No indignation - though Professor Best (N.Y.U. Law School) bases
his review of consumer complaints on research he directed for Ralph
Nader's Center for Study of Responsive Law. No exhortation - either
to Sue the Bastards or to contact the local TV hot-line. So, no
fireworks - and lots of patient, careful, flat explication. But
Best has a good, solid point: "When valid complaints quickly lead
to compensation to buyers, there will be a great incentive to
businesses to do things right the first time." And his review of
what now happens makes particular sense in that light. Thus, he
first stresses the high incidence of unvoiced complaints - people
don't know what they have a right to expect, poor people tend to
have low expectations (and dependent relationships with low-grade
firms), Americans generally don't like to think of themselves as
victims - or complainers. And each frustration, each
time-consuming, costly, unproductive complaint, acts as a
deterrent. Businesses, of course, know this; hence the prevalence
of the runaround, the silent treatment, legal gimmickery, blaming
the victim, half-a-loaf "concessions," and outright intimidation.
To foster direct buyer-seller settlements - and effect an immediate
shift in the balance of power - Best proposes: that businesses be
required to handle complaints promptly, to designate one employee
to hear consumer appeals, and to keep a record, open to the public,
of each complaint and its disposition. Then, to replace the present
ineffectual welter of third-party mediators (the Better Business
Bureaus, media hot-lines, consumer-action groups, official consumer
agencies), he advocates greatly increased use of binding
arbitration - government-financed and impartially administered
(i.e., employing American Arbitration Association, not BBB,
panelists). He would also make small claims courts, now heavily
used by business to sue customers, more attuned and accessible to
individuals (especially the oft-sued, wary poor); and he is
distinctly in favor of group legal services - which some unions now
operate - as a means, first, of overcoming the initial reluctance
to complain. Members of a California group reportedly brandish
their membership cards "when they say, 'I'll call my lawyer.'"
Sensible, solid Consumer-Union-type coverage - if not quite as
crisply presented. (Kirkus Reviews)
We know where he went, what he wrote, and even what he wore, but
what in the world did Christopher Columbus eat? The Renaissance and
the age of discovery introduced Europeans to exotic cultures,
mores, manners, and ideas. Along with the cross-cultural exchange
of Old and New World, East and West, came new foodstuffs,
preparations, and flavors. That kitchen revolution led to the
development of new utensils and table manners. Some of the impact
is still felt -- and tasted -- today.Giovanni Rebora has crafted an
elegant and accessible history filled with fascinating information
and illustrations. He discusses the availability of resources, how
people kept from starving in the winter, how they farmed, how
tastes developed and changed, what the lower classes ate, and what
the aristocracy enjoyed. The book is divided into brief chapters
covering the history of bread, soups, stuffed pastas, the use of
salt, cheese, meat, fish, fruits and vegetables, the arrival of
butter, the quest for sugar, new world foods, setting the table,
and beverages, including wine and tea.A special appendix, A Meal
with Columbus, includes a mini-anthology of recipes from the
countries where he lived: Italy, Portugal, Spain, and
England.Entertaining and enlightening, Culture of the Fork will
interest scholars of history and gastronomy -- and everyone who
eats.
General
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