It give you a lot of information on basic training. I would recommend this for anyone who is enlisting, or has enlisted in the military.

This is a great collections of patterns for the fly tyer or, even for the fly fishing angler. While the collection of photographs of the trout flies leaves much to be desired, the amount of variations on traditional and non-traditional flies makes up for it. The book is organized by species of flies with an adequate index of common names and species names. For just about each true fly, there is a description of the fly, where it is found, how it is to be fished, and color/time of day variations found. This is a good addition to your fly tying library.

While not as funny overall as the first "Max Danger" collections, I still love this book as much as when I first read it in the late 1980s. It has some more poignant essays (the chanper about the shoe repair man, or the Tokyo Olympics) than the first, but also has some hysterically funny chapters (the company wedding!) for anyone familar with Japanese popular culture.

This is a fictional whodunnit centering on the years of the Irish War of Independence (1919-1922) and the mystique surrounding Michael Collins' leadership and death. As with most such fictional stories incorporating historical figures, it suffers from a rather forced, unreal feeling. Basically, the launching device is the discovery of journals kept by a young woman (not an historical figure) who served as one of Collins' agents/assassins as well as his lover briefly, and more as well. Sort of an Irish Nikita. The story is interestingly, if melodramatically, written and holds your interest reasonably well if you are familiar with Irish history and the leading figures in the fight for freedom from Britain. Otherwise, I imagine it would be rather heavy going. Generally, I would say it is no worse and certainly no better than the usual historical novel with the added fillip of the speculation (pretty much laid to rest by Collins' best biographers) as to who fired the shot that killed him.

Makes for a good vacation read. When chosing this book I had hoped for a light hearted & trivial murder motive...

Having been born in l920 "Depression" brought back many memories of the hard times we endured. I thought the author painted a very vivid picture of those years some of us will never forget.

I was thoroughly enjoying the "War" section of the book until the author discussed the military uniform of the female armed forces. I would like to know who recorded the fact that the average CWAC recruit stood 5' 2", weighed l32 lbs. and wore a size l6 uniform. I was in the CWAC for 4 1/2 years and most of the recruits were young and slim. Some were 5' 2" but many like myself were 5' 8" or taller. We did not have patch pockets on our tunics. Infact, our uniforms were almost the same style as the Navy Wrens, who were referred to in the book as knockouts. I was so provoked at this small paragraph of the book (page 60) that I almost didn't finish reading the rest. But, as we did in the service, I carried on.

"Bursting into the Fifties" didn't paint a true picture as far as I was concerned. As a single working woman, I thought the 50's were great years. Not all women were home raising children and swaping recipes at the coffee klatch or going to tupperware parties. Many working women were enjoying the "martini" lunches with the men.

The next few sections of the book, I found very enjoyable, especially "How we invented the Boomers" but was just a bit drawn out and I found I lost interest.

As an avid collector and player of the d20 Star Wars system, I found the Living Force Campaign Guide very dissapointing. I thought that it would point me in the direction of getting involved with the RPGA, or at least explain how it works. Instead, there are only two pages in the back on it with a few web addresses. I still don't know how it works.

The rest of the book is a very dry, vague desciption of the Cularin system. The system is so broad and generic that any reasonable GM should be able to re-create the same thing with a pencil and piece of paper. Its obvious that the authors wanted the system to be able to fit into any campaign at any time, but that makes it just to generic.

In summary, don't bother buying this supplement if you are looking for material for your RPG game.

Note that this is not a hardcover, and I don't think it ever was.

Lots of info on a campaign setting for the rpg, but for only this one system. Star Wars is about a broad galaxy.

This supplement was one of the first to appear for the WoTC Star Wars RPG. At that time I rated it three stars. Not fantastic, but worth picking up for specific reasons. The Cularin system detailed in the book is a great place to run single adventures, or even an entire campaign. Now that other, more useful sourcebooks are out, you might say except for narrow cases, this sourcebook is less worthwhile than it once was.

As others have pointed out, the system seems a bit "overstuffed". There's one of everything, from a Jedi Academy, to overflowing spaceports, to cultural conflicts, to an indigenous sentient species. Alas, like a strip mall, having a taste of each facet of Star Wars roleplaying dilutes the overall product.

Also, keep in mind the material presented gives you a complete system as of the events of Episode I. If you fast forward to the Rebellion Era or beyond you may not be interested.

If you play in the RPGA's Living Force campaign, you are definitely going to need this book. If you are a GM, you may consider this one if you are looking for fresh new places to explore. If you think Star Wars rolepaying is about visiting the worlds firmly established in Star Wars lore (on screen and in print) then this book won't add to your experience.