Jon Perks

Advantages: Great book, well illustrated
Disadvantages: No vegetarian recipes to speak of

...The people of Birmingham have always had a liking and a regard for good food. Birmingham, indeed, can out in the most convincing claim to be the true home of Balti style cooking, beating rival claimant Manchester to this accolade. But anyone who would expect this book to be nothing but a collection of curries and the like will have to buy a copy of this book to see how wrong such an allegation could be! For it is a wonderful collection of 50 different dishes and recipes form 17 of the best eating places in Birmingham. These include Al Faisals, Café Ikon, City Café, The Filini, Malmaison, The Oriental, Simpsons, The Tai Edge and many more besides. The book has been put together by Brian Turner OBE (his restaurant, Turner's Grill is also featured in the book) and Anthony Worrall Thompson. It was edited by Jon Perks and published... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Great book, well illustrated
Disadvantages: No vegetarian recipes to speak of

...The people of Birmingham have always had a liking and a regard for good food. Birmingham, indeed, can out in the most convincing claim to be the true home of Balti style cooking, beating rival claimant Manchester to this accolade. But anyone who would expect this book to be nothing but a collection of curries and the like will have to buy a copy of this book to see how wrong such an allegation could be! For it is a wonderful collection of 50 different dishes and recipes form 17 of the best eating places in Birmingham. These include Al Faisals, Café Ikon, City Café, The Filini, Malmaison, The Oriental, Simpsons, The Tai Edge and many more besides. The book has been put together by Brian Turner OBE (his restaurant, Turner's Grill is also featured in the book) and Anthony Worrall Thompson. It was edited by Jon Perks and published... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Fast paced, gripping and entertaining.
Disadvantages: Slightly depressing

...This is the first book in the Covert One series. The book is a great read in true Robert Ludlum style, although it was really Gayle Lynds who wrote it. The character sketches and basic storyline are Robert Ludlum's legacy to us. Jon Smith is an Army Doctor with USAMRIID, engaged to the love of his life, Sophia Russell who is a beautiful, intelligent scientist. Then his fiance dies of a mysterious virus which turns out to have been deliberately administered. In Jon Smith's search for her killer he uncovers a monstrous conspiracy with the help of his friends. His friends are Marty, (the eccentric genius with Asperger's Syndrome), Peter, (the tough, sarcastic ex-MI6 agent) and Randi, ( Sophia's sister and a top notch CIA agent). Jon Smith joins Covert One, a top secret organisation who's field agents work together and report only to Fred... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Captivating, informative, heart-renching
Disadvantages: Alot of information to take in.

...War Junkie By Jon Steele ISBN- 0552149845 Price- £6.99 Published- Orginally published in Great Britain by Bantam Press a division of Transworld publishers in 2002. Later Corgi edition published in 2003. Found at- www.booksattransworld.co.uk War novels has always intrested me but War Junkie particularly caught my eye as it is very different from normal war stories. As i did not have alot of prior knowledge of modern war times this book was very helpful in helping me understand more about present civil wars. It includes alot of facts especially during Moscow's revolts against Boris Yeltsin . This can be overwhelming if you do not have alot of knowledge of this, but as Jon also includes his experiences, it balances out facts and opinions to make it enjoyable. War Junkie is written as a biography through the eyes of a camera man rather... Read review

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