Hello,
My name is Scott Neely and I liked the spot illustrations that I drew for this book. It has an X-Files feel to it and is a great supplement to the role-playing game. Enjoy!
Scott

The Conspiracy X rpg is one of the coolest around, and the Aegis organisation definitely needed a source book of its own. And here it is. It has loads more stuff on Aegis, including some cool new skils 'n professions. The stuff on Aegis rocks, and the advice on operations and tactics has helped my players get further into character. All in all, an invaluable addition to any Con X player's/GM's library.

Fuller's excellent work does a good job of making the complexities of Hinduism comprehensible even to a non-expert--not an easy task. The Hindu religion is of course not an institution in the Western sense, but rather a collection of beliefs and practices, ever-changing, in many cases highly local, and bewildering to the Western monotheistic mind with its "330 million" gods. Its complexities both drive and result from the infinite complexities of Indian society itself, and an understanding of Hinduism is crucial for any understanding of the country. I read the book in preparation for my second trip to India, and it made the experience infinitely more enjoyable and understandable.

Fuller's explanation of the principle of "hierarchy" as the underpinning for both Hinduism and Indian society as a whole was very enlightening, as one realizes that it is completely antithetical to Western thought which values individual freedom above all else. Particularly good is the description of the structure of Hindu worship, or "puja," which despite its infinite variations Fuller contends consists of 16 (more or less) steps, of offerings and services to the deity. The description of the caste system, which bears almost no relationship to the Western notion of class, is excellent. Fuller's explanation of the concept of purity, and how it drives the status and treatment of women, is also very good.

More casual readers may feel a bit bogged down as later chapters explore more esoteric subjects such as devotionalism and village rituals. From a scholarly point of view, I'd say this book is at the college text level, and like college texts it gets more complex as you work your way through. But this work is more than worth it even if you focus on the first few chapters. Highly recommended!

Fuller provides an up-to-date presentation of the popular practice of Hinduism in India. Using ethnographic data and personal field research in a Minakshi temple in south India, Fuller provides a window into daily worship unladen with ancient textual scriptures and controversial philosophies, however, giving careful representation of the traditional, and mainly centralist, view of Hinduism as a point of reference. Fuller presents the basic why's of Hindu practice in an easy-to-follow format and language throughout the text. Beginning with an anthropological account of Hindu society in India, he continues with chapters on gods and goddesses, worship, sacrifice, rituals, devotion, pilgrimage, and misfortune, giving special attention to women's issues in the second chapter on devotion. I found this work extremely helpful in understanding the practical application of many previous works' attention to the Vedic texts and philosophies. A work of this subject and caliber had been lacking in Hindu scholarship until this book.

This book is well produced, lavishly illustrated, and full of interesting facts touching on the highlights of aviation's first century, from daring or crazy men strapping wings to their arms and launching off hills, to the stealth fighter, Mach 3 jets, and beyond.
The illustrations are marvels in themselves, and depict aircraft in stunning detail. The "peel away" graphics showing the inner construction of some aircraft are particularly well done and interesting.
This is a lavish book, and of top quality. It would be a perfect book or gift for a person that has an interest in aviation, and military aviation history in particular. It's extensive without being overly dry or laden with dense text.
I particularly enjoyed the extensive coverage of World War One aircraft from all of the combatant countries.
It lays out the design advances in a logical order so the reader can follow the historical development of the airplane from pre-Wright Bros. to current military and commercial jets.

Also, I particularly enjoyed the many odd-ball aircraft that are illustrated and captioned. It shows the mind boggling array of ideas and designs that have been tried at one time or another.

A great book for an adult, or even for a child interested in planes, though the text level is perhaps better suited for post-elementary age.

All in all, a very well designed, written, and illustrated book sure to be enjoyed by any fan of planes, jets, or aviation in general.

I don't often praise big, handsome, expensive books that were so obviously designed for Christmas giving. But here's an exception. Chant is a British writer who's done lots of good aviation histories, for Osprey and such, so he knows what he's writing about. Batchelor is a marvelous artist, whether he's painting combat scenes or doing meticulous "x-ray" drawings of a plane's inner workings. What they've created here is a reference book for the aviation library--one that just happens to be a nice coffee-table display as well. It really is "a history of aviation," as the sub-title promises. Five stars! -- Dan Ford

i loved this book . it mixed fanstsy with science fiction and aventure. This is a book I think everyone would love.

For anyone with a lifelong love of books, there are watershed works we read that define new perspectives for us and broaden our perceptions, even while we are thoroughly entertained by the story. I haven't seen this trilogy in over thirty years, and my memories of enjoying the first book, The White Mountains, is a vivid memory, not of a story, but of an experience. For a young reader with a taste for Sci-Fi, this story is gripping as it interlaces an imagined future and the personal growth of the young hero, who becomes an irresistable portal to vicarious adventure.

I saw SUE in Chicago last week. In this book I learned that SUE was named after Susan who found the fossils. Susan had a dog named Gypsy. They kept on digging up duck-billed dinosaurs. Sue's boned weighed 4 tons!! The Field Museum bought it for over eight million dollars! SUE is a T.rex. I think that SUE did fight with other dinosaurs. SUE is 67 million years old! I was happy to see SUE in Chicago and to read this book!

Dinosaurs are a hot topic right now...and A Dinosaur Named Sue: The Find of the Century really teaches young kids about the job of a paleontologist--in a positive light. SUE, the most complete T. rex fossil ever found, is an amazing discovery, both educationally AND on basis of interest, and children should definitely read all they can about this dinosaur. This book approaches SUE on the level of a 3rd grader, yet the language and subject matter are intelligient enough for a parent to find interesting--maybe even to learn from! I definitely did!

An excellent children's book of one of the greatest carols ever. This carol above all proclaims the social justice of the Gospel; the need to share what we have with others, even in the face of our own adversity, and at the loss of our own pleasure. It's only the more wonderful in that it's based on the story of an actual king, Wencelass, the patron saint of the Czech Republic, who worked tirelessly for his five years in office to bring Christianity to his country of Bohemia. With very beautiful illustrations with a Gothic style of writing, the entire carol is included, a verse for each illustration, along with the notes at the end to sing along with. Children of about 30 should enjoy this work as well.

This a legend from my childhood, one of the many I was told nothin of. buy this one for your kids, so that they may know that wich I knew not.

This book covers all of WWII. It includes text, pictures, and great looking maps. This book has the best color maps of any WWII atlas I own (The Historical atlas of WWII, The Cassell Atlas of the second world war, & West Point atlas for the second world war Europe & the Mediterranean)

Gives detailed maps of every battle of World War II. Also supplies facts about the time between the World Wars and the postwar era. Highly recommended.

Use this book and you will make wonderful pies! Our family loves the apple pie and the chocolate cream and the banana cream. But the best thing is the crust recipe. You'll get a reputation for really knowing how to make pies! This is a succinct little book at a minimal price. My only surprise is that they did not use Clearjel as a thickener. It's Great!

By following the directions in this book, I made my first successful pie after numerous semi-failures. Not only is the book thorough, it tells which ingredients work best (i.e. a combination of butter and shortening for a tender and tasty crust), and why one method is better than another. The pie recipes include a number of types. I want to try them all.

This is a comprehensive and amazing inside look at John Wayne's greatest dream...to recreate on film the TRUE story of one of the most inspiring events in US History. The book explains how the Duke spent 14 years preparing for this film and an equal number of years working to pay the expenses this movie cost him PERSONALLY. He believed in this project so much that he risked EVERYTHING putting it on film....sparing NO EXPENSE...in time, effort and money. The book is packed with glossy color and b&w pictures....interviews, and background information about EVERY aspect of this great motion picture....The Alamo.

This is one of the greatest books concerning the making of Alamo movies. Full of rare pictures and interesting stories behind the making of the epic film. This is one you won't want to pass up