Games Books

I bought this book for my 3.5 year old as a party favor - and she LOVES it! There is a little plastic magnifying lens tucked into the front cover in a little pocket. Once we showed her how to take it out and look for Waldo, she does it over and over again. She walks around the house with her book, finds a nice spot to sit, takes out her magnifier, looks for Waldo, then once she finds him she finds another spot to sit in and does it all over again. It's really cute!

The pictures in the book are pretty tiny though, so it's a real challenge to find Waldo. It looks like they shrunk the images from the original version so they could fit them into the small book. I'm 36 (i.e. my eyes are not that bad) and I needed to use the magnifying glass in a bright room to find Waldo! The only downside to this book is if you misplace the magnifier, it's not as fun to find Waldo, but hopefully that won't happen to you.

As all you Where's Waldo fans may know. there were only a very few of these books ever made. I for one just loved them all as a young reader. Now, years later and by shear luck, my son was given two of those old books....which he fell in love with and only wished for more. A few months later, I was again lucky and found two more in a local book store and purchased those. Leaving only two remaining....now collectors items.....these were practicly impossible to fine. After searching (what seemed like) endlessly, one day I decided to check out Amazon. To my surprise....There They Were! And at a price that I couldn't believe! And only 10 days before Christmas! I immediately made placed the order and within just a few days (less than a week at normal shipping), there they were on my doorstep. I couldn't believe it! We finally had the complete series of Wheres Waldo Books! And both books were in prefect print condition!
Thanks Amazon! And another big Thanks for helping make a little boys Christmas great!
Next time, I`ll check Amazon first!

I purchased this for my five year old for Christmas. Before I could get it wrapped I was looking for Waldo! This is a great family book and really generates a lot of excitement for any age.

I couldn't keep this book. My son lost this book from the library. Looked for this book everywhere and finally found it at Amazon! Thanks Amazon! The book was really inexpensive too!

My four-year-old son loves Waldo, and we've had a lot of fun looking through this book EVERY night since he got it. It's his favorite book. There's so much to look for, more than just Waldo and his stuff -- there's Wenda, Wizard Whitebeard, Odlaw, Woof and all their props, as well as 25 Waldo Watchers scattered throughout the book. From an adult perspective, the postcards aren't as much fun to read out loud, but overall I love sharing the book with my children.

This novel is a must read! It had me hooked from page one. The genre is not something I would normally read; however, the historical nature of the plot made the book impossible to put down. I love how Lacombe had a female in the key role of Agent Apple, and I was fascinated by the way the author wove the plot and incorporated twists. I've already read this book twice and eagerly await his next novel.

I was mid-semester in a rigorous and reading-intensive grad program when I got Lacombe's debut novel. Tired and overwhelmed with too much reading and writing to do, I thought I'd read a couple pages of Winter Games as a break before getting back to the grind. I read until I fell asleep at 5am and finished it as soon as I woke up the next morning. Lacombe does a fantastic job of building and maintaining suspense; each page and chapter is fulfilling, yet simultaneously makes one crave more. Further, Lacombe successfully developed his characters across the novel to the point that I was deeply moved by the concluding dialog between Tim and his dad. This is an excellent novel that is truly a pleasure to read and I eagerly anticipate a sequel.....although I'll need to clear out my schedule in advance so that I can devote all my time to it guilt-free!

Winter Games kept me guessing all the way! I loved the interaction between all of the characters and enjoyed the military aspects of the book. Lacombe puts you in the middle of the action, and I found myself hiding from family members so I could read this book. How did the author ever come up with "Haihu?'' All of his descriptions are filled with rich detail and his imagination rocks! I LOVED this book.

Winter Games is lively, fast moving, sheer entertainment, with some hilarious dialogue--especially in the character Leon. I'd definitely like to see Leon make an appearance in the sequel, as some kind of unsung hero. I like the way Lacombe revisits scenes from the viewpoint of different characters, although I had to reread a couple of chapters to understand the plot twists. The author kept me guessing throughout. This is an excellent first novel.

A fabulous find! As I read this book, I kept thinking that I knew what would happen next, only to see the story take so many unexpected and surprising twists and turns... and a great ending! It was a page-turner for me, and I took great pleasure in reading it. Definitely one I am sharing with my friends!

When the Worlds Series of Poker started, the best poker player was chosen by a vote! Tidbits such as this make this an essential guide to the history of the burgeoning event. A lack of hand records makes some of the reconstruction of questionable reliability, however.

There is very little analysis of the hands, although the match-turning decisions are recounted well enough. There are insightful bios into some of the players, including Stu Ungar, who had won three tournaments during the time the increasing size made this an incredible feat. Recommended for those with an historical interest in the event and the growth of the popularity of poker.

I have always been interested in seeing a behind the scenes look at a professional "wiseguy" sports betting group. Michael Konik, a top gambling writer, excuse me, a top writer...period, has done a tremendous job of showing exactly how a big-time, big-money betting team operates. Konik shows how they bet into the Vegas casino sportsbooks and later with the large offshore bookmakers. How did he write this excellent book? He was recruited and became a member of a wiseguy group and later formed his own group. I pretty much knew how these outfits operated but did not know who did their actual handicapping, and how. Now I do know. Great job, Mike.

Anyone who has an interest in not just the World Series but poker in general will enjoy this book. All In provides a thorough and detailed history of the World Series of Poker and the fascinating characters involved.

This is a nice, though incomplete history of the World Series of Poker. What's ther is well written and engaging. It is an interesting read but is far from comprehensive.

I didn't really expect much coverage of the secondary tournaments, but I did expect a more complete coverage of the main event. With a lttle more this would be well deserving of 5 Stars. As it sits, it is more like 3.5-4.

Nope. There are no discussions of how to play poker here. But whether or not you play poker you will enjoy this book. As the title says, it's (almost) the entirely true story of how the WSOP got started, the bumps along the way, and of course, the characters involved. It takes you from the humble beginnings to the behemuth that it is today.

And such stories...like the 1972 WSOP had 13 entrants, but only 8 of them played because they would rather play in the lucrative sides games than the WSOP. 1972 is also the year that Benny Binion made it a $10,000 buy-in...but paid half of it for the players who entered.

You'll watch the rise of the Binion family only to see it implode along the lines of a "Dallas" script. You'll read where a tournament director was fired because he refused to move old grumpy Johnny Moss who didn't want to sit by the railbirds during the tournament. Stories of great poker players like Jack Strauss, Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim and others fill this book. Read how Jessie Alto, who made the final table 6 times, went on a full tilt after he was bluffed out of a pot.

It's a fast read and I definitely recommned it to anyone who has a passing interest in poker.

At cocktail parties and other social gatherings, I invariably delighted friends and colleagues with my vast knowledge of politics, religion, literature and the folkways of certain pre-Hispanic cultures of Central America. But I was always rendered mute on one topic: video games.

That's why I recently picked up Josh Jenisch's splendid new work, The Art of the Video Game. Jenisch's colorful exploration of this exciting and still-emerging art form filled a yawning void in my understanding of popular culture -- and his book has found a place of honor on my bookshelves.

First of all, this book is visually stunning. And the concept of video games as art is truly compelling. The author knows his stuff. This makes for a great read/look -- I highly recommend it for gamers and creative-types alike.

This book is as well crafted as the video games it reveals as artfully constructed masterpieces. The author's presentation of his subject will no doubt affirm what gamers already feel and experience, but also offer a fresh and exiting perspective on how that experience is created and delivered. In addition non-gamers will enjoy and learn from the author's vibrant presentation of his fascinating subject in much the same way we enjoy the DVD extras and featurettes for a Peter Jackson, George Lucas or Stephen Speilberg film. I highly recommend it.

A friend just gave this book to me for my birthday. She assumed, I guess, that because I'm a guy, a product of the '80s and wear glasses I must also be obsessed with video games. This could not be further from the truth actually - but I didn't have the heart to tell her. So, the book sat on my kitchen table for a couple of days until yesterday when I finally cracked it open with my morning OJ and let me say... Wow. Not only is the artwork, the time and the skill that goes into these things dumfounding, it's also down-right beautiful. Have I been inspired to cash in my 401k and dump the money into a Wii and a bunch of games... no, but I can say this book will remain on my bookshelf and not end up the Secret Santa gift I thought it would.

I bought this book for my brother the day it came out. He's in the video game industry, so I figured he'd enjoy it (and he does!) Naturally, I gave it a quick look to see what it was all about, and I ended up wanting it for myself. I found the book to be completely fascinating, and really enjoyed seeing the from-conception-to-completion process. This is an art book trapped in a video game book's body, and I mean that in the best way possible. I also appreciate how Mr Jenisch (I hope I'm saying that correctly) makes this an accessible and fun read for people like me who have no vested interest in video games.
A Must Read for anyone who's interested in how stuff happens

I purchased this book when my child was six months old. He loved looking at the faces. I would act out the faces too as we went through the book. My son is now three and we occasionally look through the book. He still enjoys seeing the "happy" baby and the "messy" baby.

Our baby loves staring at the pictures of other babies in this book, even though he is just barely 4 months old. He loves reaching out to try and touch them. I think as he gets older, he'll really enjoy learning about the different emotions shown. I like how the book is tabbed so you can easily go to your baby's favorite page.

My 9-month-old son loves looking at this book and having me talk about the pictures.

It is a very nice and colorful book, my baby loves it! She gets so excited when she sees the babies and their expressions. I would recommend this book for the little ones :)

My son LOVES this book. When he was very little he loved to look at the faces and now he has memorized the the emotion on each page. It's so cute to hear him "read" the book, going through saying, "Happy Baby, Angry Baby," etc. His favorite is Messy Baby!

The projects are wonderfully oversized and adventurous. I'd like to remove the word messy, because all art is a bit messy, and this one is really ADVENTUROUS more than messy. It's fantastic art fun! The kids I work with beg me for projects from this book, and are delighted when I join in the fun. Highly recommended. I believe the publisher's website has free projects from this book for your viewing as does the author's website.

THIS BOOK IS A FOR-SURE WINNER. IT ENABLES THE KIDS TO HAVE FUN AND GET DIRTY AT THE SAME TIME. I AM NO LONGER AFRAID FOR MY CHILDREN TO GET DIRTY! IT'S CLEAN UP IS EASY TOO. IT'S AN ULTIMATE GUIDE FOR FUN.

This book is my kids' favorite! Everything is either very LARGE and exciting, or SILLY and exciting, or ADVENTUROUS and exciting, or extremely INTERESTING and exciting. Don't buy this if you want your child to sit in a corner with crayons for the rest of her/his life and never look beyond the expected. This is for the kids that will challenge their imaginations and explore art from a new view, building who they will be as adults.

This book has been out in the hands of good teachers/parents/child care folks/kids for awhile now, but I've found that it is new to many kids who are just discovering it. One little guy I worked with recently as a visiting author to his school told me: "I didn't know a tennis ball could be so interesting, did you?" He was referring to painting with tennis balls. Our group tried several approches with painty tennis balls....rolling them around in a wading pool covered with paper, tossing them at a wall of paper outdoors, holding and pressing on paper, bouncing on paper on the floor, and a few other ideas that kids thought up that are NOT in the book, but should have been. Read on: The little guy who told me tennis balls are interesting had thought up a idea where he rolled the ball deliberately through paint and then along the border of large paper. Within the border, he made dot-prints with different colors of paint. When it was dry, he outlined each dot with a black marker. The result was a huge bubbly design painting. I was impressed with his process, and the resulting painting was delightful and all his own! I love when my books give kids a boost to be their own artists and live in their own creativity. What a great day spending time with kid-artists. Someday I'll collect all their unique ideas and write a new book called "Kids Are More Artistic Than I Am!" Keep having fun with kids, from your friend, MaryAnn Please visit my website for free art ideas: www.brightring.com.

I am a special education teacher and I am always looking for new ideas to enhance my sensory awareness program. This book has some awesome ideas and I can't wait to start using them this year.

Some background on me:
I have a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science. I'm also a professional software engineer in the video game industry.
In my education, I had a few classes on electronics/digital circuits and I loved it. I started doing my own circuits outside of class and buying digital ICs to add to my toolkit. Over the years, I'd lost touch with that side of myself and the joy that it gave me. Then I found this book, "The Black Art of Video Game Console Design".

This book is basically an abridged EE (Electrical Engineering) degree with a focus on video game consoles! And the kicker is that you're being instructed by one of the most "readable" authors around. By "readable", I mean that the author has a way of teaching you things as if it was your friend, sitting next to you, turning complicated subjects into an easy-to-understand, entertaining, data stream. The information is clear and the tone is upbeat and occasionally humourous.

As I read through the book, I was hitting everything that I learned in months and months in the classroom, but without all the fuss and only the relevant information. Resistors, capacitors, diodes, truth tables, timing diagrams, etc, it's all there. Then, the author jumped into complicated areas such as joysticks, sound, microprocessors, assembly language, the NTSC (standard TV) video signal (just to name a few). Finally, there we were at the pinnacle of the mountain, the culmination of all our learning, and here's where the real "Black Art" of the book kicks in, the full process of designing a video game console.

In today's hardware driven world, this book should be on every game programmer's shelf, whether they're a hobbyist or a seasoned veteran.

Andre LaMothe is an amazing guy, no question about it. He tends to write huge books, and the amount of material he fits into them is superlative. He's obviously got a passion for what he does, and that passion is certainly revealed in his writing style. He's a guy who never lost that simple love of video games.

Perhaps it's his sheer enthusiasm that makes him seem to sometimes write too quickly. A few minutes spent with The Black Art Of Video Game Console Design brings this tendency to light: I don't know how long it took to write this book, but I imagine the author was under some pressure to get it finished before some kind of deadline, because there are the typical signs of a book that didn't get properly edited. There are occasional typos and punctuation glitches, but more worrisome is the potential for factual errors. For example, an early and very glaring inaccuracy is the claim on page 66 that most electronics solder is 60% tin and 40% flux. In reality, typical solder is 60% tin and 40% *LEAD*, not flux; the flux burns and evaporates away from the solder once the solder has been melted. Yeah, it's a small detail, but any technical editor should have caught that one a mile away.

On a larger scale, however, LaMothe's enthusiasm propels the book forward at a speed not typically seen in how-to books. Comprising almost a thousand pages, this is already a pretty massive book, but the amount of material LaMothe crams into that space is remarkable. The first few chapters are something you have to see to believe, each chapter condensing basically an entire college electronics class' worth of material into around 50 pages. While this means that, in a sense, the book is a good value because it provides a lot of material, this compression obviously comes at a price: Some concepts were just not meant to be explained in a single paragraph, and the book falters multiple times trying to explain something as quickly as possible when the concept would really have benefited from some elaboration.

The result is a book that often makes me wonder what audience would most benefit from it. The first few chapters are all about electronics, and are written on a level that would benefit someone with literally no background in electronics at all. However, the focus of the book is on console design, not EE, and there are better books out there for the person who just wants to learn electronics. This, combined with the fact that you really can't (and probably shouldn't try) to learn the entire field of electronics in one night, leads me to believe that anyone approaching this book should probably have some thorough grounding in electronics technology before you actually start reading the book. Once you get past the first half and into the really game-focused material, the book comes into its own, but a majority of the material here would be better read elsewhere.

So ultimately, this is a book with a HUGE amount of material that you can learn a lot from, and if you really want to buy just one book, it's hard to find a better value than this. But if you want a truly broad-based education in electronics, you'll need to do some heavy supplementing with other books before you can get the most benefit out of this one.

I am always amazed how one person can know so much, learn new things and write <<2 000>> page book--and still produce accurate information that any hobbiest can pickup, without burning out! I wonder if Lamothe's next book is going to top his last? This one, just like Tricks 3D, is not for the faintheart but for the passionate individual that wants to learn how things are done in this world.

I'm in school for Electronics and I am shocked at how much information is packed into a single chapter. I think I learned more reading half of this book than in a year of schooling (as far as practical matters go). I have much to say but I should ramble no more... just buy it man! You won't be disapointed.

At least a book about the most obscure aspect of game programming: hardware designed to play.
This book gives a unique glimpse to the stuff needed to build your own game machine, the decissions you need to made, why to take certain paths in your designs and so on... even it gives you a very good primer on electronics and semiconductors.
Given the great number of Atari homebrewers out there, this book arrives just in time to create a whole new scene... a scene in which not only you will make your own games.. but the very machine they run on!
Definitely, a must have.

I am not going to give a quick rundown of this book, many others have already done that in the reviews. I want to tell you what the book can enable you to do. I was a hardware hacker back in the day when WOZ was hackin the Apple II. I hacked my way into being a programmer and sold my soul to business software.

I wanted to return to my roots and be able to do what the WOZ did with the Apple 1. After surfing the net I came across this book and the XGameStation. With it I have learnt the basic electronics needed to produce a gaming system. I have in fact built my very own video game console and am now programming PacMan for it.

This was all made possible by the information in this book. If the book didn't have it, it told me what to look up with regards to other IC's timings speed etc. Thus providing the Keys for me to unlock those doors that remained hidden until now.

Simply put this book is truly the 'Keys to the Kingdom' of video Game Console Design. I can say that because I have made my own Game Console and I know it to be true.I completely taught myself and I am not an EE student but just a hacker/hobbiest. I highly recomend this book for any beginner or EE student/hacker interested in designing their own Video Game Console.

If your new to electronics Andre' gives you crystal clear basic teaching for you in this book so don't be afraid and have some fun.

Mike

I seldom reread a book; this book I have read twice and bought three copies to give away. I will read it again; the writing is so funny, so dazzling. The characters are so real, their stories so poignant. Jewish readers will especially love this book; we know these people though we have never met. I fell in love with Bummy Davis and when he died, I felt a loss. My gangster imagination loved reading about all the mob characters, though I am not a fan of violence or boxing for that matter. I read this book as my husband lay dying of cancer; it kept me uplifted during this difficult time. I loved that it was long and hated that it had to end. This is such a special book, and I haven't even mentioned the awesome research it must have taken to write it.

The authur Ron Ross is at his best. I could not stop reading amd I recommended the book to all my sons.I lived in East New york during those days.Fascinating.
Harry Keller

This book is a very satisfying trip down boxing's memory lane. Ron Ross resurrects here the color and drama of a very fascinating, tough NY prizefighter with a heart of gold--Bummy. Ross gives us in this welcomed work, devoted research, clearly a labor of love, and fine writing. Clearly, I see this book being optioned in Hollywood. Boxing translates to the screen in a big way and I see this book making a million bucks for some talented film maker.

Fantastic account of the life and career of Al 'Bummy' Davis, during the time of Mob rule in New York. Fascinating look into the ways and troubles of immigrant communities and their exploitation by gangsters.

Whether you are looking for a boxing or mafia book, this will do the job.

For anyone who loves a good story, written with wit, humor, and style, this book is for you. I couldn't put it down, and found something to chuckle about or a phrase to admire or an ironic comment I loved at least once on each page. I finished the book today (March 29, 2007)and did something I never did before (and I am 80 year's old). I noted from the book jacket that the author divides his time between Oceanside, LI and Boca Raton, Fl, and even though it is 4 years since the book was written and the author's name is a relatively common one, I called information for his Boca Raton number and took a chance that it was the right Ron Ross. I left a message that if this Ron Ross was an author, would he please call me, and I left my number. A few hours later I received a call from Mr. Ross and we had a delightful conversation for 10 minutes or so. For me to have taken the time to locate Mr. Ross and call him is an example that actions speak louder than words. Believe my action and go out and buy, read, enjoy, and love the book. It's cheap enough, and you'll thank me, and more so, will thank Ron Ross.

Ed Gold

This is a fun search & find book with a Christmas theme. My niece, nephew and teenage sons all had fun looking for the hidden items. Some items are simple to find and others extremely difficult.

If you like I Spy books and looking for things this book is great. The pictures are very imaginative. I really enjoyed it. Great for children and adults. Wonderful for Christmas fun.

Excellent for spotting the finer things in pictures. My 7 year old loves to look at these books over and over again.

Walter Wick books are a favorite of my 5-year old, and this one is a favorite of mine. The photos are absolutely beautiful and full of Christmas spirit. Although kids love the repetition of finding the same things over and over in hidden picture books, adults can get tired of it fast enough. But the photos in this book hold your attention like a coffee-table art book, making it a pleasure to find five Santas in the Gingerbread house for the umpteenth time.

I have the entire series of "Can You See What I See?" and my son at 4 1/2 really enjoys these. I bought his first book when he was about three. It has helped his visual skills so much that he can find some of the objects faster than I can.

I had never coached before and was placed in the position of coaching my son's first grade basketball team at a local league. I was nervous not knowing what to do about coaching, not having ever taught or coached 5 or 6 year old boys. The book was extremely helpful in breaking down the fundamentals of basketball and helping with drills and basic concepts of basketball. Although we have only had about 5 practices so far, it's gone very smoothly because of the tips in this book. I highly recommend getting it to help set a basic foundation for new parent coaches who have no clue on what to do.

The only area that may need help is what to teach kids regarding basic offensive strategy. But that will develop with age.

Covers basketball fundamentals and team coaching. Many great drills. Best suited for the younger teams - but a wonderful starting place for coaching youth basketball.

It was my first time coaching basketball. I coached 1st graders. I coached because nobody else volunteered to do it. With that in mind this book was perfect. It has all the basics you need to understand the game and it provides planned practices according to players age.
If you are ever in my situation with little knowledge of the game and forced to coach a kids team, I highly recommend this book.

I was asked to coach my son's basketball team and I didn't know much about basketball. This book got me quickly started with the key fundamentals.

I bought 4 basketball coaching books for my husband when he signed up to coach our son's Kindergarten basketball team. He has never coached basketball before. This is the only book he wanted to keep. He uses it to come up with basic drills and general coaching tips. It's good. If you buy only one, I'd recommend this one.