The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization

The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization
Average customer rating:

The Lexus and the Olive Tree

Tons of theories, and examples, good read for learning about Globalization

What is globalization?

utterly vacuous...the case for globalization is made far better elsewhere

Excellent Globalization Primer

The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization
Thomas L. Friedman
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0385499345
Release Date: 2000-05-02

Amazon.com

One day in 1992, Thomas Friedman toured a Lexus factory in Japan and marveled at the robots that put the luxury cars together. That evening, as he ate sushi on a Japanese bullet train, he read a story about yet another Middle East squabble between Palestinians and Israelis. And it hit him: Half the world was lusting after those Lexuses, or at least the brilliant technology that made them possible, and the other half was fighting over who owned which olive tree.

Friedman, the well-traveled New York Times foreign-affairs columnist, peppers The Lexus and the Olive Tree with stories that illustrate his central theme: that globalization--the Lexus--is the central organizing principle of the post-cold war world, even though many individuals and nations resist by holding onto what has traditionally mattered to them--the olive tree.

Problem is, few of us understand what exactly globalization means. As Friedman sees it, the concept, at first glance, is all about American hegemony, about Disneyfication of all corners of the earth. But the reality, thank goodness, is far more complex than that, involving international relations, global markets, and the rise of the power of individuals (Bill Gates, Osama Bin Laden) relative to the power of nations.

No one knows how all this will shake out, but The Lexus and the Olive Tree is as good an overview of this sometimes brave, sometimes fearful new world as you'll find. --Lou Schuler

Book Description

From one of our most perceptive commentators and winner of the National Book Award, a comprehensive look at the new world of globalization, the international system that, more than anything else, is shaping world affairs today.

As the Foreign Affairs columnist for The New York Times, Thomas L. Friedman has traveled the globe, interviewing people from all walks of contemporary life: Brazilian peasants in the Amazon rain forest, new entrepreneurs in Indonesia, Islamic students in Teheran, and the financial wizards on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley.

Now Friedman has drawn on his years on the road to produce an engrossing and original look at globalization. Globalization, he argues, is not just a phenomenon and not just a passing trend. It is the international system that replaced the Cold War system; the new, well-greased, interconnected system: Globalization is the integration of capital, technology, and information across national borders, in a way that is creating a single global market and, to some degreee, a global village. Simply put, one can't possibly understand the morning news or one's own investments without some grasp of the system. Just one example: During the Cold War, we reached for the hot line between the White House and the Kremlin--a symbol that we were all divided but at least the two superpowers were in charge. In the era of globalization, we reach for the Internet--a symbol that we are all connected but nobody is totally in charge.

With vivid stories and a set of original terms and concepts, Friedman offers readers remarkable access to his unique understanding of this new world order, and shows us how to see this new system. He dramatizes the conflict of "the Lexus and the olive tree"--the tension between the globalization system and ancient forces of culture, geography, tradition, and community. He also details the powerful backlash that globalization produces among those who feel brutalized by it, and he spells out what we all need to do to keep the system in balance. Finding the proper balance between the Lexus and the olive tree is the great drama of he globalization era, and the ultimate theme of Friedman's challenging, provocative book--essential reading for all who care about how the world really works.

Customer Reviews:

The Lexus and the Olive Tree.......2007-10-18

This book provides a very good understanding of globilisation by integrating various issues and concepts with critical, illustrative and at times poignant examples. This helps appreciate what globilisation means currently and the historical summary helps explain how we got to where we are today. Consequently we are better able to forecast trends and determine meaningful business and social strategies that will enhance our lifestyles. It is an easy, informative and enjoyable read.

Tons of theories, and examples, good read for learning about Globalization.......2007-10-16

Mr. Friedman is very effective in defending the globalization. It did not paint the picture all peachy and cream about globalization. I remember hearing a term, "those who suffered from globalization always know who they are, those who benefited from Globalization does not always know who they are." A lot of the example in the books are quite relevant. The title of the book is a bit off I think, it is a bit puzzling to me. Globalization is inevitable according to Mr. Friedman, I think it is very hard to resist also. Especially when all the information is flowing freely on the net, it is going to get harder for any countries trying to hold on to the old non-competitive way of living.

What is globalization?.......2007-09-16

Just about everyone has a definition of globalization and a view as to whether it is 'good' or 'bad'. For most of us, relative 'goodness' or 'badness' will depend on how we perceive globalization to impact on us individually or on our local communities.

The case for globalization is not made in this book. The relative measurement of global benefits and disadvantages is not something readily accessible to most of us: what benefits me is likely to disadvantage you.

What makes this book worth reading, in my view, is that by using concrete examples (ownership of the olive tree, or desire for the Lexus)readers may come to see debates about globalization as not just being the realm of economists and governments. Whether we like it or not, globalization is part of the current world landscape. We need to consider what this means at an individual level.

This book does not provide answers. What it does provide is a starting point for identifying and thinking about some of the issues.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

utterly vacuous...the case for globalization is made far better elsewhere.......2007-08-21

I read this book years ago. While I realized then that the book was poor, only now after reading several other books on the same topic do I realize just how much. Friedman's only discernible talent seems to be filling pages with fact-like tripe and passing it off as, well, something worthy of attention. In the process of course he's swindling people who are actually interested enough in globalization to buy a book. Thomas Friedman isn't an economist, from what I can tell he's not an expert on much of anything, and his long-sustained role as some sort of eminently knowledgeable commentator on these topics bothers me to no end. People like this slow down the progress of all human kind.

Since I'm what you could characterize for lack of a better term as "pro-globalization", this book makes me doubly angry, as it manages to damage the cause it purportedly supports. He can't even preach to the choir properly, since the choir thinks he's an idiot.

Critics of globalization are laughed off in 20 pages, and even if he spent more time he doesnt have the expertise to make a remotely convincing case. This is done far better elsewhere, I'd recommend Martin Wolf's 'Why Globalization Works.' Its a much tougher read for an intro to globalization, but thats because, uh, Wolf actually knows what he's talking about. So if you're "anti-globalization" and want a book to challenge your perceptions, or are just someone generally interested in the topic, read that. But if you feel like having a laugh at a self-absorbed, self-appointed 'expert' and cheerleader for processes he cant possibly understand, then by all means read Friedman.

And just to reiterate for everyone who's read this already, if you think you learned something from this book about globalization, either for or against, you probably didn't.

Excellent Globalization Primer.......2007-07-25

Even though this book is seven years old, I still found it to be a highly adept examination of globalization and a good primer for anyone who, like myself, has not read every tome on the growing global economy. Friedman is obviously an accomplished journalist and author, and brings these talents to bear on much of the book. I found myself pausing quite often to reflect on some of the theories he presented, like Golden Straightjacket, DOScapital, or - my favorite - the Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention.

This last concept serves as a perfect example for the intellectual tone of the book, and some of the debatable concepts. While he was on one of his many globetrotting expeditions, Friedman formed this theory from the observation that no country capable of a sustaining a McDonald's franchise had ever gone to war with another of similar standing. The theory is that by the time the middle class of a country is large enough to support a McDonald's franchise, there is too much for it to loose in terms of global trade capital, to risk a protracted war with another McDeveloped state. Of course, this theory has its adversaries, who often point to the US intervention into Panama or NATO's bombing of Serbia, but that healthy intellectual debate is exactly what makes reading this book so fun and thought provoking.

I only failed to give Mr. Friedman's book 5 stars, because in the end, I thought he could have made his point more succinctly. For, if we truly live in a global world, where we compete against everyone else on the planet, who has time to read a book of over 500 pages?

Olive Trees and Honey: A Treasury of Vegetarian Recipes from Jewish Communities Around the World

Average customer rating:

Awesome recipes!
One of my favorite cookbooks
A beautiful cookbook that deserves to be in every kitchen
An excellent guide to Vegetarian Jewish Cooking
A Great Cookboook!

Olive Trees and Honey: A Treasury of Vegetarian Recipes from Jewish Communities Around the World
Gil Marks
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0764544136

Book Description

"A land of wheat and barley, of grape vines and fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive trees and honey . . . you shall eat and be satisfied." âDeut. 8:8-10

A Celebration of Classic Jewish Vegetarian Cooking from Around the World

Traditions of Jewish vegetarian cooking span three millennia and the extraordinary geographical breadth of the Jewish diasporaâfrom Persia to Ethiopia, Romania to France. Acclaimed Judaic cooking expert, chef, and rabbi Gil Marks uncovers this vibrant culinary heritage for home cooks. Olive Trees and Honey is a magnificent treasury shedding light on the truly international palette of Jewish vegetarian cooking, with 300 recipes for soups, salads, grains, pastas, legumes, vegetable stews, egg dishes, savory pastries, and more.

From Sephardic Bean Stew (Hamin) to Ashkenazic Mushroom Knishes, Italian Fried Artichokes to Hungarian Asparagus Soup, these dishes are suitable for any occasion on the Jewish calendarâfestival and everyday meal alike. Marks's insights into the origins and evolution of the recipes, suggestions for holiday menus from Yom Kippur to Passover, and culture-rich discussion of key ingredients enhance this enchanting portrait of the Jewish diaspora's global legacy of vegetarian cooking.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome recipes!.......2007-10-05

I love this book. The recipes are so good, and are quite unique and easy to make. Instructions are well explained, and some are simply amazing.

My friends recommended the book and it is great (Written by Brett's wife!).

One of my favorite cookbooks.......2007-09-12

This is essentially an international cookbook focusing on cuisines of places which have historically had significant Jewish populations (although not much on Ashkenazi cuisine). Much of the cookbook is divided by vegetable. For many recipes, variations are presented, some of which transfer the recipe from one cuisine to another. The food is delicious and this is one of the only mainstream cookbooks with Ethiopian recipes. Highly recommended. My only warning is that Marks expects you will be feeding a large group, so singles beware... my huge batch of lovely Persian rice just didn't get finished.

A beautiful cookbook that deserves to be in every kitchen.......2007-06-15

"A land of wheat and barley, of grape vines and fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive trees and honey . . . you shall eat and be satisfied." Deut. 8:8-10

Tracing vegetarian Jewish Diaspora recipes is no easy task: Rabbi and chef Gil Marks has created a painstakingly researched cookbook that at times reads more like a history book. With recipes from Azerbaijan to Yemen, Olive Trees and Honey is a catalogue of the vast variety of Jewish vegetarian cuisines, including chapters on cheese and dairy spreads, pickles and relishes, soups, salads, savory pastries, cooked vegetable dishes, vegetable stews, beans and legumes, grains, dumplings and pasta, eggs, and sauces and seasonings.

Each section features fascinating information about the origins and spread of each type of cuisine, often with illustrative maps. Some examples include a map of which type of cheeses are popular in which Diaspora community, or the spread of stuffed cabbage from Persia. Each recipe contains a myriad of further variations to try. Every recipe is labeled Dairy or Pareve for those keeping kosher, and many recipes offer Pareve alternatives (which generally are vegan).

Some of the more interesting recipes that caught my eye were Moroccan Pumpkin Soup, Hungarian Wine Soup, a sangria-like cold soup (red wine and fresh/frozen fruit mixed with orange juice, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, and cloves), Middle Eastern Bulgur-Stuffed Cabbage, Sephardic Cauliflower Patties (perfect for Passover if made with matza meal), Indian Coconut Rice, Middle Eastern Wheat Berry Stew, and the classic Ashkenazic Sweet Noodle Pudding (Kugel).

Also included are suggested vegetarian menus for special occasions and holidays. This is a monumental work and one of the most beautiful vegetarian cookbooks out there, refreshing for the soul as well as body. I only have two small complaints: Rabbi Gil Marks wrote the excellent (and out-of-print) World of Jewish Desserts, with over 400 Diaspora recipes. I would have liked to see the incorporation of more of his well-researched desserts as a final sweet note (there are recipes for several pastry-based desserts included). Also, the large number of variations in addition to the core recipes (example: ten recipes for red lentil soup, many of which are minor variations of the basic Sephardic Red Lentil Soup) made this a bit overwhelming; although I enjoyed browsing through the 300+ recipes, I honestly don't see myself ever making more than a handful on a regular basis.

An excellent guide to Vegetarian Jewish Cooking.......2007-04-14

'Olive Trees and Honey' is an amazing book. Not only will you get wonderful vegetarian recipes, but just the history and traditions that are explained in this book is worth the price of the book. Don't think that it's full of "talk" though!! It contains lots of wonderful recipes. Pages 1-34 contains a brief explanation of the various countries that Jewish people come from, the traditional Jewish foods eaten in those countries, the spices used, etc. Did you know that there are Jewish people in India? Ethiopia? Yemen? The rest of the book (about 400 pages of it) contain some very interesting recipes. The beginning of each chapter includes a little section on the history of that type of food, along with recipes from various countries, and some possible variations. This book is for everyone - vegetarians, vegans, meat eaters, Jewish or non-Jewish. I promise you will learn something from this book (and not just new recipes!) It's obvious that the author took a lot of trouble to research th background of the various types of Jewish communities before he wrote this book, and I wish I could give it 10 stars!

A Great Cookboook!.......2007-01-17

What a wonderful book! As a vegetarian, I cook primarily ethnic meals involving legumes. I truly thought I'd seen just about every legume-recipe variation... until this book. The recipes are varied and delicious! Along with Madhur Jaffrey's "World Vegetarian", this is my favorite.

Average customer rating:

In a Town This Size
Tells all about a Georgia family in 1906
Hilarious
Excellant story and expertly read.
Cold Sassy Hot'n'Sassy

Cold Sassy Tree
Olive Ann Burns
Manufacturer: Dial Press Trade Paperback
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 038531258X
Release Date: 1986-06-01

Book Description

If the preacher's wife's petticoat showed, the ladies would make the talk last a week. But on July 5, 1906, things took a scandalous turn. That was the day E. Rucker Blakeslee, proprietor of the general store and barely three weeks a widower, eloped with Miss Love Simpson -- a woman half his age and, worse yet, a Yankee! On that day, fourteen-year-old Will Tweedy's adventures began and an unimpeachably pious, deliciously irreverent town came to life. Not since To Kill A Mockingbird has a novel so deftly captured the subtle crosscurrents of small-town Southern life. Olive Ann Burns classic bestseller brings to vivid life an era that will never exist again, exploring timeless issues of love, death, coming of age, and the ties that bind families and generations.

Customer Reviews:

In a Town This Size.......2007-10-06

This book was on my daughter's summer reading list for ninth grade. It's the story of life in small Cold Sassy, Georgia in the early 20th century, told through the eyes of a young boy whose grandfather marries the milliner from his general store just days after his wife of many years dies. Burns wrote this book, based on the memories of her grandfather, when she was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease in middle age. She finished it and part of the followup Leaving Cold Sassy before she died.

Looking back, the story had a lot in common with one of my favorite musicals, Fiddler on the Roof (Special Edition), except that it's the older generation that tries to break with tradition. Grandson Will Tweedy, whose grandfather always addresses by both names, represents the future of Cold Sassy and other small towns--torn between the comfort and support of tradition and the promises of happiness and progress based on new ways of thought. Personally, I'm happy to live in a world where everyone's just a little more detached from their neighbor's business than were the people of Cold Sassy. On his duets album In Spite Of Ourselves, John Prine and Dolores Kane sang a duet about the situation, "In a Town This Size"--"In a town this size/There is no place to hide. . ." Ironically, the Internet is taking us back in time, but on a larger scale, where everyone can know everything about everyone, at least to the extent that someone is willing to share it on line.

But that's getting away from Ms. Burns' book, which shimmers with authenticity of time, place and language. You'll almost choke in the dust roiled up by grandpa's first trips in his new Buick. And, boy howdy, you'll try out some of the Southernisms out loud just to test whether people could really talk that way. (My daughter and I got a big kick out of this.)

With "Cold Sassy Tree", Ms. Burns accomplishes everything she set out to do--preserve the memory of a place and time in her past; honor the life of her grandfather; and entertain generations of readers. Five enthusiastic stars for all readers from 12 to 112.

Tells all about a Georgia family in 1906.......2007-09-18

Olive Ann Burns was 59 when she published her first and only book, Cold Sassy Tree, which became an instant classic in 1986. People across the country loved the book, and though Burns tried to write its sequel, she died six years later with only the first 14 chapters written. A real perfectionist, she wrote and rewrote and re-wrote, looking for the perfect words with an obsession for detail.

Cold Sassy Tree is the story of a family living in a small Georgia town at the turn of the century-1906. It's told from the viewpoint of 14-year-old Will Tweedy in the colorful Southern dialect which took Burns years to get just right. She based the story on her own parents and grandparents' stories.

Interesting as Will is, the real main character here is his Grandpa Blakeslee. Three week after his wife of 36 years dies, Grandpa announces to his family that he's going to marry the (much) younger Miss Love Simpson, who works in his shop.

When his horrified daughters protest, Grandpa remarks that while he loved Grandma for many, many years, he sees no reason to wait a year to remarry, because "she's as dead as she's ever gonna be, ain't she?" and stomps off.

Thus begins a years of an emotional rollercoaster ride for Will and his family, with all of Cold Sassy looking on in fascination and horror. The story is lively and funny and poignant by turns and has been called the most realistic portrait of a small town in the early 1900s ever written.

Mariner Books is re-issuing Cold Sassy Tree along with its unfinished sequel, Leaving Cold Sassy. I recommend that a whole new generation visit the South which Olive Ann Baker loved and wrote about so well.

Armchair Interview agrees.

Hilarious.......2007-09-16

I cracked up reading this one

Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence

Excellant story and expertly read........2007-09-05

This is an exceptionally well done audio CD. The story is great and the speaker does a really great job. Wonderful choice for anyone confined to bed. Really helps the time go by.

Cold Sassy Hot'n'Sassy.......2007-08-30

I first read Cold Sassy Tree as a book reviewer, and I was impressed by the attention to detail and the depth of the characters it holds. Will Tweedy tells the story, but his Grandpa Blakeslee is the real main mover here. The plot covers a year in a small Southern town at the turn of the century (the 1900's) when society was proscribed and its rules set in granite. You did not do certain things--like marry a women young enough to be your granddaughter, elope with her, and worse yet, have a child by her. There is a lot of realism to these characters--they're easily human, with all the flaws and strong points that entails. The author spent years writing and re-writing her novel, even while she was ill with cancer and heart failure, and in the end produced something that was an instant bestseller. This is the only complete novel she wrote; and I think she did an outstanding job.--C. L. Rossman

Average customer rating:

Late work from a master

Lee Friedlander: Apples & Olives

Manufacturer: Fraenkel Gallery/Hasselblad Foundation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Lee Friedlander: Cherry Blossom Time in Japan
Along Some Rivers
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ASIN: 1933045329
Release Date: 2005-10-15

Book Description

The master photographer best known for his extensive, insightful documentation of "the American social landscape"--from jazz musicians to factory hands to New York pedestrians and office workers zoning out at their keyboards--has recently been spending more time looking at the literal, natural landscape. His monumental 2005 MoMA retrospective showed, for the first time, a new series of landscapes made in the American West, while for Olives and Apples, he has looked back over the last decade's work and culled a forest, tree by tree. His docile subjects, apple trees photographed in New York State and olive trees photographed in France, Italy and Spain from 1997-2004, are presented in circumstances ranging from sunny, leafy summer health to glittering winter ice-storm glory. Some of the most striking compositions are shot from just inside the reach of a tree's furthest twigs, so that expanding branching limbs fill the frame, stretching out around the viewer.

Customer Reviews:

Late work from a master.......2007-01-11

I'm still thinking about this one.

I'll put the landscapes of Friedlander's "Cherry Blossom Time in Japan" and "Flowers and Trees" up against any landscape pictures ever, for their sweep, their grace, their wholeness.

These pictures are not the same; there is less clarity here, less direction, more crowding, as trees and leaves and branches fill the frame.

Maybe it's switching to a square format camera; maybe it's the subject matter. Whatever, there isn't much peaceful here.

What there is, is the suggestion of a world of infinitely many details, one that you can only get a glimpse of.

This is a more private, more wintery Friedlander. The pictures are richly rewarding, but best viewed after you've seen his earlier works.

Scott Atkinson
Watertown NY

The Olive Tree Dictionary: A Transliterated Dictionary Of Conversational Eastern Arabic (Palestinian)

Average customer rating:

A must have if you deal with Arabic speakers
Unbelievable!

The Olive Tree Dictionary: A Transliterated Dictionary Of Conversational Eastern Arabic (Palestinian)
J. Elihay
Manufacturer: Minerva Instruction and Consultation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

A must have if you deal with Arabic speakers.......2005-05-23

I am an Arab speaker living in US for many years. In work I met many people trying to learn to speak Arabic. The Olive Tree Dictionary is in our office and we use it to communicate better. It is very up-to-date and includes many "street" expressions. I have also sent some copies to relatives in the middle east who do business with English speakers - they tell me it is great and helpful.

Unbelievable!.......2004-11-19

The experience I had while going through this dictionary is like no other. The Arabic language is meticulously written in English letters so after a short explanation anyone can read and pronounce any English word in Arabic and also translate back from Arabic to English. This is really amazing. Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

Beautiful!
Fantastic recipes

Olive Oil: From Tree to Table
Peggy Knickerbocker
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Olive Oil

ASIN: 0811813509

Amazon.com

Whether you cook with olive oil because it is healthful or simply enjoy its enriching flavor, Peggy Knickerbocker's Olive Oil: From Tree to Table will increase your interest in this ancient and beneficent oil. Knickerbocker provides the complete story of olive oil, taking you firsthand to witness the harvesting, pressing, and grading of the oil. Color photos by Laurie Smith make you feel as if you were witnessing the process. Shots of some the 112 recipes in this book prove how irresistible the dishes are. Look for Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil and Chili, Pinzimonio (a kind of Italian crudités), Roasted Chicken Breasts stuffed with Salsa Verde, Garlicky Romesco Sauce, and Orange Ginger Cake.

Book Description

Olive oil has always played an essential culinary role in the Mediterranean, where olives have been cultivated for thousands of years. Today this healthful, versatile ingredient is a beloved staple throughout the world. In Olive Oil: From Tree to Tahle, Peggy Knickerbocker and Laurie Smith trace the birth and voyage of the oil of the gods. They take us to the rustic orchards of Greece, Spain, Italy, North Africa, and California; show us the fascinating process of harvesting the fruit and extracting the shimmering essence; and let us taste the exquisite results through their own favorite recipes. From a simple midday snack of toast with tapenade to a lavish Provencal feast, here are countless ways to enjoy the fruity savor of pure olive oil. A transporting culinary adventure, Olive Oil: From Tree to Table is a graceful homage to this divine elixir.

Olive Oil is a 1998 IACP Award nominee.

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful!.......2000-09-18

I came across this book while killing some time at a local bookstore. This is an incredible book to have in your collection, if, for nothing else, the reasons below:

Incredible graphic design. A general rule of thumb--if Chronicle are the publishers of the book, it'll have a fantastic layout. These are the guys who brought to life Michael's devastatingly good vision in the "Tra Vigne" cookbook. Likewise, they also published Georgeanne Brennan's "Potager" and "Mediterranean Herb" cookbooks. The layouts are ALWAYS superb, and each and every release has beautiful photographs and dialogue. Which brings me to my next point.

Great dialogue. Offers a surprisingly thorough history of olive oil. Likewise, it offers a good summary on how to pick, store, and use different types of olive oils, as well as offering a mini glossary of olive oil colloquialisms (i.e., "extra-virgin" and "first-cold pressed", etc.). Also, Peggy's personality and humor come across very well and make the text quite an enjoyable read. This is something that just isn't normally found in many cookbooks who only see things through a step-by-step, color-by-numbers approach to cooking.

Of course, importantly,

Very good recipes. The recipes are extremely tasty. Most are amazingly simple, yet turn out spectacular. The approach is very simple, yet home-y...including ingredients typically found (or readily available) to the novice, home cook.

Get this book and I guarantee that you will not regret its inclusion in your collection!

Fantastic recipes.......1999-01-01

I came here looking for another book by Peggy knickerbocker! The recipes in Olive Oil are terrific. You don't have to be an Olive Oil expert to love every single salad or dressing she writes about. Even if you are a three thumbed guy like me you can turn out a five star meal with this book. Thanks Peggy!

Olives: The Life and Lore of a Noble Fruit

Average customer rating:

Educational and mostly entertaining
Delightful book on all things olive
Passion on Paper
GREAT READ!
The Politics and Economics of Olives and Olive Oil

Olives: The Life and Lore of a Noble Fruit
Mort Rosenblum
Manufacturer: North Point Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0865475032

Amazon.com

After rice, corn, and wheat--the three staples of, respectively, East Asia, the Americas, and Eurasia--the olive is the foodstuff most closely bound to history, shaping the course of nations and empires. Mort Rosenblum, the author of the lively Secret Life of the Seine and many other books, gives us a wide-angle, altogether engrossing account of the olive's life and natural history, studding his narrative with conversations with farmers all around the Mediterranean. Rosenblum predicts an upsurge in olive cultivation in the United States as more and more people become aware of the fruit's many healthful qualities. If you have the urge to take up farming, read this fine book--you may be moved to put in some olive trees and try your luck.

Book Description

Winner of the James Beard Award

Until one stops to notice, an olive is only a lowly lump at the bottom of a martini. But not only does a history of olives traverse climates and cultures, it also reveals fascinating differences in processing, production, and personalities. Aficionados of the noble little fruit expect miracles from it as a matter of course. In 1986, Mort Rosenblum bought a small farm in Provence and acquired 150 neglected olive trees that were old when the Sun King ruled France. He brought them back to life and became obsessed with olives, their cultivation, and their role in international commerce.

Customer Reviews:

Educational and mostly entertaining.......2007-08-11

The author of this book clearly loves olives. Like the author himself, I have come by my interest in them them rather late in life. This book has caught me up nicely in understanding about olives, their cultivation, and their cultural place in all the regions around the Mediterranean.

The fifth star is missing in my rating because many chapters left me with a vaguely depressed feeling about how traditional olive culture is fading under pressure from modern economic forces and the pervasive cheating that goes on in European Union agricultural subsidies. This sensation may have been another testament to the author's writing skill, but I found it unpleasant and it distracted from my enjoyment of the book. Nonetheless, I can recommend the book to anybody with an interest in olives and how things work behind the grocery store shelves.

Delightful book on all things olive .......2005-07-04

_Olives_ by Mort Rosenblum is a well-written, witty, and engaging book on all things olive, thorough in its coverage. Rosenblum became an olive aficionado after acquiring five acres of land in the Provence region of France, site of an abandoned farmhouse and two hundred half-dead and heavily overgrown century-plus olive trees, long neglected. From that point on he became not only committed to bringing his trees back to life but on becoming an expert on olives in general, traveling throughout France, Israel, Palestine, Spain, Italy, Tunisia, Morocco, Greece, the former Yugoslavia, California, and Mexico to speak to olive growers, those who press olives for their oil, government regulators, those involved in marketing table olives and olive oil, chefs, and nutritional experts. Though not a cookbook, _Olives_ even includes cooking, buying, and storage tips as well as recipes for such fare as eliopitta (a Cypriot olive bread) and imam bayaldi (the name meaning "the imam fainted," supposedly reference to a long-ago reaction to this eggplant and olive oil dish).

The origins of the domestication of _Olea europaea_ are lost in the mists of prehistory. The olive, a close relation to the lilac and jasmine, was maintained in groves in Asia Minor as early as 6000 B.C. Greeks, Phoenicians, and Romans spread olives to Sicily, the Italian mainland, France, Spain, and North Africa. Spanish missionaries in the 1500s brought the olive to California and Mexico. Today there are 800 million olive trees in the world. Though found on six continents, 90% of them are found in the Mediterranean (Spain has the most).

Olives have long been an important fixture in Mediterranean history and religion. Golden carvings of olives decorated ancient Egyptian tombs. Greeks used so much olive oil to lubricate their athletes that they invented a curved blade, the strigil, to scrape it off. Saul, the first king of Israel, was crowned by rubbing oil into his forehead. In Hebrew, the root word for "messiah" comes from "unguent," meaning that the messiah when he arrives will be slathered in oil. The fuel referred to in the miracle of Hanukkah was olive oil. The Old and New Testaments refer to olive oil 140 times and the olive tree 100 times. The Romans had a separate stock market and merchant marine dedicated just to oil.

Rosenblum vividly showed that olive oil is a nuanced as wine. There are seven hundred cultivated varieties, or cultivars, with some grown for pressing, others for eating, ranging from cailletiers (favored in salade nicoise) to malissi (the standard tree of the West Bank) to the hardy, wilder Moroccan picholine to the famous Greek Kalamata. Oils vary a lot in taste, from syrupy yellow oils of southern Italy to thin green Tuscan oils with a peppery after bite to the spicy and light oil of the Siurana region of Spain. Acidity and taste vary due to local cultivators, the weather that year, the presence or absence of pests, when the olives are harvested, and how long they sit around before pressing (as fermentation drives up acidity).

There are regional differences in harvesting olives. In Israel, Palestine, and France, they "milk" trees, the pickers using their fingers and dropping olives into a basket or a net under the tree. "Whackers" - prevalent in Spain, Italy, and Greece - use sticks to hit the branches to dislodge olives, faster and not requiring ladders, but tougher on the trees.

The actual process of pressing olives is extremely well-covered, Rosenblum vividly describing the one favored in most olive-growing countries, the modern continuous system (which uses linked centrifuges to grind up pulp), often highly automated, and the traditional method of using a tower press, which is a very interesting device (though labor-intensive and on the decline outside of niche markets). There are considerable debates in the industry over exact methods, particularly on the use of water and its temperature.

Olives are big business; an industry producing about $10 billion a year as the world consumes nearly 2 million metric tons of olive oil each year. In some areas consumption is quite high; the average per capita consumption annually in Greece is five gallons of oil. Though Spain produces 37% of the world's oil compared to Italy's 19 % and Greece's 17%, it only has a 16% share of the American market (compared to Italy's 70% and Greece's 3%). Ten brands dominate the American domesticate market; most labels are small, sold only regionally or instead growers sell their olives to Italy to produced blended oils for export as a "Product of Italy" despite being grown perhaps in Tunisia, Greece, or Turkey. Rosenblum investigated the corruption that existed in the industry, from waning Mafia influence in Italy to adulterating olive oil with seed oil to cheating in some areas to gain EU agricultural subsidies.

Sales in olive oil have grown a great deal, particularly in the United States, thanks to a growing consensus on its healthfulness. Monounsaturated, olive oil drives out bad cholesterol without reducing the good. Rich in antioxidants, it has been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer.

The author provided some valuable education to the consumer about oils. Extra-virgin for instance means that the amount of free fatty acids - mostly oleic acid - is below 1 percent, with the organoleptic properties (aroma, taste, and body) rating high. Virgin oil, rarely found for sale, has up to 2 percent acidity. Both are produced by "first-press" or "cold-press" methods. Plain olive oil, (or "pure"), is refined inferior oil used mainly for frying, treated with steam and chemicals and mixed with some better oil for a little flavor and aroma. Pomace oil comes from the first-press leavings, refined to bring it below the 3.5 percent acidity level that designates lamp oil, though often pomace is instead used to make soap (the oil for soap may have 40% acidity). "Lite" oil has the same number of calories (125 per tablespoon), simply being a refined olive oil with less extra virgin added, a clearer color, cheaper to make, and inferior.

Passion on Paper.......2004-07-08

I'm gorging myself with olives: the fruit, the oil, this book. There are books you re-read years gone, but I found myself devouring clumps of this book just days after reading it in the conventional way. Mort Rosenblum could have given us an encyclopedic guide to the "noble fruit," but instead he follows his passions--and does first class journalistic digging--to press out the finest extra virgin essence of his subject. I also like the way Rosenblum writes, as much a friend as an authority. France, and its olive oils, comes first on the author's list, but he also does justice to subjects as disparate as the place of olives in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the promising growth of the high-end California olive oil industry, and even the seemingly bottomless corruption on the olive oil front in the European Community. Few effective journalists write with such literary flair, without seeming to try too hard. A winner.

Food writer Elliot Essman's other reviews and food articles are available at www.stylegourmet.com

GREAT READ!.......2004-01-06

This is a great book! I bought a copy while visiting an olive orchard in Australia. Anyone interested in developing an olive orchard would find this book useful. Excellent travel writing to boot! I've even planted my own kalamata olive tree after reading the book . I'm so inspired I might even buy a home press.

The Politics and Economics of Olives and Olive Oil.......2003-11-08

This delightful book by an American journalist based in France is much more about the geopolitics, history, and economics of olive growing than about the culinary role of olives and it's oil. It is also much more about olive oil than it is about the fruit, especially since commerce in the oil dwarfs trade in the fruit. Aside from it's being especially well written, it benefits most from it's being written entirely from a first person point of view. Aside from references to selected European Union regulations and documents, all of the text relates conversations between the author and his subjects, the olive growing farmers of the Mediterranian and California. The story starts in the author's own home where he himself raises olives in a small farm in Provence, France. From there, the story travels to other Provencal olive groves, Italy, Spain, Morroco, Greece, and Israel / Palestine.

The book provides a wealth of information for your understanding of olives, olive growing, and the production of olive oil. The most interesting aspects of this story were the domination of olive oil commerce by Italian firms, in spite of the fact that Spain is the world's largest producer of olives and the differences between various methods of extracting oil and how these different processes may affect the quality of the oil.

Customer Reviews:

Thorough and affectionate.......2002-04-07

Those of us who have enjoyed California olives for a long time will read many previously unknown facts about this complicated and risky agricultural pursuit.

Dr. Taylor has obviously spent long hours and many miles in her research of the subject. The Bibliography alone consumes 20 pages! Furthermore, there are 10 pages of Acknowledgements.

Book Description

Saluting family, life, and food, this inspirational journey follows the memories, sights, smells, and tastes of the author’s hometown in Lugano and Costa Smeralda, Italy. With stunning photographs providing the backdrop, readers soak up the essence of the region surrounding Lugano—an elegant city clinging to the edges of a Swiss lake near the northern Italian border—and the sapphire seas of Costa Smeralda in Sadegna, Italy. Culture seekers and lovers of fine cuisine will enjoy mouth-watering regional recipes, from salami and mountain cheeses with red wine hailing from the southern Swiss valleys, to the Sardinian fare of pasta cushions filled with potato and wild mint. Dessert recipes are also featured, including the Semifreddo Di Miele Amaro, a soft ice cream from the harbors of the Mediterranean.

Leaving Cold Sassy: The Unfinished Sequel to Cold Sassy Tree

Average customer rating:

Great partner with Cold Sassy Tree
Should have been left alone
Leaving Cold Sassy
Don't buy this!
Excellent

Leaving Cold Sassy: The Unfinished Sequel to Cold Sassy Tree
Olive Ann Burns
Manufacturer: Tandem Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: School & Library Binding

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0785721673

Customer Reviews:

Great partner with Cold Sassy Tree.......2007-09-18

(LEAVING COLD SASSY is the unfinished sequel to Cold Sassy Tree with Reminiscence by Katrina Kenison)

After author Olive Ann Burns' first book, Cold Sassy Tree, became an instant hit when it was published in 1984, it received overwhelming accolades from readers and critics across the country. Everyone wanted a sequel, and Burns, who was struggling with cancer and later, congestive heart failure, wanted to write it. But she was the world's most particular writer: she had spent years writing and re-writing her first book, yet she hoped to have the sequel done by 1991. Bedridden for months at a time, finally losing her lifetime love, Andy Sparks, whom she'd met at The Atlanta Constitution and Journal, Burns fought against time to finish the sequel, called Time, Dirt, and Money.

But she had barely finished the first 14 chapters when she died quite suddenly at her and her husband's mountain retreat--The Write House, in Commerce, Georgia. So Mariner Books has put together both books, Cold Sassy Tree and its unfinished sequel in two soft cover editions to be re-issued September 2007. There readers can at least get a glimpse into the lives of Will Tweedy and his bride, Sanna, ten years after the first book ended.

This is a more grownup Will talking, his dialect rectified by schooling, but his appetites for resistant women just as powerful as in his childhood. His stubbornness and determination to win Sanna remind us of his Grandpa Blakeslee's stubbornness and determination to marry whomever he wanted, too. This book has no similar strong character like Grandpa to carry it, but Burn was planning to use Will's Aunt Loma to take his place. How it would have turned out, we'll never know.

But even more interesting than the fiction, I found Olive Ann's biography written by her friend, Katrina Kenison, to be a wonderful insight into the author's character, with all her quirks, optimism and determination.

Armchair Interviews says: read both books for a delightful journey into one writer's character and her favorite people.

Should have been left alone.......2007-01-17

A very disappointing "sequel" to the original Cold Sassy Tree. The finished section was ok, but reading the author's notes as to possibilities that should, could or would happen next were very unfulfilling. The marriage difficulties based on Sanna's personality and Will's unrelenting love for his first girlfriend didn't seem to spring from any of what the author wrote in the first half. "Leave" this one alone.

Leaving Cold Sassy.......2007-01-10

Very obvious not written with the content the Author had orginally intended but it does give closer to the Cold Sassy.

Don't buy this!.......2006-01-29

This book is unfinished. The author died before she could complete it. It has none of the humor or warmth of the original book. I believe it was published by the heirs as a way to squeeze some money from their mother's estate. Shame on them!

Excellent.......2005-07-28

I read this book for the first time 10 years ago and am reading it again...This book should be a classic.

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