Book Description
An all-access pass to the inner workings of the Kerry campaign, the grooming of the candidate, and how decisions get made and who will be making them in the run up to the November election.

Two years ago, veteran journalist and biographer Paul Alexander wrote a piece for Rolling Stone magazine that now seems prophetic: He named John Kerry as the candidate who would emerge as the Democratic front-runner in 2004, and identified the reasons, more than a year before Kerry announced his candidacy. Since then, Alexander has been following the campaign-often from a privileged position on the inside. This book will report what he saw, heard, and witnessed about Senator Kerry and his campaign along the way.

The Candidate will reveal what accounted for Kerry's strong, decisive showing in every political contest since the Iowa primaries, and why none of those factors were evident in the pre-Iowa polls. It will explain how the Kerry campaign staged this surprise turnaround, what voters need to know about what goes on behind the scenes in the Kerry war room, and how the campaign is preparing for the run from July to November. Granted unprecedented access to Kerry's family, his campaign team, his advisers, and members of his inner circle, Alexander sheds new light on the man who would be president.

"Writing a book from the campaign trail presents a unique opportunity to tell an important national story with great immediacy," Alexander explains. "The John Kerry story is dramatic, as is the story of how his campaign came together. This is a very different organization than the one I reported on in 2002.How decisions are being made now is a key indicator of how decisions will be made after the Democratic Convention and in the White House, should he defeat President Bush in November." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Kerry "Lincolnesque"?
Forgive me while I start laughing. To me, Kerry always looked like a run-down, gaunt twin of the Eagles' much healthier looking Glenn Frey (makes you also wonder who really had the alledged coke habit)

Mr. Alexander's account is nothing but a slavish, fawning account why he liked a guy who besmirched his fellow servicemen, voted against almost every weapon development or intelligence-gathering operation designed to protect us before 9/11. A guy who went down to Nicaragua to endorse the Sandinistas, only to have those Marxist thugs make a fool of him by curtailing the liberties of the trampled Nicaraguan people. A rich patrician married to another rich patrician, both willing to increase our taxes, not only the rich like them, but the poor and middle class like the rest of us. Someone willing to outsource jobs even when Kerry was railing about "Benedict Arnold Corporations". Don't want to believe me? Just ask Teresa - or check those Heinz Ketchup bottles coming straight out of that well-known part of the Union called Canada.

And simply put, a big loser.

"Lincolnesque"? - no, to compare John Kerry to Honest Abe is a terrible insult to a brave, kind, decent man who was our greatest President. Mr. Alexander clearly needs to have his head examined.

A True Patriot:
This book truly shows the remarkable man John Kerry really is. It gets away from the portrayl the right-wing media/Fox News gives to this stoic man. I would recommend this book to anyone who is in search for the truth and tired of reading about the lies of those "Swift boat captains" who've shamed the political landscape for years to come.
This book deserves an excellent review.

Wow, what a pile of rubbish
Folks, I've read some whoppers in my day, but whoa! I really don't know where to begin. All I know is that John Kerry and this Paul Alexander character must be in love. Which really is no small feat because it is obviously difficult for Kerry to love anyone as much as himself. Folks, if you are a mental defective, you may buy this "John Kerry is George Washington, Paul Bunyon, and John Holmes all wrapped up into one" nonsense; but as for the rest of us, we know a steaming pile when we smell one. I have never heard of a boat taxi getting into so much harrowing life and death action in just 90 days, I mean this thing reads like a Swarzenegger flick! I expected the last few pages to reveal that Kerry saved the President's life, rescued his sweetheart from an international drug cartel, and made life on Mars inhabitable for the human race all in one day! I suppose the sad thing is that the only person who truely believes this drivel is actually the only person who should know it's a fraud. This is one narcassistic, power hungry, self deluding, compulsive liar; and one sick puppy. I hope he does become President, the ensuing terrorist attacks on this country will thin out the population and inevitably remove most idiots who believe this book from the gene pool. Happy reading (just don't forget the rubber gloves and golashes, because it gets thick real quick)!

A Concise Review of the 2004 Primary
Alexander pens a concise review of the 2004 primary with what he calls an "insiders perspective." Unfortunately what results is not news but rather a simple historical review of what happened. This book is poor on analysis and perhaps even poorer on its account and its claims of access to the candidate and the campaign.

However, for those looking for a short read on the simple events of the 2004 Democratic primary, "The Candidate" will suffice. Unfortunately, if one is searching for the magical key to Kerry's historical turnaround or how the Dean machine fell apart, bitter disappointment is the only result. ... Read more

Book Description
With this lovely and informative volume, Alan Feduccia preserves the pathbreaking work of Mark Catesby, the English naturalist and illustrator who founded natural history and bird art in America. First published by UNC Press in 1985, the book features all 109 bird illustrations, 20 color plates, and the entire text from Catesby's pioneering Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahamas. Annotating Catesby's writings from a modern perspective, Feduccia discusses the perception of each species during the Colonial period, comments on its habits, and compares Catesby's observations with those of such other early naturalists as John White, John Lawson, Alexander Wilson, and John James Audubon. ... Read more

Product Description
Legends tell of the mighty wizards of the past, sorcerers with powers that dwarf those of the magi of the Order of Hermes. Hyperboreans whose spells lasted a generation, necromancers of Canaan who could summon any of the dead, rune magic that brushed aside Magic Resistance like cobwebs; all these stories circulate in the Covenants of the Order. Other forms of magic are so ancient that even the legends have become rare. The Seekers are those magi of the Order who search for these secrets, aiming for the glory of being the one to bring the power to modern magi.This book contains descriptions of nine forms of ancient magic, and rules for integrating their secrets into Hermetic theory. From the frozen north to the westernmost edge of the world, from humankind's earliest homes to grand temples of the classical world, the quest can lead your characters anywhere in Mythic Europe, and even beyond. How far will they go for knowledge? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Nine interesting non-Hermetic magic systems
This book covers nine non-Hermetic magic systems, all of which predate the Order of Hermes. They can be used in a campaign as models for powers of rivals to player-character magi, but since by the era of the standard game setting they have no living practitioners, their main point is as a set of magical practices that magi might try to learn to expand their own powers.

The introduction offers a set of rules for learning new powers: discover a source of information on an ancient magical tradition (typically through adventuring), investigate it to discover an Insight, invent a spell or magical device that uses the Insight, and repeat until the Insights amount to an extension of Hermetic magic theory. (The Insight rules are a variation on the original magic research rules in the Bonisagus section of True Lineages.) If one makes a breakthrough, it may be taught to other magi or recorded in writing.

Chapter 1 covers the Language of Adam, the language spoken before the Tower of Babel -- the language of true names, more or less. For a Hermetic magus, it grants a penetration bonus to spells equal to the magus's skill in the language. The chapter mostly covers adventures one might take to learn the long-dead language. No Insights are necessary to use the language.

Chapter 2 covers Canaanite Necromancy. It includes a Major Supernatural Virtue, Canaanite Necromancy, a Minor Hermetic Virtue, Canaanite Magic, a list of example spells and items, and a few special powers. It also includes an infernally tainted variation on the power. There are also some adventures one could use to seek Insight into this magical tradition.

Chapter 3 covers Defixio Magic, a tradition that allows its practitioners to perform magic beyond sight range without an arcane connection, and cast spells with built-in triggers similar to Watching Ward. Triggered spells require enough Insight for Event Duration, a Minor Breakthrough. Spells without arcane connections require enough Insight for Unlimited Range, a Hermetic Breakthrough. Much of the chapter consists of mini-adventure descriptions for defexiones that a magus might find and use as sources of Insight. There is also a Major Supernatural Virtue, Defixio Lore, which most most magi would be unable to learn because of conflicts with Hermetic learning.

Chapter 4 covers Fertility Magic, which includes the Arcane Ability Fertility Lore, the Minor Hermetic Virtue Fertility Ritual Magic, the spell target Unborn Child, a few example spells and items, and several adventure seeds.

Chapter 5 presents Grigori Magic, a type of magic originally known to children of angels. Spells developed with Grigori Insight allow magi to substitute different sorts of vis when casting vis-boosted spells, and possibly avoid use of vis entirely. Grigori Minor Supernatural Virtues allow using some types of vis interchangeably; Grigori Minor Hermetic Virtues allow that and bypass some requisites. Much of the chapter is adventure seeds.

Chapter 6 presents Heron of Alexandria's Legacy, a type of magic that allows its practitioners to create Mechanica. With a Minor Hermetic Virtue or Major Breakthrough, magi can create magical devices with mutable powers. With a Major Virtue or Hermetic Breakthrough, magi can awaken a magical device, giving it intelligence and personality. The chapter includes numerous example devices and adventure seeds.

Chapter 7 describes the Hesperides, a simple skill that allows a place's longitude and latitude to be used as an arcane connection to it. Since such arcane connections depend on the Law of Names, they may be copied freely. The skill can only be used if one visits Longitude Zero, in today's Canary Islands. Most of the chapter deals with adventures involved in visiting Longitude Zero.

Chapter 8 presents Hyperborean Magic, a tradition based on hymns to Apollo. It includes the Minor Supernatural Virtues Hyperborean Hymnist and Hyperborean Descent; the latter is also a Major Hermetic Virtue. Also included are the Supernatural Ability Hyporean Hymn, the dead language Hyperborean, the new duration 19 Years, numerous hymn-powers, special Insight rules, and adventures to seek Hyperborean knowledge.

Chapter 9 presents Rune Magic, which includes the Duration Rune, the target Inscription, the Major Hermetic Virtue Rune Magic, and the rune wizards' Rune Magic. Rune magic has the advantage that it can be performed without vis. There is also some information about runes and rune magic, and a few adventure ideas.

If a magus is happy with Hermetic magic only, the player doesn't need this book. But this offers a lot of additional options that might broaden a magus's powers -- and add adventure motivations to a campaign.

Atlas Games does it again.
I've always loved Ars Magica and this recent supplement is just great.

It has lots of material that could be brought into many campaigns.Each type of Ancient magic has it's own section with history and rules on researching.In fact the books primary purpose appears to be to provide research opportunities and goals for your magi.A character could have his life goal to pursue norse rune magic and incorporating it into standard Hermetic theory.

too few rules
This one was alright in my opinion, but a little lacking in the rules dept. I feel they could have developed some of the specifics of the various forms of magic much more. I found the book to be more like a collection of adventure ideas. Not bad mind you, but not up to par with the rest of the excellent Ars Magica line. ... Read more