Recreation Books

This book is just about everything you will need if you are looking for swimming workouts. It takes you right from the very basics to advanced workouts. It also helps you correct swimming positions. I've already decreased my free style lap time just by making little adjustments. Simply Great!

Like many triathletes I had a bit of swimming in my background when I started racing, but certainly not enough to be competitive. I occasionally swam with organized groups but my consultant travel schedule made sure that was infrequent. I got a copy of The Fit Swimmer, read it cover to cover and made up about a dozen workouts from the suggested routines. The section on open water racing was particularly valuable. While training diligence was definitely part of it, this book was the #1 resource for me in competitively placing in events ranging from local races to National and Ironman distances. Ms. Brems meets 2 imperatives: she explains things simply and she gives you the tools you need to progress from a relative novice to a competitive swimmer. Like a craftsman and apprentice, she leaves it up to the reader to figure out how to best use the extensive toolset in the book. I found that creating about a dozen workouts on 3x5 cards from her suggested routines and rotating them did the trick (store them in a ziploc bag for use poolside). You can experiment with different routines to test how your body responds. I now coach people on an occasional basis, and strongly encourage each of them to read the book before we start.

Swimming is one of those curious beasts of the American athetic sports scene: vast multitudes participate (recreational, summer, competitive, etc.), but very few really know how to improve. As in other sports, many parents wind up coaching as their children get involved in swimming as there are too few coaches available. There is much to learn! Stroke technique, using the clock, training the aerobic and non-aerobic energy systems, how to author and conduct a productive and interesting workout, etc.

To those who might feel intimidated by all this, this book brings help in the form of workout structure. The workouts range from basic beginner to advanced workouts for accomplished swimmers. I have used Marianne's book to keep my workouts (as an age-group coach and Master's swimmer) interesting and my swimmers are always eager to swim.

I highly recommend this book for coaches and swimmers who are self-coached.

A good book for intermediate swimmers but offers little technique or help for people just starting out in the sport.

This book has really helped me improve and vary my workouts and make the masters swim class I teach more interesting.

This is one of those must have items when you're facing a trip with your grandkids (that's TWO generations away from your own days on any wild ride) and I must say this guide to the park was enormously helpful even before we got there. Thanks a lot! Our trip was a huge success and Ms. Wiley's book gets a lot of the credit.

I first read an earlier version of this book several years ago, and Kim's sound advice has stayed with me, several trips on.

If you want to learn which rides to stay away from with young children, and what the must sees are, this is the book to read. And don't ignore Kim's most important tip of all. If you're travelling to Disney World with children, make sure you take that afternoon nap.

Catherine Noble
Webmaster
www.mywdwtrip.com

This is a really useful book, tons of tips, saved me a lot $$ and time. The most valuable thing I learn is to rent a multi-family vacation house with my friends, 16 people for $199 a day. We all enjoy the stay at a luxury emerald island resort. check this out: http://www.cyberrentals.com/index.cfm/property/126687

I purchased this book as a guide to help plan a 5 day trip to WDW with my family. We just got back and let me tell you this book saved us a lot of waiting time for the rides, helped us know what to see and where and how to focus our energy. Ms. Wiley is right on the mark in her descriptions of the attractions and her tips about getting around the parks. The book was so helpful, I tore out the sections about each park and took it with us into the park. This version is missing info that wasn't available at the time of printing about some of the newer shows Disney has put in for its 50th anniversary celebration. The Cinderellabration show is wonderful especially if you have a princess lover in your family and the Wishes fireworks display over the castle in the Magic Kingdom. I would highly recommend this book even if you've been to WDW before.

This book is a must read before and during your trip. It has great money saving ideas and is easy to understand. The scare factors are extremely useful if you have children under 10.

Read this for school. It was funny, sad, interesting. I would tell a friend to read it.

This is one of the most touching and interesting books I've read....I have this book at the top of my list! It contains the action of baseball (from the point of view of a young boy) with the struggles of Cuban life. I would recommend this book to young teens, and/or those interested in baseball.

Free Baseball By: Sue Corbett

Free Baseball was I warm story about I Cuba boy who escaped. Felix, the boy, was the main character in this great story. Felix was a boy whose dad was a Cuba baseball star, and dreamed about nothing but baseball. Sue Corbett wrote this story well, and I really treasured it.
One part I liked was the part where Felix had just escaped on the bus. He ran away from his "evil" babysitter and was named the new ball boy of the opposing team. Felix slides in a small compartment and hides till the bus stops. Felix realizes it was foolish to do it because it got hot and un-cozy.
The next part I really liked is when he met the team mascot who was a dog named Miracle. Miracle was really important to the team because he was the only reason fans came to the games. He would run around the bases when one of the players hit a homerun. He also lived right in the stadium and could catch fly balls.
The last part was when Felix met a Cuban named Diaz. Diaz didn't speak much English but understood what people were talking about. Felix and Diaz became kind of best friends while Felix was a run away. Diaz was known as the team slugger and was one of the newer players. Diaz also said he met Felix's dad.
In conclusion Free Baseball was an about a boy named Felix who ran away from home during a baseball game. Felix was soon known to be the ball boy while he traveled with the team. He met a man named Diaz and met a "miracle" of a dog on his journey. Free Baseball was one of the best books I ever read.

D. Williams

She read it to us at school, and it was really great. It made our teacher cry. I loved it.

Sue Corbett's middle-grade book Free Baseball is the story of Felix, an eleven-year-old Cuban-American who stows away on a minor league team bus and steps in for the new bat boy who never showed up for work. It's sort of a Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler-kids-hiding-overnight-in-the-museum for the sports set. Typically, I have a hard time swallowing such fantasies as realistic, and thus my enjoyment of these kind of stories is always muted. But as charming or as impossible as the idea of living in a ballpark and working behind the scenes at a professional baseball game might be, there is so much more to this story that such issues are quickly left behind.

At the heart of this story are the diplomatic issues between America and Cuba, and the social turmoil those politics leave in their wake. Felix and his mother were "boat-people," Cuban immigrants who took a secret, overcrowded, and ultimately perilous boat ride to seek refuge in America. They left behind Felix's father, a star outfielder on the Cuban National Team, thinking he would be able to defect and join them during the team's travels. But it's been years now - Felix was an infant during the night-crossing - and he despairs that his father will never be able to join them.

The book then becomes something of a father quest - always a good pairing with baseball (see Field of Dreams, et al.) - as well as an exploration of Felix's strained relationship with his mother and his world. Yet despite settling into these well-worn spots in the outfield, Free Baseball stays on its toes and keeps the reader there too, managing to be pleasingly predictable and surprising at the same time. It's an atypical baseball book for this age group - it's not about winning a big game with a clutch hit, but instead about finding one's home in the dugout, and one's family in the stands. A story about that oddly redemptive power of a simple yet multi-faceted game, and the many ways in which it can touch all those who come into contact with it.

Highly recommended for all readers, but particularly those who have already tasted the magic of baseball.

I love this book especially for the younger age groups. It really helped me to see how you should set up games and what is important to include in all lessons. Great job Mr. Weiss!!!!

Excellent book for ANY grade level. The games can be adapted to suit the needs of your children. Howie Weiss has put this book together nicely. All of the games are easy to follow and can be adapted to suit the needs of your children, space and equipment.

It is great when you are creating a lesson plan because all of the games and activities are based on the NASPE's National Standards. I teach High School and my kids at that age STILL love all of the activities that I have done so far.

This book is definitely a must have!

If you are in need of the physical educator's Bible ,then this book is a must not only for younger teachers , but also for (us) veterans who need to be re-tooled.Howie's book hits the mark of excellence. It is apparent from the very beginning that his book has the ability to change the way physical education is preceived.
Howie's wealth of experience is noticeable on each page. He leaves so many variations and alternatives that can be used in all areas of education. This is not only a " How to Book ", it is a why, and a I wish I had this twenty years ago.I call this book a page turner because I couldn't wait to see what Howie would come up with next . He didn't dissapoint , in fact , this book gave me the energy to continue my quest to become even more active beyond retirement . Howie, thanks again for giving us a different view of the way to teach and to reach out to make a difference. Great job ! and will there be a sequel?
Gerry Cernicky

Mr. Weiss' book is a must have for every Physical Educator who is looking for new games to utilize in their physical education classes. The games and activities in the book can be easily implemented, and most require little or no equipment. In addition, these activities all can lead to meeting NASPE and state standards for Physical Education. If you are committed to providing a quality phyiscal education program for your students, this book is a must have for your library of resources!

Score one for day camps! This is an indispensable guide of exciting age based games sure to be a source of fun, as well as, build self esteem. A true find for both novice and experienced athletic directors.
This will be a great addition to my summer program
Susan Wortman
summer camp director

Reviewed by Brianne Plach (age 10) for Reader Views (1/08)

Zeke Armstrong and his friend Pow Wow Gao are happy to be chosen to go to New York City for the annual Big Apple Inline Skate-Off. But their happy trip is soon changed into a very frightening experience. They are witnesses to a mugging of a woman. If that isn't bad enough, it wasn't just any woman but it was someone who they had just met. Was it just a random mugging or is there more to it than that? Zeke Armstrong is an Encyclopedia Brown type kid who wants to get to the bottom of this mystery. Will the chance of competing and maybe winning the final competition be more important than solving this crime?

Mysteries for middle readers can sometimes lack suspense and a great adventure but "Green Streak" lacks neither of these. The pages of this book are action-packed with the two stories of competing in the skate-off and getting involved in helping solve this crime. Some of the clues given are obvious and I could figure them out. But just when I thought I had the mystery solved, there would be another twist in the story. Zeke is a typical kid who gets himself into some pretty scary situations but the ways he gets out of them are really funny.

The first Zeke Armstrong mystery, "Red Card" is an award winner, and "Green Streak" is sure to be a winner of an award too. With books like this, there is no reason why kids would not be able to find a book which they enjoy. I could see adults liking this book in addition to the kids.

My wife and I always check out the books we give our boys (ages 8 and 10). We grew up on the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, and we loved the pleasure those books brought us. Until recently, we'd been unable to find anything new on the market in the way of great mystery/adventure fiction. You know what I mean - pure, unadulterated, fast-paced fun. There are a lot of books out there about kids with "issues", which is fine - they're certainly needed. But if alot of the kids today are anything like my wife and I were when we were young, then there's a need for a modern Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew.

We'd all but given up on finding anything like that, until I noticed a teaser on an uncle/nephew mystery writing team in last week's Apple eNews email from Apple Computer. I checked out the full story on Daniel J. Hale and Matthew LaBrot on Apple.com's Pro site. I was intrigued. I ordered both books in the Zeke Armstrong series. I read both Red Card and Green Streak in a single day (when I should have been making sales calls). They blew me away. They took me back to my youth. I gave the books to my wife. She stayed up until 3 AM reading them. They blew her away. They took her back to her youth. We gave them to our boys. They devoured them. For the past two days, all they've been able to talk about is Zeke and Pow Wow, Zeke and Pow Wow, Zeke and Pow Wow. My wife and I have never seen them so excited about books.

At last! In Zeke Armstrong, we have a worthy successor to the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. Thanks to Apple Computer for bringing him to our attention.

Red Card was a cool book, but Green Streak is even better. Once I started reading it, I couldn't stop. I live in California, but we're going to New York for our summer vacation this year. After reading about how Zeke and Pow Wow rollerbladed through Central Park and the streets of the city, I wish we were there now. I may even take my skates. I can't wait for White Out, especially because I love to snowboard.

This is the second Zeke Armstrong mystery, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters are thoughtful and well-drawn; the mystery is well-conceived and there's lots of suspense. I'll be suggesting this book to a number of my middle grade readers. It's not to be missed.

The setting is New York City. A big race (in-line skating) is about to be held. A big crime is about to be committed. Naturally, Zeke Armstrong is involved in both. Hale and LaBrot do a wonderful job with this book: the plot is solid and fast-paced, the characters engaging, the scenes convincingly drawn. Although written for a younger audience, Green Streak never talks down to the reader; adults as well as adolescents will enjoy the mix of mystery solving and athletic endeavor. Red Card, The first installment in the Zeke Armstrong series, won the Agatha Award (deservedly so), and this is a better book. Read it.

This was a great book. Simple and straight forward. His writing style was quite engaging as well. I am new to grouse hunting and this book helped point me in the right direction in terms of where to hunt and how to hunt.

I have a library with every book I can get my hands on related to grouse hunting. There are resources specifically on Ruffed Grouse, guns, gunfit, shooting techniques, and every other aspect of the sport. The grouse hunting guides tend to get a read once or twice and then stay on the shelf. Not so with Walrod's book. It is the one hunting guide I have found myself referencing repeatedly. He has great comparative statistics and charts for locating birds depending on the conditions. It is a very enjoyable read and an excellent resource for the dedicated grouse hunter

From habitat and food to identification he tells it all. Having never hunted grouse before, I found it to have very good information. However I did not find it to be as humorous as a prior reader states. I actually found it to be a bit dry. All in all it is a keeper book to add to my library.

This book is loaded with information that will make you a better grouse hunter. The author truly understands this game bird and is able to take his insightful observations and perfectly convey them in this book. This book is sure to make you a better grouse hunter. The information on the grouse alone is worth the money and throw on top of that the information about guns, loads, dogs, and success rates of other hunters just makes this a must buy. I highly reccommend this book. I bought a few other books on grouse and this one is head and shoulders above the rest.

Being (apparently) the state advocate and completely tired of all the hunting books which cover only the eastern part of the United States, I found this guide to be a great book no matter where you live and hunt.

A great picture of a Ruffed Grouse taken from the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington state shows that the authors detail of habitat and other tidbits of hunting information apply in each and every covey around the country. What weapons to use. The appropriate ammo. The right choke. Statistics, opinions, and hard facts. Did I mention the book covers habitat? Oh! I can't forget to mention the recipes! Think of "Fried Grouse with (Wild) Mushrooms" and if that doesn't make your mouth water then check your pulse (or just read all the other recipes - there's some good ones).

If you have grouse near you, this book will help you find them and hunt them successfully - no matter where you hunt.

The title of the book, which became Mr. Sayers' credo throughout life, comes from a quote he saw on the desk of one of his coaches: "My God is first, my friends and family are second, I am third." Mr. Sayers tells the story of a man who lifted himself out of the ghetto with such a love for football, his friendship with Brian Piccolo (one of the very first pairings of a black player and a white player in the NFL) and his near-career ending injury. It is an inspirational story that does not get preachy. He tells of his friendship with Brian Piccolo without getting maudlin (Mr. Sayers and Mr. Piccolo were loyal friends and deeply respectful of each other.) He relates his triumphant return to the Chicago Bears after a knee injury that had almost everyone writing him off (except Mr. Piccolo, who urged him on during rehabilitation.) It almost seems as if Al Silverman turned on a tape recorder and let Mr. Sayers talk. Rather than being pretentious, the way a lot of sports biographies are one gets the feeling that Mr. Sayers is sitting down in an easy chair and is talking directly to each reader. The book, however, was written more than thirty-five years ago and ends before Mr. Sayers' final two (albeit disappointing) seasons. My hope is that Mr. Sayers will either update this book or write a sequel to tell us of his successes after football.

Bought this as gift for my husband. His reveiw: It was okay, interesting about Gayle Sayer's life but not extremely well written. It had little to say about his relationship with Brian Piccolo.

I am third
By Gale Sayers

Devon Hurley

My book is called I am third and itýs written by Gale Sayers. The price of the book is $...and u can find this book in any book store.
I am third is about the football player gale Sayers .He plays football with his friends every day. He grew up in a poor house with barely any food. That didnýt stop him from playing football though. He played no matter what. One time he tried to tackle some one and he got kicked in the mouth and he was spiting out blood his brother played football too. He was older then Gale. Gale was a starter on the high school football team with his brother he only got to play with his brother one season because he was a senior when Gale was a freshman. Gale was a good player. He was like1st or 2nd best in the country. He wanted to go to a four year college to play football. Mississippi State was in other sports besides football like track and basketball. He broke the long jump record for track. His mom and dad were always working on something. Galeýs dad was tall and had long legs. His dad worked hard every day and only got 40 dollars a day. His mom was at home watching all the kids. All the kids in the neighbor hood were on the football team. After gale went to college he was going to go to the pros either the chiefs or the bears. on draft day the Chicago bears picked Gale Sayers the first day of summer training he met Brian piccolo. Brian was a white person and Gale was a black person they didnýt really get along at first of race but after they started playing together. The coach put them in the same room partner. When gale was voted rookie of the year Brian starts to get sick and has to go to the hospital and he finds out he has cancer and has to stay in the hospital for the rest of the season. Later he goes home and is recovering but he gets cancer again a in his chest and dies from cancer. later gale plays the best game of his career he scores 6 touchdowns.

This review is on the book called "I Am Third". In this book it tells mostly about Gale Sayers' football career and some of Brian Piccolo's or Pic. The reason this book is called "I Am Third" is because he says that "God is 1st,my friends are 2nd,and I am 3rd". To understand this book you might have to know a little about football. If you like football stories I would reccomend you read "I Am Third".

I really never liked sports, but this book really moved me because it was a story of two men very different yet very alike. They were both very talented, over the past few months i've been doing so much research and Gale and Brian. I also am planning to do a important report on them, the frienship that they had was great. BUY THIS BOOK!! and the movie Brians song!I loved both. I love Ya Gale and Brian GOD BLESS!

I bought this book as a Christmas gift for my boyfriend. It beautifully portrays two of his most favorite things, surfing and Maui. You will not believe how amazing the photos are in this book. And each page is covered edge to edge in full color pictures giving you the feeling that you were actually there watching from the overlook.

I'm naming one of my children Laird; what a stud, eah? A friend had this large surfer pictorial coffee table book back in 97, and 10 years later it's still the best book I've ever seen on the subject. It has some of the finest photographs ever taken of large wave surfing (the cover is not just a one-off) and some of the preeminent accompanying text that ever existed about surfing (heartfelt philo; but intelligent, not loadie). Other than Surfer magazine, I believe this book was the first to show the new era of tow-in surfing, and the story of the heroes who created it. It's complete - and the first edition is no doubt a collectors piece for surfers. To my mind the movie Riding Giants should have clearly stated "inspired by the book Jaws Maui", because it's essentially the same thing in a different medium (and also highly recommended).

There is this marvelous line in the book - one of the hardcore crew basically answering the question about why Laird is so much better than anyone else. His answer was stellar; something along the lines of ~yeah - he's insane - "he's doing this for entirely different reasons". Absolutely classic. Absolutely frickin' classic. I'm just now getting the book (or I'd give you the exact quote) but what a glorious and magnificent line. I was devastated when it didn't make it into the movie Riding Giants.

I think this was one of the best thriller stories of its time. I personnally think it also is one the best water thrillers ever. I think any who is scared of the water should read this book.

Jaw Maui has much more to offer than your average coffee-table book. It is an incredible blending of inspirational writing and insightful interviews with the watermen themselves. Charlie & Leslie Lyon have done a great job letting us in on the inner workings of these accomplished athletes. Everyone that visits us gets a chance to read Jaws, and has come away mightily impressed (and longing for a trip to Maui!).

If anyone out there either surfs or enjoy's Surfing as a way of life, this book is for you! Go out there and purchase this book! Jaws is more than a book, the colourful pages come alive in front of you, looking at Laird Hamilton coming down the faces of massive 50+foot surf, it's like your right there below him (holding the camera) Blue Max did an amazing job of illustrating these waves for us, I was lucky enough to have visited Maui, for others out there, what are you waiting for..? Killer Waves..Best Surfers in the world.. see it all..? or save your money and buy this book

aloha Jim Mellanis :-)

I am a Matsubayashi Ryu practitioner. And have been studing KI. This books covers all of the basic excercises I feel one needs to practice KI. It is easy to read and follow.

With this book, not only can you devlop good Metods of KI excercises; but a positive outlook on life in general.

The concepts of "Ki" as taught in Ki Society Aikido schools is not easy for westerners to comprehend. I first started practicing it in 1990. Since then, outside of the writings of the founder, Koichi Tohei Sensei, I have not found a readily available and readable book that expliains Ki to westerners. Then came "Ki in Aikido: A Sampler of Ki Exercises" by C. M. Shifflett. In this easily manageable (size wise) book, Ms Shifflett gives a breif discription of Aikido and Ki then gets into the "meat of the matter". She explains Ki very clearly and gives lots of examples of how to incorporate it into your Aikido and your life. The art work is excellent and very aptly displays what is discribed. For my money, there is no better book for anyone: from the seasoned high ranking instructor to the novice to the curious onlooker. Anyone can get something from this book.

I earned my shodan during three years training in Japan (my instructors were wonderful people), and have taught for three years also (receiving permission from World Aikido headquarters).

This is an excellent little book. It is pleasant both to look at and read, and covers a lot of information in a well-paced and thoughtful manner. The elegant presentation reminds me of books on Japanese flower arrranging.

It is also concise, delivering not only what I understand to be a near-complete rendition of the various ki techniques and their applications in a straightforward manner, but also including brief notes on the various influences of aikido on cinema (The Seven Samurai, Star Wars), apocryphal tales about the founder Ueshiba Morihei, etc.

I enjoyed reading this book and consider it, unlike several other books on the subject, both well worth the expense and a useful addition to one's aikido library.

Most books on aikido suffer from some common flaws. They usually have a whole lot of small blurry photographs of techniques and a set of platitudes, with no way to relate them to either aikido practice or real life. This book has neither of those flaws.

As a beginner in ki-aikido, now forced to be in a town without a ki society dojo, I use Ki in Aikido as a regular reference to when I want to practice the ki exercises, which are clearly and comprehensively explained.

More importantly, she discusses the positive outlook necessary for success in aikido and in life. In a sense, it's both a primer on ki exercises and a self-help book for maintaining a "plus" attitude in life.

Also extremely witty and enjoyable to read. If nothing else, get it for the beautiful drawings of real live aikido practitioners.

The only danger with this book is that you may love it and become an evangelist and enthusiastically loan it to a friend, who will love it and never give it back. That would be bad.

Many books have been written about the mysteries of aikido. This book unravels them into reality in the most digestible, practical, and readable form I have yet seen. As a somewhat experienced aikidoka, I refer to my copy when asked to teach, or explain a concept to a beginner. Very solid, engaging, grounded and even just a darn good read.

I encountered Killer Sudoku in a Will Shortz sudoku variants book and became hooked on it, and this is a great book of it. It allows you to move between a variety of solving techniques taken from both regular Sudoku and Kakuro. The puzzles here come in a good variety of solving difficulty, with enough easy ones for you to practice your techniques on, and enough challenging ones that you won't get bored.

I ran into Killer Sudoku accidentally, and became hooked ever since. The (simple addition and subtraction) math involved adds a new dimension to the puzzle. Unlike the standard Sudoku, Killer Sudoku puzzles have more twists and surprises waiting to be explored. The more difficult puzzles in this book are very satisfactory in harboring many pleasant and exciting ones.

The books contain 110 puzzles of 5 levels. When you advance to the last two level, your skill and fun are elevated as well. I guess after you mastered the game, you may want to get books with only difficult ones (and they should be so published). One nice thing about this book is that the puzzles seem to have been tested, and there is a 'par' time for each one of them. For easy one the pars are ten to 20 minutes, and the hardest ones up to 90 minutes. These par times are pretty good in that I tended to exceed them in the beginning, but after I have advanced to high levels and came back to do some easier ones that I skipped I often beat the par. The time competition factor also is a way to enjoy the easy ones.

Highly recommended for going through the levels and mastering the game. If you are looking only for tough Killer Sudoku books, this one contains about 20 very good ones.

If your bored of Sudoku and not finding the standard puzzles challenging you need to try these out. The page layout of this book is good there is ample room to write your number combinations and there are suggested times for each puzzle. The paper used in the book is softer but stands up fine to an eraser.

I do enjoy regular Sudoku. But there are a couple of problems with it. First, while it uses numbers, it in no way uses the properties of numbers. Second, the level of effort to solve such puzzles is generally uneven; you may get a few numbers early, but then it gets very tough, and soon after that it is easy again. When it is tough, you may have to write down possible values in a square or guess, and that's unsatisfying compared to being able to simply write down correct numbers in blank squares.

With Killer Sudoku, one does get to use the additive properties of numbers, so there really is a difference between the symbols! And the level of effort is more nearly even. In addition, even hard puzzles generally can be solved without writing anything down but the answers. It is my favorite Sudoku variant ("Greater than Killer Sudoku" is my second favorite).

This book is about at the right level. Do not be scared by the "deadly" puzzles at the end, as I found them to be easier than some of the earlier ones.

I recommend this book to all those who enjoy a challenge and have some time on their hands.

In my opinion, Killer Sudoku puzzles are much more fun and satisfying to solve than regular Sudoku puzzles because of the added complexity of the sums and the various techniques that can be employed to solve them. "Killer Su Doku 1: The Deadly New Dimension" contains 110 puzzles of which there are 17 Gentle, 30 Moderate, 42 Tricky, 16 Tough, and 5 Deadly puzzles. Each puzzle has a suggested time to beat. There is also a two-page "Guidelines for Solving Killer Su Doku".

I didn't find the guidelines for solving to be particularly useful. They give a quite minimal explanation of how to solve these types of puzzles and leave out explanations of some of the more important techniques for solving, such as the 45 Rule. (Steve Arons book, "The Official Book of Killer Sudoku" contains a much more comprehensive introduction.)

Regarding the suggested times, I didn't specifically time myself, but I often noticed that I took much less or much more time than what was suggested. As for difficulty, I found that sometimes a puzzle in a given section was either much harder or much easier than what was implied. The puzzles in the Deadly section were no more difficult than the ones in the Tough section. The hardest puzzles in the book are 78, 98, and 105. I eventually figured out some interesting equations and relational techniques for solving 78 and 98. (Whew, that was fun!) Puzzle 105 is the only one that I have not yet managed to solve.

This brings me to a recommendation for the Solutions section. In general, I find the solutions in the backs of Sudoku books to be useless. If I finish a puzzle and it conforms to the rules then it's correct; otherwise it's wrong. I don't need a solution to tell me that. The only time I look at the solution is occasionally when I'm doing a really difficult puzzle and I want to check an intermediate result to make sure I'm on the right track so I don't end up having to erase the entire puzzle and start over. This also helps to instantly understand what type of mistake I made. Something that would be really helpful in the solutions for the really difficult puzzles would be to show a partially solved grid and an explanation of how to get to the next step.

On the whole I found this book to be very enjoyable and highly recommend it for any Killer Sudoku fan. Publisher, another one please!