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Passion on the Vine: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Family in the Heart of Italy

As a young child in Naples, Italy, Sergio Esposito sat at his kitchen table observing the daily ritual of his large, loud family bonding over fresh local dishes and simple country wines. While devouring the rich bufala mozzarella, still sopping with milk and salt, and the platters of fresh prosciutto, sliced so thin he could see through it, he absorbed the profound relationship of food, wine, and family in Italian culture.
Growing up in Albany, New York, after emigrating there with his family, he always sat next to his uncle Aldo and sipped from his wineglass during their customary hours-long extended family feasts. Thus, from a very early age, Esposito came to associate wine with the warmth of family, the tastes of his mother’s cooking—and, above all, memories of his former life in Italy. When he was in his twenties, he headed for New York and undertook a career in wine, beginning a journey that would culminate in his founding of Italian Wine Merchants, now the leading Italian wine source in America. His career offered him the opportunity to make frequent trips back to Italy to find wine for his clients, to learn the traditions of Italian winemaking, and, in so doing, to rediscover the Italian way of life he’d left behind.
Passion on the Vine is Esposito’s intimate and evocative memoir of his colorful family life in Italy, his abrupt transition to life in America, and of his travels into the heart of Italy—its wine country—and the lives of those who inhabit it. The result is a remarkably engaging and entertaining wine/travel narrative replete with vivid portraits of seductive places—the world-famous cellars of Piedmont, the sweeping estates of Tuscany, the lush fields of Campania, the chilly hills of Friuli, the windy beaches of Le Marche; and of memorable people, diverse and vibrant wine artisans—from a disco-dancing vintner who bases his farming on the rhythm of the moon to an obsessive prince who destroys his vineyards before his death so that his grapes will never be used incorrectly.
Esposito’s luscious accounts of the wonderful food and wine that are so much a part of Italian life, and his poignant and often hilarious stories of his relationships with his family and Italian friends, make Passion on the Vine an utterly unique and enchanting work about Italy and its eternally seductive lifestyle.

A Short Course in Photography: An Introduction to Photographic Technique (6th Edition) This easy-to-use, inexpensive book introduces beginning picture takers and makers to the fundamentals of photography and suggests ways in which they might create photographs that have meaning. Oriented toward traditional black and white photography, the book also explores digital techniques and web photography resources, equipment, cameras and camera accessories, the exposure and development of film, and the making and finishing of prints. All aspects of the process are explained and illustrated clearly in two-page spreads, each of which addresses a self-contained topic. For people who don’t know anything about photography and would like to learn, and for those who want to make better pictures than they already do.

Customer Review: A Good Introduction
This book was recommended for an introductory photography class that I am taking. I think it does a good job introducing certain aspects of photography. As some who has been taking pictures for years in digital, it was good to learn some of the fundamentals of Photography which help to explain some things which help you to understand some of the mechanics of Photography a bit better.

The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction Revised by celebrated novelist and short-fiction writer Richard Bausch, this edition continues to offer the most exciting blend of contemporary and classic short stories in a portable format. 135 stories—34 of them new to this edition—by 114 authors are lightly supplemented by a general introduction, biographical notes, and essays written for the benefit of beginning writers.
Customer Review: Great anthology, but one minor complaint about this edition
Yet another wonderful Norton anthology, but I have only one disappointment: this “shorter seventh edition” excludes “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, which was in the “shorter sixth edition.” This is a classic short story and I can’t quite get my head around as to why they chose to omit this of all stories from this edition. This was one (of many) reasons I ordered this book– I didn’t imagine they’d pull that story…

Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength Bill Phillips is many things to the people who listen to this audiotape: personal trainer, motivational guru, nutrition consultant, personal-success coach. As he reads his bestselling book, he inspires, cajoles, instructs, and sometimes gives listeners a kick in the gluteals. The goal is for the listener to transform his or her body in 12 weeks, and in the process learn that changing one’s physique can help one make other changes. The audiobook is spiced up with the comments and testimonials of those who’ve already done it. The effect is something like an infomercial, except that you’ve already bought the product, and you don’t have to listen to a hired audience clapping. If you follow Phillips’ program, you’re your own audience. And, if you like your performance, the applause is what you feel inside. (Running time: 2 hours, 2 cassettes) –Lou Schuler
Customer Review: Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength
Worth the money. I met one of the people who successfully completed his program and found it was what I need. It has everything you need to do to be successful in the book.
Customer Review: works if you do it!
This is a great program.