The gift of a book is a gift that gets opened again and again.
Our love affair with the printed book has continued unabated for hundreds of years. Unlike the "must have" electronic toy of the season, or an over-hyped kitchen appliance, books are tactile, emotive, and have a personality all their own. And if you're hoping to please almost anyone on your list, you might find that a book is the perfect fit. 
This book is so delicious that it will make your taste buds tingle for the delight of ice cream and warm, runny syrup. Each Sundae on these pages shows off American inventiveness while expressing our essential character: big and splashy to behold, refreshing and easy to enjoy. “A Month of Sundaes” is sauced in the lore of America's quintessential dessert. Sundaes are us--and have been evolving since a Maryland governor dished up ice cream for guests in 1700. Thomas Jefferson splashed maple syrup on vanilla, Dolley Madison folded in fresh strawberries, and an enterprising Ithaca, New York, soda fountain proprietor topped off his 1892 creation with a candied cherry. The author remembers great soda fountains of the past and visits today's best ice cream parlors to deliver their flavors in descriptive nuggets, sprinkles of insight and 150 Sundae recipes. "Admiring portrait of a famous temptation—weaves together sundae history, regional styles, folklore and recipes." (Florence Fabricant, The New York Times)
In 1904, the banana split was created in Latrobe, PA, a small town in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, by David Strickler, an apprentice pharmacist. Strickler enjoyed concocting new sundae creations at the Tassel Pharmacy where he was employed. One day, his dalliance with the tropical banana, sliced down the middle for easier eating, gave way to a flabbergasting fountain creation. Juxtaposing three scoops of different flavors of ice cream on the banana halves, he added three dollops of fruit syrups and the banana split was born. The rest as the say is history. And what a history it is! You can read all about the banana split's significant place in American culture in The Banana Split Book: Everything There Is To Know About America's Greatest Dessert. "A deliciously tempting book —side-splitting in more ways than one!!" (Soupy Sales, legendary "Top Banana")
A Food and Wine Lover's Companion
The Finger Lakes area of upstate New York is America's largest wine region outside of California. The steep, rocky hillsides rising up from deep, glacier-sculpted lakes provide protection from weather extremes, allowing area wineries to produce up to 85 million bottles of wine each year. Michael Turback profiles the best wineries, restaurants, farms, and markets surrounding the five largest lakes, and includes interviews with the proprietors, tasting notes, and even a few treasured local recipes. Featuring contact information for each location as well as photographs of the region's picturesque landscapes. "A wonderful guide! I really love that it includes cool details like recipes and such; it really adds a personal touch that so lacks in many guides on the market." (Audrey Saunders, Barmistress Extraordinaire and Partner, Pegu Club, New York City)
Chocoholics rejoice! If you thought there was only one way to make hot chocolate, then a sublime world awaits. This is first book to come out of the growing trend of haute chocolate consumption, preeminent chocolatiers from around the world contribute more than 60 recipes, including concoctions like Lavender-Pistachio Hot Chocolate; Maple-Whiskey Hot Chocolate Toddy; Malted Milkball Hot Chocolate; and the famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate from Manhattan's Serendipity 3. Includes ingredient and tool resources as well as a fascinating account of the history of liquid chocolates. "Hot chocolate, the quintessential winter quaff, deserves the best ingredients and a knowledgeable maker. 'Hot Chocolate' tells you all you need to know, including how to create froth and prevent a skin from forming. Recipes include unusual versions, like Colombian hot chocolate with squares of salty white cheese, as well as more traditional ones, spiced mixtures and concoctions with things like peanut butter and Nutella." (Florence Fabricant, The New York Times)
The year 2007 marks the 100th birthday of John Wayne, unquestionably the most popular and durable star in film history, beloved as the archetype of rugged individualism, template of authentic Americanism, and, perhaps, the most authentic voice of the Conservative movement. "Words are loaded pistols," wrote Jean-Paul Sartre. John Wayne's words were as powerful as the six-guns he wore on his hips. On and off screen, he spoke in declarative, often blunt sentences to express what he meant. This book presents an articulation of wisdom from an icon of the Old Right, fascinating for its probity and sincerity. The compilation is a challenge to so-called Conservatives and a valuable reference regardless of the reader's political ideology. "Straight from the Duke's mouth, Michael Turback draws out what a real Conservative is all about. Once again, Turback serves up one of American pop culture's greatest institutions in delicious, fun-size bites." (Eric Lichtenfeld, author of "Action Speaks Louder: Violence, Spectacle, and the American Action Movie")
It's much more than an update of A Month of Sundaes. Not only does it delve deliciously into sundae and soda-fountain history, and serve up from-scratch recipes for great ice creams and toppings as well as sundae "formulas," it also names 500 top sundae places in America. It's a food book, a travel book and a chronicle of American culture as seen through the prisms of the ice cream sundaes and soda-fountain life. "A Sundae Kind of Love-You'll find everything you ever wanted to know about sundaes, including the best parlors in the U.S." (Playboy) "Any Given Sundae—Who couldn't use this delicious book that scoops up recipes, large and small?" (New York Post)
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