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Shortly after terrorists led by Osama bin Laden attacked the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, President Bill Clinton ordered retaliatory missile strikes against targets in Afghanistan and Sudan. It was the first time the United States had responded to an individual terrorist with such overwhelming military force. Bin Laden, of course, is no run-of-the-mill rabble-rouser; Clinton called him “perhaps the preeminent organizer and financier of international terrorism in the world today.” That’s quite a label for someone who, as biographer Yossef Bodansky describes, “lives with his four wives and some fifteen children in a small cave in eastern Afghanistan” without running water. Yet he is “a principal player in a tangled and sinister web of terrorism-sponsoring states, intelligence chieftains, and master terrorists.” Remarkably little is known about the man; as Bodansky reveals, even the year of bin Laden’s birth is uncertain. This book, then, is more than the story of a single terrorist. It’s a description of a whole movement waging a jihad–holy war–against the United States in the belief that America’s modernizing influence on Arab nations thwarts Islamic fundamentalist goals. Bin Laden is strikingly current, extremely well informed, and thoroughly detailed. Readers interested in facts about the Middle East’s violent underworld will find it fascinating–and chilling. Bodansky notes that bin Laden has become a hero to radical Muslim youth, and Osama is now a very popular baby name in many Arab countries. –John J. Miller

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From Amazon.co.uk
In 1978, A Certain Ratio’s idea of a new funk must have seemed like anathema to most British punks. Imagine: sublimating that righteous grumpiness, those defiant angles into a groove, of all things. But the first wave of post-punk bands, lead by ACR, proved this most unlikely of hybrids wasn’t just possible, but utterly desirable. Early is compelling evidence of ACR’s peculiar genius. Birthed in Manchester and signed to the nascent Factory label alongside Joy Division, they went on to become darlings of New York clubland (Madonna once supported them) and, eventually, make some rather dull records. Thankfully, this two-CD set rarely strays from the good stuff, collecting tracks from the peak 1978-85 period with plenty of obscure singles and Peel session versions to satisfy completists. For neophytes, however, much here will sound pretty startling. The likes of “Blown Away”–intense percussive jams, monkish chanting, squawks and squeaks coming from the undergrowth–are still both exciting and unnerving. A music that provokes discomfort as well as dancing, that has a jittery rather than slick momentum, remains ACR’s powerful legacy. Contemporaries like 23 Skidoo and The Pop Group made some great records, not to mention American fellow travellers like ESG and Liquid Liquid. But nothing sums up the time and sound as effectively as ACR’s “Shack Up”: parched rhythms, jagged guitars, doom-laden vocals, and some very confusing carnival whistles. It’s the point where Northern miserabilism and dancefloor culture collided, and even now it sounds fantastic.–John MulveyChronique amazon.fr
Des groupes qui s’exprimèrent sous la bannière du label britannique Factory, aux côtés des New Order, Joy Division et Durutti Column produits par Martin Hannett, A Certain Ratio est un des plus injustement méconnus, au point que cette réédition tombe à pic, qui permet de découvrir combien il fut visionnaire de ce qui allait suivre, à New York, avec ESG par exemple. On doit déjà à la compagnie Soul Jazz une compilation concoctée de main de maître, qui a remis au goût du jour les rythmes industriels et robotiques de quelques formations phares des années 80 – Throbbing Gristle, Gan Of Four, Cabaret Voltaire,etc. – parmi lesquelles figurait en bonne place A Certain Ratio. Cela s’appellait fort à propos In The Beginning There Was Rhythm. Early, en compilant les années d’apprentissage, enfonce encore un plus avant le clou de ces jerks lobotomisés qui sont la marque de fabrique de “Flight” ou “Do The Du”. Happy Mondays retiendra la leçon et aura le succès que l’on sait. –Philippe Robert

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New Age diva Enya first became widely known when her 1988 album Watermark sold 4 million copies and launched the single “Orinoco Flow.” Her follow-up, Shepherd Moons, was even more successful, selling over 10 million copies despite its slightly lower grade of ethereal enchantment. In 1997 she released Paint the Sky with Stars, an assortment of her best work from these two early albums plus gems from 1995’s The Memory of Trees and the soundtrack to the BBC series The Celts. The most melodic and atmospheric examples of Enya’s lovely Celtic-flavored songwriting shine on this disc. Those unfamiliar with the former Clannad member will find charm in such sweet lullabies as “Marble Halls” and “China Roses” while delighting in the more energetic “Book of Days,” “Storms in Africa,” and “Caribbean Blue.” Overall, an outstanding collection from an artist who gives New Age a good name. –Karen KarleskiAmazon.com essential recording
New Age diva Enya first became widely known when her 1988 album Watermark sold 4 million copies and launched the single “Orinoco Flow.” Her follow-up, Shepherd Moons, was even more successful, selling over 10 million copies despite its slightly lower grade of ethereal enchantment. In 1997 she released Paint the Sky with Stars, an assortment of her best work from these two early albums plus gems from 1995’s The Memory of Trees and the soundtrack to the BBC series The Celts. The most melodic and atmospheric examples of Enya’s lovely Celtic-flavored songwriting shine on this disc. Those unfamiliar with the former Clannad member will find charm in such sweet lullabies as “Marble Halls” and “China Roses” while delighting in the more energetic “Book of Days,” “Storms in Africa,” and “Caribbean Blue.” Overall, an outstanding collection from an artist who gives New Age a good name. –Karen Karleski

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This is not the first collection of David Gray’s “pre-success” recordings, but it is the best one. Unlike many such collections of early works by noted artists, you’re not seeing the artist’s abilities in their infant state–each of these 15 songs is already great. The Mancunian musician’s performing abilities were well developed by the time he first recorded in the early ’90s; one might even argue that they sound best in the often stripped-down, more raw state on display here. The songs themselves, however, have definitely matured since Gray hit the alt-adult-contemporary big time with the electronica-tinged White Ladder in 2000; such songs as “Wisdom” and “Birds Without Wings” do show the marks of other singer-songers (notably Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan). These days, of course, David Gray is himself often used as an adjective, to describe all the other scruffy-bearded blue-eyed songsters reaching for the sensitive crooner’s crown. –Mike McGonigal

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Bruckner’s three Masses all precede his great symphonies, and with the third and last of them he was clearly on the verge of his mature style. The lines are longer, the brass writing broader, and the harmonies acquire a freedom and expressiveness unique to this composer. The early Masses are important works in many respects. They are the finest 19t-century settings of the text since Haydn, and they reveal the spiritual confidence that was the source of Bruckner’s musical inspiration. It’s been said that all of his music, whether choral or purely instrumental, is religious music. Get to know these works and when you listen to the symphonies, you will know that this is the truth. –David Hurwitz

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From Amazon.co.uk
The Best of The Doors delivers exactly what it promises. Rather than relying solely on the hits, this collection also mines the darker, and often richer, recesses of The Doors material resulting in a fairly representative statement. The hits are here: “Light My Fire” with Ray Manzarek’s keyboards on a dizzy, psychedelic spree; “People Are Strange”, with Morrison’s tortured psyche barely being held in check; “LA Woman”, with its bluesy sexuality. More important, favourites of fans are here, like the controversially (at the time) explicit “The End”, which was one of the first of Morrison’s forays into narrative poetry. In hits like “Break on Through”, “Hello I Love You”, “Roadhouse Blues” and others, The Doors melded psychedelia, blues, hard-edged rock and poetry from the edge like no other band before. The Best of The Doors is a trip in every sense of the word. –Steve GdulaUn Essentiel amazon.fr
Les Doors n’auront eu besoin que de trois années pour entrer dans la légende. Trois années (1967-1970) au cours desquelles, partis du blues, Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger et John Densmore ont créé une musique dont s’inspirent, aujourd’hui encore, nombre de songwriters. Un univers poétique, aussi, où Rimbaud et Jack Kerouac semblent trinquer à la même cause subversive. De “Break On Through” à “The End”, cette compilation de deux CD réunit les dix-neuf titres les plus percutants du quartette californien. Indispensable pour ceux qui n’ont pas encore Strange Days, Morrison Hotel ou L.A. Woman dans leur discothèque. –Philippe Margotin

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Though each of their studio albums is worth seeking out, this “best of” collection is a neat shorthand way of experiencing the technologically perfect, intellectually stimulating pop music Paddy McAloon and his cronies from Newcastle, England created during the second half of the 1980s. Two tracks, “The Sound of Crying” and “If You Don’t Love Me” are previously unreleased. Since they have had little chart success, the rest are somebody’s idea of what makes a great Prefab Sprout song. “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” has a lilting bounce; “Wild Horses” benefits from producer Thomas Dolby’s computer wizardry as sounds pop up and out of the mix instantaneously; “We Let the Stars Go” is McAloon at his most emotionally sincere. –Rob O’Connor

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• Everyone has fond memories of recipes that evoke the warmth of home and family and soul-satisfy…
• 456 pages, softcover
• Dimensions: 9¼”H × 6¼”W

Product Description
Everyone has fond memories of recipes that evoke the warmth of home and family and soul-satisfying foods. In 400 Best Comfort Food Recipes, there are satisfying favourites as well as new interpretations for modern comfort food. A sampling of the comfort-inspired recipes: old-fashioned pea soup with smoked ham, meat loaf and mashed potato pie, baked polenta with roasted vegetables, classic scalloped potatoes, fudgy chocolate brownies, and buttermilk pancakes with spiced maple apples. Each recipe is simple and reliable, yet extremely comforting and delicious. Many encourage a make-ahead process to freeze for later use. With recipe shortcuts and serving suggestions throughout, this collection will add a new comfort food tradition in any home.
Johanna Burkhard is a freelance food consultant, recipe developer and spokesperson. As a leading food writer and culinary advocate, she contributes to a variety of magazines and also appears regularly on television and radio. She is also the owner of a communications and public relations company which represents Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery and is keenly dedicated to promoting the Niagara region’s vibrant food and wine culture.
456 pages, softcover
Dimensions: 9¼”H × 6¼”W

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Close the Deal is bursting with hot leads for sales pros looking to sharpen their skills and win more customers. Authors Sam Deep and Lyle Sussman show how to capture sales without being pushy or arrogant. Deep, a consultant from Pittsburgh, and Sussman, a management professor at the University of Louisville, believe that the essence of selling is sticking to a system. “Masterful sales professionals are neither lucky nor gifted,” they write. “They do not dream, wish or hope for victory. They go out and make it happen.” The book is based on programs developed at the Sandler Sales Institute, a noted Maryland firm that trains thousands of sales professionals around the country. The authors contend that three keys to successful selling are asking the right questions, making supportive presentations, and finding exactly how to eliminate roadblocks or “pain” for customers. “There is only one reason you will sell anything: your ability to reduce a buyer’s pain,” the authors write. “You can’t reduce pain if you don’t know what it is. Buyers will tell you if you ask correctly.” The book is easy to read and full of practical advice and tips. The authors provide 120 lists on topics like “Fifteen Steps to Better Listening,” “Seven Fears all Buyers Have,” and “Fourteen Ingredients of a Winning Proposal.” Salespeople will find a powerful ally in Close the Deal. The book is a blueprint for finding and analyzing buyers, determining their needs, and getting the sale. –Dan Ring

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Although this is just one man’s opinion of the best all-around trout flies to carry in a single fly box (albeit a large one), the nymphs, dries, wets, and streamers covered here will be familiar to most North American fly-fishers. What list wouldn’t have the gold ribbed hare’s ear and pheasant tail nymphs, adams and elk hair caddis dries, and woolly bugger and muddler minnow streamers? There aren’t many surprises here, but the usefulness of this slim, portable volume becomes clear after reading a few of the author’s narrative descriptions. For each fly he offers situations and presentation methods that can shine new light on an already popular pattern, as well as reasons behind the fly’s enduring success. Color plates of all 40 flies round out this helpful fly-fishing companion.

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