Showing results by publisher "Recorded Books" in Home & Garden

The author of Seven Daughters of Eve returns with a lively account of how all dogs are descended from a mere handful of wolves.

Long considered a culinary renegade and a pioneering chef, Van Aken is an American original who chopped and charred, sweated and seared his way to cooking stardom with no formal training, but with extra helpings of energy, creativity, and faith. After landing on the deceptively breezy shores of Key West, Van Aken faced hurricanes, economic downturns, and mercurial moneymen during the decades when a restaurant could open and close faster than you can type haute cuisine.

Better Than Homemade is food biographer Carolyn Wyman’s freewheeling and entertaining cultural history of the innovative packaged foods that changed the way we eat. It highlights the fascinating stories behind the food inventions; the histories behind the brands and icons that have become synonymous with them; the jingles that have made them such a large part of our popular culture; and the recipes that have tutored generations of homemakers and comfort-food master chefs.

In Top Dog, Maria Goodavage takes listeners into the life of Lucca K458, a decorated and highly skilled military working dog. An extraordinary bond developed between Lucca and Marine Corps handler Chris Willingham, launching what became a legendary 400-mission career. A Specialized Search Dog, Lucca belongs to an elite group trained to work off-leash at long distances from her handler.

Multiple award-winning author Adam Gopnik has written for the New Yorker since 1986. In this work, Gopnik charts America’s transformation from being simply aware of what they eat to being obsessive about it. This fascinating culinary journey will transport listeners from 18th-century France and the origin of America’s popular modern tastes to the kitchens of the White House and beyond.

With its endearing blend of humor, wisdom, and insight, Soul of a Dog, by New York Times best-selling author Jon Katz, illuminates the interaction between humans and animals.

Although he features his ever-faithful border collie, Rose, Katz also includes revealing observations about Mother the murderous barn cat, Elvis the doughnut-loving steer, and his other dogs - Izzy, Lenore, and Pearl.

What can beer teach us about biology, history, and the natural world? From ancient Mesopotamian fermentation practices to the resurgent American craft brewery, authors Rob DeSalle and Ian Tattersall peruse the historical record and traverse the globe for engaging and often surprising stories about beer. They explain how we came to drink beer, what ingredients combine to give beers their distinctive flavors, how beer's chemistry works at the molecular level, and how various societies have regulated the production and consumption of beer.

In the spring of 2007, busker James Bowen came across an injured ginger tom cat in the hallway of his shelter in north London. What he didn't know was that this would be the start of a friendship that would turn both their lives around, and lead to A Street Cat Named Bob, the international best seller that tells the story of their friendship. The Little Book of Bob is a collection of the wisdom James has learnt from Bob throughout the years, as they go through thick and thin together.

Vowing to grow all his own food, harness the sun's power for his electrical needs, and consume as little fossil fuel as necessary, Doug Fine faces surprising obstacles at every turn as he discovers that going green is easier said than done.

It all started when Jan Louch, assistant librarian at the Douglas County Public Library in Carson Valley, Nevada, and a coworker acquired two Scottish fold cats to keep mice away from the town's new library. Jan called the cats Baker and Taylor because the names fit the felines' mild temperaments - and because she dealt with the book distribution company on a daily basis.

Teresa Rhyne vowed to get things right this time around: new boyfriend, new house, new dog, maybe even new job. But shortly after she adopted Seamus, a totally incorrigible beagle, vets told Teresa that he had a malignant tumor and less than a year to live. The diagnosis devastated her, but she decided to fight it, learning everything she could about the best treatment for Seamus. Teresa couldn't possibly have known then that she was preparing herself for life's next hurdle - a cancer diagnosis of her own.

In this poignant new story, A Gift from Bob, James Bowen recalls the last Christmas he was to spend on the streets, busking and selling the Big Issue with his cat Bob. In 2010, the weather was as bleak as his prospects. Christmas had always been the time he dreaded. Now at least he had Bob by his side, but his health was poor, and he had no money for food or warmth. There was no choice but to venture out onto the frozen streets to earn enough to pay for his electricity and - with luck - to afford some small treats for Christmas as well.

Jon Katz is the New York Times best-selling author of numerous nonfiction tales of man's best friend. Here he presents the story of two dogs that profoundly affected his life and work. Skittish border collie Izzy pushes him into rewarding work with Hospice. And black lab Lenore's gentle spirit helps remind him why he wanted to work with animals in the first place.

Prolific science writer Susan E. Goodman has delighted young audiences with her informative and always entertaining works. In It's a Dog's Life, Goodman explores such canine quandaries as, ''Why do dogs sniff everything?'' and ''What do they see when they look at a sunset?'' Goodman's engaging, humorous writing style grabs young listeners and proves the perfect vehicle for offering choice tidbits on canine evolution, breeds, and behavior.

Texas tycoon Whit Daltry has always been a thorn in Megan Maguire's side, especially when he tried to put the kibosh on her animal shelter. But when he saves her daughter during the worst tornado in recent memory, Megan sees beneath his prickly exterior to the hero underneath. Soon, the after-storm recovery makes bedfellows of these opposites. Until Megan's old reflexes kick in - should she brace for betrayal or say yes to Whit once and for all?

When Mel Miskimen's mother dies, her tough, retired-cop father withdraws into his sadness, and his broken grief is more than Mel can handle on her own. Enter Seamus: a rowdy, hapless Labrador devoted to chaos. In a spark of inspiration, Mel ropes her father into training the wayward hound for a local contest. As the seasons change, Mel finds herself connecting with her last surviving parent more than she'd ever dreamed.

In 2007, a few years after purchasing Bedlam Farm in upstate New York, Jon Katz met Maria Wulf, a quiet, sensitive artist hoping to rekindle her creative spark. Jon, like her, was introspective yet restless, a writer struggling to find his purpose. He felt a connection with her immediately, but a formidable obstacle stood in the way: Maria' s dog, Frieda. A rottweiler-shepherd mix who had been abandoned by her previous owner in the Adirondacks, where she lived in the wild for several years, Frieda was ferociously protective and barely tamed.

Two hundred years ago China's imperial rulers sensed a threat to a past-oriented society in the dynamism of the West and tried to frustrate foreign entry.

What makes a wine distinctive is the goût du terroir, or the taste of the land - plus the personality and passion of the wine maker who lovingly adds his own liqueur de dosage or secret ingredient to each bottle. Here is a vintner's month-by-month account of one vintage at the Iron Horse vineyard located in the hills of Sonoma County in California. Author and wife of Iron Horse's wine-maker, Joy Sterling, fascinates with her account of the commitment involved in producing a premium wine.

With a brand-new approach to environmental responsibility, environmental expert Gay Browne offers small and simple changes we can make that will have a huge impact on the environment and our health. In an increasingly toxic world, the paths to environmental safety and personal well-being run parallel. The damage we're doing to our planet is literally making us sick. In this quietly revolutionary book, Gay Browne shares a roadmap for living a greener, healthier life.