When I set out to write a book about the natural history of breasts, I knew I'd have to answer some awkward questions about my book topic. At a...
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Is there an entire book within the skin of the simple banana? There is--and this is it. Readers of Koeppel's well-researched and well-written history will never look at a banana--or the famous companies that market them--in the same way again. From a mysterious disease that wiped out the banana our grandparents ate (the last were marketed the year before I was born, 1965) to the involvement of banana companies in coups, assassinations and the Bay of Pigs, to the desperate scramble by scientists to save not only the sweet and profitable favorite of American markets, but also the fundamental staple of many equatorial countries, this book is a fascinating illustration of the fact that nothing is as simple as it seems, and an amazing look at the past and possible future (or lack thereof) of the world's most popular fruit.
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With the possible exception of Rosie O'Donnell, who admitted that as a very rich woman she could afford a huge staff to help her raise her child, what famous mother ever owns up to the reality of celebrity motherhood? If you can believe them, every celebrity mother finds a perfect balance between grueling filming schedules and grueling newborn schedules, moving effortlessly from the movie set to the nursery, impeccably dressed, endlessly patient, and absolutely in tune with their children's needs. So why can't the rest of us do it as well?
Read this book, laugh till it hurts, shake your head and thank Suzanne Hansen for revealing the real truth behind those oh-so-motherly celebrities--not to mention a few revelations about some famous people who really are a little bit like the rest of us.
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(2 of 4 readers found this comment helpful)
Imagine living in a place where a storm could do more than blow down a tree or flood a neighborhood. In Orokos, probability storms are unpredictable in both their approach and their effects. A touch of this storm, and buildings change locations; a child's lungs may vanish; a left-handed person become right-handed. But the probability storms aren't the worst thing about Orokos; they are just a small part of a terrifying puzzle, a puzzle that has the outcasts Rail and Moa in its grip. Are they thieves or heroes? Is the powerful government of Orokos good or evil? And is there really a source for the probability storms--a source that can be destroyed?
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mejaka has commented on (3) products.
Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World by Dan Koeppel
mejaka, January 30, 2009
Is there an entire book within the skin of the simple banana? There is--and this is it. Readers of Koeppel's well-researched and well-written history will never look at a banana--or the famous companies that market them--in the same way again. From a mysterious disease that wiped out the banana our grandparents ate (the last were marketed the year before I was born, 1965) to the involvement of banana companies in coups, assassinations and the Bay of Pigs, to the desperate scramble by scientists to save not only the sweet and profitable favorite of American markets, but also the fundamental staple of many equatorial countries, this book is a fascinating illustration of the fact that nothing is as simple as it seems, and an amazing look at the past and possible future (or lack thereof) of the world's most popular fruit.(8 of 13 readers found this comment helpful)
You'll Never Nanny in This Town Again: The True Adventures of a Hollywood Nanny by Suzanne Hansen
mejaka, January 19, 2009
With the possible exception of Rosie O'Donnell, who admitted that as a very rich woman she could afford a huge staff to help her raise her child, what famous mother ever owns up to the reality of celebrity motherhood? If you can believe them, every celebrity mother finds a perfect balance between grueling filming schedules and grueling newborn schedules, moving effortlessly from the movie set to the nursery, impeccably dressed, endlessly patient, and absolutely in tune with their children's needs. So why can't the rest of us do it as well?Read this book, laugh till it hurts, shake your head and thank Suzanne Hansen for revealing the real truth behind those oh-so-motherly celebrities--not to mention a few revelations about some famous people who really are a little bit like the rest of us.
(2 of 4 readers found this comment helpful)
Storm Thief by Chris Wooding
mejaka, January 19, 2009
Imagine living in a place where a storm could do more than blow down a tree or flood a neighborhood. In Orokos, probability storms are unpredictable in both their approach and their effects. A touch of this storm, and buildings change locations; a child's lungs may vanish; a left-handed person become right-handed. But the probability storms aren't the worst thing about Orokos; they are just a small part of a terrifying puzzle, a puzzle that has the outcasts Rail and Moa in its grip. Are they thieves or heroes? Is the powerful government of Orokos good or evil? And is there really a source for the probability storms--a source that can be destroyed?(2 of 4 readers found this comment helpful)