Games Books

I have purchased several books on amazon.com, but I must say that this is one of the best ones I have read so far ! This is exactly the sort of book management in companies worldwide should be reading ! I live and work in Tokyo, and I think the Japanese public companies here could learn so much from this book ! Corporate reporting here is very poor, especially in the banking sector(horrendous !), and investors do not take them seriously anymore. Public companies here should improve their corporate reporting and utilize the capital markets more, and the first thing they need to do is to regain the trust of their
shareholders. In other words, they should read this book cover to cover right away ! The people who worked on this book, like Mr. Matthew Wissell, who leads the Value Reporting practice in PricewaterhouseCoopers' New York office, should be highly commended for such a fine piece of work !

I have purchased several books on amazon.com, but I must say that this is one of the best ones I have read so far ! This is exactly the sort of book management in companies worldwide should be reading ! I live and work in Tokyo, and I think the Japanese public companies here could learn so much from this book ! Corporate reporting here is very poor, especially in the banking sector(horrendous !), and investors do not take them seriously anymore. Public companies here should improve their corporate reporting and utilize the capital markets more, and the first thing they need to do is to regain the trust of their
shareholders. In other words, they should read this book cover to cover right away ! The people who worked on this book, like Mr. Matthew Wissell, who leads the Value Reporting practice in PricewaterhouseCoopers' New York office, should be highly commended for such a fine piece of work !

If you want to learn about accounting scams, you probably need Mulford and Comiskey, The Financial Numbers Game. But for a broader view of the virtues and limits of accounting, Eccles and company have a lot to offer. You can skip or skim the somewhat overhyped stuff about the "ValueRevolution" itself (note that three of the authors come from PricewaterhouseCoopers, where they seem to be having some trouble with their space bar, or spacebar). Keep your best brain cells for chapters three through eight, where you get a look at the earnings obsession -- and just as useful, a suggestion of what investors really need and want. Note that one of the co-authors (Robert H. Herz) is the new head of the Financial Accounting Standards Board).

"ValueReporting" smoothly describes many broken financial reporting processes, including "whispering", a time-consuming process that CFOs play with analysts, where CFOs "whisper" their earnings expectations to the analyst, making the analysts appear intelligent. A great deal for the analyst cause they don't have to do any real analysis. If the CFO does not play this game, they risk the wrath of Wall Street.

The problem with this is that it is in violation of the spirit (if not the law) of the yet to be enforced SEC Fair Disclosure Act which states that Sally Q. Public gets to know material information the same time that John Q. Analyst does.

"ValueReporting" does offer a practical solution through XBRL technology. As a member of XBRL.org I strongly agree with the authors that if business reporting, both financial and non-financial, is standardized, Web technologies are in place to distribute this information uniformly to all investors and in a richer format than at present. With the gentle prodding of regulatory agencies like the SEC and FDIC, this will happen sooner rather than later. Let's hope that SEC Chairman Unger reads this book, and fast.

For me as a consultant and a technologist "who can spell XBRL", The ValueReporting Revolution was a call to arms to apply my knowledge to the inequities of financial reporting. Helping clients sell their wares over the Web is nice, but to level the financial playing field for small companies as well as large, for the small investor as well as the institutional, is ennobling. And forcing Wall Street analysts to actually work for a living, would be, well, just icing on the cake.

First I should explain that I'm not a neutral reviewer: I have known one of the authors of this book (Bob Eccles) ever since he woke some of us up with his HBR article "The Performance Measurement Manifesto" almost ten years ago, and I've also met another of the authors (David Phillips) in the last year. Coupled with that, some of the work of my company (Metapraxis) on Business Driver Diagrams is mentioned in Chapter 1. I mention these points up-front in the interests of transparency, which is a core theme of the book itself.

The book's thesis is that the investors of the future will reward companies for such transparency - in other words, those companies that understand, measure and publish information about leading indicators such as growth of market share as well as lagging indicators such as profit will be better rated than their competitors, other things being equal.

This is pretty controversial stuff. After all, if you're the CEO or CFO of a major global multinational that's just announced on-target quarterly earnings, but your (currently confidential) internal leading edge indicators say that your market share is starting to fall, how exactly are your investors going to react if you decide to be brave enough to tell them all about it?

There is clearly something of a problem here and I refer to it as the Paradox of the World's Bravest Customer. You don't know who that was? I think it was the guy who bought the world's first fax machine. Think about it.

So undoubtedly there'll be some short-term pain for the pioneers, but once the markets start to see that a core group of innovative firms has the courage to disclose this kind of information (whether good or bad) then it's obvious that this disclosure will reduce the risks involved in these investments. And as John Maynard Keynes pointed out in 1910:

"What would be a risky investment for an ignorant speculator may be exceptionally safe for the well-informed expert. The amount of risk to any investor practically depends, in fact, upon the degree of his ignorance respecting the circumstances and prospects of the investment he is considering." *

The book is all about the revolutionary implications that follow through from this 90-year old observation. Whether you agree with the thesis or not, it will change the way you think about corporate information, business management and investor relations. I recommend it highly to CEOs, CFOs, IR heads, financial analysts and auditors, business school students and indeed to anyone embarking on a career in these areas.

Robert Bittlestone: Managing Director, Metapraxis - London & New York

* JM Keynes: Hopes Betrayed 1883-1920 by Robert Skidelsky (Vol 1); Ch. 9 Economic Orthodoxies. Skidelsky is quoting in turn from the "Collected Writings of JMK": xv 46-47....

I am buying yet *another* copy of this book, as we no longer even pretend to lend it- nobody will give it back! This has been a favorite book since our youngest was 4. She's just turned 11, but when she's under the weather it comes out for another read. Every family- and certainly every 5 year old boy!- should have this as a bedtime storybook. Even the chapters are just the right length. Although the price has gone up n recent times, it is worth every penny- this is one you want to own.

We have books in the family library, and then some very special books go into each child's library. This is one of those books. There is no better book to read to a five-to-six-year-old. It has a loving father-son relationship, complete with exasperation on both parts. It has a roll-off-the-chair laugh-out-loud bedtime story that gets extemporaneously spun by the father, and it has day-by-day life. Get this book, read it to a child. If you don't have a child the right age, read it to a friend's child or grandchild. Read it.

It's a tough business to tell a child a favorite story again, and again, and again, both for the storyteller who's tired of telling it and for the child who has, like a true die-hard fan, grown into a very devoted yet demanding critic. The story must be told "just-so", exactly the same way it's been told before and at the same time fresh, new, and even better than ever. Wolf Story is a story about telling a story, and both a parent and their child will recognize themselves in 5-year-old Michael and his father as they share the ritual bedtime story, a story about a very nasty wolf named Waldo. Little Michael seems to "know" the story even before he's heard it, but he isn't altogether conscious of this. He knows it much better than the tale's storyteller/author, his father, and isn't shy at all offering suggestions when his father doesn't tell it right.

Guaranteed this clever book will have you both laughing out loud at times, but I was also very pleased to find an amusing children's book that manages to operate at different levels without the wisecracking or cynical tone so common in children's literature now. Children can easily see the story from the point of view of the father, of little Michael, the scary wolf and the little farmer boy, Jimmy, who stands up to him. This makes the story all the more delightful for them. What a treat!

Five-year old Michael is a demanding taskmaster, and his father must be creative to tell a wolf story within the constraints laid down by his son. For instance, the wolf must be named Waldo. A terribly fierce wolf named Waldo. Good natured teasing and realistic conversation make this the humorous and sweet story of a father and son who enjoy each other's company.

Every year I read Wolf Story to my second graders and at the end of the year when I ask them their favorite chapter book read to them, Wolf Story is chosen every year to be the favorite. They love to follow the adventures of Rainbow and Michael. When you complete Chapter 1, the kids are hooked. They can not wait for the next day. I have even had kids who have been sick ask if I can re-read a chapter that they missed or if they can stay in at recess to read the missed chapter on their own.

Wolf Story is wonderfully written and captivating to young children. Every year I can not wait to read the book. I find myself anxious to share the next chapter.
When my own children have children, Wolf Story will be the book that I can share with them. I strongly recommend this book to every child and to every adult who enjoys reading to their children at bedtime.

Great book for any players. Yes, it's an older edition, but in my opinion, better than the newer editions they have now.

This book harkens back to the "good old days" when playing the paper and pencil D&D used to be new and fun. There have been several reincarnations of this manual and I've thumbed through them but they just don't hold a candle to the original, despite the fancier artwork and rule changes. I remember spending hours combing tables as I built a new dungeon. I am not at all happy with the direction TSR took after Mr. Gygax was booted out (or left, can't remember which) and one big loss was the original manuals. They are now up to version 3 something of the rules but I do not even know what they are because I just play computer games now. All I know about the new rules is that multi-class characters are easier to work with. It was an exciting time, a different era. I still have this manual and will always treasure it. If you can find one, pick it up just to see how things used to be done. Highly recommended.

The wonderfully unique writing style of Gary Gygax shines through on just about every page of this book.

This work is an essential companion to the 1st Edition AD&D Players Handbook. It gives you combat charts, rules for followers, average sale values for magic items (something left out of the 2nd Edition Dungeon Masters Guide), general advice on how to run a game, several pages of artifact descriptions (fascinating descriptions that give amazing depth to the objects), random monster encounters for different environments and dungeon levels, random dungeon generation tables and even several pages of monsters from the monster manual in abbreviated form. This book is packed with great information from cover to cover.

Maybe what I like most about this book is its almost total lack of political correctness. From the nudity in the artwork (the topless mermaid on page 180) to the descriptions of various disgusting diseases and forms of insanity, it gives you a raw, gritty version of the game full of style and flavor. Unfortunately, this is something the Dungeons & Dragons game will never likely see again.

The only thing I dislike about the book is the combat system. Although playable, especially with a few house rules thrown in to smooth things over, its hard to get an understanding of exactly how combat is supposed to work just from reading the text.

If you can find a used copy of this book, I recommend you pick it up. It's definitely worth a read.

This is a great players' resource for refererencing some of the forgotten races and images that were updated and/or revised from 1st edition into the 2nd edition.

It is an historical find in terms of role-playing games, since these books are now in extremely limited numbers and are quite collectible. I purchased this book together with the Dungeon Masters Guide (AD&D 1st Ed. revised) and they are a part of my role-playing game collection.

With a few pages with pen marks and a slightly damaged hardback cover, I now have a decent addition to my RPG collection.

I have seen many RPG throughout time, those of which have succeeded in being good PRG's, and those that have not. This is one of them that is not only a good RPG, but one that will last a lifetime. This book, in adition to ones like the Dungeon Master's guide, was really the start of it all, and other RPG's to come.

This book is extremely helpful in many areas that people may not have knowledge in. It is good for notes, or for people who want to design their own character from scratch. It tells you how to do this from the beginning, like scoring character abilities, to classes and spells, and much more.

This book is a MUST HAVE for players interested in serious AD&D, and is definitely a timeless classic.

After being recommended to read this book, I know recommend it to anyone with an interest in any sports or great literature. I do crew and mountain biking and only wish I had read this book earlier. The book follows a few oarsmen on their path to the Olympics and describes the hidden world of crew and its politics unbelievably well. What you can take away from this book is an undeniably better mental toughness in whatever you do from crew to paper pushing, this book will make you better at it.

halberstam is very engaging in not merely following the story of the 1976 Olympic US rowing scullers, but in relentlessly digging into their lives for historical details of their rowing past, psychological stabs at what drives them, and their social interaction with their teammates. this book was quite well known in the 1980's, but seems to have been forgotten by many in the rowing community - what a shame!! i expect every serious rower today would still find this an extremely compelling and interesting story, and for those of us who read it 20 years ago, i can testify that it is very well worth a re-read. and the other top rowing book? virtually unknown and quite hard to find, brad alan lewis' `assault on lake casitas' is just as great as `the amateurs', and a fantastic companion to it!!

For someone who's not a rower, Halberstam gets most of this right - the technique, the atmosphere, the obsessiveness (which is common to all levels of rowing, just intensified among Olympians). In some ways the selection for the '84 Olympics was a crux point in the US rowing system, and Halberstam shows just why. If you want to get a view into a sport most people ignore, written by a top author, this is a good place to do it - same if you just want a peek in the mind of world-class athletes. If you want to really learn about the 84' Olympics selection camp, I'd recommend reading this in combination with Brad Lewis' "Assault at Lake Casitas", for a another viewpoint from one of the main actors (and the '84 doubles gold medalist).

Incidentally, the movie Rowing Through was based on The Amateurs. It's quite divergent from the book, but not too bad if you can ignore a good bit of gratuitous sex and some hardly-Olympic-caliber rowing in the scenes on the water.

I read this book in spite of the facts that I have no interest in rowing and know nothing about it. I read it only because it was written by David Halberstam, and I've loved everything I've ever read by him.

This book was no exception. Even though I still know very little about the sport, I now appreciate how grueling it is, and how much training these guys do.

You can't go wrong with a David Halberstam book, and this one's no exception.

Someone recommended this book to me one day during the Olympics. I read it straight through at one setting. It is the story of a lonely sport, rowing, and the men who endure incredible pain and sacrifice just for the chance of competition. These are not men who party at night, sleep late and wave to the cameras. No, they are dedicated, serious students who have been called to wield an oar.

The author shares a trait with Paul Johnson and Daniel Boorstin- that is the art of intertwining personal tales within the plot of his story in such a way that both complement each other. If you want a good beach book, this is the one.

An all encompassing book about the NFL, from its origins to present day - actually more attention is given to the early days of the league than the present, which is good becoz we all know what's going on in the NFL now - too many books don't provide enough detail about a sport's early days and devote too much print to the now. It has detailed chapters on people like Pete Rozelle and Bert Bell, and their influences, and this book also doesn't trudge through on a year by year basis - it gives an overall view of the NFL.

If you follow the NFL, whether you're a die-hard or the casual fan, then Michael MacCambridge's book is a must read. The details of how the league became the force in sports and entertainment it is today is astounding. The anecdotes of the characters who helped shape the league are a joy to read. This one took awhile, as there is so much information to glean from it, from Bert Bell to Pete Tagliabue, Tex Schramm to Lamar Hunt, Dan Reeves to Jerry Jones, you will not be dissapointed.

America's Game is a cleverly weaved story that any football fan or sports historian should enjoy. Written by sports guru Michael MacCambridge, it brings you through several decades of football, from it's unrecognized start to it's modern day spectacle. The book itself is written beautifully- MacCambrige makes the strong, important parts stand out while still making sure the little details are noticed. America's Game: The Epic Story of how Football Captured a Nation is football history at it's finest.

I could not put this book down! It gives one an amazingly detailed perspective of the history of pro football in America. This book has given me a far greater appreciation for football than I could have ever dreamed of. It is so interesting to read about how the smallest of details changed the course of this sport forever. So many things that the modern fan takes for granted like the salary cap, seeing games on TV or even the logos on the helmets are all explained in this book and their stories of how each and many other details came about are truly captivating. This is THE BOOK for football fans.

I like football, but I was always a little hazy on it's early history. The who, what, when and how of the teams and the game's important people. This book nailed that perfectly!! It's a well written, easy read that lays out the important parts of the NFL's history. A complete touchdown.

Where the book misses the extra point is when the author tries to explain why football is America's most popular game. When doing this it seems as if he is directing the book towards fans of other sports, (especially baseball)as if to say "football is the best, so there!" Basically I think the problem is football is the most popular sport for so many reasons the author is trying to explain something that cannot easily be explained. It's like trying to explain to someone why their favorite color is blue.

But overall this is a great book. If you are looking to find out more about the history of the NFL, this is the book for you.

I was initially not going to write a review of this book, as there are already many justly praising it. The one negative review, however, saying that this book has little in it not in Harold Peterson's "The Man Who Invented Baseball" (published over thirty years ago) gave me pause. On one level it is clearly true. I remember as a boy my father telling me about Alexander Cartwright and the New York Knickerbockers, and dismissing the Abner Doubleday story. I don't know that he read Peterson's book, but the timing is right and Peterson did popularize the Cartwright story. This provoked me to dig out my out copy of Peterson and read it for the first time in many years. I can now definitively assure you that David Block is most certainly not just recycling Peterson's book.

They agree that there were earlier versions of ball-and-stick games, which they discuss, and that the version of the game that has come down to us as modern baseball was standardized by the Knickerbocker club.

That may make it look like they have similar theses, but they really do not. Peterson's thesis is right there in his title: someone invented baseball and he knows who it was. Earlier versions were fundamentally different from the Knickerbocker game, and the Knickerbocker game was the product one man's flash of genius. Earlier games are discussed, but they don't really matter, since the Knickerbocker game is taken as being so different. The discussions of earlier games mostly are there to discredit the Doubleday story, which typically has predecessor games being even more primitive than in the Cartwright story

Block's goal is also named in his title: he is seeking baseball's roots. The Knickerbocker game is part of a story that began centuries earlier. Earlier versions aren't a distraction, they are the story. Only by knowing what came before can we see what the Knickerbockers did and didn't do: what parts of their game were selections from an existing menu of options and what parts were true innovations. It turns out to be far more interesting than any myth of a heroic lone genius.

Why should we believe Block rather than Peterson? Peterson's is a book with no footnotes, but with detailed descriptions of events down to quoted conversations. Even if the events were found in histories that actually cited sources, we would know that this is fiction. Peterson probably considered it putting a human face on the story. I consider it making stuff up. He does that a lot. The chapters on early ball-and-stick games are a mish-mash of solid data, poorly understood facts, and utter fiction. So it is that he can, on adjacent pages, give two contradictory accounts of the origin of cricket. He has a story to tell and he isn't going to let facts get in the way. Block's book started out as an annotated bibliography of early baseball sources and Block is meticulous about documentation. When he is forced to interpret beyond the actual evidence he tells us this. You come away knowing exactly what is really known and what is educated guesswork. It is honest history.

I rarely give five stars in my reviews, but I have no qualms about doing so here. The book is quite simply the important book on the subject published in my lifetime. It may be surpassed some day, but that day isn't likely to be soon. For the foreseeable future this is the one book to own if you have any interest in the origins of baseball.

Having just been to Block's talk at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago, this reader got an eeyeful and an earful, bought the book and began reading it on the "el" on the way home and kept reading far too long into the wee hours of the morning.

Althought I'd like to have seen some of the compelling documents that were at Block's library presentation included in this volume, as a reference book on the incredible linkages to the game of baseball, Block's work is fascinating and as he said, still ongoing.

I'm a SABR member, too, as well as the Executive director of The Old Timers' Baseball Association of Chicago. sorry, I've never heard of the 1972 book that the sole negative reviewer mentioned, but this award-winning hunt for the origins of baseball takes odd turns throughout history, and while it may not be worth a hill of beans to fans in the Cubs bleachers today, for researchers, this is a great mystery that will, no doubt, be ripped off endlessly by hack writers for decades to come.

Kudos to ya, Dave; if this is your first big dig, I'm stoked to see what you unearth next!

The author seems to be primarily engaged in trying to debunk three myths: (1) that Gen. Abner Doubleday invented the game, (2) that the real inventor was Alexander J. Cartwright of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, and (3) that the game developed from the English game of rounders.

For the first, there has already been so much evidence that Doubleday had nothing in particular to do with baseball, so it would seem there was little more that could be said, except that, in fact, the author finds out some interesting evidence that he believes to be the main reason that A. G. Spalding might have favored Doubleday's claim-- that Spalding and Doubleday were both adherents of the same religious cult!

Regarding the Cartwright claim, the author has much less to say. He accepts that the Knickerbocker Rules were an important step in the development of baseball, but in addition he states that there is evidence that Cartwright's role in developing those rules was less significant than has been believed. And he shows that organized baseball games occured before the adoption of the Knickerbocker Rules.

It is in debunking the third "myth," I think, where the author strains to do something undeserved. So the name "rounders" does not seem to have been used prior to the nineteenth century. But the author admits that "rounders" was simply a name that has come to be assigned to an earlier English game, and that baseball developed from that game. The difference between that and the "myth" he is trying to debunk is minimal. If you really think it makes a difference between saying "baseball developed from rounders" and "baseball evolved from a number of games, but the most important was the game now known in England as 'rounders,'" you can accept this book's argument. I don't see it that way; to me "developed from rounders" and "developed from the game now known as rounders" are not significantly different.

But the book is interesting. It should be in your possession if you're interested in baseball, and especially in its history.

Baseball Before We Knew It: A Search For The Roots Of The Game by baseball historian and expert David Block is a well researched, expertly written, inherently interesting, reader engaging, in-depth study of baseball and its historical roots. Baseball's actual origin is in Europe and Baseball Before We Knew It resents a wry and informative authorship of Block's intricate study of the great 'American' sport. Baseball Before We Knew It is very highly recommended reading for baseball fans and students sports history for its invaluable documentation and seminal, groundbreaking collection of information compiled and comprised to create what may easily be seen as the ultimate book of baseball. No personal, academic or community library Sports History collection can be considered complete or comprehensive without the inclusion of David Block's Baseball Before We Knew It!

I have just read a number of rave reviews for Baseball Before We Knew It, so I won't try to outdo them. But I am a member of SABR and interested in tracing the development of 19th century uniforms and caps. I had email contact with Mr. Block before he finished his book, so my anticipation was high, and now I can say my expectations were more than met. From a practical and special point of view, I can now hang my "uniforms" on Block's chronological reconstruction, knowing that not every issue is settled, but that wide new vistas have been opened for my own research. His chronological flow chart toward the back is most helpful for the historian. Now we need to watch a good documentary movie on the Discovery Channel, so we can "see" what a game of ball looked in the Middle Ages. Would Kevin Kostner be interested?
Great job, David Block!
Jim "Batman" Battenfield of California

I had read that Hogan would tell other golf pros that came to him seeking golf swing advice that they should "dig it out of the dirt" like he did. What sounded like a brush off may have been simply the truth. Hogan dug his swing out of the dirt by putting more work in on it that anyone else. Perhaps that was his real "secret". Hard work.

This book puts a positive spin on a personality that was respected but was not uniformily well liked. Along the way the author gives enough well reseached detail to put human flesh and bones on an iconic figure. A good read. I recommend it.

I would greatly recommend this book. It is a very comprehensive study into the life of a true legend and is also a very incisive insight into America during the thirties and forties. In the course of reading about such an outstanding career the name Tiger Woods inevitably enters one's thoughts. Just how would Hogan have compared to Woods during the prime of his career. Woods continues his gallop into history but Hogan's name will always be the one who was responsible for taking golf out of the country clubs and into the municipal courses.

Only reason I'm not giving one star is simply because Dodson had access that no other writer was previously granted. I can only imagine what Curt Sampson would have done with all this extra information. The only reason I made it through this book is because I'm a Hogan geek. Anyone remotely well versed in Hogan's history will notice a factual error in just about every chapter. And for those not well versed in Hogan's history, there are many basic golf facts that don't make sense. I write this without the book in front of me, but one instance still stands out: Dodson refers to a 10 birdie round of 64 - with no bogeys. I know times have changed, but I don't recall many par 74 courses back in the day. By itself, this can seem like an innocent mistake, maybe even a typo. But when you pair it with the 100 other similar mistakes you lose credibility in the author. You also get the idea that Dodson himself isn't very familiar with the game of golf itself - the type of guy who keeps score on his wrist watch and uses 'golf' as a verb. The last half of the book I was just reading to find a decent quote or two. There's a reason Sampson's book was so popular and this one wasn't.

An outstanding insight to the life and times of Mr. Hogan. So much was presented that never came to the public eye. And even though a discredit was given by one reviewer in his May 9, 2005 review, based on the fact that 10 birdies in an US Open on a par 74 course was not possible, this individual did not do his homework. The US Open was played on a par 74 course in Savannah, Georgia in the early 1930s. A great book, a wonderful revelation, a must read for those interested in golf history.

As both an avid golfer, and Ben Hogan admirer, I was more than satisfied with this book. Once i turned the first page I couldn't put it down. The information shared on the life of who I consider to be the greates golfer ever is unparalleled. Although this will instantly become a cherished part of any Ben Hogan fan's book collection, anyone who enjoys American history, sports history, sports in general, and golf in particular, as well as those who like true stories of sucess against all odds, will enjoy this book. It's a well-written portrait capturing all the good and bad of Ben Hogan and his life, and there was plenty of both. Anyone who thinks they know anything about Ben Hogan the man owes it to themselves to read this book. As Arnold Palmer himself said of the book: "I thought I knew Ben Hogan pretty well, until this book came along...". If you were interested enough in this book to read the reviews, you should buy it. You will not regret doing so.

This one is political incorrect, violent, bizarre and disgusting. It's great! Just to laugh. Garth Ennis is almost back in his old shape (the one he has in Preacher, I mean). If you liked Preacher and Punisher Max, you will like this one as well.

This series is way too cool! I love the concept of the "super heros" being the bad guys with ego's a mile wide. I am sure that if any human could gain super powers, they would eventually become corrupt like the "super heros" in this series. Luckily The Boys are there to keep them in check. I highly recommend this series to anyone that is sick and tired of the do good heroes in comics. This is the best!

I had no idea what I was getting into when I first read this series. At that time I was not very familiar with Garth Ennis and a friend recommended it to me. All I knew was that it was a world where superheroes were corrupt and a U.S. government backed mercenary group hired to knock them down a peg. The only warning that I was given that the content was pretty mature.

When I read the first issue, I was blown away and hooked instantly. The individual characters are simply astonishing, which is quite an accomplishment seeing how many of them there are. Sure, the content is very mature, but I think that it can't be any other way. Some of these characters are the scum of the Earth and there wouldn't be any other way to accurately portray this to the reader.

I highly suggest buying the first volume to see if you like it. If the "adult content" doesn't bother you, then I believe that this could be a very enjoyable series for you.

This is what adult comic books should be about. This breaks up all of the old stereotypes and gives you the regular yokels perspective.

Modern stories demythologizing long-underwear sooper-heros have been around for a while... "Marvelman," "The Watchmen," DC's Vertigo imprint, and more recently "Powers" and Marvel's "Ultimates" timeline. But few books have approached the topic with such sheer venom as Garth Ennis's "The Boys," in which a mysterious, steroidal hardcase named Billy Butcher assembles an anti-supergroup whose aim is to take the stuffing out of the supergroups that have run rampant over the world. Butcher gets government backing, and puts his Scooby gang together, then sets his sights on some relative small fry: a teen supergroup filled with sex-crazed ultra-brat packers called the Kix. Ennis has a parallel plotline involving an, a-list elite superhero group called The Seven, who are this world's version of the Justice League or the Avengers -- and they are equally crass and unlikeable, and by the end of this first book, we're ready to see them get taken down a few pegs. Looks like Butcher and his headstompers are just the folks to do it. The characters are generally pretty thinly portrayed (which I often find true in Ennis's work) but the plot and the mood are compelling. It's a fun, though rather dark-toned, grisly book, with themes that may seem familiar to folks who have read Ennis, Alan Moore, et. al., over the years. I'm looking forward to Book Two. (ReadThatAgain)

My kids are just over four, they love this item. I'd say about 80% of the questions are ones they can answer at this age so I would not recommend it for a child who is closer to 5 unless they have some delays. Some of the questions are typical of intelligence tests where they question experience rather than ability. For instance, we live in a warm climate and my kids don't really recognize a lot of winter items.

The exercises and questions on these cards work much better than some of the workbooks I have purchased, even though they are aiming at the exact same goal (like seeing patterns).

I love Brain Quest and so does my daughter! Parents spend the money, it is worth it! Two thumbs up, WAY UP!!!
Caring Mom on the Coast

We have these now for lots of age groups and they continue to be a 'hit' with our kids. It's a nice alternative to a 2nd book or addition to reading with your kids. In our house it's considered "Dad's" thing to do at weekends.

Need something to entertain your child at a drs appts or waiting for dinner to be served while dining out. This is the product for u!!

My daughter (just turned 3) loves these questions and asks to play with them frequently. If the occasional question is beyond her experience or ability, you can make up your own. It's also great for traveling or waiting rooms etc.

I forgot how long Curious George books are. I remembered them being short when I was a kid. Anyway, my 4 year loves the cartoon and show on PBS so I thought I would give these a try. She really likes these books w/ CD. She can follow along on her own. Audio and Narrators are very good. My 4 year old has a long attention span. Some of these books can be up to 30 minutes. If your child cannot sit still that long, it may not be for you.

I bought this set for my 4 year old boy. Little did I know that this would also be a mommy sanity saver gift as well. I gave this to my little boy with a cd player to enjoy. On the first day he opened it, I had forgotten that he was in the house beacause he was so quiet, for a whole hour. And well my little boy is like Curious George, always into something. So for him to be quiet and out of trouble for an hour was a glorious event in my house. He enjoys the book and cd so much that now it's his own little word of reading and enjoying. He even brings it in the car to take with him to enjoy. What an incredible gift this turned out to be. I highly recommend to anyone. I will definitely keep on my list to buy again as Birthday presents in the future. Trust me all your friends with thank you endlessly.

My Grandson loves Crious George and I am always satisfied with my purchases from Amazon.

Tells when they need to turn the page. My 4 yr old loves it. Him and my 2 yr old love Curious George!

We use books on cd as an alternative to using a dvd player in the car... and these cd's work perfectly for that! The narrator tells you what the picture is on the page where the story starts if you want to follow along with the book (which my kids sometimes do). I like that they have the sound that lets you know when to turn the page (if you choose that track, every other track has the page turn sounds)... some kids' books on cd/tape don't do that and if you have a kid that isn't a reader yet, it makes it harder to follow along without a reader's assistance. These are also great for bedtime... we will read one story, then turn out the lights and the kids can go to sleep to another one (without the page turning sounds).

I wish that all kids collections were available like this one.