Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 7, 1995 TAG: 9505100092
SECTION: BOOK PAGE: D-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
By George Plumptre. Random House. $30.
"The Garden Makers" honors the serious dirt-diggers starting with the first professionals, 1600-1690, and on through the great gardening eras concluding with the contemporary garden, 1950-present. The color pictures are awesome but I must confess my favorite is "Looking across one of the lakes in Birkenhead Park to Paxton's boat house." Of course, the Paxton in this case is Sir Joseph Paxton (1803-65), the mid-Victorian English gardener, architect, engineer, town planner, railway director and Member of Parliament. The picture of Sissinghurst brings back lovely memories of England two summers ago, and the picture of the pebble garden at Dumbarton Oaks in Georgetown reminds me that a visit to that garden has been on my wish list long enough. A trip to Washington, D.C., to see that renowned estate is going to get done.
- PEGGY DAVIS
Explorations.
By Robert D. Ballard, Ph.D. and Malcolm McConnell. Hyperion. $24.95.
Robert Ballard is not a household name. The Titanic is. Ballard is the ocean geologist who developed a theory of how ocean currents influence the distribution of shipwreck material. Using his theory, which he developed while looking for the nuclear submarine Thresher, Ballard calculated where the Titanic could be found - a location never confirmed since the liner sank in 1912. This book is Ballard's attempt to become that household name. Unfortunately, his three previous books "The Lost Ships of Guadalcanal," "Discovery of the Bismarck," and "Discovery of the Titanic" steal all the sizzle of oceanographic exploration and leave only the gristle of boring, pedantic, necessary science as new material in this book.
Interesting yes, but can it carry the book? No. The best parts of this book are the redundant descriptions of past successes. The boring parts of this book reflect the truth of Ballard's chosen vocation - it is a science based on the tedious cataloging of endless measurements, which just doesn't translate well as popular non-fiction.
- LARRY SHIELD
Cuba Cocina!
By Joyce Lafray. Hearst Books. $25.
In her foreword to Joyce Lafray's delightful cookbook, Barbara Kafka writes that as the author "became more interested in this vibrant cooking, she talked to the experts, worked with chefs in their kitchens and finally made visits to Cuba to see what was actually being cooked today."
Noting that her long residency in Florida has enabled her to learn firsthand about Cuban cooking, Joyce Lafray writes enthusiastically about that intriguing cuisine, which is rapidly gaining in popularity throughout the United States due in part to the growth of the Cuban population as well as the excellence of the dishes themselves. Increasingly, Cuban ingredients such as plantains and cassavas show up in supermarket produce departments, further adding to the temptation to experiment in the kitchen.
My husband and I recently prepared a Cuban dinner for eight entirely from Lafray's book. The recipes, ranging from appetizers to desserts and drinks, were clear, easy to follow and delicious. We started with Black Bean Dip served with purchased tortilla chips before our varied main courses of Ginger Sherried Roast Pork and Sofrito Chicken served with rice and delicious Twice-Fried Plantains. The pork and chicken went especially well with a salad featuring mango. Next time, I will try Lafray's recipe for Traditional Flan, while my husband is already letting a plantain blacken for Plantain with Rum Caramel. We're also ready to delve into the chapter on "Fish and Shellfish" with such delicious-sounding dishes as Grilled Swordfish with Mango and Blueberries, Pasta-Style Seafood Paella and Shrimp Creole.
- HARRIET LITTLE
The Virginia Adventure.
By Ivor Noel Hume. Knopf. $35.
This is a rollicking, swashbuckling book, one in which the distinguished Williamsburg archaeologist lays about him with literary cutlass and dirk, frequently sending other academicians of various stripe to the plank. Hume, an Englishman who became chief archaeologist of Colonial Williamsburg in 1957, compares and contrasts the failed settlement of Roanoke Island and that of the more successful Jamestown. In a very real sense, Hume presents his study as a mystery story, a mystery of motives and fates as well as the oftimes inexplicable behavior of the many who have probed the histories of which he writes.
This could have been a pedestrian, plodding book. But Hume writes with verve and style. His points are hard to miss. The early English settlers on this continent, he writes, "were recognized for the cruel, avaricious and duplicitous rabble" they were.
There is all the detail a scholar could want, presented with the style and craftsmanship of a novelist. Hume offers a fascinating subplot on how American archaeology developed, and of all the egos that both flowered and were bruised along the way.
"The Virginia Adventure" is indeed that.
- ROBERT HILLDRUP
Peggy Davis reviews books regularly for this page.
Larry Shield trains dogs and horses in Franklin County.
Harriet Little teaches at James River high school.
Robert Hilldrup s a Richmond writer and former newspaperman.
by CNB