Buck Books

the usual scenario involves a storyteller cracking his head to little pieces trying to find out whta to do about scourge in the renaissance. Tryin to get some ambientation cause the characters don't feel the renaissance and trying to run the chronicle. This book gives the in and outs about renaissance and works with scourge and scourgelings (paradox spirits) in a great way to add fun to your roleplaying, sure it's worth the money.

For several of us players who love Mage: The Sorcerers Crusade but have had some trouble getting to "feel" life in Renaissance, this book is a must. It brings crucial information about life in Renaissance (what they ate, what they wore, how did they relate to each other), the most important reigns (Tuscany and Italy, Spain, England, etc.) and even the countries that the Age of Exploration has uncovered (or will uncover), such as Cathay (China), America and so on.

It's more intended towards ST than players, though (except for the first 2 chapters, which are a must for both players and ST), and it goes as far as describing Renaissance personalities, and giving some cool ideas about Scourgelings.

And excellent book!

The Sorcerers Crusade Companion is different when compared to other general RPG source books. This book does not contain a lot of game mechanics or new powers. It provideds all the necessary information to run a historically accurate Renaissance game. Everyday details such as fashion, food, behavior, and culture were all presented in just the right amount. The art of swordfighting, plants, famous Renaissance figures, and Umbrood were discussed in the core book but was elaborated here. Most importantly, the book discussed the other cultures of the world during the Renaissance and their beliefs. This opens a lot of doors for games involving explorers and diplotmats. This book is a must for the average gamer who knows little about the world during the Renaissance and would like to add some accurate historical flavor to their games that might otherwise end up like generic D&D adventures.

If you're looking for a guide to explain the intricate game mechanics of this often arcane RPG, better look elsewhere. If, on the other hand, you're eager to start playing Mage: The Sorcerers Crusade but know diddly about the Renaissance (a not-inconceivable problem given the state of education nowadays), this book is what you need. In fact, I would suggest it for anyone needing info about this wonderful period of history. If only regular textbooks were this exciting & interesting! There is also a nice little essay on period fencing and dueling which I recommend highly to the incipient swashbuckler out there. You can do no wrong with this little gem in your Mage collection. Avanti!

Originally published as two 700-page volumes, Pearl S. Buck's translation of Shi Napan (1290-1365) and Luo Guanzhong's (1330-1400) Chinese martial arts novel "All Men Are Brothers" is now available in a new single volume edition from Moyer Bell. This 600 year-old epic tale of a band of patriots in the latter part of the Sung Dynasty is the story of a band of 108 outlaws 9105 men and 3 women) who struggle to help the Emperor rid himself of a despotic prime minister. Also involved in this work of classical Chinese fiction are ghosts, innkeepers who augment their groceries with the bodies of their guests, giants with superhuman strength, lovely ladies in distress, wily intellectuals, crafty merchants, and more! A sage replete with sorcery, action, beats, demons, and heroes, "All Men Are Brothers" is a terrific read from beginning to end and a very highly recommended addition to academic and community library collections!

Nobel Prize winner, West Virgina born, Pearl S. Buck is primarily known for her novels on her childhood and early life in China. However, her 1933 translation of the Chinese epic story of a band of patriots in China of latter part of the Sung Dynasty, struggling to help the emporer rid himself of the despotic Prime Minister, became popular again with release in 1990 of the Japanese developed software game--Bandit Kings of Ancient China by KOEI Corporation.

The epic story took place about 100 years prior to time of Robin Hood. But the story contains many parallels to the story Robin Hood. Just as Robin and his merry band hid in the woods of Nottingham and, in the name of Richard III against the usurping King John, robbed the rich to help the poor, so too did the bandit kngs live as outlaws from the authorities in the "water margins" (marshes) of Sung Dynasty China coming out only to harass the prime minister's troops and attempt to solicit followers to overthrow the corrupt prime minister in the name of the emporer.

The two volume set is a splendid read and helps the reader understand more about the Chinese government and culture in the eleventh century.

This was the first classical Chinese novel I ever completed, having previously given up on trying to read 'Romance of Three Kingdoms'. I prefer this novel to 'Scholars'.

Unlike some other translations, Pearl Buck tries to refer to characters with just a single name. This is an issue, as Chinese novels sometimes refer to the same character by several different names, making it much harder to follow the plot.

I remember a story being told that a father introduced this novel to his son before other classical stories not because it is the 'best' Chinese novel, but because he knew his son would read 'All Men are Brothers' eventually anyway and he wanted to guide his son through its more contentious passages!

The stories contained within 'All Men are Brothers' are enthralling, and provided an insight into a life and culture which no longer - or perhaps ever - exists, but still has echoes in Chinese society (and movies!) today. One warning, the 'prologue' describing the release of the spirits is one of the more confusing and perhaps boring chapters of the book. The rest of the book is much less confusing.

Oh, I did play the computer game mentioned by another reviewer, but only after I read the book!

This could well be my favorite of Pearl Buck's books...right up there with PEONY. One thing I liked was that there was no war in it, just family relations. Oh, there was mention of communism rising, but that was incidental.

This story covers the coming-of-age of four American-raised Chinese young people in the early 1900's. James, a talented young surgeon, decides to devote his life to serving the poor in China, and his siblings follow him. His teacher-sister Mary is equally devoted, but their younger brother Peter is disillusioned by the China he sees & listens sympathetically to the growing communist party. The youngest sister, Louise, has become very westernized & can imagine no home for herself but America. The story paints an interesting picture of how these brothers & sisters struggle to find their own identity in a world that is no longer simple.

This is Pearl S. Buck at her most bewitching. At first she draws figures as clear as those in a coloring book. But soon, no one is quite who they seemed at first. The wise father is a bit cowardly and impure. The pesty little sister has great emphathy. The unsophisticated mother displays immense insight, and so on. Through their travails in New York, and in their ancestral village near Peking, the 4 Liang children and their parents will stay in your mind as fully-fleshed characters you were happy to know, and learned something in the process.

Buck-Morss's tale of the sputtering, guttering end of the modern Fordist disciplinary project both in the U.S.A and in the Soviet Union is a stunner. Most compelling are the historical insights -- told with particular elegance through the comparison of patriotic and advertising images -- that show how similar both projects really were! Some of the historical tidbits stick in the mind never to be dislodged: Daddy Stalin asking Henry Ford to come build him a factory to make tractors in the middle of the Depression. Lenin's admiration for Frederick Taylor. Amazing how the salvation for both communists and capitalists was the same industrial regime, the same worker's paradise of factory labor!

The second half of the book, a kind of diary of cross-cultural US/Soviet cultural exchanges prior to and after the Berlin Wall, is interesting but less intellectually energizing. Still, there is a great deal of wit in Ms. Buck-Morss's observation that Western Marxist critics such as Frederick Jameson (who attended some of the same seminars with Soviet intellectuals that Buck-Morss did) seem less willing to give up on the socialist dreamscape than their Soviet counterparts.

A great companion read is Michael Hardt's and Antonio Negri's "Empire" which really has an interesting take on the near simultaneous end of Fordism and the disciplinary state in both the U.S. and Soviet Union. They suggest it was the "multitude" or proletariat in both nations who rebelled against the industrial factory/modern project and destabilized both, an argument which runs counter to the usual top-down explanations for the rise of postmodern economics.

Interesting how we're told these days that the Soviets, now suffering in the hot bath of capitalism, are nostalgic for the certainty of the Daddy Stalin years. Perhaps their nostalgia is not so different than Baby Boomer Americans' nostalgia for the lost innocence of the early 50s/60s, the Golden Age of American economic hegemony, before the New Deal project finally collapsed. Now that the veil has dropped it seems we had a lot more in common with "them"(us) than we ever thought we did. And still do!

Having been raised in the ideological wasteland of 20th century America, I found this book an interesting read. It could be seen as a vindication of Chomskii's idea that the Cold War was a fake, in which the 2 sides's respective leaders colluded to pick the pockets of their respective peoples in order to finance the buildup of huge military machines which could be used to suck the blood of the 3rd world. My main disappointment, aside from ocassional annoying forays into psuedo-intellectual gibberish (especially the Soviet "nomenklatura" variety,), was the author's failure to inquire into the cause of the socialistic failure, apparenty assuming the fact that the leaders of neither side actually had any interest in the welfare of their people was sufficient explanation. It seems more likely to me that the collapse of social welfare is an inevitable result of the global population-explosion (i.e. as the population increases & the competition for Earth's resources intensifies & grows increasingly vicious, things are bound to deteriorate). Considering that the Wise Men of yore warned us of this problem long ago (i.e. population-explosion becoming the "Beast of Armagedon" & threatening to drag us to our doom with it's 4 Horsemen of Famine, Plague, War, & Avarice when we had finished the job of replenishing the Earth), it's hard to understand why the global intelligensia don't get it. Perhaps the "dumbing-down of America" has taken it's toll on the rest of the world, as well.

'Dreamworld and Catastrophe' is a cry of anguish disguised as the interdisciplinary analyses of a (neo-)Marxist scholar. It is a fragmentary and tortured reaction to the betrayal of history, in the best of Walter Benjamin's tradition, consciously emulated in this tome by this leading authority on the Frankfurt School. It is painful to wade through the convolutions of denial, intellectualization and projection that constitute the first part ('Democracy' - the political framework). The next two sections ('History' and 'Mass Culture')are a joyride of erudition and an intellectual tour de force. The last part - a dry chronicle of the comings and goings of the author's milieu amidst the disintegration of the USSR and the emergence of Russia - is anti-climactic. The opus in its entirety does not fuflil the blurb's somewhat hubristic promise: 'This book offers a revaluation of the twentieth century'. Sam Vaknin, author of 'After the Rain - How the West Lost the East'

The history of the commoner's, new backgrounds, and a new art-metamorphosis. It's time to have the power to turn into the creatures from our own fantasy stories! Yes, you can turn that prince into a frog.

Wondering what the Kithain were doing all those years before the Resurgence? Wanna know what the commoners REALLY think of the ruling minority? Sick of flinching to a bow every time someone says Gwydion? Get this book

After going through the core rule book, a potential Changeling Storyteller would be well advised to thumb through this book. The lion's share is devoted to the Changeling's take on the history of the World of Darkness, with a great deal of material on the Interregnum (when the Sidhe had left) and the Accordance War, which can provide hooks for developing a background for a chronicle's setting. Additionally, secret societies and political viewpoints (conservative, moderate, radical) can provide ideas for bringing intrigue into a story. Finally, a chapter is devoted to assisting the Storyteller in creating a chronicle by suggesting possible themes, moods and story seeds.

Players might be able to draw inspiration from the historical chapter, and they are given a new merit, background and art (Metamorphosis!) and two new kith to try out.

I knew Buck, Dottie and Reba, before Reba was old enough to sing with them. I was a 12 year old boy who sat mesmerized by Dottie Rambo playing the red Gibson guitar on the platform of our United Pentecostal Campmeeting in Louisiana. At the time they traveled as the Gospel Echos. The Rambo's came to my local church several times in Westlake, Louisiana and the place would be packed. Dottie wrote some of the most anointed songs that have been written. They will be sung throughout the ages.

Dottie Rambo is the most gifted songwriter of all time. I have read the Legacy of Buck and Dottie Rambo many times! I think and know God has used and continues to use Dottie and thank God for that! Buck talks underatedly about Dottie and should give her much praise. Dottie we love you write our book soon!!!!

I just recently purchased the Legacy of Buck and Dottie Rambo at a Dottie concert. She stated that Buck Rambo wrote this book own his own without any input from her. I can believe it. Anyone that has ever heard Ms. Dottie sing, knows that the Spirit of God just flows from her in every song. Whether it be one that she wrote or just one that sings from another writer. He gives her some credit but not enough. A person can only believe that it is through her belief and faith in God that keeps her going through all of her health problems. Anytime you need an uplifting experience just read the book and pay attention to Dottie's unending never wavering faith in GOD.

Great book, I paid the price for a used book however, this book looks like brand new.

Our kids just love this. It's simple and easy to remember. We read about 4 pages a night and then review everything with them the next evening before we read the next 4 pages. They always remember the stories. Our children are 4 yrs old and 6 yrs old. I would highly recommend this as a good introduction to the Book of Mormon for children.

My kids really love the pictures and it is a great simple way to introduce them to the Book of Mormon. Great addition to every LDS family library.

Good book. A great deal of common sense but some good reference material. I am looking at this to help train my BSA Troop; I think this has some wonderful material to help them. I have found that all of the NOLS books have some very good and useful information.

I'm a NOLS grad and was asked to do a class for our local Boy Scout troop on winter camping and snow shelters. I picked up a copy of NOLS Winter Camping and found it to be a fantastic resource. The illustrations were very helpful and the instruction was well organized, easy to read and use. The kids are going camping this weekend and they will be sleeping in a snow cave.

This was a very good book for somebody who is just getting into winter camping. The information is solid and reliable, and it is laid out in a very readable fashion. I have other books by Buck Tilton, and his writing style is always very engaging, Unfortunately, my initial excitement that NOLS (The National Outdoor Leadership School) had finally brought out a guide to winter camping, was dampened by the basic nature of the material. I look to NOLS to challenge and expand my knowledge base, and although I am an experienced winter adventurer, I am hardly an expert. I was also disappointed that what are known as "traditional" winter travel and camping techniques receive almost no mention, except for two scant paragraphs on snowshoes.

As I stated, the book is good, and is a worthy addition to any winter recreation library. But if you are just getting into the activity, I would steer you towards Stephen Gorman's "Winter Camping, 2nd Edition" (1999, Appalachian Mountain Club) as a better guide on how to get into what is referred to by some guides as "the undiscovered season."

Philadelphia...a city of American history that steps out in front of you when you arrive. I had the chance to visit the wonderful sights of Philadelphia in October,2004. This was the guide that helped me get introduced to what to expect. From hoagies to the Liberty Bell to the great pipe organ at Lord and Taylor ( formerly Wanamaker's),Philadelphia is another of my favoriet cities. The guide gives its rankings to the hotels, restaurants and sights. Highly recommended reading!

Guide offers plenty of information. However, certain driving routes [Fairmount Park Drive, for example] will get you lost. Also, closed attractions are not clearly stated. For example, the Horticultural Center has open hours listed. But Fodors shoould CLEARLY state that it is CLOSED ON MONDAYS. Other details are also missing... like the Bishop White House and Todd House only accomodate about 20 people a day for tours, so you need to sign up EARLY to have any chance of touring it.

Fodor's Philadelphia is a great travel book to the "City of Brotherly Love". Everything from short hops around the city to great parts on restaurants and hotels, this guide has it all. The overview of Philly is also very well done. As a guide book, this is one of the best, if not the best, to Philadelphia and the surrounding area.

Finally a book that recounts the trials and tribulations of an American surgeon, fictionalized in terms a patient can understand!! I salute Dr. Anderson and the author for holding my complete interest to the very end. Dr. Anderson should write a book, oh the stories he could tell??!!!

This book is the best combination of poignancy and accuracy of the life of both a neurosurgeon and a Navy physician.

It was really great!

It seems unfortunate for the reader that this is a fictionalized account of what must be/have been a very interesting career. I suspect a detailed autobiographical account would have been much more interesting. One has the feeling there is an exciting and pertinent story here, but it never seems to develop very well. Medical research, military service including VietNam, private practice in the midst of a revolution in healthcare certainly generated experiences that would be both exciting and instructive. There are allusions to them, but very little detail. It left this reader feeling the attempt to fictionalize detracted from what would otherwise be a great story.