No comments about Playing Video Games: Motives, Responses, and Consequences (Lea's Communication Series).

3 comments about Machiavellian Poker Strategy: How to Play Like a Prince and Rule the Poker Table.

1. As someone who was an English Lit major and an obsessed poker player, I can't think of a better book than Mr. Apostolico's Machiavellian Poker Strategy. I loved it! A real thinking man's approach based on one of the most compelling books of all time. Mr. Apostolico has written many great books, which I implore you to get. But, personally, this is my favorite.



2. great book,couldn't put it down.easy to read and just as easy to apply.
   beefed up my game when i needed that something extra.great value too!



3. What I saw and felt at poker tables has been put into words! Dave Apostolico's "Machiavellian Poker Strategy" shows you how and why some people always seem to have the biggest stacks at their tables! Power is the key to poker, and one read will make YOU more of a threat at your very next game.

2 comments about The Big Book of Kakuro Puzzles.

1. The front cover shows puzzles that are 13x22 spaces (if I remember right), but every puzzle inside is only 10x10 (9x9 effective, since the top and left lines are not open). This is fine for beginners, but is a big disappointment for anyone used to bigger puzzles. It is also rather deceptive advertising. My suggestion would be to buy the Dell Kakuro Cross Sums magazines (less than 3 dollars at Wal-Mart), which comes out quarterly. I find them much more satisfying than the "bite-size" puzzles in this book. BTW, Dell has been putting out these puzzles since 1950 under the title "Cross Sums".



2. There are lots of puzzles in this book but the cover is deceiving showing a large puzzle when actually there are four small puzzles per page. They are not very challenging and appear to all be the same difficulty.

4 comments about Devil May Cry(tm) 3 Official Strategy Guide (Signature) (Signature) (Signature).

1. This Guide is alot bigger then the last 2 for the other Devil May Cry Guides, and helps alot more. It has pictures to drool over of Dante and Vergil as well where secrets are located and in depth boss battles. It helps getting through tuff missions and where to find all those blue orbs. This Guide also comes with a bonus fold-out for all of Dante's avaliable moves in each of his classes. So this is a must get for any fan of Devil May Cry, either for help or like me for the gorgeous pictures of Dante, with the bonus of Vergil, Dante's older twin brother. It's true what they say, Sparta's twin sons have differences to work out and it'll be an all out Bishonen Brawl with Dante vs Vergil. Get seats today ^__^



2. He's 10 and thihs book helped him get more ouf the game (which he probably should'nt have anyway).



3. Awesome strategy guide! Between Bradygames and Prima, nobody else can make strategy guides like them. All full color, maps, and tons of useful information. If you are like me and like to find everything in the game you can't go wrong with this guide.



4. This book is adequate in getting across the information, but it is difficult to read and the strange placement of writing on the pages makes people miss important information the first time thru.

5 comments about Houdini on Magic.

1. This book is simply fantastic. It contains a large amount of Houdini's writings from articles, books, etc. It contains Houdini's famous "Margery the Medium" pamplet where he exposes her false methods, explains in Houdini's words how he escapes from a straitjacket, and also tells about an illusion that Houdini was thinking about performing, but never did. A wonderful book with many pictures and illustrations.



2. It is commonly said that you should never read a book on magic tricks unless you are willing to learn a trick and show it to your friends and not tell the secret. Disclaimers aside, this book has material useful for beginners, and for those who wish to make complex apparatus and only a few of the tricks might pose a risk to your life. The material on fraud commit by mediums is very interesting. It can further be said that Houdini was a very good writer.



3. I was disapointed in this book because there is only a few pages written by Harry Houdini. There was also added material that had nothing to do with Houdini.
   Not Recomended



4. It's well-known among Houdini buffs that much of Houdini's writing was ghostwritten for him. So what? This was part of his role as a master publicist. Nevertheless, this book is a great insight into Houdini's mind and methods, because it's certain that he had at least a hand in the production of all of the material in this book. There is no single book that gives a greater insight into the scope of Houdini's interests than this one.



5. I would reccomend this buy for any magic enthusiast because it's history. No, it's not gone, but it contains the writings of Erich Weiss. I wouldn't say that I got a lot of trick ideas for my own act out of this book. However, it is just fascinating to read and to imagine Houdini as he created this compilation.

1 comments about Easy Ikebana: Floral Accents for the Home.

1. I really enjoyed this book. It gave me many new ideas. The arrangements can be created easily, quickly, and inexpensively. I recommend the book highly for anyone interested in Ikebana--especially for "beginners" or those who might enjoy a slight "twist" on the "traditonal."

2 comments about Vampire Rome (Vampire: The Requiem).

1. Quote: "The grandeur that was Rome was an abattoir erected on a mass grave."
   
   The rhythm of this book moves like a locomotive, running over any pedestrian horror fan. This will appeal to both the Old World of Darkness fan who felt there was a lack of flavor in the Requiem core, and to the new player looking for a historical setting. A note to OWOD players: this book is darker than any Sabbat or Baali book and comes without any cheese. This is World of Darkness all grown up.
   
   NOTE: You will need the Requiem core and World of Darkness core to use this book.
   
   A quick rundown of the chapters:
   
   Forward: The Deathless City by Kenneth Hite
   The forward will practically read itself to you. It felt as if I was being relentlessly run down by a Roman legion--I couldn't stop reading. What's worse, is that it's a very hard hitting section and I couldn't get those horrible images painted of Rome out of my head. Very appropriate.
   
   Prologue: Why o' Why must White Wolf continue to use hand scribbled fonts. It looks very evocative of the era and I'm sure it's a great read...it's just rough on the eyes of us older players. I'll add more when I read it.
   
   Introduction: Standard fare of how to use this book, complete with film, movie, and literature references. There is description of theme and mood, as well as a lexicon.
   
   Chapter One: The History of Rome
   This chapter does a great job of not being dry and covering (in broad strokes)the key points in the history of Rome from fabled beginnings to the bitter end. There are cross-references within this chapter giving historical context to kindred in Rome. They too, are caught up in the machine of The Great Republic. There is a great sidebar on each page that moves you through the timeline for quick reference.
   
   Interlude I: More scribble...
   
   Chapter Two: Player's Guide
   Here lies the Camarilla. The Camarilla is a very structured kindred society with three traditions, and four wings. The three traditions are Dominion, Destruction, and Amaranth. The four wings are The Senex (Wing of the Ancients--they make the law for all kindred, Legio Mortuum (the military wing), The Cult of Augurs (the wing of prophets), and The Peregrine Collegia (basically the wing of bastards). As a kindred in Rome you will belong to at least one of these wings if not more--whether you want to or not. The Lancea Sanctum are recognized, nominally, as an independent organization within the Camarilla. All of these wings/organizations function like covenents in Requiem--each vying for a little bigger piece of the pie. The Lancea Sanctum's power base grows with time, starting out on the bottom and rising near the top toward the end of Rome.
   Here you will also find the clans with one omission and one addition. The Julii take the place of the Ventrue and function as primary rulers with the majority of them falling within the Senex wings they are the movers and shakers. They are very much like the Ventrue in discipline and weakness.
   This chapter also has era specific merits, devotions, and theban sorcery.
   
   Interlude II: More Scribble
   
   Chapter Three: Rome and Necropolis
   Everything from Iconic locations for scenes (these are great visual tools), what it means to be a Roman citizen free or slave, and some really great rules for debate in Elysium which covers getting frustrated and possibly frenzying when you fail in debate--very Roman stuff here. You can actually loose points in merits if you loose on the floor here. Beware the debate!
   
   Interlude III: As before
   
   Chapter Four: Storytelling and antagonist
   Complete with numerous types of conflict, sample settings that span the breadth of time and space of the Empire, and Striges (whoa!). The last one, is a very creepy supernatural creature that looks like a smokey black bird in it's natural spirit form when it isn't possessing a body of some sort. These things are not ghosts, or anything else I've read about in other books... and they have a serious beef with the Julii. Man, I'm not going to go into detail here about them because as a storyteller, this is the kind of thing we prefer to spring on poor unsuspecting players.
   
   Index: I haven't noticed any XX page references, yet. Looks good.
   
   Epilogue: More Sribble



2. If you liked the old World of Darkness(WoD) setting, you probably liked the intrigue and various mystery elements WW threw into the books. Lots of us loved the story, but the backstory was always somewhat restrictive. It gave some great ideas, and a good storyteller could grab the parts they wanted and discard the rest, but that often meant a lot of work.
   
   Enter the new WoD. No restrictive backstory, just some historical elements in broad strokes. Requiem for Rome is a setting book for the late-Roman (and, thus, late-Camarilla period) from the Vampire: The Requiem books.
   
   Unlike the oWoD "Vampire: Dark Ages," Requiem for Rome is not a standalone. To make full use of the book, one would need the base "World of Darkness" and "Vampire: the Masquerade."
   
   The book sets up a series of historical elements and gives a good description of the setting from a Roman vampire's standpoint in that era. The various views of self that the vampire's hold, and the culture are all rather well described. The book tries to give a postage stamp view of Rome through the ages, but wisely only focuses on one era, that being the end of Roman dominance.
   
   The historical content is fair, though very few things are detailed very far. It focuses on vampires in the era, and mentions humanity only slightly. The book could really have used a few extra pages devoted to some of the topics, especially mortal institutions and legal doctrine.
   
   What is present was done well, if brief in places. It's understandable, of course, but it was a bit of a letdown.
   
   This book is one of the best examples of a historical setting supplements that I've seen. It describes the sweeping trends but doesn't try to tell a specific story, leaving that for the storyteller and his troupe. I think that this is a dramatic improvement over the older WoD approach, as it provides many of the missed story aspects, without caging plot.
   
   It's a good book, and one worth reading if you are interested in running or playing in a historical setting for Vampire.

1 comments about Handicapping 101: A Horse Racing Primer.

1. THE PERFECT INTRODUCTION TO THE ONLY SPORT WITH MORE STATISTICS THAN BASEBALL! THIS BOOK CAN HELP BOTH THE BETTOR WHO THINKS HE KNOWS IT ALL AS WELL AS THE BEGINNER TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE BETTING SYSTEM.
   WELL WRITTEN AND ENJOYABLE AS WELL AS INSTRUCTIVE.

5 comments about Seabiscuit, the Rest of the Story.

1. Very easy reading. The book examines the disparities between the reality of the great Seabisuit story and the movie version. Very intersting.



2. I loved this book! I read the Seabiscuit story and this one is an awesome sequel to the story. I have raised horses for 50 years and am always looking for GOOD horse books - this one definitely qualifies!!! If you love horses you will love this book. Written so well that you cannot wait to turn the next page.



3. Great followup to the book giving minute details of Seabisuit's carreer and people around him. Written by one who had intimate knowledge.



4. William H. Nichols has special insight on the legendary champion, Seabiscuit; he worked at Ridgewood Ranch as a teenager in 1944, when 18 foals of The Biscuit's were born and - years later - as co-breeder of Sea Orbit, Seabiscuit's most successful descendent in racing.
   
   It is through the professional eyes, historical research and interviews of Nichols that the story of Seabiscuit, his most famous nemesis - War Admiral - and a host of individuals, including Charles & Marcela Howard, Red Pollard and George Woolf, are chronicled after the cheering of fans and accolades from racing glory faded away like the color of aging press clippings.
   
   A lot of turf is covered in the 182 pages, with special focus on the ongoing work by The Seabiscuit Heritage Foundation to renovate the Ridgewood Ranch property, while making it home to descendents of its most famous resident. Nichols also chronicles many artists who portrayed Seabiscuit and provides an update on author Laura Hillenbrand - who Nichols initially talked with when she was doing research for her monumental Seabiscuit: An American Legend.
   
   The never-ending controvery surrounding Seabiscuit's 1940 Santa Anita Handicap victory over stablemate Kayak II is reviewed in the last chapter, with Nichols providing what may be the best summary on who ultimately should have won that day and why.
   
   This is a must read for Thoroughbred racing fans or those who want a lasting understanding of the rest of the story in what certainly is a timeless slice of American History.



5. The book promised more than it delivered. The author admittedly was not a writer, and it showed in this book. There were numerous proofreading errors, so no kudos to the publisher.
   
   If one was a horse breeder, the information about lineage may be interesting, but to a reader who just wanted to know more about the legendary Seabiscuit, the book was a disappointment.

4 comments about Handcrafted Pillows: Sew and Embellish Pillows in the Decorator Looks You Love.

1. Linda Neubauer and Joanne Wawra's Handcrafted Pillows: Sew And Embellish Pillows In The Decorator Looks You Love provides a set of some thirty projects achieved using five basic sewing styles. These are bold patterns that can be used to touch up a room, cozy pillows to soothe, and eye-catching new renditions of classic pillow styles. One look at either bag or pillow book and you'll be hooked.



2. I liked this book alot. The pictures are beautifully done and the projects are unique and varied. This book will inspire you to come up with some creative ideas of your own.



3. If you love arts and crafts, love to decorate (or at least undergo frequent bouts of house-hysteria) this is most definitely one of the best books you can buy to satisfy all your creative urges and transform the eye appeal and comfort level of your home for little or no money. Once completed, these pillows would fetch $50 to $250 in the shops! You might want to spend a little time cruising the department stores before you decide what you want to make.
   
   If you want to start from scratch with all new materials or transform something you've already got sitting on the couch, Linda Neubauer and Joanne Wawra have got a wealth of information and lovely illustrations to rev up your creativity and inspire you to have great fun with whatever projects you choose. It is fun to work on these projects, because the directions and pictures will start you and keep you moving in the right direction.
   
   There's something here for every skill level, and anyone with a strong interest in completing one of these pillows will be able to do so with what is presented here. There are 30 different projects with step-by-step instructions and very self-explanatory illustrations. Most importantly, all the basics are here, and once you master that, nothing can stop you from achieving the look that you dream.
   
   LOVE this book!



4. I own many pillow construction books, and this one is the most comprehensive of all. If you only buy one book, buy this one. It is loaded with clear, thorough techniques (including zipper enclosures) as well as a wide variety of styles.
   John's Wife