Sacred Hunger

Good writers can "spin a good yarn" from the point of view of one, perhaps two or three, characters. The better writers (in my opinion) are good at getting into the minds of several of their own diverse creations. The very best writers must do that and more; they must be masterminds, able to weave these separate tales into a whole rope to hang their realized universe upon. Barry Unsworth has achieved mastermind status here in Sacred Hunger.

Sacred Hunger is a story that explores 17th Century Britain's quest to increase its empire through financial means (though most of us are more familiar with Britain's wartime strategies of that period). Through the eyes of men from all walks of life, we see the birthing, launch and journey of a merchant ship bound for the slave trade in Africa. Individual human dramas course through the tale: the merchant Kemp who is pinning his last hopes upon the profits from this voyage; his son Erasmus, whose future as an upwardly mobile husband-to-be depends on a perfect reputation; members of the crew who are kidnapped or tricked into signing on; a captain who secretly barters human blood for safe passage with unknown deities; and the ship's doctor, Matthew Paris, for whom this posting is a strange penance for his sins past.

Matthew Paris slowly develops as the sympathetic underdog, observing and participating in the slave trade with steadily growing sense of conviction and dread. I believe he is Unsworth's archetype of the best of our civilized Western world, with all of his intelligence and compassion. Erasmus Kemp is Paris' counter, amoral and ruthless once his youthful hopes for romance have begun to sour. We follow into the turnings of their minds most often throughout this tale, and it is through these two that we glimpse Unsworth's best insights into the Great Question of human nature that the author is exploring, namely: would mankind, if shed of the evils of modern civilization and living in Paradise, be able to abide together peacefully?

The Volumetrics Eating Plan

Watch for flying pigs: here's a weight-loss plan that's sensible and simple. And for those of you who can only think of bacon when the word "pig" is mentioned, prepare to go hog wild: the Volumetrics plan is designed to let you indulge in your favorite goodies every now and then, so you're much more likely to stick to the program. Developed by a nutritionist who has worked with the National Institutes of Health, the Volumetrics plan focuses on foods that are low in "energy density." In other words, fruits, vegetables, and soups—all high in water content—are low in energy density, and therefore allowed in greater quantities. These foods tend to be more filling, so you eat less—and that's how easy weight loss can result. Author Barbara Rolls includes forms for charting one's daily food intake and weight-loss progress, as well as dozens of tempting recipes for the likes of Risotto Primavera and Chicken Fajita Pizza. After years of watching friends remove the buns from their hamburgers and banish croutons from their salads, it's nice to see common sense making a comeback.

The beauty of "The Volumetrics Eating Plan" is you learn how to incorporate all the foods you love like chocolate, cheese, pizza etc volumetrically so you can eat them and lose weight!
She also includes several weeks of menu plans. These are simple to understand with easy to find ingredients. One drawback is that a whole weeks worth of menus are on one page so its a bit hard to read. Other than the weekly menu plans which are squished on a page, the rest of the book is generously laid out with easy to read text and lots of full color photographs.

The one weak area in the book is the lack of success stories. Though Dr. Rolls shares a few letters she has received from clients, I would like to have seen more letters and some before and after photographs.

Overall, the book is excellent and clearly explains how you can have your cake and lose weight too!

John Adams

Although it is not his best book, McCullough largely (not to say "hugely," a sloppy modifier for which he has a repetitive weakness) delivers on the high expectations for his thick biography of the Braintree Sage. His research is good and he has skillfully employed the two best aspects of John Adams' life in his account: Adams' own voluminous, revealing writings and his marriage to the irresistible Abigail. His accounts of Adams' finest hours--the creation of the Declaration of Independence and his refusal to declare war against France in 1798--are dramatically structured and emotionally moving.
The challenge of writing a popular biography is considerable, but it should not be met at the expense of ignoring the intellectual dimension of one's subject or of scanting the extensive recent scholarship dealing with the person you're writing about. As with H. W. Brands's THE FIRST AMERICAN, on Benjamin Franklin, McCullough provides the joys and virtues of a good story but does almost nothing to explain why that story of a great life matters beyond its sheer entertainment value.