The recipes in "The Country Gourmet" spin a tale of comfort as well as good eats. The remembrances of the author's mama and her love of food and life does more than feed the reader's soul, it gives the reader hope that there is truly more to life than getting out of bed each day; there are wonderful dishes to prepare and delicious people to get to know and break bread together with. TWO THUMBS way up for this amazingly inspiring cookbook/biography chronicling a daughter's love for her mother and her mother's cooking.

The 'Country Gourmet Book' authored by Margie Robertson Toone is a collection of recipes and poignant childhood memories combined to make a interesting read. Ah, the Southern life style sure sounds appetizing. Just reading the vividly described moments in time and imagining the smells of foods added pounds to my ever expanding rear compartment. Imagining the toasty kitchen, hearing the sounds of bacon frying and the smell of breads baking took me back to my Grandma's little log cabin in the hills of West Virginia. The recipes are simple and easy to prepare in contrast to other recipe books that require one to travel to foreign lands to search for unusual spices or where one has to take out a second mortgage to afford the ingredients. The Country Gourmet is a MUST HAVE for those cooks who just want to serve a good UNCOMPLICATED and appealing meal for their family and friends while making memories that last a lifetime! T. Y. Green, Author

This isn't just another cook book. From its paperback form to its wonderful stories this is a great novel. This is the type of book that you curl up with. You read and cry; read and drool. This book isn't just about great food; but it is also about a family that experienced the wonderful South and lived to write about it. These people were happy with their cornbread dressing and gumbo. They didn't need fancy foods to be happy. This book makes you think of your own experiences in life and helps you to remember what a wonderful thing food is. I recently made Cornbread Dressing and Sweet Potatoe Suffle and got many compliments on it. There wasn't enough they could say about it. I enjoyed just curling up with this heart-warming book of memories and great food.

Is a great visually informative book. It gives the reader a better idea of the way homes were built in the late 19th century. The book covers a wide variety of victorian styles and includes plans, perspective views and elevations from a small 4 room cottage, to a huge 36+ room mansion in the Caribbean. I recomend this book to anybody interested in late 19th century victorian architecture.

is a wonderful book that shows how homes were designed and built in the late 19th century. It covers a variety of victorian styles and has floorplans along with perspective views and elevations from a small 3 room cottage to a 36+ room mansion. This is a great way to learn about victorian architecture.

This book has great illistrations and floor plans with elevations. It's a great way to learn about the way homes were built in the late 19th century. It also includes specifications for the builder. It contains many plans of many differt styles of victorian architecture from a simple 3 room home, to a 36+ room mansion.

This is my third Jocasta Innes book. She's such a pleasure to read because she captures a down-to-earth and attainable sense of style. The pictures are wonderful, full of comfortable, warm, and practical rooms, for real people.

The book is full of easily adaptable ideas, proving that you don't need to buy everything brand new and matching to have an efficient and welcoming kitchen. In fact, you won't want everything brand new and matching after you look at the rooms in this book. This is genuine country style, no cutesy ducks or useless knick-knacks anywhere.

The recipes in the back of the book are the same way, with simple, hearty and easy-to-obtain ingredients (well, for the most part - I've never seen rabbit in my grocery store!)

This is one of the most beautiful books I own. Not cutesy-country, but warm, genuine, earthy places where you'd love to spend time. I reread this about twice a year.

The photography in this magazine-sized paperback is "yummy" It is very easy to see onesself sitting at any of the kitchens photographed, reading a great book, with a warm fire in the hearth. You can dream through such styles of kitchens as: American, French, Spanish, Italian, or English. There are specific chapter devoted to the hearth, ranges and stoves, sinks and drainers, tables and chairs, as well as storage. If that weren't enough, the back of the book offers soup, spreads, stews, rice, pasta, etc. recipes!! And if you want your food in your dream kitchen to be healthy, the last section is about the kitchen garden. What more could one ask except that this book be longer with MORE photos!

This is the best cookbook I've ever used, vegan/vegetarian or otherwise. The recipes are simple, tasty, and economical. I'm not much of a cook myself, but, with this book cooking is easy. I wholeheartdly recommend this cookbook to anyone interested in eating more healthfully.

I've recommended this cookbook to many over the last 5 years. The recipes are tasty and economical. Living in the heart of dairy country and unable to consume dairy products, and for some time meat, I was delighted not to run into these over-used foods and still find tasty food. I use this cookbook as a reference often. Includes an informative article on dietary fat in the back. It's worth the purchase price.

After reviewing hundreds of cookbooks, this is simply the best vegan cookbook I have ever seen. The cooking methods are wonderful, healthful, and inexpensive. All the recipes are low-fat, simple to prepare, and meat and dairy free. I would recommend this cookbook to anyone

Heiney began his farming life in central London, so he knows how to farm 5000 sq feet of land. This is far less than most would recognise as a farm, but he sees farming as a mindset. He tells how to farm on what you have, whether it be 5000 ft, 1/2 acre, 3 acres or 8+ acres. His background is British, so he comes at this with a unique viewpoint (at least as far as this Yank can see). He has a great supply of things we've forgotten on this side of the pond- how to build a living fence that will not rot and needs no painting (i.e. laying a hedge), how to assure yourself of a never ending supply of beanpoles (i.e. coppicing), and many other universals that we have forgotten. Do not think this is only a book for the British. He directs his comments to those around the world who share a desire to farm. For example, he tells how to plan and grow both northern and southern orchards. What crops do well with water and those that need less. Among the things I found fascinating were his analysis of how much land I'd need to grow an annual supply of wheat for my family (far less than you'd guess). Do you know what animals you can keep if you have only a half acre? Great photos, good writing, and a wealth of practical information make this one to buy, keep, and reread.

This book made me want to up and leave the city right now and go buy a farm! :-) We have a dream of someday owning a small farm, and this book simply reinforced that desire. The information was a good, basic overview of what is involved, and well-illustrated. Definitely worth the money!

This is one of the best "back to land" books I've ever read. The pictures are just beautiful. The information is priceless. Even if all you are able to do is dream, it is still worth it. It will inspire and teach.

Country Properties is "must" reading for anyone aspiring to relocating in the country, or who has newly arrived in a rural setting and seeking to make a life and a livelihood there. Country Properties is an authoritative, practical, "reader-friendly" instruction guide to buying a place in the country and taking up an agricultural pursuit. John and Jennifer Hoff provide invaluable details on buying, selling, marketing, and production; tips on enhancing your real estate and agricultural investment; helpful overviews for current owners and managers of country farms, ranches, and estates; insights in to the biology and genetics of agribusiness; provide useful resources; technical illustrations; and a great deal of personal stories, anecdotes and humor. The Hoff's informative text is enhanced with original illustrations by Galen Struve.

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, The Midwest Book Review

This book gives excellent first hand insight on all aspects of being a ranch property owner. The book's authors did an very thorough job in clearly identifing the key elements of aquiring land, raising cattle, and growing pecans. It motivates one to "Cowboy UP" and buy some property.

We were ready to buy a piece of land but were not exactly sure how to proceed. Country Properties showed us step by step how to make the right selection, hire a manager, maintain and establish the pastures for our cattle and horses and enjoy the rural setting with peace of mind! Everyone should read this reference book before they venture into the world of rural living and also buy a copy for your manager. He will really appreciate, use and understand these helpful hints! You will end up buying more copies for friends and family. This book is truly one of a kind!

This is a nice book. It is well written.
The chapters are devided into areas of New Mexico. In each chapter there is a little bit about the history of that area, places to visit and more information about other nearby areas.

Having been to many of the areas that are discussed in this book, I found the description on target and the suggestions of places to visit good. I particularly liked the history of the area with directions to see some of the historical spots in each area.

Very nice. Well worth the money. This book will join me in the car as we go on our trips. It will join the RoadSide History of New Mexico as one of our invaluable, must keep in the car resources.

Enjoy.

My family and I planned a trip last summer (2000) using this book. Our original plan was to spend most of our time in Santa Fe and Taos. After we read this book, however, we found several far more interesting trips that cost us about half what it would have cost in Santa Fe. Sure, we did a night in Santa Fe and Taos, but this book showed us the hidden spots in town that really were known only to locals. This book is so good that we even had a wonderful time in Farmington! Yes, that's right, Farmington. In fact, we plan to return their and once again enjoy the hidden restaurants and trading posts in which we found some of the most unique indian jewelry ever (and at about 1/3 of Santa Fe prices). Kudos to Ms. Moore! I just wish I could talk her into writing a similar book about Wisconsin.

This small but fact-filled book explores the richness of New Mexico beyond the Albuequerque-Santa Fe-Taos axis. The author really knows her stuff--giving equal weight to the Native American, Hispanic and Anglo influences that make New Mexico such an interesting state. It's in the car beside me every time I head there.

I read this book to my two year old, and we both love it! I think he loves it because hearing about a cowboy doing adventurous things probably appeals to the little boy in him, and I love it for the nostalgia (you don't see cowboy cartoons or serials these days), for the beginner education about who cowboys are and what they do, and the simple, clear illustrations.

One word of caution: don't expect to glean any character lessons or underlying meanings from this book. This Lenski book is mostly just factual and fun!

This is a classic book that our almost 3 year old daughter loves to look at again and again. She has learned many new words (curry, saddle, spurs, saddlehorn, etc.), has memorized most of the text, and is very attached to anything related to horses. The text is simple, the illustrations are wonderful, and the story is charming. Our daughter has lots of books and this is one that she seeks out from among all the others in her bookshelf. You'll love it too.

My 3-year old got this book for Christmas. He was so taken with it that (of course) we had to read it four times in a row before bed. Then he had to take his stick horse to bed with him in a sleeping bag (or his bedroll, as Cowboy Small would say)and lie on the floor to "look at the stars." The words are simple and the pictures are wonderful. A great book for any little cowboy or cowgirl.

This is a TOTALLY SUPER book! I just finished a book report about this book for school. I like it because I LOVE ANIMALS, and chapter books are my genre. So get your copy, I know it'll be your favorite book that you've ever read!

I'm in third grade. I loved this book because it had coyotes in it. I am originally from Texas, so I really like coyotes. I liked when the coyote first came into the dog pen because he kept knocking around. It was a funny book and I learned a lot.

People would call me crazy because I rated this book 5 stars. But I am a fan of any animal book. I don't care if it is sad or happy, I AM A MAJOR FAN

When reading this book I was really surprised by its accuracy and liveliness. The author succeeds in putting everything I would like to tell my non-Belgian friends in an extremely readable book (I finished it in one night). The point of view of the author is unique in the sense that he is a foreigner (British) but is married to a Belgian and has been living there long enough to know the small things of life. I would recommend this book to anybody remotely interested in Belgium. For those that are not, I can assure you that your interest will be certainly piqued by reading this book. For me this book is a great gift for a friend interested in my country.

As Belgian myself it was funny read this book which is humorous but too much accurate about many things that we know is true in our people but surprised to read in a book!
Book is a very nice introduction to my country for people coming to live here and know about, but don't worry - not all the drivers are so bad and dangerous!

Mark Elliott has written a very entertaining - and if my Belgian friends are to be believed - accurate account of Belgian culture. Not a classic guidebook with lists of places to visit and restaurants to patronize, this book truly lives up to its title. The book contains a great deal of humor which makes the Belgians come alive for the reader. The book has definitely made me put Belgium on my list of places I wish to visit.