Games Books

I agree with Van55. (What else is new?!) This is a fantastic book. I bought my copy used through Amazon over a year ago, and I am still making reference to it. If you are a fan of quality Cuban cigars, you need this volume along with Min Ron Nee's work. In contrast to Min Ron Nee's book, this one has much more on the history and production of the cigars. The photos, many full page, are colorful and moving.

While this book does have descriptions and evaluations of various vitolas, the ones in MRN's book are much more thorough and complete. That does not mean that the ones you will find in the book are not useful, but they are best treated as an overview. Don't look for detail here. But then again, this book is less than half the price of the MRN book, and it is much easier to find.

Again, you probably need both books, but buy this one first. You won'd be disappointed. Makes a great coffee table book too!

I really appreciated this book for the photography and the explanation of the manufacturing process. Del Todesco does a great job of walking the reader through the myriad processes of creating a puro. The only thing about this book that left me a little disappointed was the review of cigars in the back. It seems a little difficult to review a cigar in one sentence, especially cigars that are as complex as a Montecristo #2 or a Hoyo de Monterrey...but time and again, he sums up an otherwise world famous cigar as "suitable for a beginner" or "mild, not much to recommend about this cigar". It just struck me as odd to have a compilation as deep as what is presented in this book and then give the cigars an extremely indifferent and passing glance en masse. The first 130 pages were interesting no matter what level of aficianado you are...the encyclopedia could use a good second edition enhancement.

This is a great reference book for specific havana brands. Life sized images of most cigars from nearly all brands is included along with vitola information and author's tasting notes/suggestions. This is in addition to general cigar information like history of tobacco, tobacco cultivation and creating a cigar. The specific details are a bit dated (1997) but still the best I have seen published in the US. However, Min Ron Nee's text is superior if you can obtain it.

I found this book at Amazon while searching for the second printing of "An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Post-Revolution Havana Cigars" by Min Ron Nee, that I understand is soon to be released for sale within the United States.

Mr. del Todesco's book, though now nearly ten years old, remains a valuable addition to the library of anyone who has an interest in Cuban cigars. The first 130 or so pages contain a detailed history of Cuba's cigar-making as well as a seed-to-cigar description of the creation of Cuban cigars. Most of these pages consist of excellent photographs of Cuba and of the farmers, torcedors and others whose skill and knowledge contribute to the manufacture of, arguably, the best cigars on earth. The last half of the book consists of sepia photgraphs and brief descriptions and tasting notes of the brands (marcas) and sizes (vitolas) of Cuban cigars that were in commercial production in 1996. Comparing these notes to more recent reviews of examples of later productions of these cigars is fascinating.

I'm glad that I happened to have stumbled onto the existence of this beautiful volume.

With the plethora of books currently available on cigars in general and on Habanos in particular, this is (still) the one item no cigar aficionado dare be without.

When my friend told me about this manga 4 years ago my first reaction was "A manga about Igo (or Wei-Chi in Chinese)? Who'd want to read that?!" I resisted for about a year until I finally gave in to his naggings and picked up the first volume...and was completely hooked by the end of it. I immediately went and get a set for myseif, and to this day it has remained on the top of my favoriates (no small feat for someone who has hundreds of mangas and changes favoriates constantly). The story, the artworks, the characters... everything just grabs you and pulls you in and never letting go, and you don't want to be let go. I'm glad that they are bringing this manga to the US, and I'm going to collect the English version as well so I can introduce this wonderful work to my friends who can't read Japanese or Chinese. Do yourself a favor and pick it up, you won't be disappointed. This truly is a title that any manga or anime fans shouldn't do without.

Hikaru Shindo needs money fast and he's getting pretty desperate, even looking through his granfather's attic with his best friend, Akari, for any old junk he can sell. He's short of money because his allowance has been taken away by his parents for his bad grades in school. They manage to find an old Go board with what appears to be a bloodstain on it. Soon after that Hikaru begins to hear a disembodied voice only audible to him and then the voice is joined by a ghostly apparition of an 1000 year old Go player named Fujiwara-no-Sai from the Heian Period. He used to be the instructor to the Emperor, but a rival's plots threw him into disgrace and he eventually committed suicide. But his soul yearned to play more Go, and he has been able to appear to certain people through the ages to help him on his quest to play the "Divine Move". Now he hopes to enlist Hikaru in the drive to that goal.

I've found over the years that I can read manga or watch anime that get me interested in subjects I would never have sought on my own. The game of Go was something I had heard of but had no idea how to play before watching and reading Hikaru No Go. Even though I didn't understand every move being played by the characters I did get the GIST of what was going on, and felt suspense or excitement in what is essentially a mental game instead of a physical one. That is the true triumph of the writer and the artist. Making something that shouldn't be inherently interesting to non-players exciting and entertaining. Yumi Hotta's passion for the game really shows. Sometimes you can get swept up into another's passion through sheer force of will. The characters introduced in Volume 1 are likeable even though Sai is a little too girly for me. There's even a rival for Hikaru to go up against that is his own age, Akira Toya, the son of the best Go player in Japan, and a great talent in his own right. Great book. The anime series is good too.

i love this manga its the coolest!!its about a kid named hikuru and he finds a spirt that used to play go and it helps him play go.its realy good i recemend it for all ages!

I am amazed at how powerful an effect these books have had on my children. I mean that now that they have been reading these books they have developed an interest in playing go. They knew I played and have seen my go board but they never asked me to teach them until after they started reading these books. Within two weeks of the purchase of this book my 14 and 10 year old sons were playing go and I had never given any lessons to my 10 year old. They are continually asking me to get more of the series. It is great. I am very happy.

Yeah! I've seen the whole anime series (in chinese) already, and believe me it's really good! The end is sort of a "you choose" type of ending, so... you get my point.

Hikaru no go is a great manga promoting the ancient chinese/japanese game go. The object of the game is use black and white pieces and occupy most of the board. You can "eat" sections of your opponent's part by totally surrounding a portion of his pieces. Hikaru no go is about a young boy (6th grade) named Hikaru who just happens to find a go board in his father's attic! It seems that only he can see the blood stains on the board and suddenly a human/ghost come out of the board and has been longing to play go for the past hundred years. Sai (the ghost that looks totally like a person) couldn't die and go to heaven until he mastered the "divine move".

At first Hikaru, like any sane person, denys Sai what he wants (to just play go) Then, also like any sane person, consents when Sai's unquenchable sadness causes Hikaru to get sick. In Japan some people devote their whole lives just playing to and become go instructors. The game originally came from China, but it became more popular in Japan. Back to the story, Hikaru goes into a go club and finds that the whole place is full of adults. The suddenly he spots a boy his age and asks to play with him. Turns out, however, that the boy his age named Akira is the son of the best go player in Japan! Sai directs Hikaru in where to put the pieces and he wins without any effort. Akira is naturally shocked seeing that the way Hikaru holds the go pieces is like a beginner, but his moves are from hundreds of years ago! Akira has basically never been beat before, being a go prodigy, so now he has a new goal: to beat Hikaru.

The story progresses and tells about how hikaru gets taught by Sai in how to play the game, and expert moves. Hikaru learns very quickly and goes from a school team, to the city tournament, to applying to become a go instructor for life! It also tells of his struggles to beat Akira and how all the upper go players are keeping an eye on him. It's interesting when Hikaru and Sai go play on-line go with other real players from around the world. You get to see Sai kicking other countries' best player's butts!

Oh yeah, did I mention that only 3 people get become go instructors each year? Akira already got a spot the year before. Do you think Hikaru is up to the challenge? If he does get in, will he be able to compete with people on/above his level?

If you like this manga, I strongly recommend "Whistle!" as well

Books of this sort are terrific for... oh, all sorts of things.

The only problem I have with them is that the riddles are too hard - we can't find everything!

Can't get enough of the I Spy Books. Fun for the children and adults.
Very satisfied

My seven year old son got this book for Christmas and loves it. Not only does he like to find the objets, but he loves "racing" his father to see who can find an object first! I would highly recommend this book for any child who loves puzzles!

I love this series. I gave this book to a woman to celebrate her first grandchild. It's a wonderful series for children and grownups and even better when used together. Very creative.

Looking for things to do with my Mother who is in the realms of Alzheimer's Trying to tickle the mind with fun things. These books are great. I enjoy too.

We got this book out of our local library and my 6 yr old daughter was so busy making things out of it I was glad to find it online to add to our home library!! It is full of simple craft ideas made from common household items. I am pleased to see her enjoy it so much!

This book is really cute. I found it at the Thrift store and it is what sparked my love for all of the books by Williamson Publishing. Most of the art can be made with things you already have around the house. My daughters love flipping through and finding something fun to do. We use it for homeschool. This is a very fun book with great ideas!

I have a lot of kids art books. This one actually has activities that we really want to do.

I work with special ed preschoolers and this book was very helpful in planning art projects with the kids. The instructions are clear, the ideas are fun and there are pictures of what the finished product should look like. I would highly recommend this book to anyone working with young kids; teacher or parent

My 5 year daughter and I have been having heaps of fun creating the art in this book. While my 2 year old son has an afternoon sleep we can complete one of these activities. The materials are mostly household items and the rest are easy to come by. It's very well presented with easy to follow steps. It's got all the old "classics" - paper dolls, papier-mache, spoon puppets and the egg carton caterpillar. A much better way to fill in an afternoon than her watching a movie while I clean the house!

I haven't seen it for sale in Australia and am very glad to get it from Amazon.

We love it!

I've been coaching Little League for five years now, and loved reading this account of Little League from about 20 years ago. The stereotypical depictions of coaches that Geist uses are still dead-on accurate, as are his descriptions of how bad the catching equipment is, and how to hide a bad ballplayer that you have to play in the infield. This is a priceless look at Little League ball that anyone who has ever coached should enjoy.

There are lots of laughs to be had, and you'll find yourself sharing parts with other coaches you know.

I am sure the book is great-the book was purchased for a gift.

I do a ton of reading and just went back and re-read this book. This is probably my favorite all-time book. This book has to be the funniest one I've ever read. Geist is not only a gifted writer, he tweaks all the right people and no irony goes unnoticed.

The humorist columnist Bill Geist had many years of experience coaching his son's little league baseball and kids basketball and his daughter's softball team. He relates his experiences with his usual wit, sarcasm and humor. The book focuses on a particular season of little league baseball where he was able to work with his son Willie's team and actually win the league championship by upsetting Knavery's team in the final game of the season. The tale tells how he bends the rules (though not as much as some other) in a way that still allows the weak players to have fun and yet stay competitive. There is a large degree of truth to the various caricatures of players, coaches and parents that he presents in this tale. But some of the stories are so incredible and it seems like fiction is mixed with reality but clearly it is based on real experience. I relate to many of the issues he brings out. ...
In the epologue Geist confesses that he want his son Willie to be a star player but was satisfied that he made the high school varisty teams. In the end no matter how good or bad they are in little league they all eventually stop playing to do other things that interest them more or they find to have more success and rewards.

To illustrate the humor in the final game losing 12-4 Geist gives the kids sugar treats to pick up their energy. A rally starts but thinking ahead with the worst hitter Monique likely to come up with two outs, Geist gets a 40 ounce drink and gets her to leave on a bathroom break. ... This book has short easy to read chapters and integrates Geist's softball and basketball experiences in the theme of the little league season whereas Dunow had long chapters going back and forth from little league with his son to his childhood experiences with his father. Both books are good in their own way. But this one is much easier to read and more light hearted.

At least, I'm half of Mean Gene Huffman. Gene Ret and I were conglomerated into one large, gawky intimidating Little Leaguer. Who was the more large, gawky, and intimidating is one of the great debates of our time.

Great story. I never knew my drunken high school antics were witnessed by Bill Geist until I got to the end of the book. Geist saw me crash through his bushes and play some sloppy basketball with his son and friends for a few minutes while reminiscing about the old Little League days. And, he parlayed my mishap into a convenient parable on lost youth to wrap up his story.

Well, he's just lucky they were playing basketball that night and I wasn't trying to unload my ferocious fastball or swing a bat. Stay young, eat flax, and long live the glory days of Little League.

First off, major kudos to the reader of this series. He does a great job of changing his voice to separate the characters and keeping the mood of the series. The sound effects were decent as well. They did a pretty good job with the abridgment, unfortunately they cut out many of the little things that made the originals great instead of just good. Anyone new to the series wont notice a thing and us veterans can add the missing paragraphs and ocasional chapter ourselves. With 2 more voice actors, a little better sound effects and the full text this would have been a great buy... As it is, it's still a good series that you can spend a long time listening to.

This is the final book of the trilogy, has lots of action lots of the clans. Comstar finaly shows who the will support and romanno finaly gets whats coming,hehehe. this is an awsome book that everyone will enjoy.

With this book Stackpole concludes the invasion of the Clans.
The final confrontation between Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht of ComStar and ilKhan Ulric,along with Kai and Deirdre getting in love with each other (FINALLY!although it requires
almost half a year in the wilderness),only to break up again.
I LOVED the fact that SOMEONE puts an end to Romano Liao's life
(the whacko had started to get on my nerves),and Victor and Galen.......oh,well you'll see.This book, alongside with the rest of the 'Blood of Kerensky'trilogy is impossible to put down!I,personally, finshed the trilogy in two weeks.It is , simply the best of the best.READ IT!

Lost Destiny has an extremely compelling storyline. Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down, reading until 1 AM from 10 PM, then finishing the next evening! (At that point, I was waaaaay tired). If you're a true BattleTech fan, then you've read this. If not, GET YOUR HANDS ON IT!!!

The book is very good. I learned alot about the clans byreading this book. The glossary is very good. The book even includes a map to pinpoint the worlds mentioned. The BTech universe is brought to new heights with this book. The drama was good, and Romano Liao's death was an interesting twist. All in all, a must read.

There little I can add from previous reviews except I'm in agreement. This is an incredible collection of timeless classic Scientific American articles. Scientific American does not offer these as reprints. Plus there a a number of other Martin Gardner items that never were in Scientific American. I'll use these in my classes.

Martin Gardner has written very entertaining and engaging books about an incredibly wide variety of mathematical worlds and puzzles, and in the process made complex mathematical ideas come to life. This CD features 15 of his books in pdf form. The pdf files consist of page scans, which makes the pdf scroll a little slowly, but that isn't much of a problem.

I highly recommend this to anybody interested in recreational mathematics.

It's always a pleasure to read anything by Martin Gardner. By getting his works on disk, I can have them on my laptop - much easier than books. The only reason I give this collection 4 instead of 5 stars is that I would have liked the books to be in a more searchable format than PDFs - a minor complaint.

Those of us old enough to remember Martin Gardner's columns in Scientific American should buy this CD at least for old times sake. All the favourite characters like Dr Matrix and his daughter are there and it brings back many happy memories of trying to work out some of the problems Martin posed

Millions of people around the world have had their interest in mathematics lit, kindled or fed by the writings of Martin Gardner. His regular column "Mathematical Recreations" appeared in "Scientific American" for over a quarter of a century and those articles were readable, entertaining and highly educational.
This CD-ROM is a collection of all his articles organized according to the book in which they appeared. The books are:

*) Hexaflexagons and Other Mathematical Diversions
*) The Second Scientific American Book of Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions
*) New Mathematical Diversions
*) The Unexpected Hanging and Other Mathematical Diversions
*) Martin Gardner's 6th Book of Mathematical Diversions from Scientific American
*) Mathematical Carnival
*) Mathematical Magic Show
*) Mathematical Circus
*) The Magic Numbers of Dr. Matrix
*) Wheels, Life and Other Mathematical Amusements
*) Knotted Doughnuts and Other Mathematical Bewilderments
*) Penrose Tiles to Trapdoor Ciphers . . . And the Return of Dr. Matrix
*) Fractal Music, Hypercards and More . . .
*) The Last Recreations: Hydras, Eggs, and Other Mathematical Mystifications

The opening page displays icons of all of the books and clicking on any icon switches the display to a split screen where the left section contains the table of contents and the right contains the text of the book. Clicking on any entry in the TOC takes you to that article. The collection is searchable, so if you have only a dim recollection of an article you read years ago, you will still be able to find it.
Martin Gardner is a very humble man, arguing that his skill in mathematical exposition is due to the fact that he does not know very much mathematics. He claims that this forced him to research his subject thoroughly before he began writing the article. I find this the only questionable position that he has ever taken; in my opinion the man is a mathematical genius.

Author Moses Miller's Nan: The Game of Trife is definitely one of the best sequels ever penned! It's not just the fact that the book picks up right where its predecessor left off, all sequels should do that. It lies more with the fact that the central characters remain consistent along with the intriguing story line. It also helps that Mr. Miller is very masterful in the art of story telling, expertly weaving back in forth through the past and present without confusing the readers or disturbing the flow of the story.

Readers of the first installment will be pleased to see that Mr. Miller has not lost a step with the follow up. New characters are introduced that manage to play an integral part in the novel without taking away from the core characters from part one. I don't want to give anything away but please know that the hunt for Nan has been intensified and NYPD is Nan's least concern as he goes forth on his mission to avenge the death of his loved ones.

Nan: The Game of Trife will offer closure but there was an opening left for a third installment aptly titled Trifecta. This closely resembles the word perfect which alludes to know doubt what I know the future release will be because Mr. Miller is definitely offering his readers mind candy!!!!!!

The Game of Trife is a book that has you hanging on to ever word writen on the pages. There was never a moment were I couldn't wait to find out what was gonna happen next.I couldn't wait until Nan left New York to go be with Latoya and his son. everybody got what they had coming. now I'm just waiting for part three jus to see Sonny get his. If you don't have this book you need to really go get it. You won't be disappointed at all.

Nan is back....the story picks up right where it left off in NAN: THE TRIFLING TIMES OF NATHAN JONES. Carson and Sonny are still on the hunt for Nan aka Nathan Jones, with a huge bounty on his head by killer cops. Although he barely survived the first attempt on his life, thanks to his skills in martial arts and survival tactics, everything he has ever loved has been taken from him, and he wants retribution.

Although a story within a story, Mr.Miller introduces a new character Jada. Both Jada and Nan's path will cross on one fateful night, that will effect one another. Like pieces in a puzzle the story fits together.

Mr. Miller is on a whole other level in the writing game. He is an extremely talented writer. I totally agree with Nardsbaby he is an author that is underrated and more people really need to be checking this man's work out. You will be pleasantly surprised how this author can weave a tale.

I think Carson, Sonny and anyone else they can think to hire to take down Nathan Jones aka Nan needs to try a little harder. In the second installment of Moses Miller's wonderfully told stories he picks up right where the first one stopped. With all the things going on Nan is hurt confused and not sure who to go after first. Trying to avoid police at all cost to avenge the deaths of so many people he loves, Nan gets help from a woman in the very place he vowed to never go: a church. Running from some of Sonny's men, Nan runs into Eternal Salvation and into the arms of Sister Sarah. With her own story to tell, Sister Sarah notices something in his eyes and decides right then and there that she would put her life on the line to save this young man. Explaining to Nan that God is not all bad has Nan vulnerable when he can't afford to be, especially with all the people out there still out to kill him. Moving about the city with survival and murder on his mind, Nan uses everything Master Thaddeus taught him...and it came to good use. Nan can't get through his mind that this is the life that our wonderful God had in store for him. He agrees to pray for forgiveness for all the sins he has committed and those committed against him; however, he is still having a hard time believing this wonderful God Sister Sarah is speaking of...the same God whom his mother before her death would kneel on the floor beside him praying at night would allow all these things to happen to him.

I think Mr. Miller did a wonderful job with Nan: The Game of Trife. He makes the reader root for Nan regardless of the murders he committed. The passion in Moses Miller's writing has you on the edge of your seat, wishing you could help save Nan from harm and allow him to live a normal life. Nan: The Game of Trife is a great read and a good sequel to Nan: The Trifling Times of Nathan Jones.

Reviewed by Angie for Urban Reviews

There's Beethoven, Bach, Einstein, Dr. King and Barack Obama all icons of their time and true history makers and breakers and then............ there's Moses Miller.

Ok who is this man and where and how does he find the time to entertain us readers in the manner that he does? The Game of Trife definitely picks up where The Trifling Times of Nathan Jones left us "hangin'". Moses doesn't disappoint not one bit with this sequel, it has all the action of a silver screen movie and flows like a melodic tune. Page turner is not the word I'd use to describe this book at all! I swear Moses makes us readers feel such a part of the book. He's definitely turning the literary world upside down and while he does that I sit anxiously with baited breath waiting for him to amaze me again!!!!

Purchasing the Trifling Times of Nathan Jones.......... $14.95
Purchasing Once Upon a Time in Harlem.....................$12.11
Purchasing Nan: The Game of Trife..............................$14.95
Tickets to the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Ball...............$1000.00

Reading a Moses Miller masterpiece..............................PRICELESS!!!!!

What are you waiting for? Now go out and buy all three, my name is Carla and I approve this message!!!!!

My kids love game-boy, my kids love pokemon, if you have kids who love pokemon, they will love this book, it is hard-cover and had great info and illustrations about all the pokemon, KIDS WHO LOVE POKEMON WILL LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!

My son is in absolute heaven with this book. He can read it over and over, each time discovering something new. Thanks!

This is a terrific source of information for anyone interested in Pokemon.

This is pretty useful for checking out movelists for the various Pokémon. However, the information they give on stats is shaky, and sometimes actually incorrect when you do careful comparison between base stats for each creature. In general, the information is still in the ballpark, but the system they use can sometimes make it difficult to get an accurate comparison between two creatures without actually going in the game and leveling them up.

Also, the book really needs a list of the various Natures and their effects.

Overall, it's a nice purchase, though, and the hardcover is a great plus.

I bought this book for my 8 year old nephew who loves Pokemon. He reads this book religiously and often carries it around with him wherever he goes. He has memorized an incredible amount of information that he has learned from this book. At the very minimum, it is highly entertaining. At its best, it is good exercise for his mind.

I am very happy with this book. The seller shipped it fast and it's in excellent condition. I would definitely buy from them again!

Great''''. I think Sue Heaser writes great books. Good tips and easy to follow directions.

Have not had time to do any projects yet, but I like the book and would purchase it again.

Este libro es una excelente guía para quienes desean iniciar su práctica y conocimiento sobre esta técnica artesanal.
Felicitaciones a la autora Syndee Holt.

The book was exactly what I hoped for. It came quickly and even though I had said I would take a used book I received a new one for the same price.