Games Books

A brutal and unflinching chronicle of house-to-house fighting in the Cholon
District of Saigon during May 1968. A grunt's eye-view of war. Extensive interviews with 9th Infantry vets add depth and a 'you-are-there' feeling. Another great job by Nolan.

Well written. Readership for Vietnam War may be flagging due to focus on Iraq. Key characters well portrayed but minor characters sometimes appear to be confusing as if author is attempting to acknowledge absolutely everyone he has interviewed. The result is a need to reread some pages to straighten out the narrative. Some tendency to be negative about higher ranking seniors who may simply be doing their jobs but may have, in the process, offended those who are excessively critical of them.

This book provides an excellent overview of a little known battle during the Viet Nam war, Mini Tet. It is, however, more than a simple account of a battle; it provides one of the best explanations I have read on why the battle occurred and why the North Vietnamese were successful in winning the all important "hearts and minds" battle for the citizens of Saigon. The book was particularly interesting to me as a soldier who took part in the battle. Many of the names and places were familiar to me, but like many "grunts" I knew very little of what was actually going on. This book finally explained what I was doing and why.

Well written, well researched and best of all an accurate and not pretty description of what we all know was an very ugly war.
I was there. Dustoff Freddy

As one of the battalion commanders at the Battle of the Y-Bridge, I can attest to the fact that Keith Nolan got it right. He has to rank as the foremost historian of the Vietnam War with this, his eleventh book on that war.

Nolan has done a masterful job of pulling together accounts of this battle from hundreds of sources, and producing a very readable story. He did so with great sensitivity and yet told the good and the bad, which is what war is. His transitions from the actions of the various units made for a smooth and continuous story, rather than a bunch of choppy events.

As a participant in this action,I may be prejudiced, but I think this book is better than his previous book on the Vietnam War - Ripcord - and, having read the Maraniss book "They Marched Into Sunlight", House to House is as compelling an account.

I highly recommend this book as a vehicle for discussion of leadership from the small unit to the Division levels of command.
The situations encountered in this book are as applicable to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as they were to the war in Vietnam.

The biggest obstacle to playing the kazoo is to stop laughing as you read this thoroughly thought out and disarmingly funny book. Get into the vibrations of life and hum your way to a constant smile with Barbara Stewart's hilariously serious introduction to the kazoo, a too long overlooked instrument of delight. Got a singing voice that mimics chain saws or screeching brakes? Do you find an instrument with keys to be too complicated? Have you the rhythmic sophistication of a three legged race? Then rejoice! Your musical salvation is at hand! Get into making music with this very inexpensive and easy to master program. I can't recommend it more highly.

My kids wanted it and they convinced me. Now I think it's great. The book imparts the psuedo-skill of world-class kazoophonics with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Worth it for the illustrations alone.

This is the best of all the kazoo books I have ever read. Seriously, it is a work of delight from someone with the wit and talent to support her interest in music and humor. Timeless.

Even if you're a musically marginal person, you can be in on the fun. Like the circus, it's for "children of all ages". Makes a great office party gift...

The kazoo is a wonderful antidote to the notion that all music requires either a life-time to learn to play, or the purchase of a CD to enjoy. The kazoo brings us back to what our childhood taught us--and years of music lessons and choir practices tried to make us forget--that music is a shared bit of fun, nearly as important as--and with no requirement that it be much more difficult than--breathing.

Barbara Stewart's small book takes an appropriately light tone to make the point that playing a kazoo is a fun and worthwhile past-time. This is not one of those "heavy-reading" history of an instrument works. This is an intelligent but decidedly light-hearted reintroduction to music-as-fun, instead of music as something played on compact disks.

Although I love the sound of a good piano being played, I wonder if life might not be a little more fun for kids if they had fewer piano lessons and more time with a kazoo. As for adults, this book will help you rediscover that you can be musical, and it only costs a dollar or two to rediscover your lost musicality.

This book is an excellent resource for any gambler when it comes to tax-related issues. Mr. Lewis answers numerous tax questions, that apply to all gamblers, in a format that is easily understandable and extremely benefitial. A "must-have" for gamblers as tax time approaches once again.

Mr. Lewis has given us an entertaining and educational book that provides insights and answers to gambling and tax liability issues. It was a quick read, written in an easily understandable format, and a valuable asset in preparing for tax time.

Every chapter had information that helped me with my tax return. Finally I have found an easy to read and understand book with a very helpful step by step approach.

As a future lawyer and avid gambler, I would advise both clients and friends to read this book before they purchase their boarding passes for the riverboat casinos. Mr. Lewis provides a simple plan that can save your winnings!

Great Book. Mr. Lewis explains very complicated tax issues in a simple, easy to understand manner. A must read for gamblers of all types.

I am a therapist and I use this book for clients both young and old. It is such a precious book with a wonderful message. If you are a parent especially of a little girl get this book for your child. Then get a pig of some kind as a reminder to like themselves no matter what.

My mother bought a copy of this title for me to give to her future grandchild. I was so inspired by it, that I want to give it to all of my friends now. This book has delightful drawings and a wonderful message. This book is fun to read as an adult and a child. It is so important that children and adults are surrounded by positive messages like the one this book has to offer. I recommend it for everyone!

A great way for preschoolers to repair their fragile sense of self and self-respect. Any child should be able to absorb these positive message to repeat to themselves when they feel down.

The positive messages of this book are complemented by the terrific illustrations. A very simple yet important text as it teaches little ones to like themselves. The main character is one very upbeat pig. My son enjoys and laughs at the illustrations. The text provides fodder for conversation. Not too heavy in a figurative or literal way, this book is small enough to warrant a place on every small child's bookshelf. You may also want to check out Ms. Carlson's other books as they are all terrific. Highly recommended!

Just to add to other great reviewers' points, this book is perfect for conveying joy in life's many possible activities, even when you don't have someone else to share them with. I counsel lots of folks to whom I loan my copy - parents of one child who worry their child will be lonely if an "only", single moms who also welcome reminders that life can be fun even when you aren't in a relationship, and parents-to-be who worry their child will feel badly about differences, for ex. if they're adopted or conceived with the help of a donor [the topic of my book]. This pig bravely goes on learning even when she's embarrassed or makes mistakes - so this is a good book for parents and kids!

This is not at all like the other books in the I Spy series - and at first I did not like it because of it. The other books have pages filled with tons of things, and you pick out certain items in the poem. This has a series of famous art pieces, and the thing to look for is very obvious... so from a "spy" standpoint it is not the greatest. BUT I do like that it is exposing our young children (5 and 3) to famous works of art. We have tried to make it more difficult by finding different things to seek out in each famous painting. Still, I don't know that I would totally recommend unless you really wanted to expose your children to famous art - your child would likely find a book from the regular "I SPY" series more entertaining.

This is a fantastic book. There is a different picture for every letter of the alphabet. Each picture is different in style, type, artist etc. There might be Japanese woodcuts, Picasso, watercolors and so on.

This is an excellent introduction to art and types of art and styles and artists.

Also, in each picture is something that goes with the letter of the alphabet. Ball for b and so on.

A great way to practice beginning sounds and letter recognition.

This is a lovely book with great pictures and there are many educational type things you can do while enjoying time with your child. Well worth the money.

Enjoy.

I highly reccommend this book--it is an excellent introduction to the arts. Some of the references are a bit vague in terms of everyday language, e.g M is for Magpie or H for the teeny heart on the playing card. But it is quite easy to make a substitution or let the kids find their own match. My almost 3yr old son loves it! Thank you for this wonderful intro to a much larger and beautiful world.

My son is autistic and has always been obsessed with the Alphabet. This book is one of his all time favorites. He carries this around with him constantly.

This is a lovely book with which to introduce the alphabet and classical art to your child(ren). Each two-page spread contains, on the lefthand page, the jingle "I spy with my little eye something beginning with ... " and the upper and lower case of a letter of the alphabet, while the righthand page contains a large reproduction of a work of art by one of the masters -- Rousseau, Hogarth, Picasso, Botticelli, Vermeer, Sargent, Renoir, Seurat, etc. Kids can think about the alphabet while being exposed to some great art.

Terrific idea!

Legal information can seem confusing to the common person which is why this book was written. You need to understand how to find laws, regulations and court cases (if you are representing yourself in court). This is great even if you d not go to court because it makes you a smarter more diverse individual.

This book gives you a straight forward resource on how to find the laws and regulations, how to read the citations, and how to use the law library. It is good for lawyers, judges, paralegals or the layman. It is packed with tons of useful information.

I recommend it to everyone who has to decide if things are legal or not.

Footnote: Nolo press is the best company that produces law books for the common person. They are always easy to read and pact with good advice.


Enjoy

Awesome! Very thorough and easy to understand.

I am a legal assistant and I use this book constantly! It gives you great strategies to work more efficiently while getting better results. I had no idea how many legal resources there are online! This book tells you which sites are the most reliable and easy to use. It also demystifies annotated legal codes, case digests, state reports and many other research tools. But most importantly it is extremeley well organized and easy to use. I wish that I had discovered this book when I was a student!

This is an excellent and necessary legal research book for all paralegals,law students and legal researchers.
The hypotheticals and research questions with detailed answers alone make it a must have volume. The authors skillfully guide the student through the legal research process with these problems and answers.This is the most valuable legal research book in my personal library. Highly recommended.

I find this book to be a great resource for non-lawyers. As adjunct faculty at a community college, I use it to supplement the course text for my Legal Research & Writing Course for Paralegals. Well worth the purchase, and a great value!

Have you ever been faced with the prospect of making a poster, greeting card, scrapbook -- any creative project that required lettering? All the rest seems like a piece of cake, until you get to the daunting part of adding the words!

Fear no more, budding artists! The answers to all your lettering problems are here in this amazing little book by Klutz. You'll learn how to do different styles of lettering, how to color it, shade it, make it funky and fun!

I can't imagine any kid or adult that wouldn' enjoy having this educational tool on hand. It's sturdily put together with a spiral binding, making it easy to handle while creating your masterpieces. It also includes a set of colored pencils -- quite a bargain! There are 5 pages of stencils, but I believe that you will soon progress beyond using them.

You will love this book!

I bought this for my daughter right before we took a long road trip and she loved doodling and mixing up all the lettering styles and drawing with the stencils!

Tons of fun! We love the Klutz books and this one doesn't disappoint. I highly recommend it!

I absolutely love this product! Arrived in a timely manner and met all my expectations. In great shape!

As soon as I got this, I was off and running! This is all you need to create great lettering for anything you want to put headings, titles or labels on.

The letters you make with the five sheets of stencils will be about an inch, an inch and a half tall, so whatever you letter with those is going to be very big. But these are really nice stencils, with rulers on two of them, and special edges on the others, and fun shapes as well as letters, so these are going to be useful even after you finish the book.

There are tips in the book to make these big letters very artistic, so it's customizable. There are also ideas, instructions, and examples of ways you can do neat alphabets freehand.

And you also get four markers, eight double sided colored pencils (which were not that good, really, making this more of a four and a half star rating than a true five), an eraser, a mechanical pencil, and a pencil sharpener, two sheets of sticker paper, and a pack of practice paper.

There should be another work for Klutz books, beyond book. I buy them for my grandkids, ages now 7-13, and they are always excited to see the new gift. They are age appropriate, Mom and Dad love them too,and use and learn as well. I have bought copies for me and my kids and friends too. They are just great!

My son read this book to me for reading but it can just as easily be read for health or science. He really likes these books while he does not care for the shows much. In this one they take a trip through Ralph's body and learn about the main systems - digestion, circulatory, nervous... Recommended for ages 6-9 years and 3rd grade reading level.

My daughter has been reading Magic School Bus books in school and we bought this one for her this past Christmas. She probably enjoys this one more than any other so far. It is well written and very educational with great illustrations. If your young reader likes science, then this is definitely a great choice!

Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen outdo themselves in "The Magic School Bus: Inside the Human Body." It is their most ambitious collaboration yet, and it definitely doesn't disappoint.

As is the custom, the third book in this science series (written in 1989) picks up where the second story left off. Ms. Frizzle is showing her students a filmstrip about the human body. "We're going to learn all about ourselves," she says. Then she announces the next field trip - the class is heading to the museum to "see an exhibit about how our bodies get energy from the food we eat." However, anyone who has even an inkling as to the kind of person Ms. Frizzle is should know that things rarely, if ever, go according to plan. A field trip is never just a field trip when you're taking a ride aboard her magic school bus.

The Friz and her students stop at a park for lunch before arriving at the museum. Afterward, everyone goes back to the bus . . . except for Arnold! He's still sitting at a picnic table, daydreaming and eating a bag of Cheesie-Weesies. And before the class realizes what is happening, the bus shrinks to the size of a Cheesie-Weesie . . . where it is promptly downed in one gulp by Arnold!

"I thought we were going to the museum," says one student.

"There's been a slight change of plans," explains Ms. Frizzle. "We're being digested instead."

Why visit an exhibit about the human body when you have a magic school bus and a teacher like Ms. Frizzle who can take you directly to the source?

If "At the Waterworks" was like priming the pump, and "Inside the Earth" was like getting the ball rolling, "Inside the Human Body" is like plowing full-steam ahead. Cole and Degen have firmly established themselves as a literacy force to be reckoned with; this is proven in the confidence of the writing and the boldness of the illustrations. There is so much going on in this story that you almost need a scorecard to keep track of it all. It seems as though Cole and Degen are bound and determined to one-up themselves with every book they come out with.

A list of some things Ms. Frizzle educates her class about would include: blood cells (red and white), blood vessels, digestion, germs, the heart, lungs, molecules, oxygen, plasma, the small intestine, etc. Do you know what villi are? You will after you read this book! Any idea what the cerebral cortex does? Ms. Frizzle will show you! Ever wondered why you sneeze? The answer resides in this story!

"Inside the Human Body" deserves just as much, if not more, a home on a person's bookshelf as does "At the Waterworks" and "Inside the Earth." Cole and Degen loaded their latest adventure to the bursting-point with information. You can see the growth author and illustrator have taken since their inaugural effort with "At the Waterworks." They prove that some things do, indeed, get better with age.

At the end of "Inside the Human Body" is a true-false test to help readers distinguish what things were true in the story and what things were made up. And, of course, Ms. Frizzle drops another clue as to where her next great adventure will take us. I'm pretty sure the class will think of their next field trip as out of this world!

It doesn't seem possible, but Cole and Degen managed to improve upon an already-winning formula. They are both in top form with "Inside the Human Body," a field trip that will take you from the brain to the small intestine and back again. Well, what are you waiting for? Hitch a ride on the magic school bus!

As Ms. Frizzle herself would say, "Seatbelts, everyone!"

This book is really out of this world. I have been hooked on the magic school bus series. I can't wait to read more books in the series. The inside the human body book is full with very interesting facts and I learned so much from reading it. Arnold doesn't know where the bus is and is trying to find it. He doesn't even know that it is actually inside him. Then Arnold sneezes and finds the bus right next to him. He doesn't understand how he didn't see it before.

Ms. Frizzle is taking her class on a memorable field trip through the human body in this entertaining book featuring the beloved eccentric teacher and her curious class. My only complaint is that the pages are so busy with information that it's impossible to sit and really read the whole book, but perhaps it's best to let a child's curiosity guide you through a number of readings rather than trying to get everything in at one sitting. Concepts are expressed clearly and with humor. Justly popular with young students.

This is a very nicely done book. It's not like the original Pokémon adventure. This one follows more closely to the Red and American Blue game. Instead of Ash and Gary, Ash is called Red and Gary is called Blue. There is also a girl named Green but she comes in a later book. There is also no Jessie and James, only the Team Rocket members you see in the game. Red is also a more mature and advanced trainer than Ash and Blue is wiser than Gary. Aside all this, there are only some other slight changes and basically has the same goal as the original story and is a great book.

Pokemon is the best book I ever read in my how entire life! Because I like the creatures.

The Pokemon Adventures series is a little bit different than the original, but still is excellent. A new character (Instead of Ash) is in the book. The storyline is very good and would definitely recommend to a colleague. An overall 5 stars. Definitely worth getting!

I liked this book. I liked the parts when Red cared for Bulbusaur and Kangkaskan and when the wild Machoke surprised them. Actually that's pretty weird, I mean, a Machoke in Viridian city? And on page 23 I saw a statue of Giovanni,the gym leader. I think this book should be colored.

Pokemon Adventures is probably the best vision of the concept that's sponsored by Nintendo. For the record, I recommend buying these in the graphic novel format.

This is a great series. It's a more mature story that isn't exclusively aimed at kids like the cartoon or the other comic. There are elements in these stories that will appeal to all ages. Red and Blue, instead of being a couple of abrasive children, are more like rivals should be -- with a healthy respect for one another. They work together, even help each other along at times when they know there's more at stake than their own pride.

The story takes some turns that are far darker than anything the show would ever touch, and most of the characters from the show who appear here are, such as the Gym Leaders, are, instead of silly characitures of how people behave, real characters with a passion for what they do. Misty and Brock, incidentally, kick ass. Both Red and Blue are serious about what they do, and there's a clear reason that they win as many fights as they do, not just the "Ash is the main character, so of course he wins" mentality the show has.

Even better, as the series progresses, there is real character growth. Over the course of the story, Red goes from being a Pokemon lover with a heart of gold to a brilliant tactician who can use his Pokemon's abilities in ways nobody can imagine.

I recommend this for anyone with a passion for good storytelling, anyone who has played the game, and anybody who thinks the Pokemon concept is interesting, regardless of whether you like the cartoon. This is the best handling of the material you will find.

The item arrived in a timely manner and it was the exact item I ordered.

A wide variety of different styles of puzzles, each with the payoff of several very good New Yorker cartoons, makes this book a blast to play with. I work hard to limit myself to only a couple of puzzles each time I pick it up (and so far I've refused to share the book with the gift-giver.) I've enjoyed it so much, I'm buying a copy for my mother for her birthday.

I was just cruising through my Big Box Bookstore to see what was appearing on the shelves for the upcoming Christmas season.In the Games section ,between a bunch of Crossword Puzzle books and what is becoming a flood of Sudoku and other number puzzle books,I spotted this little Gem.Most people who do crosswords know of Will Shortz of the NY Times Crossword puzzle fame,Robert Mankoff of Games Magazine and the famous New Yorker Magazine's Cartoons. Well, all these are combined and with some great "Thinking Outside the Box" have come up with a puzzle book that will entertain and challenge you.Some of the other reviewers have made reasonable attempts to describe these puzzles;so I won't try.What I suggest is to search it out in the store and get a feel for them.
This book is just the thing needed for those who have become obsessed with those Sudoku puzzles,have been doing nothing but crosswords for years, or even those who have never done much in the way of puzzles.
I'll tell you one thing;if you like puzzles,and who doesn't,and also like cartoons,and who doesn't;then you'll love this latest addition to the world of puzzles.

Is this a book of New Yorker cartoons or a puzzle book? Well, it's a little of both, and the result is a novel way to laugh and exercise your brain at the same time. Most of the 83 puzzles consist of cartoons that are missing words, captions, or picture components. By figuring out the missing elements and sometimes combining them with acrostics, crossword puzzles, or other word grids, the cartoon humor is revealed.

For the most part, the puzzles are of only moderate difficulty, although there are a few difficult ones (at least for me) that involve matching a cartoon with the decade in which it was created or matching cartoons from early and late in a cartoonist's career. Frequent puzzle solvers will recognize many of the familiar puzzle types from Games Magazine and other media that Puzzability publishes in. The foreword to the book contains a casual and loosely coupled conversation between New Yorker cartoon editor Robert Mankoff and New York Times puzzle editor Will Shortz.

This is an entertaining book that you'll hate to throw away when it's been completed because of all the witty cartoons it contains. Enjoy!

Eileen Rieback

I love word puzzles though I'm not a serious puzzler - I do a few crosswords a week and have owned maybe three puzzle books as an adult. I am, however, a big cartoon fan, though honestly I've been more FoxTrot & Calvin than I am the New Yorker. So, my favorite puzzles are cryptograms with cartoons. Don't find them much - but when I searched specifically for this, I discovered this book.

I enjoy the New Yorker Book of Cartoon Puzzles and Games (and have purchased a second copy for a friend) because the combo of puzzle and cartoon has proven very relaxing - I involve myself in a semi-hard puzzle, but then find a laugh waiting for me once it's solved. New Yorker cartoons do typically contain some of the least expected twists, and I found that here.

However, I don't think a serious puzzle person would be happy with this book, unless he were interested in the New Yorker cartoons. I say this only because the puzzles range from easy to medium difficulty for an adult. (A teen or younger might enjoy more of a challenge.) I still recommend this though - for a more relaxed puzzler like myself it's a good mental stroll.

Though not typically a history buff, I found it a pleasant surprise that the editors included the history of New Yorker cartoons, and with it a history of the U.S, WITHIN quite a few puzzles. Several times you are asked to place the puzzles in the correct time period (and the New Yorker puzzles go back at least to the 1920's) or even with the correct author/cartoonist. The puzzles are just challenging enough to give me a think (similar to a midweek newspaper crossword perhaps) but not overly hard. And there is an ABUNDANCE OF GREAT CARTOONS - usually five or six to each puzzle and often grouped in interesting ways/topics.

But what of those cryptograms? Good news is that they were well done, and with increasing difficulty; Disappointment is that there were only three pages of cryptograms while other types of puzzles were represented more. It does seem that the editors missed out on utilizing the perfect collaboration of crypts and cartoons.

I give it a 4 - enjoyed the cartoon aspect, most puzzles fun but some just too easy for an adult. Still worth the stroll.