Rating: 
Summary: Content=Fabulous, Format=Tedious
Review: The recipes are delicious, and directions are thorough, as other readers have noted. I have owned this book for several years, and have one complaint. No recipe is all on one page or even consecutive pages. Once you find what you want to make, you have to flip back to the pastry part of the recipe. Then you have to find the cooking directions for the pastry. Then you flip back to the item you want to bake. Sometimes, in the course of that recipe, it says to use a particular technique and refers to another page. I made a pecan tart with wonderful results (and many compliments), but had to find information in no fewer than four different parts of the book to accomplish this. This book is only for people who are very good readers who follow directions well and are not easily discouraged.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent but not all-encompassing
Review: This is an excellent book for a wide range of cakes, and for a great introduction to or review of baking chemistry. The only thing worth noting is that Levy Berenbaum isn't very good with the heartier cakes, as the concentration on centerpiece creations should have tipped me off to. The carrot cake isn't terribly carrot-y or hearty in the way I'd hope for, the banana bread is a light banana cake, and there's no gingerbread recipe. However, the variety of well-explained basic cakes, rolls, creams, icings, and fillings, the explanations of the differences among the various recipes, the wealth of confections assembled from the building blocks, and the recommendations for storage make this great as a baking playground for those looking for fairly refined results. I suppose the only thing I find fault with in the book is the title, which gives the impression it's a bit more all-encompassing than it turns out to be. Still, highest marks.
Rating:
Summary: My best cookbook
Review: I can always rely on Rose! I have read the book and made many of the recipes. The cream cheese crust is the best--tender and flaky. My husband doesn't like blueberry pie, but he thinks the open-face blueberry pie is outstanding: it combines both cooked and fresh blueberries. The double strawberry pie with a layer of cream cheese mixture is also A. Passion fruit ice cream is incredible, but you must get the puree from the sources section. However, I wasn't thrilled with the crumble topping she suggests as an alternative to a top crust. And, as with all fruit pies, they're only as good as the fruit you put in them. She recommends the Lindt Excellence bittersweet chocolate for various recipes (peanut butter tart, brownie puddle) but I find that Americans seem to like a milder chocolate flavor. Lindt is great, but I wouldn't use the super bittersweet chocolates. If you want rave reviews, and you can spend 2 days on a pie, this is the book for you! Next I'm trying Concord Grape Pie with Peanut Butter ice cream!
Rating:
Summary: Overwhelming... You better be VERY serious about baking!
Review: I'm an average cook who likes to make fancy desserts. When I opened this book I was incredibly overwhelmed. For one thing, the layout isn't anything to cheer about... I think that it is very poorly organized. As far as the actual recipes go, the instructions are very precise, much more so than other cookbooks I've used. On the other hand, it has some qualities that make it one of the best cookbooks I've ever used. She explains a little about each recipe (the history of that particular dish, etc.) and I really like that. I also learned more about pastry in about 10 minutes with this book than I've learned from all of my other cookbooks put together. I made an excellent pie crust following the instructions, my best ever. It has a wealth of information and I can tell that I will use it as a reference book often. If you want to whip out some tasty pies in an hour or two, skip this one. If you have the time and patience and want high-quality pies and pastries, then you will want this book in your collection.
Rating: 
Summary: Not all it's cracked up to be
Review: I've had this book for over a year and I must say that as time goes by, I am less and less impressed with this book. I have no problem following instructions yet it took me three tries to get some of these recipes to turn out. I never got her sweet nut crust to work. I used the recipe from "In the Sweet Kitchen" instead and the crust came out perfect. And some of the recipes are not nearly as imressive as they look. The only recipe that I've made that received any "wows" from my guests was the tiramisu tart, and that wasn't until the third time I made it when I made significant changes to the recipe. A few of the recipes were huge disappointments. I would highly recommend "In the Sweet Kitchen" or the Cindy Mushet book instead.
Rating:
Summary: Does not qualify as a "bible" as far as Pies go
Review: I bought this book because it was referred as being a breat book on pies - I needed to make a great chocholate torte. But, the book does not have a chocholate torte so having the book, I tried other recipes like the Apple Pie and the "Grand Canyon Pie". I made several mistakes and as a software engineer who is quite capable of following instructions, I found this a miserable book for instruction but a great book in terms of a glossary. There are not enough pictures in the book - I like to see what the author is trying to convey - take the "Grand Canyon" for example - wouldn't this be a great pie to have a picture of ? No, the author does not describe or show how it all comes together - even though its probably a great looking pie. If you like chocolate, or lots of pics, skip this book. I agree with other reviewers on less than positive reviews. If I had as much talent as the author, I would have done much better on the book - for example, tell the reader what is needed before starting and show details (drawings if you don't have a digital camera) of what you are trying to convey - pie and pastry making is 95% visual and the author does not go into great detail here. She falls (no pun) where ALL authors of baking fall (because they are not great writers I guess) - in that they don't put themselves in the readers shoes, i.e. "I never made this before - so I hope to see an example" shoes of the reader and assume that we know what comes next. I expected a book I guess as a bible (as other bibles demonstrate) to show me everything about pies I buy in fancy restaurants but I did not find this to be the case. Not even a receipe on a chocolate rasbery torte, shame on the Author.
Rating:
Summary: Rose Knows
Review: Every time I use this book I look at my wife, shake my head in wonder, and say simply, "Rose knows." Her attention to detail is unsurpassed, and her instructions are clear. The book has many great recipes, although not quite as lavish or sophisticated as some books, but plenty impressive by my guests' standards. Her explanation of chemistry and technique is top notch. This is one book -- the other is her Cake Bible -- that can truly call itself a bible.
Rating:
Summary: Devil's in the details.
Review: The recipe instructions are inconsistent and ridiculously overcomplicated. "Great" pumpkin pie, for example. The instructions say to bake the pie directly on the oven floor. If you have a gas oven that heats from the bottom, you are getting nothing but a burnt pie (thanks for a Thanksgiving failure, Rose). Designer Apple Pie is nice, the trick of boiling down the apple juices is slick. But the cream cheese crust? I've had better results from the Joy of Cooking recipes. Her recipes are too fragile to be reproduced consistently. If you are off by a degree in the oven, or off by a minute in the timing, forget it, your pie is ruined. Other pie recipes are less sensitive. Working with her crust recipes is like walking on eggshells. I've been making pies for 20 years. I can't say the details that make Berenbaum's recipes so complicated make her pies much better than ones I've made in the past from other cookbooks. Very disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Everything You Want to Know And Then Some
Review: Whether you are a novice baker or an old hand around the oven, this cookbook will never cease to amaze. Recipes are highly detailed but do not let this intimidate you. Each step takes you carefully from preparation to plating. Ingredients are list three ways: by volume, ounce, and in grams. Not only is the appropriate bakeware to use listed but this book also shows a picture of it to remove any doubt. Beyond the recipe you'll find variations, storage information, pointers for success, and what she call's "understanding". These understanding notes may explain why an ingredient was handled in a certain way or a particular cooking technique was used. For insteance, in the recipe for "Peaches and Cream Tart" she explains that the acid in the peach juices keeps the custard from curdling at the higher than usual baking temperature. I am not a pastry maker. I don't pretend to be. With this cookbook however, I not only felt confident, I felt more knowledgeable about the subject. It felt like each recipe I tried was another lesson in the art of pastry making. Rather than just following a recipe, I gained experience that I can use in the future. This is one of those books that will definitely get filthy with repeated use. That's the greatest compliment that can be shown a cookbook and its author.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book if you have some experience
Review: I have been baking for many years and own tons of books. But with this one I have truly mastered some things. The pie doughs are incredible, and although the explanations are long, they can be shortened if you have some experience. I don't ever put the butter and flour in the freezer, but use ice water and very cold (from the refrigerator) butter and keep the processing to a minimum. And they turn out EXCELLENT. This is definitely a book to have even though there are some recipes that might not be exactly what you are looking for or expecting, but then I think no book will do that. And her Brioche recipe is totally worth the price of the book.
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