this rpg is great. i have owned it for 5 days and am already having a great time GMing a small game (1 other person). both of us are having an immensely good time. no happy elves or grumpy dwarves here, only grumpy people struggling to survive in a world which will eat them alive. buy this, you wont be disappointed!

A game that takes place in one of the grimmest possible results this present we are building holds for us. Based largely in the works of William Gibson and the world of futuristic urban heroes he built. Expensive chromed Geishas co-exist with backstreet Ronins and the dehumanized remains of men and women buried by cybernetic implants. A hyper-speed, fast-tracked world needs a similar vehicle to be cruised on, and the system matches those premises. Very easy to understand, easier to control and the best of its atributes: smoothly alterable and expandable; just like the cyber-enhanced characters on the game. No frontiers in this department. Most of the situations are resolved around the roll of a D10 plus the union of a Statistic and a Skill score. The game also works with a Difficulty level system wich the GM sets for each situation. Being an RPG player since some 10 years, this is an absolute "buy-it" game. That is if you dig futuristic role play.

I love this game it would have to be one of my favourite roleplay games I've played it alot, and each time just gets better and better . I do have 1 problem however; Our GM has moved to England and he took his books with him , I've been boosted into the hot seat . Now I have the origional source book but I cannot find the Chrome books any where . I have been told they are out of print and thought Imight find them here at Amazon .(no luck) HELP A STRUGGLING GM FROM OZ.

Congratulations to Michael-Anne Johns! He has written a fantastic fun and fact-filled book on the life of Jonathan Taylor Thomas on and off-screen. Unlike some biographies, Johns uses more words than pictures, so you learn a lot more about what they're like, rather than what they look like. He has done a lot of research and included a nice review at the back of Thomas's favorites and quick facts. Every Jonathan Taylor Thomas lover should read this great book. Hopefully Johns will come up with a new JTT book to talk about Wild America and his new roles. Congrats again Johns

For anybody considering to buy "Totally JTT", this book is excellent. It goes through with you everything in great detail, including how his work got started, up until Tom and huck. The book was published in 1996, so obviously you will not get all of his credits, because he has done such a lot more since then, but it does have a fabulous chapter on "girls". You can compare how matchable you are with him, and also a very interesting chapter on his character, Simba in the Lion King. The best part about this book is the eight pages of exclusive pictures included, and pages and pages about his T.V. series Home Improvemnt, which began in 1991, and ended in 1999. All in all, you get a great package of his achievements, and a fact file at the end to finish it off. There is a second book to this one after you have read this, but I cannot find it anywhere. It is called "Just when you knew everything about JTT". Anway, i've rambled on way too long, Happy Reading!

this book includes gobs of intresting information that can catch any readers attention even if you hate jtt it has articles on other stars such as tim allen and pitricha richerdson

This book gave me tons of info on Zac. There were even 16 pages of great color pictures. It was the best Hanson book I ever read! READ THIS BOOK!!!!!!

Well, all I have to say to fellow Hanson fans is; if you haven't read this already...you better go out and buy it as soon as you can (if your local bookstore hasn't run out of copies yet!!) It has great behind-the scenes photos, cool tid-bit facts, and anything you wanna know about Hanson's drummer boy!!! (Beware of a little false info here and there)

Hey there Hanson fanz! This book rocked! I'm surprised that the author didn't even interview Zac herself! I love the pix and the quiz in it to see if you're the type for Zac. Very well written! There may be a tinie tiny bit of false info, but still cool!

As Zac once Said: "'Peace, Love, Happiness, and Bullet-Proof Marshmellows!!"

John Lewis tells the story of a time when America was at its crossroads. He was Destined to become a leader in the Civil Rights Movement from his humble beginings in Troy, Alabama. Congressman Lewis tells his story of 35 years standing steadfast with determination and never wavering efforts to bring about "The Beloved Family". "This book is a legacy to us all and should be required reading in all educational settings."

John Lewis chronicles his ascendancy from the backroads of Alabama to the hallowed halls of Congress - an experience which reads more like carefully contrived fiction than real life events. The struggles, the triumphs, the emotions, the meanings are all carefully woven to create a soon-to-be American classic literary canon, depicting the Civil Rights Era. Lewis, described as an American treasure, lives up to the title with his intimate details of the renown leaders of the movement and the not-so-well-known heroes, who fought tirelessly to end the social injustices of the segregated South. Twenty-first century textbook authors would be remiss, if not negligent, by not including the perspectives of Lewis' Walking with the Wind. Amazingly, Lewis remains humble, despite his successes. He is a role model, and more importantly, a 20th Century American hero. Walking with the Wind is a must-read for all.

This work is a well written account of one of the most tumultous times America has seen this century. Its vivid descriptions of the many facets of the Civil Rights Movement take you through the mundane and the monumental, and make you feel as though you are there. Through the touching recollections of his family, and the friendships that he made during the Movement, this compelling book gives insight to what makes John Lewis one of America's living legends.

The ubiquitous Internet is a double-edged sword. A major benefit is sharing information; a major detriment is the risk to customers of divulging private information. For e-businesses, therefore, privacy is a showstopper issue. This book was written to promote e-business success by helping organizations evaluate privacy needs, establish a privacy task force, use technologies to provide maximum protection, formulate privacy policies and procedures, implement and test privacy procedures, and monitor and modify privacy protection. This one's a winner--for companies that want to "win" at e-business.

This book has a lot of information about security in a world where lots of people and businesses are using the internet to conduct business. Internet is a far reaching medium with lots of security concerns on the information that is spread through this medium. The book brings to readers' attentions the regulations that have already been put in place throughout the world especially in the US and the EU where the use of internet and data security issues have reached considerable levels. Projections on the use of internet as given in the book for the coming years are quite alarming that proves the need for implementing procedures to ensure privacy of information on the internet. This book provides guidelines with respect to implementing a process to ensure privacy of information transmission and storage in the internet. It suggests that the use of technology is not the only solution to provide privacy on the internet. The book suggests a process with multiple stages. These include doing a lot of research, performing audits, develop policies and plans, and finally implementing the project. With widespread use of internet by businesses and individuals in areas of healthcare, banking and finance, this book is a must. I highly recommend this book to individuals who are concerned with privacy of their information on the internet and to businesses that are required to comply with rules and regulations mandated by governments on information security in the Net.

"Net Privacy" by Michael Erbschloe and John Vacca provides an excellent reference for understanding the privacy issues associated with Internet use. The book provides a comprehensive description on how sensitive corporate data is handled to in order protect consumer privacy and corporate liability. The book contains informative tips and techniques for securing privileged information from a business standpoint, and provides an understanding to the Internet user and e-business customer of the security precautions implemented today in the ever-changing e-business marketplace. The book goes on to provide a framework for the development and implementation of a corporate privacy plan. For an IT professional this process can be extremely useful in determining if you have each of the critical areas covered in order to protect corporate interests in an e-business environment. The book also provides great recommendations for corporate privacy protection in terms of mobile computing and Virtual Private Networking (VPN) environments.

This was the second book I've purchased as I was recommended by various hobbyist whom I have lots of respect for. When I started reading this book, first thing I told myself "Wow, how little I knew". I would highly recommend anybody who is getting started with Reef Hobby. This book shows step by step on how to setup your first aquarium. Even as little detail as how to setup the Live Rock, how can you create tunnel with PVC pipe, setup equipment chart and so on. I say, this is a must have book

... covers just about everything imaginable, and does so in such a clear & concise way that there is little point in my trying to cover it again.
I am truly impressed. This so-called beginner's book scarcely rates that category; this is the very sort of information that beginners REALLY need but oh-so rarely ever get until it is too late. Moreover, it is presented in a form that beginners can understand and digest with ease. Truly a gem, and destined to be a classic.
The checklists, the explanations which make the complex simple, the techniques, the wonderful illustrations, the tips & tricks, the lists of common mistakes to avoid, ( and which species to avoid ) and the truly useful advice make this book very complete. It's 140+ pages are chocked full of good information without a lot of "fluff"; it's truly "all-meat, no filler!"
If I had to recommend just ONE book for the beginning marine hobbyist, I think that this would be the one. I even recommend it highly to intermediate hobbyists. While it doesn't cover every single aspect of the marine hobby, ( not that any one book, or even any given dozen ever books could ) it aptly covers the most important things, and most importantly, it covers them in a way which will make it the most useful to it's target audience...

This is the best of several beginner books I've read on keeping a Marine Aquarium. It favors live rock for biological filtration (discovered fairly recently) that is much more natural and maintainable instead of keeping old style mechanical filtration. If you have just started doing your homework, and someone somewhere has recommended an "under gravel" filtration method to get you started, read this book first... let's just say you don't want to get too attached to your fish using the old mechanical methods. This book is not the end-all of aquarium keeping, just an excellent place to start.

Theophany is a charming and touching novel, with a lovable main character that we quickly grow to care about a great deal. The story is so engrossing, that its not especially apparent that you are being challenged to think. Its message of spirituality, love and sacrifice, seem very apt in the manic, sometimes rather cold seeming world we live in. As Sarah makes her journey, we journey with her and see the light in humanity that Michael Vines obviously does. Its universality and hope will appeal to anyone of faith, or indeed to anyone who has faith in the human heart. I recommend Theophany highly

Theophany is a charming and touching novel with a lovable main character. The story is so engrossing, you might even forget you are being challenged to think. Its message of spirituality, love, and sacrifice seems particularly apt to the manic world we live in. As Sarah makes her journey, we journey with her, and see the light in humanity that Michael Vines does. Its universality and hope will resonate long after you finish reading. This is a book I can highly recommend.

First, let me say that Theophany is not the type of book I would have thought I would find myself reading. My style is more action-based reading, and I prefer mystery novels over anything else. I actually saw Theophany on a bookshelf in the office of a friend who had read it, and I found myself quite intrigued. Reading Mr. Vines' bio on the back cover, I started reading the book, and couldn't put it down. Sarah quickly captures your heart, and you feel as if you are at her side as she embarks on her journey. The book blends humanity and spirituality with conflict and jubilance. Theophany helped me re-identify an inner faith that I thought was long gone. While it may be a fictional story, the effects in has the reader are very realistic. Sarah and Josh will stay with you for a while to come. Read this book...it could be the sleeper of the year!

I've played for over 15 years and read at least 15 golf books. I understand kinesiology and I thought I understood the golf swing until I read this book. Redman, along with one of my alltime favorite golfers, Paul Azinger, simply explains a much better way to hit a golf ball. His method produces a much better chance for a square club face at impact and also produces plenty of club head speed. When I relaized how easy the swing really is, I was amazed. I had tried to coordinate swinging arms with turning hips and rolling forearms and that's just too difficult for most people to accomplish. I also purchased "The Azinger Way" video tape and it's a nice compliment to the book because you can see how repeatable Paul's swing is with all clubs. Buy this book, learn the system, enjoy it, and never read another quick fix tip again. I don't know why more teachers don't use this model; it's much easier to teach and easier to learn! By the way, Azinger's putting tips in the book and video are also excellent.

IF I HAD RED THIS BOOK AND FOLLOWED IT 30 YEARS AGO,I CERTAINLY WOULD HAVE HAD A LOT MORE ENJOYMENT PLAYING GOLF.THE BASIC TECHNIQUE THAT JOHN REDMAN TEACHES IS SO SIMPLE,THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS REMEMBER IT WHEN YOU SWING THE GOLF CLUB.I HAVE DROPPED 12 STROKES OFF MY SCORE!!!!

John Redman teaches the golf swing in its purest form. His method has been popularized by golf greats Bobby Jones, Percy Boomer and Tommy Armour. His swing is sometimes called the "older" or "drag back" method because it concentrates on the passive use of the hands and arms. According to Redman the power of the golf swing takes place with the lower body, mainly a natural single axis swing around the spine with all of the power being generated by a level hip and shoulder turn. (Remember Percy Boomer's famous axiom about "turning in a barrel?") In contradistinction to this method most modern tour players and teachers teach a two axis turn. This is often characterized by the Jimmy Ballard lateral move. Unfortunately, this is much harder to perfect and physically coordinate than Redmans method. Subsequently, according to Redman many amateurs come outside the line and "over the top." Slice... slice... slice! Redmans prize student is the famous golf pro and major tournament winner Paul Azinger. Many illustrations of Paul's swing are included in the book. If you are looking for an easier more relaxed way to create club head speed and a golf swing that you can use for a lifetime, then you should order this book before your next round.

When the auteur myth took root it managed to both change the stature of directors and displace a lot of talented writers. While there's no doubt that Hitchcock is still a giant in cinema, many of the books written about him tend to focus only on Hitch's contribution. DeRosa's book provides fair balance and recognizes writer Joh Michael Hayes' contribution to a fruitful collaboration. The four pictures that Hayes worked on (Rear Window, The Trouble With Harry, To Catch A Thief and the remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much)are all among Hitch's best work as a director. This isn't to suggest that Hitch didn't contribute to story ideas; he would frequently sketch out a general plot but writers like Hayes (or Ernest Lehman to name another strong Hitch collaborator) would be left along to write the script once the basic plot was discussed.

DeRosa knows his stuff and his research is exhaustive. I would have to liked to have seen more storyboard to script comparisons and comments from other writers and directors but that probably would have changed the scope of the book (and the focus). Without tarnishing Hitch's reputation, Writing With Hitchcock makes a strong case for the importance of Hayes contribution to Hitch's film.

After they had a falling out Hitch would frequently dismiss Hayes contributions to his films in print( such as in Truffaut's interview with Hitchcock. Hitch was generally pretty good about recognizing the importance of his collaborators)

Luckily that bitterness can't color the fine work of these well matched collaborators. This book along (with the inteviews Hayes granted for the DVD editions of their four films) finally puts it all into perspective. It also allows one to celebrate the great art and entertainment of Hitch and Hayes.

One of the most important writers to work side by side with Alfred Hitchcock was John Michael Hayes, who collaborated with the director on Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, The Trouble with Harry, and The Man Who Knew Too Much. These films made over a two-year period (1953-55) lifted Hitchcock to a level of popularity at a time when he seemed to be growing out of touch with his audience.

This fascinating book details the relationship between Hayes and Hitchcock, exploring how the two collaborated on the writing and production of the films. Relying on a mass of documents from studio records to Hitchcock's and Hayes' personal papers, as well as anecdotal accounts, Steven DeRosa chronicles the ups and downs of this collaboration, and then analyzes the films themselves. DeRosa presents a fresh and complex portrait of the director while also providing one of the best accounts of the process of writing for film and the indignities screenwriters often endure.

This book is about the successful teaming of Alfred Hitchcock and screenwriter John Michael Hayes. Hayes, a native New Englander, and recently a screenwriting professor at Dartmouth, wrote four films for Hitch, including Rear Window, To Catch a Thief and The Man Who Knew Too Much. They worked extraordinarily well together, Hitchcock bringing to the table his mastery of suspense and technique and Hayes his knack for sharp dialogue and strong characters. Predictably, ego, money and a battle for credit soon got in the way and ended their partnership. Steven DeRosa's research is impressive, and his style accessible, entertaining and informative.

I found this book hard to grade, but easy to read. Stories are the best way for people to learn, and this book has six interesting ones (about Josiah Wedgwood, H.J. Heinz, Marshall Field, Estee Lauder, Howard Schultz, and Michael Dell) describing entrepreneurs pulling themselves up by their bootstraps to create major brands. As a book of engaging business stories, this is a five star book. In terms of the insight you will get from these stories compared to the potential insight you should get, this is a three-star book. I compromised the two to come up with my grading.

If you want to learn about today's brand-building challenges, other books handle that subject much better. If you want to learn about how the Wedgwood, H.J. Heinz, Marshall Field, Estee Lauder, Starbucks, and Dell businesses got started, this is your book. The material is handled much like historical fiction (except the facts are meticulously gathered and documented), and you will find the going easy and pleasant.

If you like Horatio Alger stories, you will find those here as well. I suspect that exhausted entrepreneurs on long plane trips where their computer batteries have run out will find this book helpful in recharging their personal batteries. As Winston Churchill once said, "Never give up." That's the key lesson here. Through trial and error, these entrepreneurs kept trying until they found formulas that worked.

The choice of examples is a little flawed. Five are consumer branding examples and only one is a business example (Dell). Of the consumer branding examples, you will find that most are about selling to the higher income people. That gets a little repetitive.

The explanation of the examples is also incomplete. Considering that this is a business book, there is relatively little financial information other than annual sales and occasional asset turnover ratios. Qualitative example are helpful, but they are more helpful with more pinning down. For example, when you see the profit margins that Wedgwood had, that explains a lot about why the company could afford such lavish promotions. Without similar information on Heinz, you wonder why he was so successful in making sales but went bankrupt. Presumably, he had low margins.

The photographs and maps in the book are a plus, and I enjoyed them very much. The book was printed on such high quality paper (similar to that used for diplomas) that the images are on the same paper as the text. This permits the book to have many more illustrations than similar-sized business books.

The point about earning trust in the book is easily explained. At the time when these entrepreneurs were getting started, their largest competitors usually provided poor quality products, sometimes had inappropriate brand images, often failed to offer decent guarantees, and typically acted in self-serving ways. Earning trust isn't too hard if others are scoundrels or incompetent. Above all, these entrepreneurs stood for decent human values, and got that point across in one-to-one situations. I'm not sure that point comes out clearly enough, even though it is certainly present in each example.

Those who think the Internet age is unique will find the comparisons to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in England and the transportation improvements in the United States to be valuable contrasts. But each age brings its unique changes. Entrepreneurs should seek to grasp those changes, but also see what others have missed. I think that the Starbucks concept could have been successfully innovated in the late 1950s. It's just that no one did it then.

After you finish enjoying these stories, I suggest that you think about the values that your organization stands for. Are those values presented and delivered in ways that make your organization more trustworthy than any other? How else do you have to be superior in order to establish a burnished brand image?

Be serious about giving people the best you can possibly provide!

Stories are the way that we all learn best. Professor Koehn has provided six meticulously detailed ones about brand development by 18th and 19th century entrepreneurs (Josiah Wedgwood, H.J. Heinz, Marshall Field) as well as 20th century ones (Estee Lauder, Howard Schultz, and Michael Dell). Almost any reader will learn details new to her or him from these cases. Each example focuses on how important brands got started on a shoestring. The book has a major weakness in that the financial details of the six businesses are too sketchy to really help understand the economics of what the entrepreneurs did.

Wedgwood improved the quality of earthenware, and changed the way that the products were used by the wealthy and the aspiring. He courted the visible elites and royalty to inspire emulation by those who could afford the products.

H.J. Heinz offered quality and convenience at a time when most preserved food products were shoddy and women did most of their own preserving.

Marshall Field courted the carriage trade who could afford to pay top dollar for top quality goods and service.

Estee Lauder provided high quality cosmetics at more affordable prices.

Howard Schultz introduced most Americans to the latte, taking coffee from being a source of caffeine to a tasteful experience.

Michael Dell changed the business model for how corporations got their computing equipment, customizing for each one just-in-time.

Having been educated in both history and in business, it is clear that Professor Koehn comes at the problem more from the historical discipline than from the business one. As a result, the book will be most appealing to those who are interested in the origins of one or more of these brands, companies, or entrepreneurs. At this level, the book is five-star entertainment.

Business readers will find that relevant details are often missing. For example, Wedgwood staged very expensive exhibitions of his wares. You wonder how he could afford to do this, and finally learn near the end of the study that the company had enormous profit margins. H.J. Heinz is described as being very successful in a predecessor company, yet he goes bankrupt. Some information about his margins would probably have revealed that he had low margins. The information is not included. There are bits and pieces of ratios and annual revenue numbers, but the financial side of these examples is clearly underdeveloped. That's a shame, since they all built up important enterprises on a shoestring.

The choice of cases seems flawed from a business perspective. Five of the six are consumer products and services. Of the five, all appealed initially to high income people when good products and services were largely unavailable. Forming brands in such an environment is no great trick. Readers would have learned more about brand building from cases where the competition was fierce from people who were providing exactly the same choices.

As a result, from a business perspective, this is a three star book. I averaged the five and the three star ratings out to reach my four star conclusion.

After you read this book, you should think about how you decide which brands to trust, and how you go about establishing the trustworthiness of brands that you represent. What else is important before trust can be earned? In particular, pay attention to the significance of establishing improved business models (something that all six entrepreneurs had in common).

Make your brand stand alone in its desirability in the eyes of all who see it!

This highly readable business book profiles six successful entrepreneurs from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. Each profile (Josiah Wedgwood, Henry Heinz, Marshall Field, Estee Lauder, Howard Schultz, and Michael Dell) details the milieu of the era and offers insight into the environmental business factors that each of these business builders faced.

It is this holistic approach to the subject of each profile that makes the stories so compelling. Using her command of history, Ms. Koehn outlines the period view of each of the products (pickles to perfume) and vividly draws the reader into the strategy of each of these entrepreneurs' approach to the market and building their brand. It is the power of these stories that gives the brand message such import. All of these people had a great number of competitors in their market niche but their focussed approach to the brand associated with their goods or services is what set them apart.

Ms. Koehn uses some excellent demographic and financial information (indexed to today's dollars) that provide the backdrop for the scale of the success each of these entrepreneurs' achieved. This provides just enough quantitative information to provide texture without clouding the real story in statistics.

As an executive in the software business today, I found a great deal of comfort in the fact that the challenges I face in today's competitive marketplace are not new. In fact, with great courage and resolve, they have been solved again and again in differing but similar ways over centuries.