When the Star Wars Radio Drama made its debut in 1981, on the NPR network, it was an instant success. Saga creator George Lucas sold the rights of the story to his alma mater for a dollar After that, a highly creative team took on the task of adapting the very visual film, for the radio medium. The end result is an enjoyable and very worthwhile, experience that makes the film come alive all over again, despite the lack of any of the film's landmark visuals

Using sound effects, the original score by composer John Williams, and with 2 key actors reprising their roles from the film, the radio drama boasts lavish production values. This is not some cheesy adaptation that they slapped together, quickly and put the name Star Wars on it, hoping for the best. Author Brian Daley's radioplay expands on the film verison by including additional "scenes" and backstory. Directed by John Madden (Shakespeare In Love), the radio drama has a top notch cast. Mark Hamill and Anthony Daniels add some additional class by recreating their film roles as Luke Skywalker and C-3PO respectively. Brock Peters as Darth Vader, makes the part his own, while Ann Sachs gives Leia the right amount of spunk. Perry King, as smuggler Han Solo, may not be Harrison Ford, but he could be Solo, and that's what counts. Bernard Beherns as Ben Kenobi and the late great character actor, Keane Curtis, as Grand Moff Tarkin, round out the main cast, with style. While I was listening to this, I got the impression that, even though it must have been a lot of work to put this production together, it seems like everyone had a good time too. Sure some of it may sound a bit off at times, because most of us know the film so well. But one must remember that no one working on the project set out to just copy the film. The Star Wars Radio Drama captures the sprit of its of source material perfectlly...and that's all it needs to do.

I highly recommend this presenation. The Star Wars Radio Drama on CD contains all 13 episodes as originally presented, spread over 7 discs, with a running time of about six and a half hours. The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi radio drama adaptations are also available as well.

All the sound effects and music added much as well as having two members of the original cast from the movies(Mark Hamil and Anthony Daniels)was wonderful!! Anne Sachs was brillient as Leia and Perry King was magnifesent as Solo although getting used to King's voice instead of Ford's was a bit difficult.I enjoyed getting more background on Luke and Leia. Brian Daily wrote a wonderful script!! All in all this series should be re-brodcast.

At first, the idea seems bizarre, even ridiculous. Star Wars, a movie best known for its vistas of alien worlds and epic battles, as a 13 part radio drama? No way would it work, right?

Well, unless you have the cold heart of a Sith, Star Wars did indeed translate well from the silver screen to radio, thank you very much. Yes, Star Wars' visual effects are a big part of the magic of the saga, but the heart and soul of George Lucas' galaxy far, far away are the characters and the storyline. And while the movie is satisfying on its own, the radio dramatization written by the late Brian Daley takes us beyond the movie....beyond the screenplay...and even beyond the novelization.

By expanding the movie's story beyond its two hour running time, the Radio Drama allows us to catch glimpses of Luke Skywalker's life BEFORE the movie. It tells us how Princess Leia acquired the Death Star plans....and what, exactly, happened to her during her interrogation aboard the Empire's battle station...(it is an interesting scene, but not for the squeamish, by the way). In short, by expanding the story to nearly seven hours, characters we loved on screen acquire depth only equaled by novelizations.

The Radio Drama makes extensive use of material written (and in some cases filmed) for A New Hope's silver screen version but cut for editorial or technical reasons. Also, Ben Burtt's sound effects, John Williams' score, and the acting of Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and Anthony Daniels (See Threepio) give the whole project its "true" Star Wars cachet.

Ram Dass leads you on your meditation path, as he simplifies the method for you. Interjecting quotes from poems, scriptures, and wise zen sayings, Ram Dass pulls from wisdom and faith to help you along your journey. An especially helpful chapter on learning mantras, and the value in repeating mantras

A friendly invitation and beginner's guide to meditation--of various forms, from various traditions, Eastern and Western--with suggestions for picking a form suited to you, and helpful advice for the times when you get lost or stuck. Sprinkled with quotes from all sorts of wise people and cute little drawings of a meditator. Includes an extensive directory of groups offering meditation instruction, plus a good list of suggestions for further reading.

Ram Dass, born Richard Alpert, left his position as a psychology professor at Harvard in the 1960s to explore mind-expansion through psychedelic drugs and then through the guidance of an Indian guru. His bestselling 1971 book "Be Here Now" includes a chronicle of this journey and, like "Journey of Awakening," invites the reader to spiritual practice, but it focuses more on Hinduism and is written, illustrated, and typeset in a very hippie, psychedelic style, so you might prefer or definitely not prefer that book.

Welcome to spiritual practice!

I read this book as a form of meditation. The pace, the language, even the mandalas and other drawings can be used as tools to launch onesself into the deeper life. Best read or listened to during the morning commute to set a good tone for the rest of a hectic day.

As Christmas books come and go with each passing season, few have caught my attention as "The Light of Christmas" has. It encompasses the main idea of Christmas, which is that by reaching out to those in need, one learns the true message of why we celebrate the "Light" of Christmastime. Mr. Evans does a fantastic job by including such things as the "Light" and Santa Claus or rather Father Christmas, without pounding in too hard the message of Christ only. He does a very commendable job at combining the two, which I think would be a hard task for any author, especially with a children's book. On top of it all, the illustrations are absolutely beautiful, and are timeless in nature, so this book will be enjoyed for people of all ages and for many generations. This book is a must for every home!

If you only read one Christmas book this season, make it "The Light of Christmas" by Richard Paul Evans. This is a beautiful, well told story for children of all ages. "The Light of Christmas" pulled at my heart strings and brought tears to my eyes. This is a gift that I will share with my family and friends for Christmas. Thank you, Richard Paul Evans, for helping bring the meaning of Christmas back into my life.

This beautiful book caught my eye as soon as I walked in the bookstore. I was extremely touched by the message that it contained. The illustrations were also beautiful. This book will be the beginning of a great Christmas tradition in my family. It falls right in the catergory of "The Polar Express". I would recommend this to everyone who finds a greater meaning in Christmas.

The metropolis of Baconburg has a seamy, jazzy, chicken dancing, hot potato, and beer-sipping underside. It is here that the Snarkout boys aided by the world's most ill-kempt detectives go in search of the avocado Alligatron and a orangutan orchestra conductor--if the whole thing sounds zany, outlandish and satirical, that's because it is. The author, Daniel Pinkwater, has created what is sure to be a classic story. Well-crafted, intelligently written, and a whopping good narrative sends this book to the head of the class. Each individual character is fully realized, even if he or she appears for just a paragraph or two. This reviewer was genuinely surprised and delighted at the sardonic humor that pervades this book. The main characters are three teenage boys, all intelligent misfits whose presence in the narrative lend pathos and subtle humor to a story that is at times dizzyingly surreal. For the reader the city within the city of Baconburg, accessed by the tunnel under North Aufzoo Street holds the illicit attraction of the undiscovered. The author describes the city in such inspired detail that the reader is drawn to its labyrinthine streets and its host of wonderfully eccentric characters.

Wow. I can't even begin to describe this book. I'm 21 now, but when I was in middle school, I stumbled on this book for the first time. Browsing the racks for something interesting, I see this one titled "The Snarkout Boys and the Avacado of Death."
Naturally, I had to read it... what a strange title! Turns out, the title is just the beginning. The things that must have gone on inside D. Pinkwater's head in order to come up with this stuff... It's amazing. I loved every minute of this book as a kid. It helped shape my creative scope.. gave me a new perspective on things and really added to my personality. Strange to say perhaps, considering we're dealing with a very fictional, and frankly quite silly book, but it truly did. I would highly reccomend this book to ANYONE. I doubt anyone but me could have such a lasting impression from it, but anyone would find this book fun to read.

The title alone is enough to make you want to kiss Daniel Pinkwater. This book includes: industrial espionage, professional wrestling, a female teenage punk, an adult that believes avacadoes hold the secrects of the universe, and a boy named Winston Bongo.

Three characters, Walter Galt, Winston Bongo, and Rat have more than one adventure while sneaking around in the middle of the night. They discover a city within a city, containing it's own strange cast of characters and rituals.

No adult or child could possibly be bored by this classic. This book is the stuff childhood dreams are made of. And, it will prompt your kids to investigate the odd-yet-wonderful pop culture references Pinkwater makes. I adore this story, and when I really need to escape, I pick it up and read it again. It is a treasure.

This is a "can't put it down" biographical story about a Catholic priest known as Father Vincent Robert Capodanno who served in the Viet Nam War. From a war that many would like to forget emerges an identifyable hero and quite probably a great saint. Fr. Daniel Mode does an excellent job in researching the life and career of this courageous officer who was described by one of the grunts who knew Capodanno as "a man who had the courage of a lion and the faith of a martyr." He died serving the "grunts" on the battlefield, minstering to them at the hour of their death. It is a well-documented account of Capodanno's childhood, manhood and priesthood and a tribute to the men who served with him. A great book for everyone, a missing piece of history that finally has come to light. Enjoy!

The spiritually inspirational story of Father Vincent R. Capodanno has deeply touched myself, my family and my friends. Both of my parents served in the Navy during the Vietnam Era; my mother as a nurse and my father as an aviator. I passed the book on to them and it brought tears to my mother's eyes each time she picked it up. The autor, Fr. Daniel Mode simply portays a vivid picture of Father Capodanno's childhood, minissonary work, and especially his deep understanding of the spiritual and physical needs of his fellow "grunts". The troops leaned on him so that they could go forward in the daily struggles of war. It was obvious that Fr. Mode had a deep connection with his subject. The countless personal interviews with the men who served with Fr. Capodanno as a missionary and later as a chaplin, as well as the troops who were in country with him bring the book to life. It was obvious how the title of Father Mode's book came to be. He writes of Father Capodanno's committment to God through his selfless sacrafice in ministering to the people he encountered in his missionary work and in Vietnam. Thank you Father Mode for writing this beautiful story!

This is an interesting story which has been well researched by the author. We need more true stories of everyday people who have done great things to find their way in to the many media outlets that are over-enamored with the personal lives of actors, professional athletes, and pop singers.

Thanks to Fr. Mode, I and others have learned about this Priest who served his God and his country well in the ugly war that was Vietnam.

I enjoyed HOL more than I thought possible. The system is relatively easy to use (it is a little bumpy for my taste), but the entertainment value of the book alone is completely worth it. The companion, "Buttery Wholesomeness" is equally as quirky, and definately adds what is lacking to HOL. Character creation is such fun that my cohorts and I made several, just for giggles. Fun to play, a riot to read, if you are a gamer, I recommend this for a light-hearted spin on the atypical RPG.

With all of the complex, rules heavy games on the market, it was a pure joy to be able to teach my two kids, ages 9 and 11, to play HoL! The rules are insanely simple, make for fast, exciting play, and allow you to totally immerse yourself in playing. I recommend this game for any parent wishing to teach their kids to roleplay, and as an educational tool as well! No better fun to be found anywhere! Both books are fantastic, with great writing.. you will be laughing for hours!
HoL, so good the entire family can play!

Hol is one of the most interesting RPGs I've ever played. Let me give you an example. In my first game of Hol, at one point, we were stuck in a 10 by 10 stone room. We had no way to get out. Or so we thought. My friend summoned about 200 children, which he ordered to repeatedly run into the wall. AND IT WORKED! After playing in games where characters could grow extra limbs, make their voice sound more important than the voice of God, use sarcasm to make a meteor grow a face and cry, eat an obscenely large, unedible object, engage a huge evil enemy in a game of childish insults, buy Tito Puente at your local Caldor, or roll dice to die, it's hard to go back to Mage and Werewolf. Good job, Black Dog/White Wolf!

Ostensibly the autobiography of an American bugeisha (practitioner of Japanese martial arts, in this case kenjutsu, "sword techniques"), this book is much more as it delves into an easily-read discussion of different bugei (Japanese martial arts), zanshin (the state of "continual mind"), special skills and hidden methods, the precursors of jujutsu, warrior monks, Zen Buddhism, seppuku and much more. Even if you do not practice a martial art, you are likely to find this a fascinating read, and if you do practice a martial art, this book will inspire you no matter what your own art is (I practice eskrima, which has no relation whatsoever to kenjutsu and yet I found many principles in this which I can apply to eskrima).

Many books about the martial arts are dry and boring. Lowry, through his own life story and the fictionalized history of his style, makes this a book not to be missed! If you are a martial artist, you will find parallels and lessons. If you are interested in the martial arts, you will find this both a good read and an excellent introduction to the practice and history of martial arts. This is on my "must read" list!

Out of print for nearly ten years, Shambhala Press makes this masterpiece available to another generation of martial arts students and Westerners who are interested in the Japanese "student-teacher" relationship. As a young teenager, Lowry learned of a "Japanese swordsman" living in the same University town. In the tradition of old Japan when a student seeked an instructor, Lowry stopped by the house every day, asking the woman who answered the door if there was an instructor who would take him as a student. Lowry's persistence paid off and he was "adopted" by Kotaro Sensei (teacher), a master of Yagyu Shinkage-ryu swordsmanship. Lowry instruction was by no means limited to the physical techniques of the sword. As the subtitle implies, Kotaro Sensei transformed this wet-behind-the-ears teenager into an "American Samurai." Lessons learned within and without the dojo (training hall) taught Lowry that a "samurai" has to live ALL aspects of his or her life to a higher standard. While his schoolmates were busy experimenting with drugs and worrying about the Viet Nam war, Lowry's spare time was spent learning honor, respect, courage, virtue and justice through this sacred relationship between Sensei (teacher) and kohei (student). Lowry takes an interesting and very effective approach to the assembly of the book, alternating chapters that chronologically detail his experience and historical anecdotes about the martial arts that reinforce the lessons he learned. Lowry is a true "master of the sword AND pen," his masterful re-telling of his experience almost allows the reader to experience the same struggles and joys he experienced, yet he keeps this writing accessable. This book would be equally valuable to a nine-year old beginning karate student as it is to a 80 year old master of the arts. I have been involved in the martial arts for only ten years, but have read and collected more than 100 books on the subject. If I had only one book to recommend to students of the arts seeking the "definitive text" on what the "teacher-student" experience is SUPPOSED to be, this would be it.

This book is a great example of how illustrations in your journal can add interest and make your memories come alive. Fun ideas, like having friends at the breakfast table draw the salt shaker! Right on! This book really turned my journal writing around making it fun and interesting.

If you've ever thought of starting a journal but didn't know where to begin you have Dan Price to show you the way. His handwritten book on how to write, document, illustrate and doodle a journal is priceless. He makes it look easy and super fun! I suggest you get this book to help get you excited about journaling!

This book was SUCH a fun read! Dan Price's book on keeping a journal is quirky, inspiring, humorous, delightful, and educational! If you haven't kept a journal before, you will really want to start after reading this book! Actually, I doubt that you could read through the whole thing without beginning.

I've been journaling pretty steadily for the past 4-5 years or so. One thing I've really wanted to include is more doodling and (attempts at) drawing. I consider myself artistically-challenged, and this book really has encouraged me to give drawing in my journals a try.

Some other reviewers have stated that they've read this book in one sitting. I daresay that's POSSIBLE, but I wouldn't WANT to read it in one sitting. It's just so packed with stuff and so good that I wanted to savor it!

Scrapbookers would also benefit from reading this book!

Take a look at Amazon's great "Look inside" feature to look at this book, then order one for yourself and several for gifts - you won't be sorry!

This is a wonderfully funny, interesting book. All the neat droids covered in this book are cool. I'm surprised only 5 other people left reviews for this book. The only downside is that the illustrations are absolutely DEVOID of color besides white. Now you may be criticizing me, mumbling under your breath "Oh go crawl back in the sand box," but it IS true that the mere prescence of color can make something marginally interesting massively interesting. The Star Wars: Visual Dictionary and Incredible Cross-Sections series are popular for that very reason, although the Essentials series has tons more information in sheer volume. The black-and-white illustrations were well-done, but mucho DRAB. The original concept art was cool, but the schematics and silhouette models are positively goofy-looking. Still, they get the job done of making it apparent how the droids are supposed to be designed.

In the immortal words of Darth Vader..."Impressive. Most impressive." I found this book to be not only an excellent resource but also a great read. It touches on every major detail of the droids that it mentions...which is quite a bit. You can read about anything from C-3P0's internal computer to the technical details of the medical droid. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to scratch the surface of Star Wars and dig a little deeper.

This was a great book. I was amazed at all the droids throughout the Star Wars universe. The book was nicley illustrated had great schematics and the text was very discriptive. It also gave a discription of different manufacturers of the droids. However this book was not as good as the planets and moons or guide to characters it still gets a 5 in my book. The droids book completes my set in this collection. I would like to say thanx to Daniel Wallace, Bill Hughes, and Troy Vigil, I hope you will continue to create other Star Wars books in the near future.

Lyman C. Draper's efforts have been by far the main source for the more accurate writings about Daniel Boone through the years, so as expected Draper himself went into a great amount of detail regarding Boone facts and frontier events. Ted Franklin Belue has included Draper's clarifying notes, and then has gone on to further clarify other items as well as Draper's notes. This is "real" Daniel Boone history, and will become and remain as the best book on the more active first-half of Daniel Boone's life.--Ken Kamper, Boone and Frontier Families Research Association

I am not an historian, but have read many of the books that used the "Draper papers" as their primary source material, and marvelled at breadth of our knowledge of Boone, his time, and his frontier contemporaries. Anyone who has studied this chapter in American history has probably marvelled at the exhaustive trove of material left by Lyman Draper. Now, with TFB's superb editing, non-professional students of history have access to the source material. This is a "must have" for any student of the "Old Northwest" and its memorable characters. No work of fiction could possibly be this absorbing. And, as a valuable historical footnote, Ted Franklin Belue concisely introduces us to Lyman Draper, to help us put the "Life of Daniel Boone" in its proper context.

I simply cannot tell you how critically important this latest offering is from Ted Franklin Belue. For close to 150 years, ninety percent of everything you've ever read in regard to the longhunter and the frontier Cumberland and Ohio valley experience was documented via information contained inside this book! Except...you couldn't just simply read it until our friend from Kentucky's Murray State University (the famous author and historian) Mr. Ted Franklin Belue, got his hands on it....Draper always intended to transform this incredible wealth of primary and secondary documentation into a book, but it never happened....Well, thanks to the Herculean efforts of Belue, we common folk now have unlimited access to "the entire motherlode"! Draper's THE LIFE OF DANIEL BOONE....There is much never-before-published information on Boone, his lifestyle and those who were associated with him. But this is just the tip of the iceberg!....There is a great deal more information on Boone's contemporaries and the world around them....Basically all the legitimate reliable documentation we have on the classic Virginia/Carolina longhunter came from and is contained within this book!....No longer need we be content with the little scraps and quotes. At last (thanks to Ted Franklin Belue) we now have "the source": Draper's THE LIFE OF DANIEL BOONE. Handsomely hardbound with a beautiful dust jacket, the huge 600 page book is filled with all sorts of appendices, early maps, and period and contemporary illustrations--never before published photographs from the Dresslar and Grant collections. The book literall overflows with numerous first-person narratives and biographies of frontier notables, including the entire diary of Dr. Thomas Walker's monumental 1750 exploration of Kentucky. Folks, if you have an association with the 18th century frontier and you'd like to become infinitely more knowledgeable about the people who actually lived there and what actually happened in those places and times through their own telling--you need this book. Now that this gem is available to the public, I can't imagine anyone who considers himself a serious student of the 18th century West not owing a copy of Draper's THE LIFE OF DANIEL BOONE.--John Curry