Adams Books

The authors have created real characters out of the chess pieces. Through the characters' stories young readers learn how to play chess and build strategies to win. Chess helps improve kids' math skills so parents who want to introduce chess to their kids will benefit from the tips and hints that will make the game fun and engaging. Overall, this is a great teaching set.

Both my 5 year old son and I wanted to learn how to play chess. My wife bought this chess set and book combination and it has been fantastic. We have had this for about a year now and we play regularly. The book makes learning strategy and the moves of each piece easy to learn. It reads like a story book. My son was into it and now asks me if I want to play even after having it a year! The board has a cheat sheet right on it telling you how each piece can move. Personally, I would much rather learn this game at a children's level than a grand master's and would encourage any novice to pick up this package. Incidentally, the book/chess board combo says for ages 8 and up but if my 5 year old can pick this up I think your fine in going to a younger age than 8.

I loved this book! The author comes from a Christian perspective, but he isn't self-righteous and he doesn't cram his religon down your throat. Mr. Adams thoroughly documents his sources and cites mainstream scientific studies to support his assertions. He looks at the influences of peers, media, education, and parents and most importantly, he discusses solutions for all types of families (stay at home, working, public and private schooled, etc.). Any parent concerned about raising a child in our society will enjoy and benefit from this book. Buy it!

Dan Adams does a great job focusing on the needs of our children and how we as parents can and should meet those needs. It is not the responsibility of the church, YMCA, day-care center, or public school to meet those needs. As parents, we need to take seriously the God given responsibility we have been given and determine to be the main influence in our children's lives. The result of our efforts can either be rewards for a job well done, or grief from a rebellious child that was not properly guided. This book contains many insights on how to spend quantity time, not just quality time, with our children and gives many ideas on how to turn the TV set off and get our children to enjoy reading alone as well as reading together as a family, and build memories as a family that will be the root system that the child will need to withstand the "winds" later in life.

This book has greatly affected my view of what my role as a father really is. John Angel James understands the heart of man and has written this book specifically for fathers pushing one main agenda: the importance of training their children in godliness. I found this quote helpful and convicting: 'Religion, by every Christian parent, is theoretically acknowledged to be the most important thing in the world; but if in practice the father appears a thousand times more anxious for the son to be a good scholar than a real Christian, and the mother more solicitous for the daughter to be a good dancer or musician, than a child of God, they may teach what they like in the way of good doctrine, but they are not to look for genuine piety as the result: this can only be expected where it is really taught and inculcated as the one thing needful.'
The father's own understanding of spiritual truths will be challenged as well as our own hearts thoroughly examined. We owe our children as well as the next generation of the Church our undivided attention and prayers en route to teaching them the ways of God. Fathers, we need to lead that charge!

A facimile copy of the 1828 fifth edition, it is absolutely brilliant; a must read for any and all Christians that truly carry a heartfelt desire for holiness in their families and themselves. James' soundness of doctine and eloquent style of writing make each page a veritable treasure. A most timely reprint in these most wicked days.

Currently on a Fuentes kick, I picked up Christopher Unborn. Although written in the 1980's about 1992, Fuentes is completely on target in his subject matter, and his Makesicko of 1992 looks a lot like today.
You will read this and recognize american liberals and conservatives, southern mexican secessionist sympathizers, leftist ideaologues, mall shoppers and reality tv "celebrities" all captured and satirized perfectly. I read this book with a sardonic smile not thinking of the past, but of today.
The man's a genius, and any book of his is worth a good read, but underneath the narrative is a lot of fun. Of the 3 novels I have read, I get the greatest sense that Fuentes truly loved his characters, flawed and cracked as they are.
Some of it is challenging, but Fuentes always is, and usually working through the challenges is highly rewarding.

This book was written on the eve of the 500th year anniversary marking the fateful encounter between the Spanish Euoropeans and the various indigenous groups of the Americas. Not so coincidently, the prolific, briliant writer Carlos Fuentes sets the circumstances to this novel to coincide with the event. The premise for the book is a contest being held in Mexico with a great prize offered for the first born child on the 500th anniversary of Columbus's arrival. The child is Christopher, the narrator of the novel who makes shrewd observations about the world he will be born into, all from the comfort of inside his mother. This allows Fuentes, the author, to rip into all of the ills of modern Mexico with his usually witty and sharp use of lanuage. A master at manipulation of common laguage, he changes the words to fit his vision. Several examples of how he changes words are Mexico City to Makesicko City, Kafkapulco, Quasimodo City, Samsaville, Huitzilopochtliburg or President Dangerous Dickson before the Watergate Waterloo, blockabulary for vocabulary,Califurnace, PornoCorno, Coca-Culo and Acapukelco(or did I make this last one up?). However this is nothing compared to the daggers Christopher throws at everything from the devastation of the earthquake and the aftermath, the PRI, Mexican history and all it's tragic consequences including the massacre at Tlateloco, the narco-polices ties to the narco traffickers themselves and in short, all is fair game for Fuentes via his narrator Christopher. His observations on popular culture include everything from Lennon to Lenin to Boy George. It is a scathing, passionate view of the world Chistopher will enter. Christopher contends his nine months inside his mother are when his life began and this comfort and fear of what is out there make the narration a brutal, wry, cynical commentary. The satirical view is enhanced by a cast of characters who all are part of the make up of a world Christopher will inherit. The action of the novel is a backdrop for a political campaign and all it's cast of characters both for and against.Some of the names of these politicos and associates are Deng Chopin, Hipi Toltec, Fagoaga, Matamoros Moreno, Robles Chacon and D.C Buckley just to name a few. Coming in at over five hundered pages it is no easy read but totally enjoyable. The literature flows beautifully, creating images as only Carlos Fuentes can. As one of the preeminent writers of our times, Fuentes unleashes a novel for the times that will be reflected upon years from now as a masterpiece marking the collision of worlds that occurred five hundred years ago. This is an excellent book for educators at the AP level in high school or college to use for a literature class or to supplement a history course. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Mexico and it's contemporary literature.

A captivating story full of rich characters. I enjoyed how the author explored the social dynamics of this small New England Town when it is disrupted by a stranger. The writing was excellent and the plot kept me wondering what will happen to the characters, the town, next.

A captivating story full of rich characters. I enjoyed how the author explored the social dynamics of this small New England Town when it is disrupted by a stranger. The writing was excellent and the plot kept me wondering what will happen to the characters, the town, next.

I love this book. That's not because I'm one of the many writers who contributed to this volume but because these are such true to life stories about Christmas that you can't help but be moved by them. The stories range from the bittersweet to the tender and to authentic miracles but there's never a moment when I doubted any of them.

This is a great book to read during the holiday season to boost spirits or to read any time of the year to capture a little bit of the Christmas spirit year round.

What a wonderful book to start the holidays with! The short stories in this book are delicious morsels of Christmas memories that brought back my own personal memories of Christmas time. "Classic Christmas" is a collection of short stories that are easy to read and really fill you with the holiday spirit. The addition of the "spotlight" of the individual towns through out the book really add to the home spun feel of the stories. This book will be added to my list of gifts to family and friends this year for sure!

Highly recommended! The large formate - one puzzle per page makes it visually possible if you have visual organizational problems, and otherwise very pleasant. The authors provide a great support for the learning process in the book and the free link to their web site. They are excellent teachers making it a lot of fun to learn in their 'classroom'. It seems they WANT you to have fun and enjoy logic as much as they do. Refreshing indeed to have FUN and LEARNING at the bottom line.

I have been playing online at Web Sudoku for nearly a year now and their Sudoku puzzles are consistently excellent. Now they've brought out a book which maintains the same high standard and in my opinion beats all the other books on the market. There are 200 puzzles in the book - 50 in each of their 4 levels, mostly 9x9 but with some 12x12 and 16x16 as well. I also find that this paperback sudoku book is the perfect size to carry around in a bag but still has plenty of space around the puzzle.

In A Closer Walk Catherine Marshall's daily journals, full of the questions we might have as well, are edited to concise readings grouped by theme. I have used this as a daily devotional and found it both helpful and inspiring. Often the topic of the day hit on something I was struggling with as well and it was a great help.
Well worth the money and one to re-read often.

These writings are taken from the prayer journals of Catherine Marshall. In the preface, Elizabeth Sherrill tells us that these notes reflect the author's "daily appointment" with God and were originally kept in spiral-bound notebooks of various shapes and colors. Catherine brought her dreams, goals, desires, and reflections to these times of fellowship with her Creator. Writing eliminated vagueness. We can be thankful that she did not speak in religious cliches, but communicated in a realistic way. She even expresses doubts and areas where she didn't understand what was going on. I find her candor refreshing. She can be trusted. She's not trying to be a "super Christian." We're told that she liked to pray with her Bible and that "All of Catherine's Bibles are marked with underlinings; color shadings make certain passages almost leap out at you" (p. xxv). Some sections of her Bibles contained question marks in the margins. These observations come from her second husband, Lenoard E. LeSourd in his introduction to the first section of the book.
Catherine says "God often speaks to me through dreams" (p. 18). It should be noted that she uses Scripture as the authority whereby these and other sources of information are tested.
She discribes memorizing Scripture as a means of it becoming a permanent possession of mind and heart (p. 21).
She speaks to people desiring to live above circumstances by saying "...we don't have to settle for blandness in life; God, who is the Author of creativity, is ready to make a dull life adventuresome the moment we allow His Holy Spirit to go work inside us" (p. 49).
This wonderful book is full of powerful reflections on the truths of God's Word that can be applied to anyone's life regardless of their position.

The Usborne Internet-Linked Complete Book Of Chess is a straightforward introduction to the classic game of chess written by Elizabeth Dalby, and highly recommended for young players. From a fundamental tutorial about basic moves, to deadly and complex traps for enemy pieces, to solid attack and defense strategies, to 80 brain-twisting chess puzzles, and so much more, The Usborne Internet-Linked Complete Book Of Chess is a superbly organized and "kid friendly" guide featuring full color illustrations, diagrams, and offering a wealth of useful internet links.

Superbly illustrated including lots more chess board diagrams than other childrens guide. It has much more "beyond the basics" content than any of the other usually classic illustrated children's guides from Dorling Kindersley, Kingfisher, and even the others from Usborne itself.

Most of the other childrens guides merely show what the pieces look like (a pawn is a pawn is a pawn)and how they move with a teensy bit of strategy very reluctantly put in so as not to frighten the horses. This seems to be the one illustrated childrens book which not only simply explains but also graphically SHOWS the strategy in much much much more detail with copious illustrations. If a picure is worth a thousand words then this book is worth millions and is a quantum leap above the others. If you want science fantasy 3D abstract illustrations which are beautiful for adults to look at (but either confusing as hell or simply irrelevant in learning chess) then the Kingfisher guide is superb. But if you want your kid ( and maybe yourself) to really understand what the pieces are actually doing and the finer points of strategy involved, then the many many more colour (usually) 2D pictures in this book can't be beat.

It packs more content which is easy to understand in a 108 page beginners guide than some of the 3oo plus pages pot boilers written for adults by some grandmaster players who can't teach for nuts. This Usborne guide has quite comprehensive sections on the opening, middle game and end game with lots of examples and board shots. It also has quick internet chess links on the Usborne site which are aimed at helping kids and beginners understand. I must admit I have learnt quite a bit from the book myself and it is a very suitable guide also for adults from beginner to imtermediate and perhaps even to the threshold of advanced.

In case you were wondering I like this book. Much more importantly my kids ( 5 years) love it too and beg me to get the set out and try the early things in this book. If you can only buy one book to help your kids ( or even yourself) with chess you won't be disappointed with this. My only caveat is that if your kids are really young then the amount of illustrated info on each page may be a bit daunting and for pre- readers one of the more basic guides from Usborne, DK or kingfisher may be an easier (but more limited) starting point.

THe book shows very good when changes applied to specific parts of the cars. For me it was the ultimate buyer's guide if you are interested in buying an original car.

This book is wonderful if your a beginner. But also good tips for pro restores!