Customer Reviews (24)

Sweet Story, Beautifully Illustrated
My two year old son loves The Very Quiet Cricket; and this book, along with "Brown Bear, Brown Bear...", have been his bedtime favorites for months. Toddlers and parents alike will enjoy the repetitive and rhythmic nature of the verse (my son heaves a very dramatic sigh every time I read "...but nothing happened, not a sound." The simplicity of the tale lends itself nicely to parental embellishment, which is great for those who like to add a bit of their own drama to a story. I love the fact that I can tailor my reading of it to suit the hour or my son's mood, making it shorter or longer, exciting or soothing. Eric Carle's illustrations alone make this book a worthy addition to any child's library.

I agree with the reviewer who complained that this is not "first reader" material, but I would add that "The Very Quiet Cricket" is more about the joy of reading than about teaching the mechanics of sounding out simple words.

Attention getting illustrations
The Quite Cricket book is another favorite from Eric Carle. I have almost every book he has written. My favorite is The Very Hungry Caterpillar but this is a tie for second.. I loved how he illustrated all the other insects in the story especially the dragonfly. The large drawings would hold the attention of a young child. This isn't a book for a new reader some of the vocabulary is a little difficult. The only draw back to this book is when the battery that makes the cricket sound dies, it is rather expensive to replace.

Great Illustrations & Story, but...
My 8 1/2 month old is fascinated by the wonderful artwork and the chirping sound. I expect he'll enjoy the story when he can understand the words. However, there's an inconsistency in the text that drives me crazy. The three crickets are referred to as "he" and "she," but the praying mantis and worm are referred to as "it." Argh! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - InsectsSpidersetc.   2. Children's Baby - Boardbooks   3. Children: Babies & Toddlers   4. Crickets   5. Fiction   6. General   7. Juvenile Fiction   8. Sound effects books   9. Specimens   

Customer Reviews (12)

Big Fan of the Series, but This Book Lacks Meat.
First of all, Eric Tyson writes some other great books under the Dummies series, such as "Home Buying for Dummies". This book, on the other hand, is good as a primer. There are a lot of chapters that aren't critical to starting a business. Then the chapters that finally do touch at the core of starting a business, only cover the subject with a light, superficial touch. The best part about this book is that they refer you to read other books related to the subject, such as Nolo Press' "The Small Business Start-up Kit." If you can borrow "Small Business for Dummies" from a local library or friend, I recommend doing so. You can then save your money on other books that cover the various business start-up subjects in more depth. For example, there are a whole series of Nolo Press books about forming a LLC, corporation or limited partnership. They also have books dedicated to trademark registration, writing business plans, buying commercial insurance, negotiating contracts, financial management, hiring more staff, etc. And by the way, I don't have anything to do with either company. Just a guy trying to get a head in business.

Excellent book for wannabe and current small business owners
After I finished Tyson's excellent Investing for Dummies, I picked up Small Business for Dummies which Tyson, an entrepreneur, personal finance writer and counselor co-wrote with entrepreneur Jim Schell. This book too was outstanding. It's practical, well-written and organized and comprehensive. Filled with anecdotes as well as concrete advice.

Good book for aspiring business people
If you aspire to start your own business or are already in one, you will find a wealth of information in this excellent book by Tyson.

Even experienced business people will find an idea or two. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics   2. Business / Economics / Finance   3. Business/Economics   4. Entrepreneurship   5. Management   6. Management - General   7. New business enterprises   8. Small Business - General   9. Small Business Management   10. Small business   11. Business & Economics / Entrepreneurship   12. Small businesses & self-employed   

Customer Reviews (1)

Loaded with plays
A great book! Loaded with easy plays to run for all ages. Detailed plays for all scenario's as well (different zones, man to man, etc.) Provides diagrams of plays as well as a glossary of terms and symbols used in the book. Great for the beginner coach. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Coaching - Baseball   2. Sports   3. Sports & Recreation   4. Basketball   5. Offense   6. Coaching   7. Strategy   

Customer Reviews (2)

Gritty, Witty and Fully Satisfying
Eric Jerome Dickey's 10th novel truly delivers like he's done with all his books. Excellently written, with sharp wit, and unforgettable characters, "Drive me crazy" shows that Dickey is a talented, masterful writer who writes some of the "realest" characters of the genre.
The characters are fully developed and even though they are gritty and different from the characters Dickey wrote about in "Naughty or Nice" he serves them with compassion and great diction that you find yourself sympathyzing with them, and understanding their journey.This novel also dishes out great laugh-out-loud one liners that will definitely leave your stomach hurting. The novel also transcends different cultures, and offers insight into current day politics without sounding preachy.
Also, the authors use of imagery left me feeling like I was right there with every scene, could smell anything in the air, and hear everything that was going on.
Also appreciated are the literary references and the effortless use of metaphors, and similes that make this part-mystery, part-crime novel, part-relationship novel totally enjoyable. Simply put, worth every penny spent buying it. :)

Better luck next time
After Naughty or Nice, I was expecting this book to be the greatest thing. It was very confusing, jumped around too much and had too much unnecessary drama. I did not connect with any of the characters because there was too much mystery surrounding them. The book did not convey anything to me at all, I usually read his books in a couple hours, but I found myself struggling to keep this one open. I think the characters should have been developed a little more, and the true meaning of the book shoud have come out in the end. When I was finished reading it, I just did not know what I had read. Better luck next time. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Chauffeurs   2. Ex-convicts   3. Fiction   4. Fiction - General   5. General   6. Married women   7. Triangles (Interpersonal relat   8. Triangles (Interpersonal relations)   

Customer Reviews (5)

Physics?
This book should be blowen up!

After reading this, I am convinced 9/11 was a scam.
I am an structural engineer. Whoever wrote that other article is ignorant of steel buildings. There has never been a steel building destroyed by fire, including ones where explosions occured. As that other reviewer said, there is no way that the impacts on the top floors was large enough to pulverize the concrete. Look at pictures of other buildiong collapses and you will see they look nothing like what happend at WTC. Moreover, building 7 was built entirely differently from the twin towers, yet it collapsed exactly the same way?

Wake up and smell the coffee. Sounds like that other "engineer" is CIA or Mosad plant.

Wow! Science at last!
I am blown away by the alleged engineer's comments. If you look at the video, you can see that when the very top first floors hit the floors below them, they are pulverized and the clouds of conrete dust come out of the windows at supersonic speeds. These top floors would not have the falling mass nor speed to pulverize them, nor eject such clouds. Moreover, even though it the floors might crash through the floors below, their speed would be slowed below the free fall speed. Moreover, the pieces of the building would not be so uniform. Examine any building destroyed by artillary or bombing and later fire. This was a controlled explosion beyond any doubt. Would an architect design a building that would collapse when one or two floors collapsed? The engineering is all there to look at. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Espionage   2. Political Freedom & Security - International Secur   3. Political Science   4. Politics/International Relations   

Subjects:  1. Engineering - Chemical & Biochemical   2. Science/Mathematics   3. Technology   4. Technology & Industrial Arts   5. Textiles & Polymers   6. Polymer chemistry   7. Technology / Engineering / Chemical & Biochemical   

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics   2. Business / Economics / Finance   3. Business/Economics   4. Real Estate - General   5. Real Estate - Investments   6. Real Estate Investment   7. Business & Economics / Real Estate   8. Business & Management   9. Investment & securities   

Customer Reviews (5)

Pretty neat.
This is an easy read that yet conveys quite a bit of information. An important part are the drawings, which say more than a thousand words. It is an atmosphere book, which lets the reader understand something of the relationship between the early Americans and their material (wood). It also shows that wood allows more uses than what passes for woodworking these days.

I am a little dubious about the inclusions of trees in the back. The author appears somewhat out of his depth here (he is no Peattie, not by a long way).

A Reverence for Wood
I was drawn to this book by it's illustrations. I do not look at this book as a field guide. It is not a book to take into the wilds and identify the surronding wood, but a book that celebrates the Tree and all it's beauty. The pen drawlings give an image of strength and beauty that spark the imagination. A flavor for the majestiy that the trees posses. This book is for pleasure and celebration of trees.

A wonderful marriage between writing and drawing
Eric Sloane was a painter of clouds and sky who built the Hall of Atmosphere in the American Museum of Natural History. He also wrote several books about weather. Later he produced manuals and three-dimensional models of weather phenomena for training military flyers during World War II.

His interest in weather drew him toward old diaries and almanacs that were filled with the weather lore of early American countrymen. And this, in turn, acquainted him with the countryman's reverence for wood.

One result was this wonderful book, whose prose is illustrated with more than 70 of Sloan's skilful pen-and-ink drawings. There's an excellent marriage between his writing and drawing. Just when you wonder exactly what some of his words might mean, along comes another drawing to make everything perfectly clear again. Many of the drawings are very detailed and packed with fascinating information about long ago wood lore.

If you like this book, you'll probably enjoy anything written by May Theilgaard Watts, a fine naturalist who knew how to draw. You may especially enjoy her "Reading the Landscape of America" at the same time as you enjoy Sloan's "Our Vanishing Landscape." ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Carpentry   2. History   3. History - General History   4. History: American   5. Material Science   6. United States   7. United States - General   8. Wood   9. Woodwork   

Customer Reviews (2)

So cool!
In case you aren't familiar with this book, it is about a caterpillar who eats and eats and eats. The board book version has holes in the pages so the reader can see what he has eaten. It is so cute! The illustrations are adorable and the kids love it! We are a bilingual family so my boys have the Spansih version. It's super and very durable!

A wonderful way to introduce Spanish into the classroom or y
This is a wonderful Spanish translation of a classic. This story flows whether you are reading in English or Spanish. Children are so familiar with this story that they embrace the Spanish easily. This translation is a must have in the multi-lingual classroom. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animals - InsectsSpidersetc.   2. Children's Baby - Boardbooks   3. Classics   4. Juvenile Fiction   5. People & Places - United States - Hispanic/Latino   6. Readers - Beginner   7. Spanish: Preschool   

Customer Reviews (4)

A wonderful piece of maritime history
Mr. Newby has captured a way of life that for good or bad, no longer exists. His style of writing (along with many hair raising
photographs), depicts life aboard a square rigger the way it truly was; few amenities, almost ceaseless toil, and the ever
present dangers of falling from aloft or being washed overboard.
In this day of high tech everything, it might seem incredible
that many men would willingly endure such hardships. Yet ironically, most of these sailors frowned upon steamship crewmen
as being too soft!
To all of those "arm chair sailors" who may think that a seamens life
was carefree and romantic, I strongly urge them read this book
and dispell any such myths!

As good as it gets
This book is just wonderful. Newby's prose is colorful without being judgemental - a quality too rarely found in modern adventure writing (the egocentric griping of Paul Theroux comes to mind). Here is a young man who accepts his new surroundings as they are, trying his best to fit in and never complaining too much when they don't live up to his personal standards. What's more, on a ship full of discomforts and frightening safety gaps, he resists the tiresome 20th-century urge to become a whistleblower. (Then again, perhaps the knowledge that he was witnessing a dying way of life made an expose pointless.)

As one would expect in such a cramped environment, observations of the other crewmembers form an important part of the narrative. That they are a dirty and rough lot is clear. Newby, however, handles the yawning social gulf between himself and the career seamen with general good humor, never resorting to national stereotyping to downgrade his adversaries (the crew was mostly Scandinavian). His description of being forced "op the rigging" by a loutish officer just minutes after arriving on board is a good example of this evenhandedness and should be ranked among the classic passages of travel writing. I can't see Theroux ever forgiving that kind of treatment.

Apart from the sheer height of the rigging, the greatest shock delivered by the book is the realization that this "vanished" way of life existed so recently. (In my case, only 25 years before I was born.) To use a cliché, it makes one stop and think. Although Newby goes to considerable pains to explain why the age of commercial sail had to end - indeed, was already past its time - you cannot help but explore the "what ifs". What if World War II hadn't scattered the fleet? What if the owners had found ways to reduce their operating costs by a few percentage points? Would it have made the difference? Would square riggers still have been plying the high seas on my sixteenth birthday? Could I have been another Eric Newby?

Again, just a wonderful book. Together with Laurens Van Der Post, Newby is my ticket to all things "vanished".

If You Read Only One Book This Year: Get Them Both
Unfortunately the unappealingly named "The Last Great Grain Race" might be left on the bookshelf if it were not for its companion volume of photographs more appropriately titled "Learning The Ropes; An Apprentice on the Last of the Windjammers," both by Eric Newby. Oddly these volumes were issued over forty years apart, Grain Race in 1956 and Ropes in 1999. (A recent volume of Grain Race was reissued in 1999, possibly to take advantage of the pictorial release.)

After a brief stint as an office clerk, Newby at eighteen signed on as an apprentice seaman for an around the world cargo voyage, with no nautical experience or skills other than a careful eye and superb memory for detail. "The Last Great Grain Race" is the story of one of the last four-masted barques, which in 1938 sailed from Ireland to Australia to pick up a cargo of grain and return to Ireland, a voyage which would take nine months. Ultimately it was to become the last voyage in such a vessel, as the impending war would change the world forever. We are fortunate that Newby was along to document the voyage. We are equally appreciative of his thoughtfulness in bringing his camera, as "Learning the Ropes" is the superb photo essay of this journey.

Newby apparently was a very skilled photographer. Oddly, he only briefly mentions his possession of a camera in "The Last Great Grain Race." He never lets on that his is so actively chronicling events and shipmates throughout the voyage. Though Newby does an excellent job describing what is like to climb aloft in all kinds of weather, the black and white photographs take the reader aloft as well and provide the narrative even with more impact and grace.

The crew is as varied and colorful as one might expect the conditions are harsh and oftentimes dangerous; the work is unrelenting, demanding and dangerous in its own right. Newby works alongside seasoned veterans and never shirks.

Grain Race however does have its limitations. There is a tremendous amount of technical detail that can often leave the reader literally at sea. For example "There were still the sheets of the topmast staysails to be shifted over the stays and sheeted home, the main and mizzen courses to be reset, and the yards trimmed to the Mate's satisfaction with the brace whips." Newby does provide a graphic of the sail plan and running rigging (79 reference points), but these are only of marginal assistance.

Another shortcoming is the language barrier Newby faces. This is a Finnish crew and commands are rarely given in English. Newby and the reader often have to work out the language; if the reader misses the first context or explanation then subsequent uses of the terminology will be lost, a glossary might have helped here. Newby does faithfully record dialects especially when he is being spoken to in occasionally recognizable English and these dialogues are often amusingly recounted.

Eric Newby should seriously consider issuing both in a single volume and one has to wonder why this wasn't done when Grain Race was first issued or at least when "Learning the Ropes" was released a couple of years ago. It is interesting to speculate on the length of time between the original release of Grain Race and the very vivid and informative photographs. Regardless it was worth the wait.

Grain Race the narrative and Grain Race the photographs make for an enjoyable double read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General   2. History   3. History: World   4. Pictorial works   5. Seafaring life   6. History / Modern / 20th Century   

Customer Reviews (27)

Great stuff
For a long time, I've looked for a book like this. Getting into graphics programming can be a real pain, because you either have books that don't discuss the issues involved with any depth whatsoever, or you wind up with tomes like Foley and VanDam, which can be overpowering to those not already versed in the subject.

This book does a fine job of bridging the gap, so to speak. For starters, the authors cover a very wide range of computer graphics topics, and do so in depth. The writing style is quite good, which helps a lot. Also, the text's illustrations and color photos in the middle of the book provide a good counterpoint to the topics being discussed.

For those readers who need a math review, or who don't know the math to begin with, an appendix in the back does a good job of going over the important mathematical points relevant to computer graphics.

That said, let me warn those of you out there who are "true beginners" that this book assumes you've had at least some previous exposure to computer graphics. It doesn't have to be that much exposure, but this text hits the ground running, and it's a good idea to have another, introductory book on hand to help you out should you get stuck or lost here. I'd reccomend Hearn and Baker's book- a personal favorite.

Also, those of you hard-core coders out there may be disappointed to learn that no API specific code is discussed here, with one or two exceptions. This is a theory book, period, and it does its job very well.

Up to date, filled with discussion topics no other book touches, and with an excellent footnoting scheme for those who want to learn more- this book is one to look at.

A "How-To" of graphics texts
When I bought this book on a coworker's reccomendation, I was initially disappointed that it lacked the mathematical sophistication of Foley/Van Dam or of Glassner's books. Upon further reading I realized that this same "lack of deep mathematical insight" was also the book's strong point. "Real-Time Rendering" is a very clear, very readable "how-to" book. If you're looking for deep insight into graphics research problems I'd reccomend one of the two other books mentioned above ("Computer Graphics" by Foley and Van Dam or "Principles of Digital Image Synthesis" by Glassner), but if you want a straightforward plain-English explanation of some real-time graphics topic, this book is probably your best bet.

excellent 2nd edition of a classic
I recently came across a copy of this book that my friend bought. I own a copy of the 1st edition, which was in itself a classic and definately recommended reading.

I was so surprised to find this 2nd addition such a worthy purchase to someone already familiar with the first. The topic updates are fabulous and very essential.

This book covers everything, introducing real-time rendering very well in an easy to read manner. I very much enjoy the numerous algorithms described in simple terms or even psuedo code.

This book is great for budding game graphics programmers. A must buy! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Animation   2. Computer Bks - Desktop Publishing   3. Computer Books: General   4. Computer Graphics - Game Programming   5. Computer Graphics - General   6. Computer graphics   7. Computers   8. Programming - General   9. Real-time data processing   

Subjects:  1. Administration   2. Business / Economics / Finance   3. General   4. Health Care Delivery   5. Health/Fitness   6. Marketing   7. Medical care   

Customer Reviews (17)

Wonderfully illustrated....
While children may not have a hard time reading this book, I did...so, it is not for parents to read to their children if you have trouble with a very small font. That way my only disappointment. The size of the actual book is very convenient and would be easy for a child to hold. The font is smaller then most adult Bibles.

The illustrations are wonderful, the stories inspirational and retold in language that is clear and yet retains the original "poetry" of the Bible.

"So it is that we must make the most of what God gives us, and then we will be prepared to enter the kingdom of Heaven." -pg. 255, The Parable of the Talents

An index and a listing of "who's who" makes this more useful as a text. There are quotations from the King James Version sprinkled through the book. Color photographs of animals, plants and people puts the stories into context. All the pictures are explained, making reading this particular Bible a complete learning experience.

The stories are retold by Selina Hastings and an Introduction to the Bible explains that the Bible is a collection of books written by different people. Eric Thomas has even illustrated the Contents section. His artwork complements the style of Selina's writing.

Children love the stories of the Bible and I remember my first children's Bible very well. A belief in God is very comforting through life and a Children's Bible helps children to understand who God is and will increase their love for others.

Through my own studies as a child, I learned that God does love us, even when it seems he is nowhere to be found. The trust I have in God and my belief stems from learning about God and understanding his purpose in my life at an early age.

The best children's Bible I've seen
One great difficulty in reading Bible stories to children is the wealth of unfamiliar things, ideas, and terms. The Dorling Kindersley retellings are not only short and elegant to read, but unfamiliar items are illustrated and explained right on the page. No searching around for the picture or definition of a "lulag" or "shekel." This makes the DK version especially "user-friendly" and understandable by kids. The wealth of scholar/consultants from different religious traditions assures that it authoritative and equally useful to kids of different religious backgrounds. The DK Children's Bible has become my gift of choice for newborns, whether the parents are dedicated Christians or only those who want their kids to see the Bible as great literature. A truly wonderful book.

Sunday School Teacher recommends this Bible!
I have been a catechist, teaching elementary school age children for over four years. I use this book extensively in my sessions with the kids, because they listen...intently. Rather than many dumbed-down, Disneyesque versions of children's Bibles that I have seen, and rather than the somewhat lame materials offered by our church, the Children's Illustrated Bible connects with kids. It does not insult their intelligence, but enhances it. The rich liturgies of the Old and New Testaments are brought to life with vivid portraiture and detailed factual explanation. Want to know more about life in the Middle East in biblical times? It's there. Want to know what type of wood might have been used in the Ark? Or what mountain range Ararat belongs to?

My students, ages 5-9, are harsh critics. When something isn't real, or interesting, or meaningful, they simply turn off. Too many of the standard cut, color and paste exercises last five minutes with them. But when I pull this book out to read the wonderful stories of Noah, Moses, the Flight from Egypt, Jesus calming the sea, and so forth - the kids listen with mouths agape. They strain their necks to see the beautiful illustrations and pictures.

This Bible is an excellent gift for god-children, for nieces and nephews, for your kids. Even if you are not religious, your kids will benefit deeply from hearing and reading the wonderful tales of the Judeo-Christian tradition, and step up their cultural literacy significantly. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bible stories   2. Bible stories, English   3. Children's 9-12 - Bibles   4. Children: Grades 1-2   5. Juvenile Nonfiction   6. Juvenile Religion   7. Religion - Bible - Stories   8. Religion - Bibles - Picture   

Customer Reviews (173)

HALO IS A HELLUVA READ!
I dont even play computer games but the novel intrigued me in its presentation and book cover. Now, I have heard of this game and its new system coming out and I have tried a few game/novels out and have not been impressed - UNTIL NOW! Eric Nylund's writing is great and I already have two other books from him since I read this novel. Mr. Nylund's story telling and bigger than life characters in this book make it clearly above and beyond just a game book. The story starts out with a woman named Dr. Halsey who is creating a super soldier for the future war that is coming in the guise of an alien race that seems unstoppable and unknown to earthlings in any way shape or form. Dr. Halsey and her accomplice Jacob Keyes take a dozen children from orphanages and make them into super beings thru endless surgeries, drugs, and a battle school that is far superior and secret than normal military. The leader, and main character comes from a boy/man they call number 117, or John. John is not the strongest or the fastest, but he has the mind of a leader. The reader then goes on a journey thru these poor kid's boot camp and watch them fail as well as conquer their own fears and others prejudice. This insight and character development, mixed with great action sequences is what saves this novel from being just another fast written game book for the boys. The author's writing style is made for this type of novel and it shows in every space battle as well as groundside wars as well. This novel goes thru about 25 years or so, so you get to follow the kid's growth, as well as some of the other normal humans rise and falls thru the years. The aliens are introduced slowly and revealed for who and what they are in a way that keeps the reader wanting to read more to find out - very smart! If you love military space opera with lots of great action with lots of great characters written in - then you will find that this is not just another game novel - I can't wait for the new book!

halo: the fall of reach
i bought this book yesterday..thats right yesterday....and i have finished. that's how good this book is. it is quite definately the most enthrawling book i have ever read. i happen to be a massive fan of the game, which is partly the reason i bought the book, and i wasn't dissapointed. the book describes the lives of the 75 spartans who were grafted into the UNSC war machine at the age of six in order to train to be bio-engineered super soldiers. it traces through their training to early missions and on into the human-covenant war. the action never lets up and i felt genuinely upset when any of the characters died-the writer makes them so familiar to the reader.
this is a must read for any sci-fi military fan. it may be a book of a game and for those of you that have seen mortal combat you will know that games dont translate well to other forms of media. however halo:the fall of reach is done really well. if you have played the game you will be able to visualise each detail from the alien vessels broadsiding human ships to the way the grunts tear after the main characters during battle....i wish i could give this book 6/5

An adaptation which does not suck.
Most cross-media tie-ins are disastrous--just look at all of the videogames based on movies that are absolutely horrible, or at the very least, completely disappointing.

Not so with Eric Nylund's Halo books. The developers at Bungie did an amazing job on what could have been just another plotless shoot-em-up, showing creativity of design, atmosphere, and character, but they couldn't jam all the backstory into the opening of the game. Nylund fills in the holes very deftly. While there are elements of sci-fi pillars like Heinlein's Starship Troopers and Card's Ender's Game, Nylund still manages to craft nuance into the building-a-soldier formula.

While there are some annoying typos and continuity gaffes (two junior-grade lieutenants stand and salute a non-commissioned officer, for one) the books stand out from the cross-media dreck we're usually stuck with. They are easily good enough to stand on their own without the game itself.

If you like Halo, order these immediately.

If you like military sci-fi, ditto.

If not, order them anyway. You may just be surprised at what you find. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction   2. Fiction - Science Fiction   3. Science Fiction - Adventure   4. Science Fiction - General   5. Fiction / Science Fiction / Adventure   

Customer Reviews (1)

A Daily Guide to releasing stress and feeling WONDERFUL!
This book is entertaining, informative, intellegent, helpful, challenging and instructive on how to reduce tension and increase relaxation. Eric Franklin uses his words and pictures to easily teach us how to reduce neck and shoulder pain within a few minutes and sometimes just by using our imagination.

You don't have to go to a gym to do his exercises; all you need is the time and enough space to sit, stand or lie down.

This book is truly one that you will want to refer to on a regular basis to continue your journey of relaxation in your daily life. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Diet / Health / Fitness   2. Exercise   3. Exercise therapy   4. Healing   5. Health & Fitness   6. Health/Fitness   7. Neck pain   8. Pain Management   9. Prevention   10. Relaxation   11. Shoulder pain   12. Surgery - General   

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General   2. Computers   3. Entertainment & Games - General   4. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords   5. Role Playing & Fantasy - General   

Subjects:  1. (Eric K.)   2. Essays & Travelogues   3. Hansen, Eric   4. Travel   5. Travel - General   6. Voyages and travels   7. Travel / Essays & Travelogues   

Customer Reviews (13)

Finally! A conceptual framework for game design
If you're looking for a "how to" book on game design, don't buy Rules of Play. It won't tell you how to write a design doc, or how to reward players with powerups, or how to write puzzles, or how to work with technology. There's plenty of books that cover those aspects already (Richard Rouse, Ernest Adams, etc.)

Instead, Rules of Play is all about fundamental game concepts. What are games, really? What are the different models to look at games? Rules of Play gives you an enormous understanding of the actual mechanics of gameplay that no other book has offered to date.

Other reviewers are upset by the fact that this book uses both digital and board games as examples. A lot of them discredit the authors because they haven't designed any games they've heard about. That's pretty shortsighted, and unappreciative of the valuable high-level concepts presented in this book.

A game played with dice might not have Isomorphic Real-Time X-Treme Bloomed Shadowing Effects, but it does have a pureness that will allow you to look at the game undistracted by its superficial elements.

Is John Carmack more qualified to talk about games? If that's what you think, you're probably a programmer at heart -- not a game designer.

an invaluable resource
This is an excellent text for serious students of game design. Game design like other forms of design is influenced and influences many other fields of study or as the authors call them "schemas". Rules of Play takes seemingly disparate "schemas" and reveals how they inform and are informed by game design. In addition the design notes of game designers like Richard Garfield and Reiner Knizia for the commissioned games that appear in the book tie the theoretical underpinnings of the book to the actual working process of designing games.

The text is rigorous, well researched , informative and incredibly enjoyable. I have read many books on the subject and with few exceptions this one stands head and shoulders above the rest.

Not good for students of game making.
While it is a nice romp through the games culture of the 1980's, it really has no input on the world of games today. The fundamentals have changed, and this book is showing it's age in a big way. If you are interested in learning more about true fundamentals to game design, check out Chris Crawford's great book on the topic. Money is tight for every student, don't invest in this under whelming hog wash. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Games   2. Computer Books: General   3. Computer Graphics - Design   4. Computer Graphics - Game Programming   5. Computer games   6. Computers   7. Design   8. Entertainment & Games - General   9. Interactive & Multimedia   10. Programming   11. Computers / Computer Graphics / Game Programming   

Customer Reviews (12)

Read this book to graduate from programmer to designer
I think that this book along with Robert Martin's "Agile Software Development, Principles, Patterns, and Practices" and Martin Fowler's "Refactoring" are perhaps the three most fundamental prerequisites for making the leap in knowledge and maturity from object-oriented programming to true proficiency in object-oriented design. The books from Martin and Fowler cover the software solution design space and the core principles and patterns for making code that is resilient to change and easy to maintain. Eric Evans book covers the problem domain space and the abstraction skills that free programmers to "break out of the box" of the implementation domain and solution objects into the critical area the business domain and corresponding domain objects.

I once led a young software team and tried to convey the need for and essence of these skills to them, but I didnt have the right words and terms to do it for their level of experience. I wish this book had been available to me then because I think it would have made a real difference for that team.

A Framework for Proper Object Thinking
This book may change the way you think about software design. Of all the software books I purchased over the last year, this book ranks as one of the most important (another is Lean Software Development by Mary and Tom Poppendieck). The book presents an elegant pattern language to help the modeler understand and design the domain in which he is crafting software. The pattern language addresses both the human factor of modeling (i.e., effective communication with all stakeholders) and the technique of modeling (i.e., the application of object concepts).

This well-organized book succeeds on many levels:

* It helps prepare the modeler to work with his domain by suggesting he must develop the right mindset and communicate with the people who understand the domain.

* Emphasizing the need to keep the domain model as pure as possible, it explains the absolute fundamentals of a domain model, including the all-important notions of entities, value objects, services, and modules. It presents the object-lifecycle, including the mechanisms of factory and repository (and their advantages).

* It provides techniques for object discovery and refinement and model flexibility.

* It provides ideas for organizing cooperative teams.

* It is highly compatible with agile processes, such as eXtreme Programming (XP). In fact, the author himself has practiced XP.

This book should be the second book a novice modeler should purchase. A seasoned modeler should buy this book immediately.

One of the best software books I've read
I read this book in its draft form on a cross-country flight and was just blown away by it, enough so that I bought a bound version to make it easier to carry around and reread.

I suppose what blew me away was that Evans crystallized and laid out quite clearly about a dozen ideas which were existing at the edge of my consciousness, but which I could not clearly verbalize.

It fits quite nicely between the patterns books and the process books, but it's not a cookbook and it's not strictly a method. It's a must read for the multitude of Java/C#/C++ developers who continue to write procedural code while claiming they're OO developers because they're using an OO language and they've read Design Patterns. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming   2. Computer Books: General   3. Computer software   4. Computers   5. Development   6. Object-Oriented Programming   7. Object-oriented programming (C   8. Object-oriented programming (Computer science)   9. Programming - Object Oriented Programming   10. Programming - Software Development   11. Programming - Systems Analysis & Design   12. Software Development   13. Computers / Programming / Systems Analysis & Design   

Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Games   2. Computer Books: General   3. Computers   4. Entertainment & Games - General   5. Video & Electronic - Nintendo   6. Games / Video & Electronic