Games Books

Though the annotations and variations are detailed and full of chess insights, in the end it is the chatty tone and charming frankness of Mikhail Tal that sets this book apart. Yes, you can read it and learn chess, or you can just enjoy the story.
Some of the games are themselves spectacular and suggest fun opening lines that are not always seen. For example, game 1 in the "solid" French features Black sacrificing his kingside pawns to a rampaging queen in return for an opposite side attack. These Qg4 lines you will at least commonly see in books on the French, but Tal's ideas against the equally solid Caro (Ne2, Nf4 and sacrifice on e6) are not as well remembered and lead to some wild, wide-open play that is easily emulated by amateurs.

One of the great World championship matches. Just a great book for any chess player of average or above playing strength.

This has to be the most approachable WC book i've ever read. The annotations are very approachable, even for a weaker player such as myself. Variations are kept within reason. The real nice thing about the book is it gives you this feeling of being there, with Tal setting the scene both in words and with some very nice photographs throughout the book. Highly recommended.

As most other reviewers state over and over this is a great chess book. Tal provides insight on why he chose almost every move in his championship games against Botvinik in 1960.

I am a strong expert player. After reading this book, I drew with two IMs in the next tournament I played in, and in both those games I had winning positions when the draw was agreed.

I am not saying that this book will have the same effect on any reader. However, weak squares, strong vs. weak bishops, pawn breaks and a lot of other tactical and positional concepts will implicitely become a part of your chess awareness if you read this book.

Chess enjoyment and implicit teaching are provided by this book. I highly recommend it.

Indeed this is a great book and Tal's comments allows a reader to get the feel for what was going on during 1960 Championship Match. You'll get 21 thoroughly annotated games.

I want to warn potential buyers who plan to get a new book directly from Amazon. The new 2003 edition does NOT have the last section "Additional Games" and contains only 212 pages. If you preview Amazon pages, the Table of Contents refers to the 2000 edition and contains that last section. So, buyers beware. I tried Amazon customer service but they have no control over what edition gets picked. In fact, it seems that 2000 edition is no longer available from Amazon.

I first read this book just after it was first published some 50 years ago. It was, I recall, a pleasure to read then and doubly so to re-read the account of Corbett's adventures again today. Jim Corbett's somewhat matter-of fact, understated style is a delight to read and his simple yet vivid descriptions of the Indian locale and the people, who play a part in his story are those of a man that loves and deeply understands this land and its people. Corbett is no wanton destroyer of wildlife but a protector of impoverished and often terrified communities who understands and explains with sympathy, why the prey he hunted were forced to become what they were.

Any book by Jim Corbett is an interesting read. Although, nowadays, big game hunting is a thing of the past (I reckon), yet it is through the eyes of the author that the reader can seamlessly go back to the times when it was not so.

The stories are beautifully detailed in their descriptions of the expeditions, the customs of the hill folks, their traditions, courage, and (some interesting) superstitions. More often than not while reading the book, I have wondered whether whether I would know what happens in the end because of some absolutely incredible situations and circumstances described.

HOW THIS MAN COULD MOVE THROUGH THE JUNGLE SO EASILY I DON'T KNOW..HE MUST HAVE HAD BAZOOMAS LIKE BASKETBALLS...LOL

In a few words Jim Corbett can transport you back 60-100 years & make you feel like you are right there beside him tracking a Tiger in India. There is no bravado, he comes across as very humble. I had read his "Man-Eaters of Kumaon" several years ago & thought it was without a doubt one of the best books I had ever read. Even knowing how good his books were I was still highly impressed with this book as well. It isn't just the tigers he describes but the whole Indian country-side & the people & animals that habitat the place. He takes you there. Don't hesitate to read one of his books.

Once again in this book Jim Corbett has proved it, he was a awesome incredible gentleman. I have never seen anyone who could write like him. Amazing man with amazing courage. His modesty is revealed throughout his book. He goes through so much suffering and pain, but never once writes about it. From his book you can feel how much concern he had for people. People trusted him with with their lives. His book teaches us a lot about jungles. I would recommend this to anyone who likes animals. Once again Jim Corbett you were and still are the best writes of adventures.

Jamie is a great columnist of dojo this book is wonderfool for all MTG fans all ower the world best regards from Russia

I spent $100 to buy this book and found it well worth it. Other MTG books age, this does not. Jamie Wakefield is very entertaining.

Many current experienced M:tG writer were influenced by Jamie Wakefield. This book makes a wonderful autobiography of someone struggling to be one of the best Magic players around.

You will not be sorry if you buy this book.

Magic has got to be one of the most fun games ever created, and even reading about someone elses partaking in that fun makes for an enjoyable reading experience. Jamie's book is pretty much a personal dairy completely pertaining to his preparation for and in Magic tournaments.

He'll give you some idea about what makes a tournament winning deck, of course, only your practice will ever perfect this. He opened my eyes to the fact that a majority of the decks are built around the key cards of each color. i.e. If you're playing black, you're probably facing Necro. What this means for you--even if you don't get to play frequently--is you can browse the internet to find out the trend decks or cards and be pretty certain you'll face them on the tournament scene. Right now, Masticore and Cursed Scroll seem to be biggies for several of the top decks.

In a sentence, you can learn a lot about what to expect at Pro Tours without ever leaving your home. This book was a fun read.

Jamie Wakefield's tournament reports draw you into his life. The book inlcudes some strategy advice, but mainly engrosses you in the story of Jamie's experiences at Magic tournaments. If there is a volume 2, I will buy it.

I think Dave Morris and Jamie Thomson have started something that won't stop until they've created a whole universe. The game is a little hard at first, but that's not enough to lose it any more than one star. It's a really great idea. They've actually produced something that no one has ever thought of before.

I once owned "war torn kingdom" and "cities of gold and glory"
but I lost them both in a house fire. I have always wished to own the entire series. But I would be happy with one for the time being. Info on where to get any would be great.

You're right, these books are genius. Books 1-6 in the series were released in the UK under the name "Fabled Lands". I own books 1, 2, 4, and 5 and would be very interested to know where i could get 3 and 6.

I got this book for my birthday, but didn't play it until 3 months later. I loved it!!!! I found out that Cities of Gold and Glory are part of the Series, all I want to know how many more their and and where I can get them and their name!!!!

My wife found this in a clearance rack at our local Safeway store and thought I might like it. I actually forgot about it until 2 months later. I was drawn into it last week, and could not put it down. I think it is a wonderful role-playing adventure. I only have this one, and am searching for more books. There was a web-site that had the entire series, but it was taken off the web. If anyone can, please let me know where I can find more in the series. Thank you!

The book is very well written, and easy to read. I enjoyed the Craps and the Baccarat section. It explains the house advantage of various games including Blackjack and some of the poker games to name a few. It includes most if not all Vegas games.

As a casino dealer in Atlantic City I see people play stupid all the time. For the most part it is not because they are not intelligent, but they do not know how to play the games so the house has the lowest advantage over them. Siblerstang does an excellent job explaining how to play with the lowest house edge, but at the same time the book is a little outdated. It was only written in 1997, but in the craps section he talks about Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas as the only place to offer 10X odds in craps. Last time I checked 100X odds is not too hard to find in Vegas, and 5X odds is not to hard to find in Atlantic City. Even with that said the book is more than worth the money. The next time you gamble and stick with what the author says to do and you find yourself ahead more often than behind you will be happy you bought the book. (And remember that gambling is a negative expectation game: You will lose in the long run! Do not gamble with money that you cannot afford to lose!)

I read Edwin Silberstang's book a long time ago and I am pleased that his analyses and ideas are still around. This man knows the math of the games and he also recommends usually good ways to play. He understands the gamblers too and knows that most of them are looking for "action" which is really just "more losses."

Any gambling library should have this book.

Author of Golden Touch Dice Control Revolution!

I live in New Mexico where you can't find a table with less than 5x odds on craps at the Indian Casinos. After years of marginal returns, my play is now much cleaner and profitable using Silberstang's techniques (play the line & Come, w/max odds). The dealers love when we arrive at the table. I play on the line for the dealers with 5x odds, along with my bets. (The energy is unmatched when there are at least 4 others at the table hoping you hit your point!). I've run into craps dealers and they confirm off the record that the propositional bets are pure profit "CHUMP" bets for the house.
My husband is a PhD mathematician and agrees with the statitics and odds stated in this well written book.

I purchased this book while attending a wedding in Las Vegas. I saw it in the hotel gift shop and did the touristy thing-- I bought a book about gambling in Las Vegas. I'm glad I did.

Silberstang has written an easy to follow primer on the most common gambling games that you will find in a casino. His book covers the classic table games-blackjack, craps, roulette (both American and European versions), baccarat, and keno. He also explores recent casino additions-Caribbean Poker, Let It Ride, and video poker. Slot machines, casino operation, and credit are even discussed.

Unlike some of the drivel I have read about gambling, Silberstang dispels some of the myths associated with gambling "systems." He clearly explains the games with examples, and gives the odds and demonstrates which bets favor the house (and by how much).

This was an interesting and enlightening read.

Rarely have I found a book reviewing pawn structures as they relate to actual tournament experience. Alexander Baburin has written, what has clearly been recognized already, as a classic! The ideas are developed around the typical pawn structures arising from many opening leading to the isolated queen pawn (IQP) and it's derivatives (pawn couples, hanging pawns, etc.) which occur in most openings like the Queens Gambit, Caro Kann, etc.. He develops his concepts and teaches ideas and plans with examples from very well annotated full length games from actual competition. Reading this book, is almost as good as having a private coach!

Definitely a 5 star rating for this book!!!

The quality of Baburin's work is off the charts. This book opened my eyes to the Isolated Queen's Pawn structure, which I try to get in as many games as I possibly can because this book showed me how to demolish people with it (at my level, Class "A," and even somewhat above my level).

One could call this a "specialized" middlegame text, but because the presence of the IQP is so ubiquitous in chess, this is just an extremely important work, and one that I feel doesn't get as much attention as it deserves.

The whole book is fantastic, but Part 1 (basically, Attacking with the IQP) is absolutely exceptional. THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR BEGINNERS, and you MUST know "basic" kingside attacking motifs to get optimal value out of it. But tournament players who go through it will have their eyes opened for sure. This book trains you to play IQP positions with calculation and general principles together! Baburin shows you the plans (even multiple plans in the same opening system) and when faced with such positions you will know almost exactly what to do.

If you like to learn how to handle chess positions with the isolated Queen's Pawn ("Isolani") this is the book! Baburin explains the methods to play the isolated pawn positions clearly. This book would be very beneficial for players between USCF 1700-2000. While learning about the isolated pawn positions your middle game technique will improve in general as well.

Please be careful with this book. Its basically a very advanced text on Isolated Pawn structures, in fact its the most advanced text on this subject in the English language. I really do not think that you would be able to read it cover to cover unless you are at least ELO 2000. Its a brilliant piece of work and I hope the author continues the series to cover passed pawns,doubled pawns etc. The only way i would advise anyone below ELO 2000 to buy this book is to use it as a game reference with your opening book. You would need to play one of the following openings Caro Kan, Queens Gambit, the Nimzo Indian defense or the French defense. It makes you realise that the Isolated pawn is a great source of strength or a fundamental weakness and occurs a lot in certain types of openings. As an advanced player you need to know how to play each side of this equation as it will often be the central issue that will decide the game.

Yes, this is a great book on the IQP. How can I add anything to the splendid reviews by Hashimm4 and A.J.Goldsby I? I can't, except to say, the book's title, "Winning Pawn Structures," is suspiciously misleading. How about something like "The Isolated Queen's Pawn: Winning Strategies"? Surely the title is a crass attempt by the publisher to increase his market of chess readers.

But my REAL complaint (with a segue back to Baburin's work) is with A.J.Goldsby's misrepresentation of Nimzowitsch's "My System", which happens too often for me to let this one go by (especially by a top 1000 reviewer who presents himself as a chess authority -- which he probably is). To quote Goldsby's review:

"This book was a major revelation to me. Having grown up under the influence of Nimzovich, I had mostly assumed that the positions containing an Isolated Queen's-Pawn, like any isolated pawn; was weak and should be avoided at all costs. (I almost never allowed myself to be saddled with an IQP, mostly as a result of what I had learned from Nimzowitsch's "My System.") This is a fallacy."

I am yet again amazed by a chess critic's misinformation regarding "My System" (while, admittedly, the later "Chess Praxis" tends to tarnish the IQP's reputation). It's as if they've never even read this classic!

In "My System," Nimzowitsch has a chapter entitled: "The isolated d-pawn and its descendants." In it he addresses both the potential weaknesses of the IQP and the inherent strengths. He refers to the IQP as "permeated with dynamic strength." He COMMANDS that the student experience "how dangerous an enemy isolani may be." He says the IQP's strength "lies in its lust to expand (advance)," and that it "protects and indeed creates the White outpost stations at e5 and c5 [noting the enemy has only one outpost, and that White's at e5 "would have a sharper effect than is ever possible to an opposing Knight on d5."]. He shows how to take advantage of the extra open file that comes with the IQP. And he even has a section entitled, "4. The isolani as a weapon of attack in the middlegame." While, yes, he fully explains how the IQP can be weak, especially in the endgame (suggesting as a countermeasure that you make a timely use of the IQP's attacking possibilities in the middlegame), the fact is that Nimzowitsch gives a FULL understanding of the IQP's advantages... as well as weaknesses.

Which brings us back to "Winning Pawn Structures." Just like Nimzowitsch, Baburin discusses both the advantages and disadvantages of the IQP. How to attack WITH it and AGAINST it. Nimzowitsch covers this topic (and that of isolated pawn couples and hanging pawns!) in about 10 pages. Very effectively, I might add.

Thus, if you already have a good grasp of positional chess, then read Baburin's great book. Otherwise, pick up a more general book on positional chess that includes, but does not dote on, the IQP....

How about this little gem: "My System"

My granddaughter is with me during part of the summer. When the books arrived, she was almost six.
We found some interesting things to do. I monitor her tv and computer viewing. So when she got bored and it was not tv time, she would say: get the book! And we always found some fun things to do.

This book is great for days when your board. You need almost nothing to to all the activities. We use it much more than our other craft books! You must by it!

For each activity, the authors explain how to do the activity, materials required and materials that are optional to use

365 activities to choose from which are grouped into 16 categories

Safety reminders are included to ensure safe play environments and to monitor potentially tricky materials

The authors explains the importance of quality tiem and quailty play

Few of the many activites includes:
Alphabet Hands
Atlas Adventure
Crayon Rubbings
Easy House of Cards
Family Calender

Gotcha!
House Detective
I've Got a List
Phone Words
Sand Painting

I tripped across this book at my local library and I am here looking for my own copy, as we are limited on how long we keep it. I brutally removed the kids from their TV addiction, and the transition has been difficult on the older ones especially. This book has been my salvation. The prereader like to pick out things by picture, my beginner read has no problem understanding the direction and my toddler and teen get involved too. We have used this to fill the huge void of television and to stave of the "mom I am bored..." routine. This is a small book it fits in my purse and we take it with us everywhere. Breaking the index down by activity type means I can have a Doctor's waiting room idea or a park idea up in running in 2 minutes. The materials list is in the margin for easy access and all the material are everyday every house items, half of which are in my purse any way... This book is a keeper!

This book was recommended in the book Living the Simple Life. I'm so glad I took the time to get it. It's a wonderful resource for busy families looking to spend some quality time together. So turn that TV off and buy this book. Encourages you and your child's imagination and they learn through playing with simple things around the house and the bonus is that by not watching that TV, you've spent memorable time with each other...what could be better?

I saw this book on the shelf and opened it ever so gently and reverently. Those beautiful pictures of Lionel Trains reproduced from the old catalogs graced the pages. I went back in time for a few moments and tried to recall those days so long ago. I relived for a very fleeting moment that era and in a blink of the eye it was gone. But I savored the moment and put it away somewhere special to take out again perhaps on a rainy day as I gaze out my window in a bit of melancholy and think how long ago it was when I held my first Lionel Train. Flipping through the pages of this book is a moving experience if you grew up with Lionel Trains as I did. Collecting Lionel Trains and the catalogs was truly a family affair and one I will always cherish. This is an important book for me. I don't have to take out my Lionel catalogs with their yellowing and brittle pages or pull out streamlined passenger cars or boxcars from my closet in orange boxes now crumbling at the edges. I can sit down and open this book and gaze into the past and just remember. Just remembering is good enough these days. Just remembering when.

A "must have" for Lionel Train enthusiasts. I'm not sure who enjoys it the most, my 60 year old husband or our three year old grandson! Ours is getting so dog-eared from hours of enjoyment that we might need to think about a repalacement!

Officially licensed by Lionel itself, The Art Of Lionel Trains: Toy Trains And American Dreams by Roger Carp is more than just a simple showcase of promotional art that the Lionel company used to advertise their classic model locomotives; its informed and informative text follows the journey and evolution of the internationally famous model railroading company and its various products that inspired hobbies and dreams in households across America. Illustrated throughout in full color and a highly recommended addition to any personal or community library Railroading History collection, The Art Of Lionel Trains is as much a trip down memory lane for model train buffs as it is a peek to an era when advertising art was lively yet simple.

The book is a beauty (as a graphic arts product) but as the review title reads I am a little bit disapointed. Don't get me wrong. I like Roger Carp and his writting. In fact, he is almost the only reason I am suscriber to TCC magazine. However the book, in my humble opinion, falls short in the two aspects one could possible focus on: the Lionel art and the information about it. The illustations though as nice as we expect from Lionel history are pretty much common for Lionel enthusiasts and very well known from long ago. One could think that being this a book about Lionel art something special would appear.

The text did not contribute much to the common knowledge of Lionel aficionados. Commom places such as the bond between fathers and sons and the search for security during rough times, fill most of the space in the book. Not even short biographies of artists as important as Robert Sherman appear in the text. Carp's great sense of humor is also pretty much absent.

In short, I think the other superb books by Roger Carp left me expecting more than real life provides. Everyone has the right to some "failure". In the case of Roger Carp I think this book fills the bill for that.

"Saying 'Lionel' to anyone over the age of 40 brings forth nods of recognition and stories of smoking, whistling trains chugging around Christmas trees."

"The Art of Lionel Trains" is a showcase of familiar images, famous pictures and the artwork from catalog covers, newspaper advertising and other marketing pieces. Some of the pictures are sentimental and show the dreams of children.

When my mother bought my husband his first Lionel Train, I think he spent most of one afternoon putting the track together and then would amuse our cats by running the train at least once a day, complete with smoke billowing about in our mostly empty room. I kept wondering what was burning. My memories of Lionel Trains now include cats jumping across tracks to avoid the impending doom. They were actually quite fascinated for weeks.

This book highlights classic Lionel trains, helps to revive memories of toy trains from the past and analyzes art and its relationship to dreams and values.

The Chapters Include:

Dreams of Ambition 1900-1923
Dreams of Consumption 1920-1933
Dreams of Authority 1931-1947
Dreams of Security 1946-1964
Dreams of Nostalgia 1963-1993
Dreams of Tomorrow 1990-2003

This book is a history of Lionel Trains from 1900-2003 and is the perfect gift for Lionel Train fans everywhere. Each chapter contains detailed information on all things train through an analysis of advertising.

What I noticed, is a sense of family unity throughout the pictures. It also seems that a Lionel Train looks best with a Christmas tree. Artists actually started promoting this idea back in the1920s. The text in the advertising is readable in most cases. You have to love the pictures of the poor kids watching while "grandpa and dad" took over the train tracks.

Roger Carp has been a member of the editorial staff of Classic Toy Trains magazine since 1988. You might want to look for additional selections by Roger Carp:

The World's Greatest Toy Train Maker: Insiders Remember Lionel

Classic Lionel Display Layouts You Can Build

~TheRebeccaReview.com

I read this book as a teenager many years ago and assume it's been out of print for many years. Don't know how historically accurate it is, but as a story, it totally rocks! The author brings the days of the Caesars to life with poignancy and humor. A must-read!

Mannix' "Those About to Die" combines a historical and sociological view of the Games of the Roman Republic and Empire. With the title taken from the traditional gladiators' greeting, "Hail Caesar! We who are about to die salute you!", this book traces the history of the Roman games from Anchises' funerary games in Vergil's Aeneid to the inevitable coarsening and excess of Imperial Rome. Along the way, we learn about the engineering of the Circus Maximus, the training of the gladiators, the orgiastic response of both plebs and patricians in the audience, and even the horrific cruelty inherent in such a scene. Mannix' "Those About to Die" provides tremendous insights into a cultural and sociological ritual the likes of which have never been seen before -- and, hopefully, will never be seen again.

This is an update after actually receiving the book. Read first, then go to the end for the update.

Almost 50 years have passed since I first read this shocker and I've found it again. Before pushing "go to checkout" this is my memory:
Absolutely incredible book on Roman life. By "incredible," I really do mean "unbelievable" details of Roman excesses, not just in the killing arena, but in raising and eating rare foods: hummingbird tongues, fish that changed colors as they were boiled alive, unborn calves and other animals cooked inside their mothers, and on and on.
In the arena, there were specialists in animal as well as human destruction called "bestiarii" who could kill a lion with their bare hands. The author said the bestiarii hated and feared only leopards because of the animals' blinding speed.

The Roman Colosseum arena could be flooded in minutes, not only for mock sea battles, but for imaginary paradise islands populated by luscious women and handsome men singers and musicians--who were fed to crocodiles to the delight of the crowd.

So out of hand did the "Bread and Circuses" of Rome become that shipments of sand for the Colosseum floor were given priority over shipments of food, according to that author.

I read this shocking book as a very young teenager--it was a paperback book belonging to an uncle. If I can remember this much after nearly 50 years, this is a book that stays with you--whether totally true or not.

UPDATE---Well, I was half right, because this is about half the book it was. Not Amazon's fault. The book arrived in less than a week in surprisingly good condition for a paperback.
No, the 1960 publisher "reverse Bowdlerized" the original I read. Thomas Bowdler gave his name to heavy editing by taking out "indelicate" parts of Shakespeare for a family edition.
This publisher left all the indelicate parts in, resulting in 153 pages of blood, guts and sex.

My guess is that 100 pages of the original are missing. Nothing on the raising and eating of rare foods except a brief mention of thrushes' tongues (not hummingbirds)and baby mice. Very little on the daily lives of Romans and the rich. Probably considered too boring.
Still a helluva read by Daniel Mannix. He put together an exciting and only partly imaginary account of the horror and spirit of the "games" of ancient Rome. Today's "Mortal Kombat" types of computer games and popularity of "reality" TV shows are a perfect reflection of old bloodlust, proving Mannix right in saying in 1958 that America would revel in actual fights to the death today.
But I wanted more than blood and guts, and miss the "boring" parts. Instead of Bowdlerized, the original was disemboweled--with glee.

I read this book over a decade ago and even today, now that I do not have the copy anymore, I still remember the title and the impact it had on me then. It has been on my wish-list for years and plan to order it again soon. I have had many occasions to refer to it in conversations with friends and aquaintances, be it toward politic themes, animal training, or in college. This book gives a fascinating insight into mankind, the beast.

when I was given this book, I thought it would be a laborious read; I was wrong! Daniel Mannix has done an excellent job of bringing dimension & depth to a subject that few of us really understand. It's a real pity that this piece of literature is now out of print because every student of history should have this narrative in their personal library. I now watch 'SPARTACUS' from a totally different perspective!

I am very grateful for those who helped create this CD-ROM.

It is an indispensible asset for any musicologist, music student, music teacher, music lover...heck, Wagner Lover!

This forms an extremely vital part of my Wagner discography, it's an important reference I always have on hand when wanting to study the epic Ring Cycle.

Thanks for choosing the Solti version and I guess those of us that were impressed by this are looking forward to further Wagner/Solti CD-ROM's hopefully dedicated to keeping Solti's Wagner legacy alive!

This is an incredible product! For those that like to follow the manuscript, the music and the translation of the libretto, this is excellent. I would love to see more of these. I will buy.

I agree with all the other glowing reviews of the Ring Disc! In 2003, I had the opportunity to perform excerpts from the Ring (I'm an orchestral violinist) but did not know a thing about the opera cycle except for maybe Ride of the Valkyries. Fortunately, my violin teacher owned the Ring Disc which she lent me, and with it I basically gave myself a crash course on the Ring in the space of a week. I really felt that its features helped me begin to understand, in a relatively short period of time, one of classical music's most daunting masterpieces. I now love the Ring and can't wait to attend my first Ring cycle!

As everyone else has already stated, this disc is absolutely amazing. Just getting the entire Solti Ring at this price makes it a bargain. But add in all the essays, the pointing out of the leitmotiffs, the libretto, the running commentary, and all the other features, and this is the kind of deal that you would be crazy to pass up. This disc is, probably, the best and most efficient way to learn everything you need to know about the Ring. Also, if you're worried about compatability, don't be. I have Windows XP, and the disc runs perfectly with no installation or technical hassles. Just put it in and start the experience. If you are at all interested in Wagner's Ring cycle, this disc is perfect!

Fantastic, overwhelming . . . superb guide. Easy to use, fine reproduction of the music (the entire Ring all on one CD!), running commentary with hypertext notes on themes and characters, notes on the leitmotifs with sound bites, images, etc. -- can't say enough, really. Only suggestion would be to have additional navigation by "track" (as on a conventional CD, if possible) -- but this is a quibble.
Buy this -- you will not regret it one bit -- this is the guide to the Ring you have always wanted.