Tiffany's Palm Beach

Book Description

With its extravagant homes, sumptuous gardens, and iconic residents, Palm Beach radiates luxury and wealth. Tiffany's Palm Beach showcases roughly 70 of the area's wealthiest, most powerful, and, in some cases, most reclusive residents in and around their stylishly opulent homes and gardens. Highlighted are exquisite Tiffany objects and jewels, both antique and contemporary, wherever they appear. With unprecedented access into the jealously and heavily guarded retreats in this most exclusive of American resorts, this deluxe volume is a virtual who's who of Palm Beach society.

The text accompanying the book's lush photography provides historical context to the significance of these spectacular homes as well as the architects, interior designers, and garden designers that fashioned them. The ultimate luxury wish book, this collection is perfect for admirers of Tiffany style and of life at the top in America today. The publication of this book coincides with the reopening of the renovated Tiffany & Co. in Palm Beach, in November 2005.

Customer Reviews:

a bit shallow.......2006-12-23

There isn't much substance to this book......
Fun pictures, but nothing much more

PALM BEACH.......2006-09-24

To almost anyone, Tiffany and Co. and Palm Beach would go hand and hand, analagous like Lalique and Monte Carlo. The concept for this book is very interesting and the author fully realizes how to exploit the two to their most advantagious. The text is highly informative and the images are crisp and beautifully presented. I agree with one of the reviews that this is an expensive coffee table book, but frankly im sure those interested in this sort of thing, will not think twice about the price of admission. Really a wonderful book on a very interesting subject, well done indeed.

FANTASY LAND.......2006-03-17

This book shows that given enough money there is no limit to how young, thin and attractive your wife can be. And apparently there is no limit to the hubris of the rich--designer wine cellars on a hurricane prone barrier island.
Last I checked there were over 260 homes for sale on Palm Beach with an asking price of $2 million up.
A great coffee table book. And a pictorial guide to The Season by Ronald Kessler that is sitting on my book shelves awaiting a read.

Tiffany's Palm Beach Review.......2006-03-11

Loved this book. I purchased it merely for inspiration photos for my own construction, but found myself reading each page!! Very interesting read!

You could only dream :-().......2006-01-16

For most people, this kind of lifestyle is only a dream, but wow, what colourful and beautiful dreams. This book is choc full of stunning photos that reflect the wealth some people luckily or unluckily have. Their houses (or should I say shrines) are treasures in their own rights, but the possesions inside are also gems. The Tiffany theme is reflected in here all the way through and there is some stunning pieces. This is a pricey 'coffee table' book, but it's so beautiful, you'll be glad you treated yourself or someone else.

Dream Cottages : 25 Plans for Retreats, Cabins, and Beach Houses

Average customer rating:

It's okay
25 Plans for Retreats, Cabins and Beach Houses
Could have been better
disappointing
Beautiful Dreamer

Dream Cottages : 25 Plans for Retreats, Cabins, and Beach Houses
Catherine Tredway
Manufacturer: Storey Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The New Cottage Home: A Tour of Unique American Dwellings
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Cottage, Cabin & Vacation Home Plans
More Small Houses (Great Houses)
The Big Book of Small House Designs: 75 Award-Winning Plans for Your Dream House, All 1,250 Square Feet or Less

ASIN: 1580173721

Book Description

The cottage holds a special place in our minds and hearts as a place of retreat, peace, and relaxation as well as an expression of a family's own personality. In this elegantly illustrated book, architect and teacher Catherine Tredway presents 25 unique plans for a variety of cottages designed to meet a wide range of needs and lifestyles.

Inspired by the many regions of North America, Tredway's designs feature the

distinctive architectural elements of an Adirondack cottage in the woods, a Minnesota lakeside cottage, a California cottage by the sea, and more. In addition, each design incorporates architectural details unique to a particular region and is shown in the author's full-color rendering accompanied by elevation views, floor plans, and close-up drawings and photographs of architectural details. The text highlights the historical background of the architectural style on which the design draws.

Part practical plans book and part inspirational idea book, this exploration of the beauty, function, and style of the cottage is a must for cottage owners, would-be cottage owners, and those who just like to dream.

Customer Reviews:

It's okay.......2007-08-03

The book was okay, not quite what I thought it was going to. It does have some interesting plans, but not what I was looking for.

25 Plans for Retreats, Cabins and Beach Houses.......2007-01-29

Nicely illustrated exteriors and floor plans, good photographs, lots of suggestions, and a bit of education thrown in. Well worth reading.

Could have been better.......2006-08-16

There are some ok ideas in this book but it suffers greatly from a cramped layout. It's not easy to browse and most of the photo are cropped so close one almost feels claustrophobic just flipping through the pages

disappointing.......2006-01-23

Although there are pictures scattered throughout the book, they are mainly of small details and accents, rather than a total view of the houses. Also, it seemed that some of the pictures were not even of the design that was being featured. I found it difficult to get any perspective of relative dimensions or the overall feel of the design from simple line drawings and floor plans. Perhaps a better book for someone more familiar with architectural drawings than for someone just starting out and looking for inspiration. Finally, not many of the designs were of what I would call a cottage, with square footage at, or higher than most average homes.

Beautiful Dreamer.......2001-11-03

This lovely book proves that a picture is worth a thousand words. I am in the beginning stages of planning my dream retirement home, and I have been looking for a few select books to convey the sense of style I want. This book is the best I have found so far. Tredway's designs are very well thought out -both beautiful AND liveable looking. There are lots of photos of completed structures along with the floor plans and elevations. Please note that as of 11/03/01, the web-site listed in the book is not working. Highly recommended book.

Average customer rating:

Good Idea

Beach Homes (Best of Fine Homebuilding)

Manufacturer: Taunton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

A House on the Water: Inspiration for Living at the Water's Edge
Waterfront Homes: 189 Home Plans for River, Lake or Sea
Waterfront Retreats
Seaside Style
Cottages on the Coast: Fair Harbors and Secret Shores

ASIN: 1561586900
Release Date: 2003-03-15

Book Description

Beach houses are the ideal getaway homes, offering the peace and relaxation of living near water, the fun of hanging out on the beach, and the total change of environment from city life. Selected from the pages of Fine Homebuilding, this book provides inspiration for anyone dreaming of such a home, plus practical guidance for designing and building in this often-challenging environment. Chosen for their variety of styles and settings, these outstanding examples range from Northwest eclectic in Seattle to an elegant houseboat in Rhode Island, from the quintessential California beach house to an oceanfront classic in Nantucket, and from a kick-back Floridian cottage to a charming Canadian retreat. Throughout the book, photographs, floor plans, drawings, and expert building information give a full picture of the possibilities for at the beach.

Customer Reviews:

Good Idea.......2007-07-08

Good short book with a number of high quality photo's and good of ideas for renovating, or building from scratch.

Average customer rating:

Photographic excellence and good choice of subject

Beach Weekend Homes
Cristina Montes
Manufacturer: Watson-Guptill Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Beach Cottages
Beach Homes (Best of Fine Homebuilding)
Waterfront Retreats
Waterside Living: Inspirational Homes by Lakes, Rivers, and the Ocean
Seaside Style

ASIN: 0823004791

Customer Reviews:

Photographic excellence and good choice of subject.......2007-03-16

The pix of Punta del Este homes are really superb. The essence of beachfront living--free, earthy, close to the sun, sea, and sand is brought out. You see not only the homes but the views from the homes. One caveat: You have got to love waterfront living. This is not a book of architectural plans for second homes in general. It evokes the essence of the lifestyle of the waterfront. Kudos to Amazon for catering to us architectural and waterscape specialists.

Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation: A History of Literary Paris in the Twenties and Thirties

Average customer rating:

Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation
A Fantastic Insight Into The Most Famous Bookstore in Paris
WELL RESEARCHED - FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN OUR LITERATURE
History-Biography-Delectation
keen and insightful....

Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation: A History of Literary Paris in the Twenties and Thirties
Noel Riley Fitch
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Shakespeare and Company (Second Edition)
Women of the Left Bank
Walks In Hemingway's Paris: A Guide To Paris For The Literary Traveler
Paris Was Yesterday, 1925-1939
Paris France

ASIN: 0393302318

Amazon.com

In 1917, Sylvia Beach walked into a Paris bookshop, where she met Adrienne Monnier, the woman who would become her life companion. In 1919, Beach opened her own English-language bookshop and lending library, Shakespeare and Company, which would become the cynosure of an entire literary movement. Literary expatriates were drawn to her shop, and Ernest Hemingway declared of Sylvia, "No one that I ever knew was nicer to me." But her most celebrated literary efforts are those she made on behalf of her literary idol, James Joyce, undertaking the publication of Ulysses. Noel Riley Fitch uses Beach as the focal point for a fascinating portrait of an artistic community filled with anecdote after anecdote. From the intellectual salons at Natalie Barney's residence--of which "William Carlos Williams would recall only the lesbian women dancing together"--to the seemingly constant presence of Ezra Pound, Fitch's account solidifies the importance of the time and place he so vividly re-creates. --Ron Hogan

Customer Reviews:

Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation.......2007-02-10

Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation

This is an ambitious and serious work, accessible in style, and packed with information in over four hundred pages. It has three main themes, clearly defined in the introduction.
The first is the love between Adrienne Monnier and Sylvia. The details of this, so we are told, 'were and are still little known' in 1983 when this book was first published. The second is her admiration for, and championship of, James Joyce. The third is her bookshop, Shakespeare and Company, which was a key feature of the literary scene in Paris between the two World Wars.
By far the most detail is provided on her professional relationship with Joyce. Her efforts to get Ulysses published and smuggled into America, her financial and personal efforts to support the author, and the amount of time and energy she invested, are the key theme of the book.
Naturally Sylvia knew all the other familiar literary figures of the time. Hemingway and Pound are frequently mentioned, as is Gertrude Stein.
As intimated in the introduction there is less to be said about more personal relationships. In a way this seems rather a pity. The anecdotal style and recurring references to various incidents along the way give the writing a rather disjointed feel. Inevitably there is also a certain sense of déja vu particularly for anyone familiar with biographies of Hemingway for example.
The strength and the weakness of the book is the amount of text devoted to James Joyce. Joyce attracts great, but not universal, enthusiasm. The man himself seems to have had more arrogance than charm. Depending on the side of this divide which the reader favours this book will firmly hold the attention or will, in places, rather pall.

A Fantastic Insight Into The Most Famous Bookstore in Paris .......2005-12-02

This is quite a spectacular book, a privileged look into the most famous English language bookstore in Paris, Sylvia Beach's Shakespeare & Company. Not only is it delightful to read the history of how Sylvia's modest dream became such a huge success, but it is also fascinating to read about Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, and James Joyce when they were young. The language is rich and fulfilling, the photos insightful, and in the end, I really felt as if I had been part of it all, sitting in Sylvia's bookstore, hearing the rustle of pages as the day passed away.

WELL RESEARCHED - FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN OUR LITERATURE.......2005-04-13

This one has been around for some time now and it is not the worse for wear. For those interested in our literature and literary Paris during the 1920s and 1930s, then this is one of those "must reads" (I truely hate that term, but know of no better to describe the improtance of this work at this time). The author's research is absolutely miticulous and fills in many gaps in the story of this remarkable woman. Do be warned though. Many of the names of people mentioned here are rather obscure (at this day and time) for those not immersed in the literary world. This can make the work a bit difficult to follow at times. That being said, this is a wonderful work to read to cause many of these names to become less obscure than they are now...one more of the many reasons to read this work! The book covers some of the intimate details of Beach's relationship with friends and lovers that she so well side steps in her own account of this time. Recommend this one highly. Actually, you probably should purchase this one as it is one that is a good book for reference and one you will probably want to reread.

History-Biography-Delectation.......2004-10-24

This is one of those books where you care about the characters. Their past and future becomes important and that the characters are real people make this book all the more fasinating. A book one does want to end. But end it does with style.

keen and insightful...........2004-05-17

This is one of the best books that I've ever read about the 'lost generation' of Americans literary refugees in Paris. The writing is excellent, the research exhaustive and thorough with unparalleled access to Ms. Beach's 'surpressed' portions of her autobiography "Shakespeare and Company". It is readily apparent from this book that without Ms. Beach and her unflinching support, there would have been no "Ulysses" (and maybe no James Joyce). But there was so many other authors she supported and nurtured as well, as the quote from Ernest Hemingway cited above illustrates as well. This book is almost a 'must read' for those persons interested in American literature of the mid 20th century.

Shakespeare and Company (Second Edition)

Average customer rating:

Shakespeare would be proud
A Pleasant, Chatty Memoir
not quite what I expected
A real treat for book lovers.
good, though not quite what I expected

Shakespeare and Company (Second Edition)
Sylvia Beach
Manufacturer: Bison Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation: A History of Literary Paris in the Twenties and Thirties
Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co.
Walks In Hemingway's Paris: A Guide To Paris For The Literary Traveler
Paris France
Women of the Left Bank

ASIN: 0803260970

Book Description

Sylvia Beach was intimately acquainted with the expatriate and visiting writers of the Lost Generation, a label that she never accepted. Like moths of great promise, they were drawn to her well-lighted bookstore and warm hearth on the Left Bank. Shakespeare and Company evokes the zeitgeist of an era through its revealing glimpses of James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, Sherwood Anderson, Andre Gide, Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, D. H. Lawrence, and others already famous or soon to be.

In his introduction to this new edition, James Laughlin recalls his friendship with Sylvia Beach. Like her bookstore, his publishing house, New Directions, is considered a cultural touchstone.

Customer Reviews:

Shakespeare would be proud.......2005-04-11

What a wonderful find! This book is truly a treasure and made me wish I had been an author in Paris during the 20's. Sylvia Beach ran her library Shakespeare and Company on the left bank on Rue l'Odeon for many years and served as the location for English language books in Paris. During that time she worked closely with Joyce and personally handled not only publishing Ulysses but also took care of all his mail and the shipping of his books to various customers around the world.

There is a rather funny scene she describes. Because it was so hard to get Ulysses into America (since it was banned), Sylvia had a dilemma concerning distribution. Hemingway, who proclaims himself Sylvia's "best customer", tells her not to worry and within a few days he comes back to let her know he has a friend who has moved to Canada who will personally bring the books into America by ferry, stuffed in his pants.

I cannot say enough what a beautiful book this is. Beach is as gifted as the authors she esteemed and brings to life a world you wish you could climb into.

I would also highly recommend A Moveable Feast by Earnest Hemingway in conjunction to this.

A Pleasant, Chatty Memoir.......2004-12-31

I've been carrying a first edition of this book around from state to state for several years, and never really quite got around to reading it, as I was more involved with books by the writers Beach writes about, and with the more mundane details of life. What a shame. This is a thoroughly enjoyable and chatty memoir of one rather significant (but don't overstate this) expatriate member of the so-called "Lost Generation". The book is an easy read -- certainly no literary masterpiece, though I doubt it was intended as one. Beach recounts her efforts a running a little book store specializing in modern American literature (and, of course, publishing a small work by an Irish writer, as well), and details her encounters with various figures of the era, be they French, English or American. At times, particularly early on, Beach resorts to simple name dropping -- one day so-and-so came in, this person was a regular customer, etc.; but that is really just a quibble as the sheer volume of significant names brings to mind a roll call of the major modern literary figures of the English language. And "Shakespeare & Co." also has a nice little side effect -- it reminded me of some writers (and a composer - Georges Antheil) that I haven't read yet, or haven't read in a while. I highly recommend this book.

not quite what I expected.......2004-10-05

good, though not quite what I expected, September 12, 2004
I purchased this book knowing little about Sylvia Beach and her bookstore Shakespeare and Company, but hoping to find out more. Since this particular book is rather autobiographical, I figured I could learn a lot from it about her. Actually it was more about her famous friends (Joyce, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and many other writers and other prominent social and literary figures of the day; if you're familiar with the Algonquin Round Table and their expanded circle of friends, a lot of these people cross over), with only rather modest information provided about herself. It is still an interesting read, and the stories she recounts are well done and witty, but the spotlight is less on her own story and more on the people she surrounded herself with. I would like to seek out a more objective biography of her to couple to the information I've learned in this book. Still, do read it, especially if you are interested in the literati of the 1920s-30s.

A real treat for book lovers........2004-09-13

Every once in a great while I stumble upon a book I've never heard of and feel as though I've discovered treasure. This is such a book. Though I had heard of Sylvia Beach and her famous book shop/lending library, her memoir "Shakespeare & Company" was unknown to me. In an easy, conversational style, Beach gives the history of her shop and observational portraits of the various artists who treated her establishment as a salon of sorts. These artists included Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, T. S. Eliot and Andre Gide, among others. She expounds upon her experiences as James Joyce's publisher and benefactress to a considerable depth, while never overtly acknowledging the intimate nature of her relationship with Adrienne Monnier. Beach's life in Paris and her interactions with 'the lost generation,' was published almost fifty years ago, but remains engaging, enjoyable and relevant today. Indeed a treat.

good, though not quite what I expected.......2004-09-12

I purchased this book knowing little about Sylvia Beach and her bookstore Shakespeare and Company, but hoping to find out more. Since this particular book is rather autobiographical, I figured I could learn a lot from it about her. Actually it was more about her famous friends (Joyce, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and many other writers and other prominent social and literary figures of the day; if you're familiar with the Algonquin Round Table and their expanded circle of friends, a lot of these people cross over), with only rather modest information provided about herself. It is still an interesting read, and the stories she recounts are well done and witty, but the spotlight is less on her own story and more on the people she surrounded herself with. I would like to seek out a more objective biography of her to couple to the information I've learned in this book. Still, do read it, especially if you are interested in the literati of the 1920s-30s.

Average customer rating:

Beach Houses: From Malibu to Laguna
Elizabeth McMillian
Manufacturer: Rizzoli International Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Waterfront Retreats
Malibu: A Century of Living by the Sea
California Beach Houses: Style, Interiors, and Architecture
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Beach Homes (Best of Fine Homebuilding)

ASIN: 0847818020
Release Date: 1994-05-15

Book Description

Beach Houses are the first survey of the glamorous beachfront lifestyle and distinctive architecture and design for which Southern California is so famous. The houses featured in this book are located on the coast between Malibu and Laguna and range from common generic types-- New England, Mediterranean and ranch designs-- to high-style homes by well-known architects such as John Lautner, Richard Meier, Frank Gehry, and others.

Beaches and beach houses have played an important part in the historical and cultural development of Southern California, beginning in the 1880s when land speculators wanted to attract home-buyers, and especially during the 1920s when the motion picture community and other nouveau riche built lavish houses and clubs on the shore.

Architectural writer Elizabeth McMillian has selected a stunning array of Southern California beach residences that receive high marks for appearance, comfort, and sensitivity to the environment. Every beach house designer faces similar constraints and challenges: small lots, low-key street facades, enclosed sidewalls, narrow paths to the ocean, and glass-walled and terraced oceanfronts. If a beach house is designed with sensitivity, living on the beach can be an experience that is close to perfection.

Photographer Melba Levick has dramatically captured the California beach house in its enviable seaside context and has focused on interiors that bring the sights and sounds of the ocean into the home by way of glass walls, open courtyards, terraces, and towers.

Interviews with the architects, interior designers, and owners of these fabulous California houses reveal the inspirational dimension embodied in this special architecture.

"A beach house is often the fulfillment of a dream, as well as a quest for the sensual varieties of site, sound, and touch-- the opportunity to feel gentle sea breezes, warm to the reassuring rays of the sun, and hear the lulling, rhythmic sound of wind and waves," explains McMillian.

Average customer rating:

Loved this peaceful interlude!!!
Mesmerizingly Dull
Enticing Lifestyle, Gripping Story
Loved It!
Arrogant is right - and not really up front either

Trip to the Beach, A (Nova Audio Books)
Robert Blanchard
Manufacturer: Nova Audio Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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At Blanchard's Table: A Trip to the Beach Cookbook
Live What You Love: Notes from an Unusual Life
An Embarrassment of Mangoes: A Caribbean Interlude
Don't Stop the Carnival: A Novel
No Shoes Allowed

ASIN: 1587880172
Release Date: 2000-10-10

Amazon.com

On a vacation with the family in Barbados, Mel and Bob Blanchard (of the Vermont-based Blanchard & Blanchard specialty foods company) stumble upon a tiny restaurant/shack on a Caribbean beach:

I marveled at the ingenuity of the set-up. A secluded spot, sand like flour, customers arriving in bathing suits. The guy barely lifted a finger, cleared at least $35.00, and gave us a lunch we'd remember forever.... The man had sold us a frame of mind.

So begins the Blanchards' 10-year pursuit of the illusory notion of "island time." In a literary heartbeat, they abandon the "concrete jungle" that was Vermont and open a restaurant on a little-known island in the British West Indies called Anguilla ("rhymes with vanilla"). Narrated by Mel Blanchard, A Trip to the Beach dispels tired notions of the Caribbean--the steel drums, the lush landscapes, and acres of swaying palm trees--and instead focuses on the understated elegance and easy rhythms of the sublimely "flat, and scrubby" island. Though lacking the richness and finesse of Frances Mayes, and the wit and wisdom of Peter Mayle, Mel Blanchard nonetheless forges a new path in travel writing as the Martha Stewart of the Caribbean. A remarkably intuitive and inspired chef, Mel writes poignant passages on running a kitchen in Anguilla. Here she exposes the meat of the story, sharing her many outrageous adventures--how to cater to pampered and demanding guests, how to cook for a full restaurant in the darkest of island night with no electricity, how to prepare for recurring and utterly devastating hurricanes that wipe out your business. In these chapters the writing is as good as her cooking--inspiring, colorful, and easily digestible. Although she sometimes relies heavily on well-worn clichés and expresses naïve and rather privileged assumptions--"Why would anyone choose to live surrounded by concrete and traffic rather than fishing boats, water and palm trees?"--discerning readers will see the true nature of this tiny island--a place of simplistic beauty that struggles to maintain its independence while it depends on tourism for its livelihood. With a strange concoction of anecdotes, island politics, recipes, and sweet memories, the Blanchards seduce readers with the allure of "island time," bringing Anguilla home to the rest of us. --Daphne Durham

Book Description

This is the true story of a trip to the beach that never ends. It's about a husband and wife who escape civilization to build a small restaurant on an island paradise - and discover that even paradise has its pitfalls. It's a story filled with calamities and comedy, culinary disasters and triumphs, and indelible portraits of people who work in a place where the rest of the world goes to play. It's about the maddening, exhausting, impossible complications of trying to live the simple life - and the joy that comes when you somehow pull it off.

Download Description

This is the true story of a trip to the beach that never ends. It's about a husband and wife who escape civilization to build a small restaurant on an island paradise -- and discover that even paradise has its pitfalls. It's a story filled with calamities and comedy, culinary disasters and triumphs, and indelible portraits of people who live and work on a sliver of beauty set in the Caribbean Sea. It's about the maddening, exhausting, outlandish complications of trying to live the simple life -- and the joy that comes when you somehow pull it off.

The story begins when Bob and Melinda Blanchard sell their successful Vermont food business and decide, perhaps impulsively, to get away from it all. Why not open a beach bar and grill on Anguilla, their favorite Caribbean island? One thing leads to another and the little grill turns into an enchanting restaurant that quickly draws four-star reviews and a celebrity-studded clientele eager for Melinda's delectable cooking. Amid the frenetic pace of the Christmas "high season," the Blanchards and their kitchen staff -- Clinton and Ozzie, the dancing sous-chefs; Shabby, the master lobster-wrangler; Bug, the dish-washing comedian -- come together like a crack drill team. And even in the midst of hilarious pandemonium, there are moments of bliss.

As the Blanchards learn to adapt to island time, they become ever more deeply attached to the quirky rhythms and customs of their new home. Until disaster strikes: Hurricane Luis, a category-4 storm with two-hundred-mile-an-hour gusts, devastates Anguilla. Bob and Melinda survey the wreckage of their beloved restaurant and wonder whether leaving Anguilla, with its innumerable challenges, would be any easier than walking out on each other. Affectionate, seductive, and very funny, A Trip to the Beach is a love letter to a place that becomes both home and escape.

"A Trip to the Beach is the next best thing to being there. The Blanchards have given us a smart and amusing tale of running off to chase a dream. It's just as tasty as their cooking."
   TOM BROKAW, ANCHOR, NBC NIGHTLY NEWS

"If you think it takes courage to open and operate a fine dining restaurant, just try doing it the Blanchard way. Pick a beautiful but remote island with cultural idiosyncrasies, build it from scratch, make it seasonal to assure up and down business, and subject yourself to the most powerful hurricanes Mother Nature knows how to create. Other than that, it's easy. I love the Blanchards' determined sense of hospitality and appreciate the rich texture they have woven into Anguilla's colorful fabric."
   DANNY MEYER, COAUTHOR, THE UNION SQUARE CAFE COOKBOOK

Customer Reviews:

Loved this peaceful interlude!!!.......2007-09-28

This was a great book to escape to. If you love cooking and the beach, then this book is for you. Mel shares recipes, tells the tales of changing lifestyles, and paints an incredible picture of the island. I am ready to go pack and have dinner at Blanchards!

Mesmerizingly Dull.......2007-07-06

If you have ever been cornered by an innkeeper or B & B owner whose life contains five minutes of interesting tidbits, but who takes two hours dragging you through a poorly synthesized tale, you've already had the experience of reading this book. To make matters worse, the quality of writing and tone are comparable to a sixth grade essay along the lines of "What I Did on My Summer Vacation."
If you are looking for an interesting book about life as an American in the Caribbean, try Herman Wouk's semi-fictional "Don't Stop the Carnival."

Enticing Lifestyle, Gripping Story .......2007-07-03

Every once in a great while, you might stubble upon a truly captivating novel that is, at times, impossible to put down. Before you know it, you're submerged within it's pages, neglecting the clock, surpassing any predestinated points that you promised yourself to stop at. Bob and Melinda's "A Trip to the Beach" has justly enthralled many readers of prudent taste since first being published in 2000. For an absorbing and mesmeric account of two native Vermonters who inaugurated a simple but distant dream, born on a vacation to the Caribbean. On a whim, they move to a foreign country, and start a restaurant on the tiny, remote island of Anguilla. Entering a world of excitement, frustration, joy, and perseverance to live an anything but ordinary life. This seemingly envious lifestyle proves to be a gigantic undertaking in spite of all it's seductiveness. The romanticized notion of escaping the stresses of a mundanely uneventful New England way of life, only to become a castaway in a distant oasis of a subtropical sunny paradise is simple to swallow but nothing is as easy as it seems. The Blanchards, you will soon discover, can nearly vouch for Murphy's law. Coupled with their persistence and immortal ambition sets the stage for a charming true story and notably enjoyable read.

Stemming from this innocent yet simple vision of opening a small lunch stand on the beach, an ebullient dream quickly turns into an venturesomely enterprise of a posh dinning restaurant serving everyone from wealthy vacationers to renown movie stars. A logistical nightmare, the Blanchards are forced to balance building a ritzy eatery from scarce island materials, importing supplies, while establishing a whole new life in a completely different foreign culture far from the plentiful civilization we've grown accustomed to. Many things we might take for granted prove to be a troublesome liability- even freshwater must be delivered to them on the island. Unlike a Hollywood film or a glamorized Nora Roberts novel, the story of Bob and Melinda `s audacious and adventure filled life in Anguilla is real. A reader will be charmed by the local characters, smell the freshly grilled lobsters, and hear the sounds of the benign calypso music without ever leaving home. It soon becomes easy to transport yourself to their situation, asking yourself, what would I do?

Overall, an authentically inspirational tale of willpower, surmountability, and fortitude in a bold stride towards a deviating but enchanting new life. Some have mistaken the Blanchard's drive and intrepidity as egotism. If your literary appetite hungers for some disgruntled hippies' tale of soul-searching while living a primitive lifestyle in an exotic location, then look elsewhere. If the Blanchards for any instance took the reality of chasing their dreams during such a pivotal time in their lives lightly, they most likely wouldn't have a book to fill let alone embracement of such luscious success. The only melancholic fervor encountered is ending the book itself. If only it were longer!

Loved It!.......2007-02-27

This book is a wonderful read. It provided great entertainment, a few good recipes, and and escape to the tropics during the cold Minnesota winter.

Arrogant is right - and not really up front either.......2006-07-27

Hipkat and ActionJunkie have summed it all up perfectly. Nothing else to add. Oh. Yes there is. I happened to be in a bookstore way back when this book was released and the Blanchardss were speaking. I pretty quickly observed they were quite charmed with themselves. I didn't stay to listen long. The book was passed to me by a co-worker. Couldn't finish it.

Average customer rating:

Beach Houses
Roberto Schezen , and Michael Webb
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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Design & Construction | Home Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

California Beach Houses: Style, Interiors, and Architecture
Mediterranean Modern (Design House)
Waterfront Retreats
A House on the Water: Inspiration for Living at the Water's Edge

ASIN: 0060197730
Release Date: 2002-03-26

Book Description

The beach is the ultimate retreat: a place to escape the frenzied pace of our daily lives and to reconnect with the natural world. In Beach Houses, photographer Roberto Schezen and writer Michael Webb offer a lavish visual and textual tour of America's most fascinating seaside homes -- both traditional and modern, rustic and grand -- illustrating why we are so drawn to beach living.

Encompassing twenty-one structures in all, this is a book as rich and as diverse as the coastline itself. From a simlpe Block Island cottage created by acclaimed architect Robert Venturi, to Richard Neutra's modernist masterpiece in Santa Monica, to a wildlyadventurous Florida residence designed entirely by its owner, each home profiled is a unique work of art and a remarkable reflection of our ever-changing relationship with the ocean. Schezen's 139 original color photographs give us an inside glimpse into each residence, while Webb's essays explain the histories and special features of each home. Artfully designed and beautifully written, Beach Houses will captivate anyone who has dreamed of living by the water and all those who simply love the sea.

Average customer rating:

Very Dissappointed

Beach Cottages
Ana Christina G. Canizares
Manufacturer: Watson-Guptill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Decoration & Ornament | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Small Homes & Cottages | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Beach Homes (Best of Fine Homebuilding)
Beach Weekend Homes
Waterfront Retreats
A House on the Water: Inspiration for Living at the Water's Edge
Seaside Style

ASIN: 0823004783

Book Description

For anyone who has ever dreamed of living near an ocean, lake, or river, Beach Cottages offers a unique vision of some of the most innovative waterfront cottages constructed during the last few years. All of the houses, cottages, and cabins included in this book are located on waterfront property and combine a sense of the elements with that of pure delight. Meticulously documented, Beach Cottages also features more than 300 gorgeous, full-color photos and dozens of architectural plans and details. A thoroughly captivating display of the finest in waterfront living!

Customer Reviews:

Very Dissappointed.......2005-06-27

I am a builder who was looking for ideas on cottage decore for sea shore homes. This book would be more aptly titled "Modern Architecture by the Sea". The homes featured in this book had nothing to do with most peoples' preconceived ideas of what a "cottage" looks like. I am returning the book for a refund.

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