginning to read on their own. Each story in this collection is a wonderful introduction to the world of reading. This collection includes...Sherman Came for a VisitWhen I Am HappyTreasure Hunting at Tulip ParkNo More Chores!Coloprs for Me and YouEd Can HelpLook at Lisa GoGoldi's LocksMy Friend NellySara's Secret Hiding Place ... Read more

Product Description
All about the Mediterranean Diet, from guiding principles to specific recipes, for people who want to improve their health by improving their eating habits. Most people know that a Mediterranean-style diet is "good for them," but many lack the information that determines the diet's success. The Mediterranean Heart Diet does what most doctors who recommend the diet don't: spells out which foods are "out" and which are "in," and why.

Doctors recommend a Mediterranean eating style to thousands who are diagnosed each year with heart disease because it is "heart-healthy"-it promotes lower saturated-fat consumption, and helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure levels.

It is an all-purpose style of eating that also benefits those at risk of developing certain cancers and those with a diabetic condition, because it is high in antioxidant-rich foods and whole grains. The Mediterranean Heart Diet not only provides a full range of satisfying recipes but also covers the science behind the diet's health benefits. Readers learn to create their own healthful eating plans and establish new habits.

More than 140 delicious recipes are included, from satisfying Lentil and Broccoli Soup to tangy Halibut in Citrus Sauce. All recipes feature nutritional analysis by serving, including food exchanges. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Meditteranean Diet Book
This book talks about why the Mediterranean people have lower rates of inflammatory diseases. I am a Registered Dietitian and I found the research intriguing. The recipes I have tried have been somewhat bland. Good short read, about half the book is recipes. I would not really consider this a fad diet since it is a based on observation of a healthy population's diet. Does not really have meal plans just recipes which makes me happy as a dietitian that this book is not promising quick or easy weight loss. This book focuses on how this diet may help prevent some diseases over the long-term.

The Mediterranean Heart Diet
My FAVORITE 'diet' plan ever. It is SO EASY to follow.
I eat mostly vegetarian, not for any particular reason,
and found this style of eating to be really easy to follow.
I think for weight loss or just all over good health, this
plan is a great one to follow.I have purchased many books
on this subject, and have sold many of them...but kept this
one.

It is just OK
I made some of the recipes and they are not very tasty or even interesting. Get another recipe book or even better ,[...]

Acceptable
If you have never heard of the "Mediiterranean Diet" you will enjoy this book. I am almost 1 year into using this diet (and 25 pounds lighter). I am always looking for more "new" receipies. This book is light on receipies, but good on the theory and explaination.

nice recipes
I ordered this book and Cholesterol Down.The Mediterranean Heart Diet
has some nice recipes, but I found Cholesterol Down to be much more helpful in understanding cholesterol and why certain foods help lower it. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management, published by The National Underwriter Company on January 25, 1993. The length of the article is 632 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: Health policy transition director Judith Feder presented a 10-minute analysis of Clinton's health care policy to the estimated 800 health care-associated participants at the Health Reform Week-sponsored 'Health Care Reform Under Clinton' conference. Feder reiterated Clinton's pledge to provide global budgeting, universal coverage and employer mandates. In other remarks, Sen Edward Kennedy said that Congress would be willing to impose a health benefits tax on employers as a last resort. Rep Bill Gradison, who will become the President of the Health Insurance Assn of America, stated that the 1992 election provided a mandate for universal health care.

Citation Details
Title: Clinton prepared to take on the 800-lb. gorilla. (health care reform) (Washington Notebook) (Column)
Author: Mary Jane Fisher
Publication: National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 25, 1993
Publisher: The National Underwriter Company
Issue: n4Page: p30(1)

Article Type: Column

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Fun for the little ones
This was a fun water color book for my little ones.You can most certainly see the colors that the water is going to turn it.It's kind of like looking at a big picture painted in little polka dots.Then, when you get it wet that color spreads throughout.

Paint with water books need to make a comeback!
CUTE book!Great price.My kids love paint with water!These are so hard to find now.Why don't they sell these everywhere anymore?

Great!
I'm very happy with this Paint with Water book. It's just like I remember them from when I was a child. My daughter was able to get the paint to blend very easily with a little bit of water and the paper didn't start to rub off with the brush.From the books currently available, I would highly recommend this one. I hope they come out with more of this quality. Care Bears and Babar are great too!

Fun but the ink stains your table
The pictures in this book are cute, but the paper is very thin.After the paper is wet the ink bleeds through and stains the table your child is painting on.It is very hard to get the stain out, so make sure you put down another layer of paper first. ... Read more

Product Description
Dealing with your ex-husband, who can't seem to show up reliably for weekends with the kids; navigating a workplace fraught with office politics or racial tensions; saying "I'm sorry" or "I love you".

We all have difficult conversations, no matter how confident or competent we are. And too often, no matter what we try, things don't go well. Should you say what you're thinking and risk starting a fight? Swallow your views and feel like a doormat? Or should you let them have it? But--what if you're wrong?

Difficult Conversations shows you a way out of this dilemma; it teaches you how to handle even the toughest conversations more effectively and with less anxiety. Based on fifteen years of work at Harvard Negotiation Project and consultations with thousands of people, the authors answer the question:When people confront the conversations they dread the most, what works?

Difficult Conversations walks you through a proven, concrete, step-by-step approach for understanding and conducting tough conversations. It shows you how to get ready, how to start the conversations in ways that reduce defensiveness, and how to keep the conversation on a constructive track regardless of how the other person responds.

Whether you're dealing with your baby-sitter or biggest client, your boss or your brother-in-law, Difficult Conversations can help.
Amazon.com Review
We've all been there: We know we must confront a coworker,store clerk, or friend about some especially sticky situation--and weknow the encounter will be uncomfortable. So we repeatedly mull itover until we can no longer put it off, and then finally stumblethrough the confrontation. Difficult Conversations, by DouglasStone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen, offers advice for handling theseunpleasant exchanges in a manner that accomplishes their objective anddiminishes the possibility that anyone will be needlessly hurt. Theauthors, associated with Harvard Law School and the Harvard Project onNegotiation, show how such dialogues actually comprise three separatecomponents: the "what happened" conversation (verbalizing what webelieve really was said and done), the "feelings" conversation(communicating and acknowledging each party's emotional impact), andthe "identity" conversation (expressing the situation's underlyingpersonal meaning). The explanations and suggested improvements are,admittedly, somewhat complicated. And they certainly don't guaranteepositive results. But if you honestly are interested in elevating yourcommunication skills, this book will walk you through both mistakesand remedies in a way that will boost your confidence when suchunavoidable clashes arise. --Howard Rothman ... Read more

Customer Reviews (156)

Teaches a lot
A must have for all the people who have difficulties in communications. The book shows you how to approach other people.

Fabulous Communication Tool!
I have suggested this book to everyone I know. It really breaks conversations down to our own issues and assumptions. You are forced to deal with the three conversations that are really happening: The 'What really happened?'conversation, The emotions conversation, and the Identity conversation. Once I really tore apart some of the conversations that I had been wanting to have with these ideas in mind, they didn't seem to very difficult at all. One of the key messages is that avoidance is just as bad as having the conversation because it erodes relationships. There is also a huge focus on assumptions. We always give ourselves the benefit of the doubt, yet how often do we really do that with others? It is a quick, easy read that will leave you ready to tackle the big conversations in your own life.

Easy reading
Easy to read, full of immediately applicable advice, and focused on a subject relevant to any human being: interpersonal relationships. I learned as much from this book as from seven years of psychotherapy (but then again maybe I learned only because the therapy prepared me to really listen...). I even bought a copy to my former boss!

Difficult Conversations
I had heard that this was a good book for those in my field: Psychotherapy, and it is indeed. But it is a great book for dealing with any situations that trigger emotions in any setting: family,work,and social settings. It is a well written, easy to follow book that gives the reader new tools. I have been recommending it to others that I supervise as well as friends and family.

Useful reading for business people and those who seek to improve relationships
This is a useful book, but in my mind, is applicable very narrowly to certain business situations.

Throughout our lives, how many times do we feel that if only we could have communicated better, we wouldn't be where we are.If I communicated more clearly and with purpose, would my relationship be better?Would my friendships be less strained?Would my interaction with my co-workers be less awkward?Would I have been promoted more quickly, or prevented being fired?

While this book doesn't present answers to such specific scenarios, the book analyzes elements having a difficult conversation in a methodical manner, 'to discuss what matters most.'In that sense, the book is instrumental for any manager to become familiar with, in order to address those instances that organizational leaders inevitably face: how to confront difficult people or situations and dealing with them in a proper manner. Analytically speaking, the authors break down the conversational approach into three types: 1) "What Happened"?, 2) Feelings, and 3) Identity Conversations.

The book itself is an offshoot of the Harvard Negotiation Project (an earlier title from that project is the famous "Getting to Yes" by Ury and Fisher).

My opinion of book's main limitations are two-fold: One is that it might best pertain to hierarchical organizations.Otherwise, it's not always helpful to have structured approach when talking about matters of heart ... it doesn't work that way in life.When it comes to things of heart, honesty, confession, and parable may be more appropriate, to present a few examples.Second limitation is that even in a business setting, what leads to difficult conversations are bad management and engagement amongst co-workers.In that case, the problems arise long before the need for a difficult conversation.

Hence, in my mind, this book is applicable very narrowly to certain business situations. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (6)

Phryne Joins the Circus (But Not for Pleasure)
In this sixth book in the Phryne Fisher series, Phryne is asked by carnival friends to find out who is trying to drive Farrell's Circus out of business. Phryne joins the circus as "Fern," a dancer turned trick rider (she learns to trick ride specifically to investigate). In the meantime a hermaphrodite man who belonged to the same circus dies in a boarding house nearby; a former circus performer is accused of his death.

This is a fascinating entry in the Phryne Fisher series, giving you an inside look at a traveling circus in 1928 Australia and a glimpse of the people who work there: clowns who are thought unlucky, unusual people like dwarves and hermaphrodites who are accepted in the circus where they would not be anywhere else. Phryne, who has taken the job because she was bored, learns about loneliness and fear. We're also given a glimpse of Australian gangsters and street crime of the 1920s, including a prostitute who's becoming a drug addict. As is usual with a Phryne Fisher book, all the lads are attracted to her, and she manages to have hot sex with two different men. But it's a cracking good mystery as well.

Awesome story, terrific series
I love historical mysteries, and the Phryne Fisher series is absolutely my new favorite indulgence. Phryne is a great character, a clever detective, and I'm dazzled by the world she inhabits--Australia in the 1920s.

In Blood and Circuses, the Honorable Miss Phryne joins a traveling circus to investigate some suspicious happenings on behalf of some carnival sideshow friends of hers. It's a brilliant and tawdry world, and she learns stunt-riding as she explores the ins and outs of a working circus.

Years ago, I read an old book about a boy who wanted to run away and join the circus--it was the old-time equivalent of running away to Hollywood, I guess. Exciting, glamorous and totally different from "real" life. Joining the circus in Australia in 1928 seemed like the same thing.

This was my favorite so far of the Phyrne Fisher stories--I'm reading them in order--and definitely a treat. A satisfying mystery, a virtual journey in brand-new surroundings, and a terrific main character make this a don't-miss book

A bored woman who turns into an undercover detective
Kerry Greenwood's BLOOD AND CIRCUSES presents a Phryne Fisher mystery in telling of a bored woman who turns into an undercover detective who must abandon her entire life to investigate strange happenings at a local circus where animals have been poisoned and acts threatened.

A different Phryne
First Sentence:Mrs. Witherspoon, widow of uncertain years and theatrical background, was taking tea in her refined house for paying gentlefolk in Brusnwick Street, Fitzroy.

Wealthy private investigator Phryne is bored until she is approached by Samson the strong man, Alan the carousel operator and Doreen the Snake Woman to investigate what started as a series of accidents at the circus.With one of the circus members now dead, Phryne gives up her life of luxury and her friends to go undercover as a trick rider with the circus.

There is a lot more going on between the covers of this book than first appears.Greenwood knows how to take diverse, interesting characters and build a great story around them with the mystery almost being secondary.Here we have the murder of an hermaphrodite who was the love of both a man and a woman.We are introduced to the hierarchy of the circus and Phryne's feelings of vulnerability and loneliness.There is a ex-con who doesn't know whether she has committed murder but who finds a bit of her soul in helping an alcoholic go through withdrawal.There is sex, there is profanity; this is not your average cozy.What it is is a great character-driven story with a unique character.

delightful historical whodunit
In Australia a concerned carnival worker Alan Lee asks his former lover Phryne Fisher to determine who is sabotaging Farrell's Circus and Wild Beast Show; Phryne agrees to investigate.The latest incident involved poisoning a horse, which led to the injury of a trick rider.This enables the socialite detective to go undercover as a trick rider since she is excellent with horses though she will need training to perform the act.

At the same time that Phryne joins the big top, a former employee of Farrell's Circus, hermaphrodite Mr. Christopher is found dead in a Melbourne rooming house.The police arrest another former performer Miss Parkes, who was just released from prison.However, Melbourne Constable Tommy Harris and Detective Inspector Robinson believe she did not commit this homicide.As they make further inquiries, Robinson nebulously connects a gangland murder to the circus incidents and the Christopher killing.Now he thinks his friend Phryne is in jeopardy even as she and one of the clowns share a tryst while she risks her life seeking out the culprit.

As in her previous adventures, Phryne continues to defy the dictates of late 1920s Australian society that demand a single women behave in a certain way; this time she has an affair with a clown.Her investigation is made fresh by the circus and its performers and other employees as they bring uniqueness to the tale. The support cast is very well developed, especially at the circus, the socialite's investigation and the police procedural. Series fans will appreciate this delightful historical whodunit.

Harriet Klausner

... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

Libraries strong in mysteries will find it a thrilling addition
The circus is in town and St. Kilda is having its first Flower Festival parade, in which Phryne Fisher is to be Queen. The only problem at first is an unstable flower maiden but when malady spreads to include Phryne's own adopted daughter and the mystery deepens to something much more personal and dangerous, QUEEN OF THE FLOWERS really heats up. Libraries strong in mysteries will find it a thrilling addition.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

My favorite "Phryne" to date
I admit I'm not caught up on the whole "Phryne" series, but I think this is my favorite so far. There's a load of suspense, yet it seems a little more, um, gentle? than some others. We also get to learn a lot of history on more than one regular character, which is nice. I don't know how else to say it other than "Queen of the Flowers" hit the spot!!

Kidnapped
There isn't much more one can say about the eccentric and charming Phryne Fisher, the thoroughly modern woman ensconced in Australia after the First World War:She has appeared in numerous entries in this series and her deductive powers as a detective continue to be acute.

Two missing young girls are at the heart of the story line.One is Phryne's adopted daughter, Ruth, who is seeking the father she never knew, the other, a 13-year-old, one of the flower girls serving Phryne, who is to be the Queen of the Flowers in the Flower Parade.

There have been many novels in this series before and after this one.PPP continues to publish them in no particular order--much to this reader's delight.Keep them coming!

Highly recommended.

excellent Australian historical mystery
In 1928 the townsfolk of St. Kilda are euphoric as they prepare for the annual Queen of the Flowers gala.Socialite Phryne Fisher is especially looking forward to the festival receiving the honor of being name the Queen of the event.This means spending time buying fancy dresses and dining in top restaurants, a hardship that Phryne will suffer with relish though the elephant may be a bit too much even for a woman who tries anything.

However, Phryne's adopted daughter, Ruth vanishes in search of her biological father after learning from her birthmother TB victim Anna Ross at the sanatorium who he is.Phryne has been hired by family friends in Melbourne to search for missing Rose Weston while she also plans to trace her adopted daughter.Her investigation proves stunning and shocking as she uncovers some horrific happenings.

As always with this excellent Australian historical mystery series, the characters especially the nonparallel Phryne make for a strong period piece.The investigations are fun to follow as the heroine begins to find horrific occurrences that shake even her.However, it is the heroine and her support cast who bring late 1920s Australia to life that makes QUEEN OF FLOWERS and the rest of the Fischer saga some of the best recurring lighthearted investigative tales.

Harriet Klausner

... Read more

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Customer Reviews (6)

A Cautionary Tale of Never Growing Up
I, too, was greatly impressed by MFK Fisher's books - they had everything -- an appreciation of food, wine, travel, writing, husbands, lovers, children and always money.Yet, my appreciation of these tales, I think, reveal a retarded adolescence on my part.

Reardon's biography is well written, very informative, and considerate.It is the work of someone who is grown, mature.MFK Fisher never grew up.And I think that's what is at the heart of some readers dislike for her.To blame the biographer for this is shooting the messenger.

It's clear from this biography that MFK Fisher's personality did not grow beyond the age of 16 or so.Her children were props to her romance of her life.It was beyond cruel not to reveal the father of her daughter. I think that Reardon had to deal with some bad feelings of her own about MFK -- the mystification that occurs when people we admire do not seem admirable at all.From there, how do we accept their work -- do we decide that the artist's life has nothing to do with the work?

The romance Fisher created of herself, the mirror she created in her work, should have been obvious to me as a reader.No one's life could be so fluently lived. Yet, I can also see that her theatrics must have been quite compelling, very enlivening...but not real.

There is a darkness to her character that Reardon describes but never actually states.So I end up seeing this biography as completely necessary because MFK Fisher is part of our culture.She inspired many imaginations -- culinary, literary, everyday.But it was all a romance... a dark romance of someone in love with her image -- an adolescent.

This is a first rate biography for its fairness, its scholarship, and its clear writing.

Reardon captures the real MFK
Having read 10 of Fisher's books I was beginning to not like her all that much and then along comes Reardon's biography and I like MFK even less. Fisher was a talented writer but truly a narrcicist who sponged off her parents and hung out with others, mostly well to do and who were "artists and writers"; people who, for the most part, never really worked. What I found hardest to take was the fact that she never told her oldest daughter who her father was - even in MFK's dying days she refused Anna's request to tell her who this man was. I am afraid I will never read my remaining Fisher books - Too bad, I want to like her but it will be hard to forget the facts laid out by Reardon.

Not Always Pretty
I enjoyed Joan Reardon's intimate biography of the food writer MFK Fisher quite a lot but the pleasures of reading it deepened into dispiriting reflections on how intrusive biography can be.Taking its title from an inane description of Fisher;s writing by John Updike, POET OF THE APPETITE peers almost literally into the abyss, the destruction and mixed feelings left behind by a talented, "play-acting" lady's sweep through life.Reardon details the events of Fisher's three marriages almost as though she'd been there, and she brings to life some long affairs as well.Before reading this book, I don't remember knowing that Fisher had often had to fight off members of her own sex, and occasionally she succumbed, bragging about it later.In contrast to the three dimensionality imparted to Fisher's male lovers, it is perhaps unfortunate that Reardon seems unwilling to portray the estimable Marietta Voorhees as anything other than a quarrelsome, needy, aged and ugly pest, whose function in Fisher's life was to whine and to fret about her mother.

Meanwhile a comparable affair with a man, her late in life hook up with Esuqire editor and Hemingway buddy Arbold Gingrich, a married man no less, is presented as kind of cute in that old-lovers Cocoon way.

Most distasteful is Reardon's prompt, efficient way of laying out the whole sad story of Anna Parrish, Fisher's younger daughter.After reading the facts of her life in this book, how could poor Anna ever raise her head high again?Reardon eviscerates her as a hedonistic hippie who let her toddler walk across a six lane highway unattended, while she was having a manic episode on a commune.I guess part of the point is that Fisher's karma finally caught up with her.

And what about the food industry, which drove Fisher to restless spasms of having to produce a new book every year even when she was dying, or trying to?Those late books are looking more and more grotesque, like the late De Koonings produced by "the Master" in the stages of Alzheimers Disease.And yet, as Reardon shows, Fisher was complicit in their production.Anything for a buck or so it seems.I liked reading the book, its cool analysis, its thorough research, its sturdy construction, best of all for showing us, in more detail than entirely necessary, how a legend fights its way into being, and folks, it isn't always pretty.

Oh well and Ho Hum
If you have read the published journals and collected letters,this book is largely redundant.Ms Reardon has meticulously documented how she has supplemented these with interviews and excerpts from the Fisher papers at the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe.Despite the significant effort and research,I'm not sure that this book has added significant content or understanding.I believe that we are all human beings with our own frailties and foibles and I think that Ms Reardon has tried to fairly capture that aspect of Ms Fisher's life.However I think Ms Fisher's voice in the published journals and letters does this as well.

A Very Good Biography of a most important culinary writer
`Poet of the Appetites, The Lives and Loves of M.F.K. Fisher' by Joan Reardon is, obviously, a biography of America's greatest culinary essayist. It is important to distinguish Ms. Fisher's subject from her great contemporaries, Julia Child and James Beard, who wrote about food and cooking. The point of the title of this book is that Ms. Fisher wrote about eating and the enjoyment of eating.

Ms. Reardon is eminently qualified to do the biography of Ms. Fisher, as she was a friend and associate of Ms. Fisher for several years and a commentator on her works in earlier writings. Her main problem was that the eminent writing stylist, Ms. Fisher wrote so many memoirs on various parts of her own life that it may have been hard to compete with her subject.

In Ms. Reardon's favor is the fact that Ms. Fisher had a tendency to `play fast and loose with her renditions of events' (quote from Ms. Reardon's introduction). This means that while Ms. Fisher's description of, for example, her early 1930s life with her first husband in Dijon in `Long Ago in France: The Years in Dijon' may be more interesting to read than Ms. Reardon's account of the same period, Joan Reardon is more likely to be giving us the unvarnished story.

Part of my problem in reading this biography may have been the fact that I knew relatively little of Ms. Fisher's life. Unlike my reading the biographies of Julia Child and James Beard, I had no sense of anticipation to discover how, for example, Julia Child acquired her passion for French cooking.

My exposure up to this point had been a brief essay by James Villas on an encounter with Ms. Fisher late in her career. And, many of her most famous pieces were published by the early 1950's, when the biggest events in her life were her private problems with husband number two and her daughters. When I reached this point in her life, the reading becomes much more labored.

Ms. Reardon's narrative is, I am convinced, extremely accurate, albeit not very engaging. It is obvious from financial difficulties why Ms. Fisher wished to disengage from her second husband Donald Friede, but I simply get no strong sense of why she fell out of love with her first husband, Al Fisher, aside from her interest in Dillwyn Parrish.

As I write this, I get the sense that maybe I wanted too much, but I will go with my visceral reaction and say that Ms. Reardon's straight talk may not get behind the events quite as well as I may hope.

The problem may also be in the fact that where Child and Beard had such public, active lives, Fisher's life was quite private.

The very best thing about this book is that it gives you a new perspective on Fisher's own writings and add to their value. The book may or may not encourage you to read Fisher's works, in spite of John Thorne's enthusiastic recommendation on the back cover.

My final take on this book is the fact that I have read other culinary biographies with more interest than I got from this book, but I still consider this an excellent biography of a very important American writer.
... Read more

Product Description
From one of the most gifted writers of our time, a nostalgic account of France, replete with fascinating characters and memorable meals. In this very personal reminiscence, readers glimpse beautiful Dijon against the backdrop of between-the-wars Europe through the eyes, heart and stomach of a most wise and articulate woman. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Dijon du Jour
With her usual wit and style, MFK Fisher brings the food and atmosphere of Dijon alive.It is a fun book, perfect as an introduction to a way of life that is both foreign and dated.The delights of the table set by an eccentric landlady and shared with a variety of characters from the building, are extravegant.Fisher also draws a picture of the town's restaurants, markets, and life.

A good read.

Enjoyable, tantalizing
This is an enjoyable, tantalizing book, with some dull spots in the earlier chapters.It is an account of Fisher's 3 years in Dijon, where she movedin 1929 so that her new husband could pursue a doctorate.She was 20 years old, bright, pretty, charming, in love,and most of all, enthusiastic.The reader gets caught up in all this, so as to overlook the book's serious drawback.Fisher can write very nicely, but you learn much more about her landladies than her husband.Fisher says of her sister Norah, "she TOO speaks always with reserve" (caps mine).The book is written as if you are already acquainted with Fisher, as no doubt many readers are, but for the rest I would recommend, before starting the book, that they look up M.F.K. Fisher in Google and thereby get to the site about Fisher sponsored by Les Dames d'Escoffier International.

Excellent Memoir and Writing, but not her best
`Long Ago in France' by premier American food writer M.F.K. Fisher was one of her last autobiographical memoirs of life in France. She may not have invented the `American in Europe' memoir exemplified by Peter Mayle's `My Year in Provence' and Frances Mayes `Under the Tuscan Sun', but she certainly helped define the genre with this work as well as `Map of Another Town', `A Considerable Town', and parts of many of her other autobiographical works such as `The Gastronomical Me'.

The events in this book, covering much of the first three years of Ms. Fisher's life with her first husband, Al Fisher, spent in a private boarding house in Dijon while hubby Fisher was completing his doctoral dissertation at the University in Dijon. The period of this book occupies a scant seven pages in `Poet of the Appetites', the biography of Ms. Fisher by Joan Reardon, yet the original book reveals practically nothing about the life of husband and wife Fisher. It certainly does not give any clue to why they ended up in Dijon, since their original intention was to study at the more prestigious university in Strasbourg.

This is the first complete work of M.F.K. Fisher's I have read and I feel just a little disappointment. The word pictures of living and eating in Dijon are certainly illuminating, but there is practically none of the humor you find in the books from Mayles and Mayes. There is also less of the scintillating writing I have sampled in some of her more famous pieces. By the author's own admission, much of this material is also a reworking of material from earlier published works as much as it is new stuff mined from her journals of this period.

The most obvious omission is a sense of the troubling times in which these events take place. The three years covered in the narrative are from 1929 through 1931, yet there is virtually no mention of the great depression as it affects Dijon, let alone how it affects the writer and her husband. Oddly, the same is true of Fisher's life as described by her biographer. Fisher's father was the editor, publisher, and owner of a small newspaper in California who did much to subsidize the student life of the young Fishers and of Mary Frances through several difficult years between marriages. Yet, there is practically no mention of this in the writings by and about Fisher.

This book is essential reading for anyone interested in Ms. Fisher's life and the influences on her writing, as she is easily, in the twentieth century American culinary world, the Wittgenstein to Julia Child's Einstein. That is the much lesser known theorist of culinary desire matched with the incomparable practitioner of culinary technique, both of whom got their inspiration from the food and cooking of France.

Yet, compared to similar works by probably less talented writers, this book is just a bit flat and dusty, befitting its recollections of events over sixty years before in the author's life. The stories of life are illuminating. The stories of people are a little empty, as all characters other than Mary Frances herself are long gone from the stage.

One of the best from America's 1st literary foodie
MFK Fisher holds a special place in the hearts of all `foodie' Americans. She was perhaps the 1st person to see the sense of writing food-based literary books and articles, and of course it's now a genre unto itself. But few have rivaled her beautiful prose, and I recall reading that she once said she considered it a day well-lived if she'd managed to compose one perfect sentence. To consider her just a food writer is to do her an injustice; she is a writer, first and foremost, who happens, sometimes, to write about food.
Long Ago in France is a memoir of her years in Dijon in the 30s, a book full of rich wine, rich ideas, character portraits filled with rich detail. It's about Life, a life filled with joy, experience, food, travel, and memorable people. This book is a paean to a lost era.
Highest recommendation.

A Reader's Feast
Between 1929 and 1932, young M.F.K. Fisher (later a famed chef and memoirist) and her husband Al Fisher lived and studied in Dijon, France. Here she discovered the people and the food of Burgundy, and she describes both with warmth, sensuality, and humor (without becoming overly sentimental: "It was there, I now understand, that I started to grow up, to study, to make love, to eat and drink, to be me and not what I was expected to be."

Her writing is crisp and evocative. "He took the apple slices from the bowl one by one, almost faster than we could see, and shook off the wine and laid them in a great, beautiful whorl, from the outside to the center, as perfect as a snail shell. We said not a word. The music trembled in the room." Fisher helps the reader discover the beauty of our appetites. She writes of an old soldier who offers her chocolate: "The chocolate broke at first like gravel into many separate, disagreeable bits...Then they grew soft, and melted voluptuously." Then a doctor offers her bread, admonishing, "Never eat chocolate without bread, young lady!" There is a delicious denouement: "...in two minutes my mouth was full of fresh bread, and melting chocolate, and as we sat gingerly, the three of us, on the frozen hill...we peered shyly and silently at each other and chewed at one of the most satisfying things I have ever eaten..."

This was a time of great importance for Fisher, and she generously shares her experiences in a richly satisfying book. It's a small treasure. ... Read more

Product Description

The basic goal of a research scientist is to understand a given, unknown system. This innovative book develops a systematic approach for achieving this goal. All science is ultimately dependent upon observation which, in turn, requires a flow of information. Fisher information, in particular, is found to provide the key to understanding the system. It is developed as a new tool of exploratory data analysis, and is applied to a wide scope of systems problems. These range from molecules in a gas to biological organisms in their ecologies, to the socio-economic organization of people in their societies, to the physical constants in the universe and, ultimately, to proto-universes in the multiverse.

Examples of system input-output laws discovered by the approach include the famous quarter-power laws of biology and the Tobin q-theory of optimized economic investment. System likelihood laws that can be determined include the probability density functions defining in situ cancer growth and a wide class of systems (thermodynamic, economic, cryptographic) obeying Schrodinger-like equations. Novel uncertainty principles in the fields of biology and economics are also found to hold.

B. Roy Frieden and Robert A. Gatenby are professors at the University of Arizona. Frieden is in the College of Optics, and Gatenby is Chairman of the Radiology Dept. at the Arizona Health Sciences Center. Frieden has pioneered the use of information for developing image restoration approaches, and for understanding the physics of unknown systems, both nonliving and living. Gatenby has actively promoted the study of information as a determinant of healthy and malignant growth processes, and has developed integrated mathematical models and empirical techniques for this purpose.

Customer Reviews (2)

What can Fisher information tell us?
B.R. Frieden and R.A. Gatenby (Eds), Exploratory Data Analysis using Fisher Information (Springer, London 2007)
For some years now, Roy Frieden has been exploring the consequences of studying physical phenomena on the basis of Fisher information and extreme physical information (EPI). From the very beginning, the results were spectacular. From the slenderest beginnings, many of the fundamental equations of physics emerged from these EPI principles: the Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations of quantum mechanics as well as the Schrödinger equation; Newton's second law; Maxwell's equations; many of the equations of general relativity; and this does not exhaust the list. These ideas, gradually developed in a series of publications in very respectable and severely refereed scientific journals, were brought together in Physics from Fisher Information (1998) and its successor, Science from Fisher Information (2004).
It was clear from that work that the approach should not be limited to physics but the extent to which it has shown itself fruitful, charted in Frieden's latest book, is a revelation. This is not a monograph but a collection of essays, edited by Frieden and R.A. Gatenby, a life scientist, on a very wide range of topics, all of which are shown to benefit from the use of EPI. The book begins with an introduction by Frieden, in which the reader is told what Fisher information is and how to use it, employing the EPI approach. Eight chapters follow, contributed by the editors and 11 other authors, on financial economics (Frieden, R.J. Hawkins and and J.L. d'Anna); tissue growth and cancer (by the editors); statistical mechanics and `thermal physics' - not very different from what I was taught to call thermodynamics (A. and A.R. Plastino); astrobiology (by Frieden and B.H. Soffer), which is described as a unification of biology and astrophysics; encryption (R.C. Venkatesan); the management of sustainable environmental systems (A.L. Mayer, C.W. Pawlowski, B.D. Fath and H. Cabezas); ecology (by the editors); and to conclude, `Sociohistory: an information theory of social change' (M.I. Yolles and Frieden).
This makes for a very adventurous book, all of which makes fascinating reading though some chapters are more readable than others and occasionally, the authors seem unnecessarily on the defensive, as though they expect readers to have a red pencil at the ready. The list of chapters already gives a good idea of the diversity of the contents and even within individual chapters, the coverage is often surprising; thus Chapter 7 (Environmental systems) ends with a section on `Sociopolitical data', in which "state failure", the risk of a "catatastrophic collapse of a nation's governing body" is examined and illustrated with a histogram showing the stability of five countries, Sweden, France, Argentina, Sierra Leone and Haiti. The Fisher index based on eight criteria is very high (indicating great stability) for Sweden, low for Argentina, Sierra Leone and Haiti and only marginally better for France (in the years between 1961 and 1995)! The concluding chapter (Sociohistory) is the most difficult for readers from the exact sciences, unaccustomed to Kant's notion of the noumenon, the Hegelian doctrine of the dialectic and the autonomous holon, though the authors have tried hard to render the vocabulary of the sociologist palatable.
The very different nature of the topics examined makes it less easy to appreciate the remarkable role of EPI than in the earlier books, addressed to physicists in language with which they were familiar, however revolutionary the theory presented. I imagine that readers of this latest offering will peruse only the chapter that deals with their own particular interest. I therefore wish to emphasize that the truly original feature of this book - apart from EPI itself - is precisely its broad coverage; its demonstration that such a simple principle, easily grasped, is capable of yielding valuable results in such a wide range of fields of enquiry. I found Frieden's earlier books immensely original and intellectually thrilling and this one adds yet more weight to that opinion.
P.W. Hawkes
(M.A., Ph.D., Sc.D., Cambridge; emeritus Director of Research, CNRS)

Fisher information forever
In a simple-minded way Fisher information can be expressed in one dimension
as an integral of (P') squared over P where P is a suitable probability density.
For example P could be the square modulus of a quantum wave function.
Many action principles for physical systems in quantum mechanics or
relativity involve extremizing a Lagrangian which contains such Fisher information
(FI) terms.The book applies such ideas to a huge variety of physical, biological,
economic, ecological, social, game theoretical, and informational systems.
One uses FI in a unified approach to statistically based science called
EPI (extreme physical information).This leads to a program (EPA) of
exploratory data analysis whose inputs are real or Gedanken data and whose
outputs are the natural laws governing a system.The results often appearin the form of
differential equations.Here one thinks of the
universe as information-dominated and "participatory", of Harrison type,
allowing maximum
information gain at each observation and "favoring" the intelligent
observation of information.

One speaks of three levels of solution for EPI,
depending on the three levels of prior knowledge categorized by the
19th century philosopher C. Pierce.These are
(A) The highest level
or "abduction", giving exact (quantum) solutions; (B) The next highest level
or "deduction", giving accurate but inexact (non-quantum) solutions of
classical physics; and
(C) The lowest level or "induction" using merely empirical data giving approximate
but smooth solutions.
The exact type (A) solutions of EPI require a measurement space connected
via unitary transformations with some other space having a physical reality.
In this event one arrives via EPIat the correct dynamical equations for the
measurement space.There are two earlier books in these directions:
(1) Physics from Fisher information, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1998 and
(2) Science from Fisher information, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2004, both
by B.R. Frieden.

The present book is is a collaboration by H. Cabezas, J.L. D'Anna, B.D. Fath,
B.R. Frieden, R.A. Gatenby, R.J. Hawkins, A.L. Mayer, C. Pawlowski, A. Plastino,
A.R. Plastino, B.H. Soffer, R.C. Venkatesan, and M. Yolles.The topics include (1)
A tutorial on FI and background mathematics plus chapters on
(2) Financial economics from FI, (3) Growth characteristics of organisms,
(4) Information theory and thermal physics, (5) Parallel information phenomena
in biology and astrophysics, (6) Encryption of covert information through a
Fisher game, (7) Applications of FI to the management of sustainable
environmental systems, (8) FI in ecological systems, and (9) Sociohistory:
An information theory of social change.

There is much to reflect on here and strong evidence that this is indeed the
way to go.I personally have used and exploited the Fisher information theme
in numerous papers related to quantum mechanics and relativity, in particular
via relations of FI to the quantum potential.I would even say that this theme
seems to have "cosmic significance" and in the present arena of information
technology, processing, retrieval, and distortion the book should be considered as
must reading.

Robert Carroll, Emeritus Professor, University of Illinois ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (7)

Castlemaine Murders
I thought I was buying a book about Castlemaine in County Kerry, Ireland, where my ancestors came from, only to find that there is apparantly a Castlemaine, Australia as well (which probably has my ancestors too, but I haven't found that in any research as yet.) Therefore, I really had no interest in the book and just donated it to a local charity.

Book review: Castlemaine Murders
Kerry Greenwood's mysteries, that have her heroine, Phryne Fisher, uncovering the secrets of Australians in the early 1900's, are always entertaining.She steeps the tales in Australian history and includes well thought out social commentary as well.Castlemaine Murders is interesting, informative and fun, but not so much as the earlier Phryne Fisher mysteries.

A waste of a nice setting...
Upon finding myself with time to spare in a library one morning, my eye chanced upon this book, one of a series of which I had previous perused a few & found them wanting. Returning to the fabulous adventures of dear Phryne after several years increased my dislike of the woman. She is is the absolutely perfectest person on the planet & the reader's main response is to want to slap her. She is "posh" butdoen't let it interfere in her interactions with lesser beings; she has a maid, but they're really like bestest friends; she has a married lover, but his wife approves; she has a lovely house with staff; a gorgeous car; a drool-worthy wardrobe; is understanding, open minded, accepting of others' differences and has adopted two common little orphan girls. While the mysteries themselves are diverting and the descriptions of Melbourne wonderful, one spends most of the book hoping that the heroine will be pushed under a train or one of those zippy Melbourne trams.

Read This Series!
Kerry Greenwood's series featuring Phryne Fisher--1920s flapper, feminist, and clotheshorse--is delightful.Phryne is a most unflappable flapper, and the cast of minor characters in each book is equally deft.The writing is excellent, the humor dry, the plots enjoyable, and a touch of authenticity about Australia in the 1920s adds to the general enjoyment. Highly recommended--a cozy series that is not too sweet.

The Castlemaine Murders, by Kerry Greenwood
I enjoyed this book very much.I liked it because it takes place in Australia in the 1920's.The author uses local history to make her plot interesting.The main character is well developed and likeable.The suppporting characters are also well developed and work well in the plot. ... Read more