Games Books

A wonderful journey, by a true bon vivant, around the world and into some of its most famous, and infamous bars to sample the spiritous joys within.
The classical work on the classic cocktails and drinks, and many other beverages besides that didn't quite make that lofty status, but still deserve to be tippled occaisionally too.
Loved it, loved it, loved it, please reprint the south american epic now please, I await with baited breath.

Charles H. Baker, author of The Gentleman's Companion, was in an enviable position; free to roam the world, with style, before modernity rolled the earth flat for commerce. It's a book with cocktail recipes but one can do a lot with a drink in hand. The recipes are more remembered than ordered (there is an index) & the story linked to each cocktail is as important. This is not to say that the recipes are not great, they are terrific & worth the trouble to make right, per Bakers instructions.

It should be noted first, that this book is a faithful reprint (all except the title and cover :-) of the classic "The Gentleman's Companion", first published in 1939. That first edition came as a two book set: "Exotic Drink Book", and "Exotic Cookery Book". The former is the book here in question, the latter has been likewise reprinted under the title "Knife, Fork, and Spoon : Eating Around the World".

If you are expecting the same old "wad-o-drinks" type of book here, then you will be quite surprised in what you find. Mr. Baker has a dry wit, as well as a cunning charm about him. And he exercises it well as he relates to his readers the various drinks that he has collected through his travels and adventures. The recipes often consist of more prose then raw ingredients, which makes them both more interesting to browse through but at the same time slightly more difficult to work from.

For a taste of his style, here is just one of the drink recipes from this book:

SANTIAGO NIGHTCAP, from a STAY in SANTIAGO de CUBA,
in the EARLY SPRING of 1930
------This is another favour passed along to this field
representative and wine tester by the late Senor Facuno
Bacardi, it being his primary thought to donate something
to woo sleep and restore the slightly frayed physical
assembly. It is a simple drink, and would also make a
fine picker-upper. . . . Take 1 1/2 jiggers of Gold
Seal Bacardi rum, add 1 pony of orange curaco and the
yolk of 1 egg. Shake hard with cracked ice and strain
into a large saucer champagne glass.

While the formatting of these recipes may make it a bit more difficult to glean direct recipes from them, they do present a provocative and insightfull snapshot of the cocktail world of those days. Few books, before or since, have even approached this wonderfully eclectic performance.

I highly recommend this book for anybody who has an interest in classic cocktails.

Many of the recipes in this book vary considerably from how the drink of the same name is prepared today. The author often calls for ingredients which can no longer be procured, but that is to be expected. For the serious cocktail enthusiast, this book is a must-have, and this inexpensive reprint means you won't want to kill yourself if you spill grenadine on it.

The previous person to review this book makes a good point, too. This is not simply a formula book of recipes, but THAT is exactly what makes it a great read. Another perfect example of this is "Cocktail Recipes from the Nineteenth Century - The Flowing Bowl", by Spencer (another recent reprint of a rare old cocktail book.)

Umpire Jocko Conlan (1899-1989) describes his long career in baseball in this entertaining biography co-written with Robert Creamer. Growing up on Chicago's South Side Conlan dreamed of playing for the White Sox, and briefly did so (1934-35) after years in the minors. One day as the Sox were about to play the Browns in St. Louis an umpire was out, so Conlan went in to officiate (as occasionally happened then) and the rest is history. Conlan officiated in the minors from 1936-1940, then spent a quarter century as an umpire in the majors. Conlan describes many facets of umpiring, including getting into position, not anticipating the call, using your head, and maintaining your integrity and respect. We also learn about the spitball, bean balls, arguments, travel, plus the non-stellar pay and benefits. This valuable book should be read by anybody with an interest in umpiring at any level, be it the pro's, high school, or little league. There's also much baseball history in these pages, including anecdotes about people like Leo Durocher, Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, etc.

This dated book remains a valuable read, given Conlan's upbeat, intelligent style and Creamer's easy-reading prose.

Anyone who loves baseball will enjoy the stories Jocko relates in this book. A true baseball fan will appreciate the directness and honesty with which he went about his work--and wish that more of that were evident in the game today!

I've read the book over and over. Baseball means visiting the past in what we thought as kids as simpler times with heroes. Baseball players were my heroes. Jocko Conlan was a man behind the mask in control of the great game. I've related myself with a person's will without the GOD given gift to be a player but with the determination to find a place in the game. Jocko Conlan was just that. He found his way into the game through his determination and strength to be part of it. The stories depict the golden age of the time we considered the game our national pastime. What wonderful stories! What a wonderful baseball book!

As a young amateur umpire in 1966, I had bought and read this book by former National League Umpire, Jock Conlan. Well, 33 years later, a little worn and a little tattered, I still have the book amongst my collection. I found it to be a wonderful inspriing book about a fine umpire. It was enjoyable then, just as I think the remake of this book will be enjoyable to your readers now. Truly a collectors' item.

The design of the flower arrangement is modern and well presentatble. The instruction of how to do is clearly illustruated. I enjoy every bit of it. It fits to the title.After reading the book, increase my enjoyment in arranging flowers.

This was my first book I purchased when I was ready to "experiment" in making a floral arrangement. I had success from the beginning because the book clearly explains the instructions with beautiful color photos. They have several floral arrangements,coursages,bouquets and even wreaths, all with instructions and step by step pictures to go with it. I love it, I would recommend it to anyone that needs a guide in making floral arrangments for the first time. It is also a good resource book for experienced florists.

This was the first book I purchased when I became interested in making floral arrangements. I had success from the beginning because the book contains very good step-by-step instructions with color photos. It contains instructions for several floral arangements, coursages, bouquets, weaths,etc. This is an excellent book and I would recommend it to anyone interested in learning floral arranging. It is also a good resourse book for the experienced florist.

This is a great step-by-step book for those of us truely at the beginning of learning flower arranging. The pictures take you from flower to flower on how to place each one. The arrangements are very simple and unimaginative, but very easy to follow. There are great models for arranging in different kinds of vessels, some a litte too odd for me. (Like arranging in a soup ladle.) The biggest missing piece in this book is the preparation work necessary to make your arrangements look fresh for as long as possable.

I thought this would be an interesting book, but the author has obviously failed to learn how to spell. The book made absolutely no sense at all to me. Printed nicely, though.

This book os loaded iwth great puzzles to keep your mind active

Are you fascinated by words? This huge puzzle book not only entertains, it expands the part of your mind that is underused in our visually oriented culture. Each puzzle briefly captivates your intellect as sometimes you unscramble a word instantly, and other times must appeal to the help of a friend. Better than crosswords, because there are no context clues, therefore a challenge for those who live the life of the mind. Now you won't have to wait for the newspaper each day, just buy this book! Your brain will love it.

I bought this as a gift for a friend and she loves it. The print is large enough for her and the Jumbles are just plain fun!

I recently purchased this book and highly recommend it. It is a great gift for a child, is well written, and beautifully illustrated. I intend to buy additional copies to give as gifts.

My son (age 6) is a picky reader...few books totally captivate him. This one does. He loves the rhythm (and it's almost impossible not to read this story out loud without falling into the urban lilt captured in the rhyme) and he loves the subject matter. He has never jumped rope, but he seems to be able to feel the freedom and thrill of jumping through the story. This is one of the few books he has memorized entire passages of (and it's a long book that we've only had for a week). I'm sure this book will capture the imagination of every child as it has my son's. (He hasn't even seemed to notice or mind that the story is about girls.)

This book is a book of jump rope rhymes, loosely forming a story. The illustrations are truly special. David Diaz' illustrations show boxy figures, a mixture of soft and bright colors, and some of the most hilarious faces I've ever seen in a picture book.

The streets, the trees, the people-- everything Diaz draws has a special look that you won't mistake for any one else's illustrations.

The text bounces along with a nice rhythm. Even if you are rhythm-inhibited, it's easy to find the rhythm in this book.

The text of the book resembles the speech of children, rather than the bookish speech that you sometimes see in juvenile books. Here's a sample:

"Hey, Miss Minnie,

can you come outside?

I got a new car.

Let's go for a ride.

We can put the top down.

We can blow the horn loud.

We can show the gold rims.

We can captivate the crowd."

Captivate? Not many children would use the rest of this speech and the word "captivate." The incongruity of the speech (there are more examples, and you don't have to look for them) is the only thing that mars this otherwise wonderful book.

The illustrations are inventive and distinctive, and the text has a wonderful, animated rhythm. It should be a book that children ask for over and over again.

ken32

As a poet, and as a library clerk who loves to focus her programs on poetry, I can say that this is a book I will definitely be using in my work with kids! Who in this world isn't familiar with jump rope rhymes? If you aren't - read this book. Jump some rope. Get that rhythm in your bones. There are so many books for kids that are written in rhyme, but they have no "guts", no real feel for the music of language. I am so happy to have found one that does!

This book is the second best book I've read. Compared to The Juniper Game, the Harry Potter series is nothing. The belief of eternal time and telepathic communication really touched me. The only book comparable is the Artemis Fowl series.

this is the best book i have read in my life!!! it took my breath away the first time i read it and even the 10th time i was knocked off my seat... this is truely the most creative and suspencing book i have read... i realy think that people from all ages will enjoy it cause it is such a miricle of a book...

This book is good because the author decribes what they see and what they feel.

I enjoyed how the author discribed what they were doing and seeing. I also enjoyed the coincidence in the diffrent times. I really enjoyed this book.

With a firm gentleness, Calvin Martin, insightfully describes the reciprocity and repercussions of our animal bonds and the breaking of those bonds. The accumulation of well documented 'firm gentleness' statements delivers a hard hitting viewpoint that has stunned me. The notes are a priceless resource.

Scholarly works are not supposed to entertain but Martin's interesting ideas about the cultural confrontation between the First People and the first Europeans makes for fascinating reading. He challenges several accepted views about Native population decline resulting from disease and warfare which are sure to spark disagreement; yet his logic is difficult to refute and the perspectives he offers provide new directions for research. Martin manages to avoid casting anyone into the roles of oppressor and victim by presenting the sequence of events as the result of rational decisions by both cultural groups. While anthropologists and sociologists will certainly find "Keepers" of interest, anyone who teaches cultural diversity or provides diversity training will also benefit from this work. General readers will enjoy asking themselves if their ancestors could have been involved in the events Martin describes.

Martin has done a remarkable job of telling a very difficult story of the inter-relationships between the first people of Canada, the new world order people of European ancestry and the animals. I am Mi'maq and reading the history took be back to a time and an appreciation of what was a part of life. My hats off to Martin for telling a story that needed to be told!

This book is a great read for many reasons. One that may not get mentioned, but strikes me as important, is the demonstration of how social rules and the environment relate to economic markets. In short: the relationship of the native North American tribes to the fur markets was conditioned by their culture which went through a sudden, tragic, transformation.

This is a drop-dead gorgeous deck of cards and with the delightful accompanying rhymes is fun for use as a kind of quirky (free association) cartomantic deck as well as for regular play. A quality production & beautifully packaged book/card set. Highly recommended!

I was first introduced to this deck when it first was first printed some years ago. As a graphic artist by trade I was not only very pleased with the art, but also the incredible quality that the deck and the companion book had in the final, printed delivery. The poetry, prose and lyric associated with each card makes for a whole new dimension in playing cards. The only piece of information, or lack of information that left me wondering was in the product description as it did not say whether this was the original complete set or just the book, sans cards. An outstanding collectible for anyone who enjoys playing cards.

I bought this around the holidays in 1992, and it kicked off my interest in card collecting. This is a work of art, and of all the art I own, this is my favorite. Ostensibly, it's a transformation deck of cards with an accompanying book, but it's also a series of beautifully executed paintings (the ace of spades is a spider, the 3 of diamonds is the Titanic sinking, the 4 of spades is a yellow jacket), each with an accompanying verse. Hidden inside all of the verse, however, is a puzzle to solve. This is so clever on so many levels, it's amazing. If you enjoy intellectual stimulation in your art, track this down. It's a shame it's out of print.

I highly recommend this deck to anyone who collects cards. It lives up to it's name and more! Tony Meeuwissen has very cleverly used the suits to create wonderful illustrations of traditional rhymes and verses on every card. (It's not tecnically a transformation deck, but once you've seen it, you won't care) No written review can possibly do it justice, it really has to be seen to be appreciated. Well worth hunting down an (unfortunatly) out-of-print copy!

This is my most prized deck in my card collection. The set is done amazingly well and the book is wonderful to have as well. Wonderful, witty art. If you have an interest in playing cards, this is the #1 deck on my list!

I cant believe that people are selling there copies of this wonderful boxed set for as low as $13, I am an illustrator and I own this set because Tony Meeuwissens's imagination soars to new limits in this gorgeous Enchanted deck of cards as well as a nice book filled with mystery and Solvation......

Omniquad Set Me Up 98 3.5

This book/playing card boxed set features the wonderful illustrations of Tony Meeuwissen and his witty visual interpretations of nursery rhymes of the British Isles. The book very cleverly creates a common thread between these ditties and then brings them all together, amazingly enough, in the playing cards. Incredibly well done, this book is part mystery, part history, part child's play, and is entirely worth the effort in finding it.