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Book Recipes for Immortality

    Book Details:
  • Author : Richard S Weiss
  • Publisher : Oxford University Press
  • Release : 2009-02-19
  • ISBN : 0199715009
  • Pages : 273 pages

Download or read book Recipes for Immortality written by Richard S Weiss and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2009-02-19 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite the global spread of Western medical practice, traditional doctors still thrive in the modern world. In Recipes for Immortality, Richard Weiss illuminates their continued success by examining the ways in which siddha medical practitioners in Tamil South India win the trust and patronage of patients. While biomedicine might alleviate a patient's physical distress, siddha doctors offer their clientele much more: affiliation to a timeless and pure community, the fantasy of a Tamil utopia, and even the prospect of immortality. They speak of a golden age of Tamil civilization and of traditional medicine, drawing on broader revivalist formulations of a pure and ancient Tamil community. Weiss analyzes the success of siddha doctors, focusing on how they have successfully garnered authority and credibility. While shedding light on their lives, vocations, and aspirations, Weiss also documents the challenges that siddha doctors face in the modern world, both from a biomedical system that claims universal efficacy, and also from the rival traditional medicine, ayurveda, which is promoted as the national medicine of an autonomous Indian state. Drawing on ethnographic data; premodern Tamil texts on medicine, alchemy, and yoga; government archival resources; college textbooks; and popular literature on siddha medicine and on the siddhar yogis, he presents an in-depth study of this traditional system of knowledge, which serves the medical needs of millions of Indians. Weiss concludes with a look at traditional medicine at large, and demonstrates that siddha doctors, despite resent trends toward globalization and biomedicine, reflect the wider political and religious dimensions of medical discourse in our modern world. Recipes for Immortality proves that medical authority is based not only on physical effectiveness, but also on imaginative processes that relate to personal and social identities, conceptions of history, secrecy, loss, and utopian promise.

Book Recipes for Immortality

    Book Details:
  • Author : Richard S Weiss
  • Publisher : Oxford University Press
  • Release : 2009-02-19
  • ISBN : 0190450517
  • Pages : 272 pages

Download or read book Recipes for Immortality written by Richard S Weiss and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2009-02-19 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite the global spread of Western medical practice, traditional doctors still thrive in the modern world. In Recipes for Immortality, Richard Weiss illuminates their continued success by examining the ways in which siddha medical practitioners in Tamil South India win the trust and patronage of patients. While biomedicine might alleviate a patient's physical distress, siddha doctors offer their clientele much more: affiliation to a timeless and pure community, the fantasy of a Tamil utopia, and even the prospect of immortality. They speak of a golden age of Tamil civilization and of traditional medicine, drawing on broader revivalist formulations of a pure and ancient Tamil community. Weiss analyzes the success of siddha doctors, focusing on how they have successfully garnered authority and credibility. While shedding light on their lives, vocations, and aspirations, Weiss also documents the challenges that siddha doctors face in the modern world, both from a biomedical system that claims universal efficacy, and also from the rival traditional medicine, ayurveda, which is promoted as the national medicine of an autonomous Indian state. Drawing on ethnographic data; premodern Tamil texts on medicine, alchemy, and yoga; government archival resources; college textbooks; and popular literature on siddha medicine and on the siddhar yogis, he presents an in-depth study of this traditional system of knowledge, which serves the medical needs of millions of Indians. Weiss concludes with a look at traditional medicine at large, and demonstrates that siddha doctors, despite resent trends toward globalization and biomedicine, reflect the wider political and religious dimensions of medical discourse in our modern world. Recipes for Immortality proves that medical authority is based not only on physical effectiveness, but also on imaginative processes that relate to personal and social identities, conceptions of history, secrecy, loss, and utopian promise.

Book Picture Cook

    Book Details:
  • Author : Katie Shelly
  • Publisher : Simon and Schuster
  • Release : 2013-12-03
  • ISBN : 1612432581
  • Pages : 200 pages

Download or read book Picture Cook written by Katie Shelly and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-12-03 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No-reading-required recipes take you from breakfast omelets to decadent desserts thanks to “really great graphics” (Mark Bittman, The New York Times). With illustrations instead of text, Picture Cook will reinvent the way you make food. Over fifty homey recipes are distilled into their most basic components, each rendered step-by-step in enchanting line drawings like nothing ever before seen in a cookbook. Covering everything from omelets and lasagna to chocolate cake, this cheery bunch of recipes will cure your kitchenphobia, delight the design lover in you and satisfy every tummy in your path. Including a visual tutorial on knife skills, illustrated metric conversion chart, and an index especially organized for various dietary needs, Picture Cook makes the perfect gift for budding chefs, college students, or any home cook in need of some visual inspiration. “An unusual, quirky book, with adorable illustrations, and solid, well-tested recipes. A delight.” —TheKitchn “I totally loved the stripped-down graphics that Katie Shelly illustrated for Picture Cook: See. Make. Eat. I particularly enjoyed how Shelly presented basic dishes that could be adapted to different flavor palates, such as hummus and raita. The book contains enough staple recipes for a beginner cook, while still suggesting advanced variations for the more experienced.” —Serious Eats “An ingenious cookbook.” —Mark Wilson, Fast Company: Design “Unintimidating . . . readers will find it hard not to smile at whimsical drawings of white lasagna, nutty quinoa, Immortality Smoothie, and other easy dishes . . . A treat for visual learners, beginning readers, young people, new cooks, and anyone who enjoys graphic design.” —Library Journal

Book Crazy Sweet Creations

    Book Details:
  • Author : Ann Reardon
  • Publisher : Mango Media Inc.
  • Release : 2021-06-15
  • ISBN : 164250579X
  • Pages : 260 pages

Download or read book Crazy Sweet Creations written by Ann Reardon and published by Mango Media Inc.. This book was released on 2021-06-15 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How to Cook That Dessert Cookbook: Pastries, Cakes and Sweet Creations “How to Cook That is the most popular Australian cooking channel in all the world, and it’s not hard to see why.” ―PopSugar Editors' pick: Best Cookbooks, Food & Wine #1 Best Seller in Chocolate Baking, Confectionary Desserts, Pastry Baking, Garnishing Meals, Holiday Cooking, Main Courses & Side Dishes, Cookies, Cooking by Ingredient, and Pie Baking Offering a fun-filled step-by-step dessert cookbook, Ann Reardon teaches you how to create delicious and impressive pastries, cakes and sweet creations. Join food scientist Ann Reardon, host of the award-winning YouTube series How to Cook That, as she explores Crazy Sweet Creations. An accomplished pastry chef, Reardon draws millions of baking fans together each week, eager to learn the secrets of her extravagant cakes, chocolates, and eye-popping desserts. Her warmth and sense of fun in the kitchen shines through on every page as she reveals the science behind recreating your own culinary masterpieces. For home cooks and fans who love their desserts, cakes, and ice creams to look amazing and taste even better. Take your culinary creations to influencer status. You’ll also: Learn to make treats that get the whole family cooking Create baked goods that tap into beloved pop culture trends Impress guests with beautiful desserts Readers of dessert cookbooks like Dessert Person, Sally's Cookie Addiction, Tartine, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Joshua Weissman: An Unapologetic Cookbook, or 100 Cookies will love How to Cook That: Crazy Sweet Creations.

Book Early Daoist Dietary Practices

Download or read book Early Daoist Dietary Practices written by Shawn Arthur and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2013-06-27 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much as the modern Western world is concerned with diets, health, and anti-aging remedies, many early medieval Chinese Daoists also actively sought to improve their health and increase their longevity through specialized ascetic dietary practices. Focusing on a fifth-century manual of herbal-based, immortality-oriented recipes—the Lingbao Wufuxu (The Preface to the Five Lingbao Talismans of Numinous Treasure)—Shawn Arthur investigates the diets, their ingredients, and their expected range of natural and supernatural benefits. Analyzing the ways that early Daoists systematically synthesized religion, Chinese medicine, and cosmological correlative logic, this study offers new understandings of important Daoist ideas regarding the body’s composition and mutability, health and disease, grain avoidance (bigu) diets, the parasitic Three Worms, interacting with the spirit realm, and immortality. This work also employs a range of cross-disciplinary scientific and medical research to analyze the healing properties of Daoist self-cultivation diets and to consider some natural explanations for better understanding Daoist asceticism and its underlying world view.

Book Instant Loss Cookbook

    Book Details:
  • Author : Brittany Williams
  • Publisher : Harmony
  • Release : 2018-10-02
  • ISBN : 0525577246
  • Pages : 241 pages

Download or read book Instant Loss Cookbook written by Brittany Williams and published by Harmony. This book was released on 2018-10-02 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Brittany Williams lost more than 125 pounds using her Instant Pot® and making all her meals from scratch. Now she shares 125 quick, easy, and tasty whole food recipes that can help you reach your weight loss goals, too! Brittany Williams had struggled with her weight all her life. She grew up eating the standard American staples—fast, frozen, fried, and processed—and hit a peak weight of 260 pounds. When her 4-year-old daughter’s autoimmune disease was alleviated by a low-sugar, dairy-free, grain-free, whole-food-based diet, Brittany realized she owed her own body the same kind of healing. So on January 1, 2017, she vowed to make every meal for a year from scratch, aided by her Instant Pot®. She discovered that the versatility, speed, and ease of the electric pressure cooker made creating wholesome, tasty, family-satisfying meals a breeze, usually taking under thirty minutes. Not only did the family thrive over the course of the year, Brittany lost an astonishing 125 pounds, all documented on her Instant Loss blog. Illustrated with gorgeous photography, Instant Loss Cookbook shares 125 recipes and the meal plan that Brittany used for her own weight loss, 75% of which are recipes for the Instant Pot® or other multicooker. These recipes are whole food-based with a spotlight on veggies, mostly dairy and grain-free, and use ingredients that you can find at any grocery store. The clearest guide to navigating your Instant Pot® or other multicooker that you’ll find, Instant Loss Cookbook makes healthy eating convenient—and that’s the key to sustainable weight loss.

Book The Botanical Kitchen

    Book Details:
  • Author : Elly McCausland
  • Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
  • Release : 2020-03-19
  • ISBN : 1472969448
  • Pages : 483 pages

Download or read book The Botanical Kitchen written by Elly McCausland and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-03-19 with total page 483 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WINNER OF THE 2019 JANE GRIGSON TRUST AWARD This beautiful book places botanical ingredients at the fore, emphasising the power of a few small ingredients to transform and enhance food the world over. The choice of botanicals can transform a recipe, adding a new twist to a classic or creating surprising and rewarding combinations, and in this 2019 Jane Grigson Trust Award-winning book, Elly McCausland guides readers through cooking with botanicals, looking at their culinary history and diverse uses over the years. Weaving through this compelling text will be 90 delicious recipes including relishes and tarts, salads and soups, noodle bowls and breads and everything in between, offering unique and insightful flavour pairings. From the common to the curious, Elly's debut book takes an in-depth look at our love affair with every part of the plant. Chapters include fruits (tropical, Mediterranean and orchard), leaves, flowers, seeds and berries, beautifully illustrated with photography by Polly Webster.

Book The Breakfast Book

    Book Details:
  • Author : Marion Cunningham
  • Publisher : Knopf
  • Release : 1987-08-12
  • ISBN : 0394555295
  • Pages : 338 pages

Download or read book The Breakfast Book written by Marion Cunningham and published by Knopf. This book was released on 1987-08-12 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A charming, one-of-a-kind cookbook devoted exclusively to breakfast—that most American of meals which is enjoying a comeback all over the country. Here Marion Cunningham celebrates the simple pleasures of a good breakfast with 288 irresistible recipes for traditional favorites—from scones and sticky buns and popovers and hash browns to all kinds of eggs and pancakes and muffins—as well new treats. Her Great Coffee Cake lends itself to a variety of spicy, crunchy combinations; her Raw Fresh Fruit Jams can be made in just thirty minutes (with no cooking!); and her Oatmeal Bran and Mother’s Cookies are perfect for when breakfast is on the run. And for more leisurely moments and special occasions, Cunningham includes forty breakfast menus guaranteed to make the first meal of the day the best.

Book Chinese History and Culture

Download or read book Chinese History and Culture written by Ying-shih Yü and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2016-09-20 with total page 427 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The recipient of the Kluge Prize for lifetime achievement in the humanities and the Tang Prize for "revolutionary research" in Sinology, Ying-shih Yü is a premier scholar of Chinese studies. Chinese History and Culture volumes 1 and 2 bring his extraordinary oeuvre to English-speaking readers. Spanning two thousand years of social, intellectual, and political change, the essays in these volumes investigate two central questions through all aspects of Chinese life: what core values sustained this ancient civilization through centuries of upheaval, and in what ways did these values survive in modern times? From Yü Ying-shih's perspective, the Dao, or the Way, constitutes the inner core of Chinese civilization. His work explores the unique dynamics between Chinese intellectuals' discourse on the Dao, or moral principles for a symbolized ideal world order, and their criticism of contemporary reality throughout Chinese history. Volume 1 of Chinese History and Culture explores how the Dao was reformulated, expanded, defended, and preserved by Chinese intellectuals up to the seventeenth century, guiding them through history's darkest turns. Essays incorporate the evolving conception of the soul and the afterlife in pre- and post-Buddhist China, the significance of eating practices and social etiquette, the move toward greater individualism, the rise of the Neo-Daoist movement, the spread of Confucian ethics, and the growth of merchant culture and capitalism. A true panorama of Chinese culture's continuities and transition, Yü Ying-shih's two-volume Chinese History and Culture gives readers of all backgrounds a unique education in the meaning of Chinese civilization.

Book One Pan Wonders

    Book Details:
  • Author : Cook's Country
  • Publisher : America's Test Kitchen
  • Release : 2016-12-27
  • ISBN : 1940352843
  • Pages : 337 pages

Download or read book One Pan Wonders written by Cook's Country and published by America's Test Kitchen. This book was released on 2016-12-27 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In One-Pan Wonders, you will discover over 130 meticulously tested recipes that deliver fresh, fuss-free meals from a single vessel. These recipes been tailored to highlight each vessel's strengths, from imparting a deep, flavorful sear on chicken breasts to roasting a turkey breast above bread stuffing to turning out supremely tender slow-cooked beef. And each recipe is engineered to ensure every component of the meals turns out perfectly cooked and ready to eat at the same time. The result? An authoritative resource for preparing simple yet satisfying meals seven days a week. When you think about cooking dinner, multiple pots and pans and a lot of multitasking (and cleanup) are probably quick to come to mind. Even a simple meal of chicken and a vegetable can require use of one pan for the chicken and another for the side dish. With this in mind, we set out to streamline dinner with a fresh, modern collection of recipes make the most of your Dutch oven, sheet pan, skillet, roasting pan, casserole dish, and slow cooker to deliver dinner using just one pot (no cheating!) and a minimum of hands-on time. These recipes simplify meal prep, but that doesn't mean we've sacrificed flavor. From Skillet Spanikopita to Sheet Pan Beef Fajitas to Indian-Style Vegetable Curry, we narrowed our ingredient lists to focus on delivering bold, fresh taste in every dish. Each recipe was tested (and re-tested) with the home cook in mind, and only the most flavorful meals made it onto these pages.

Book Recipe for Persuasion

    Book Details:
  • Author : Sonali Dev
  • Publisher : HarperCollins
  • Release : 2020-05-26
  • ISBN : 006283908X
  • Pages : 408 pages

Download or read book Recipe for Persuasion written by Sonali Dev and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2020-05-26 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors comes another , clever, deeply layered, and heartwarming romantic comedy that follows in the Jane Austen tradition—this time, with a twist on Persuasion. Chef Ashna Raje desperately needs a new strategy. How else can she save her beloved restaurant and prove to her estranged, overachieving mother that she isn’t a complete screw up? When she’s asked to join the cast of Cooking with the Stars, the latest hit reality show teaming chefs with celebrities, it seems like just the leap of faith she needs to put her restaurant back on the map. She’s a chef, what’s the worst that could happen? Rico Silva, that’s what. Being paired with a celebrity who was her first love, the man who ghosted her at the worst possible time in her life, only proves what Ashna has always believed: leaps of faith are a recipe for disaster. FIFA winning soccer star Rico Silva isn't too happy to be paired up with Ashna either. Losing Ashna years ago almost destroyed him. The only silver lining to this bizarre situation is that he can finally prove to Ashna that he's definitely over her. But when their catastrophic first meeting goes viral, social media becomes obsessed with their chemistry. The competition on the show is fierce...and so is the simmering desire between Ashna and Rico. Every minute they spend together rekindles feelings that pull them toward their disastrous past. Will letting go again be another recipe for heartbreak—or a recipe for persuasion...? In Recipe for Persuasion, Sonali Dev once again takes readers on an unforgettable adventure in this fresh, fun, and enchanting romantic comedy.

Book The New York Times Cooking No Recipe Recipes

Download or read book The New York Times Cooking No Recipe Recipes written by Sam Sifton and published by Ten Speed Press. This book was released on 2021-03-16 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The debut cookbook from the popular New York Times website and mobile app NYT Cooking, featuring 100 vividly photographed no-recipe recipes to make weeknight cooking more inspired and delicious. ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: Vanity Fair, Time Out, Salon, Publishers Weekly You don’t need a recipe. Really, you don’t. Sam Sifton, founding editor of New York Times Cooking, makes improvisational cooking easier than you think. In this handy book of ideas, Sifton delivers more than one hundred no-recipe recipes—each gloriously photographed—to make with the ingredients you have on hand or could pick up on a quick trip to the store. You’ll see how to make these meals as big or as small as you like, substituting ingredients as you go. Fried Egg Quesadillas. Pizza without a Crust. Weeknight Fried Rice. Pasta with Garbanzos. Roasted Shrimp Tacos. Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Croutons. Oven S’Mores. Welcome home to freestyle, relaxed cooking that is absolutely yours.

Book General Theory of Taoism

    Book Details:
  • Author : Hu Fuchen
  • Publisher : Paths International Ltd
  • Release : 2013-02-01
  • ISBN : 1844640957
  • Pages : 396 pages

Download or read book General Theory of Taoism written by Hu Fuchen and published by Paths International Ltd. This book was released on 2013-02-01 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To understand Taoism is to understand the roots of contemporary Chinese culture. This hugely significant new book from Hu Fuchen highlights the significance of Taoism in modern day China, and supplies detailed information covering all aspects of a philosophical and religious tradition which is followed by as many as 400 million people worldwide. Comprehensive and user-friendly, the author outlines the principle theories and categories of Taoism covering each aspect in great detail. Whether new to the subject or a follower, this essential book will enable you to better understand all aspects Taoism and appreciate its central role within a newly reformed China.

Book The Elements of Cooking

    Book Details:
  • Author : Michael Ruhlman
  • Publisher : Simon and Schuster
  • Release : 2007-11-06
  • ISBN : 0743299787
  • Pages : 256 pages

Download or read book The Elements of Cooking written by Michael Ruhlman and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2007-11-06 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Notes on cooking: from stock to finesse -- The elements of cooking A to Z.

Book The Siddha Quest for Immortality

Download or read book The Siddha Quest for Immortality written by Kamil Zvelebil and published by Mandrake of Oxford. This book was released on 1996 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In South India there is a society where priests and lay people claim supernatural powers. Where a sophisticated medical system underlies a quest for physical longevity and psychic immortality and where arcane and sexual rituals take place that are far removed from the Brahmanic tradition of the rest of India. That society is the Tamil Siddhas. Here expert Kamil Zvelebil offers a vivid picture of these people: religious beliefs, magical rites, alchemical practices, complex system of medicine, and inspired tradition of poetry. Topics covered include: On Siddhas medicine; The ideological basis of Siddhas quest of immortality; Basic tenets of Siddhas medicine; Diseases and their cure; Yoga in Siddhas tradition; Daily regime; Siddhas alchemy; Rejuvenation, longevity, and 'immortality'; Doctrines and traditions of the Siddhas; Tantrik Siddhas and Siddhas attitudes to sex; Siddhas poetry and other texts.

Book The Accidental Alchemist

    Book Details:
  • Author : Gigi Pandian
  • Publisher : Gargoyle Girl Productions
  • Release : 2020-10-27
  • ISBN : 1938213130
  • Pages : 340 pages

Download or read book The Accidental Alchemist written by Gigi Pandian and published by Gargoyle Girl Productions. This book was released on 2020-10-27 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Filled with magic, intrigue, and humor, this series is sure to delight fans of cozy mysteries and urban fantasy."―Book Riot A chance for a new beginning in Portland, Oregon. A stowaway from Paris. Can alchemist Zoe Faust solve the mystery of an ancient book in time to save her new friend? Unpacking her belongings in her new fixer-upper house, alchemist Zoe Faust can't help but notice she's picked up a stowaway. Dorian Robert-Houdin is a living, breathing gargoyle―not to mention a master of French cuisine―and he needs Zoe's expertise to unlock the secrets of a centuries-old text. Zoe, who's trying to put her old life behind her, isn't so sure she wants to reopen her alchemical past...until a crime committed on her front porch leaves her no choice. Don't miss the first novel in the award-winning series from USA Today bestselling author Gigi Pandian! Includes recipes! Praise Winner of the Left Coast Crime Lefty Award. "Zoe and Dorian are my new favorite amateur-sleuth duo!" ―New York Times bestselling author Victoria Laurie "A whimsical and charming supernatural mystery."―Mystery Scene "Mysterious, captivating, and infused with the rich history of the Northwest...fantastic." ―Portland Book Review "This reviewer is eagerly anticipating more from this series, and a return of a cast more fun than an episode of Portlandia."―RT Book Reviews "Pandian...launches a supernatural cozy series that hits high marks for a modern twist on an ancient practice. Amusing supporting characters and historical details solidify this engaging mystery." ―Library Journal "[A] lighthearted supernatural mystery...Pandian sets this series apart from other fluffy paranormal mysteries with Zoe's cute nonhuman sidekick and some mouthwatering vegan recipes." ―Publishers Weekly "Readers won't want to put this book down." ―Vegetarian Journal "[A]n eccentric and charming cast of characters readers are going to want to spend more time with." ―RT Book Reviews Online "A magical, whimsical cozy that will delight readers who enjoy Juliet Blackwell and Heather Weber mysteries!"―Agatha Award-winning author Avery Aames (aka Daryl Wood Gerber) "Gigi Pandian's pen never disappoints." ―New York Times bestselling author Juliet Blackwell

Book Lethal Spots  Vital Secrets

Download or read book Lethal Spots Vital Secrets written by Roman Sieler and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-06-01 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lethal Spots, Vital Secrets provides an ethnographic study of varmakkalai, or "the art of the vital spots," a South Indian esoteric tradition that combines medical practice and martial arts. Although siddha medicine is officially part of the Indian Government's medically pluralistic health-care system, very little of a reliable nature has been written about it. Drawing on a diverse array of materials, including Tamil manuscripts, interviews with practitioners, and his own personal experience as an apprentice, Sieler traces the practices of varmakkalai both in different religious traditions--such as Yoga and Ayurveda--and within various combat practices. His argument is based on in-depth ethnographic research in the southernmost region of India, where hereditary medico-martial practitioners learn their occupation from relatives or skilled gurus through an esoteric, spiritual education system. Rituals of secrecy and apprenticeship in varmakkalai are among the important focal points of Sieler's study. Practitioners protect their esoteric knowledge, but they also engage in a kind of "lure and withdrawal"---a performance of secrecy---because secrecy functions as what might be called "symbolic capital." Sieler argues that varmakkalai is, above all, a matter of texts in practice; knowledge transmission between teacher and student conveys tacit, non-verbal knowledge, and constitutes a "moral economy." It is not merely plain facts that are communicated, but also moral obligations, ethical conduct and tacit, bodily knowledge. Lethal Spots, Vital Secrets is an insightful analysis of practices rarely discussed in scholarly circles. It will be a valuable resource to students of religion, medical anthropologists, historians of medicine, Indologists, and martial arts and performance studies.