Discover the mysterious and fascinating ways in which animals and plants-and people-interact with one another in the rainforests of Costa Rica. Author and naturalist Jack Ewing shares a wealth of observations and experiences, gathered from more than three decades of living in southwestern Costa Rica, home to some of the most prolific and diverse ecosystems on Earth. More than just a simple collection of essays, Monkeys are Made of Chocolate is a testament to the wonder of life in all its countless guises, as seen through the eyes of a man with a gift for subtle discernment and a natural flair for storytelling.
In How Monkeys Make Chocolate renowned ecologist Adrian Forsyth introduces the people, plants, and animals of the world's rain forests through exciting first-hand stories and stunning color photographs. He visits aboriginal shamans and imitates the behavior of animals to tap into the inner workings of various rain forests, revealing a world of riches with unsuspected connections to everyday life. His adventures expose the amazing origins of familiar products, including chocolate, cola, aspirin, and rubber, and offer tantalizing glimpses of the discoveries yet to be made. With visual force and vivid anecdotes, Forsyth instills a deep wonder for the web of life and the importance of conserving these fragile ecosystems.
Anne Herrmann, a dual citizen born in New York to Swiss parents, offers in Coming Out Swiss a witty, profound, and ultimately universal exploration of identity and community. “Swissness”—even on its native soil a loose confederacy, divided by multiple languages, nationalities, religion, and alpen geography—becomes in the diaspora both nowhere (except in the minds of immigrants and their children) and everywhere, reflected in pervasive clichés. In a work that is part memoir, part history and travelogue, Herrmann explores all our Swiss clichés (chocolate, secret bank accounts, Heidi, Nazi gold, neutrality, mountains, Swiss Family Robinson) and also scrutinizes topics that may surprise (the “invention” of the Alps, the English Colony in Davos, Switzerland’s role during World War II, women students at the University of Zurich in the 1870s). She ponders, as well, marks of Swissness that have lost their identity in the diaspora (Sutter Home, Helvetica, Dadaism) and the enduring Swiss American community of New Glarus, Wisconsin. Coming Out Swiss will appeal not just to the Swiss diaspora but also to those drawn to multi-genre writing that blurs boundaries between the personal and the historical.
Everyone loves chocolate, right? But how many people actually know where chocolate comes from? How it’s made? Or that monkeys do their part to help this delicious sweet exist? This delectable dessert comes from cocoa beans, which grow on cocoa trees in tropical rain forests. But those trees couldn’t survive without the help of a menagerie of rain forest critters: a pollen-sucking midge, an aphid-munching anole lizard, brain-eating coffin fly maggots—they all pitch in to help the cocoa tree survive. A secondary layer of text delves deeper into statements such as "Cocoa flowers can’t bloom without cocoa leaves . . . and maggots," explaining the interdependence of the plants and animals in the tropical rain forests. Two wise-cracking bookworms appear on every page, adding humor and further commentary, making this book accessible to readers of different ages and reading levels. Back matter includes information about cocoa farming and rain forest preservation, as well as an author’s note.
A stunning collection of over 100 recipes inspired by the heart of Britannia. Forget pouring a cuppa, fill your glass with unique drinks from the heart of Britain and explore some of the best pubs and lounges the home of Big Ben has to offer. Enjoy cocktails from some of London’s best bartenders and mixologists from the comfort of your own home. Plan your next stroll along the River Thames or bring the big city to your home bar with photographs and recipes that capture the heart of the city. City Cocktails profiles some of the most happening cities in the world to give readers a taste of class, no matter where they set their glass.
"Eubie Blake tells the story of one of the key composers of 20th century American popular song. Through his music, he rose from the slums of Baltimore to the heights of Broadway success. His show Shuffle Along was the first African-American show to win a major white audience, becoming the tenth most popular show of the 1920s. The show introduced future black stars - including Josephine Baker, Paul Robeson, and Florence Mills - the syncopated chorus line, and introduced jazz-styled music to Broadway.Blake's composing skills were matched by his piano mastery. Even in the Depression, Eubie continued composing of innovative new works. At 61, he studied the Schillinger Method to expand his harmonic knowledge and ability to compose beyond the confines of traditional popular song.Blake's persistence in maintaining his ties to ragtime and Broadway paid off in the late '60s when he was rediscovered due to new recordings and personal appearances. In the last decade of his life he influenced an entirely new generation of pianists and composers from the jazz and classical worlds.This is the first biography to explore the wealth of personal records, interviews, and deep research to illuminate Blake's life and impact on over 100 years of American culture. It tells the true story of African-American performers struggling to achieve recognition and success in the popular music world at a time of deep racism. Blake's career blazed a path for countless others to rise above the limitations previously faced by blacks in the popular music world"--
Books about the global history of alcohol almost never give attention to India. But a wide range of texts provide plenty of evidence that there was a thriving culture of drinking in ancient and medieval India, from public carousing at the brewery and drinking house to imbibing at festivals andweddings. There was also an elite drinking culture depicted in poetic texts (often in an erotic mode), and medical texts explain how to balance drink and health. Not everyone drank, however, and there were sophisticated religious arguments for abstinence.The first book on alcohol in pre-modern India, An Unholy Brew: Alcohol in Indian Religion and History uses a wide range of sources from the Vedas to the Kamasutra to explore drinks and styles of drinking, as well as rationales for abstinence from the earliest Sanskrit written records through thesecond millennium CE. McHugh begins by surveying the intoxicating drinks that were available, including grain beers, palm toddy, and imported wine, detailing the ways people used grains, sugars, fruits, and herbs over the centuries to produce an impressive array of liquors. He outlines myths andepics that explain how drink came into being and how it was assigned the ritual and legal status it has in our time. The book also explores Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain moral and legal texts on drink and abstinence, as well as how drink is used in some Tantric rituals, and translates in full a detaileddescription of the goddess Liquor, Sura, Cannabis, betel, soma, and opium are also considered. Finally, McHugh investigates what has happened to these drinks, stories, and theories in the last few centuries.An Unholy Brew brings to life the overlooked, complex world of brewing, drinking, and abstaining in pre-modern India, and offers illuminating case studies on topics such as law and medicine, even providing recipes for some drinks.
For any man looking to improve his cooking skills, entertain friends, or impress a date, this accessible, straightforward collection of recipes makes it easy to whip up delicious creations for every occasion--all with a basic blender.
We’re not out of chocolate yet! Get your refill with Spicy Chocolate– more adventures with the Alcott family! Lila Mae, Madge, Dorothea, Bambi and Amelia croon over the sleeping babies. Baby strollers crowd the breakfast area. Dorothea’s twins are 30 minutes older than Bambi’s baby – that’s all I’m saying about that. The visit is interrupted by the arrival of a taxi. Lila Mae and Amelia investigate, peeking through the kitchen French door. A young Hispanic woman in her late twenties stands on the stoop popping her gum. One hand rests on the handle of a piece of rolling luggage, the other at the hip of her skin-hugging bright floral print skirt with ruffles at the hem. The stretchy material barely covers her thigh in the front, and dips to the ankles in the back. The outrageous ensemble is topped with a polka-dot halter tied behind her neck and back, plunging in the front. The girl’s face is perfectly made up with beautifully arched eyebrows and penciled lips. Amelia opens the door and Chiquita, one of Uncle Tito’s nieces, barges in talking up a storm. She tells them she’s there to train for Amelia’s job. She rolls right through to the kitchen where Madge and Dorothea unashamedly gawk at the sexy vixen. Everyone is all flustered. Why did Uncle Tito send Chiquita without notice? Was Amelia going to quit? Lila Mae is freaked out, but not as much as Amelia, whose only thought is “am I dying or getting fired?” And who’s this chubby-cheeked, middle-aged, cigar-smokingDougie Vey character that Dr. Victor Tic’s daughter shows up with, all glam and glitter,after being gone for nearly a year? Victor and wife Jeffie Ann had a falling-out with Luna over gambling debts. The four romantics of Bitter Chocolatego out to dinner. They are seen exiting the Bentley by a gang of thugs. After they get out of the restaurant, the thugs try to rob them. Guess which one of our friends goes into his Shaolin Kung Fu routine? Another remembers some boxing moves. The thugs drop “like flies” to the sidewalk. Pecos and the widow are still a couple. He runs the numbers for multiple wedding dates. No, Pecos doesn’t take bets at the track, he’s a numerology pro. Scooter the cat disappears. Louie is sad. Then Qxxxx shows up and becomes Louie’s best friend. (No, you’re not getting that name.) There’s more love blooming. Uncle Tito is smitten. Jingo has stars in his eyes. Expect company from Las Vegas. And you guessed it – someone is going to be broken hearted when their love interest is knocked off.
