The plays in the History's Project's "Character in Time: The US Presidents" series are interesting and informative and, above all, very readable. People unfamiliar with reading plays should not be put off by the format -- after a few minutes time, it seems perfectly natural to read dialogue instead of normal prose. Students, especially, will appreciate the playwright's artful distillation of the subject's ideas and philosophy, as well as the lively presentation of his character -- there's really a lot of information packed into these small volumes.

We are treated to an original account of our second president in a humorous rendition that plays brilliantly in our minds. This one act play is a poignant look at the personal issues of a Massachusetts's attorney turned president and the country he was elected to lead during its political infancy. The investment of your time will be well spent.

James E. Coleman, Jr., writing in the Harvard Gay and Lesbian Review, Vol. 6, No. 1, 1999 notes: "Whether Leeming is as successful in taking on an artist's life as he had been with the literary life of [James] Baldwin, I am not certain. His knowledge of Baldwin's literary world is not quite matched by his savvy of the art world of the same period. Nevertheless, we have a fine introduction to an artist whose reputation is growing and who lived a fascinating life." That's high praise coming from Coleman, editor of The Encyclopedia Homophilica.

America's artistic milieu is known for dismissing from its memory those artists whose works and lives are deemed trivial and not worthy of consideration. Such an attitude has denied younger generations of artists the experience of knowing some of the great artistic man and women of our time. Beauford Delaney was one of those artists relegated to the halls of obscurity.

Amazing Grace is David Leemings biographical piece that examines Delaney's life and contributions to the art world. He looks at the forces which brought forth America's premiere modernist artist and shows how his gift impacted on the way one views life and art.

Who is this man, Delaney? A superficial view of his life reveals him as an impoverished homosexual Black artist who is plagued by many demons as he struggles to find himself as an artist and at peace with his sexuality. James Baldwin called him his spiritual father who was a cross between Brer Rabbit and St. Francis of Asissi. Others knew him as the good negro or an eccentric gadfly. Whatever one may call him, Delaney's goal was to infuse the concept of love within his work that would bring him the wholeness that he failed to capture in his life.

Plagued by paranoia, alcoholism and guilt over his homosexuality, Delaney failed to achieve intimacy in his relationships but poured out his inner struggle through his art. Like many artists, he went through several stages of development in his career which reached its climax in France. Unfortunately the demon of paranoia stripped him of his artistic ability in his later years.

This book must be read to get a handle on the artistic struggles of African Americans and how they succeeded inspite of their alienation from the mainstream art world. Delaney also struggled with being homosexual which undoubtably alienated him from his family and Black colleagues. His struggle opens up a new chapter in examining how sexuality impacts on a minority artists life. Delaney was saved from obscurity through this view of his life. Whether he was saved by grace is a moot point for his demonic voices did him in.

Overall, I was favorably impressed by "The Children's Dictionary of Mythology," edited by David Adams Leeming. The book is full of entries from "Achilles" to "Zeus." It is an ambitiously multicultural work which includes the mythology of many regions: Africa, the Middle East, Australia, North America, the South Pacific, India, Japan, etc.

Each entry is a short, informative essay. Some entries, like "African Mythology" or "Animism," are general in nature, while others focus on specific deities, heroes or relevant cultural phenomena. Some sample entry topics are "Book of the Dead," "Coyote," "Dikithi" (a Bantu trickster), "Kali," "Lilith," "Quetzalcoatl," etc.

One of the book's strongest aspects is its rich assortment of full-color illustrations. There are many photographs of artwork of all types: a Hopi cloth, a sculpture of the serpent-headed Medusa, a stained-glass window depicting Sir Galahad, a knife handle carved to represent the trickster Raven, a wooden statue of the Chinese goddess Kuan Yin, Egyptian paintings, and much more.

A note to the reader declares, "Myths are sacred tales about gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines." Thus I was puzzled by the book's failure to include many important figures from Jewish, Christian, and Islamic sacred narrative. Yes, "Adam" and "Eve" are included, but there are no articles on "Abraham," "Moses," "Jesus," "Mary," and others. Yet the editors include figures from other living religions, like Hinduism. Certainly, by the book's own definition of myth, the excluded figures merit entries. This selective process of inclusion and exclusion left me somewhat dissatisfied with the book. Despite its flaws, however, this book is an admirable reference work for young readers.

Actually, "The Children's Dictionary of Mythology" is slightly more ambitious than what the title suggests. This volume is closer to an encyclopedia than a dictionary since many of the entries are several paragraphs long. The idea behind these 300+ entries is to invite cross-cultural comparisons: virtually ever culture represented has its creation myth detailed within these pages. This is intended as a general introduction to mythology, which is distinguished from religion by the editors. Judeo-Christianity is basically reduced to the creation story (i.e., Adam and Eve in the garden), while the rest of the entries cover not only Greek and Roman (i.e., classical) mythology, but ancient Egypt, Summeria, India, Japan, China, Australia, the South Pacific, Africa and the Americas.

In addition to the standard entries, stories about characters, such as Adventures of Theseus and the Journey of Pele, and important cultural myths, such as Cherokee Creation Myths and Incan Flood, are highlighted. These features appear in colored boxes near a character's alphabetical entry or close to the story's alphabetical order. Most of the entries are cross-referenced that will point young readers to related subjects discussed elsewhere in the book. Within these pages young readers will find elements from several mythological traditions. In addition to dozens of deities and characters, many of which you can readily find elsewhere, the strength of this book is it facilitates comparative mythological analysis by covering themes of mythology (Quest, Creation, Afterlife, Flood) and recurring places in mythology (City, Labyrinth, Underworld). "The Children's Dictionary of Mythology" also has entries on sources of mythological narratives from the "Epic of Gilgamesh" to the "Enuma Elish," and mythological events like the "Cattle Raid of Cooley" and "Jason and the Golden Fleece."

I do not think I would have been happier with this book if it had been a true dictionary, with two or three times the entries because none of them were more than a paragraph long. I am leaning at this point to wishing the book being organized by the themes it isolates, because that is were it makes the best case for cross-cultural comparisons. Still, with a little effort, teachers can put together those units on their own. The selected bibliography provides a list of books by culture for further information. For teachers putting together a mythology unit for younger students, this book is an ideal first place to look for not just information but also ideas.

Well written and encyclopedic in its range, this book is also full of amazing photographs.

This book is an absolute must for mountain and photography enthusiasts. Washburns photographs of Mt. Mckinley are beyond word description. This is the perfect coffee table book that you will look at hundreds of times. When people look at my copy they can't put it down. The mountain is viewed from every angle from high altitude to on the peak itself. Even though these photos were taken many years ago mountain climbers still use this book to get details for new routes. Washburn squeezes in the climbing history of Mckinley (Of which he and his wife are a big part of), between the incredible full page photos. I love this book. I tell friends that they can look at but don't ask to borrow it!

I read and reviewed the original "Hacker's Challenge" in Nov 01, and gave that book four stars. Mike Schiffman and crew have recaptured the magic and published another winner: "Hacker's Challenge 2" (HC2). This is the sort of book that needs to be used when interviewing new hires or promoting technical staff. If the candidate has read the book and knows the answers to the challenges, she at least demonstrates her commitment to learning, as well as an ability to remember what she reads. If she can solve the challenges without having read the book, she shows a higher level of skill. If she has no clue how to respond to the challenges, you can move on to the next candidate.

The majority of HC2 involves three subjects. Challenges 1,3,7, and 16 revolve around wireless insecurities. Challenges 2,5,6,15, and 17 discuss network-based attacks. Solving the mysteries of challenges 4,11,12,14,18, and 19 require log analysis. A few other issues are sprinkled through the text: social engineering (ch. 8), host-based digital forensics (ch. 9), a man-in-the-middle attack against SSH (ch. 13), and a crafty buffer overflow tutorial (ch. 10). None of the material struck me as being exceptionally original, although this accurately reflects the sorts of cases handled by most consultants! I was impressed by the level of explanation offered by challenge 17, where vulnerabilities associated with VLAN 1 were exposed.

HC2 has a few weaknesses. I was sorry to see Peter Lemonjello fired in challenge 5, but he appeared to strike again in challenge 11. Pages 126-8 featured some of the oddest techno-babble in print, offering obscure references to Rabindranath Tagore and condescending dialogue with a tech support staffer. I've given up on seeing Mike Schiffman correctly abbreviate the Air Force Information Warfare Center as "AFIWC" in his biography. His use of "AFWIC" must refer to the UN's AFrican Women In Crisis program and not the talk he gave to the AFIWC in Apr 99!

HC2 is the first must-buy of 2003, but it leaves some room for improvement. Future editions should provide greater details in the solutions, like explanations of the fields in various firewall logs. I'd also like to see the author's names on the challenges, as appeared in the first HC book. The bottom line is that HC2 is a fast read that will entertain, and more importantly, educate.

Yes, Slightly better than the first edition.
However, if you need or like this kind of books give first a try to "Stealing the Network: How to Own the Box" by Ryan Russell, the same idea, but a lot more illustrative and easy to read (still with the same level of very up to date information).
Some extra bucks to spend ?. . . OK, then try both, they complement each other very well.

The second "The Hacker's Challenge" brought with it another sleepless night of fun security reading. 19 attack cases with solutions and mitigation and prevention strategies are described by a team of known expert authors led by Mike Schiffman.

Impressive wireless DoS attack, social engineering penetrations (including one case with no technical penetration whatsoever), mysterious web defacements, SQL injection, DNS tunneling case and router attack inform and educate, just as the first book did. Authors' mildly perverse sense of humor keeps the reader in a good mood. The book begs to be read in one helping (and then reread, as needed)! "The Challenge 2" again covers a wide range of victims and attack methods.

An interesting case asks for writing an exploit and provides a walkthrough for a simple local buffer overflow attack, a novel feature of this edition.

At about scenario 12, things start to heat up and solving the case starts to require some thinking. Harder to crack cases and more sophisticated attackers up the fun level and value of information learned. Just as in the first book, solving the case usually takes some log analysis, some security knowledge and careful reading about character actions and observations.

In addition to technology-astute readers, the book will also satisfy the hard-core security policy fans. Some of the questions asked about the cases involve policy decisions.

As for the book minor blemishes, it suffers a bit from a "sequel syndrome". Namely, since the first book was so amazingly good, it is very hard to beat it and most people will compare it to the first one. Let's say that "The Challenge 2" is almost as good as its predecessor. A couple of scenarios sound somewhat ridiculous (e.g. one on "wireless terrorists"). Another couple is painfully obvious (few people are impressed by a /bin/sh bound to a port in inetd.conf or by a default router password nowadays). In addition, the scenario names often give out a hint that spoils the fun of "cracking" the story ("Freeloader" and some others).

Overall, the book is a must have, both for its educational and entertainment value. The Hacker Challenge books fuse fun storyline, mystery and technical information in one great package, that makes for awesome reading for all technical readers, in security field and beyond. It was clearly a great idea to invent such a "security thriller" book.

Anton Chuvakin, Ph.D., GCIA is a Senior Security Analyst with a major information security company. His areas of infosec expertise include intrusion detection, UNIX security, forensics, honeypots, etc. In his spare time, he maintains his security portal info-secure.org

This game has presented the best mechanics on time travel RPG's to date in my opinion. There is no comparison to any other game or system, period. If you want to play with time travel this is the game for you.

The world however that the game is set in was... a bit boring for me. I didn't like the political groups that the characters had to join, the history was unimpressive and seemed half baked, and I was left with the thought "ok, I can travel through time... now what?" I needed a little bit more to understand the motivations of these beings. More of an enemy to oppose.

This book has some great ideas to use in a time travel game. For example the idea of the "yet" - things that you learn you must do in the future to avoid paradox. However, if you use all the ideas the game becomes too complex and difficult to play.

This is an excellent book, one of the best RPG's that I've ever seen. I picked this book up at GenCon 1999 and I can't wait to pick up Narscissit (a companion game book) this year. What makes this book so interesting is that it doesn't limit the players or the GM, if you've seen it it happened, if you don't remember the event, it is in your YET, (the required future) otherwise it happened. The book goes on the assumption that the universe just "is" there aren't any rules to control what spanners do, there are rules of conduct as in any society, but no "can'ts"

I am from Reading (Berks County) and I have found these books somewhat interesting. I read them at night when I can't get to sleep and they always do the trick. They are like I said somewhat interesting but the writing style of bringing the reader into the story and adding some pizzazz to it has a lot to be desired. I love a good Ghost story. These well as much as I have really tried to see them as good and well written I find them more a nod then anything. If you want a real good Ghost Story Book get the one called Christmas Ghosts, I forget who it is written by but it will leave you wanting more and more unlike these that you just keep hoping the next one will be good, but it may be worth the read if you are really into ghost stories.

Ghost Stories of Berks County is one of the few book I have read that i really enjoyed. I heard many things about the ghost in Berks County, but i never heard the full stories. This book finally gave me a chance to read those stories I have heard so much about. My favorite chapter is the one where the author talks about the ghosts of Hawk Mountian. My friends always talk about them, but i never heard the stories behind them. I really like the way the author not only tells the stories, but how he adds quotes from people who like there and have experienced these ghosts. That's main reason I enjoyed this book so much. Although I noticed few misspelled words, I still think this book was well written. To anyone who is interested in ghosts or the unexplained, I recommend Ghost Stories of Berks County.

I have lived in Berks County all my life and really loved these book from the time I was 10. I enjoyed them so much because I know were these places are and even some of the people involved. One story is about my best friend's house. I really enjoyed these books and have enjoyed all the other books Mr. Adams has written.

Richards, and this book, had been praised to the skies both by professional critics and personal friends, so I overcame my prejudices against long, depressing family sagas and read it.
I will say that Richards is a very talented writer, and there are turns of phrase I will never forget. I also loved a few of the characters, in particular Autumn, the narrator's albino sister. However, I felt afflicted most of the way through the book. It seemed that there was far too much misfortune to believe for this one poor family. It's not that I had trouble believing that someone as good as Sidney Henderson would be exploited (nor did I find his character unbelievable, since his goodness was practically a disease in itself) but so many of the misfortunes seemed to relu on coincidence, and they came at the Hendersons unrelentinly.
Moreover, the conclusion was almost Dickensian in its mania to tie up every loose thread, and connect all sorts of characters in unlikely ways. And yes, I was touched by it, but I was infuriated afterwards.
Nonetheless, now that book is finished with, I do have a desire to read some of Richards other books. I just hope they will be a little less overwrought.

I got this book for Christmas, and after reading the first few pages, which were pretty dull, I was ready to put it down. But I kept reading, and am I ever glad I did! The story is about a poor family in the Maritimes, and is told by the oldest son, Lyle. His family, especially his brilliant and gentle father, is subjected to extreme injustices almost unrelentingly, as others see Sydney as an easy target. Despite it all, Sydney insists on helping the very people who hurt him. Lyle becomes a very bitter and angry young man, and his solution to life's problems is to fight back, something his father refused to do. This story is outrageous and depressing, and the ending is bittersweet at best. Not the kind of book you'd expect to steal your heart, but the overriding grace and goodness of Sydney Henderson did just that. Richards is an extremely talented writer whose characters seemed almost more real than real people. I'd definitely recommend this book.

Here is a book about poverty, both of the spirit and of the pocket. Written in spare, tidy prose with exceptional characterizations, it is a dark tale periodically shot through with veins of pure gold; moments of such exquisite sweetness (in the character of little Percy, or the aging but quietly heroic Jay Beard) that they are painful. There is nothing stock about the narrative or about the characters who are among the most fully realized I've ever read. The good people (the Hendersons) are all forgivably flawed in some small way. And the bad people are understandable in their angry manipulations, in their negative strengths and human weaknesses. This is not light reading but it is potent and powerful, an evocation of the lengths to which the very poor can be driven. Lyle Henderson, son of the Job-like Sydney, narrator of the family history is a most believably tortured and loving soul. One hopes, throughout this book, for affirming moments that never materialize. Yet there is such truth here that I found it impossible not to keep reading.

I am dismayed that I didn't know of the award-winning David Adams Richards before reading this book, but I will certainly be reading his other books at the first possible opportunity. The author's talent is rare and wonderful; his eye is clear and he wastes no time on frilly adjectives. This is prose (and truth) at its purest--a truly remarkable achievement.

My highest recommendation.

This trade paperback features the last Hulk stories Peter David wrote and you could tell that by then he had run out of ideas to do wih the Hulk so he wrote a story where something really devestating happens with the Green Guy.It was something that most readers did not like and many haven't read the comic ever since. It was a sad ways for david to end what was mostly a suucessful run on that comic. Today the Marvel novels that feature the Hulk are the only source of good story material left that they can still better Hulk stories.

This TPB effectively brings the reader the greatest and most important stories of the relationship between Betty Ross and Bruce Banner.
All of the stories are very entertaining, and yet very tragic.

If your a Betty Ross Banner fan, you'll love this! Its a tribute to the love between Bruce and Betty. Betty is one of the most substansial characters in Bruce Banners life, and this helps her legacy continue until after her demise. Every Hulk fan will love this book. I highly reccomend it. Also, the Harpy's in it.

You will get to know some members of a small mining town in New Brunswick, all struggling to figure themselves out, find love, and place themselves in a difficult world.

I had some trouble getting used to his unique style of writing - David Adams Richards writes as if observing his characters and describing their actions and thoughts as if he's from another land altogether. This was very distracting for me, and tended to take away my flow of reading. On the other hand, it was also challenging, in that it made me think about the characters and what their words and actions meant.

The last 20-30 pages are by far the best of the entire novel and well worth the read.

Slow going at times, but it wraps up nicely and the reader is feeling as though everything is as it should and always has been.

What I recognize in my second adventure into this author's work is a particular truth--which is that (at least in my Canadian experience) poor communities have a singular commonality. There is a language, both spoken and experiential, about being poor that transcends its environment. In Richards' books, poor in Toronto sounds and feels a lot like poor in New Brunswick. While the physical aspects are very different, the population isn't. And there was something so familiar about some of the characters that I felt as if I'd known them in my childhood.

Poor angry, alienated to the point of sickness Adele; her mother, lovely, determined Rita, making the best of her marriage to alcoholic Joe--who just may be one of the most perfectly rendered characters I've ever encountered. One cannot help but love and feel for Joe, battling his demons and temptations that all reside within bottles; stammering, powerful Joe with his big body and battered, but still functioning heart; Joe the unlikeliest of heroes.

There is such a cast of characters in this book; they have their hopes and miseries and they all intersect at one point or another as time eases away unnoticed and fate makes itself felt in every way in the hushed, shattering beauty of a blizzard.

David Adams Richards is the consummate observer, translating his visions into quiet, apparently effortless prose; placing people before us in all their flawed splendor so that we might view the human condition and reflect upon our similarities and differences.

My highest recommendation.