The Dream of the Earth
Author: Thomas Berry
This acclaimed inaugural volume of the Sierra Club Nature and Natural Philosophy Library considers our ecological fate from a species perspective, the way The Fate of the Earth viewed our prospects for nuclear annihilation. Thomas Berry's seminal thesis proposes a universal "biocratic" criterion to evaluate human history, development, and activity. He contends that the validity of any human enterprise is the degree to which it enhances the universal life force.
Berry builds his case on a comprehensive review of the history of ideas, and he points toward a transformation of consciousness that is needed if we and the planet are to survive. The Dream of the Earth provides the insights, inspiration, and ethical guidance we need to move beyond exploitation or disengagement toward a transcendent vision of a restorative, creative relationship with the natural world.
Drawing upon the wisdom of thinkers from Buddha and Plato to Teilhard de Chardin and E. F. Schumacher, from ancient Chinese philosophy and Native American shamanism to contemporary astrophysics, Berry forges a balanced, deeply felt declaration of planetary independence from the sociological, psychological, and intellectual conditioning that threatens the death of nature, offering a path that will avert ecological catastrophe and move our traumatized planet toward health.
Booknews
The inaugural volume of the Sierra Club Nature and Natural Philosophy Library considers our ecological fate from a species perspective. Berry's seminal thesis proposes a universal "biocratic" criterion to evaluate human history, development, and activity. He contends that the validity of any human enterprise is the degree to which it enhances the universal life force. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
New interesting textbook: The Making of National Money or Companion to Business Ethics
Nancy Silverton's Breads from the la Brea Bakery: Recipes for the Connoisseur
Author: Nancy Silverton
People line up on the sidewalk outside the La Brea Bakery waiting to buy its extraordinary bread. Connected to Campanile, the successful Los Angeles restaurant, the bakery has grown by leaps and bounds since it opened in 1989. Now Nancy Silverton, onetime pastry chef at Michael's, the original pastry chef at the world-famous Spago, and today possibly the best bread baker in the country, shares her magical La Brea Bakery recipes, painstakingly crafted during years of trial and error, here perfected and adapted for home bakers. This beautifully illustrated cookbook is also user-friendly. Before the baking even begins, Silverton explains the wonder of bread alchemy; then come the recipes, which range from the whimsical (Raisin Brioche and Fig-Anise Bread) to the practical (Baguettes and Hamburger Buns) to the sublime (perhaps best of all, Chocolate-Sour Cherry Bread). Designed for the novice and expert baker alike, this back-to-basics approach that will inspire and satisfy bread lovers everywhere.
Publishers Weekly
Bread is beautiful when it is made with time, care and honest ingredients; the same is true of cookbooks, and this is a beautiful cookbook. Silverton, a world-class pastry chef and owner of L.A.'s Campanile restaurant and La Brea Bakery, offers breadmaking instructions so meticulous that one gets the feeling she's divulging valuable trade secrets. Her breads are sourdough breads that depend on sourdough starter, a simple combination of flour and water left out where it can catch wild yeasts. Silverton explains the 14-day, once-in-a-lifetime process of creating the starter and the ongoing process of maintaining it. She then describes the starter and its variations and shows how they can be incorporated into a variety breads. Specialties include Walnut Bread, Rustic Olive-herb Bread, Chocolate Sour Cherry Bread and Red Pepper Scallion Bread. Lists of equipment and sources of supplies are included. Her beautifully designed book will appeal to dedicated cooks and perfectionists who are patient and brave enough to make mistakes along the way to breads, rolls, focaccia, pretzels, bagels, waffles and even-woof-dog biscuits. (Mar.)
Library Journal
Silverton and her husband (Mark Peel and Nancy Silverton at Home, LJ 2/15/94) are the chef/owners of Campanile restaurant and La Brea Bakery in Los Angeles. Silverton is a talented baker, both of sweets (Desserts by Nancy Silverton, HarperCollins, 1986) and savory baked goods. Here she offers the recipes for her popular breads and her extensive knowledge of bread baking. The subtitle might be "for the dedicated connoisseur" because every recipe but one relies on a basic starter that takes 14 days to get going (intended to be a one-time undertaking) and three "feedings" daily to maintain it, but ambitious bakers will certainly want to try Silverton's recipes. Others will find Amy Scherber and Toy Kim Dupree's Amy's Bread (LJ 4/15/96) a more accessible approach to the secrets of artisan baking, but the two books complement each other well, and Silverton's is another valuable addition to this growing genre. Highly recommended.
Table of Contents:
| Foreword | ||
| Acknowledgments | ||
| Illustrations | ||
| Introduction: The Baking Life | ||
| 1 | The Elements of Bread | 3 |
| 2 | Tools for Getting Started | 17 |
| 3 | A Lesson in Bread Making | 29 |
| 4 | Breads Made with White Starter | 61 |
| 5 | Breads Made with Whole-Wheat Starter | 167 |
| 6 | Breads Made with Rye Starter | 185 |
| 7 | Sourdough Specialties | 213 |
| Appendix: Sources | 253 | |
| Index | 255 |
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