Books about Would be from Amazon.com

They’re on the shoulder of all military personnel: patches that symbolize what a soldier’s unit does. But what happens if it’s top secret?

Shown here for the first time, these sixty patches reveal a secret world of military imagery and jargon, where classified projects are known by peculiar names (“Goat Suckers,” “None of Your Fucking Business,” “Tastes Like Chicken”) and illustrated with occult symbols and ridiculous cartoons. Although the actual projects represented here (such as the notorious Area 51) are classified, these patches—which are worn by military units working on classified missions—are precisely photographed, strangely hinting at a world about which little is known.

By submitting hundreds of Freedom of Information requests, the author has also assembled an extensive and readable guide to the patches included here, making this volume one of the best available surveys of the military’s black world—a $27 billion industry that has quietly grown by almost 50 percent since 9/11.

Trevor Paglen is a geographer by training, and an expert on clandestine military installations. He leads expeditions to the secret bases of the American West and is the author, with A.C. Thompson, of Torture Taxi: On the Trail of the CIA’s Rendition Flights, which The New York Times praised as “the real thing . . . and not on the evening news.”

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Price: $14.21 [Notify me when price goes down.]

She thought she’d have more time. Laurie Notaro figured she had at least a few good years left. But no–it’s happened She has officially lost her marbles From the kid at the pet-food store checkout line whose coif is so bizarre it makes her seethe “I’m going to kick his hair’s ass!” to the hapless Sears customer-service rep on the receiving end of her Campaign of Terror, no one is safe from Laurie’s wrath. Her cranky side seems to have eaten the rest of her–inner-thigh Chub Rub and all. And the results are breathtaking.

Her riffs on e-mail spam (“With all of these irresistible offers served up to me on a plate, I WANT A PENIS NOW!!”), eBay (“There should be an eBay wading pool, where you can only bid on Precious Moments figurines and Avon products, that you have to make it through before jumping into the deep end”), and the perils of St. Patrick’s Day (“When I’m driving, the last thing I need is a herd of inebriates darting in and out of traffic like loaded chickens”) are the stuff of legend. And for Laurie, it’s all true..
Price: $4.71 [Notify me when price goes down.]

From How Would God Vote?

“The Bible commands a style of politics that in the American context could only be described as deeply conservative Is, then, the politics of God theocratic?
“A strong case could be made for theocracy, American-style, if the word were defined not in the conventional way but according to its root meaning. Democracy signifies the rule of the demos, the people. Strictly speaking, theocracy means the rule not of churches or priests but of theos, God. It won’t do to deny that many conservatives, even while unambiguously affirming the traditional American separation of church and state, would add more theos to the democratic mix than is currently the case. I choose not to call myself a theocrat because I know how eager liberal secularists would be to twist the word against me. Dishonestly they would make it appear that I wish to impose a literal biblical theocracy, that I would dumbly imitate word for word the political structure of king, priesthood, and religious high court that existed in biblical antiquity.
“Yet, in a subtler sense, are we not all theocrats now?”

This startlingly original investigation into the controversies dividing America provides a clear and convincing affirmation of the relevance of the Bible to contemporary politics.

With liberals and conservatives alike claiming the authority of the Bible as support for their views on social and moral issues, the need to understand what the Bible actually says has never been more pressing. In How Would God Vote?, journalist and scholar David Klinghoffer illuminates the worldview set forth in the Scriptures and argues that, with some exceptions, the God of the Bible would overwhelmingly support traditionally conservative principles and policies.
Klinghoffer considers the ethical and moral heart of contemporary political debates—questions like immigration, gay marriage, abortion, care for the poor, war and peace, censorship, privacy, the place of religion in schools and the community, and much more. There is a pattern here. It’s for a very good reason that conservatives line up as they do, predictably, on a range of issue; as do liberals. The two competing political philosophies derive from radically different ways of looking at the world: one in consonance with the Bible, the other very much not.
Klinghoffer, however, is no stereotypical Republican. Controversially, he argues that the Bible would have us emphasize domestic policy, the classic pre-9/11 culture war issues, over a hyped-up “World War IV” against “Islamofascism.” The Bible has a foreign policy, he shows, and it is not neoconservative. He demonstrates support in the Scriptures for a welcoming attitude toward immigrants, for gun control, and for affirmative action.
The Bible, Klinghoffer shows, is no mere list of dos and don’ts but a fully coherent and practically relevant portrait of moral reality, compelling and deep enough to guide not only our private but our public lives. Even if we as individuals fail its private tests, that’s no reason to reject its public lessons.
To anyone who takes God seriously, every election poses a radical question: Will we vote with Him, or against Him? The Bible is an unapologetically political book, Klinghoffer explains, and an extremely conservative one. Some political views offend God, and those views are mostly liberal. In short, the Bible commands you to be a conservative.
Stimulating and provocative, How Would God Vote? is an important contribution to pre-election debates and to setting the path the nation will follow in the future under a new president.

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Price: $12.33 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Book Description:
From Matt Lee and Ted Lee, the New York Times food writers who defended lard and demystified gumbo comes a collection of exceptional southern recipes for everyday cooks. The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook tells the story of the brothers' culinary coming-of-age in Charleston--how they triumphed over their northern roots and learned to cook southern without a southern grandmother. Here are recipes for classics like Fried Chicken, Crab Cakes, and Pecan Pie, as well as little-known preparations such as St. Cecilia Punch, Pickled Peaches, and Shrimp Burgers. Others bear the hallmark of the brothers' resourceful cooking style—simple, sophisticated dishes like Blackened Potato Salad, Saigon Hoppin' John, and Buttermilk-Sweet Potato Pie that usher southern cooking into the twenty-first century without losing sight of its roots. With helpful sourcing and substitution tips, this is a practical and personal guide that will have readers cooking southern tonight, wherever they live.

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Amazon.com Exclusive: "A Night in Louisville" by Matt Lee and Ted Lee
On a clear, brisk February afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky, in the asphalt parking lot of Lynn's Paradise Cafe, we started a fire. All it took to get going was some wadded-up newspaper, a small pyramid of charcoal, and a match. To keep the flame alive, we put our cheeks to the chilly pavement and blew on the bottom layer of coals. Diners leaving the cafe from early dinners glanced at us, chuckled nervously, and hurried along to their cars. When the pile was glowing, we added some split logs and the plume of smoke rising from the pavement became woodsy and fragrant. By the time the sun went down, the flames were hotter and brighter, so we added more oak. Once the fire was roaring, customers in the restaurant became concerned, and the chef, Sarah, in clogs and a kerchief, shuffled out with the buttoned-up manager, Lori, to check on us.

Continue Reading "A Night in Louisville"

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Price: $12.21 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Could an adorable chimpanzee raised from infancy by a human family bridge the gap between species—and change the way we think about the boundaries between the animal and human worlds? Here is the strange and moving account of an experiment intended to answer just those questions, and the astonishing biography of the chimp who was chosen to see it through.

Dubbed Project Nim, the experiment was the brainchild of Herbert S. Terrace, a psychologist at Columbia University. His goal was to teach a chimpanzee American Sign Language in order to refute Noam Chomsky’s assertion that language is an exclusively human trait. Nim Chimpsky, the baby chimp at the center of this ambitious, potentially groundbreaking study, was “adopted” by one of Dr. Terrace’s graduate students and brought home to live with her and her large family in their elegant brownstone on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

At first Nim’s progress in learning ASL and adapting to his new environment exceeded all expectations. His charm, mischievous sense of humor, and keen, sometimes shrewdly manipulative understanding of human nature endeared him to everyone he met, and even led to guest appearances on Sesame Street, where he was meant to model good behavior for toddlers. But no one had thought through the long-term consequences of raising a chimp in the human world, and when funding for the study ran out, Nim’s problems began.

Over the next two decades, exiled from the people he loved, Nim was rotated in and out of various facilities. It would be a long time before this chimp who had been brought up to identify with his human caretakers had another opportunity to blow out the candles on a cake celebrating his birthday. No matter where he was sent, however, Nim’s hard-earned ability to converse with humans would prove to be his salvation, protecting him from the fate of many of his peers.

Drawing on interviews with the people who lived with Nim, diapered him, dressed him, taught him, and loved him, Elizabeth Hess weaves an unforgettable tale of an extraordinary and charismatic creature. His story will move and entertain at the same time that it challenges us to ask what it means to be human, and what we owe to the animals who so enrich our lives..
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Many of us like the idea of tofu better than the reality, and few of us know how to cook with it. Chef Deborah Madison's This Can't Be Tofu addresses such qualms, offering 75 recipes for this healthful (high in protein and low in salt, fat, and calories) food. Madison knows that tofu can be delicious, and provides recipes for a wide range of dishes that glorify its fresh milky taste and yielding texture--or that use it to make other foods (like mayonnaise) better for us. Beginning with an introduction to tofu varieties, Madison then discusses tofu purchasing and basic preparation techniques such as draining and pressing, which make tofu a useful flavor medium. Quick and easy tofu recipes like Seared Tofu with Chives and Peppers follow, along with formulas for tofu-based appetizers, salads, soups, stir-fries, curries, and pasta, among other fare. Particularly winning recipes include Spring Rolls with Shredded Cabbage, Mushrooms, and Tofu; Red Pepper and Miso Soup with Tofu and Black Sesame; and Sautéed Asparagus with Curried Tofu and Tomatoes. Madison also provides breakfast recipes like Scrambled Tofu with Herbs and Cheese (and ones in which tofu takes the place--without imitation--of sausages), plus a group of tofu sweets, including shakes and smoothies. A short section on accompaniments, such as Sweet Potatoes Baked with Oranges, concludes this comprehensive introduction to an ancient food that Madison makes modern and newly delicious. --Arthur Boehm.
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How does a teacher begin to appreciate and tap the rich creative resources of the fantasy world of children? What social functions do story playing and storytelling serve in the preschool classroom? And how can the child who is trapped in private fantasies be brought into the richly imaginative social play that surrounds him?

The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter focuses on the challenge posed by the isolated child to teachers and classmates alike in the unique community of the classroom. It is the dramatic story of Jason-the loner and outsider-and of his ultimate triumph and homecoming into the society of his classmates. As we follow Jason's struggle, we see that the classroom is indeed the crucible within which the young discover themselves and learn to confront new problems in their daily experience.

Vivian Paley recreates the stage upon which children emerge as natural and ingenious storytellers. She supplements these real-life vignettes with brilliant insights into the teaching process, offering detailed discussions about control, authority, and the misuse of punishment in the preschool classroom. She shows a more effective and natural dynamic of limit-setting that emerges in the control children exert over their own fantasies. And here for the first time the author introduces a triumvirate of teachers (Paley herself and two apprentices) who reflect on the meaning of events unfolding before them.

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This two-time award winning book reflects on the lessons that evolve when woman and horse form a bond and how these experiences migrate into all aspects of life. Whether you are a experienced rider or horse owner, or have only imagined a horse in your life, you will be convinced that this compelling messenger is calling and that the invitation is life changing. Packaged with the book is a DVD by Mark Barrett, featuring elegant equines in motion, in numerous locations and situations..
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Would you rather be a clarinet . . . a trombone . . . or a drum? (How would you like to have someone going BOOM-BOOM on your tum?) Beginning readers are asked to ponder these–and a host of other odd
choices–in this charming, provocative book by Dr. Seuss that encourages children to let their imaginations fly..
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