Many celebrities--and even some fellow comedians, like Jerry Seinfeld--have tried to write children’s books in recent years, all with varying degrees of success. Thankfully for Leno, his readily recognizable and affable voice keeps this effort above average, with plenty of help from S.B. Whitehead's playfully busy illustrations. Not unlike a Tonight Show monologue, though, If Roast Beef Could Fly relies more on delivery than substance: Leno’s trademark comedic style comes through clearly (right down to an asterisked aside to the audience: "Kids, don’t try this at home!"), but the story sometimes seems to sputter--albeit in that ingratiating Jay way--from one gag to the next.

Tonight Show fans (and hopefully their kids, too) will surely enjoy this personal glimpse into the late-night king’s early years, especially as Leno reads along with the included audio CD. Plus, If Roast Beef Could Fly also appears to clear up a long-standing question among serious Leno scholars: Yes, even as a child, his chin was just that big. (All Ages) --Paul Hughes

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3–In this meager offering, a young narrator (a Jay Leno look-alike with short legs) describes his father, who likes to do things in a big way. Dad decides to build a patio complete with rotisserie, and the boy gleefully rides the wave of his enthusiasm. The narrative jumps from buying supplies to the advice of neighbors to the finished project and a final summer picnic. As a huge roast beef spins on the spit and everyone else goes inside, the boy is left alone with the "amazing spectacle." Touching the meat with his plastic comb, he licks the juices off it until it gets caught in the string around the beef and begins to melt. At the table, Dad tries to cut the roast, discovers the plastic, and throws the whole thing out the window, whereby it's caught in a flying leap by the dog. Fortunately, Dad's Italian relatives have brought "several different tons of food" and Dad, undefeated, is already dreaming up his next project. This book is mired in excess. The disjointed text relies on exaggeration to hook readers. Every scene is so over the top both visually and verbally that there's no subtlety of characterization or meaningful introspection. The garishness of the narrative is matched by the full-color, Mad Magazine-like illustrations where people appear as larger-than-life caricatures. Some youngsters may be carried along on the crest of this wave. More insightful readers will recognize the ensuing emptiness. A CD of Leno reading the story is included.–Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI
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Beautifully prepared beef -- elegant Bacon-Wrapped Filets Mignons, tender Herb-Rubbed Veal Loin, old-fashioned Pot-Roast -- can be the showpiece of any meal. The idea of making such well-known dishes intimidates many cooks, however. But you will soon master these classic beef and veal recipes and many more with this book.

Williams-Sonoma Mastering Beef & Veal is a complete cooking course in single volume. The opening describes the different cuts of beef and veal, how to buy them, and how to trim them. You will also learn how to cook, season, and serve beef and veal, from readying your mise en place to expertly carving a bone-in roast.

Basic recipes and key techniques then illustrate dozens of indispensable culinary building blocks, such as how to prepare a stock or how to chop fresh herbs. Troubleshooting tips show you what can go wrong and how to fix it without having to start all over again. Next the master recipes lead you step-by-step, with friendly text and instructive photographs, through every step of preparation. These recipes include helpful advice other cookbooks assume you already know, and explain how to test beef and veal for doneness -- one of the most valuable kitchen skills any cook can master. The shorter recipes and variations in each chapter encourage you to continue practicing your newfound skills, building your repertory and confidence at the same time. Finally, a guide to equipment and a glossary of ingredients will help you stock your kitchen with all the essentials.

In these pages, you will find more than fifty classic recipes that tell you, in both pictures and words, how every dish you make should look and taste from beginning to end. Whether you are an aspiring novice or an experienced home cook, Mastering Beef & Veal will teach you all you need to know to prepare any beef or veal recipe with ease.

mystery is an aspiring Toronto magician who charges $2,250 for a weekend pickup workshop. He is not much to look at: a cross between a vampire and a computer geek. But by using high-powered marketing techniques he's turned seduction into an effortless craft--even inventing his own vocabulary. His technique sounds like a car salesman's tip sheet: his main rule is FMAC--find, meet, attract, close. He employs the "three-second rule"--always approach a woman within three seconds of first seeing her in order to avoid getting shy. Other tricks: Intrigue a beautiful woman by pretending to be unaffected by her charm; also, never hit on a woman right away. Start with a disarming, innocent remark, like "Do you think magic spells work?" or "Oh my god, did you see those two girls fighting outside?" And finally, the most important characteristic of the pickup artist--smile.

After two years, Strauss ends up becoming almost as successful as Mystery, but he comes to an important realization. His techniques were actually off-putting to the woman he ended up falling in love with. And they never prepared him for actually having a relationship. After a while, he ran out of one-liners and had to have a real conversation. Still, The Game is a great read that may help some AFCs come out of their shells. --Alex Roslin

From Publishers Weekly
[Signature]Reviewed by Amy SohnI never dated Neil Strauss, but I dated guys like him. Like many New York women, I have always gone for balding, pale guys because they're grateful and good in bed. But a few years ago, a distraught Strauss decided he was a loser with women and set about transforming himself into the world's greatest pick-up artist. The Game is his long, often tedious but hilarious account of how he did it. This ugly-duckling tale will affect different readers in different ways, depending on their degree of cynicism: some will be awed by Strauss's ménage-à-trois snowball scene, while others will suspect it was cribbed from a third-rate porno Strauss watched in his pre-macking days.When his story begins Strauss is, well, a Neil: an unconfident, self-described AFC (average frustrated chump). He is also, it should be noted, a well-known rock critic who penned porn star Jenna Jameson's autobiography, leaving one wondering just how pathetic women really found him. After paying $500 to join a workshop for aspiring PUAs (pick-up artists) led by a magician named mystery at Hollywood's Roosevelt Hotel, Strauss becomes addicted to pick-up technique. He trains with several PUA gurus, including Ross Jeffries, a hypnotist rumored to be the basis for the Tom Cruise character in Magnolia. With his brains and dedication, Strauss renames himself Style and soon becomes a master of the game—able to get sex from beautiful women who once would have run the other way.But The Game doesn't get really interesting until Strauss deviates from his NC-17 Horatio Alger story and tells what happens when he moves into a Sunset Strip mansion with a group of other PUAs. He starts to see the misogyny of the sport and realizes that most of its leaders had miserable childhoods. The AFC who became a PUA to understand women ultimately becomes an expert on men.As Strauss grows restless to talk about things other than number closes and phase shifts (the book's glossary is a juicy read of its own), the mansion loses its appeal and he reluctantly grows up. When he meets a tough-talking band mate of Courtney Love's named Lisa and they bond over music, we can guess where the narrative is headed. In the book's final pages, he dumps onto his bed all the phone numbers he's collected and tells Lisa, "I've spent two years meeting every girl in L.A. And out of them all, I chose you," which is like telling your mother-in-law that the Thanksgiving dinner you had last year at Applebee's was nothing compared to the one she just prepared. But for some reason, Lisa doesn't flee. I can only hope that in the inevitable 2007 movie version, starring Jack Black and Kate Hudson, Lisa throws the numbers in his face and leaves him for a guy who knows how to pay a girl a compliment. (Sept. 1)Amy Sohn is the author of My Old Man, which was just released in paperback by Simon & Schuster, and she writes the "Mating" column for New York magazine.
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