Books about Sweetness from Amazon.com

Dismissed as déclassé by gourmands, blamed for the scourge of obesity, and yet loved by all, the taste of sweet has long been at the center of both controversy and celebration For anyone who has ever felt conflicted about a cupcake, this is a book to sink your teeth into. In The Taste of Sweet, unabashed dessert lover Joanne Chen takes us on an unexpected adventure into the nature of a taste you thought you knew and reveals a world you never imagined.

Sweet is complicated, our individual relationships with it shaped as much by childhood memories and clever marketing as the actual sensation of the confection on the tongue. How did organic honey become a luxury while high-fructose corn syrup has been demonized? Why do Americans think of sweets as a guilty pleasure when other cultures just enjoy them? What new sweetener, destined to change the very definition of the word sweet, is being perfected right now in labs around the world?

Chen finds the answers by visiting sensory scientists who study taste buds, horticulturalists who are out to breed the perfect strawberry, and educators who are researching the link between class and obesity. Along the way she sheds new light on a familiar taste by exploring the historical sweet­scape through the banquet tables of emperors, the pie safes of American pioneers, the corporate giants that exist to fulfill our every sweet wish, and the desserts that have delighted her throughout the years. This fabulously entertaining story of sweet will change the way you think about your next cookie..
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Like Brick Lane and The Kite Runner, Camilla Gibb’s widely praised new novel is a poignant and intensely atmospheric look beyond the stereotypes of Islam. After her hippie British parents are murdered, Lilly is raised at a Sufi shrine in Morocco. As a young woman she goes on pilgrimage to Harar, Ethiopia, where she teaches Qur’an to children and falls in love with an idealistic doctor. But even swathed in a traditional headscarf, Lilly can’t escape being marked as a foreigner. Forced to flee Ethiopia for England, she must once again confront the riddle of who she is and where she belongs..
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Schoeman, a Jewish convert to Catholicism, and best-selling author of Salvation Is From The Jews, once again shows the clear links between Judaism and Catholicism in these inspiring stories of sixteen Jews who became "fulfilled Jews", as Schoeman says, through their spiritual journeys to the Catholic Church. Using the rich image in Psalm 81 for the book's title, the author shows how God gave the Jews at Meribah refreshing water from the rock struck by Moses, but He promised ever so much more when they turn their whole hearts to Him - he will give them honey, sweetness itself, from the rock. The sweetness of Christ.

The sixteen people whose stories are told here are a variety of Jews, including some who came from secularized, liberal or even atheistic backgrounds, while others came from Orthodox Judaism, or even Hasidism. Some were well trained Jews, others unschooled in Judaism; some rich and wildly successful, others down and out. But their common link was they all had a profound longing for God that gave them no peace until they found God Himself in the Catholic Church.

Some of these converts are famous people like Edith Stein, Alphonse Ratisbonne, Karl Stern, and Rabbi Zolli, while others are less well known, but all have powerful stories of life-changing spiritual transformations.

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Price: $10.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Based on historical characters and events, A Sweetness to the Soul recounts the captivating story of young, spirited Oregon pioneer Jane Herbert who at the age of twelve faces a tragedy that begins a life-long search for forgiveness and love. In the years that follow, young Jane finds herself involved in an unusual and touching romance with a dreamer sixteen years her senior, struggles to make peace with an emotionally distant mother, and fights to build a family of her own. Filled with heart-warming insight and glimpses of real-life pain, A Sweetness to the Soul paints a brilliant picture of love that conquers all obstacles and offers a powerful testimony to the miracle of God's healing power..
Price: $3.81 [Notify me when price goes down.]

No Sweetness Here, Ama Ata Aidoo's early volume of short fiction, is now available in the U.S. Set in West Africa, these stories chart a geography of consciousness during a period of transition from a colonial society through independence into a postcolonial world still in progress today. The characters-as many men as women come alive on these pages-enjoy good fortune and suffer pain in a tradtional African manner: through brilliant, witty, defiant, image-laden speech. The style of these stories renders African orality dramatically; characterization emerges as much through the unique voice as through physical appearance.

The special strength of these stories lies in Aidoo's sensitivity to men's as well as women's lives. Sometimes one can feel even more compassion for the men who are often set in ways counter-productive to living in an African-controlled but tightly-hierarchical society. Even the most critical consciousness-the Western-educated African living abroad or returning home-sometimes doesn't "get it," for the changes are too vast, the future too uncharted.

The title story suggests more than meets the eye. If there is no "sweetness," there is the salt essential to life, even if it comes from tears, and the strength that comes from a history of endurance. There is also the wit of the word and the compassion of family and friends. The volume is at once entertaining and deeply instructive not only about a changing Africa, but about such universal themes as love, marriage, work, family, sacrifice, privilege, and hierarchy.

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From the maker of SPLENDA Sweeteners comes The SPLENDA World of Sweetness Cookbook filled with 97 sweet-tooth recipes created with SPLENDA Sweeteners. Each recipe has been carefully developed for taste, texture, volume, and tenderness for fabulous results. This delightful cookbook has reduced-sugar sweets and drinks for every occasion, including Peach-Berry Muffins in the morning, Pecan Pie to welcome a new neighbor, Dulce de Leche Swirl Cheesecake for special occasions, and Chocolate Chip Cookies for a midnight snack. For a thirst-quenching treat, there is the refreshing Ruby Red Chiller, or warm-up with a hot mug of Mulled Cider. A special chapter includes original masterpieces by celebrity chefs, such as Food Network's Sweet Dreams host Gale Gand and Park Avenue Caf 's Richard Leach. The SPLENDA World of Sweetness Cookbook is the perfect way for your family to enjoy all of the sweetness of sugar without all its calories..
Price: $4.84 [Notify me when price goes down.]

When Sweetness, the ittiest bittiest orphan in Ms. Sump's orphanage, runs away, it's up to the sheriff to find her and bring her back. The only problem is, Sweetness doesn't want to be saved. She'd rather take her chances with Coyote Pete, the nastiest desperado in the Wild West, than face going back to Ms. Sump. So each time the sheriff catches up to her, she runs away again! How the sheriff finally finds a way to save Sweetness-for good-makes for a hilariously heartwarming story that's sure to please.

"Very funny indeed." (The Horn Book, starred review) .
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Ever since the kindhearted sheriff done adopted little Sweetness (and all them other precious orphans), things has been darn near perfect out in Possum Trot. Only problem is, the meals is just a mite too interestin' (such as pickle and banana pie) and the housekeepin' is downright peculiar. Ever so often, them young 'uns start to wishin' their sweet pa would go and get hisself married. When a mysterious letter arrives one day, Sweetness figures it might be the solution to all their problems--if only they can learn how to read it! But don't worry. She's done it afore; she can do it again. Leave it to Sweetness to save the day! Diane Stanley and Brian Karas' Saving Sweetness was chosen as a Best Book of the Year in School Library Journal, Booklist and American Bookseller, and reviewers praised the "rollicking telling... that begs to be enjoyed aloud."--Booklist.
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