Gamebooks Books

I think it's always good to keep your mind challenged. This book is perfect for that.

I like the variety of puzzles in this book...as opposed to all crossword,etc. One has to figure out the rule before solving the puzzle.

As a fan of Will Shortz's other puzzle books I was eager to try the puzzles in this volume. There is a good variety ranging from fairly easy to extremely challenging puzzles. The topics are varied with both puzzles and answers presented in an easy to use format. Many puzzle books do not provide adequate space to properly fill in your answers but this book does.

Will Shortz has delighted puzzle lovers world-wide for years. This collection is another excellent offering from the man who has dedicated his life to the pleasure of solving puzzles.If you have neither listened to Will's radio show nor purchased this book,you're missing out on a great opportunity to have a good deal of challenging fun. I still get a kick ( and feel honored) when Will features one of my puzzles on his show because of the way he makes it come to life with his enthusiasm. If you don't know by now, Will Shortz is the master of wordplay. Do yourself, friends, and family a favor. Get this book for hours of good,clean-cut fun and then tune in his show on NPR for more.

If you listen to Will Shortz on Sunday's Weekend Edition, you know what kind of puzzles are in this volume. Half the puzzles are of the type that he conducts with a call-in listener. This usually involves a series of word puzzles with short answers you can come up with on the spot. The other half of the puzzles in The Puzzlemaster Presents are of the sort that he leaves us with to solve during the week. They are harder and have one correct answer.

The first type of puzzle is fun, but the second type is my favorite because you usually have to do these in your head. I like to keep one or two in mind for occasions like being stuck in traffic or standing in line. They really make the time fly and you don't need pencil and paper. I find they are also great if you have trouble getting to sleep. Concentrating on a tricky word puzzle or arithmetic calculation sure keeps your mind from wandering all over the place.

And don't look for clever tricks with these puzzles. One thing about Will Shortz is that even though he loves puzzles, he is scrupulously fair. He gives you all the information you will need to solve each problem.

One incredibly detailed fantasy role playing game. There are rules and tables and charts and detail and all other sorts of stuff out the wazoo, for this one.

Not for those that just want your quick and dirty and fast type of action resolution or game.

I have been playing Rolemaster system for about 17 years. It is the game system that I prefer as hands down the best (I started out on D&D). Iron Crown (ICE) has since updated the game system to what they call Rolemaster Standard System or Rolemaster Fantasy Roleplaying, but the group that I game with still uses the materials from the Rolemaster Second Edition (1994). What makes it such a great game system? 1) Because you can account for any game situation. The manuever charts alone add the dimension of allowing a PC to attempt anything. It's up to the gamemaster to assign a level of difficulty and any other mod's he sees fit to the situation. 2) Character development is comprehensive. The ability to create unique characters with skills of their choosing is both fun and rewarding. 3) The Arms/Combat and Spell user systems add variety to the gameplay. Yes, keeping track of some things can be tedious if you let them. Our group made some slight modifications to the combat system (our house rules) that quickened the gameplay, but at the same time did not take anything away from what the system has to offer. As a base system, Rolemaster can't be beat. My experience is with the 2nd Edition. If you take the time to get the hang of this system (I also recommend that you get the Rolemaster Companions for numerous other professions, spell lists, optional rules, etc.), you will be rewarded with a rich and detailed playing environment.

This is one of the best role-playing systems I've ever played. Although it does have a lot of paperwork, it gives great freedom in terms of the creation of worlds and, along with its companions, covers *every* possibility for players.

The best FRPG. It is very different from the storyteller style games (such as Vampire & Mage from White Wolf) but this does not make it worse. It is balanced, with lasting appeal and by far the best hand to hand combat system of any game. The magic system is superb almost as good as ars magica. However rather than try to use the many companions get the standard system - the new rules are better integrated and balanced. If you dont need the extra complexity then the boxed set is all you really need.

However never, ever create a frenzied halfling warrior monk with Martial Arts Throws - its just not on :)

P.S. The martial arts system is head and shoulders above other systems.

One of the most open ended systems alive. Creativity, storytelling, art, gore, this is the one. Iron Crown Enterprises also created MERP (Middle Earth Role Playing) with similar rules in the true spirit of J.R.R. Tolken's the hobbit (w/lots of good references for your Tolken research). These materials however, are for adults, as effort is needed to read, digest and present a game that is both acceptable and enjoyable. Great for a collectors item.

I can only rate the service of the delivery and the accuracy of the description of the book. I haven't had a chance to read it yet.

The book arrived fast & in great shape. My nephew loves it! He loves it so much that he had to have the Scarne book on magic.

Many magicians own the Classic book "Scarne on Card Tricks." But it is said if you want to keep a trick a secret, put it in print! Most of what's in Scarne on Card Tricks is no doubt a complete mystery to most laymen--and many magicians! Its a great book for the card beginner.

On the other hand, there's a lot of boring and tedious count-down stuff in there as well.

The book is BIG--over 300 pages of carefully detailed effects. It can be a little overwhelming to someone the first time he picks it up. How do you separate the wheat from the chaff?

Best, in my view, are the tricks that can be done TOTALLY impromptu, with very little or no stacking, when a deck is shoved into your hands and somebody says "Do a trick!".

Here are some of the effects that I have judged to be best, based on the above criteria:

The Upside down Deck by Francis Carlyle
Hit the Deck
Scarne's Follow the Leader
Cardini's Color Discernment
Card on the Ceiling
Card through the Handkerchief

Of course, You Do as I Do is also a classic, though it is fairly well known among magicians.

In short, a little work digging out the best tricks will make you a true card magician in most people's eyes, with enough practice and performing experience.

John Scarne is today perhaps best remembered as a leading authority on gambling scams and card cheats. However, in his prime, he was one of the best magicians in America. In the late 40s, as stated in the Introduction, Scarne decided to gather for magicians a set of card tricks involving no sleight-of-hand. The result is "Scarne on Card Tricks". The 155 effects in the book range from quick tricks and puzzlers to more elaborate card demonstrations. All of the effects are attributed to either the originator of the effect or to a magician who used the effect frequently. The book clearly bears Scarne's unique genius not only in the selection and variety of effects, but in Scarne's improvements of the original effects. There is no doubt that anyone can put together a most entertaining routine with the material in this book. Two words of caution. First, the copyright of the book is 1950 and so some of the patter is clearly dated and needs to be revised for contemporary audiences. (Patter is the words or story that accompany the effect.) Second, because the effects are easy to do when practiced, there is a tendency to perform the effects before fully thought out. For every hour learning the basic effect itself, two hours should be spent on how to present it in an entertaining and interesting manner. The book itself, however, remains one of the very best in card magic. Scarne's work clearly stands the test of time. Frankly, the book is a steal at the published price. I bought two copies because I knew I'd wear one book out. I did. The book is that useful.

This is the definitive collection of non sleight-of-hand (you don't have to be quick with your hands) card tricks. I bought my first paperback copy in 1974 when I was still a schoolboy. Some of the tricks are easy but astounding, such that I've memorised two of them and have amazed my friends over the years until now. Since then, there hasn't been any other card trick manual that can beat this one, to the best of my knowledge.

Despite being a novice player and owning other excellent end game books, in this book there is much material that is not out of my intellectual reach. It feels like I will be learning from this book for decades to come!! The accuracy and clarity of the text with the numerous diagrams makes the book excellent to even the weaker players. Doubtless this book has even material useful to grandmasters. Enjoy reading it, I do.

Ok, endgame books are mostly raw facts and calculation. Accuracy is more important than writing ability. If you purchased this book, there is no doubt what you expected to take from it.

When I found the first typo on the first page of chapter one I thought I made a bad purchase. I don't care about excuses...poor editing, hard to translate from German, or anything else.

As I continued to read I found the book to be better than I had expected. Once I got used to the codes and symbols, the book was very enjoyable. The exercises were outstanding. They hammered home the critical ideas without wasting your time on exercises that would never occur in an actual game. And yes the book was very accurate. I learned a few new ways to quickly evaluate complex positions. The order of the exercises was perfect. Each exercise built on the previous exercises as they flowed smoothly through the book. You can not spend too much time with a book like this.

After living and playing in Germany for the past two years I am amazed at the strength of German players and their passion for the game. They are absolutely crazy about chess. I find chess everywhere I go in this country. These two authors are a direct reflection of chess in Germany today. I will look for more of their books.

This is a rather difficult book for us, C-players, to follow. The positions have only two types of pieces, Kings and Pawns. In order to win, some Ps must reach the 6th or 7th to demonstrate to us that game is decided. The King- and Pawn-moves are single squares; therefore to achieve this goal the game must take many moves. This makes the variations of many (sometimes dozen of) moves deep. Unless we have the visual ability like the masters or grandmasters do, we need a chessboard or program to follow the moves incrementally. To study and understand these deep analyses, the authors recommend us, average players, to use chessboard and play them through. I think this is good for even masters and GMs. For us, amateurs, with 10 percent of its knowledge we could hold ground fairly against our opponents. I need at least one year or so to go through all the details the book provides.
I just caught three major mistakes that I wrongly believed all these years.
1) Two isolated P's separated by 1 file against a King are an automatic win. Wrong.
2) Two connected passed P's with the rear P blocked by enemy lone P is an automatic win. Wrong.
3) In pawn ending with two P's each, the outside passed P wins always. Wrong.
Above are three of many simple rules I often aim for when reaching the pure P endings.
Diagrams 8.01D, 4.07 and 3.12 from this book debunks my beliefs. What is missing with my simple rules? The King-position. In the pure pawn endings, the K-position is the single most important factor. The list on the Crash Course page is very helpful. There are about 40 different themes. So far I could recognize and understand 3 or 4 of them, but not 100% certainty, unless I have to carefully and quietly study the book.
This book is worth 5 stars. Hope I could use what it offers in real games. At C-class, our games are often over during the middle-games by blunders. The fewer pieces on our endgames are, the stronger (or more equal) are we. Good luck to all.

This book starts with the basic concepts of King and Pawn against King, gives a thorough tour of the situations arising with progressively more pawns, and ends with general advice about finding plans in complicated situations. The whole exposition is given in clear, logical prose supported by valuable and well-diagrammed game analyses and exercises. The authors do not shirk giving clear explanations of the basics, while there is enough advanced material to give food for thought, I suspect, to much stronger players. In short I was delighted with this book, and strongly recommend it.

I'm a class C player interested in seriously improving my game. My first endgame book was by Yasser Seirawan, Winning Chess Endings. I didn't really get enough out of the book's section on pawn endings. Due to this I decided to purchase this boook and I was amazed at what I could learn and how quickly. I believe this is the easiest to understand book on any aspect of chess theory I have ever read.

To get the most out of this book I highly recommend playing through the positions against a strong chess engine (Fritz, for example). Evaluate the test positions in your head and if you get any incorrect play through the positions against the engine.

I rarely reach endgames in my play, but I'm sure that I am able to correctly evaluate if I should trade off into an ending or not when I am faced with the choice.

Lets cut to the chase, this is a real Sorcerer at work... The book just for the 40 combinations is worth picking up... Still lets not waste time talking about that stuff...

Bronstein loves chess, not studying this line and that line... Not just memorising and trying to think what is this or what is that... He actually Played the game, he would do moves just to see what would happen... He talks about chess in a way where it makes you wanna play... Not all boring technical stuff that most don't understand but pretend to :)... No he talks about it in his own simple way... Calls people Fox or hedgehogs and explains how the Fox will try something even if it might lose... That is what its all about, tossing it on the line... Not just playing all safe and in worry about losing... Gotta roll the dice and just go for broke... Yes he basically says he tossed the games vs. Bot cuz of pressure and this and that... So he does admit to a shady side of chess... Still he makes it very clear he just loves playing the game... He did not seem to care about all the politics and having that on him... I wish that he would of beat him though, I wish he did not give in... Still when your in his situation thats the only way you can understand... I wonder if Tal had pressure to lose in that first match in 1960... Still lets get back to Bronstein, he played very far into his life... He is almost pure Chess I think, Im not a huge fan of his... Still if you read this book, its hard not to like the guy at least to some degree... I do not agree with him telling people to build a little house and castle early... I think many games are lost cuz people castle wrongly or too early... Still Im free not to agree with him all I wish... This book really is enjoyable just to read, even if you don't go over the games... So throw out that Harry Potter and get a book with a real Sorcerer :)...

If You play with Passion for the game, get this book... This book is not for those that play boring and never take chances... So if your a Fox, pick this up, if your a hedgehog, go play with Sonic :)...

Just let me say that if you love the game this book HAS to be in your library.

A student could pick no better player to study. No one explains like Bronstein!

A great book. Along with Tal's book, this book belongs in the, "Chess-book Hall of Fame." !

First, the book itself:it is beautiful (really nice art work), clean (wide and clear letters and a lot of space for personal appoitments) and with a good number of diagrams (which means that is easy to follow the games without a chess board). Second, the contents: amazing, even a weak player like me can follow the games AND understand what is going on. Mr. Bronstein is a superb writer and can transmit his ideas in a very simple way. Third, the overall work: wide cover of openings, very interesting games anilized and the analizis themselves, very personal comments of the author that makes the book even more interesting. Final veredict: the kind of book you can really read on a cold sunday afternoon, next to the fire place, while seeping hot chocolate, and at same time have a LOT of fun. (where can I find more stars to place in the rate stuff??!!)

This book consists of four major sections. The first is forty of Bronstein's greatest combinations. These forty games have one diagram of the position before the decisive combination. The rest of the page has Bronstein's comment on the combination. The next section is a collection of fifty of his games. Most have a medium amount of annotation, but a few have extensive annotations. Many of the games have cute annecdotes attached to them. These annecdotes are part of the charm of the book. From one of these annecdotes, one can bring proof to the theory that the Russians 'fixed' certain tounamant results. The next section is sixty games by diagram. Practically speaking, this means that there are about 5 diagrams per game. The last section is called seventy picturesque games. Unfortunately, no clue is given to what David Bronstein considers picturesque. The added bonus to the book is that between each section there is an interesting article about Bronstein. Overall this is a game collection/autobiography that is as good as Tal's, and this one has the advantage that it has a much larger percentage of Bronstein's chess career that Tal's book has.

Bronstein doesn't patronize readers. His own comments of his games are invaluable. The combinations, in the form of puzzles will improve your tactics almost immedaitely.

Loony Toon the RPG is wonderful fun for all ages. Prepare to laugh till you hurt.

Toon: The Cartoon Role-playing Game was published by Steve Jackson Games in the mid-1980s, and many copies of the sourcebooks are still available with a little effort. This RPG primarily focuses upon American-style cartoons where truly anything goes!!! The entire focus of Toon is to be funny and to do and say things which are funny... and many anime characters and series fit quite well into this worldview: Debutante Detective Corps, Project A-ko, Otaku no Video, Galaxy Fraulein Yuna, Idol Project, the Slayers saga, City Hunter, D4 Princess, Mezzo Forte, etc.

One of the most popular Toon campaigns is the Toon Olympics. Those familiar with the Hanna-Barbara Laff-a-Lympics series already have an idea of the premise of Toon Olympics: Bring together many animated characters from various series/genres and have them compete in a number of sporting events. When I first played the Toon Olympics, one player created his own cursed medieval knight character with a sentient sword which didn't always do as he commanded (which he later played in a Sailor Moon RPG campaign I was then running), someone else played a unicorn (who eventually had to drive a car), another played as Lara Croft, and I personally played as A-ko - truly an eclectic bunch!!!

However, anime fans should NOT overlook Toon as a role-playing option. Granted, Toon is not as adaptable to a wide variety of campaigns (for campaign genre/character adaptability, see the Big Eyes Small Mouth second edition sourcebook); however, for a change of pace, Toon can be used to give almost any anime character (pre-existing or original) a chance to be a comedian. For example, when I played in another Toon Olympics as A-ko, I called upon B-ko to fight a Pokémon in my place, with the promise of conceding C-ko to her if she should win (that was funny enough to earn me an extra Plot Point)!!!

This is a great game for anyone who has ever wanted to be a chartoon character. Or just for anyone who loves cartoons. Like the best board games (Balderdash, Malarky), the important thing is having fun and making the other players laugh. ...

This game is the best. The only problem I have is that every page you read falls out after you turn the page. Spiral binding would be great for this game because the game master has to use the book often if he is following any of the preplaned adventures. I would give it 5 stars if the binding were better.

This is the only rpg Ive seen that anyone can master in one or two tries. Your dreams to be bugs bunny or Daffy come true in this classic rpg. A must buy!

I've only got a few things to say here and that is if your looking for a good game to buy GET THIS ONE because it is not only a good game, but a Great one!

You play the role of hero/treasure hunter Nathan Drake on a mission to find the road to El Dorado...amongst other things. Here are a few of my thoughts on this game.

CHARACTERS--Top notch voice acting, some of the best dialogue I've seen in a game in a long time...it makes the game seem more real when the characters in it seem like they could be people that you would meet at the grocery store or something.

GAMEPLAY--I am in love with the gameplay, it's a perfect blend of running, ducking, hiding, shooting and butt kicking that you will never get tired of it's many antics. Also, it's not a super Gory game that you wouldn't want your kids playing, there is blood and shooting, but for some reason it's not like what you think when you think of gore and violence...it seems somewhat like shooting ducks at the carnival...yeah your shooting ducks but it's fun. I know that sounds kind of weird but it will also keep any hardcore shooter gamer's eyes glued to the screen.

The enemies are actually smart, they won't just shoot at you in one spot. They'll fire at you, duck and when your aiming at the top of the block waiting for him to pop up to get a head shot...he'll sneak around the side and shoot you. I love it.

GRAPHICS--The best on the PS3 right now other than Metal Gear Solid 4. I came to an area in the jungle and I stopped playing and just looked out at the ocean and couldn't believe that what I was looking at was a game. I have an HD TV so that helps but I've also played this at a friends house on a 19' tube tv and it looks great there as well. The HD just does what it does for most things...adds crispness and sharpness to an already great looking picture.

FUN FACTOR-- As I said earlier, this game can be enjoyed by pretty much anyone of any age. I am a big fan of shooter games like Call of Duty 4, Battlefield, Medal of Honor and I haven't touched any of those games since buying this.

Sony also just released trophy support for this game meaning that you unlock in game trophies for special things you do...for example if you find 5 treasures you earn a trophy for that. Now when you go to your gamercard outside of the game there will be a trophy added to your overall level.

And...there are a lot and I do mean a lot of things to unlock in game, like 'making of' videos and sketch work. It definetly keeps you coming back for more.

THE BAD--The only thing I can knock on this game is that sometimes throwing grenades gets a little difficult if your in a intense fight against 15 enemies but that is more of a lack of skill probably than a knock on the game.

OVERALL--You can get this game for around $30 to $50 bucks now since it's been out for a few months and also depending where you get it.
So if you want a good investment and something you can really sink your teeth into...buy this game, you will not regret it.

this was my second ps3 game...when i fisrt put this game into my ps3 i was shocked. it start out with a bang & never let u go. the puzzles was not too hard for me...the weapons are real nice to use. i just wish u couldve kept all the weapon that i found. the levels are well detailed, lush jungle, beautiful water lighting and i love how the bad guy react to drake.the jungle level where drake was been chased by eddy & his guys in jeeps is my favourite level. the game is just one of a kind.

I really enjoyed this game. It was the first game I bought for the PS3. I bought the guide after I beat the game. I used it to find the little things I skipped by the first time around. The guide is very detailed. I would recommend it to anyone.

This is an extraordinary guide full of useful information and insightful vision of the game.
Enjoyed every minute of it.
Highly recommended.

I bought the game for my husband for Christmas, and he would have been lost in the jungle if it weren't for the guide. Highly recommend it.

WHY YOU LOSE AT BRIDGE is a true evergreen. Read it once when you are a beginner. It is truly hard to find such concise guide how to advance rapidly from the basics. Or, like me - after all it first appeared before I was born - rediscover it if you want to improve faster. Players at all levels will find something fresh and stimulating while reading it. Many books dwell for long pages on the intricacies of the complex game of bridge, but this book really focuses on the essentials, on how to think at the bridge table, and how to remain realistic, especially if you are playing with different partners. And if you have an established partnership, read it together. Walking the fine line between being too aggressive or too conservative is the key to success in bridge, and this book has good advice on how to fine-tune your approach. The pages on competitive bidding are pure gold. The reader will find practical gems like dealing with preempts and psychic bids or playing 4-3 fits - just to name a few - which are as important to the matchpoint and team players today as they were for rubber bridge in the forties. To wrap it up, read and re-read it! And it's fun, the characters are memorable and the boards excellent and thought provoking.

Everyone with any interest in bridge should read this book. The bridge hands are interesting and instructive, but the characters are what make the book great.

Entertaining and informative,especially for rubber bridge players.
A bit old fashioned now but the message gets across loud and clear.
A must for all bridge fanatics.

S. J. Simon's Why You Lose at Bridge remains (since its original 1945 publication) the best text on improving one's partnership available anywhere at any price. Read it. Practice what you learned. Watch your partnerships improve. Read it, again ...

If you have a standing partnership, read it together. Even the most capable professionals may well (re)discover ways to improve their game as they absorb Simon's words of wisdom. Improve your partnership, and your game improves. Simon sez ...

The bridge-bidder's arsenal is usually full of "gadgets": non-literal bids meant to convey or suggest information that might escape the normal bidding sequence. Even by the time this 1940s book appeared, "scientific" systems by leading bridge "experts" were all the rage. Who would disagree with scientific "experts"? After all, you can't fight progress.

WHY YOU LOSE AT BRIDGE dares to differ. S.J. Simon, author of this enduring little volume, shows us the genuine odds behind competitive bidding and play and explains things the highly regarded experts of his day didn't know -- or didn't want us to know.

[Note: the following two grafs assume some bridge experience.]
Would you almost automatically double a competitor's bid of "Six Spades" (12 of the 13 card tricks) if you had two "quick tricks" in your hand? Think about it, Simon warns. If the opponents have even a one-in-three chance of winning, your unthinking double will give them between four and six times the number of points for making contract considering vulnerability. Besides, when they hear your double the declarer will figure you for the two Aces and act accordingly. Watch out for the sure things that really aren't.

And sometimes (usually, the author implies) the scientific gadgets aren't worth it. At one tourney, following tortuous symbolic bidding, one partnership came to a contract of four spades and went down one. How had the author and his partner bid that "impossible" hand? Like this: South - 1 NT; North - 3 NT. Simple and literal.

After offering a bracing immersion in what I all "unlearning," Simon spends the second half of the book on the psychology of bridge, starting with the times a partner or opponent starts what he calls "trancing" -- mulling things over. Chapter Eleven, "The Logic of Luck," typically illustrates Simon's curmudgeonly attitude. We could almost blame him for the high-British-arch tone of his writing, except that he is always right!

WHY YOU LOSE AT BRIDGE is a tremendous book for bridge beginners, perhaps even more so for intermediates and even the more experienced players trying to cope with a new partner. Of course, this WAS the 1940s so the author assumes that major suits (Hearts and Spades) can be bid upon with only four of them in hand as opposed to today's more prevalent "five-card major" approach. And I have to wonder what Simon would make of today's bidding in general.

The French Defense has been used by stronger chessplayers than Wolfgang Uhlmann, and has seen its fair share of action in World Championship matches. But there has never been a player so loyal to the French Defense as GM Uhlmann. He is a hero for all devotees of the French (like myself), having faced many of the World's best and never shying away from his pet defense. Has he ever played anything else against 1.e4?

The French Defense can be played as a stodgy, defensive weapon, or as an uncompromising, counterpunching system. I have played countless games in both styles, and both are valid depending on one's temperament/mood/tournament situation. Uhlmann's book is comprised of 60 games played in the second style. It is true that some of the variations nowadays are *possibly* not the best, but there is much to be learned in terms of how the opening can be handled, and the kind of chances available to the second player.

The book has chapters delineated by variation, so it is easy to find ideas (abundant!) in the particular lines you are looking for, and features games played from the 1950s through the 1990s. Uhlmann also admits to using subvariations not favored by theory, but that he has faith in. And I daresay, if Uhlmann has faith in the lines, so can we! Even Botvinnik, Smyslov, and Petrosian did not live and die by the French as much as Uhlmann.

Each French player has his or her favorite books, but this is one most of us agree on.

GM Uhlmann is certainly an acknowledged specialist in the French defense. I for one decided to buy this book to deal with problematic variations as black (i.e., Tarrasch variation and KIA) I found more than I could possibly hope to find in the book. For one, this is not just an insuferable encyclopedic treatise bound to be outdated the minute you buy it. It isn't a pedantic presentation of lines with no logical sense but a concise and fun explanation of IDEAS commonly used in the French. GM Uhlmann promises in his book to show you what's typical and how to find your way out from unknown situations over the board and gives you an arsenal of weapons to enrich your French defense.

The book's format is simple: Anotated games by Uhlmann full of comments, variations, ideas, and opinions. I found it interesting to see that GM Uhlmann shows a remarkable objectivity when mistakes by him appear on the games. With utmost professionalism he warns about his mistakes, suggests an alternative approach, and implicitly tells you how to fine tune the opening. I have applied many of the ideas presented on this book and can say that I feel more confident each time I play the French. GM Uhlmann makes you fall in love with the French by exposing the ideas behind each variation and how to thrive when facing unknown situations.

I must forewarn anyone reading this review that the book is very specific in the variations covered: Tarrasch closed and open (with an isolated queen pawn), Winnawer, Advance, KIA and exchange. Do not expect to see the classical variation among the lines covered or any other non-fashionable lines. GM Uhlmann has worked the above repertoire of the French defense and since those lines are his specialty you will learn them thoroughly with him.

In regards to negative aspects of the book I can say that I would like to see a more thorough discussion about the pawn structures that result commonly and how to play the resulting endings. This is of course very subjective and it is just my opinion on how to deal with the study of chess openings. In spite of that, I believe that discussing pawn structures resulting in the French would make the book just perfect. However, I am giving the book 5 stars because it delivers what it promises to the reader.

I have almost every french book published in recent five years in my collection, but they are primary the books about openings and its many variations. But one can feel strong emotions about this book, feel the love and mastery of its author about this particular opening, he never shy away from. This book is not too big or too tick, but it has covered almost every subvariation of french nicely. There are even 5 fully anotated game vs Kings indian attack, very annoying for some french players, and even 4 games in exchange variation. I am using this book when i need refreshment and inspiration in french. Best collection of french games available.

I have over 500 chess books, and this is one of my ten favorites. I keep coming back to it again and again, unlike the hundreds of supposed classics that sit on my shelf un-opened. Many say that games collections annotated by the GM who played the games are the best teaching tools. The problem that I often have is that there is no connecting themes between the games. I play the French as black. So, I would like to have a games collection of games in the French. The Korchnoi Best Games book is great because there are quite a few games where he plays the French. And of course there are books by and about Nimzowitsch and Botvinnik where a few French games are featured. But here we have a unique book by Uhlmann. In all 60 games of this book, he plays black in the French. The annotations are brilliant, concise, and instructive to follow, without being too dense or over-the-top, as are annotations by Nunn, Speelman, and Timman. Those are all good authors, but they do not write for the masses; they write for top-flight GMs. This book has a directness and an instructive theme that is lacking in those other works. It will inspire you to play the French, and will inspire your chess in general. It is one of the best chess books that I know.

This one by Uhlmann has the special something that separates art from the mundane. It brims with love and care about his French Defence, yet it is objective too. He does not smirk at white's various lines, such as the King's Indian Attack. He treats chess with respect, and he does not make ridiculous claims, ala Watson, that the French will give black an edge in every line. This book is a keeper, and I don't even play the french!

I'm an beginner/intermediate yo yo player, and I found this book incredible. The Quantum Yo theory is truly revolutionary, and changed the way I think about yo yo tricks. Just like advertised, it's not a recipe book, but a guide to the underlying theory of how to approach yo yo tricks. I loved the tone of the writing and the inclusion of totem animals, as it just added enjoyment to what could have been a very dry analysis.

Advanced players will be able to see the limitations of a strictly "Quantum Yo" approach, but it may also help them think outside of old routines and expand their freestyle yocabulary. I doubt they've even thought of yo-ing in exactly this way before.

Top notch book, and I've never seen anything else even remotely like it for yo yos.

Ultra-cool. There is no other trick book like the Yonomicon. A must read for every serious yo-yo player. Lucky Meisenheimer M.D. author of "Lucky's Collectors Guide to 20th Century Yo-Yos...History and Values"

This is a great book of pretty darn advanced yo-yo tricks. It breaks each trick down into it's parts and expalins it in a physics type manner. It's not that easy to follow, and it reads kind of like a text book, but if you can get through the complex explainations it's got some stuff you've never seen in a yo-yo book before.

If you want to get deeper into some complicated yo-yo tricks, this book is for you.

Do you get a kick out of operator spaces and wacky topology? If so, this is the yo-yo book for you. Coming just shy of an out-and-out mathematical analysis of the yo-yo, McBride lays down the laws of freestyle Yo, defining yo-yo play as a subset of the possible string/hand operations on the topology consisting of the yo, free hand and throw hand. This book will redefine the way you look at yo-yoing. If you have a refined mathematical background, this book could easily start you on the road towards a graduate thesis.

The Yonomicon is a great book, its like a math book full of equations to mix and make tricks. It leaves nothing unexplained, it just takes a littl while to learn to understand how McBride is explaining the tricks. It different, in a better way.