bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America

From Amazon.com
Shortly after terrorists led by Osama bin Laden attacked the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, President Bill Clinton ordered retaliatory missile strikes against targets in Afghanistan and Sudan. It was the first time the United States had responded to an individual terrorist with such overwhelming services force. Bin Laden, of way, is no run-of-the-mill rabble-rouser; Clinton called him “perhaps the preeminent organizer and financier of international terrorism in the world today.” That’s quite a mark for someone who, as biographer Yossef Bodansky describes, “lives with his four wives and some fifteen children in a small cave in eastern Afghanistan” without running water. Yet he is “a principal player in a tangled and sinister web of terrorism-sponsoring states, intelligence chieftains, and master terrorists.” Remarkably small is known about the man; as Bodansky reveals, even the year of bin Laden’s birth is uncertain. This book, then, is more than the tale of a single terrorist. It’s a description of a whole movement waging a jihad–holy war–against the United States in the belief that America’s modernizing influence on Arab nations thwarts Islamic fundamentalist goals. Bin Laden is strikingly contemporary, extremely well informed, and thoroughly detailed. Readers interested in facts about the Median East’s violent underworld will find it fascinating–and chilling. Bodansky notes that bin Laden has become a hero to radical Muslim youth, and Osama is now a very well loved baby name in many Arab countries. –John J. Miller

Buy bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America

Early Best Of The First Five

From Amazon.co.uk
In 1978, A Certain Ratio’s thought of a new funk must have seemed like anathema to most British punks. Imagine: sublimating that righteous grumpiness, those defiant angles into a groove, of all things. But the first wave of post-punk bands, lead by ACR, proved this most unlikely of hybrids wasn’t just possible, but utterly desirable. Ahead of schedule is compelling evidence of ACR’s peculiar genius. Birthed in Manchester and signed to the nascent Factory mark alongside Joy Division, they went on to become darlings of New York clubland (Madonna once supported them) and, eventually, make some rather dull records. Thankfully, this two-CD set rarely strays from the excellent stuff, collecting tracks from the peak 1978-85 period with plenty of obscure singles and Peel session versions to satisfy completists. For neophytes, though, much here will sound pretty startling. The likes of “Blown Away”–intense percussive jams, monkish chanting, squawks and squeaks appearance from the undergrowth–are still both exciting and unnerving. A composition that provokes discomfort as well as dancing, that has a jittery rather than slick momentum, remains ACR’s powerful legacy. Contemporaries like 23 Skidoo and The Pop Group made some fantastic records, not to mention American fellow travellers like ESG and Liquid Liquid. But nothing sums up the time and sound as effectively as ACR’s “Shack Up”: parched rhythms, jagged guitars, doom-laden vocals, and some very perplexing carnival whistles. It’s the point where Northern miserabilism and dancefloor culture collided, and even now it sounds fantastic.–John MulveyChronique amazon.fr
Des groupes qui s’exprimèrent sous la bannière du mark britannique Factory, aux côtés des New Peacefulness, Joy Division et Durutti Column produits par Martin Hannett, A Certain Ratio est un des plus injustement méconnus, au point que cette réédition tombe à pic, qui permet de découvrir combien il fut visionnaire de ce qui allait suivre, à New York, avec ESG par exemple. On doit déjà à la compagnie Soul Jazz une compilation concoctée de main de maître, qui a remis au goût du jour les rythmes industriels et robotiques de quelques formations phares des années 80 – Throbbing Gristle, Gan Of Four, Nightspot Voltaire,etc. – parmi lesquelles figurait en bonne place A Certain Ratio. Cela s’appellait fort à propos In The Beginning There Was Rhythm. Ahead of schedule, en compilant les années d’apprentissage, enfonce encore un plus avant le clou de ces jerks lobotomisés qui sont la marque de fabrique de “Flight” ou “Do The Du”. Pleased Mondays retiendra la leçon et aura le succès que l’on sait. –Philippe Robert

Buy Ahead of schedule Best Of The First Five

Paint the Sky With Stars-Best

From Amazon.com
New Age diva Enya first became widely known when her 1988 album Watermark sold 4 million copies and launched the single “Orinoco Flow.” Her follow-up, Shepherd Moons, was even more successful, selling over 10 million copies despite its slightly lower grade of ethereal enchantment. In 1997 she released Paint the Sky with Stars, an assortment of her best work from these two ahead of schedule albums plus gems from 1995’s The Memory of Trees and the soundtrack to the BBC series The Celts. The most melodic and atmospheric examples of Enya’s lovely Celtic-flavored songwriting shine on this disc. Those unfamiliar with the ex- Clannad member will find charm in such sweet lullabies as “Marble Halls” and “China Roses” while delighting in the more energetic “Book of Days,” “Storms in Africa,” and “Caribbean Blue.” By and large, an outstanding collection from an artist who gives New Age a excellent name. –Karen KarleskiAmazon.com essential recording
New Age diva Enya first became widely known when her 1988 album Watermark sold 4 million copies and launched the single “Orinoco Flow.” Her follow-up, Shepherd Moons, was even more successful, selling over 10 million copies despite its slightly lower grade of ethereal enchantment. In 1997 she released Paint the Sky with Stars, an assortment of her best work from these two ahead of schedule albums plus gems from 1995’s The Memory of Trees and the soundtrack to the BBC series The Celts. The most melodic and atmospheric examples of Enya’s lovely Celtic-flavored songwriting shine on this disc. Those unfamiliar with the ex- Clannad member will find charm in such sweet lullabies as “Marble Halls” and “China Roses” while delighting in the more energetic “Book of Days,” “Storms in Africa,” and “Caribbean Blue.” By and large, an outstanding collection from an artist who gives New Age a excellent name. –Karen Karleski

Buy Paint the Sky With Stars-Best

Shine Best Of The Early Years

From Amazon.com
This is not the first collection of David Gray’s “pre-success” recordings, but it is the best one. Unlike many such collections of ahead of schedule works by noted artists, you’re not seeing the artist’s abilities in their infant state–each of these 15 songs is already fantastic. The Mancunian musician’s performing abilities were well developed by the time he first recorded in the ahead of schedule ’90s; one might even argue that they sound best in the often stripped-down, more raw state on show here. The songs themselves, though, have certainly matured since Gray hit the alt-adult-contemporary huge time with the electronica-tinged White Ladder in 2000; such songs as “Wisdom” and “Birds Without Wings” do show the inscription of other singer-songers (notably Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan). These days, of way, David Gray is himself often used as an adjective, to clarify all the other scruffy-bearded blue-eyed songsters reaching for the insightful crooner’s crown. –Mike McGonigal

Buy Shine Best Of The Ahead of schedule Years

Mass In F Min/Psalm 150

From Amazon.com
Bruckner’s three Masses all precede his fantastic symphonies, and with the third and last of them he was visibly on the verge of his mature style. The lines are longer, the brass writing broader, and the harmonies buy a freedom and expressiveness unique to this composer. The ahead of schedule Masses are vital works in many respects. They are the finest 19t-century settings of the text since Haydn, and they reveal the spiritual confidence that was the source of Bruckner’s musical inspiration. It’s been said that all of his composition, whether choral or purely instrumental, is religious composition. Get to know these works and when you listen to the symphonies, you will know that this is the truth. –David Hurwitz

Buy Mass In F Min/Psalm 150

Best of the Doors

From Amazon.co.uk
The Best of The Doors delivers exactly what it promises. Rather than relying solely on the hits, this collection also mines the darker, and often richer, recesses of The Doors material resulting in a honestly representative statement. The hits are here: “Light My Fire” with Ray Manzarek’s keyboards on a dizzy, psychedelic spree; “People Are Weird”, with Morrison’s tortured psyche barely life held in check; “LA Woman”, with its bluesy sexuality. More vital, favourites of fans are here, like the controversially (at the time) explicit “The End”, which was one of the first of Morrison’s forays into narrative poetry. In hits like “Break on Owing to”, “Hello I Like You”, “Roadhouse Blues” and others, The Doors melded psychedelia, blues, hard-edged rock and poetry from the edge like no other band before. The Best of The Doors is a trip in every sense of the word. –Steve GdulaUn Essentiel amazon.fr
Les Doors n’auront eu besoin que de trois années pour entrer dans la légende. Trois années (1967-1970) au cours desquelles, partis du blues, Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger et John Densmore ont créé une musique dont s’inspirent, aujourd’hui encore, nombre de songwriters. Un univers poétique, aussi, où Rimbaud et Jack Kerouac semblent trinquer à la même cause subversive. De “Break On Owing to” à “The End”, cette compilation de deux CD réunit les dix-neuf titres les plus percutants du quartette californien. Indispensable pour ceux qui n’ont pas encore Weird Days, Morrison Hotel ou L.A. Woman dans leur discothèque. –Philippe Margotin

Buy Best of the Doors

Life of Surprises: the Best of

From Amazon.com
Though each of their studio albums is worth seeking out, this “best of” collection is a clean shorthand way of experiencing the technologically perfect, academically stimulating pop composition Paddy McAloon and his cronies from Newcastle, England produced during the following half of the 1980s. Two tracks, “The Sound of Crying” and “If You Don’t Like Me” are previously unreleased. Since they have had small chart success, the rest are somebody’s thought of what makes a fantastic Prefab Sprout song. “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” has a lilting bounce; “Wild Horses” benefits from producer Thomas Dolby’s computer wizardry as sounds pop up and out of the mix instantaneously; “We Let the Stars Go” is McAloon at his most emotionally sincere. –Rob O’Connor

Buy Life of Surprises: the Best of

400 Best Comfort Food Recipes

• All has fond memories of recipes that evoke the warmth of home and family and soul-satisfy…
• 456 pages, softcover
• Dimensions: 9¼”H × 6¼”W

Manufactured goods Description
All has fond memories of recipes that evoke the warmth of home and family and soul-satisfying foods. In 400 Best Comfort Food Recipes, there are satisfying favourites as well as new interpretations for modern comfort food. A sampling of the comfort-inspired recipes: ancient-fashioned pea soup with smoked ham, meat loaf and mashed potato pie, baked polenta with roasted vegetables, classic scalloped potatoes, fudgy chocolate brownies, and buttermilk pancakes with spiced maple apples. Each recipe is simple and reliable, yet extremely comforting and tasty. Many encourage a make-ahead process to freeze for later use. With recipe shortcuts and serving suggestions right through, this collection will add a new comfort food tradition in any home.
Johanna Burkhard is a freelance food consultant, recipe developer and spokesperson. As a leading food writer and culinary advocate, she contributes to a variety of magazines and also appears regularly on television and radio. She is also the owner of a communications and public relations company which represents Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery and is keenly dyed-in-the-wool to promoting the Niagara region’s vibrant food and wine culture.
456 pages, softcover
Dimensions: 9¼”H × 6¼”W

Buy 400 Best Comfort Food Recipes

Close The Deal: Smart Moves For Selling: 120 Checklists To Help You Close The Very Best Deal

From Amazon.com
Close the Deal is bursting with hot leads for sales pros looking to sharpen their skills and win more customers. Authors Sam Deep and Lyle Sussman show how to capture sales without life pushy or arrogant. Deep, a consultant from Pittsburgh, and Sussman, a management professor at the University of Louisville, believe that the essence of selling is sticking to a system. “Masterful sales professionals are neither lucky nor gifted,” they write. “They do not dream, wish or hope for victory. They go out and make it happen.” The book is based on programs developed at the Sandler Sales Institute, a noted Maryland firm that trains thousands of sales professionals around the country. The authors contend that three keys to successful selling are asking the right questions, making supportive presentations, and finding exactly how to eliminate roadblocks or “pain” for customers. “There is only one wits you will sell anything: your ability to reduce a buyer’s pain,” the authors write. “You can’t reduce pain if you don’t know what it is. Buyers will tell you if you question correctly.” The book is simple to read and full of matter-of-fact advice and tips. The authors provide 120 lists on topics like “Fifteen Steps to Better Listening,” “Seven Fears all Buyers Have,” and “Fourteen Ingredients of a Winning Proposal.” Salespeople will find a powerful ally in Close the Deal. The book is a blueprint for finding and analyzing buyers, determining their needs, and getting the sale. –Dan Ring

Buy Close The Deal: Smart Moves For Selling: 120 Checklists To Help You Close The Very Best Deal

40 Best Trout Flies

From Amazon.com
Although this is just one man’s opinion of the best all-around trout flies to carry in a single glide box (albeit a large one), the nymphs, dries, wets, and streamers covered here will be familiar to most North American glide-fishers. What list wouldn’t have the gold ribbed hare’s ear and pheasant tail nymphs, adams and elk hair caddis dries, and woolly bugger and muddler minnow streamers? There aren’t many surprises here, but the usefulness of this slim, portable volume becomes clear after reading a few of the author’s narrative descriptions. For each glide he offers situations and presentation methods that can shine new light on an already well loved pattern, as well as reasons behind the glide’s enduring success. Color plates of all 40 flies round out this caring glide-fishing companion.

Buy 40 Best Trout Flies