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Saturday, September 25, 2010

THE REISSUES, THE REPRINTS, AND THE NEWER EDITIONS (Sept 2010) ...

...all reflect a boom in the cookbook publishing business. A paperback
reprint will lower the cost to the purchaser, and also give a publisher
a chance to correct egregious errors or add a postscript. Some will
reissue a book in paper covers with a new layout or photos. Others will
rearrange existing material to present it as more informative text
while keeping the focus tight. Here are some recent "re-editions"...
 

14. IN THE SWEET KITCHEN; the definitive baker's companion (Random
House Canada, 2000 and 2010, 692 pages, ISBN 978-0-307-35934-6, $35 CAD
soft covers) is mainly a reissue from 2000. The only item copyrighted
2010 is the author's (Regan Daley) short preface. Her bibliography only
goes up to 1997 or so. As a winner of the 2001 IACP Cookbook of the
Year Award, it is good to have this book back in print as a reissue.
The publisher summarizes it best: "a guide to ingredients &b techniques
with more than 150 simple and seductive recipes". The first 368 pages
are a primer, and deal with the tools, techniques and 700 ingredients.
The next 300 contain the recipes: cakes, pies, tarts, cookies,
custards, mousses, frozen desserts, breads, garnishes and sauces.
Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements,
but there are many metric tables of equivalents. If you don't already
have it (or your current copy is worn out), it is an affordable book if
purchased online. But I do really wish that some updating and new
recipes could have been added. After all, she does say in her 2010
preface "In the years since In the Sweet Kitchen first appeared, the
landscape of food in North America has changed dramatically." Whatever
changes there are, they may not be reflected in her book. The only
conclusion I can reach is that she was way ahead of her time.
Quality/Price rating: 86.
 
 
 
15. SUPERVISION IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY; leading human resources.
Sixth edition (John Wiley & Sons, 2010, 496 pages, ISBN 978-0-470-
07783-2, hard covers) is by John R. Walker (hospitality professor at
the University of South Florida) and the late Jack E. Miller. It was
originally published in 1985 and last revised in 2007. It's now a
standard text in hospitality management courses. As the publisher says,
"This book – practical, concrete, and results oriented – is a down-to-
earth guide to applying the wisdom of leadership theory and experience
to the hard realities of the hospitality industry. It's meant for the
student, but anyone who supervises in the industry can profit from
reading it. The sixth edition has been restructured, revised, and
updated: more diversity initiatives, more on recruitment and retention,
more on coaching and life skills, an update on safety and health,
conflict resolution, new and different profiles of companies and
people, new stuff on benefits and compensation. Exercises for students
include quizzes, self-assessments, simulations, case studies, role
play, and journal writing. But some of the black and white pictures
(laid out in sepia) look old and tired, and dark. Quality/Price rating:
85.
 
16. THE ACID ALKALINE BALANCE DIET; an innovative program that
detoxifies your body's acidic waste to prevent disease and restore
overall health. Revised edition (McGraw-Hill, 2010, 242 pages, ISBN
978-0-07-170337-6 $16.95 US soft covers) is by Felicia Drury Kliment, a
nutritionist and alternative health consultant. It was originally
published in 2002, and has been reissued as revised to take into
account new research about heavy metal foods and acid alkaline balance
(such as chelators that move metals from the bones to the brain where
they are more destructive), warnings on potentially harmful effects of
some nutritional supplements, and new alternative treatments for
various health conditions caused by the body's production of acidic
waste. There are no recipes here, but of course there are lists of
foods that are best to be consumed if you have any one of several
problems (cancer, alcoholism, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune
disorders, and food allergies). Clear the body of acidic wastes and
make the pH balance work for specific ailments (digestion, obesity,
thyroid, kidney, lung, bone, eye, diabetes, prostate, etc.). Simply
put, when acidic wastes from processed foods accumulate in the body,
they cause organs to malfunction. The body needs to detoxify. She shows
how to balance the body's acid-alkaline to detoxify toxins based on
metabolic type. Based on Eastern medicinal practices, The Acid-Alkaline
Balance Diet advocates a sensible food-combination program in
conjunction with herbal medicine therapies to balance the positively
charged acidic particles in the body with the negatively charged
particles. Organized by medical condition, this book makes it easy to
quickly find help and advice. Quality/Price rating: 87.
 
 

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