Jacques Meerman Books

A kitchen classic for nearly 35 years, this book has been hailed as "a minor masterpiece" by Time magazine since its 1984 debut. It serves as the essential resource for food lovers and professional chefs seeking to understand the origins, compositions, and transformative processes of food. For its twentieth anniversary, Harold McGee released a fully revised edition, rewriting the text almost entirely, expanding it by two-thirds, and adding over 100 new illustrations. This new edition remains engaging and readable, offering countless insights into food preparation and enjoyment. It pioneered the translation of technical food science into accessible kitchen science and played a key role in the rise of "molecular gastronomy." While other kitchen science books exist, this one stands out for its unmatched accuracy, clarity, and thoroughness, blending scientific explanations with the historical evolution of foods and cooking techniques. Key themes include traditional and modern food production methods, diverse preparation techniques across cultures, tips for selecting and preparing ingredients, the substances that contribute to flavor, and evolving knowledge about food health benefits and risks. This monumental compendium is invaluable for anyone who has ever cooked, savored, or been curious about food.

The year is 1311, in the highest tower of Cloud of Sparrows Castle, a beautiful woman watches from the window as the city is set alight and a mob runs riot destroying everything they can lay their hands on. She begins to write down the events unfolding around her and the secret history of the Okumichi Clan. Six centuries later the lost scrolls fall into the hands of American missionary Emily Gibson, a new arrival at Edo Harbour and racing from her tragic past. Emily quickly finds herself translating the text, caught up in the gripping tale of ancestry, heroism and forbidden love. At the same time Emily is desperately trying to unravel the complexities in her own life as two men fight for her love. As Emily sifts through the fragile scrolls, she begins to see threads of her own life woven into the ancient writings. As past and present collide, a hidden history comes to life, and with it a secret prophecy that has been shrouded for centuries and may now finally be revealed.

Rosa, reprinted with a revised cover, is the author's third novel after The Overseer and The Book of Q and is the first in the Berlin Trilogy. Shadow and Light was the second and The Second Son the third.

A mysterious coded manuscript, a violent Ivy League murder, and the secrets of a Renaissance prince collide in a labyrinth of betrayal, madness, and genius. "THE RULE OF FOUR" Princeton. Good Friday, 1999. On the eve of graduation, two students are a hairsbreadth from solving the mysteries of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. Famous for its hypnotic power over those who study it, the five-hundred-year-old Hypnerotomachia may finally reveal its secrets -- to Tom Sullivan, whose father was obsessed with the book, and Paul Harris, whose future depends on it. As the deadline looms, research has stalled -- until an ancient diary surfaces. What Tom and Paul discover inside shocks even them: proof that the location of a hidden crypt has been ciphered within the pages of the obscure Renaissance text. Armed with this final clue, the two friends delve into the bizarre world of the Hypnerotomachia -- a world of forgotten erudition, strange sexual appetites, and terrible violence. But just as they begin to realize the magnitude of their discovery, Princeton's snowy campus is rocked: a longtime student of the book is murdered, shot dead in the hushed halls of the history department. A tale of timeless intrigue, dazzling scholarship, and great imaginative power, "The Rule of Four" is the story of a young man divided between the future's promise and the past's allure, guided only by friendship and love.

Sergeant Dave Henley is met het 1e peloton van de R-compagnie op missie in de provincie Helmand in Afghanistan. De nog onervaren militairen gaan het gevecht aan met een vijand die meestal ongrijpbaar is en onverwacht toeslaat met bermbommen en hinderlagen. Geconfronteerd met de keiharde realiteit van een oorlog die door de politiek als opbouwmissie wordt bestempeld, groeien de groentjes uit tot een hechte eenheid. Jenny Henley woont vlak bij de andere echtgenotes en vriendinnen van de militairen van het 1e peloton. Elke dag wachten de vrouwen, die een sterke band met elkaar opbouwen, in angst op dat bericht dat ze nooit hopen te krijgen: dat hun man gewond is geraakt of is gesneuveld. Maar wat is zo'n leven eigenlijk waard als de man die van je houdt vrijwillig zijn leven op het spel zet? Als hij de trouw aan zijn eenheid belangrijker vindt dan jullie toekomst samen?

Aan de vooravond van hun afstuderen staan twee goede vrienden, Paul Harris en Tom Sullivan, op het punt het mysterie van de codex Hypnerotomachia Poliphili te ontrafelen. Dit oude Venetiaanse manuscript van Francesco Colonna, dat wetenschappers al eeuwenlang voor raadselen plaatst, beschrijft op zeer wonderbaarlijke wijze een liefdesgeschiedenis. Paul en Tom vermoeden dat er een verborgen boodschap achter schuilgaat. Voor ze de kans krijgen die boodschap te ontdekken, worden Paul en Tom en hun vrienden Charlie en Gil bedreigd. Zelfs voor moord deinzen hun tegenstanders niet terug. Als het viertal ontdekt dat het geheim met de Reformatie en verborgen kunstschatten te maken heeft, blijkt het echte onderzoek nog te moeten beginnen...