Book Description
The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban's backyard
Anyone who despairs of the individual's power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan's treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and promised to build them a school. Over the next decade he built fifty-five schools—especially for girls—that offer a balanced education in one of the most isolated and dangerous regions on earth. As it chronicles Mortenson's quest, which has brought him into conflict with both enraged Islamists and uncomprehending Americans, Three Cups of Tea combines adventure with a celebration of the humanitarian spirit.
Customer Reviews:
5 Stars Plus.......2007-10-10
I agree with some of the critisms that the prose distracts from the narrative. Additionally, there is too much of the author and not enough of "Dr. Greg". However, all of the negatives are superceded by a HUGE positive-- that this is an inspirational story of one man making an incredible difference in people's lives. C.A.I. will now go on my list of charities.
Inspiring, moving, excellent.......2007-10-10
This is one of the best books I've ever read. I haven't been able to stop thinking or talking about it since I finished. It's incredibly well written, suspenseful and very moving. It inspired me to increase my efforts to help others. I agree whole heartedly with the underlying premise of the book - that peace comes from education and that those who are left in poverty with no tools for overcoming this will naturally turn to the path of least resistance - the path of hatred, terror and war. Another thing I really appreciated about this book was that I could give it to my grandma - it doesn't have any profanity or other such material that would make me embarrassed for her to read.
This is a template on how to eliminate terrorism.......2007-10-10
I adore this book and believe that education is the answer. One person can make a difference.
Wow.......2007-10-07
Simply the most moving story I have ever read. This will renew your faith in humanity.
This is a life changing book.......2007-10-06
I have recommended (and given) this book to many of my friends and all three of my book clubs. Some people found the beginning a little tedious but I did not. I enjoyed the background material and have decided that, when I grow up (I'm already 52), I want to be Greg Mortenson. I admire him and think his wife must be a saint. I learned a lot, and more importantly, felt a lot while reading this book. It is very inspiring. As Americans, we have so much to learn before we offer to help.
Average customer rating:
- Good, but needs updated
- Great for the novice or expert
- This is a good solid book on Coffee
- Very helpful book
- the perfect coffee book
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Perfect Cup: A Coffee Lover's Guide to Buying, Brewing and Tasting
Timothy James Castle
Manufacturer: Aris Books
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: 0201570483 |
Customer Reviews:
Good, but needs updated.......2007-01-14
I cannot believe I thought Folger's was good coffee for so many years. (Of course, it is made from 100% coffee.) If you're ready to enjoy a really good cup of coffee, The Perfect Cup is a good introduction to escaping from Maxwell House. I especially liked Mr Castle treating coffee like a crop, and discussing the variations in flavor that occur from variations in growing locations. I was prepared to dislike the 60 pages of interviews he had with the specialty coffee roasters, but found them to be informative (and occasionally quite entertaining).
The book desperately needs a second edition. This book was written as a general introduction to specialty coffee, and it probably still fits that niche. Specialty coffee has become even more popular than it was 15 years ago, though, and I believe coffee fans/addicts now know more about their beans and an expanded discussion would be merited. The Internet is an incredible resource for the coffee drinker and needs to be discussed in detail. And you can't ignore the 800-pound gorilla; I may buy my coffee from my local roaster, but Starbucks dominates the market and defines specialty coffee.
All-in-all, I enjoyed this book and it gave me some fresh perspective on my favorite non-alcoholic beverage.
Great for the novice or expert.......2006-07-29
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about that wonderful bean.
This is a good solid book on Coffee.......2003-08-26
I'm a coffee freak. I roast my own espresso and grind it with great care and pump it through a two group computer controlled professional Italian espresso machine. My wife thinks I'm obsessive about it. With that in mind, Perfect Cup provides a lot of excellent information that most people probably don't know, about how to make a great cup of coffee. It also talks about the characteristics of different kinds of coffee. If A&P 8:00 is your cup of tea...coffee, you might not give a damn, but if you really are curious...interested, passionate about coffee, you will probably enjoy reading this book.
Very helpful book.......2002-08-03
I highly recommend this book. I bought it as someone just getting into enjoying the coffee experience. I wanted a book that would help me learn more about brewing coffee, tasting, and what to expect from beans grown in the different areas of the world. It gave me the info. I was looking for. I also really enjoyed the section in which several coffee roasters across the US were interviewed about their roasting philosophies and what to them helped create that elusive perfect cup of coffee.
the perfect coffee book.......2000-12-03
years ago(before Starbucks bought the world) Boston had a local chain called the Coffee Connection. Their blends were perfect, their roasts were done by an old central american master and all of their employees were coffee lovers who could tell you details on any bean (once again, pre starbucks and the "we'll hire anyone" policy). I once asked how they knew so much and was told that employees were required to read this book. Somehow I lost my original copy ... so glad to see Amazon making it available again.
Book Description
THE ANTICHRIST AND A CUP OF TEA presents the fascinating saga of the British Monarchy's centuries-long endeavor to establish a "New World Order," and for the first time, gives hard evidence to suggest the identity of the AntiChrist.
Customer Reviews:
Tim Overlooked Charles Birthday.......2007-09-27
Jesus was born 6 months after John the Baptist. John was the WITNESS. The rebirth of Israel is the WITNESS to the Church. Charles Prince of Wales, was born 6 months to the day!!!, after Israel. Satan Caricatures everything the Lord does.
May 14 1948---November 14 1948
God is always associated with the # 3. (trinity) Jesus began his ministry at 30. His ministry was for 3 1/2 years. He was crucified at the age of 33, 1 of three on Calvary. He was raised on the 3rd day. Satan will have his manifested Humanist revealed at 60 years old. 666= 6 three times or 6 (man) trying to be God (3). The Anti-Christs' (false Messiah) ministry will be for 3 1/2 years just as Jesus, but instead of being "cut-off", creating a new Covenant with the Jews, he will be revealed as who he really is, "breaking his Covenant with Israel."
With all the other evidence Tim Cohen has put forth, this raised the hair on the back of my neck when I looked up Charles Birthday. God is a God of "set times". Next year Israel and Charles turn 60! Man was created on the 6th day. There are 66 books in the Bible. The Anti-Christs' Name and # is 666. Islam is trying to bring in the chaos necessary for the 12th Imams' reign of peace. Iran is months away from the bomb. An economic meltdown is possible to likely. With all these issues coming together, critical mass is close. I would be very surprised if 2008 isn't the year. People try to hold Tim to exact facts and figures in history when too much is subjective to the author. He has done an amazing job of research. When you read the book, be sure to research the Bible footnotes he provides, they will convince even the most skeptical mind if he is "open" to the truth. Failing to recognize Charles' birthday as significant, is one of the only things Tim overlooked.
avid reader.......2007-04-02
If you like to read and if you are a fact oriented person, this book is a must read. The information in this book is well worth the price of it.
Interesting read.......2006-08-19
While being a bit heavy to read, it is very interesting. If you liked the history and truth bits to the Davinci Code you will find this a worthwhile purchase.
I wouldn't take the views in it word for word. It is well researched and documented but there is the element of the authors personals views as well. So read it and formulate your own conclusion based on the facts presented.
Are you WASHED in the BLOOD of the LAMB?.......2006-05-05
prince CHARLES has been PROOVED to be the EMISSIONARY of SATAN in this fine book inspired by the LORD OUR GOD all the EVIDENCE for this is in the text of the GOOD BOOK which Mister Cohen sets out the THRONES DOMINIONS and POWERS of the DEVIL so I say BUY and READ this work and look at prince CHARLE'S new town in BRITAIN, ENGLAND for BY HIS WORKS SHALL YE KNOW HIM and the MARK OF THE BEAST as given by COHEN in the BOOK is upon EVERY HOUSE
OHM'GOD, IT'S REALLY HIM!.......2005-08-02
TIM COHN HAS A MASTERY OF THE SCRIPTURES THAT FEW MEN IN HISTORY HAVE POESSESSED. THE DEPTH OF HIS RESEARCH IS UNBELIEVABLE. WOW! I HAVE 28,000 HOURS STUDING THE BIBLE AND I FELT LIKE A LITTLE KID, WHEN I MET HIM AND I AM GOING TO READ EVERYTHING THIS MAN WRITES. DO I BELIEVE HIS ASSESSMENT OF WHO THE ANTI-CHRIST IS GOING TO BE.......YES, YES, YES I DO! EVERY TRUE CHRISTIAN AND EVERY TRUE CHRISTIAN WARRIOR NEEDS THIS INFO, NOW!
Book Description
In 1994 the gift book market welcomed If Teacups Could Talk, and thousands of women discovered the warm hospitality of Emilie Barnes and the gracious spirit of artist Sandy Lynam Clough. Now with a fresh new cover, this bestseller (more than 260,000 copies sold) will inspire even more people to savor the blessings of teatime traditions.
In chapters overflowing with ideas for gracious living, Emilie encourages readers to embrace and pass on to others the gifts of friendship, tradition, comfort, celebration, and imagination...all with a cup of tea.
Those who have already made this beautiful book a part of their teatime traditions will now be eager to introduce this dear old friend to others in their lives.
Customer Reviews:
What a joy this book is........2007-05-26
This book was given to me as a gift. It is such a joy. I've now purchased numerous copies myself to give as gifts also. We all need to learn the lessons written in this beautiful little book of taking time to enjoy life, whether it be with tea or even coffee.
Time for Tea.......2006-05-06
I own a copy of this given to me by a friend who loves to drop by and share a cup of tea. I purchased a copy for my cousing for her birthday, also. The illustrations are wonderful and the lines of prose about tea and time spent with our friends make this the perfect little book to enjoy if you are having a quiet cup of tea alone.
If Teacups Could Talk.......2006-02-01
This is a book mothers should give to their daughters. I regret all the years of my daughters' childhoods that I did not use the good china and teapots. We did share over a cup of tea but how much nicer to have used the teacups instead of the everyday mugs. I will definitely be having more teas with my granddaughters and using the recipes in this book.
If Teacups Could Talk.......2005-10-06
This quick read is one for a woman to linger over. Wonderful thoughts and suggestions for "special times". Helps to establish tradions and customs for family and friends.
This book is my absolute favorite! It inspires & delights me.......2005-01-16
I have been collecting books about tea time for a number of years. This book is my favorite of all of them. The illustrations are gorgeous, the entire book is a visual joy. It inspires us to put some ritual into our lives, to slow down, take time, enjoy beauty & calm, serenity, and one another. Another book that inspires in the same way is by Alexandra Stoddard, Living a Beautiful Life. Emilie Barnes encourages us to put the tea kettle on the stove to boil the water, which gives time to set a lovely tray, cut a fresh flower, do the things that delight the senses. The same goes for making fresh scones - there is time to do so while waiting for a friend to drive over. I love her idea of collecting a variety of tea cups & saucers, displaying them, and inviting guests to look over them all and select the one that delights them to use while enjoying the tea. The narrative simply adds to the pleasure of the book. There is something for everyone & all ages, for one or a crowd. If you can only get one book about tea, this is the one!
Customer Reviews:
Shelley Tea Ware Patterns.......2007-08-24
This is a great reference book for Shelley china collectors. It shows pattern shapes, pattern numbers and color photos of the hundreds of Shelley tea sets. Great for a beginning collector or for someone who wants
to catalog their collection. Also,it gives the history of the Shelley company from 1860 to its end in 1966. I like this reference book the best of all the Shelley books I have collected.
Average customer rating:
- This book changed my life!!!
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Quiet Moments and a Cup of Tea
Manufacturer: Multnomah Gifts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Morning Coffee and Time Alone
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Stories for a Cheerful Heart (Stories For the Heart)
ASIN: 1588600084
Release Date: 2000-12-29 |
Book Description
Alice Gray takes you on a quiet journey of faith, hope, and love through stories lavishly illustrated by Susan Mink Colclough. This book will be as cherished as the moments of serenity it offers.
Customer Reviews:
This book changed my life!!!.......2004-04-05
As a former leader of the notorious biker gang, Satan's Little Elves, I used to live a life sewn together with the black thread of evil. Whether it was selling crack cocaine to retarded kids or taking more toothpicks than I needed from the men's restroom at Denny's, I was headed on the road to Nowhere - quick!!!
Then one day, knowing my secret pension for herbal tea, Snake Vomit, a buddy of mine, gave me this book to read. I cut my hippy hairdo and enrolled in Christian Military school. I have since become a roadie, following Twila Paris across the Good Ol' US of A and terrorizing members of the Green Party.
Rock on brothers!!!
Customer Reviews:
Easy Read.......2007-03-10
As a book for moms, this is a quick and easy read. I think I read it in less than 24 hours even with 3 small kids. Chapters are nice and short but Danielle has a way of conveying her wisdom with real life stories that are interesting and that just take you in.
Divine Providence.......2005-06-02
That's how this book came to me. I came across Danielle's Blog, became a fan of her work and was interested in reading her book but hadn't gotten around to ordering it. Then that following Sunday the Pauline Sisters were at church selling their books and they had 'My Cup of Tea'. I absolutely had to buy it at that point. When I started reading it, I got tears in my eyes because she understood exactly what I, a stay at home mom with small children was going through. I loved her story about not finishing her cup of tea and that's exactly what happens here day after day...but it is all so worth it. I had to E-Mail her right away after reading that and let her know that I had bought her book and knew exactly where she was coming from.
Like she says herself in the introduction..."In trying moments, we want reassurance that our feelings are normal, shared by many women, and that we will survive them." Amen to that.
I later joined an online Catholic mom's group and ran into Danielle again there...that really nailed the 'God-incidence' aspect of it for me. I was meant to read this book and be encouraged in my role as a Catholic mom and I know that you will be too.
Treat Yourself or Someone You Love.......2005-05-09
I have long admired the wonderful writing of Danielle Bean, so it is a treat to own a collection of Danielle's inspirational essays. Her warm tone and the attention to the small blessings in the life of every mother remind me to thank God for my own role as mother.
Danielle writes about the everyday occurrences in the life of a Catholic Mom with a voice that will sound familiar to you - it's your voice, my voice, the voice of my mom...the voice of all of us who are working diligently to love and raise our children to be wonderful individuals who know and love their faith. Somehow she manages to find words for the many situations that occur along life's path - the crazy ones, the sweet ones, the ones that make us cry and the ones that make us laugh out loud.
Treat yourself or a special woman in your life - you will find yourself enriched by the experience and counting your own blessings along the way.
A Shot In the Arm!.......2005-04-21
This book is a tremendous boost for all mothers, but especially for those who have been in the motherhood business for some time. When the day-to-day burdens of caring for children seem endless, thankless, and something less than glamorous, this book is a gentle reminder of the glorious vocation and the sweet reward that is motherhood.
It is written in snippets, designed for busy people to read in small sittings here and there, but, I have to confess...I read mine in one afternoon.
Beautiful Book.......2005-04-21
Danielle Bean truly captures the highs and lows of motherhood in this rare collection of honest and inspiring essays. I smilingly related to Bean as she explained how motherhood transformed her from mouse-like to bear-like in "Bear Instincts." I cheered when she described Laundry, Supermarket, and Dinner as Olympic events in "Mom Olympics." I found myself holding back tears as she described the loveliness of her home as it appeared to her one winter night from the outside, from a distance, in "A Joyful Noise." From the first essay to the last, Bean's perspective is as wise as it is endearing. Any mother who treasures her faith and family will find much in _My Cup of Tea_ to take heart in.
Average customer rating:
- After a nice sit down...
- Perfect Read...again...and again...and again...
- brilliant
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Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down
Nicey , and
Wifey
Manufacturer: Little Brown Book Group Limited
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ASIN: 0751537659 |
Book Description
An affectionate homage to the British tradition of tea-drinking and to the greatest tea biscuits of all time, from the Custard Cream to the Pink Wafer.
Put a cup of tea in your hand, and what else can you do but sit down? This new book celebrates that most British of life's cornerstones: the tea break. There is, however, another element to this ritual that is a must: biscuits. As Nicey so rightly points out, a cup of tea without a biscuit is a missed opportunity. Finding the right biscuit for the right occasion is as much an art as it is a science, and it is a task that Nicey has selflessly worked on for most of his tea-drinking life. From dunking to the Digestive, the Iced Gem to the Garibaldi, everything you'll ever need to know about British biscuits is in this book, and quite a lot more besides. So go on. Put the kettle on, take a weight off, and enjoy.
Customer Reviews:
After a nice sit down..........2007-01-04
Loved this book. Nicey has a wonderful, witty tone and covers the essentials to British tea drinking and biscuit dunking. Wonderful review of the various biscuits with photos, good guide for those who are new to the art of biscuit buying. Wifey manages to keep everything on topic.
Perfect Read...again...and again...and again..........2006-09-10
It has quickly become one of my favorite books. I happen to be a tea fanatic, so obviously a book about tea and biscuits would suit me just fine. However, I am also quite particular about the books I adore, and this one fits the bill. Well written by an obviously intelligent human being, but also extremely witty and informative. I have purchased a copy for my adult brit-loving/tea-loving daughter. She wanted to borrow my copy, but there is no way I am letting it go! Buy it...devour it...come back for more. You won't be sorry.
brilliant.......2005-04-15
This book contains everything you need to know about tea and biscuits when visiting Britain. Never again have the Brits looking down at you in disgust when you don't know the proper protocol for afternoon tea.
Buy it. Read it on the plane on the way over. Never look out of place again at those important business meetings.
Amazon.com
Since 1987, Starbucks's star has been on the rise, growing from 11 Seattle, WA-based stores to more than 1,000 worldwide. Its goals grew, too, from the more modest, albeit fundamental one of offering high-quality coffee beans roasted to perfection to, more recently, opening a new store somewhere every day. An exemplary success story, Starbucks is identified with innovative marketing strategies, employee-ownership programs, and a product that's become a subculture.
Whether you're an entrepreneur, a manager, a marketer, or a curious Starbucks loyalist, Pour Your Heart into It will let you in on the revolutionary Starbucks venture. CEO Howard Schultz recounts the company's rise in 24 chapters, each of which illustrates such core values as "Winning at the expense of employees is not victory at all."
Book Description
The success of Starbucks Coffee Company is one of the most remarkable business stories in decades, growing from a single retail store on Seattle's waterfront to a company with more than one thousand stores nationwide and a new one opening every business day. Starbucks has effected a fundamental change in American life, turning coffee into a national obsession and establishing the coffee bar as a new fixture of Main Street - a home away from home for millions of Americans. In Pour Your Heart Into It, Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, shares the passion, values, and inspiration that drive the success of this fascinating company. Schultz gives credit for the growth of Starbucks to a foundation of values seldom found in corporate America - values that place as much importance on the company's employees as they do on profits, as much attention to creativity as to growth. Schultz tells the story of Starbucks in chapters that illustrate the principles which have made the company enduring, such as "Don't be threatened by people smarter than you," "Compromise anything but your core values," "Seek to renew yourself even when you are hitting home runs," and, most simply, "Everything matters." For entrepreneurs, marketers, managers, and Starbucks' loyal customers, Pour Your Heart Into It gets to the heart of a company that, according to Fortune magazine, "has changed everything...from our tastes to our language to the face of Main Street."
Customer Reviews:
starbucks is special because it is personal.......2007-09-20
this book tells the very personal story of how Howard Schultz discovered, changed and created the Starbucks we know. Schultz grew up in the projects in Broooklyn, NY, moved away to college in the midwest and became a driven sales rep. He then discovered Starbucks which was a supplier of coffee beans of the best quality. The owner/managers were extremely fastidious about quality and Schultz adopted this obsession with excellent coffees. He realized the appeal not only of excellent coffee, but of the cafe, a place to socialize and enjoy the drink. Eventually he left starbucks to found Il Giornale, the precursor of starbucks cafes, then returned to buy starbucks and the name. From that time, he embarked on a dramatic, high paced quest to expand starbucks into a reknowned supplier of the best coffees and the most appealing coffee shops, enlisting a number of equally driven as well as scrupulous team mates along the way. Unmistakably, the journey was and is marked by integrity, fanatical devotion to quality, courage, care for the partners (employees) and customers as individuals. Moreover, the personal approach to the product is illustrated by the great care, almost trepidation, taken before a new product is introduced. And equally noteworthy is the source of the new product: requests by customers, as relayed by the store partners. For instance, the frappuccino. On the other hand, the team is able to invest on a fantastic scale and at impressive speed to expand the reach of starbucks.
To better understand starbucks, if you don't already, read this book.
Finally, this book tells why starbucks is radically different from fast food places which also happen to serve coffee.
Intriguing Entrepreneurial Story - Good Read.......2007-08-12
This book reads like a novel, keeps you interested, and also gives amazing insight into entrepreneurship and one of America's most interesting cultural icons. I enjoyed both the topics and the style of the book. highly recommended for anyone who is interested in business, entrepreneurship, and marketing.
Pour Some Truth Into It.......2007-07-31
One reviewer here points out that Howard, being from Brooklyn and later working out of New York, "failed to cross the bridge and discover Little Italy where they had been making lattes and cappuccinos for decades."
It suddenly occurred to me, not only did Scultz fail to discover Little Italy before he made his famous trip to Milan in 1983 as a Starbucks employee, but he actually contradicts himself in the book about America's intro to lattes and cappuccinos. Example: page 53 - his "first taste" of a caffe latte in Verona: "No one in America knows about this . . .etc." Then pages 58, 59: When he has his first "test run" of an espresso bar (April '84) "As far as I know, America was first introduced to caffe latte that morning."
Problem is, on pages 81-84 when he becomes associated with Dave Olsen to start Il Giornale, he gives the following background on Olsen: "In the Fall of 1974 he opened Cafe Allegro on an alley just opposite main entrance to UW campus. Few Americans knew the term caffe latte in those days. He made a similar drink and called it a cafe au lait." This was 10 years prior to his espresso experiment in downtown Seattle!
Did Schultz rewrite history in order to sell a book? That clearly wouldn't have been necessary. But there is an additional problem. I have a friend who worked at the University Village store in 1977 who has a story that similarly contradicts Schultz's timeline. He told me the following: "During our training at Starbucks they pulled out an espresso maker to show us how to make capuccinos (only to demo the machines since they weren't making drinks for sale). The person doing the demo started with more-or-less an apology - something like "foaming milk is hard to do and the goal is to just get the top of the drink completely covered with foam". Meanwhile I had discovered 2 espresso houses in Seattle (the Allegro and the Last Exit Off Broadway). They were making good lattes (then called café au-laits) with lots of foam. I realized that either our machines were merely toys, or the person giving the demo at Starbucks did not know how to properly foam milk. I went across the street to QFC, bought a gallon of milk, set up a machine in the shop, and proceeded to foam milk until I could do it the right way. It took most of the gallon to do it but I was able to produce 3 times the amount of foam (on a volume basis) as the milk I was using." This was in 1977, seven years before Schultz' test run of an espresso bar in downtown Seattle!
Although I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I would be interested to know if someone can shed any light on this obvious discrepancy.
An Entrepreneur's Guide to How to Make it Big.......2007-07-04
Schultz not only is a great storyteller; he provides the reader with so many ways to refer back to the book with his catchy subtitles and quotes. What struck me most was his ability to reiterate time and time again the importance of relationships and how you treat your people to the success of any organization. His remark that a business who is satisfied with serving a customer coffee from a pot that is sitting there for an hour is not one he wants to deal with shows just how important it is to set standards and keep them.
Love it!.......2007-06-02
I just graduated high school and my dream is to own a coffee shop. This book was the perfect read. I loved it! It gives great tips and its always nice to learn from other people's mistakes. :] I deffinately recommend it. Every entrepreneur should read it, whether or not you get into the coffee business.
Average customer rating:
- Virtual murder mystery that is more accessible than her earlier books
- Zen Meets Cyberpunk
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- Utter Tripe
- Good fun book for cyberpunk fans
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Tea From An Empty Cup (Tea from an Empty Cup)
Pat Cadigan
Manufacturer: Tor Books
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ASIN: 0312866658 |
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Two-time Arthur C. Clarke Award winner for Best Novel, Pat Cadigan is the Queen of Cyberpunk for the brilliance of her ideas, the genius of her near-future extrapolations, and the beauty of her writing. No one else has explored and illuminated the mind-machine interface with the keen and relentless intelligence she demonstrates in her novels Mindplayers, Synners, Fools, and the long-awaited Tea from an Empty Cup. Her fourth novel is a perceptive, fascinating, witty SF mystery of artificial reality, whose paradoxical name perfectly defines its nature: an immaterial world of pure sensation, where, by legal mandate, everything is permitted and nothing is forbidden.
The hazards of Artificial Reality are spilling into the real world--people vanish and solitary gamers are found slain in sealed AR booths. The young woman Yuki, child of a Japan destroyed before her birth, enters AR as the new assistant to the mysterious celebrity Joy Flower, but with her own agenda: to find Tom Iguchi, her missing beloved, who never was her lover but had been one of Joy's Boyz. The hard-boiled homicide detective Dore Konstantin stalks the virtual streets of post-Apocalyptic Noo Yawk Sitty seeking a serial killer who may have murdered eight gamers from inside AR itself. But how do you find missing or hidden persons in a world where nothing is as it seems? The two plot lines subtly converge as fact and fantasy, murderer and victim, as well as understanding and identity invert in a virtual universe where the dangers are real and ever-present, and you can be anything or anyone but yourself. --Cynthia Ward
Book Description
"How can you drink tea from an empty cup?"
That ancient Zen riddle holds the key to a baffling mystery: a young man found with his throat slashed while locked alone in a virtual reality parlor.
The secret of this enigmatic death lies in an apocalyptic cyberspace shadow-world where nothing is certain, and even one's own identity can change in an instant.
Customer Reviews:
Virtual murder mystery that is more accessible than her earlier books.......2005-10-15
The speculative fiction of the 1980s and the early 1990s by and large treated Japan as an economic powerhouse that threatened to subsume the United States and Europe -- mirroring, unsurprisingly, the view that prevailed in the culture at large. Japanese companies outperformed their American counterparts in the marketplace, at times even buying up their flailing and failing rivals. Cultural icons such as Rockefeller Center became Japanese property. The Japanese economy was booming, while Europe and the United States struggled in the aftermath of funding the defense systems of the Cold War. From William Gibson's Neuromancer to Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, the clear assumption was that the future belonged to Japan.
In the latter part of the 1990s, things have changed: the United States is riding an unprecedented wave of prosperity while Japan is caught in a financial crisis that covers the whole Pacific Rim. Speculative fiction has responded (as it should) to these altered circumstances, nowhere more clearly than in Pat Cadigan's new novel, Tea from an Empty Cup, an expansion and grafting-together of two earlier stories about the future of Japan which were originally published on OMNI Online. Instead of the Rising Sun, Cadigan shows us a Japan where the sun has set on its glory days.
The plot of Tea from an Empty Cup centers on the murder of an anonymous Artificial Reality (AR) junky and its investigation by policewoman Dore Konstantin. The victim, whose throat has been cut from ear to ear, was accessing the AR at the time of his death -- and was being murdered there as well. Everyone knows, of course, that what occurs in AR cannot affect the real world, but Konstantin is starting to wonder: Rumors of similar AR deaths have been circulating that indicate something unusual is going on. Intermixed with Konstantin's investigation (which occurs in numbered chapters under the title of "Death in the Promised Land") is a second storyline, a search for the missing Tomoyuki Iguchi by his friend (and would-be lover) Yuki, told in chapters under the heading of "Empty Cup." Yuki fears that Tom has become one of the many lost Joyz Boyz, young men who exchange their bodies for high-speed AR access.
The hunt for friend and murderer by Yuki and Konstantin spiral around each other as they each pursue their searches into post-apocalyptic Noo Yawk Sitty, an AR that promises fun for all, as long as you have the resources to pay for it. Survival in AR requires a mental dexterity that can easily drive someone insane, and neither woman is particularly adept at navigating the make-believe world. Both must learn how to survive in this new setting before they can make progress on their quests. It is in the heady rush to the end, as the stories spiral around each other faster and faster, like water down the drain, that the novel is at its weakest, for Cadigan's prose becomes more and more concise and we lose some of the depth of the setting and characters that has been established earlier.
Tea from an Empty Cup is less densely layered than Cadigan's previous novels Fools and Synners, but it is filled with the same streetwise characters who know that, when it comes to technology, "the street finds its own uses." Cadigan's characters are the ultimate cynics and pessimists, who are nevertheless still surprised when their dim worldview is validated. In this way, Cadigan's cyberpunk (for this is the subgenre of which she is queen) is different from that of her male counterparts, most of whose visions of the future are equally bleak but whose characters lack this quality of surprisability. Yuki and Konstantin are hardened to their world, but they are still human enough to hope for better. While the flash of Tea comes from the same elements as other cyberpunk novels, what makes the story resonate with the reader long after the last page is this vestigial morality in its characters, who are trying to maintain some dignity in a world that is being made before them.
Zen Meets Cyberpunk.......2004-06-28
If you can wrap your mind around Zen concepts you might want to check out TEA FROM AN EMPTY CUP by Pat Cadigan, a short, but good, novel that takes a slightly Zen approach to the idea of virtual reality.
Virtual reality is here and it is cheap enough so that much of the population works just to live their lives in some of the virtual scenarios. One young man is found dead in a locked room where he was logged in. His throat was cut and there are no sharp objects in the room. A detective notices that a number of other similar deaths have occurred recently. Thus two quests are taken up as two women log in disguised as the young man and try to find out what he was doing and who he may have met. It is a strange world where things are more real than real. Sensations are heightened and rumors exist of a way out the other side. It is this world that the two women must navigate to find out what happened.
The switching viewpoints are a little more confusing that is usual but the future world is quite interesting. I like the melding of cyberpunk, virtual reality and Japanese philosophy. It blends well and offers a good backdrop for that rare commodity, the science-fiction mystery. I picked up the book to look at it and found myself hooked right away. A very entertaining read if you don't mind having your mind bent and limbered up a bit. Check it out.
Not only the cup is empty.......2003-09-12
I bought this book based on a slew of hushed and awed reviews, and now issue fair warning. This is a shallow, pretentious, dull and silly book, which doesn't so much end as stagger to a halt. Word is that the 'story' picks up in a following book but, fool me once . . . Like Delmar, shackled in the flickering blue unreality of a picture show, I warn, "Do not seek the treasure." Unlike Delmar I know it is because there is no treasure to be found.
Utter Tripe.......2003-05-20
Cyberspace is addictive, expensive and ultimately boring. Thanks for the newsflash.
With numerous typographical errors, undifferentiated cardboard characters, a murderously tedious whodunit and the most uninteresting rendition of cyberpunk in a decade, Cadigan has achieved a new low in modern science fiction.
Would have been more appropriately titled, Words from an Empty Book (and even that sounds more interesting than this book ends up being).
Good fun book for cyberpunk fans.......2003-04-19
This the first book of Pat Cadigan's I've read. I can't remember who or where I heard about it, but a good book.
The novel is set in a near future cyberpunk world where artifcial reality (AR) is commonplace and people regularly fall into lives in AR that are more compelling that lives in the real world. The technology is believeable with enough details to satisfy hard sci-fi readers without delving into textbookese.
Having enjoyed the proto-ARs that are online games, I was interested in seeing what Ms. Cadigan had to say about the future.
Similiar to Gibson's Pattern Recognition, all the characters in the book are looking for something. The focus is on the role of artifical reality in these hunts. The vision is interesting, but in the end it is difficult to relate to reality.
The book is fun and enjoyable as a quick read, but for more heady cyberpunk, turn to Bruce Sterling.
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