A fun way to improve understanding of the French language

This book is a fun,entertaining book that helps learners of the language grasp colloquialisms that they wouldn't understand otherwise e.g.-<Tomber dans pommes>(to fall into apples)means to faint!The idiom is given in a conversation to help understand what context it should be used in and these conversations are translated at the back of the book.But the best thing about this book are the comical drawings that illustrate each idiom.This gives the impression that the book has a more lighthearted approach to understanding and teaching French.A refreshing book for those wanting to speak more like a native or those who just want a more enjoyable way to improve their French.

american version not uk version

Like other people who have written reviews for"Miller's Collectibles Price Guide 2009 (Miller's Collectables Price Guide)" I received American version not UK version. What a waste of time - why is it not stated in the title - If I purchase a book on Amazon UK site I would expect it to be a UK version and if it isn't then Amazon should advise so.

Excellent and comprehensive when it wants to be

Portrayed by some, including somewhat understandably the publishers, as 'the world's greatest cookery encyclopedia' this is a book which can justifiably try to claim that title. Whether it would win that title is debatable but it's certainly a strong candidate. It's excellent when it chooses to cover a subject but not comprehensive and not for the novice cook.

Cookery is just too large a subject to cover in a single volume so it's unreasonably to expect any single volume work to be encyclopedic so there are understandable gaps in Larousse's coverage of it's subject. This won't teach you how to cook from scratch, despite containing descriptions of many cooking techniques and recipes, but this is a reference work. This is the book you turn to after you've learned the basics of how to cook.

If you have reached that point of being confident in the kitchen and want to get more from what you've learned so far this is a book for you. If you're a gastronome and want a reference to tell you more about the background of what you're eating then this is for you. If you're just learning to cook and are looking for one book to cover everything then you're probably better off with Delia.

For those who do want this as a reference then remember it is excellent but not comprehensive. When it chooses to cover a subject it is very good but what it chooses to cover is a bit random, for example the entry on croissants describes their history, the basic process to make them and gives half a dozen different recipes and variations but the entry for danish pastry rattles off a quick one paragraph description and mentions nothing more. Also the indexing is a bit disorganised so there is an entry for black pudding but nothing for white pudding, on the other hand though it has entries for boudin blanc but not boudin noir! The gaps in its coverage reflect its slightly francophile emphasis but the indexing is just one of those things that mean without a little food knowledge, in that case knowing that boudin noir and black pudding are pretty much the same thing, this won't be that useful.

This has a home in my kitchen as it sits among thirty or forty other cook books. If I was to just have three or four on the shelf then it wouldn't be one of those books but it is worth the money once you are buying you second or third set of cookbooks.

comprehensive wine guide for the novice to expert

Great 'Bible' for wine lovers. A comprehensive encyclopedia of wine ranging from types of grape and regions of wine production to detailed discriptions of the qualities of different grape varieties. This book is a must for the wine lover or the interested novice. One small criticism would be the over attention to detail in the history of each wine region and not enough comment on the actual flavours and qualities of each grape variety/growing region. Otherwise a top notch publication.

Excellent

In our house it's called the Great Big Book of Everything. My son is five and we have this book for a couple of years. Thoroughly recommended.

The Arrogance of Wealth

Having spent 50 years at the sharp end of the Wine Trade I found it fascinating to read about the ephereal aspect which one only encountered through reputation and the more elite journals of the business.
Apart from being saddened by the discrediting of one much loved personality in the trade I enjoyed the discomfort of the exposure of a well known charletan and the unveiling of the enormous vanity of his hugely wealthy clients whose judgement deserted them when social acceptance was the carrot. To be the owner of a bottle of wine more than 230 years old with ownership attributed to Thomas Jefferson but without any clear provenance distorted the sensibilities they would regularly apply to their own businesses.
These bottles included the most expensive ever sold, which was a direct consequence of the self same vanity of the purchasers. But it was an enormous confidence trick that was compounded by the greed of the subject's clients as they increasingly fell under the spell cast by the opportunity to own a priceless, but also probably worthless bottle of wine.

Very helpful

This is great to have by your bed so you can check first thing in the morning when you have dreams that you want explained quickly. It is written in clear and concise English and is also entertaining and beautifully illustrated. This book would make a great present and is an ideal coffee table book for guests to your house to browse.

A glorious feast of nostalgia

A big, sumptuous, heavy coffee table book, which treats the Beano archive with care and respect and documents the awsome talent which has gone into its creation over the past 70 years. The reproduction of numerous, full page, vintage and modern strips is crisp and clear - often taken from original artwork - and printed at a size which is suitable for ageing, nostalgic eyes. For too long Comics have been treated as trivial things; kids swopped them, teachers confiscated them and mothers gave them away to jumble sales. The material on display in this book, however, shows that the Beano, and its ilk, deserves to be re-assesed as a national treasure. It not only reflects the culture of the last 70 years, but can now be seen as having strongly influenced it. More from the vaults of D C Thomson please.

A Good Guide to British Stamps

As always, this guide is clearly laid out, and shows pictures of most of the issues since 1840. The only downside is that the values generally tend to be over inflated, and the stamps can be bought much cheaper at other locations. Overall, it's a good reference guide, and gives a rough indication of prices.

Marvel Vault - Fantastic but flawed

I agree in what has already been written about how good the book is. However, there is a major flaw in the book that needs pointing out. The pages are held in place by a metal ring binding. Even with careful use the pages are going to pull againt this binding and are going to tear and fall out. I could already see slight wear after looking through the book once - Be warned especally considering the price.

A Trip Back to Your Youth and Great Opportunities to Connect with Sons, Nephews, and Grandsons

Put together all of your cub scout and boy scout manuals, your favorite books about masculine activities, and your favorite memories about growing up as a boy, and you'll find them all somewhere in The Dangerous Book for Boys. In addition, you'll find answers to questions you've always wondered about . . . written at a boy's level of understanding.

As I read pages about tying knots, forming and launching paper airplanes, picking out a Swiss army knife, heat at the equator, making a bow and arrows, understanding grammar, making timers and tripwires, reading U.S. Naval flag codes, creating and decoding ciphers, forming crystals, learning to juggle, practicing first aid, star charts of constellations, and famous battles, I was once again eight years old. I didn't know it was possible, but my body felt smaller and suppler. I could remember where I'd first learned about all of those things, in many cases remembering what I hadn't thought of in decades.

As a connection to the younger generation, this book is marvelous because you can create a common territory beyond the borders of video games, MP3 files, and exotic sports. In addition, you can relate to you young friend or relative your own experiences in these areas, fields that young people don't know how to visit otherwise.

After you've looked at this book, I'm sure you'll agree with me that every boy deserves the chance to add this learning and these experiences to his boyhood.

I'm sure there will be another edition of this book someday. When it comes out, Mr. Iggulden, please do me a favor and include a section on the rules of cricket. I've never been able to completely follow that game. Then, you'll have made my second childhood perfect.

Cannot be recommended highly enough

I bought the Oxford First Encyclopedia for my six-and-a-half year old daughter for Christmas 2005. It has been the one present that she has consistently and continually gone back to over this year, so I'm buying one for her cousin!

The wording has been well thought out and is just right for kids of around six to about ten or eleven, so the encyclopedia certainly has shelf life. Simple subjects are made interesting and difficult subjects are well explained through the use of some very stylish illustrations, photographs and diagrams.

The book has been very supportive as it covers many of the subjects taught under the national curriculum at the ages I mention above. It's also a good, solid hardback, so it has survived the school bag for nearly a year.

High recommended.

Not great, actually...

A very dull book that reads like a pretty average sort of blog; a series of not particularly amusing or inventive rants aimed at entirely predictable targets. It is astonishing really that it seems to have taken two people to write. It would however make a perfect stocking filler if you have to buy one for a dimwit.

Wow

This is the most amazing pop-up book I've ever seen. The detail is absolutely awesome and you can really appreciate the amount of time and craftsmanship that's gone in to creating it.

The T Rex and the bird on the last two pages are incredible, but the smaller ones are amazing too.

A must for any dinosaur fans.