The Bread Bible: 300 Favorite Recipes Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is just wonderful! I have been baking bread by hand for several years now and have thouroughly enjoyed it, but this book has helped me to stretch beyond the recipe and try some new things. In the past 2 weeks, I think I have made 7 recipes out of this book. I just can't seem to stop. The Bulgur Oatmeal bread, I think, is the best bread I have ever tasted. Absolutely AMAZING! I also made the Sesame Burger Buns, Whole Wheat Long Rolls, Vienna Bread, Pain Campagne and Farm-Style White Bread with Cardamom. I have probably 200 cookbooks and this is my new favorite! A must read!

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The Bread Bible is the one book on the subject no kitchen should be without -- and now it's available in paperback. A trusted authority on baking, Beth Hensperger has brought together hundreds of time-tested recipes, both classic and intriguingly original, from Gruyere Pullman Loaf and Farm-Style White Bread with Cardamom to fragrant Tuscan Peasant Bread and Classic Buttermilk Biscuits. And don't just think loaves. Steamed Pecan Corn Bread, pancakes, golden brioches, flatbreads, focaccia, pizza dough, dinner rolls, dessert breads, strudels, breakfast buns -- the choices are endless. The recipes are foolproof, step-by-step, and easy-to-follow. Busy bakers will also appreciate the excellent selection of recipes for bread machines and food processors. With a glossary and easy-to follow tips such as how to store and reheat bread, The Bread Bible is "a keeper for anyone who likes to bake or plans to get started." -Chicago Tribune

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Unauthorised Access: Physical Penetration Testing For IT Security Teams Review

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(More customer reviews)As the author notes several times throughout the book, this work is not exhaustive on any one subject. It does, however, provide a very nice overview of penetration testing as a whole. It covers several aspects that I wouldn't have thought of.
As a systems administrator, I bought this book to get some ideas about weak points in our network/physical security. After reading through some of the examples and case studies, I have made some changes that I think will go a long way in beefing up our security.
I would definitely recommend reading this book if you have any interest in IT/Physical security.

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The first guide to planning and performing a physical penetration test on your computer's security
Most IT security teams concentrate on keeping networks and systems safe from attacks from the outside-but what if your attacker was on the inside? While nearly all IT teams perform a variety of network and application penetration testing procedures, an audit and test of the physical location has not been as prevalent. IT teams are now increasingly requesting physical penetration tests, but there is little available in terms of training. The goal of the test is to demonstrate any deficiencies in operating procedures concerning physical security.
Featuring a Foreword written by world-renowned hacker Kevin D. Mitnick and lead author of The Art of Intrusion and The Art of Deception, this book is the first guide to planning and performing a physical penetration test. Inside, IT security expert Wil Allsopp guides you through the entire process from gathering intelligence, getting inside, dealing with threats, staying hidden (often in plain sight), and getting access to networks and data.
Teaches IT security teams how to break into their own facility in order to defend against such attacks, which is often overlooked by IT security teams but is of critical importance
Deals with intelligence gathering, such as getting access building blueprints and satellite imagery, hacking security cameras, planting bugs, and eavesdropping on security channels
Includes safeguards for consultants paid to probe facilities unbeknown to staff
Covers preparing the report and presenting it to management

In order to defend data, you need to think like a thief-let Unauthorised Access show you how to get inside.

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The Upper House: A Journey behind the Closed Doors of the U.S. Senate Review

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(More customer reviews)First of all, it's nice to see somebody writing about something other than the presidency or the Supreme Court. The Senate in particular has proved a breeding ground for some of America's most interesting politicians, as Terrence Samuel's The Upper House: A Journey behind the Closed Doors of the U.S. Senate makes clear.
Samuel's book focuses less on the Senate as an institution and more on the persons and personality in the chamber. In other words, this isn't a dry political science account. He seems particularly interested in those men who joined the "most exclusive club" full of ambition, but who failed to win the presidency. Some of these men are more interesting than most presidents and Samuel gives them their due.
Unfortunately, like Lewis Gould's more scholarly The Most Exclusive Club: A History of the Modern United States Senate, it seems intent on portraying the Senate as ineffective. Here is a typical line from the book: "In a very basic way, the real value of the U.S. Senate is its ability to produce failure and frustration in the guise of good and prudent government." This isn't necessarily wrong, but I suspect this view stems largely from the author's reflection on current events (which take up a good portion of this book).
If you're curious about this book, Samuel published a brief excerpt in the magazine "The Root" (I've attached the URL to the excerpt in the comments section below).

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They come to Washington for varied and complex reasons—driven perhaps by some deep emotional commitment to an issue, or believing that their time in Congress can make their dream of the presidency a reality. No matter what their motivation or particular route, freshmen have three traits in common: they will be members of one of the most powerful deliberative bodies on the planet; they will have far less leverage and influence than they might have imagined; and finally, none of them—not even the most experienced political hand—will have any idea exactly what will take to succeed as a United States Senator. In The Upper House, political analyst Terrence Samuel journeys inside the legislative arm of the government to discover what makes a modern senator. He gets to the heart of the Senate and follows the people—Harry Reid, Jim Webb, Amy Klobuchar, Jon Tester, Chuck Schumer, Bob Corker—and the institution through displays of dazzling power, bewildering helplessness, and sacred traditions both ancient and modern.

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More From Magnolia: Recipes from the World Famous Bakery and Allysa Torey's Home Kitchen Review

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(More customer reviews)I'd seen the first Magnolia cookbook in a friend's shelf for awhile now and even though she'd never bake anything from it (she never uses them, just collects them), I'd been wanting to do so for a long time so on a whim, I ordered both books. I just received them two days ago and already I have tried THREE different recipes from this one. Yes, it is a bit much but after the first one, my family begged me (they didn't have to, really) to keep on trying more stuff. Even though I haven't baked extensively from it yet, I'm an avid baker and have the feeling that most of these recipes will turn out amazingly well as they look and sound positively delicious. And well, millions of customers at the bakery can't be wrong, these really are good desserts!
The recipes are varied and all use fairly simple ingredients (no running around for exotic stuff at the last minute). The directions are very simple and almost any level baker will feel totally at ease following them. Add to this that she begins by giving a few really basic pointers (just in case you need a few more moments to familiarize yourself with the kitchen) and you got a very comfortable starting point to a great baking experience.
On the downside, I guess I could've used a few more pictures of the finished products but honestly, the book was good enough to more than earn my 5-star rating. These are simple, home-y, old-fashioned, mostly high-cal desserts that will probaly bring you fond memories of your favorite baker, be it your aunt, grandma or in my case, my mom. A tradition I definitely want to follow in this day of cutting time in favor of convenience. This really helps! An amazing book... a new favorite of mine and one I definitely plan to keep on using.

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The Encyclopedia of Electronic Circuits, Volume 6 Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a great reference. It's nice to have a few examples of how someone else has solved a problem before you go into your own design. Of course, you will want to own the complete library. All volumes have a reference in the back that includes previous volumes. This is handy. You only need to use the reference in the last volume you own to find a list of everything.

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This book will be sixth volume in Rudy Graf's best-selling series of the Encyclopedia of Electronic Circuits. Volume six will include circuits from manufacturers' application notes developed during the period of late 1992 through early 1995. The all-inclusive references to circutis that have appeared in the previous five volumes.

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Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes Review

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(More customer reviews)The tall layer cakes you see at the bakery always look so impressive sitting on a cake stand or plate and sliced with two layers of filling. Somehow the two-layer cakes I make don't quite stack up (pun intended). But most recipes for the home baker are written for two layer cakes.
This book has recipes to make those fabulously tall, triple-layer cakes. I wouldn't buy it as a first cake cookbook (Rose Levy Beranbaum's "The Cake Bible" or Nick Malgieri's "Perfect Cakes" coes to mind as better beginning cake baking cookbooks), but this book does deserve a place on the shelf if you really enjoy baking cakes and want to make the kind of cakes that will inspire "oohs" and "ahs" when you bring them to the table. There is a great variety of recipes. The recipe categories are: chocolate cakes, vanilla cakes, fruit-flavored cakes; nut and spice cakes; cakes with a world of flavor (e.g. chai, dulce de leche, black forest, blue cornmeal), and finally holiday and special occasion cakes. The last chapter has recipes for three different kinds of wedding cakes that will serve 80-100 people if you feel adventurous and want to bake a wedding cake!
Each cake recipe is followed by the recipe for a frosting and often a different filling that go with it so you don't have to flip to a separate section of the book to find the frosting or filling that will suit the cake you have chosen. The frosting choices and the cake flavors sound amazing. She covers the expected combinations: chocolate cakes with toasted coconut-pecan frosting or different types of chocolate frosting; vanilla cakes with white chocolate, white chocolate buttercream or chocolate frosting; strawberry shortcake; boston cream pie. She pumps up standard cake flavors with more adventurous frosting or filling choices (chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting and chocolate peanut butter glaze, cakes with mango mousse or peach mousse filling, apricot carrot cake; banana cake with praline filling and white chocolate ganache(!); marbled lemon blueberry butter cake. And then she pulls out the stops with cakes I can't wait to try: pina colada cake, maple walnut cake, dulce de leche cake, chocolate hazelnut cake.
The photography is fantastic, bordering on "food porn." There isn't a photo for every cake but more than half of the recipes do have photos and they will make you want to bake those cakes.
If you already do a lot of cake baking, you may be surprised (as I was) by the mixing technique. I was taught the creaming method where you first beat the butter then add the sugar and beat some more until it is fluffy, and finally add the flour and other dry ingredients alternately with the liquid ingredients. Most of the butter cake recipes in this book use the two-stage method where the butter, all the dry ingredients and some of the liquid go into the mixing bowl at the beginning and after this is beaten smooth, the eggs and remaining liquid goes in. I found this so unexpected that, after reading this technique in several of the recipes, I had to go back to the baking techniques section at the beginning of the book to find out why. The author believes "the two-stage method produces a more finely textured cake and is more dependable" than the creaming method. Now that fall is here and my kitchen isn't so hot, I'll be trying these recipes I've been drooling over and will see if I agree.
The trouble is, I've been poring over the pictures and recipes so long, I can't decide which cake to make first! My friends and family may be eating a lot of cake.

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A classic layer cake has always been the best party pleaser, but this cookbook takes dessert to a whole new level. Sky High celebrates the triple-layer cake in all its glorious incarnations with more than 40 decadent and delicious recipes. The wide range of flavors will appeal to anyone with a sweet tooth. The book features such delights as Boston Cream Pie, Mile-High Devil's Food Cake, and Key West Cake. There are even three astonishingly beautiful (and totally do-able) wedding cakes! From luscious chocolate creations to drizzled caramel confections, take simple layer cakes to new heights with Sky High.

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Joel on Software: And on Diverse and Occasionally Related Matters That Will Prove of Interest to Software Developers, Designers, and Managers, and to Those Who, Whether by Good Fortune or Ill Luck, Work with Them in Some Capacity Review

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(More customer reviews)There is a fair bit of hard-won wisdom here. It covers every aspect of the programming world, from praise of hardware, through product management and economics, back to testing and coding style, and on and on. There are a few real gems among these 45 essays (plus intro and appendix), untrammeled by the need for consistency. He's certainly unabashed about bucking current fashions, including all the silliness seen under the revival tent of the eXtremists.
At several points, Joel rails against the false economies of making code smaller and sniggers at the people to whom it matters so much, then (ch 39) he rails against the size of a Microsoft runtime support package. He also points out that antialiased fonts, other than things like headlines, are a bad idea. That was already common knowledge around DEC by about 1980, since the visibly blurred margins of characters led to eyestrain as the focussing muscles fruitlessly tried to find the edge. Modern display technology with far smaller pixel sizes seems to have reversed that decision, however, except possibly at the smallest character sizes - a blow-up of a screen capture will often show antialiasing on body text that looks quite good. If he came on a bit less strong to start with, these annoyances would be a lot less annying.
Joel's incredibly high opinion of Joel wore on me after a while. Despite all the good in this book, I had to drag myself through the last half of his pontifications, repetition, and tendency towards the absolute. If you're already a fan of his other writing, that might not bother you. For me, Joel, in his role as high priest in the cult of Joel, became tiresome. I'm sure he's a skilled developer and savvy business man, but I really don't think I'd enjoy meeting him.
//wiredweird

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Spolsky is knowledgeable, funny and free of unnecessary religious fervor. Joel on Software is a must-read....having (Joel on Software) in one place, edited, with an index, is probably the best twenty-five dollars you'll spend this year.
— Greg Wilson, Dr.(Joel Spolsky's) genuine desire to make the software world a better place keeps us coming back for more.
— Bruce Hadley, softwareCEO.This book will challenge, encourage, upset, and entertain you.Spolsky knows his stuff, and he's got the war wounds to prove it.This book is worth the price of admission...
— Tom Duff, Duffbert's Random Musings
An entertaining oportunity to get to know one of today's most influential developer/authors.Spolsky based these observations on years of personal experience.
The result just a handful of years later? Spolsky's technical knowledge, caustic wit, and extraordinary writing skills have earned him status as a programming guru! His blog has become renowned throughout the programming world&emdash;now linked to more than six hundred websites and translated into over thirty languages.
Joel on Software covers every conceivable aspect of software programming&emdash;from the best way to write code, to the best way to design an office in which to write code! All programmers, all people who want to enhance their knowledge of programmers, and all who are trying to manage programmers will surely relate to Joel's musings.

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