The Ultimate Survival Manual by Rich Johnson

Great Book!  My only disappointment was that my E-ARC was missing pages so I didn’t get the entire manuscript.

Rich Johnson has written an entertaining and informative guide to survival.  I’m big on survival information and I know that not everyone is.  This is an important book because we are in an environment that is unstable.  You don’t have to go out in the wilderness to be in a situation that requires survival techniques.  There’s a chance that there is a large amount of information in this book you will never need.  However, the one technique that you learn that later saves yours or someone else’s life is invaluable. 

This is a short book and each segment is brief.  Keep it in your bathroom and learn a trick or two every time you sit down.  On page one, I learned something.  Okay maybe learned is not the right word but I realized there was something I hadn’t thought of. Rich recommends that you keep an emergency bag in your office or place of work that includes rugged clothing, socks and a pair of tennis shoes.  The bag is available if you need to leave your work in a hurry and are not dressed for an emergency.  I would, almost, have thought it unnecessary but I guarantee that one day you wear the tight skirt or new dress shoes is the day that the weather turns and you have to evacuate or a shooter comes into the area and you have to flee.

It’s a scary and dangerous world out there.  I just think this book is an inexpensive way to protect yourself.

Healthy in a Hurry by Karen Ansel

The problem with cookbooks is they are very subjective.  There’s nothing particularly wrong with this book – the pictures are engaging and the recipes are interesting but they didn’t do anything for me.  The recipes were far too simplistic and would not satisfy my family.  I liked the idea of the book.

This would be perfect for someone just leaving home or for someone who has just started using healthier foods.  This is not a family cookbook.  Many of the recipes do not make substantial meals – lots of appetizer like foods which appear quick but for a large group would actually make more work. 

There are great ideas here and I love the colors and textures of the foods offered.

Cooking from the Farmer’s Market by Jodi Liano

A beautiful book from Williams Sonoma, Cooking from the Farmer’s Market did not disappoint.  The photography is colorful and enticing.  The recipes are varied enough that there is sure to be enough to warrant owning the book.

I was a little put off by the assumption that all Farmer’s Markets are the same.  I’ve been rather stunned to learn that’s not true as I follow blogs that offer seasonal cooking.  I live in Washington and, though we have an amazing farmer’s market, our seasons and variety of produce do not match what is offered in this book.

With that said, that doesn’t mean I can’t find the produce at our local Co-op.  I do appreciate encouraging local produce and learning to eat those foods. 

This would be a perfect book for those who have joined a CSA or get Bountiful Baskets.  I’m always trying to figure how to use some of the unique produce we get each week.

The Hunter/Farmer Diet Solution by Mark Liponis

Mark Liponis works as a doctor at the Canyon Ranch (an upscale diet center). Over the years, he believes he has found the secret to weight loss and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I can’t say I agree or disagree but I enjoyed his book. His theory is based on a sort of common sense.
The idea is that anthropologically speaking we have evolved to need a particular diet. In Mark Liponis’ book, he identifies two types of diets – The Hunter and The Farmer. Placement in one diet or the other is based on medical information – mainly insulin and cholesterol. The Hunter is insulin resistant and often suffers from high blood pressure and cholesterol while The Farmer is insulin sensitive and often suffers from hypoglycemia.
The Hunter diet is a low sugar, low processed carbohydrate diet that focuses on healthy proteins and vegetables. His theory is that Hunters are addicted to sugar. I do like that he encourages doctor support and says that a Hunter has found the correct diet when their blood glucose is under 100 and triglycerides are under 150. Basically this is a low glycemic diet designed for those with diabetes or susceptible to diabetes. The idea is that a Hunter eats a diet similar to what a hunter/gatherer would eat.
The Farmer diet is a low fat, high fiber, high grain diet that focuses on maintaining a steady glucose level throughout the day. He claims that Farmers are distracted by eating and often eat more than they need because their body is attempting to prevent drops in glucose levels. With this diet, one eats what they would grow so there’s a higher amount of grains, vegetables and fruit with less focus on meats.
All in all, there’s great information in this book. I liked that it’s not a fad diet. There’s no calorie counting but suggestions on eating better with the focus on losing weight. It may or may not work for everyone but the information is still good.

The 5 Minute Snack Diet by Benjamin Swartzman

I'm just not sure where to begin with this book. I was excited to get to review a diet book and this one sounded like a great one. However, pages into this work red flags began to pop up for me. This is one scary book and I hope people are not so caught up that they don't notice. The first thing that caught my eye was the author mentioned studies but didn't cite a single one. For me, that's important. It says several things - one the author is honest enough to share the data's source, two the studies are real and three the author has enough education to know how to write a real paper (even grade school kids learn to cite their information).
I started wondering what the author had to hide and I wanted to know who this man was that wrote the book. The book does not come with an author biography. I checked his website - none there, not even so much as a mention of anything personal about the author. I went to Smashwords where I got the book - nothing there either. This is where I begin to have problems with self published books. There is a reason why it's difficult to get a nonfiction book published - you have to have some expertise. When it comes to dieting, you really need someone who has some medical or nutritional background. I'm not saying that the author has to be a registered dietitian but have working knowledge of health.
With that aside, this is a terrible book and had it not been for the fact that I feel like I need to warn the world away from this book I would have totally skipped reviewing it. It's poorly written. The information is confusing and contridictory. The description of the book claims that the reader will learn to cook their meals in five minutes but the book lacks standard recipes. There is some cooking information but it's poorly designed and a small part of the book. The language is off putting. I don't care why someone diets but having the author tell me every few pages that this diet will make me "hot" makes me want to buy him a thesaurus. There is probably some good information in this book but I can't tell you where. It's not worth anyone's time to find out.
If you want a good diet book - there are tons out there or better yet join a group that will support you while you work towards becoming more healthy. Maybe it's my age but I found the idea of being "hot" to be less important than trying to be healthy.

The Supernatural Kids Cookbook by Nancy Mehagian

I would love to say that this is the perfect cookbook for all children, however I believe that the concept will be lost on many children. I love the idea behind this book. Any child can be supernatural with the right nutrition but I think most will pick up this book with the impression that the recipes are more about fantasy than health food. (That's what I thought - with all the themed cookbooks out there I thought this would include things like worms with blood sauce instead of whole wheat spaghetti with tomato sauce).
It's not a bad thing. The cookbook is well designed with fun illustrations and pages of good instruction. This is a wonderful first cookbook for children. The author includes instructions on how to steam vegetables, chop an onion and cook brown rice.
I really liked the week of salad and sandwich ideas.
Nancy Mehagian encourages whole foods and creating a better way to eat. Sadly, I think this book will become a case of preaching to the choir. Those who already have an interest in eating like this are the ones more likely to pick the cookbook up. Those who love Moosewood Cookbooks will love this one as well.

The Sneezy Wheezy Day by Sharon Cramer

This book is due to hit stores January 1, 2012. I hate to review it so early but there are other books in this series that are available.
The Sneezy Wheezy Day is the latest book in the Cougar Cub Tales from B&F Publishing (located in Spokane, not so far from me!). It's beautifully illustrated. The colors are vibrant and attractive.
The story is cute - a brother and sister cougar are out playing when the brother becomes ill. The sister takes him to all the animals looking for a cure. The cures are silly and don't work so sister cougar puts brother to bed and when he wakes he's all better.
I didn't love this book and that makes me sad because I wanted to love it. I think for an adult the book is simple and fun but for a child the words are advanced. Sharon Cramer's vocabulary is beyond the scope of the reader for this book. I would guess the book was designed for quite a young reader based on the format but the words are prohibative for a young reader. They may enjoy listening to the book but I still think they would be confused. She uses words like crystalline, deduced, admirably, and saraphine. Not bad words but difficult for a young reader.
I, also, didn't care for the rhymes. The poetry was stilled and didn't flow like I felt it should. Had the rhymes not existed I would have liked the book more.
I would still recommend the book, solely based on the beauty of its illustrations. It's a great addition to any library.

The Chinese Medicinal Herb Farm by Peg Schafer

Peg Schafer's book is for anyone interested in Chinese natural medicine, gardening, and farming. She takes the time to break down the growing of Chinese herbs from soil preparation to use of the herb.
The first part is a broad overview of Chinese herb farming. Topics range from preserving the plants through farming to quality of herbs grown to growing and harvesting the herbs.
The second part is a detailed description of each herb. She gives detailed information on growing the herb followed by preserving and using the herb. I was amazed at how much information she offered in a short space. It was slightly overwhelming to read but a great resource when read one herb at a time.
I tried to come up with questions I was sure would not be answered to find that the information was easy to find and gave me a complete picture.
There's pest control information along with soil composition.
I really recommend this and am sorry it's fall right now because I can't wait to add some Chinese herbs to my garden.