I had high hopes for this book, but was a little disappointed. I bought conspiracy x, expecting great stuff, and it met with my expectations. Cryptozoolgy didn't. First, it's set up with information divided into two parts: the gamers information, and the GM's information. the result is that you have to look in two different areas for information on different "supernatural creatures". Most of the regular freaks of nature are covered--Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot, Sasquatch, etc. I was pleased to see a few others like the Mokole. The writing is a lot more pendantic than I'd like--but that may be a direct result from being written in character, where teh character is old, stuffy, and bombastically long-winded. If your game will run into a supernatural creature, it might be worth checking this beek out. If not, I wouldn't bother.

Instead of using sound science, explaining it, and sometimes extending it like in the other fourteen books, this one stoops to one of the oldest premises of B-movie sci-fi - and it isn't even scientifically sound.

Just because it's easy to shrink people on screen doesn't make it possible. Particularly the way it happens here - accidentally falling in the machine, getting dismantled, and waking up in a compressed duplicate (with the originals still in the machine) and then being able to reverse the process and coming out exactly the same size they were before! How did they even survive dismantling? Even if the process worked how were they able to walk?

The whole premise just shakes me up, even twenty years after first reading it. (Might be all those movies and Hanna-Barbera cartoons.) The only reason why I give this two stars is the familiar, endearing characters.

"Dhampire: Stillborn" is the first in what will (unfortunately) be a series of graphic novels. In "Stillborn" we watch a Dhampire (half human, half vampire) explore his past and evolve into a full vampire. Vampirism is a subject with tremendous literary opportunities that the vampire-story, as a genre, has utterly failed to explore. "Stillborn" is a perfect example of why. Characters with potential are reduced to archetypes with the whirl-wind plot, and bland dialog. Perhaps the author thinks that the reader would not be willing to put in the time to get to know the characters, so she jumps directly to what the target audience expects: depressed, pitiful characters empowered and glamourized by extraordinary violence. The graphic novel appears to be targeted toward emotionally disturbed teenagers. For them, vampirism represents power and superiority. Pitiful social maladjustment is transformed, in the fantasy of the novel, into Evil. Perhaps, within a few years, authors will begin exploring the lives of the consumers of fiction like this, rather than producing more of it. The novel's only redeeming quality is its beautiful artwork, especially of the Dhampire's mother

This is the student solutions manual -- it is useless without the actual book.

I had to buy this book for my college course and I found it wasn't relevant to my prefered job industry. This book is not interesting. And I recommend to the authors, that they rewrite this in terms that make it more iteresting to students.

This book looks at healing from a biblical perspective. It is divided into three sections that are titled: "The Biblical Perspective", "The Problem of Magic" and "Life, Death, Disease and Healing". Some of the illustration are out of date and the author tends to be verbose.

Dr. Paul Meier is the co-host of the nationally syndicated radio show "New Life Clinic" and has written many books. His personality on the radio is condescending and now I have discovered why--he's a jerk. And he has written the book to prove it, entitled "Don't Let the Jerks Get the Best of You."

The idea for this book is great--dealing with the jerks you come in contact with. But during the reading of the book I discovered two things: first, he is really trying to get at the jerk within YOU, not in others. That's fine and he certainly convinced me that I'm a jerk at the highest level, but it didn't do much other than make me feel bad that I'm a jerk. It didn't help me much in dealing with others.

Second, he proves himself to be the utmost jerk through his constant claiming that he's NOT a jerk anymore! He gives three "levels" of being a jerk (everyone falls into one of the three categories), and of course he claims that he may have been level two at one point but now he is the lowest-level jerk. He even calls himself a "good guy" who "doesn't mean to do wrong." So when he mistreats his wife or kids or patients, he excuses it away as being meaningless since he doesn't intend on hurting them. Can't he see that INTENT may have nothing to do with it? A person who backs their car into your car may not "mean" to do it, but that is not an excuse! They need to deal with the consequences of their actions (admit wrong, pay for damage, etc.) and he fails to see the need to do that!

He then goes on to claim he has some "weaknesses"-- such as the fact that he like to pay for others meals or that he likes to spend all the money he makes on others! Wow--what weaknesses! He tells of how he invested lots of money in bad deals and the IRS charged him penalities--he again claims he was a well-meaning dope! Even in his proclaiming his weaknesses he comes across as a #1 jerk, not taking responsibility for his actions but claiming ignorance. He also humbly brags throughout the book (as he does often on his radio show) that he's a great husband and father and doctor--yet he tells stories of how he ignores his kids (one of his kids ran away from home as a teen), doesn't follow through on what he tells his wife, and he constantly pushes drugs. You would think the guy is a drug company rep if you listen to him on the radio--his solution to just about every psychological problem in life is drugs!

This is a frustrating book. The IDEA of it is great. But it's mostly about Dr. Meier being a jerk and him lording it over the rest of us. The solutions are few. This book needs some good objective editing and rewriting before it will be of value to those of us who are dealing with jerks every day,

The author attempts to explain the commands by going through various excercises. In these excercises he says to "type this" or "enter that" without really explaining the commands. The main point that should be made is that the books is Windows 3.0 specific. If you have a version higher than 3.0 this book is virtually useless since it does not give a complete explaination as to how or why you are entering such commands.

This is what happens when some elements of the rightwing grab the microphone and begin commentating on a story disguised as History or International Relations. The material selected for inclusion was outdated when the book was first published.

Though first out of the gate, this work did not provide impetus for starting a conversation. The aggregate of details are thinly spread and simply don't combine to present a picture of any kind. As a result, I was hard pressed to find any real point of view which may in spite of the writer's intentions deliver the real message.

Nothing to sink your teeth in to, but the genuine absence of an attempt to define strategy, deliver a conclusion or at the least make a recommendation for possible improvement may well serve as a cautionary tale of why diplomacy and our systems reliant upon diplomacy began slipping apace.

Published during the Reagan era, this may instead demonstrate how dangerous it can be for a nation, a state, or an institution to believe that dropping in corporate managers to head any and all institutions is the solution that bears good results. For the simple fact that such power brokers despite their public posture to the contrary are likely not to understand, respect or bother with any thing not exactly like themselves, while promoting individual agendas as a popular common cause.

With the increased single-sided politicalization of institutions, only short term and very selfish objectives can be achieved for the very few, and the creeping mediocrity demanded by such authoritarianism oozes into every crack.

This book merely demonstrates that people can succeed in agendas by operating competitively even while coasting in a comfort zone, all while relying on institutional convenience. The modus is the belief that really getting along is just going along with the program. Compliance is all that can be recognized.

Gather enough like minded people and enlarge an individual sphere of influence to further spread quid-pro-quo requirements. Such networks are nearly guaranteed to be made up of people who march in place only as the result of obligation for individual favors granted or promise of future individual gain. Those wielding the favors are prone to act predictably, false friends to most and to the others just like the fair weather friends they really are. And then?

Saying what is convenient to say and what will be believed is the only next logical step when political expediency is all that inhabits such spheres of activities.

For instance, with the eventual public acceptance of civil rights legislation, using racism as a political weapon became a common tactic for rightwing commentators. Dropping a hint that some one else might be "intolerant" in order to sink an opponant is in no way an expression of real tolerance.

Rather than spending too much time with this book, the curious reader would be far better served by readings which may help to explain why international relations in the Pacific have been impeded because elements of the real history have been glossed over if not ignored.

Instead, buy and read "The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II" (by Iris Chang, William C. Kirby), a long overdue study finally published in November 1998. Then ponder how it might be careerists could ever sit at a diplomatic table while being unaware of basic facts.

Although this book contains a few tidbits of information that are useful to an avid paperweight collector, overall it is dated and omissive even for its time. It really has nothing in the way of quality photo's and information that hasn't been done better in more modern books.