Games Books

This was a fantastic resource. I have never really played video games until my wife bought me this Xbox 360. I didn't know all the ins and outs so I bought this book. It has been truly helpful in finding the many things i can do, plus it has some valuable web links for some extra stuff that really works.

I love this book -- everything is well explained. It also explains the concepts in an easy to understand style for parents who are not too game savvy.

Only problem though is that the book is too US centric -- the Xbox 360 is sold all over the world with slightly different specifications, and this book just ignores everything except the US Xbox 360.

Not a bad book, although it is more written for someone with little to know computer/gaming experience.

If you want to know your Xbox 360 really well then this books for you, it covers everything about the system and the hardware that can be added later on. The book even covers Xbox Live and also some games. you will not be sorry if you purchase this book, it is a perfect addition to anyones home library.

Hi... I'm not a gamer, but I have one in my household. I can't tell you how many game consoles we've purchased over the last 20 years, but I don't think we've missed very many. I'm a bit surprised I haven't gotten the hard-sell from "da kid" on getting an Xbox 360 yet. But after reading Xbox 360 for Dummies by Brian Johnson and Duncan Mackenzie, I'm somewhat tempted to get one anyway for myself... :)

Contents:
Part 1 - Xbox 360 Out of the Box: Meet the Xbox 360; Setting Up Your Xbox 360
Part 2 - The Xbox 360 Blades: Dealing with the Dashboard; The Live Blade; The Media Blade; The System Blade; The Games Blade
Part 3 - Xbox 360 in Your Entertainment System: HDTV, EDTV, Plain Old TV; Getting the Best Audio Experience; Customizing Your Console
Part 4 - Pushing the Outer Limits: Parental Control; LAN Parties; Windows Media Center Extender
Part 5 - The Part of Tens: Ten Great Web Sites; More Than Ten Great Games; Ten Tips for Parents; Ten Ways to Make Friends; Ten Great Accessories; Original Xbox Games; Index

Xbox has definitely crossed the line from being a gaming console with extra features to being a multimedia computer that happens to play games really well. Johnson and Mackenzie do a very good job of covering and demonstrating all the features of the Xbox 360, how it all meshes together, and how to get the most out of the platform. This includes everything from, of course, playing games, to making the device the central point of a multimedia setup for your home. The Xbox 360 integrates with Windows Media Center, so you can use it to watch TV, record shows, play music, etc. In fact, it's very possible to buy an Xbox 360 and never even play a game on it. :) Add in network connectivity, and now you can reach out to others as part of Xbox Live. The capabilities are truly impressive, and this book is an excellent way to delve into those areas that you may not have yet uncovered.

Granted, most 12 year olds will probably have most of this figured out an hour after opening the box, all without reading the directions. Yes, and my DVD player still flashes 12:00. At least it's not a VCR any more. But a book like this will appeal to those of us who are interested in the latest and greatest, but want a little structure and guidance added to our exploration.

Now to keep this book out of my kid's hands...

My son and I borrowed both this reissue with new illustrations and the original (Bundle Book) from the library; I came to Amazon to shop for both editions. The original is has a very vintage feel -- the illustrations are two-color and sketchy, the mother wears a 3/4-sleeve sweater, the verbal constructions are a bit dated ("I think I'm sure I don't need Humpty Dumpty"). The text is the same in the newer edition also, but the illustrations are new. In both editions, the illustrations convey the strong bond between the mother and the child (the gender of the child is unclear).

The biggest difference is in the content of the illustrations -- the older edition concentrates on mother/child relationship, illustrating the mother and her blanketed child (my 2-year old son loves to imitate the mother's poses as she ponders what might be under that blanket). The loving illustrations of mother and child in the newer edition are really lovely, but I don't much care for the fantasy illustrations interspersed (monkeys, bundles of carrots, Humpty Dumpty, etc.) -- yes, they illustrate the text, but to my mind, they are distractions from the game that the mother and child are playing and don't advance the story. (A petty quibble -- I couldn't figure out why the mother, who was in a bathrobe, is wearing earings.)

If you can find a copy of the earlier edition, take a look!

I have been reading this book to my lil girl since she was 10 months, she loves it! At the end, when the lil girl pops up from the blanket, my little girl smiles every time! LOVE IT, there needs to me more mother/daughter books like these!

One morning a mother sees a strange bundle under the blankets on her bed. As she wonders aloud what it might be--a monkey? A bundle of carrots? Or Humpty-Dumpty?--the bundle proclaims "No, no, no, no, NO!" until finally it reveals itself: "It's ME!" cries the tousle-headed little toddler.

If you're a baby boomer, you might remember this book from your childhood. It was originally published in 1951 under the title "The Bundle Book." Here it is updated with a new title and brand new illustrations.

Purists, who flinch every time they see remakes of Disney classics like "The Absent-Minded Professor" and "The Parent Trap," will no doubt cringe when they hear that old books are being redone with new pictures. But, as nice as the original pale chalk and charcoal drawings were, they were not irreplaceable illustrations along the lines of Garth Williams' pencil sketches that accompany the "Little House" books. The story doesn't suffer at all, and the updated look just means a new generation of children will be exposed to a tender little story.

Noonan has illustrated the new book beautifully. The cover alone, a touching portrait of mother and child, makes this book stand out from others on the shelf. The rich pastel colors are as warm and inviting as the chenille bedspread under which the child hides.

I think this would make a nice gift for a new mother on Mother's Day and will be a book that toddlers want read over and over again.

My 20 month old son has a very eclectic taste in the books he enjoys. I was surprised when he pulled this off of his book shelf amidst many other books. It is now the favorite book and we read it over and over and over again. The text is simple; the illustrations are realistic yet warm; and, we never grow tired of discussing the illustrations on each page. I think he enjoys it because of the above reasons, and because it is predictable, yet the "surprise" ending never becomes boring. This book is truly a "find."

A lovely story of a toddler girl hiding under a blanket and playing a game of "what is under the blanket"? Mother makes many guesses as to what it can be and each response is "I don't need (the item)". At the end the girl pops out and declares the lump was "me" and then mother states that is just what she needed. This is very cute and shows love and typical interaction between a loving mother and adoring daughter. I have the board book version and I am sure it will get much repeated use. The theme of love between parent and child is not seen often enough in children's books and I am glad to see it in this book. Often books focus on the child, the child's activities, or objects (cars, trains, toys, etc.) rather than focusing on the expression and communication of love between parent and child.

I just got mine and to be fair, Im really dissapointed. It supposed to hold the psp but it just need to turn to get the psp out. It also look fancy but Im not sure if it'll protect for real

100+ Baby Shower Games is a collection of fun and simple games especially for commemorating a special delivery in the life of a family member or friend! Ideal for baby showers, a great antidote to baby blues, and sure to liven up parties and gatherings, 100+ Baby Shower Games offers suggestions for both before and after a baby's birth, to cheer up moms who may be close at hand or out-of-town. Sample game suggestions include guessing how many safety pins are tucked inside a baby food jar, an active balloon game in which everyone ties a balloon around his or her ankle and tries to stomp other people's balloons while protecting their own, asking guests to fill an empty wine bottle with messages for the baby's 16th birthday (then give the creation to the baby when he or she turns 16), and more. A family-friendly springboard of wonderful ways to celebrate the start of a new life.

This book was an excellent resource!!! There are so many great ideas that I had a hard time narrowing it down to just a few for my friends shower. I highly recommend this book to anyone giving a shower.

I am not the type who needs organizational help when planning a party, so this was great for just getting to the games. There are so many, no matter what type of baby shower you're throwing, you'll be sure to find what you're looking for.

100+ Baby Shower Games is a collection of fun and simple games especially for commemorating a special delivery in the life of a family member or friend! Ideal for baby showers, a great antidote to baby blues, and sure to liven up parties and gatherings, 100+ Baby Shower Games offers suggestions for both before and after a baby's birth, to cheer up moms who may be close at hand or out-of-town. Sample game suggestions include guessing how many safety pins are tucked inside a baby food jar, an active balloon game in which everyone ties a balloon around his or her ankle and tries to stomp other people's balloons while protecting their own, asking guests to fill an empty wine bottle with messages for the baby's 16th birthday (then give the creation to the baby when he or she turns 16), and more. A family-friendly springboard of wonderful ways to celebrate the start of a new life.

My six year old,who loves football, really enjoyed this book. It lists all of the players in the Football Hall of Fame and has lots of interesting statistics for all of the players. This was a great introductory book to football.

I would recomend this becous it is a good book if your in to football. What I like aboult this book is aboult the superbouls. Another thing I like is the troqh's/record's.I liked how it told about pass's and run's during the superbouls and game's. I would recomend this book to people who like football.

Another fantastic edition of the NFL book that never lets you down. All the usual stats, facts and info that you need if you follow the NFL. Highly recommended.

I RECOMEND THIS SALER LIKE VERY SERIUS AND EXCELLENT, DELIVER THE PACKAGE ON TIME AND WITHOUT PROBLEMS.

I think this is a good book becouse it tell's aboute the Super boul's.Another thing I like about this book is it tell's about good run's quarter back's and runing back's made.It also tell's about touchdown's they made and how many yard's they ran and how many yard's they pased it also tell's about wait they did to make the tochdown's.Another reson I like the book is about the Super boul winning's.That's why I like the book becouse I like Football very much that's why I would recomend this book.

This is a great book for anybody helping with non-profits in any way, not just directors. Non-profits are providing a public service and ultimately we, the public, are at the top of the organizational chart, we're the boss as the author put it.

This isn't a how-to book as much as it is examples of how-not-to book. The commentaries, insights and stories of various projects establish the "blues" mindset, the reasons behind the problems, which you want to stay away from.

I'm a technology and business consultant so it makes perfect sense to treat non-profit organizations as for-profit businesses. In fact, the reason I purchased the book is for insight on how I can apply my business consulting skills to help non-profits. The ultimate goal is to realize a vision, whether you are trying to make a profit or not. Through the stories you can see how easy it is to create a detrimental mindset and culture that hinders the success of the non-profit.

Every non-profit organization should have this book in their library, and read it.

This book is one great read - it's heady, funny and exquisitely written. Mr. Jenkins is eloquent, clever and brutally honest. Even if you aren't in a position where you report to a board, this book is worth your time. Very insightful, very witty and most helpful... Thanks David, great book!

This book accurately and cleverly captures both the great problems that exist in the world of non-profit management and the unbelieveably simple solutions to those problems. It also articulated clearly and humorously why those simple solutions are so elusive to those who volunteer to "lead" non-profits. This really is a MUST READ text for both the long suffering professionals who make their living guiding the companies that provide such essential services for our communities and those who agree to volunteer as trustees. This sacred trust demands much from each category of servant and Jenkins' book is an invaluable and easily read handbook for both. If you see yourself in his words and the quotes from his contributors then learn from what he tells you. This ought to be subtitled "Know when to hold them and when to fold them."

David Jenkins applies his experience from years of working with non-profit organizations to this smart and entertaining book. Jenkins is not afraid to burn some bridges. His observations and stories, along with many anonymously-attributed comments and anecdotes, make for lively and often irreverent reading. At the heart of the book, however, is Jenkins' passion for his subject: his intense frustration at what he and others have often experienced with non-profits, and his sensible, clear-eyed thoughts on how to make things better.

Having been involved with many, many non profit boards across many different levels of our society for over 30 years, both in Europe and America, I can honestly say that David Jenkin's book is a wake up scream to the non-profit industry - use the 501(c)to achieve something positive. My experience is that 501(c) organizations absolutely waste the diminishing resources and community spirit currently available in these financially challenged times. Community spirit and precious volunteer hours are just being flushed away by egocentric and self-seeking board members who generally have no common sense or experience in running a non-profit enterprise.

This book should be compulsory reading for every 501(c) start up member - and all board members should have to prove annually that they do not come close to matching the accurately drawn prototypical profiles that David has so successfully described.

The 501(c) industry is sinking fast - it is time for the rules of board members to be changed - every board member should have to demonstrate an unequivocal knowledge of the business and to accept the liabilities and to accept public examination in the event of failure - put all non-profits on the same stage that Enron, WorldCom and Tyco have found themselves.

If the status quo remains, the rank and file members of these organizations may just rebel against the uneducated and damaging decisions of the board. Leave the decisions to the paid professionals, and let success be the result.

David Jenkin's book should be the flag that leads to evolution, otherwise non-profit heads will roll through revolution.

This book has tons of activities for babies broken down by skill enhanced and then developmental stage. I think it would have been better organized and easier to use if it had been broken down in reverse, developmental stage and then skill. A lot of the activities are things that come naturally and you don't need to be told to do them, but there were still a lot of things to help you keep baby busy, and to help you to remember to work on certain skills you might not think of. It also helped you to really think about and understand the different activities and why they help certain skills, which sort of helps you gain perspective on how everything around you can be turned into an activity you can use to your and your baby's advantage. Worth the investment!

As a first time mom,of a child with special needs to boot, I had no idea. This book and the others in the series are great resources for finding things to do with your child other than watching Teletubbies for the thousandth time. If your child needs extra help in a certain area, like fine motor or listening skills, you can easily find a variety of exercises to help here. The later books in the series (Threes, Fours, and Fives) would also be a great resource for a homeschooling parent.

I am on a one year leave from teaching second grade to stay home with my 5 month old. The teacher in me purchased this product because I wanted to make sure my baby was not missing out on any learning. I wish I would have discovered it sooner as the guide is set up for babies not able to sit up, babies able to sit up, and babies able to crawl. It gives activities to do at each of these stages. It is easy to use and activities are divided into categories: listening and talking, physical development, creative and learning from the work around them. We were already doing some of the activities included, but the book offers many ideas I would not have thought of. Overall, I feel it is a great resource to have.

It's almost overwhelming. There is no way you can spend this much time teaching everything, but it's nice to be able to pick and choose fun things to do with your baby. It's easy to use in a well thought out layout from birth on, divided by sensory perception.

Not just for daycare! I am a first-time, stay-at-home mom and needed a way to tell if I was "doing all the right stuff" in regards to play, development, speech, music, etc. This book gives you exercises that are so easy for each stage of the first year of life. There is not a lot to read like a typical baby care book, but each section outlines what the child should be accomplishing and gives you exercises to ensure that your child reaches those development milestones. If you can look past the idea that it is written for daycare providers, you will find this book extremely helpful. I knew I was giving my child all he needed because I had these exercises to use as a handy guide. Good luck to you!

One of the best parts of working at Sales Gravy is all of the books that come my way from authors and publishers who want us to give them a review. Every once in a while I get a book that makes a real impact on my life. Most recently it was The All Star Sales Book by Billy Cox. Quite frankly, this book came to me at the right place, at the right time. I was having one of those weeks where everything was going wrong. Set back upon setback had sapped my energy and ruined my optimism. After one final kick in the pants, I threw my hands in the air and shouted out loud, "what else can possible go wrong." I had a serious case of "stinkin-thinkin."

Disgusted, I started sorting through the pile of mail my assistant had placed on my desk. The first package I opened contained Billy Cox's, All-Star Sales Book. I turned to the first page and started reading. Almost immediately my mood began to improve. Cox's inspirational and motivational message broke through my bad attitude and began to lift me up. In one passage Cox writes, "I've always heard that when life knocks you down you need to land on your back because if you can look up, you can get up." Just the message I needed to hear at the moment.

Throughout the book Cox delivers the message that in sales and life there are no time-outs, no overtimes, and you only get one chance to play. Through his inspiring stories, easy to understand analogies, and humor, Cox delivers a guaranteed road map to success. In the book he provides practical, and easy-to-implement advice that is both relevant and critical for succeeding in today's sales environment. These tried and true methods are central to every successful sales career and I applaud Cox for delivering these key lessons, anew, in a fresh and engaging style that makes it fun to learn and inspires action.

Jeb Blount,author of PowerPrinciples: Do You Have The Winning Edge?

Billy Cox has really put it all together in an easy to read & understand, step by step guide on how to succeed in business and life. My husband and I own a succesful sales company and we have made this book mandatory reading for all of our employees. This book along with Billy's goal setting workbook "The Dream Book" has improved our business and our personal lives dramatically. I will echo what others have said and encourage you to pick up enough of these books for your entire oranization or team.

Although I am not a sales professional, I believe everybody's selling something whether it's to our family members or business associates and "The All-Star Sales Book" will sell you on believing in yourself again. I highly recommend this book for Billy Cox gives you the strategies and techniques to getting and keeping the "winning edge" in life, business, and sales. His book is full of ideas on how to develop and maintain a burning desire to win at the highest levels and to continue raising your personal bar. Moreover, he emphasizes the importance of goal setting, decision making, and taking action and initiative so that you stretch yourself to perform at an All-Star level and get results.

Working in the direct sales industry one can really use a great tool to get re-motivated....this is the tool. Not only does it cover tools for work, but in the home front as well. I would recommend this book to anyone!

Being stuck in mediocrity is quite possibly the worst place a salesman can be, claims "The All-Star Sales Book: Get In the Game, Boost Your Numbers, and Earn the Big Bucks". Selling just enough to get by makes one comfortable, and lacking aspiration - where one who is doing miserably will be motivated to do everything they can to recover and make the most of themselves- to dream of what they want and that drives them. "The All-Star Sales Book: Get In the Game, Boost Your Numbers, and Earn the Big Bucks" hopes to inspire sales people to become more that they can ever hope to be through stories, analogies, anecdotes and more. "The All-Star Sales Book: Get In the Game, Boost Your Numbers, and Earn the Big Bucks" is highly recommended to business people everywhere who need that little kick to get them rolling in life and for community library business collections.

Michael MacCambridge's book is a superb research effort. The material on the early history of professional football is especially good, and richly detailed.

This is a very impressive overview of the history of the NFL. Well researched. Like all good historical books, this places the development of pro football within the larger context of events and attitudes of the times. Very informative stuff particularly with the early murky (and generally long-forgotten) history of the NFL. The league owners have always been a hard to manage alpha male group and commissioners Bell, Rozelle and Tagliabu have done an impressive of keeping the ship in order. I highly recommend this book. I would love to see this author come up with a follow-up; profiles on characters of the game, particularly in the early days to really show the flesh and bones of the players who made it all possible.

An excellent book on the history of the NFL. From the early years to the present, the author gives details of the people and teams that have made the NFL what it is today. The 70's were of great interest to me since I grew up during the 70's. Another book on the NFL that covers the 70's is "The Super 70's" by Tom Danyluk. Well done.

Book gets 5 stars from where it starts (end of WW 2) through the AFL-NFL merger, then loses steam from 1970-present.

That said, it is worth reading simply for the first part. The section on the LA Rams itself makes the book worthwhile as is the section on the early Cleveland Browns.

Yet it pretty much ignores the 50s Detroit Lions who were a power as well.

The AFL is treated quite fairly, which is unusual. And you get a very nuanced picture of Lamar Hunt, nice going.

Wellington Mara gets panned a bit, he is not seen as the generous man whose altruism gets praised time after time. Rather, his backing of the National TV contract is seen as something he was talked into. His signing of Pete Gogolak is roundly panned in this book.

Great great information on Bert Bell, the commissioner before Rozelle.

Very little on George Halas.

But it seemed to me that the author could not find many topics he liked in the post-merger NFL.

BTW, this book is almost totally concerned with the owners and managers of the team. Relatively little on the players.

MacCambridge has written an outstanding history of modern professional football known as the National Football League. The primary theme of the book is how football has eclipsed other sports, specifically baseball, to become America's game.

The book starts out with the Baltimore Colts defeat in overtime of the New York Giants on December 28, 1958 in the National Football League championship game. The game was televised and is called the Greatest Game Ever Played, partially because it catapulted the NFL into the national spotlight and sent the league on its way to be the dominant sport in American culture.

For the most part this is a very linear history of the Nation Football League, and a very well done one. While it is about the game itself, it's more about the business of professional football and the importance of decisions made by those who ran it leading to a thriving game and a thriving business enterprise. Much is discussed about the first commissioner Bert Bell who held a motley collection of owners together and strived for parity in the league, and Pete Rozelle who help reap millions in television revenue, fostered the revenue sharing agreement between big market and small market teams keeping competitive balance, and maintaining relative labor peace compared to other sports.

Another very interesting and pivotal part of NFL history was its competition with the American Football League in the 1960's and how a group of maverick owners created a rival, viable league of its own and how the eventual merger of the NFL and AFL came about. Interestingly, Lamar Hunt, late owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, was the pivotal figure in both the creation of the AFL and the eventual merger. The merger, in fact, made the NFL even stronger.

There are a few key themes in this book about why professional football became the dominant sport it is today. First, and foremost, is television. The game of football, more so than baseball, is a sport made for television. Television thrust the game into the national spotlight and keeps it there. Second is parity. While there have been some dominant teams in the league and a few dynasties, the revenue sharing, scheduling, and now salary caps which keep the teams on a somewhat even playing field has helped maintain interest in the game. Third, labor peace, relative to other sports, has also helped the game thrive. And finally, the owners and commissioners who have lead the league have been visionary. In these pages you meet the legendary coaches and owners like George Halas, Paul Brown, Vince Lombardi, Wellington Mara, Art Modell, Art Rooney, and others who made the NFL what it is today.

Overall, this is an outstanding history of the modern NFL and I highly recommend it.

This is a very informative quilt history book with fantastic, close-up photos of fabric. This will be a great addition to your Barbara Brackman collection. I had mine laminated and spiral bound!!

An invaluable resource for the quilt historian ,conservator or just an interested quilter. The illustrations helped me to identify fabric by period,style and color. The text gave me invaluable information to help identify a puzzling old quilt which was found stuffed in a chimney undisturbed for 90 years. Barbara Brackman is the author to read when one seeks information about quilts and their history. I enjoyed the chapter identifications allowing me to quickly access the fabric type I was seeking.

This is a good resource for the history of textiles with the purpose of dating quilts or construction of period correct clothing and quilts.

This book gives a very good compressive over view of fabrics in a certain time frame. While I bought it for reference I discovered it is quite enjoyable just to read. I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in fabrics. It would be especially useful to a beginning fabric aficionado.

what a wonderful resource book for anyone who is interested in fabric/fiber arts.
i'm a quilter who likes to create quilts with a flair from yesterday. this book not only helps me to be closed in my interpretation of that time, it does guide me through the decision which colors have been more used than others. the contents/pictures are very clear and the instructions to recreate some of the quilts are outstanding. i would give this book 6 stars!

Our family has loved this songbook very much. There are ninety songs in the book. Written by Pete Seeger's sister, American Folk Songs for children has songs each of them suggests an activity. There are songs for going places, songs for knocking on doors and windows, songs for eating, songs for dancing, and many others. I would like to buy a copy as a gift, and I hope there is a reprint date soon.

This is the bible for children's folksongs, with artwork by Barbara Cooney the icing on the cake!

This is the book with the favorite songs from my long ago childhood. So I bought it for my daughter so she could sing these to my grandchildren.

It has the good songs. Songs with lots and lots of verses. Fun songs for older kids and songs to sing babies to sleep.

This book is a treasure! The introduction gives a wonderful background on these authentic folk songs and how they can be used with children. This is an essential book for music teachers, but also great for parents. Be careful, though, because once the children know the songs you'll hear them over and over again... :)

I own a copy of the original print of this book. It posseses some of the most whimsical little songs I have yet to hear. Its just...fabulous...and I don't even know how to play any instruments....lol