5 comments about Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Prima Official Game Guides).

1. I'm a ZeldaDummy, not a nerd,a Gramma who plays this game and DOESN'T know how anyone has finished the game without this book! I think it has alot of info one needs to really play the game and enjoy it. I would recommend this book!



2. My 9-year-old grandson received the guide and the game for Christmas. He used the guide often and found it to be helpful and easy to use. It provides good definitions and directions. It helped him find treasure chest items that he otherwise would not have found. He found some information to be confusing, for example: at the end of the fire temple, it was hard to defeat the boss because the directions were not clear. In spite of this, he loved the guidebook.



3. I recieved The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for my DS lite on Christmas. After that, I searched for the matching Guidebook, since I like being 'complete' and guide books point out all the secrets & bonuses in a game that you'd probably never find otherwise. As a rule, I normally only purchase the Official Nintendo Power Strategy guides, but due to nintendo power's hiatus and changing the writers of nintendo power magazine, I soon found out that there was no official nintendo power guide for phantom hourglass .. and normally I don't like third party guides or third party merchandise. But since I needed a guide and this was basically the 'official' one, I bought it while I was in canada (it came to about CAD $27.) I have since beaten the game, with only 2 treasure maps and a bunch of ship parts to find. So, I bought prima's paper-back 'Premiere' Guide. (There was also the Hardcover guide which came with a bunch of stuff, but I liked this one more, plus, that one was more expensive.)
   
   However .. there are a few gripes about this guide, even though it is well laid out, for the most part, well written, well designed, comes with a poster and a checklist, etc .. and those are:
   
   a few spelling/grammar errors
   some things aren't as clear as they could be
   a checklist for the different kinds of fish would have been nice
   
   Now, for a established company that produces game guides, I would expect them to at least proof read or spell check their guides before actually printing and selling them. It doesn't feel too great when you purchase something for this amount and the company didn't even take the time to spell check for any errors.
   
   Other then that, the checklist was handy and the poster was nice. The guide is actually VERY thick and heavy, and it has a extensive part on battle mode.
   
   Imo, Nintendo Guides are usually the best.



4. Has everything you could possible think of or need to help you with the game. Very illustrative too, pictures for everything demonstrating their techniques.



5. This game is incredible. The clarity on the Nintendo DS and the gameplay is Awesome. Highly recommend this game if you are a Zelda fan. And purchasing from Amazon.com has always been a pleasure! I have not been let down yet.

5 comments about Self-Working Table Magic: 97 Foolproof Tricks with Everyday Objects.

1. Many beginners to magic (and others who should know better) are of the opinion that a magic effect has to be difficult in order to be worthwhile. While there are many killer effects that take months or years of practice, there are equally wonderful tricks that rely on psychology, subtlety, and/or advance preparation. The Self Working series of books are a treasure trove of great magic. This book is no exception. Many of the included tricks are used by successful professional magicians. Admittedly, these are best used in a program with other, more elaborate tricks, but for those moments in your act where you need a short, sweet effect, something in this book might just fill the bill. And as you get more proficient in magic you will find ways to further embellish these tricks and make them your own private miracles.



2. i think that this is a great book and it rocks my socks



3. Karl Fulves has been putting out these kinds of books for what seems like an eternity. They are good books for kids and even a skilled performer can pull some good material from these books.
   [...]



4. I purchased this book thinking that it would be a good beginning magic book for a group of middle schoolers interested in learning magic tricks. It seems that even though the objects are everyday, the tricks are not. This is a great book if you are willing to do the practice to master the tricks, but if you are looking for a quick trick, then keep looking.



5. This book is amusing but not spectacular, I would go for the street magic, Mindfreak and blaine books for something more espectacular. Decent for beginers.

No comments about The New York Times Weekend in the Country Crossword Puzzles: 200 Relaxing Puzzles.

5 comments about Betting on Horse Racing For Dummies (For Dummies (Sports & Hobbies)).

1. This is a great book for the absolute begginner, first time track experince. For the enthusiastic hobbyist like myself the book only gets two stars.
   
   I thought the pull out cheat sheet in the front of the book was irresponsible, suggesting a sixteen dollar play for the pick 6. I believe two dollars is okay, because it's like buying a lottery ticket, however a minuim of a 128.00 is needed. Anything else is just throwing away money. The suggested amount for the superfecta and pick 4 were off base too.
   
   The book was very hard to read, as it seemed like every chapter the author was just saying the same thing over and over again. Although the book explains to the reader the different types of handicapping methods, it does not teach you how to handicap. Remember the book title is "Betting on Horse Racing" not "Handicapping on Horse Racing".
   
   Now for what I liked about the book. Great glossary and index, something that all horse racing books that I've read lacked. I enjoyed chapter 17, which covered handicapping tournaments. This is something I've never tackled and find interesting after reading. Chapters 19 and 20 covered Harness racing and Quarter horses. I prefer throughbreds because I understand it and find it more enjoyable, but if I ever decide to bet on these types of races I will refer to these chapters. Chapter 25, the ten best race tracks to visit, was also interesting. I'm fortunate to have two of these in my back yard, and in the future I would like to visit the authors other eight picks.
   
   I bought this book after I selected another book and needed to spend more to avoid the three dollars shipping and handling. So factoring that in 10.59 was not a bad price. The amazon advertised 13.59 is'nt bad either, however I would not purchase the book for the suggested 19.99 cover price (not worth it).
   
   In all, good book to have for begginers. Also a good book to have for experinced horesplayers who have non horse playing friends that want to tag along. Much easier to let them borrow the book over night then to have them harrassing you at the track like a little kid with thier questions.
   
   The other do it yourself series KISS and Complete Idiots Guide do not have books on this subject, instead there covered in chapters of other books. KISS Guide to Gambling, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Gambling Like a Pro, respectfully.



2. With the Kentucky Derby about one week away, it will be like NCAA March Madness where even the casual of sports fans is going to have an opinion on the outcome.
   
   But maybe you will want to take that opinion one step further and place a bet at the local race track or OTB that's simulcasting the race. This book will help you learn the nomenclature associated with wagering on the races and the nuances to betting.
   
   Author Richard Eng guides the reader through the basic bets like win, place and show, but really earns high marks by delving into the exotic bets - like exactas, trifectas and superfectas - where betting the same money as you would on the traditional trio may yield much higher payouts.
   
   The book is not how to handicap races, which is the art or reading a racing form or researching with other material to select runners for your various bets. It purely focuses on understanding what bets are possibly available for the races at your local tracks or on the simulcasts.
   
   And with confidence, you'll be able to march up to the teller and state - for the record - "In race five I'd like an exacta box with with 2 and the 6," just like a pro. And through the help of Eng you will certainly understand it just as well or better than that "expert" who's next in line.



3. I gave this as a gift to my mother before several trips to the races, and after completing it, I was pleased to find she was doing basic handicapping correctly. This book doesn't get deep into hard-core handicapping, but for most people who enjoy the races as an occasional fun day out, it puts all those numbers in the program or the racing form into perspective... making for a more enjoyable experience! Well done.



4. This book has taught me alot about horse racing, and had definitely aided in my enjoyment of the sport and helped me win some money! There are some chapters that are a little boring with unnecessary info.



5. I got this book after going to the racetrack one day and poring over the racing form in confusion. I didn't even bet because I didn't know what I was looking at. I thought this book, being of the "Dummies" variety, would be a good introduction to betting. Wrong!
   
   I found this book very difficult to understand, and one almost certainly must have prior knowledge of betting to understand some of the concepts in this book. The author gives a lot of examples, but they are in such fine print that I couldn't read them! I would need a magnifying glass to see what he was talking about in many, many examples. He progresses very quickly from beginner definitions to advanced betting concepts, and it wasn't organized in a logical, straightforward fashion. This book is not geared toward the casual bettor like me, but more towards someone who already has some knowledge of betting and is looking to set up a money-making system.
   
   After getting about 3/4 of the way through this book, I threw my hands up in despair and gave up. I guess I won't be betting on the horses anytime soon, because I still don't have a clue after reading this.

No comments about Original O'Ekaki: Intelligent Designs from Its Creator.

5 comments about Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas(tm) Official Strategy Guide (Signature).

1. I received this manual in excellent codition and will purchase more items through Amazon.



2. Strategy guide is a good starting point to help play the game, some of the tags aren't 100% accurate.



3. It was okay, I guess. It wasn't nearly as helpful as I thought it wounld be, but helpful nonetheless. It didnt provide the best pictures and information.



4. This is a review of this product: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Official Strategy Guide for PlayStation 2. Amazon may display this review on the page of another version of this product, for which this review may not apply. After reading this review, please click on the link so that you can be assured that the product this review applies to is the same one you thought it was for.
   --------------------------------------------------
   
   As everyone already knows from reading the other reviews here, this guide contains a vast amount of errors in regards to the Photo Ops and Horseshoes. I don't think that BradyGames has published a corrected version, which they could offer in exchange for the flawed version. However, they have released corrected information on their website:
   
   San Fierro Photo Op Updates
   
   The Photo Op location lists have been updated. This is available for your viewing and downloading pleasure. Use these lists, descriptions, and shots to cross reference the maps on pages 84 and 127. Enjoy your sightseeing and remember it's best to seek these shots at night.
   
   [in the addresses below replace -DOT- with . and remove the dashes inbetween p-d-f]
   
   Page 85 - Photo Ops Descriptions (136 KB)
   bradygames-DOT-com/content/images/0744004292/updates/page85.p-d-f
   
   Pages 128 - Photo Ops Shots and Descriptions (13.2 MB)
   bradygames-DOT-com/content/images/0744004292/updates/page128.p-d-f
   
   Page 131-133 - Horseshoe Map, Shots and Descriptions (5 MB)
   bradygames-DOT-com/content/images/0744004292/updates/page131.p-d-f
   
   Las Venturas Horseshoe Updates
   
   Horseshoe 25: The northeast corner of Las Venturas Airport, near the runway.
   [see image uploaded to Product Images section on this item's page on Amazon]
   
   Horseshoe 28: Just west of the north end of the Las Venturas Airport's main runway.
   [see image uploaded to Product Images section on this item's page on Amazon]
   
   Horseshoe 43: Here is an updated image.
   [see image uploaded to Product Images section on this item's page on Amazon]
   
   Info from: bradygames-DOT-com/bookstore/product.asp?isbn=0744004292
   (click on "Updates & Corrections" in the grey "More Information" box)



5. I agree with all the negative reviews on this page. The rest of the guide is awesome, but the locations of the Horseshoes, and Oysters are off, sometimes way off. I finally had to write down the places where they were so I would not forget. not much thanks to editors, but on the other hand, they made a great guide, sans the location maps.

5 comments about 101 Drama Games for Children: Fun and Learning with Acting and Make-Believe (SmartFun Activity Books).

1. You will use this book over and over. I teach gifted upper elementary and middle school drama students. This book is one of my favorites - it is likely to be one of yours too.



2. While not directly about "Drama", this book offers great games to get children thinking fast and exercising their creative muscles. I am having a lot of fun using it in an introductory drama class for 1st to 3rd grade chilren. I would recommend this book for anyone looking for ideas to use creative play groups more than for teaching specific dramatic techniques. It's about the fun of imagination!



3. I teach a summer drama class for grades 1-6, and it has a lot of really great games for all of the age groups, I do however wish there were a few more for the younger groups, but many can be adapted.



4. This book focuses a lot on the younger crowd, but can be enjoyed by students of any age! I'm an elementary drama teacher. Great buy!



5. I have been an acting teacher for nine years and an co-author of my own acting book "Finally..Monologues That Work" and the one thing children love the most in class is the games! Games and more games. They can't get enough. 101 Drama Games For Children gives us variety. It is a great source for teachers who teach acting or in the classroom. It keeps the children interested, helps them learn and they have so much fun. Who could ask for more.

5 comments about Yoga Games for Children: Fun and Fitness with Postures, Movements and Breath (SmartFun Activity Books).

1. If you are looking for a very serious yoga book, this is not the book for you. It contains very little "yoga theory" or any philosophy, etc. But if you are looking for fun and healthy ways to get your kids using yoga, this book would be very helpful.
   
   Whether you are reading the book as a parent or as an educator, you will get lots of cute ideas on how to integrate yoga with even very young children [3 and up]. There are a whole lot of different activities - including yoga poses that are child friendly, breathing awareness, relaxation, visualization, and games to build trust and team work.
   
   I am finding this book very useful in designing a fun exercise class for preschool and younger elementary age children. I would recommend it without reservation.



2. This book has so many wonderful ideas for games. Loved it and would highly recommend it



3. For any parent or teacher who values the educational potential of movement, this book is a must. This book provides great, usable information for teaching yoga to kids. It shows how to make it a game, not just a series of stretches. There is much here to stimulate creativity and imagination, too. Power Brain Kids



4. I was asked to teach a Kid's Yoga summer program. I wasn't sure where to start and didn't know if I could keep the children's interest. This book was a great resource. If you are a Yoga Teacher and new to teaching kids this book is a must. The kids loved the class and partially due to Yoga Games for Children.



5. YOGA GAMES FOR CHILDREN
   
   I work with children. I am a paraprofessional in a special needs school, and was very excited to read this book, to see if there might be anything I could use with our kids.
   One of the things that I noticed right away is how many of the games and exercises were done in groups or pairs. This is fantastic in my opinion! It seems to me that these days kids are more isolated than in the past. I am not sure what it is, but I rarely see little girls walking and holding hands or boys roughhousing. Fighting yes, just roughhousing, no. I also have noted that most parents do not hold their children's hands any more. This is very sad in my opinion, as touch in and of its own is healing. Touch during play is a good thing!
   
   So, I was very pleased to find that there were things that there were games where the kids held hands or leaned back against each other. I believe this helps to build co-operation and understanding.
   There are also plenty of games where it is individuals alone. My favorite is Sun Salutations! It incorporates many basic yoga positions, and it will be a lot of fun for the kids. The Mountain is a close runner up. I can just see the kids enjoying those games, and having fun.
   The relaxation exercises are ideal as well. Sometimes kids, as well as adults, need to just let it go and breathe. This book gives several examples of how to do this.
   I will not be able to use many of these games with my special needs classroom. We have a low functioning group and the understanding is not there in some cases, and the physical abilities are not there in others. My niece is a preschool teacher in a daycare facility, as well as being Assistant Director. She is very excited about trying many of these games with her class! I had a hard time holding onto the book long enough to finish reading it before passing it on. She is thinking that if it works out she can suggest it for other sites in the corporate system she works in .
   
   This book would also be great fun for any family with young or even not so young kids. I raised four kids of my own, and know how valuable that together time is, and there are many fun suggestions here. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has young ones in their life.

5 comments about Kingdom Hearts II Official Strategy Guide (Bradygames Signature Series) (Bradygames Signature Series) (Bradygames Signature Series).

1. This is a very good strategy guide. It has loads of infomation for all the characters as well as all the villians. You definately need this book to play the game.



2. I was a fan of the first Kingdom Hearts Guide, but this on is completely lacking! it does not offer information to help you along in the game, it merely tells you what you already know!
   
   waste. of. money.



3. She got the game also and says it helps out a lot especially with this type of game.



4. This guild is really good at letting you know certain things you need to know to get along in the game.
   
   The chapters are kind of weird, though, you'll end one world and need to do an in-between episode, but they wont dedicate a page to that episode, there will just be a new world section and that's all. So be sure to pay attention to in-game dialouge, and small tid-bits they add to the last page of a world section.
   
   One of the only real problems I've had with this guide is that it's fairly large, but doesn't have a very good binding to it, so it falls apart. I've treated my book very carefully and made sure not to be rough, but it still lost a few pages in the begining and in the middle the pages are starting to disconnect.
   
   Other than that, it's a fairly good guide.



5. my 12 & 13 year boys were obsessed with this game. after getting the strategy book they both completed the the game.

5 comments about Exotic Betting: How to Make the Multihorse, Multirace Bets that Win Racing's Biggest Payoffs.

1. Steven Crist has been a horse-racing columnist, CEO of the Daily Racing Form and is the author of three other books on horse racing. His latest book, EXOTIC BETTING, attempts to fulfill a need, he explains, to glean more profits from racing through "exotic betting" at a time when shorter horse fields and more information available to savier handicappers has made it harder to make money with "straight bets": win, place and show. In EXOTIC BETTING, Mr. Crist patiently and lucidly lays out the mathematics behind daily doubles, exactas, trifectas, pick threes, etc., the so-called exotic plays. At one time, these bets were exotic when win, place and show predominated. But now, exotic betting is a feature at every racetrack. EXOTIC BETTING focuses on intrarace exotic bets like the exacta and trifecta and interrace exotic bets like the daily double and the pick three. Mr. Christ offers betting strategies for each of the exotic bet types. While I have seen most of these ideas in different places elsewhere, Mr. Christ brings them all together in one reference and explains them in very readable prose. Using the principals presented in the first part of EXOTIC BETTING, he finishes by taking the reader through his actual betting at the 2005 Breeder's Cup. A few more examples of the strategies discussed could have been interesting if not necessary but, all-in-all, this is an excellent book and I highly recommended EXOTIC BETTING for the casual or more serious horse player who wants to be a better exotics player.



2. I thought this was a pretty solid book on the proper ways to construct exotic betting tickets. I found Crist's discussions of exacta and trifecta plays to be particularly interesting. Specifically, Crist tells the player to get away from the boxes (and other "chance plays") and go for big payouts by trusting your handicapping skills. Anyone can throw five longshots into a $1 exacta box and get lucky once and a while. Crist's philososphy, and that of many professional players, is to play less combinations at a greater price. Key your top horse over your second choice for $10. Then the top horse over a longshot play for $5. Crist encourages the player to structure bets in a manner that will reward them the most when their handicapping is spot on.....not just when they get lucky by throwing every longshot on the borad underneath and exoctic play. Why play four horses equally in a leg of the Pick 4 when you like two of them much more than the other two?
   
   This book, along with Steve Davidowitz's classic, is an excellent read for the intermediate player who wants to learn to take his bet structuring to the next level. My only complaint is that the book wasn't longer....I would love to be able to sit down with Steve Crist and talk betting strategies all day. The only caution that I would give is that this book is not at all about how to pick winners. In fact, this book is not going to be valuable at all to a player who does not possess solid handicapping skills. If you have trouble picking winners to begin with then its probably not a good idea to try and get creative with exotic betting.



3. Steve explains the math behind exotic betting and perfect rationale for using multi-race bets. A must read for the fan who wants to get more from the track.



4. I found this book to be highly informative, but not because I agree with all of the author's conclusions. The main conclusion I disagree with is the author's repeated assertions throughout that exotics are not about trying to figure out who the two, three or four most likely finishers are and betting them in the order of most likely finish. Christ somehow thinks that there is more to it than that. But there isn't.
   
   If you find the winning horses in the order of finish, you will cash. Because that's precisely what the Exacta, Quinella, Trifecta, Daily Double, Superfecta, Pick 6, etc are all about: finding the requisite number of top finishes and the order of finish. He might have meant to say that figuring out the order of finish is a complex process which it indeed is, but the way he choose to express this in the text was really mind boggling. To argue that there is something else to it is - well - nutty.
   
   Despite this one flaw, Christ does get you thinking the right way in alot of areas. He does cover takeout and how that effects your betting decisions, the Win-Place-Show (WPS) pools vs. exotics pools and how they work, why box bets are losing bets, when not to bet and other information that is vital info for the newbie pony player. If you are a newbie to the game of playing the ponies, then this is a must-read. Veterans should also take a look so they have the benefit of a perspective possibly different than their own.



5. Other than Andrew Beyer's handicapping books and Joe Takach's videos on appearance, there are almost no works on the subject of winning at the races that really made an impression on me - until I read Exotic Betting. Author Crist makes a cogent and powerful argument on the long-ignored art of correctly ranking and betting your contenders. Crist simply is better than anyone else at turning his opinions into profits - and after reading this book, I improved dramatically in my rating and betting skills. Just the section on his A,B,C ranking of contenders was a revelation for me. If you ever want to seriously play multihorse and multirace wagers, read this book or just stick to the lottery.