Games Books

"Get Fuzzy" is the current reigning champion of comic strips. Anyone with pets (or who loves animals) can appreciate the inter-species conflicts and hilarity in this comic strip (I particularly enjoy Bucky's attempts at world domination and related ventures.) Here, as in years past, some of the best strips have been put together in calendar form to ensure that everyone can have a bit of humor in their daily lives.

I can't imagine not having this calendar in my house; it's always a great way to start the day. Many of these strips are so good that I have cut them out and saved them or sent them to other animal lovers in my life, while the remaining pages become great for scratch paper.

This is a great calendar and I highly recommend it to anyone.

This is the second year I have used this as my desk calendar at work. I love it. It makes me laugh all the time and it has just enough room to keep track of dinner dates or appointments.

Good desk calendar; it's fun to relive some of the classic Get Fuzzy strips.

I received the calendar within a couple of days of my placing the order. The service is great and I love to read my daily cartoon.

My daughter loves day by day calendars & Get Fuzzy. It was a perfect match

Seriously, without a doubt this is hands down the best quick reference to golf rules I've ever seen. It has everything needed to manage your game on the course. Illustrations are great!

I bought this as a gift because I liked the size and laminated pages. Handy guide that will fit in the golf bag.

I have given this book to many of my fellow EWGA golfers because it is such a good book to keep in your bag!

We carry this in our cart and have found that it provides a quick reference when needed. A must for every golfer!

This a handy book to put in a golf bag, and readily availble to look up rules quickly. I used it to look up a rule I was unsure of yesterday.

The Guide to the Technocracy presents the Ascension Wars from the Techs' perspective, making them defenders of reality from the horrors of egocentric and irresponsible Reality deviants. Welcome to the "Men in Black" vision of reality, to protect the masses of humanity from the hordes of crazies.

The book is charged with much source material, history, perspectives and how to run interesting Technocracy players and games. The weaknesses are more in the game mechanisms, which do not truly give away a Technocracy feeling.

Rotes and equipement are a weak part, but the greatest failure is that Technocrat 'mages' are still described in game mechanisms as typical mages fooling themselves in using technology. As such, techies are less powerful than other mages. Moreover, the usual White Wolf left-leaning anarchist worldview remains omnipresent, and the reader can't help getting the overall feeling Technocrats (except perhaps for Void Engineers) are the bad guys after all, however just their cause. This is something weak, more emphasis should have been given to portraying Tradition mages as terrorists and roving maniacs.

I love this book. Any player for mage should at least browse through this book. It breaks down the 2nd major mage faction, and proves that at least two of the four sides aren't bad guys. The book infact makes one see the Traditions as the guys without the plan and who are wrong.

The first Chapters talk about who the Technocracy is. They aren't the monolith that the Tradition mages make them seem like. They are orginized enough to seem like a monolith but they aren't. Neither is the Technocracy people, their are people higher up in the Pyramid who are evil but most people are what would pass as normal people.

The next rules chapters are full of all types of treats. Tons of new backgrounds including Modifications (Cybernetics and Bioengineering), Patron and Requisitions. These all can lead to story ideas in themselves. Their are tons of technocratic rotes, that help a person to think of "magic" as anything but Magic. Tons of Devices, aka Talismans, are included with a wide variety of uses, and other odd "crunchy" statistical things. On the whole this book is very interesting and is almost as essential as the corebook if you want info on the other major faction of mages.

Guide to the Technocracy is an excellent book, it tells pretty accurately MUCH things about Technocratic Union, something else than "Big, monolithic and faceless organisation". If you want to play Sci-Fi in Mage: The Ascension, this book is recommended.

Probably one of the better WoD books ive read, it makes the technocracy very playable; taking away the stereotype of them being stoic, evil and always using Star-Trek speech. Good buy.

When I was first introduced to Mage:TA, I wondered why everyone thought the Technocratic Union were the antagonists. After reading a few of the first convention books I could see why. As much as I loved the group from the beginning, I had to admit they weren't suitable for play.

With the release of Guide to the Technocracy, it seemed as though the whole Union had been reorganized. Not only are the Technocrats more human, their goals are geared more towards the protection of humanity from the horrors of the unknown. White Wolf did a really good job with this book. It succeeded in making a former faceless monolith into a living entity with a feel of humanity. The Technocracy tries to be the good-guys, but like with any group, there are always those who are in the gray areas. The Technocracy is not better or worse than the Traditions. They are just another group of mages who believe in science and reason.

The history of the Union was a fascinating read and the art is alright. The book has all the information you need to create a Technocratic agent along with info on a handful of procedures, cybernetics, and devices. The information on the various conventions is detailed enough so that the previous guides are not really needed, though they can still be helpful.

This book is a must for any fan of the Technocracy. It flows smoothly and really improves on the once monolithic and inhuman Union. It is perfect for players who want to play secret agents, cyborgs, deep space explorers, space marines, or any other modern or sci-fi character.

I have been a horse racing fan for 20 years, and in all that time I have never fully understood the meanings of different race conditions and how these conditions can influence the outcome of the race.

This is one of those books that any handicapper from novice to old pro can benefit from. I've read through it once and fully intend to read it over and over until I have mastered every item in it.

This book is a must own for anyone who takes Horse Touting seriously, one of the only books besides Beyers that actually ues statistical information to back up his stuff. James Quinn is one of my new favorite authors.

Essential to any bettor's library. This book has cut my handicapping time in half as I eliminate the absolute non contenders in minutes. Combined with form analysis, this book also points out the strong favorites and chalk in just a bit more time.

This is the most valuable book I own on horse racing. James Quinn writes so clear and knows so much about the sport. This books tells you all the different types of races and what horse is most qualified to win those races. It has helped me out so much. I don't bet, but I enter contest online and you have to be prepared for every type of race when you enter them. An excellent read for everyone.

I've read several books on handicapping and wagering on racing. Some have been very good and very helpful.
None were as helpful as this.
As a casual handicapper, you learn to look at speed figures and try to guess who's fastest. But the fastest horse doesn't always win. Class and form are sometimes overlooked.
This book taught me to look at who belongs and who doesn't. And who was meant to win this particular race.
After you read this book, you won't miss as much regarding class and form. This will likely lead you to more live horses at longer odds. Especially when so many others use speed as their primary criteria and create short prices for the horses with the highest Beyers.
And the appendicies are a tremendous tool for day-to-day handicapping. A must-read for any serious handicapper.

When my friend told me about this manga 4 years ago my first reaction was "A manga about Igo (or Wei-Chi in Chinese)? Who'd want to read that?!" I resisted for about a year until I finally gave in to his naggings and picked up the first volume...and was completely hooked by the end of it. I immediately went and get a set for myseif, and to this day it has remained on the top of my favoriates (no small feat for someone who has hundreds of mangas and changes favoriates constantly). The story, the artworks, the characters... everything just grabs you and pulls you in and never letting go, and you don't want to be let go. I'm glad that they are bringing this manga to the US, and I'm going to collect the English version as well so I can introduce this wonderful work to my friends who can't read Japanese or Chinese. Do yourself a favor and pick it up, you won't be disappointed. This truly is a title that any manga or anime fans shouldn't do without.

Hikaru Shindo needs money fast and he's getting pretty desperate, even looking through his granfather's attic with his best friend, Akari, for any old junk he can sell. He's short of money because his allowance has been taken away by his parents for his bad grades in school. They manage to find an old Go board with what appears to be a bloodstain on it. Soon after that Hikaru begins to hear a disembodied voice only audible to him and then the voice is joined by a ghostly apparition of an 1000 year old Go player named Fujiwara-no-Sai from the Heian Period. He used to be the instructor to the Emperor, but a rival's plots threw him into disgrace and he eventually committed suicide. But his soul yearned to play more Go, and he has been able to appear to certain people through the ages to help him on his quest to play the "Divine Move". Now he hopes to enlist Hikaru in the drive to that goal.

I've found over the years that I can read manga or watch anime that get me interested in subjects I would never have sought on my own. The game of Go was something I had heard of but had no idea how to play before watching and reading Hikaru No Go. Even though I didn't understand every move being played by the characters I did get the GIST of what was going on, and felt suspense or excitement in what is essentially a mental game instead of a physical one. That is the true triumph of the writer and the artist. Making something that shouldn't be inherently interesting to non-players exciting and entertaining. Yumi Hotta's passion for the game really shows. Sometimes you can get swept up into another's passion through sheer force of will. The characters introduced in Volume 1 are likeable even though Sai is a little too girly for me. There's even a rival for Hikaru to go up against that is his own age, Akira Toya, the son of the best Go player in Japan, and a great talent in his own right. Great book. The anime series is good too.

I am amazed at how powerful an effect these books have had on my children. I mean that now that they have been reading these books they have developed an interest in playing go. They knew I played and have seen my go board but they never asked me to teach them until after they started reading these books. Within two weeks of the purchase of this book my 14 and 10 year old sons were playing go and I had never given any lessons to my 10 year old. They are continually asking me to get more of the series. It is great. I am very happy.

i love this manga its the coolest!!its about a kid named hikuru and he finds a spirt that used to play go and it helps him play go.its realy good i recemend it for all ages!

Yeah! I've seen the whole anime series (in chinese) already, and believe me it's really good! The end is sort of a "you choose" type of ending, so... you get my point.

Hikaru no go is a great manga promoting the ancient chinese/japanese game go. The object of the game is use black and white pieces and occupy most of the board. You can "eat" sections of your opponent's part by totally surrounding a portion of his pieces. Hikaru no go is about a young boy (6th grade) named Hikaru who just happens to find a go board in his father's attic! It seems that only he can see the blood stains on the board and suddenly a human/ghost come out of the board and has been longing to play go for the past hundred years. Sai (the ghost that looks totally like a person) couldn't die and go to heaven until he mastered the "divine move".

At first Hikaru, like any sane person, denys Sai what he wants (to just play go) Then, also like any sane person, consents when Sai's unquenchable sadness causes Hikaru to get sick. In Japan some people devote their whole lives just playing to and become go instructors. The game originally came from China, but it became more popular in Japan. Back to the story, Hikaru goes into a go club and finds that the whole place is full of adults. The suddenly he spots a boy his age and asks to play with him. Turns out, however, that the boy his age named Akira is the son of the best go player in Japan! Sai directs Hikaru in where to put the pieces and he wins without any effort. Akira is naturally shocked seeing that the way Hikaru holds the go pieces is like a beginner, but his moves are from hundreds of years ago! Akira has basically never been beat before, being a go prodigy, so now he has a new goal: to beat Hikaru.

The story progresses and tells about how hikaru gets taught by Sai in how to play the game, and expert moves. Hikaru learns very quickly and goes from a school team, to the city tournament, to applying to become a go instructor for life! It also tells of his struggles to beat Akira and how all the upper go players are keeping an eye on him. It's interesting when Hikaru and Sai go play on-line go with other real players from around the world. You get to see Sai kicking other countries' best player's butts!

Oh yeah, did I mention that only 3 people get become go instructors each year? Akira already got a spot the year before. Do you think Hikaru is up to the challenge? If he does get in, will he be able to compete with people on/above his level?

If you like this manga, I strongly recommend "Whistle!" as well

I first read Hunter's book as a teenage boy and was transported by his stories of hunting dangerous game in the African bush. Hunter's influence was one of the reasons that I became a big game hunter, myself, hunting all over the world including much of Southern Africa and Ethiopia. Still, it is with regret that I couldn't see Africa in a more pristine age as did John Hunter.

It is pitiful that Kenya, the site of many of Hunter's adventures, subsequently banned big game hunting and the traditions of one of the greatest of all hunting nations have largely been lost. I keep hearing rumors that Kenya is "opening up", again. Let's hope so.

Ron Braithwaite author of novels--"Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"--on the Conquest of Mexico

This is the best book on African Dangerous Game Hunting that I have read to date. John Hunter (coincidence of name and profession) hunted in Africa (mostly Kenya) in the first half of the 20th century and with his 'cropping' activities for the Kenya Game Department shot staggering numbers of the 'big five'. His unassuming old world style is engaging and I found the book difficult to put down and was disappointed when I reached the end - I was left craving more. That he survived to write his books is testimony to his skill as a hunter.

A great book, one of the best on African hunting I have ever read. Hunter is right up there with Pondoro Taylor as knowledgeable yet entertaining as well.

This book is a timeless classic and definitely, definitely worth reading. If you are a big game hunter (or an aspiring big game hunter), this book is an essential addition to your library. This is quite possibly the best hunting book ever written. Better than Hemingway's accounts, in my opinion.

I first read "Hunter" when I was in college more than 40 years ago, and I can still remember J.A. Hunter's sadness and lament when he described his feelings upon the loss of his dog. In that instance he said "that you grow too fond of a dog. I sometimes wonder whether the pleasure in owning a dog is worth the misery caused by his death." An excellent book that I would recommend to all readers, but especially teenagers and young adults.

I teach 4-K and used this book as part of a take home bag on being Thankful. So far all the responses from the families have been great!

Great book. Most of Hallinan's books are. How Do I Love You is his best.

This book is good. More for 5 year olds and up, I would think. I do have to explain a lot to my 4 and 2 1/2 year old what the words mean. But still, this is a nice book. Loving and fun! Pictures are bright and cheery!

This book is wonderful. My daughter and I read it every night at bedtime, and I never get tired of it. Now, I am on a mission to collect ALL of PK Hallinan's books. I think they all have a great message, they are well written, have beautiful pictures and are just all around the best kids' books I have encountered. Definitely a must have for all toddler moms-- and moms with young kids!

This is one of my favorite books to read to my son (almost 3 yrs. old). I love how the author reminds us to be thankful for the things that are easy to overlook, like the power of the mind or the look of an autumn day. It's helped everyone in our house to stop and be thankful for even the little things in our lives.

Seriously this book is great! It was wonderful ideas for the garden, crafts, the seasons, herbal stuff. It is just fun, cool, great!

Heather mama of 5

I purchased this book for my 7yo son because we do use a lot of herbs at home. He likes the book very much but my 4yo dd LOVES it! She loves making the recipes, learning about the plants and how they work, and hearing the stories. It has become her favorite book. I love the recipes as well since they are wonderful to give to children. I can't recommend this book enough.

Reviewed by Juanita Watson for Reader Views (4/07)

Lesley Tierra's book is just as the subtitle suggests, "for children of all ages." This fantastic herbal showcases 16 commonly used medicinal plants that could realistically form the core of a home herbal pharmacy. It is truly a great introduction to the world of herbs.

I adore Tierra's original stories for each herb which will stretch children's imaginations while connecting them deeper to the spirit of each plant. Lesley pays special attention to warnings where indicated, explains specific doses for children, and includes a convenient quick guide to treating illnesses (matching symptoms with herbal remedy).

Beautiful drawings adorn nearly every page of this book bringing each and every page to life. As an adult I appreciate the visual aspect, so I can only imagine that children will fall for them too - maybe even color in some of the bigger pictures adding an artistic element to the book itself.

Tierra's includes sing-along songs for each herb (with accompanying sheet music), as well as a vast array of crafts, projects, activities and herbal recipes. This author hasn't left anything out, and it doesn't surprise me knowing her background and the 15 years spent researching this book. Tierra is a nationally renowned practicing herbalist with family and friends in the herb world, many of whom somehow contributed to this book.

The thing that really stood out for me about "A Kid's Herb Book" is the way the author attempts to connect the reader (parents, children, and ultimately, that inner child within all of us) with the amazing life force found in herbs. This book is a timely bridge that serves to unite the heart of each reader with the natural world in fun, useful, creative and joy-filled ways. I feel that this is what makes "A Kid's Herb Book" unique in comparison to many other herb books on the shelves today.

This is a good book and my son and I both enjoyed the fairy tale-like stories in each chapter about how the herbs came to be known for their healing qualities. There are a lot of recipes and activities for each herb but it's not what I personally was looking for. I was hoping there would be more different kinds of herbs listed and what they are used for.

I found this from an EarthWalk class that I sometimes volunteer for. A 4th grader showed this book to her teacher who in turn showed it to us. I wrote down the name and bought it a few days later. Why? Because it is really informative and done really really well. I'm new to the whole outdoor, edible herb thing so I feel like I could use a kid's book to help teach me (it even has sections for me to color!) :-)

If you like Sudoku but find it a little boring try the killer puzzles. Math additions make this an exciting book. I have done this book twice already, and it was just as enjoyable the second time as the first.

I encountered Killer Sudoku in a Will Shortz sudoku variants book and became hooked on it, and this is a great book of it. It allows you to move between a variety of solving techniques taken from both regular Sudoku and Kakuro. The puzzles here come in a good variety of solving difficulty, with enough easy ones for you to practice your techniques on, and enough challenging ones that you won't get bored.

I ran into Killer Sudoku accidentally, and became hooked ever since. The (simple addition and subtraction) math involved adds a new dimension to the puzzle. Unlike the standard Sudoku, Killer Sudoku puzzles have more twists and surprises waiting to be explored. The more difficult puzzles in this book are very satisfactory in harboring many pleasant and exciting ones.

The books contain 110 puzzles of 5 levels. When you advance to the last two level, your skill and fun are elevated as well. I guess after you mastered the game, you may want to get books with only difficult ones (and they should be so published). One nice thing about this book is that the puzzles seem to have been tested, and there is a 'par' time for each one of them. For easy one the pars are ten to 20 minutes, and the hardest ones up to 90 minutes. These par times are pretty good in that I tended to exceed them in the beginning, but after I have advanced to high levels and came back to do some easier ones that I skipped I often beat the par. The time competition factor also is a way to enjoy the easy ones.

Highly recommended for going through the levels and mastering the game. If you are looking only for tough Killer Sudoku books, this one contains about 20 very good ones.

If your bored of Sudoku and not finding the standard puzzles challenging you need to try these out. The page layout of this book is good there is ample room to write your number combinations and there are suggested times for each puzzle. The paper used in the book is softer but stands up fine to an eraser.

I do enjoy regular Sudoku. But there are a couple of problems with it. First, while it uses numbers, it in no way uses the properties of numbers. Second, the level of effort to solve such puzzles is generally uneven; you may get a few numbers early, but then it gets very tough, and soon after that it is easy again. When it is tough, you may have to write down possible values in a square or guess, and that's unsatisfying compared to being able to simply write down correct numbers in blank squares.

With Killer Sudoku, one does get to use the additive properties of numbers, so there really is a difference between the symbols! And the level of effort is more nearly even. In addition, even hard puzzles generally can be solved without writing anything down but the answers. It is my favorite Sudoku variant ("Greater than Killer Sudoku" is my second favorite).

This book is about at the right level. Do not be scared by the "deadly" puzzles at the end, as I found them to be easier than some of the earlier ones.

I recommend this book to all those who enjoy a challenge and have some time on their hands.

Being in a go club that sees many beginners I feel fairly qualified when I say this book will not help you improve rank until you are 15kyu (AGA/KGS) and really waiting until you are in the single-digit kyu range will give you the best rank improvement per time spent reading... I first read at 13kyu and was stretching. I re-read at 5kyu and got much more out of it. If I had to pick a perfect rank to read it at I'd say 8kyu.

All that said, the writing style is superior to every other go book I've seen and there may be merit in reading this without the goal of rank improvement. I suggest playing games between chapters - I've seen players overdo the styles and corrections the book discusses after reading half or all of it in one sitting. With other intermediate go books (such as Tesuji or Life & Death) it is not damaging to read it all in one sitting.

This book is well known in the GO community and I strongly recommend it.

This book is an endless source of information. As you get better at go, you get more and more out of it. When I first started playing, I learned little from the book but I did learn valueble basic tactics such as the net and the ladder and so forth. Later, I learned useful tesujis and opening strategies. After putting the book down for about 3 months, and as my skill increased, I went over it again and found more useful info including a generaly good attitude towards go.

I suggest this book to anyone who wants to keep playing go. It may not be useful at the time you get it, but keep skimming through and I gaurantee you will find useful information along the way.

I personally find this book very useful (at least for myself, but I believe as well for many of you guys). It is especially true if you read it the second and the third time. When I review my own game, I can find out a lot of mistakes which Kageyama has mentioned in the book. (Like forget to struggle to go ahead) There is a Go competition during summer, and I have just finished this book the third time. Some of the tesuji in the book is very useful.

I guess it will be good to learn the basic rule of the Go game and then play for a while. (may be a hundred game), then start reading this book. Then you can get the most out of it. (I believe Kageyama himself has suggested us to play for many games to get the feeling first. He mentioned player usually meet barrier at around 11-13kyu, 5-6kyu and 1-2kyu. So I guess if one train up to around 15kyu and then start reading this book, it will be very useful. And then review the book once a while. Get the fundamental idea in your mindset. And you will find Go even more interesting

Kageyama packs the book full of useful instruction, given in a chatty style with the occasional self-deprecating humour. While not a book for the absolute beginner, he surprises many readers by starting with ladders. But he shows that they are excellent training for reading (calculating) ability which also builds self-confidence during a game.

The book also covers strategic principles, typical endgame play (and a common mistake by handicap takers), josekis (corner openings).

Of course, in such a game full of complex possibilities, books can't solve everything. For example, I presume it requires experience way beyond his book to know whether a move is "proper" or "slack".

With his no-nonsense style, and quick wit, Toshiro Kageyama takes you thorugh 'the basics' of Good Go. Go, like mathematics, is a language (one of its many names is literally translated as 'handtalk'). Here, Kageyama is teaching us how to spell.

We are provided with easy-to-follow instruction and guided problems in chapters on Life and Death, Ladders (including spiral ladders); Territory and Spheres of Influence; How to study Joseki; Good Shape and Bad; Endgame Pointers; and my favorite, Tesuji (snap-backs and the like).

Kageyama also gives us a general feel for how the stones 'move' on the board, and the direction of play. These Lessons, and his writing style, combine with anecdotes from his professional career and television appearances to make this a wholly enjoyable book.

More on his style: The effect of Kageyama's writing is as if he's right there with you; very conversational. He will encourage and support, but he will also slap your hand if you are not paying attention. Make no mistake, his sole intention is that you express yourself, get better, and have fun along the way.

Beginners around 20 kyu and below:
You may want to concentrate on learning the alphabet, so to speak. But you should know that this book has some very simple 'words'. As soon as you feel comfortable playing on a 19x19 board, then find this book.