Comics like "Two-Fisted Science" serve nothing but a good purpose. They remind us that comics - like other art forms - can be about anything, and are not captives of the humor, fantasy and adventure genres.

A science-themed comic is especially appropriate, as the art-text combination inherent to comics would seem perfect for conveying complex/cosmic ideas. This collection features some terrific artists - notably Bernie Mireault, David Lasky, Colleen Doran and Sean Bieri - but I was a bit disappointed in the writing. Ottaviani's stories so intent on being unorthodox and different that they instead become meandering and confusing. Oftentimes I was unsure of what exactly was at stake for each story and why we should care about what was being told. And I would expect to actually learn more about SCIENCE in such a book. Also, the organization of the book into seemingly random sections, and the clumsy, unimaginative publication design diminished the effect.

I give the book high marks for effort, nice artwork, and the especially interesting portraits of Richard Feynman, but overall I'd rate "Two-Fisted Science" a noble failure.

We have given this book to various friends who have enjoyed the hard science topics in the 'comic book' format. We also have given it to nieces and nephews, who may not realize that they are being exposed to science and history. We can chat with them about it later, to see how much they have absorbed and to encourage them to reread it (comics are fun after all).

In order to become more well-rounded in his studies of physics, Chadwick went to Germany before the outbreak of the first world war and was locked up as an enemy of the Germans when the war came. The total breakdown in the existing order of things might help explain why the British were so keen on finding the subatomic particle structure of matter. The previous discovery of the mass and charge of an electron and experiments with radium, which naturally decays, had indicated that atoms might be capable of being broken into smaller parts. The discovery of the neutron in 1932 paved the way for experiments in chain reactions in which neutrons, which were the products of splitting atoms, were used to split other atoms. The powers which have had uses for this knowledge have been so quick to put it to use that it is still considered a great secret from anyone that isn't a member in good standing of their club. This book may be read as a description of the life of a man who was a member of the club before anyone knew that there was a club. About the earliest sign in the book that some kind of club was being formed was when Chadwick obtained some German radioactive toothpaste, for people who need to have teeth that glow in the dark, and tried to figure out what was in it during World War One.

...This is a pretty entertaining book and the art by Tim Bradstreet is very nice. He is truly one of the best artists working today. This book is definitely worth a look for the artwork alone.

There are two ways of looking at this book, as a miniature based war-game, or a role-playing supplement for the Victorian era space-faring Space 1889 Game. The text-portions only of the original boxed games are put together well with rules errata between the two sections, little repetition and all of the record sheets together at the back. As a miniature based war-game, it has some obvious failings: no ship counters or miniatures and no playing map. While thirty odd deck-plans in Cloudships and Gunboats are very nicely reproduced, the scale is too small for the original intention of miniature 25mm deck battles and boarding actions (but there was only six plans reproduced in the original games large enough for this anyway). There are many miniature war-game rules which don't have pieces provided so this is not really a problem; go buy some. Lack of the game board can be overcome with a ruler/tape measure and perhaps a home-made turning circle. As all the diagrams and ship plans are to scale, you can make counters easily enough using the "silhouettes" (someone has done this on the web). Not ideal, but there you go. The greatest loss is of the two large colour hex maps, but tiny versions are visible on the back of the book for reference. As a Space 1889 campaign guide it is very useful; Cloudships and Gunboats in particular contains detailed descriptions of all major power's assets on Mars and Earth. Political details, history, where built, and where posted are all included. While the original Sky Galleons of Mars contains very useful maps of the Syrtis Major area and useful scenarios and campaign rules that could be the basis of a role-playing session, or a distraction within an existing one. In all day good overall view of what is the most interesting part of the Space 1889 world: flying ships.

This book has many errors, and displays them proudly. It seems to support many misconceptions in people have about the Bible. While claiming to explain what terms in the Bible actually mean, it actually distorts the meaning. For example, it talks about the verse in mark about the camel going through the eye of the needle, and explains how there was a gate called "the needles eye" in Jerusalem. While many laymen believe this, this just ain't so. There has never been any substantial evidence to back up this claim.

If one is interested in a book like this, I suggest a book translated from German titled "What the Bible Really Says" or "The Oxford Companion to the Bible." Leave Freeman's book on the shelf.

Though there may be a mistake or error here or there; they are not so serious as to get the student of the Bible into serious doctrinal error. For the most part this book will be a big help for young and old readers alike. As with any dictionary or encyclopedia the infomration is general but often very revealing. This book will be a "cap-filler", as one publisher once put it, in your personal reference library.

Out of the 4 or 5 books on Bible manners and customs that reside in my small home library, this book is most definately the best and most used. Freeman presents insightful and relevant cultural background to almost every important verse in every book of the Bible. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to be purchased by anyone remotely interested in the manners and customs of Bible times. It is a real winner and should be in everyone's library