Games Books

I think, the workouts listed here would help me in every area of life, not just golf. Its a great set of exercises.
Now, if I could only find the motivation required to stick to them :)

I was looking for a book that actually had workout routines to specifically target areas that would increase my golf game and this one had it. It also has pre-season and off-season workouts which are a plus. It is a very detailed book. Great book!

This was a quick, easy and informative read for the novice weight trainer/improving golfer. Very nice!

I'm a multi sport athlete who trains all year round regardless of what sport I play. I bought a few of these Ultimate Guide to Weight Training books, and they definitely helped me train specifically for the different sports that I play. Then about a year later I received an email from amazon that there was a new edition out. These upgraded editions are even better than the originals, with more articles and a lot more sport-specific information. I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who plays a lot of sports or wants to specifically focus on training for one sport in particular.

This book is great! I have always had a problem falling into a workout rut, and this book has designed a fun golf workout that changes every two weeks. I would recommend this book or any book in this series to someone who is training for a specific sport. The book is simple to read and you can download blank workout sheets from their website so you can track your progress. The book also has pictures explaining each exercise that is well organized by muscle group. Golf season has not started yet but I am looking forward to getting out there and crushing some great shots.

If you are serious about magic, then this book is just as important as Tarbell. Buy it.

I've had a copy of this book since 1975 and passed it on to my youngest son. This book as been part of our family since I was a teenager and will continue to be as long as it's avaible.

This one book will open the doors of magic for you. The first two chapters are essential for the reader to understand how to create magic in the minds of the spectators. Mr. Hay is an excellent teacher and motivator. Although his passion was coin magic (T. Nelson Downs was his boyhood hero), he teaches classic sleights for cards, coins, thimbles, balls, silks, etc. He gives wise counsel on buying apparatus, how to stage a magic show, performing for children, how to practice, and more. Although the AMH was originally written in 1950, the books listed in his bibliography are still recommended reading today. I had the rare opportunity to meet Mr. Hay in Germany and he was cordial and still proficient in his hobby. Do you want to learn magic? Buy this book.

Henry Hay (pen name for June Barrows Mussey, who was a journalist and translator as well as magician) was probably the best magical writer that ever lived. Several professional magicians have learned from his clear prose, including Johnny Ace Palmer, Gary Oulette (producer of the WORLD'S GREATEST MAGIC specials), and David Copperfield. If it was good enough for those guys, it's good enough for anybody. It was certainly good enough for me. I still refer back to it at times, and I've been into magic since I was twelve. I'm twenty-one now. Buy this book and learn all that it has to teach. Count yourself very lucky if you can find a good copy.

If you are interested at all in magic then this is the book to get. It lets you in on the secrets of a whole realm of different magic tricks (coins, cards, stage, close, etc....). Whats great about this book is that if you are new to the "hobby" then you can sample a little of alot and find what really interests you, then you can delve into another more specific book with deeper content.

In the short-run, it's like Shadowrun only without anything in the way of mysticism or magic. It's all metal or nothing in this game.

Plenty here have praised the games mechanics, so I won't dive into that... ditto the excellent storyline (I haven't actually GMed a CP game in almost 10 years, and haven't played in five, yet I'll still flip through the rulebook every so often just to read about the local color and stories provided)

If the game has a downfall it is only in that the story lineage is a little dated by modern standards (although strangely prophetic). As 2020 is fast approaching us (being 12 years away as of this writing) much of what was theorized as being "part of the future" has actually come to pass: The internet (ok, not QUITE as they have invisioned it, but can it be far off?), cellphones, corperations wielding vast political power, even modern stem-cell research is a harbinger to the body limb-regrowth capabilities tauted in the game, ditto with cyberlimbs/prosthetics.

The game itself is still very much worth playing. Only now instead of a "dark future", the game has instead become more of a "grim alternate reality"... or alternately, you could just move the game's story ahead 20-30 years and adjust accordingly :)

I highly reccomend it. If I could find another regular crew to play with locally, I'd be all over it!

Out of the whole cyberpunk movement and craze, it would seem that a role playing game was a natural. This had an interesting setting and information, and was appropriately brutal. This would lead to characters having the life expectancy of at least a little more than a paranoia clone, so you had to do something about that if you wanted to feature violence in your games.

I was stationed in Vilseck Germany with the 2nd of the 63rd Armor when I friend told me about Cyber Punk. It was almost a year before we found someone with the books, and immediatly set up a game. It was a game that I have never forgoten. It sits in my mind like the begining of Secret of Mana, forever a defining factor in my oppinions.

This game does tend to drag with its role to hit/role to dodge rules, but it is more believable then any other game I have seen or played. The setting for Cyber Punk is OURT world, with OUR history. It is science fiction. We can look at our own lives, make few changes to the timeline, and see that it IS possible. In reality, these things would never happen, but in the game, it is easier for us to adapt to this new world because it is so close to our own. Realy, what has changed? The world has met a sort of anarchy, like in Mad Max. The government is now run by Corporations. Bionics are common enough that you see people with mettle limbs on a regular basis. This world is more real then any other I have seen, and this makes more believable. Since it is more believable it becomes easier to enter your charactor and enjoy the game.

If I had to rate all the games I have played, I would put this on tope, even with its long combat and ineffectiveness with machine guns.

CP 2020 is by far the best pencil and paper RPG, this is all you need to get started. Playing CyberPunk will open your eyes to the world and the direction it is heading in and also opens your creativity and imagination. Everything from the weapons, the armor and the stat system whips AD&D. Anyone who doesn't like the whole fantasy ideals and/or combat system of AD&D needs to give CP a serious look-see.

If you like CP:2020 check out the CyberSphere MOO, well coded and reasonably closely based on CP.

Telnet on over to:

cs.vv.com:6969
or
cs.vv.com:7777

I've ben GMing for something like fifteen years and this is the system I always return to. If I want to run someting of my own, this is the system I base it on.

Slim-line, fast, flexible, simple, expansive, effective. All words that describe Talsorian's game mechanics - it simply does not get any better.

As for the universe - this is a REAL world of darkness. No bright dawn, no happy ever after. Only your wits and tech, style and edge. No right or wrong, only power and death, a world of grey areas that seems only just around the corner.

If you are a gamer and you don't have this - get it now.

If you aren't a gamer but love the Dark Future setting, it's worth it.

Magnificent.

This is a great "clue" book for those of us with young kids at home and having a limited amount of time to play. When I hit a snag, or get lost (due to little interruptions {grin}), this book has helped immensely.
Using the maps in the back to reacquaint myself with where I am after a two hour break in playing has become an almost norm for me.

Great book. The only problem with it is the lack of a good A to Z index. There is none. There is a very basic list for pages as referenced to the zone map.
I suggest sitting down and going thru the book and writing down all important names and quests, locals, etc and put the page number down for quicker reference! Then start playing the game and using your new list.

The Fallout 3 Collector's Prima Guide is filled with maps, location descriptions and character descriptions, its a huge Guide so full of information your head may explode if you try and remember it all!

I found the Guide to be extremely helpful in those tough situations and full of interesting and useful information that helped me enjoy my trip through the 'Capital Wasteland'.

I'd recommend this Guide to any Fallout Fan as a reference source or just to read up on all there is to know about Fallout 3.

This book would have gotten 5 stars BUT... the cover was backwards. In order for me to open it up the right way I have to flip the book onto the back cover and then turn it upside down. Other than that its a really good book well worth the $20.99!

This Book is very informative. I am not really a fan of game guides but for Fallout 3 the guide is a must have. There are many features and plot lines that would still be a mystery if it were not for this guide. It is very well laid out, by map quadrant, main quest, side quests etc... and also tells you what loot you should expect of of each location, which helps to ensure you do no miss anything.

looks great too, very nice hardcover.

I absolutely LOVE this story. I remember my grandma reading it to me when I was little and I bought it for my son and he loves it too. There are lots of morals in the story, many of them mentioned by previous reviewers: 1. it's okay to be who you are, 2. don't allow others to bait you into aggressive behavior, 3. perceptions of situations are colored by one's own unique perspective, and of course 4. take time to smell the flowers and just enjoy being in the moment. Everyone I know who has read this story is just as much in love with it as I am. The illustrations are great too.

I knew the story as Ferdinand the Bull as a kid and it is the same as The Story of Ferdinand. Same author, same story but there is an added author in the new title giving credit to the illustrator as well. My Mom was an elementary school librarian and of all the books available to us this was one of my top five I'm sure. It does appear that there may be both a color illustrated and (original?) pen and ink version available in the new title. Not really sure...

Munro Leaf was my grandparents' next door neighbor in CT and I remember fondly my early years with he and his wife (I called him Uncle Mun). Unfortunately, Mun died when I was still fairly young but not before he left a deep impresssion on me. I of course had many of his books growing up, with personal notes that demonstrated his interest in my growth and well-being. He also illustrated each of his notes. I cherish those books to this day. My favorite was Ferdinand the Bull; a close second, Wee Gillis. What a guy!!!

This is my childrens' all time favorite book. Ferdinand is the best bull ever, he's gentle and brave at the same time. He sets a wonderful example for a person (or in this case bull) to be comfortable in one's own skin. Please get this book back in print!

Ferdinand the Bull not only has an inspirational message for me, but means a great deal as Ferdinand is my maiden name. My brother and I, as we grew up in Pa., had this read to us and then read it ourselves and loved hearing it over and over. I shared it with my children and I hope that they will reprint it so that our grandchildren may enjoy it, as well. Jane Ferdinand Royer, Southlake, TX.

If you are a dedicated hands-on woodworker, or simply of the armchair variety, this beautifully written and lavishly illustrated book on handplanes should be on your short list. I recenly met the author, Mr. Garrett Hack, at a woodworking conference in Williamsburg, Virginia. He speaks to a live audience in much the same way that he writes; with great organization, clarity, and enough anecdotal sidebars to really make the discussion lively. After reading the book through, cover to cover, I ordered my first handplane... a Lie-Nielsen No. 4 iron bench plane... and am now rereading the book to learn how to tune this beautiful tool, sharpen it, and commence making those paper-thin, elegant shavings..

I inherited a standard Stanley bench plane from my Dad. After I tried to sharpen it, I had know idea why it was chattering and gouging the wood I was trying to plane. From reading this book I got it properly sharpened and tuned. Now it works great. Also, I found out that I had placed the iron on backwards, and that I really did not need to buy a honing guide or expensive stones to sharpen the iron well enough to do the job.

Some years ago a purchased the book this author wrote on Handtools and have read it about ten times. In that book the author made mention of this book he wrote on handplanes but I was not all that interested. Then in the last few years I have purchased a number of handplanes and began using them and realizing what wonderful and almost sensual tools they are. It was then I ordered the author's book of Handplanes and realized why he wrote an enire book on this subject. I can only say if you have an interest in handplanes of any kind, or age, or conditon this is the book to have. It covers everything you would want to know, including how to tune, reconditon, buy, sharpen, use, and identify about any handplane made. The photos are sumptuous. I cannot say how much I appreciete this book. I just keep reading it over and over and putting the information to work in my shop.

I've been using hand planes for basic tasks for years but never got the performance I felt they were capable of. This book has given me the information I needed to really tune all my planes. It is a pleasure to run a plane down a board and get a perfect shaving thin enough to see through!

I'm now using planes for things other than fitting a drawer or easing an edge. And my shop is often a quieter place because of it!

Wow everybody loved this book!!?? I guess it depends on what you are looking for. I want to build my own planes. This book is not useful for that. The only illustrations, which are sparse, are pictures of planes. So if you love tools and want to read about planes this is probably as great as everybody says, but if you actually want to build a plane this book will not be any help. I did find the discussion of Stanley and other old planes very useful though when going to the flea markets to look for old hand tools. Thats why I gave it a 4. If you want to build a plane I would give it a 2.

This book is about a hot bed of baketball in inner N.Y.C. namely Bklyn in the mid 70's When the King wasn't called Lebron James, but King Albert (Albert King) averaging 44 a game in H.S. he was hailed & christianed the greatest ever to come out of New York City (although his pro career did not live up to the billing Albert & brother Bernard will always be fondly remembered). This book is about Albert and his come up through Bedstuy and so forth. It also gives you an inside look at some of BK'S playground legends circa 1970's and some of their tragic downfalls. The best N.Y.C. ball-book ever written will always be "The City Game" by Pete Axthlem, but this is a close 2nd.

Rick Telander brings all together all the great themes of basketball in this unforgettable book. He stays true to the sport and never strays too far from it (or its many characters). With great books, readers say they never want to see the characters potrayed in the movie because it will never live up to the image/character they've envisioned. In "Heaven Is A Playground", I never want to see Fly Williams or Albert King play ball because I'd rather keep the court wizardry, provided by Telander, permanently embedded in my brain.

This is the best book on basketball I've ever read. First read it when I was a kid in the late '70's, and it still rings as true today. Just about the best sportswriting ever.

I read this book around '93, just after having read the "white version" in both Larry Bird's biography and autobiography. What was interesting was these two very similar yet distinct experiences and how they related to my own experience, growing up it what would seem like a very safe and socially adjusted rural town.

Heaven is a Playground was a departure for me in to a world where basketball had the utmost symbolic and cultural meaning - where legends were born and died and everybody else was willing to take the gamble. Was basketball more a sacrifice of a better future (missing school) or a one shot escape from certain poverty? Telander would probably argue the latter. What I found interesting was that only a few of the characters in the story actually had the potential for professional basketball, yet all the other young men seemed (unconsciously) willing to sacrifice their own futures for those players. Not so much blinded by their dreams they were living them.

Certainly some other reviewers have me beat in the department of basketball-related literature, but I count "Heaven Is A Playground" amongst the many social science books that I have read. And indeed, it matches up quite well with the best reads of the past few decades. On the surface, the book seems to be about inner-city basketball, but within the pages, it is a complete dissection of the (one segment) inner city African-American man.

The amazing book "Tally's Corner" managed the same feat in its analysis of street corner men. Both have achieved great feats with their respective works. For basketball fans like myself, "Heaven Is A Playground" not only reads as great/sad/true/mystifying social commentary, but also as plain sports entertainment. Rick Telander, as a sports writer, was really able to hit home with the writing, really giving readers a feel of the 1970s game - which has many similarities and differences to the game of today.

Another great aspect of the book is that it reads as if you there. Telander makes only the necessary analysis in the pages about what went on, and basically leaves the facts as they are. The book could have easily become a textbook lesson on sociological concepts, a lofty preaching on the ills of inner city life, or a rambling 200+ page play-by-play. Fortunately, the easy going style of writing is great journalism. Telander's style fit me well.

Thanks Rick for a great read.

If you like gymnastics you'll love this book! It tells about the lives of the seven gymnasts on the 1996 gold medal winning U.S. Olympic gymnastics team, Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu, Kerri Strug, Dominque Dawes, Jaycie Phelps, Amanda Borden, and Amy Chow. There are pictures of each girl from their very young life to the 1996 Olympics.

After the Magnifecent Seven's wonderful performance at the '96 Olympic Games, I decided to read this book to find out more about these talented young women. I thought it was terrific! There are biographies of each of the seven members along with really cool pictures. This book was awesome. These seven are really magnificint and it shows!

The book was pretty good for writing a book. Gave good information but it was a hard book to just sit down and read but I would for sure buy the book!

A must read with lots of good pictures. Gives good info. on all the athletes, with quotes.

This book is what really got me interested in gymnastics.

I had gotten introduced to gymnastics through a book about Mary Lou Retton I had picked up at a thrift store, but I didn't become too interested until I saw a picture of Kim Zmeskal in an Encyclopedia Annual. I looked her up on the Internet, and the rest they say is history.

Through the Internet I discovered the Magnificent Seven, and I found this book at our library. I couldn't have been more satisfied!

The Magnificent Seven was a team of US girls that consisted of Amanda Borden, Amy Chow, Jaycie Phelps, Shannon Miller, Dominique Dawes, Dominique Moceanu and Kerri Strug. These talented gymnasts won the very first Olympic Gold team medal in US. Gymnastic history.

This book has very informative biographies about each girl, complete with full color photos. It is very well written, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about the Magnificent Seven, or just want to see some great pictures about them.

This is such a great read! The tools given were very useful and easy to implement. I definitely recommend this.

Proactive Sales Management shows sales managers how to effectively manage their sales force, motivate the sales team, effectively coach and counsel the sales organization, reduce reports to one sheet of paper and 10 minutes a week and forecast more confidently. A must read for any serious manager who is planning to boost sales and performance.

Many sales managers I know are some of the hardest working people on earth. They don't have time to read theory and work over months or years to apply it.

This book gives a good, practical approach which can be used immediately - invaluable to newly promoted sales managers or veterans. It's the type of book which lets you read a chapter at lunch then use the idea that afternoon!

Miller's approach offers insight and forthright advice on the keys to success in managing sales people.

Has chapters for the entire Sales Manager life cycle, from vision/culture to interviewing/hiring, to corrective action. Very basic and rudimentary rather than theoretical such as you'd find in sales management course texts. Maybe this is all that's necessary to gain the big picture rather than dealing with various minutia.

'ProActive Sales Management' is packed with practical tools for business executives to drive sales organization in a proactive manner. Miller has coherently illustrated how these tools fit together & help sales organizations to achieve the mission of proactively capture business opportunities; more importantly, he also shows managers how to gain better control of their life while achieving business goals.

I think this book is a "must have" if you are involved in Lua scripting. It covers almost every aspect of Lua programming from basics to advanced topics. Maybe a little of confusion may arise when reading the chapters related to the fundamental topics such as iterators and tables, because the author lifts up the limit going deeper in to the explanation. But I think that this is a merit and not an obstacle, because at every level what the author writes about the topic let you use Lua even if you have not understood the whole topic yet; furthermore the author always points out pros and odds of the examples code.
You can use the book both as a starting guide and as a reference book.

This book is very approachable and has a clear, concise writing style. It not only teaches the language, but also covers many interesting computer science topics along the way and shows how to make the most of Lua's features. I can honestly say you could also use this as a tool for learning advanced JavaScript, because it does a great job covering closures and other concepts that the two languages share. There's also a large section on embedding Lua, a powerful idea that makes software like Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 run.

Lua isn't a complicated language, honestly. If you're coming at it from another language, especially ones with simpler syntaxes like PHP or VB, you'll feel right at home. In fact, it's so simple you could easily pick up most of the language's workings just by looking at other people's code, and building your own from there. That said, not everyone likes to learn that way. Some people, myself included, like to have a reference book that they can pick up at a whim, skim to the topic that they're struggling with and find a solution. That's what this book excels at: reference, and teaching by example. It's a great buy for anyone looking to get into Lua scripting, and a nice reference guide for those already fluent in other languages.

One of the best programing language books I have read. If only the programing guides for other languages could be this clear and concise.

The information in the book is clear, easy to understand, and worth reading. The formatting of the text, the fonts used, and the overall style of the book is lacking. The end of the book was actually a few mm shorter than the spine on my copy, but nothing was cut off, so it doesn't matter beyond looking a little odd.

I would buy it again, even if the previous version is available for free online. It's great to read when you're not near a computer, as (for a programmer) the book is easy enough to follow without needing to try every example yourself.