Games Books

ISBN 0763607525 - Lift the flap books, in general, suffer from one flaw - the flaps themselves. If you decide to buy a used copy, it's a good idea to make sure that all the flaps are intact, since they tear off fairly easily. That aside, this book is a great one for little budding readers.

The reader is told that Maisy is going to hide (it shows her picture, so you can identify her, in case you're one of the five people in the world who don't know what she looks like and couldn't spot her on the cover). On the following pages, you look for her in various places by lifting flaps - and finding all of her friends before finding Maisy!

The illustrations are admittedly not world-class stuff, but they ARE standard Maisy. They are basic but full of bright colors and, combined with the lift-the-flap aspect, a lot of fun.

My daughter is now 17 months old, ever since she started being interested in books (as early as 11 months) she has always loved this one. She gets more and more excited as we get closer to the end and she loves looking behind the door. I noticed all the little kids at the daycare also just stopped whatever they were doing when I read this book to them once. The best 'Peek-a-boo' type book we've seen.

If your child loves Maisy, they will love this book! My 20 month old never tires of "looking" for Maisy under the flaps and will sit for 15-20 minutes at a time "reading" this. Even her older sister enjoys it!

Both my son and my daugther LOVED this book from the age of 6 months on. It keeps them in rapt attention, and my daugther loves to "knock" on the door.

My daughter loves these books. They are simple, quick & colorful. She turns the pages & loves it. She is under 1 yrs old & has been reading theses with me for about 6 mo. Stays focosed since it is so fast, not so wordy!

Definitely a book to get at whatever level you are at. Lots of good strategies and explanations of shots, placements and tactics.

I love this book for the advanced player. Well written, thoughtful and informative. I tried to get my partner (wife) to read it, but she's not the "thinker" type so I had to introduce her to the principles via drills and playing.

I've only had this book a few days and have only made it through half so far, but I can already see how this will help improve my doubles game. Growing up, I never really received much instruction on the strategies needed for playing doubles, but this book definitely helps to close that gap. Not only does the author explain how to play smarter doubles tennis, they also explain different strategies that can be used by a doubles tandom. There are also helpful illustrations to show what the author is talking about. I can't wait to get back out on the court and put the information to good use.

For potential buyers, I would like to add that I feel this book has great information even if you are just looking for ways to improve your own doubles play, but to really get the full benefit of this book, I think it's best to share with a doubles partner. Some of the tactics are complicated and wouldn't be successful unless both members of the team were familiar with how to execute them.

One negative review that I saw complained that this book wasn't written for beginners and I totally agree. If you aren't already somewhat familiar with the lingo and tactics of the doubles game, this book isn't for you.

Where in the world has this book been all my tennis life? A must-read book for the doubles player seeking to improve his/her game. Every chapter is valuable, every tip should be committed to memory and practiced on the court. Our whole team has ordered and is reading this book to improve our court positioning and strategy skills. And, it is not boring. Instead it is actually riveting. Some parts I had to read 2 or 3 times, just to make sure I fully understood the concept. Not because the writing was poor, but rather because the strategy was so eye opening and new to me that I wanted to make sure "I got it." I highlighted this book like a textbook and plan on rereading it many, many times.

Not for the beginning player, though. Must be at least at the intermediate level.

You get a feeling right away that this book isn't going to waste your time. There is real content on every page. I play on a mixed doubles USTA league but I found much of this to be things I didn't know, hadn't figured out and didn't hear from my partners. I particularly liked the way the author mixed psychological tips with court positioning and shot selection. The one reservation I have is that there is a lot here to remember. Still, there are good chapter summaries so once you get the gist of what she's saying you can go to the bullet points to refresh your memory.

Very cool book - my 10 year old loves it and wants to make everything in it. Neat padded cover - great for the Harry Potter generation. Wish this was around when I was 10!

I loved this book and it's has very interesting stories also! I love making all the things in this book and it's fun stuff to do on a rainy day. I am just adoring this book! I work on my projects from The Book of Wizard Craft all the time! I would definitly get this book for serious fun! And it's a great hobby!

This book is fantastic. We received the book today in the mail. My two children and I looked at the book from cover to cover. They told me they want to start tomorrow on making the crafts that are in the book.

This book is perfect for Harry Potter fans. From robes, to wands, potions, hiding boxes, crystal balls..you name it.

The way the author has written this book is funny. You can just feel the author enjoyed writing this book.

My children loved it as soon as I turned the first page.

I personally would recommend this book to anybody, Harry Potter fan or not. This is a great book, and it tells how to make two different kinds of wands, robes, cloaks, crystal balls, potions, a wizard's hat, turban, and more! It also tells how to make a wizard party, etc.

I got this book for my birthday about two years ago, and I've read it through at least ten times since then. If I have nothing to do, I just sit down and read it. It's got lots of stories, so if you just feel like reading, it's the right book.

I hope this was helpful!

I am thirteen years old and consider myself sort of above most little kids' books. However, this book was so incredibly neat, here I am writing this review! It contains everything you want to know about how to pretend to be a wizard. I haven't acually tried all the things yet, but just siting there, looking at the artwork is awesome. It has everything from food to dragonsblood to mythology to wizard parties to a powder that smokes when you rub it. One should not be restrained by the age sugjestions-I want every fantasy-lover I know to READ THIS BOOK!

When this book came out 30 years ago it raised the bar for pool and three cushion billiards instruction manuals. Earlier books, such as Ray Martin' 99 Critical Shots, were badly flawed by the gross inaccuracies of their diagrams. Byrne introduced large and accurate scale diagrams, even including parabolic paths for cue balls struck with draw or follow. The last half of the book covers the elegant game of 3-cushion, which is now enjoying a renaissance. It contains by far the best, and nearly the only, explanation of "the diamond system" for calculating multiple rail bank shots. Even a rudimentary familiarity with it should help virtually any pool player. The entire book is leavened with Byrne's characteristic dry wit. I've been recommending this book to students for decades.

Hey, it may be a good book, I don't own it. But looking at the cover page, should not the 8 ball be in place of the 10?

Bought this book used from amazon. It is an exceelent and easy read that will improve your game immediately. I am still plowing through it but already I see improvement. Some of the photos could be a little sharper but none are so bad that you can't determine what it depicts. Highly recommend it.

The Chilton Book of pool, Byrne's New Standard Book of Pool and Billiards is a must have for anyone who plays pool.

I read the book page by page and practiced with it. My game is 300% better. This book is for every tipe of player.

Whether you've been a crocheter for a hundred years or 100 days this is an excelleent book.

This is the best basic book one can buy. The companion knitting book also falls into the same category of BEST BUY!

If you think you have seen it all as a crocheter, then buy this book! Because there are so many amazing things contained in a book that doesn't appear to be that big (138 pages). I just received it in the mail (thanks to fast and free supersaver mail!), and so I have not tried any of the techniques out. But I have not been so happy with a new book in a long time. I was trembling with excitement, looking over so many things I have never seen before! There are variations on basic stitches that were completely new to me, such as the rib stitch version of slip stitch (p 13), (Yes, I know this shouldn't be such a big deal but I just haven't ever seen that before, and I thought I had seen and done everything as a crocheter), variation of square in double crochet (p 20), Afghan Tweed Stitch (p 29) (This is a tunisian stitch that I have never seen before. It looks pretty cool), etc etc. I also thought it was extremely cool that they covered hairpin lace (4 pages of info, with variations and joining techniques), flower looms (2 pages of info, with joining techniques), and broomstick lace (2 pages worth). To top it all off, the book devotes many pages to showing different techniques for embellishing with crochet (embroidering on crochet, crocheted trims, crocheted edgings, crocheted insertions, crocheting with beads, etc.)

This book is a veritable crochet explosion of technique and inspiration. I highly recommend this to 2 types of crocheters: ambitious and creative beginners and those crocheters who are more advanced in skill and think they have seen it all. If you know someone who crochets, this would make a wonderful gift.

Mrs. K. Kerr

I saw this book at my library and just to had to have one for myself!! It is my favorite reference book!! It doesn't miss much!

this book is a great reference, had originally gotten the book from the library. well had to own it... its so easy to follow the instructions and the pictures are really good too.

...a writer write about a legacy. In 1984 Tom Filsinger approached Vince McMahon and the WWF with wrestling card game idea. 24 years later, after being turned away, his creation continues to live a strong, healthy, never ending life in the form of Champions of the Galaxy. Some of the greatest televison shows in the history of the world can't make the claim to have lasted over two decades. But Tom's idea has. Less of a background on the game and it's 24 years of editions than the also remarkable 'COTG Files' the book explores more of the creativity, personal life, and mind of it's creator, Tom Filsinger.

With chapters on his early life, including being adopted, raised by a man he considers more of a father than his actual father, to the uneasy meeting one day with his biological father, the author is not shy about discussing the things that got him to where he is today.

My favorite parts of the book are the pages dedicated to the hundreds and hundreds of the Champions of the Galaxy fans and followers. Entire pages are dedicated to game fans who have created their own characters over the years, and to those who have won lottery's to create "official game cards", like Pete Fusco, Sam Luptak, Christian MacLeod, and many others, including one year where Tom allowed a collection of over 50 promoters attending the yearly Galacticon convention to work together and create a characte named Payback. To this day Payback remains a major player Champions of the Galaxy.

From meetings with the WWF, to a meeting with his biological father, to coming up with the idea for Champions of the Galaxy, to his undying love for the college profession and his students, to his family, Tom is open, humble and most of all humorous when writing and thanking all the people who have been there with him over the past forty some years.

The book is a must read for anyone who values family, friends, art, writing, gaming, wrestling and passion for creativity. Over my life, I can honestly say I've never had the pleasure to have met anyone as down to Earth and real as Tom. Reading The Dark Menace of the Universe is like sitting down in a room, talking to the man himself. Any reader will walk away truly insipred, hungry for more, and with a smile on their face.

Since the release of this book in late 2005 (only 2 years ago), Tom has since gone on to collaborate a number of projects with the famous Stan Lee of Marvel Comics. The Dark Menace of the Universe forshadowed the greatness ahead for Tom and it has since proven true. To learn from a guy so humble, so creative, so driven, and so destined for more greatness as the years go by,is nothing short of an opportunity of a lifetime.

I am from England I have been playing Tom's cards game since Nov 1989 . They are just great . Even better than today's WWE wrestling . Tom runs a wrestling cards game mainly held in the future . Wrestlers from all over the galaxy fighting out feuds and for belts . Ever wanted to be your own promoter , what fan hasn't ? . With Tom's card you can . He has now written a book about his life and how the cards started . Its interesting , funny in parts and hard to put down .

...by the flurry of five-star reviews. This is less of an examination of creativity and more of a catalog for Mr. Filsinger's game products. One should always be leary when the most compelling opinions of a book (e.g., "This book breaks all the rules.") come from the author, himself. One should be equally leary of a collection of reviews by those who have no history on Amazon and are mostly--by their own admissions--fans of Mr. Filsinger's game products.

I had this book on my "casual reading" list for several years, and finally got around to it. All I can say is that I'm thankful I didn't pay for the book, and borrowed it from a local library. The main thrust of the book seems to be a constant stream of self-celebration, punctuated by occasional finger-pointing. "My game is cutting edge. When it isn't, it's the artist's fault. My game is cutting edge. When it isn't, it's been misunderstood. My game is creative."

True, Mr. Filsinger offers a few anecdotes of his academic life (on both sides of the desk), but they ring utterly hollow--less of an attempt to bring real sentiment to the work, and more self-congratulatory nonsense, either showing the obstacles Mr. Filsinger had to overcome in order to become the creative genius he believes himself to be, or showing how his creativity permeates every aspect of his life--even those which would be boring and pedantic in the hands of a lesser mortal.

One of the other reviewers said it best: this is a good book to read if you want more information on Mr. Filsinger's futuristic wrestling game. However, if you are looking for a serious essay on creativity, look elsewhere. It's a light read, written by someone who obviously feels great passion about the subjects within the book--especially the author, himself.

I purchased the Dark Menace back when it released in July 2005. I really enjoyed this book. I usually don't read to many books that I just could not put down. Tom Filisinger's past kinda takes you back to when you were a kid playing with your friends and dreaming of creating comics or role playing from your favorite TV shows, wrestling programs or Movies. This book will inspire you not to give up on your creative passions and encourages you to never give up and persue your dreams. I would recommend it to any one.

If you have never heard of Tom Filsinger, Filsinger Games, Legends of Wrestling, or Champions of the Galaxy, this is the book for you! Mr. Filsinger, a college professor, successful entrepreneur, devoted husband, and loving father discusses and dissects the creative and artistic processes that lurk deep down inside all of us. Being a "Dark Menace" is all about expressing yourself creatively, having an independent point of view, not succumbing to groupthink or the opinion of the masses if you disagree with something, striving to be the best you can be at everything you do, and feeling good about it all at the end of the day!

Mr. Filsinger created an entire universe in the science fiction/science fantasy realm and was able to combine several of his passions including pro wrestling, comic books, films like Star Wars and Star Trek, and great literary works from the past to help him make his unique mark on the role playing and gaming industries. His original game, Champions of the Galaxy, focuses on the sport of professional wrestling as it appears centuries from now. Men from Earth compete on a universal stage against strange aliens from other planets, evil creatures from other dimensions, and historical figures from the past. His second game, Legends of Wrestling, focuses on the rich real-world history of professional wrestling and includes such wrestling Legends as the Road Warriors, "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan!!! Filsinger's games have become wildly popular and accumulated an almost cult-status among wrestling, gaming, and sci-fi fans alike. Never before has someone so gracefully crossed genres and boundaries, defying all previous precedents like Mr. Filsinger has! This book describes how he came up with his ideas, the process he used to brainstorm and create such outrageous characters, some skills that came in handy from his life as a teacher and a father, and lists some of his inspirations from certain comic books to authors and films!
The book also contains insight from such greats in the field of writing and creativity, like the father of Marvel comics Stan Lee! If you are interested in learning about the great products produced by Filsinger Games, are a fan of wrestling or science fiction/fantasy, aspire to be an author or entrepreneur, or just want a good, interesting read then this is the book for you!

I have had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Filsinger and believe the author is very passionate about his work, loyal to his fans and the followers of his games, and an overall nice and genuine person. His anecdotes are guaranteed to inspire or at the least, bring a smile. Soon after you finish this book, you will be referring to YOURSELF as a "Dark Menace"!

I have over 50 Tarot decks and this is the best symbology I have yet to see. I especially love the Death card with the pregnant mother and her having to exert some gentle force with her foot on the previous child to remind him that going back into the womb is not a possibility. It really gets to the nature of the Death card being permanent, can't go back, can only go forward change - change with or without our initiation. I love how most of the characters have more than one layer to their face - it invites you to ask, "How deep do you want to go?". The Lunatic Spread is great for getting to the meat of a matter and is an added bonus. The LWB is adequate but the real prize is the thought provoking scenarios on each of the cards. Well done!!!!!!

It's been a long time since a really great deck has come along but it's worth the wait for Patrick Valenza's, "Deviant Moon" . By that, I mean one that isn't just gimmicky like so many in the past 10 years But a deck that is so well thought out and beautifully laid out as well. It walks skillfully between the most difficult of lines: that of tradition and transition, while still remaining balanced. Having read Tarot for many years now, It is quite easy as well as delightful to do readings with this deck. Destined not only to become a collector's item but a treasure to have and to pass down to future generations. High marks all around and a big note of thanks for all of Mr. Valenza's efforts in putting this together.

I was very impressed with this product. These cards are amazing. The pictures are so crazy. They really help tell the story in my reading. I find most people are a little freaked out by the pictures, but after a while, they really get into the images. I high recommend this dack! =)

The Deviant Moon Tarot deck is easy to read, even for beginners. The cards are well-detailed. They seem very dark and urban at first glance, or even at a second, but the lightness and variations in expressions allows fuller meaning to each card. You'll want to try these cards just to see if these slightly insane pictures will add a little depth to your readings, and you'll love them if you are a tarot collector!

Well, if you're a tarot collector / lover like me, or just a reader with a sense of humor... be ready for a fun ride. This is indeed a unique deck, a piece of art, and a wonderful representation of the darker side f our nature. I just got this deck a few weeks ago and I still can't put it down. It's vibrant and full of character.
I highly recommended it.


Blessings,
www.shakticonjure.com

As much as I really love this book, I'm afraid that I could only give it five stars, since that's all Amazon allows for it.

I had this book when I was a kid of about 8 or 9, and I'm finding just as much pleasure in coloring the pages in it now as I did back then.

When I was a kid, I never cared for coloring books featuring well-known cartoon characters, or characters from children's shows like Sesame Street, Blue's Clues, or Barney. To me, those kinds of coloring books came with restrictions on how to color. Bugs Bunny is always to be colored grey. Oscar was colored green. Barney was to be colored purple. You could color other items in the pictures any color you wanted. If the character was playing with a ball, as long as the ball had no distinct features identifying it as a tool used in a specific sport (like baseball or basketball), then you could color it any way you liked.

With this coloring book, and others like it, there are no rules. You can color it any way you feel comfortable coloring it. I remember spending countless hours coloring in it, while listening to an audio cassette tape recording of a movie I liked, that I recorded from the TV. Sometimes when I look at the pages in this book, I can picture myself back to when I was 8 or 9, sitting at the little desk we had in the dining room for me, listening to the cassette tape.

A lot of the mandalas are great for coloring again and again. I may order another copy or two, just to recolor some of the mandalas I've already done. I also have a program on my computer that allows me to draw my own mandalas, and sometimes I'll turn to this coloring book, as well as the other three in the series, for inspiration or ideas.

I highly suggest getting this coloring book for anyone who still likes to color, or if you have kids who are like I was, and really don't care for coloring books featuring cartoon characters. This book is really more of a challenge to the imagination than any coloring book featuring a specific set of characters. It's an easy, yet difficult book to color. The spaces in the mandalas are big enough for children to color, with a few smaller areas that might be hard for children, yet not so for adults. The real difficulty here is deciding which color to choose.

Very few Mandalas to color for $10.00. I bought this as a gift but I would be embarrassed to give it. Way overpriced!

This book completes the series of Mandala coloring books by this author. Well worth the money spent.

I teach an alternative high school class and these designs have helped my students focus and relax at the same time. Anyone who works with troubled teens should have these at their disposal...one more item to add to your bad of tricks!

I think this will be fun to color with my granddaughter. We love to color things together, and we love designs. Thanks.

With the exception of "Royal Flash" and two of the stories in "Flashman and the Tiger", I give all the Flashman stories 5 stars. They are that great. However, for sheer twisted brilliance of plot, I rank this one up there with "Flash for Freedom". In those two books, George MacDonald Fraser puts his protagonist through the most hilarious, yet unbelievably sadistic situations you could possibly imagine, and just when you think our (anti) hero has finally escaped the jaws of death, GMF delightfully trips him up and throws him back to the wolves. This ending of this particular novel is pure genius and would alone be worth the price of the book, even if it weren't preceded by some of the greatest historical fiction and humor ever written. Who ever thought the Indian Mutiny could be so much fun?

All of the Flashman novels have a great many things to recommend them in terms of witty asides, sardonic observation, historical accuracy,and (what would now be considered PG-13 rated) erotic escapades, but this is the most engrossing and plot driven novel of an already exceptional bunch. Flashy gets into and out of a lot of bad situations throughout his campaigns and career, but this is the first novel where I felt a personal identification with our spineless "hero" and the lengths he would go through just to come out alive on the other side of the tunnel.

'Flashman in the Great Game' takes our man Flash to India just as the Great Mutiny (aka Sepoy Rebellion) was about to get under way in 1857. Flashman soon goes to ground to hide from the arch-fiend Ignatieff. The readers gets something of an insider's view of the rebellion, albeit through Harry Flashman's eyes. Harry finds himself in an unsual number of tight spots and even falls in love, well, as much as Harry can do.

Fraser is really in top form here. I've read about half the Flashman books and this one is topped only by the original.

Highest recommendation.

Flashman novels so uniformly entertain that it's hard to single one out as the best. But the unremitting action and focused detail of "Flashman in the Great Game", set in India during the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, might qualify it. American readers may know as little about this as they do about the Crimean War, the subject of Flashman's immediately prior adventure. But there is no better way to fill in our gaps of understanding about the British Age of Empire, than to accompany Flashman on his escapades.

Unwilling as always, Flashman is sent to India by Lord Palmerston as a secret emissary to the troublesome Queen Lakshmibai of Jhansi. Flashman is mesmerized by the beautiful and powerful queen, one of the most memorable of Flashman babes, but an assassination attempt sends him into hiding. Disguising himself as a tribesman he enlists in the colonial army, where troops are tense with rumors that they will be given taboo rifle cartridges. They revolt with horrifying violence against British cut off in remote areas with small garrisons. Flashman repeatedly escapes from a frying pan only to find himself in a hotter part of the fire. He witnesses events as synonymous with "atrocity" to the British public of the 19th century as September 11 or Beslan are to us today. Flashman escapes one incident more harrowing than the next. He never loses hope that soon he'll be able to lay low and shirk the rest of his mission, but his hopes are repeatedly dashed until he suddenly finds himself back before the intoxicating Lakshmibai, wondering, with his life on the line, if in fact she actually loves him.

Scrupulously showing colonialism's warts, Fraser depicts brutal British reprisals and suggests with postmodern egalitarianism that each side's violence somehow offsets the other. But in my old-fashioned, post-9/11 opinion the savagery provoking those reprisals was far greater, with barbaric atrocities committed against women, children, surrendering soldiers and the like. Executing a rebel is not the same as hacking a child up with a sabre.

Throughout the Flashman series our antihero's cowardly and bigoted selfishness provide black humor in all manner of grim situations, yet the gravity of the Mutiny necessarily mutes that side of Fraser's writing. The unrelenting violence of this episode limit even Flashman's capacity to be a jerk; he is forced, more often than usual and despite his best intentions, to be noble. As Fraser recreates the Raj in all its glory and inequity, we sense the surreal quality of a few English soldiers controlling a subcontinent with hundreds of millions of residents, and what happens when the resulting powder keg explodes.

Midway through his memoirs of the Indian Mutiny of 1857, Harry Flashman ruminates: What beats me is the way people take it to heart -- what do they expect in war? It ain't conducted by missionaries, or chaps in Liberal clubs, snug and secure. But what amuses me most is the fashionable way views change -- why, for years after Cawnpore, any vengeance wreaked on an Indian, mutineer or not, was regarded as just vengeance. Now it's t'other way round, with eminent writers crying shame, and saying nothing justified such terrible retribution as Neill took, and we were far guiltier than the n-gg-rs has been. Why? Because we were Christians, and supposed to know better? -- and because England contains this great crowd of noisy know-alls that are forever defending our enemies' behaviour and crying out in pious horror against our own. Why our sins are always so much blacker, I can't fathom...

Sound familiar? It's exactly the sort of rant that we hear every day in reference to Iraq, and that coming from a sputtering red-faced right-winger makes me gnash my teeth. But wait? How are we to take this, coming from Flashman, by his own account the most selfish, self-centered, self-justifying scoundrel in British annals? And then, although we tend to forget, Flashman is a made-up character, a figment of his author's whimsy. Can it possibly be that Flashman's cynicism and racism express George MacDonald Fraser's own thoughts?

Flashman is the ultimate in "undependable narrators" of his own life, precisely because he maintains such a mask of candor. Is his self-mockery sincere, or another of his many poses? Was he really such a craven coward, or is he pulling our legs in some cantakerous old man's jesting? If he was really as indifferent to the suffering of others, so narcissistically lacking in empathy, then why did he suddenly choose to liberate the unknown mutineers, at the end of the book, telling them to scurry home and not get caught again? Is Flashman lying about his lies?

It's a tribute to Fraser's art that I ponder the true nature of his fantasy poltroon. This book, the fifth in the narrative, portrays the Flash as a far deeper psychological enigma than the earlier volumes, in which he was merely a comic blaggart. It's in this book that Fraser truly hits his stride as a descriptive writer, also. The depiction of mayhem and slaughter is vivid to the point of horror. Whatever the overlap between the author and his creature, this ranks as one of the most powerful anti-war novels I've ever read. Human nature is senseless slaughter, and those who release it, from whatever motives, are guilty of hellish crimes.

Harry's erotic adventures in The Great Game are less bawdy, less laughable, than in previous volumes. His tryst with the Rani of Jhansi is almost a perfumed love affair. In that way, I suppose some readers might be disappointed. Fraser's humor is spotted more stingily in this tale, also. What humor there is is rippingly funny, but the ghastliness of the Mutiny overshadows it. I have to take sides here, and declare my faith that Fraser fully intended this book as a resounding condemnation of the British Empire and its ravaging of Indian humanity. I hope I'm right. I'd hate to enjoy his writing so much if Fraser meant what Flashman says.

The product was great and Woody's book store communicated great through email about the purchase and ordering information. The only thing is the number of days that it took to ship was confusing; I thought it would get to me sooner, but what the number of days meant was when it would be shipped as opposed to it arriving to me.

This is a great book. Inspiring, entertaining, hilarious, and real. Mark doesn't pull any punches in this. It is not a self-pity book nor does it try to lecture the reader. It is a real account of someone who is very inspiring, yet doesn't pretend to be what he isn't.

Once I started reading this I couldn't put it down. Awesome!!!

Mark Zupan makes you think about what you have, not what you do not have.

He may be in a chair, but he is not handicap. Mark Zupan speak frankly and openly about his life before and after. He does not blame anyone for his injury.

Make you think you life is O.K. and despite what happens you can survive and go on.

Life is not so bad.

Sometimes, people who have been "handicapped" in some manner end up withdrawing into themselves. A few of them are downright miserable. Mad at the world for being stuck in the situation they're in... the best they can hope for (because they're depressing to be around) is to have people feel sorry for them.

Mark Zupan (who, hopefully, you know from the astoundingly-good, and deserved-to-win-the-Oscar documentary, MURDERBALL), is NOT one of those people. He doesn't WANT anyone to feel sorry for him. (In fact, he doesn't even want to be seen as a "role model," or an "inspiration," though [sorry Mark!], to a lot of people, he is.)

Mark was an athletic, fun-loving 18-year-old, having a blast in South Florida when everything he knew changed in an instant. Sleeping off a night of heavy partying in the back of his buddy Chris Igoe's parked pickup, he had no clue when his friend got in and (also drunk) drove off. Not too long thereafter, Igoe swerved off the road and Mark ended up flying out of the truck-bed, over a fence, and into some dense foliage overhanging a small lake. (Igoe had no idea Mark was in the truck bed, so when the police came, they never looked for him.)

Mark regained consciousness, only to find himself unable to move (he didn't know it yet, but he was paralyzed from the neck down), hanging upside-down from a branch with his nose just inches from the water... and getting closer by the moment. He hung there for 14 hours, before a workman heard him yelling for help.

And that's just the START of the story!

In the years that followed, he has not only become one of the star players of the sport known as Quad Rugby (a.k.a. Murderball), his attitude about his "situation" (whether he likes it or not!) has helped untold numbers of others* to better cope with their own situations.


* I know of what I speak. My young and lovely wife has been in a wheelchair for several years due to Multiple Sclerosis. After seeing the movie MURDERBALL --and *especially* after meeting Zupan at a tournament, her attitude went from "good" to fantastic. She's no longer "the girl in the wheelchair." She's simply my wife, who's fun to be around, and who's interested in doing the things she CAN do, rather than fretting about the things she can't.

-Jonathan Sabin

A fast paced, gritty look into an Athlete's brush with death and the long road to recovery. If you are looking for the next inspiration for a cheesy After School Special on overcoming adversity...don't read this book. If you are looking for a well written, insightful look into how one guy copes with tragedy and disability, then this is an excellent read. To say Gimp has texture is an understatement thanks to its subject, Mark Zupan, a quadriplegic athlete who was made famous by the documentary Murder Ball. Gimp details how this proud, perhaps arrogant athlete dealt with a tragic accident that cost him the full use of his limbs thanks to drunken night that resulted in a brush with death and a debilitating spinal cord injury.

Gimp does not spare us the details that are often left out of such stories including the uglier side of human emotion. The books subject faces Zupan's denial, doubt, guilt, fear, despair and loss as a result of his tragedy. While he ultimately comes to terms with his injury and recovery, it is not without some serious setbacks, some self inflicted. It is this part of writer Timothy Swanson's writing that really sets Gimp apart. He does not spare Zupan some hard looks into his darker nature to include arrogance, self indulgence and outright self destructiveness at times. If there is a villain in the book, it is Zupan himself and his own feelings of despair and anger. It is Swanson's description of Zupan's struggle with his own dark feelings and fears that give the story its power.

The book is not without its own sense of humor and offers a dark amusement that Zupan has for the hand life has dealt him. Gimp deftly shows Zupan's outlook on life which is headstrong and confident but not without his fair share of hidden frailty in the face of a near death experience. In fact, the description of the actual accident that describes Zupan clinging to life, literally perhaps, is the book's strongest section. I have many friends who suffer from war wounds, especially brain injuries from IED's or "danger close" air strikes and I can say from personal experience that Gimp does an excellent job at looking at how proud warriors (in Gimp's case a world class athlete), deal with injury and recovery. I recommend this book without reservation to certainly anyone who knows someone who suffers from a disability or who has seen the documentary Murder Ball. The book has broader appeal to fans of sports writing as well since the book leaves no doubt that Zupan is an athlete. The fact that it is an easy read and has a brisk pace is no small feat given that other works of this genre tend to drag on, lack direction and are often burdened with sappy and clichéd, touchy-feely housewife book club nonsense. Zupan's force of will as described by Swanson carries the book along as does the suspense of how he will cope with each stage of his recovery and his entrance into the world of quad rugby aka Murder Ball. I thought it was a great read and recommend it without reservation.