This book tells the story of a cattle drive from the Rio Grande to Montana in 1882. It was written in 1903 by a former cowboy who gives us a clear and candid picture of the hardships of the cattle drive. The book provides insights into the strengths and weaknesses, the good points and bad points of the men we call Cowboys. In additon to telling the story of the hardships of the trail, the book gives us samples of the tales told around the campfire at the end of the long day. Recommended reading for anyone with an interest in the Old West; required reading for anyone who wants to write Westerns.

This book is a lot of fun to read, taking the reader back in time to a late-1800s cattle drive from Texas to Montana. The book is written well with spare prose, wit and exceptional details about a cowboy's often difficult and sometimes boring life on the trail. There's refreshingly little of the syrup found in so many western stories. It's written simply enough for pre-teens interested in the west, yet it will yield a lot of enjoyment for the seasoned reader.

This is a a more traditional treatment of the Epistles based on sound scholarship, exegesis, and biblical archeology. It will challeneg more popular scripture scholarship to son degree and will not espouse a liberal interpretation. Howeevr, for those who make scripture scholarship an important part of their life or work, this is a must book to have.

Gives a thoroughly Catholic understanding of the Book of Revelation. We're so used to the modern "premillenialist" view of the book so typical of Evangelicalism, but this commentary brings out the traditional Catholic understanding of the Apocalypse. Has the text of the book in English (RSVCE) and Latin (New Vulgate) plus commentary drawn from the writings of Saints and Church Fathers.

This is a great historical geopolitical look at the Middle East of the Dark Ages for Vampire. White Wolf does a good job of showing us the Kindred of the Middle East who have been influneced by living in the geographic center of 3 major world religions. The impact of the faiths is obvious in all of the clans. White Wold has taken pains to accurately reflect the culture of the times and superimpose it onto the likely reactions of supernaturals. If you play Vampire: Dark Ages and wish to have a religious themed game or an exotic setting then this is the book for you.

Probably the best book for the Dark Ages setting thus far, this Year of the Scarab release focuses on the Islamic world in the context of Dark Ages: Vampire. After opening up with a short fiction of a vampire's meeting with Mohammad, and another short fiction focusing on a the lengths that ashipu (Middle Eastern vampire magicians) must go to, we get to an excellent introduction. The introduction explains what the book is an isn't, as well as giving us a lot of useful books, magazines and websites to visit concerning the real history of the Islamic world. Remember that while the west was in the "dark ages", the Islamic world was experiencing a golden age of science and learning. There is also a lexicon of Arabic and Islamic terms that are used in the book, and more specifically the context they hold in the game.
The first chapter covers the history of Islam, giving a biography of the Prophet Mohammad, as well as a historical account of the spread of Islam across the Middle East and North Africa. The second chapter continues by giving a look at Islamic beliefs and practices, both from mortal and vampiric perspectives. The most interesting part here is a description of the Ashirra sect, a brotherhood of Islamic vampires who seek to redeem themselves. Very good for Storytellers and players alike, as this section is almost essential for understanding how and why the Ashirra work.
The next section is a bit of IC stuff, written by an Assamite vizier as he travels from al-Andalus across north Africa to Arabia and the Holy Land, and from there to Baghdad, Persia and finally disappearing in the east, killed by some unknown force. Think something like the vampiric equivalent to ibn Batutta. At the end are a bunch of profiles of NPCs he met along the way. Almost all of the NPCs are interesting and unique, and can easily be placed in a chronicle. The next chapter covers the various clans (all called by their Arabic names) in the Middle East, and things are quite different. As would be expected, the Assamites and Setites are dominant, but the Brujah, Nosferatu, Gangrel, Ravnos and Lasombra are also quite influencial. Indeed, all western clans (save the Tzimisce and Tremere; the Ventrue are also rare being represented only by a small Arabian bloodline) are represented to some degree, along with three bloodlines: the Salubri, Baali and Laibon.
Some of the alternate takes on the various clans are quite interesting. For instance, the conflict between the animalistic hunters and monsters of clan Nosferatu (called Mutasharid) and the peaceful Nosferatu who have adopted Islam (known as the Hajj). Indeed, the Hajj are one of the leading groups in the Ashirra. Or the Lasombra, many of whom are devout Muslims and who are treated with respect and honor. All in all, its a pretty cool section. In the end, it also gives some descriptions of Paths followed by the Ashirr and how they differ from western paths. For instance, Path of the Bedouin becomes Tariq el-Bedouin, and is focused more on living a simple, nomadic lifestyle than becoming an animal. Special attention is paid to the Path of Blood (Tariq el-Haqim) given the prominence of the Assamites in these regions.
Following this is the juicy chapter, chock full of everything you need to know to run a Cainite in the region. Aside from information on the different cultures and groups (such as Berbers, Moors, Kurds and so forth) and Arabic naming conventions, there are also some sample concepts and such. Some new Merits and Flaws, specific to the setting are given, along with new Traits and even a new Animalism power (used many by vampires to create animal ghouls out of animals that drink from isolated desert oasis). There is a great deal of information on Sihr, faith based blood magic used by the Hajj. A couple paths and rituals and not much else. Given that its specific to the Hajj and maybe a few Assamite sorcerers, I guess not too much detail is needed. And theres also some systems for situations Ashirra are likely to get into as well.
And then there is the next chapter, Damascus by Night, which gives an entire ready-to-run plot focusing on the secret corrutpion in the city of Damascus. The chapter gives a pretty nice amount of information about the city of Damascus, as well as the Ashirra in the city and how many of them have been subverted by the Baali. Character profiles of major characters are also given, so everything is already set up for you to run it. This ties in nicely with the closing chapter, which focuses on various supernatural threats that Ashirra are likely to face in the night. Information on mortal dangers (like crusaders and the Knights Templar and Islamic monster hunters) is presented, alongside bits about jackal-blooded Lupines (and other shapeshifters), wizards (primarily Ahl-i-Batin and Taftani, but also Knights Templar, Hebrew qabbalists and tribal shaman), ghosts, mummies, djinn and even mysterious eastern "Kindred" from the White Tiger Court...
Over all, this is an excellent book. I strongly recommend it to anyone intending to run a Dark Ages game, or even a game set in the Mid-East in general. The Ashirra sect supposedly survives to the modern era, though little information is given on it outside brief references in a couple other books. More information on the future of the Ashirra sect would have been appreciated. Nonetheless, this is an excellent book and well worth buying.

It was a pretty good book. It made me realize what life was like back in dickens' time. The industrial revolution was going on... It started off pretty slow than got exciting as I read on. I encourage young readers to think about reading this book.

Hard Times depicts the lives of ordinary people during the industrial revolution in England. Dickens brings several characters to life and weaves an interesting story about their interactions with each other. Most of these characters are poor and they live in a pollution ridden town where the economy is based on coal production. Dickens's description of their lives is excellent. The only reason for the four stars is that one or two secret matters are alluded to near the beginning, but they are never revealed, leaving the reader a little disappointed. Overall, Hard Times is very good book.

Hard times lyrically explains life in the early 1800's while captivating its readers and showing that hard times hits people of all eras, decades, and even surpasses those of 1800's to the 1990's. However, what is most intriguing is the fact that Charles Dickens in some aspects suggest that sometimes hard times are circumstances that we subject ourselves and others to and whether is under ones own volition or under false pretenses. Hard Times is indeed a knowledgeable novel that teaches a lesson and shows one of many Dickens attributes. This review is from Merci McKinley who is 16 years old from Potomac High School in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

My daughter has enjoyed this book since she was about a year old. We have two cats, but neither one of them wanted to have anything to do with my daughter, and she was very frustrated that she couldn't hold them. This book solved the problem. It's very large, and the pictures are very expressive of typical kitten behavior. My daughter expecially loved the page where the cat asks to be tickled -- it didn't take her long to figure out how to do that! Now that she's three, and old enough to be able to approach the cats right, she can hold them and pet them. But every so often she pulls this book off of the shelf and asks to read it. It's not the kind of book that's going to be beloved by children for generations, but it's worth having if you have a toddler who likes animals.

This book is BIG! Great for little ones that love big pictures. Easy to turn board pages and very easy to understand words for the little ones. My baby loves it and I do too! :) I highly recommend the Great Pals Puppy as well.

Nice how-to material on the electronic resume, content and formatting. Could profit from including analysis of effectiveness of resume-posting on job sites. If you are interested email me. I am collecting Web job hunting resources available for WI jobs, and found a couple of good references in this book. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to creat an electronic resume.

Insted of the last 2 chapters ,it's a good explanation about Java 2 , if I where you , I would bought it .

Having lived in the Los Angeles area, this was kind of a fun book for me. The stories were interesting and followed a loose kind of plot about demons interacting with humans following a disaster. Although each story had a different author (and some of the writing was a little uneven), they flowed into each other.. In general, I enjoyed this book and so did my teen-age daughter.

I thought this book did a disservice to Virginia Woolfe by transposing her brilliant and poignant novel (Mrs. Dalloway) onto a modern day plot. Substituting character names, locations, and various major and minor sub-texts (AIDS in place of post-war trauma; a movie star in place of a queen) does not create an original novel (or even a thought-provoking sequel). I don't think you can "cover" literature in the same way you can cover a song.

The other two sections of the book, which dealt with the 50's housewife who read Mrs. Dalloway, and the fictional account of V. Woolfe writing the novel, were much more enjoyable and well done.

THE HOURS, Michael Cunningham's riff on Virginia Woolf's envelope-pushing novel MRS. DALLOWAY, is a pretty stunning piece of work in its own right.

Filled with razor-sharp observation and devastating emotional interconnectedness, THE HOURS is a stunning odyssey through a day in the lives of three women, and by extrapolation, every woman and every human being. It would be impossible to read this book and not find little bits and pieces of yourself strewn across its pages.

What's really amazing is that Cunningham is able to stick so close to the themes, structure, and characterization of Woolf's novel, while managing to build, out of seemingly the same pieces, a story all his own.

What THE HOURS does so well is reveal to us the binding emotional ties that unite us all. It makes you see the similarities in ostensibly different lives, different dreams, and different words. Cunningham manages to create a perfectly balanced fulcrum on which a large teeter totter of metaphors is able to swing up and down in powerful arcs.

While I found "Mrs. Dalloway" enjoyable, and it does help to read it before reading "The Hours," I thought this book was more enjoyable, easier to read, yet just as deep and complex. I loved how the lives of the three women wove together; it made perfect sense at the end. This book really explores why we live, whether live is meaningful, and how we find meaning in it. I think this book is destined to become as much of a classic as the Virginia Woolf novel on which it is based.

From the get go, White Wolf shows why they are on top of this industry with their intial revamp of the Dark Ags line. DA: Vampire hammers a home run with the artistic layouts and eye catching images found within. New and interesting spins are offered that were either barely touched on in the original incarnation or non existant to begin with. Some rules are updated and others expanded upon (like Mortis and the Road paths).

However, what keeps this book from being a 5 star knock out is it's stunning lack of future premonitions that were prevalent in the earlier edition. Leaving some of those key elements up to the previous book to cover was bad form on the writers part and it's exclusion kills much of the depth the original DA book had.

Ending summary:

The good: New information and new spins on the clans, roads, and disciplines. Compelling artwork and layouts.

The bad: The way the previous book was largely written off. Key elements from the old book would have enhanced this DA product immensely. It wouldn't have hurt to have some definative "set in stone" issues resolved like the origins of the Tremere (hinted at being servants to the Tzmisce) and the final fate of the Cappadocians. While White Wolf is known for their contradictory storylines and comments within their own books, at least previous books took a stance. The notable lack thereof in this one is fairly glaring.

All in all though, a top notch book. A definate replacement to it's predessesor. Just don't throw the old book away as the two can work well together in a main book/companion type of role.

I must admit that I am a Vampire: The Masquerade fan, at least I was for a long time before White Wolf started printing all of the Clan Novels that seemed to take the entire setting in a different direction that I preferred. You see, I am the kind of vampire fan that prefers personal horror over nifty powers any day of the week (scary powers... ok, yeah, I love those too). At any rate, back in the day I purchased Vampire: The Dark Ages, the historical counterpoint to their modern game. Now, at long last, not only is the modern game returning to it's horrific roots, but they have restructured the rules to finally oust the whining, power gamers that turned Vampire into a joke, so many nights ago. This game does the same thing, only for the medieval period. While advancing the timeline (to 1230) and stirring up a War of Princes, the game actually sets a real (dark) religious tone with the newly redone look at Roads or the Via of the Dark Medieval. I love this new game. The book does crack when you open it, though I'm not sure if that means the pages will fall out, mine have not. If you like vampires, but don't want to fuss with the modern nights, take a good look at the new Dark Ages: Vampire game. Oh yeah, Dark Ages: Mage comes out soon, as well as Dark Ages: Inquisitor, and a number of other related works that are sure to make this game just as good if not better than The Masquerade.

Once again, White Wolf has made its previous output on the Vampire franchise obsolete! Dark Ages: Vampire is that good.

It incorporates the best changes from Vampire the Masquerade since that title was re-edited several years ago and expands upon it. The vampires in Dark Ages have much more potential than those in the Gothic Punk setting: you can choose from several viable moral systems rather than be restricted to one. Vampires are more powerful since disciplines can be brought up to six rather than five. The Dark Ages feel is much better represented here than in the previous Vampire: the Dark Ages book, and the artwork is superb.

I was a big fan of the latest edition of Vampire: the Masquerade, but I have to admit that I think that title has been topped by the Dark Ages: Vampire core book. It remains to be seen whether the supporting books to follow will be as good.