Most people think of the Spiders as working for the Weaver. The truth is they work as all parts of the Triat to correct it. The only confusing thing about them is that their aren't enough rules about how to kill a Spider swarm. This makes them nearly unstoppable and VERY hard to notice when they sneak up behind you. To make things even more unbalanced they can eat a persons brain and take over their body! That really isn't to pretty. All in all this book was well written stressing RPing over Rules.

This book rates very highly on the 'I want to play one scale'. Whereas werewolves are designed as warriors, the werespiders are the regulators, taking on the tasks that the three primal forces of the universe have screwed up at. They serve all three and are dominated by none.

The alien perspective (spiders are a lot further from humans than wolves, reptiles or even sharks) is explored well. Werespiders aren't evil as such, just very detached and callous about others (if it's a choice between sacrificing their best friend or failing in their mission, well, time to look for a new best friend).

Their worldview is also explored with lots of interesting bits and pieces, such as the Ananasi-hunting monster stalking Australia and the dark fate of werespider metis (those with two shapeshifter parents) The retelling of world history is worthy of note, mainly because it's told from the point of view of the werespider goddess, Ananasa, who was actually there to witness it all.

Character templates, and non-player characters are also given (including the builder of the first human city and a collector whose hobby is the corpses of serial killers). Overall, a good, comprehensive book, and well worth a purchase.

Talk about aracnia phobia. This book tells you how to build and play a were-spider, now how cool is that! This should put the fear back into you world of darkness games

This book gives wonderful background of the man who appears in many of the greatest movies and shows ever created. It shows how he overcame personal issues to succeed in his profession. I believe that this book is a good read for anyone wanting to see perserverance in action. Jones shows that anyone can do anything if they want it bad enough.

Not only do I know James Earl Jones as an actor (rather than darth vader) I respect him as a very unique individual, who touched some parts in my life. I was having difficulty in school: I stammered in school and was very shy. There were things in my life that I held back for a long time. Like James. I hope that his name will carry on both on stage and off. I definitely recommend this book to those who want to know the person and get to understand him that way. I know I do!

Mr. Jones and I are both part Irish, have a childhood history of stammering, went into acting which helped the speech problem and we may have other things in common. I very much enjoyed this book and I recommend it to others. Why only a "9"? In the middle of the book he states that he is a member of the NRA and just drops the subject. He must know full well that it doesn't jive with his life or his beliefs. But he just dropped it. A great idea for a second book: pick up this subject in the wake of the Murrah building blast and then look at the comparisons between the OJ trial and one of his signature roles, Othello

It has been said that most great men are bad men. Samuel Eliot Morison's superb biography of John Paul Jones supports, if not proves, that proposition. Jones's greatness is undeniable: Although he was the son of an obscure Scottish gardener, he virtually founded the United States Navy, he won one of the most important sea battles of the Revolutionary War when he was only 32, and he later commanded ships in the service of France and Russia. But Jones also was extremely temperamental, excessively vain (after receiving an honor from France, he liked to be addressed as "Chevalier Paul Jones"), and he had mistresses in practically every port. Morison, a longtime professor at Harvard and the author of the authoritative, Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Christopher Columbus, as well as a massive, multi-volume history of the U.S. Navy during World War II, reports all of this in a matter-of-fact fashion. Morison's Jones is a great sailor and a man of the world in every respect.

According to Morison, Young Jones was highly ambitious and went to sea at age 13 "as a road to distinction." During the next 15 years, he learned well his trade and he also became an American patriot. At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Morison writes that the American navy was "only a haphazard collection of converted merchant ships," and the Royal Navy was probably the most powerful in history. But General George Washington, according to Morison, "had a keen appreciation of the value and capabilities of sea power," and, in October 1775, Congress appointed a Naval Committee of Seven to manage the colonies' maritime affairs. In December 1775, seven months before the American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain, Jones accepted a commission as a lieutenant in the continental navy.

Although Morison is primarily interested in Jones's activities during the Revolutionary War, he makes a number of more generally cogent observations. For instance, the United States government was in a state of nearly constant impecuniousness and was able to afford to build only one of the largest class of naval vessels, a ship of the line, during the conflict. In Morison's view, this was the status of the war at the time of the battle off Flamborough Head in September 1779, which secured Jones's fame: "The War of Independence had reached a strategic deadlock, a situation that recurred in both World Wars of the twentieth century. Each party, unable to reach a decision by fleet action or pitched land battles, resorts to raids and haphazard, desultory operations which have no military effect." That deadlock continued, according to Morison, until 1781. Morison also writes that Britain took the position "since the United States were not a recognized government but a group of rebellious provinces,...American armed ships were no better than pirates."

Morison appears to be deeply impressed by Jones's technical competence: "One of Paul Jones's praiseworthy traits was his constant desire to improve his professional knowledge." That passion for self-improvement reached fruition September 1779 off the Yorkshire coast of east-central England when a squadron which Jones commanded from the Bonhomme Richard defeated the H.M.S. Serapis in a three and one-half hour battle during which those ships were locked in what Morison describes as a "deadly embrace." (Bonhomme Richard sank during the aftermath of the fierce fighting.) It was during this battle that Jones defiantly refused to surrender with the immortal phrase: "I have not yet begun to fight." According to Morison, "[c]asualties were heavy for an eighteenth-century naval battle. Jones estimated his loss at 150 killed and wounded out of a total of 322." Morison writes that Jones was at his "pinnacle of fame" in late 1779, and, when he visited France, which was allied with the U.S. during the Revolutionary War, in April 1780: He became the lion of Paris, honored by everyone from the King down." When Jones returned to the United States in 1781, however, he was unable to obtain what Morison describes as a "suitable command," and he never fought again under the American flag. In 1788 and 1789, as "Kontradmiral Pavel Ivanovich Jones" he swerved in the navy of Catherine II, "the Great," Empress of Russia. When he died in 1792, he was buried in France, but, in 1905, his body was returned to the United States and now rests in the chapel of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Jones's nasty temper is frequently on display. Morison remarks on various occasions that his crews were "disobedient," "sullen," and "surly." Which was cause and which was effect is difficult to ascertain. Jones clearly was an overbearing commander, which may explain, though does not excuse, his crews' bad attitudes. On one occasion Jones had one of his officers "placed under arrest for insubordination [giving the officer] a chance to clear it up, and Jones was unwilling to admit his error." It is not prudent to compare events during war in the late 18th century to the peace and prosperity of our own time, but no reader of this book will be impressed by Jones's interpersonal skills.

Morison makes numerous references to "prize money," the curious, but apparently then-universal, practice of rewarding captains and their crews in cash for capturing enemy ships. The fact that Jones pursued prize money with vigor may raise additional doubts about his character, but I would guess Morison believed that Jones simply followed a custom which probably motivated many successful naval captains of his time.

Morison held the rank of admiral in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Although the degree of detail in his narrative is fascinating, I found some passages too technical, and I suspect some other lay readers may be baffled as well. (The book's charts and diagrams were, however, very helpful.) But that is a small price to pay for a wonderful biography of one of the most intriguing figures of the American Revolution.

A hero of my youth, this book appears to tell the full story. This is a scolarly work which reads easily. I only wish I would have read this book in my twenties. There are some wonderful life lessons in this biography. If you read it you will learn his flaws, his good and fine attributes, and some mysteries. This is first-rate biography and detective work by the author. I recommend it.

As someone who had recently seen the "John Paul Jones" movie that was made in 1959 with Robert Stack, I was curious to learn more about the man who put the U.S. Navy on the map. Of course, most know him as the one who coined the immortal, defiant phrase "I have not yet begun to fight!" This book delves beyond that, as Morison shows Jones as he really was, a human being born in obscurity in Scotland who developed a love for the sea at an early age. He was simultaneously a shrewd combatant with a quick temper (in many ways the American equivalent of the great English admiral Nelson,) and a gentleman who enjoyed the company of numerous lovely ladies ashore. Morison leaves no stone unturned as he takes the reader on a detailed, captivating journey (from page one, the reader is hooked.) He sailed the waters that bore witness to Jones's battles and drew extensively upon the naval archives of the four primary countries that figured in Jones's life. To give you some idea, the engagement with H.M.S. Serapis is fleshed out in such marvelous detail that one can almost smell the gunpowder, but Morison goes beyond that, explaining what happened before, during, and after, most of which one would not learn in history class. In fact, I would make book that at least ninety percent of what one will read in this book would not be learned in history class. Morison has included pictures, charts, diagrams, excerpts from letters (some of which are in French with English translations), and has deftly blended them and the text into a perfect biography. For anyone who wants to learn more about Jones, this is required reading.

Jumping directly into the second book in a series without having read the first can sometimes be a handicap. In FAKED TO DEATH, the second book in the Simon Kirby-Jones mystery series, the author Dean James quickly and efficiently deals with the salient plot points in the first three paragraphs.

"Being dead has its advantages.
"I get much more writing done now that I'm a vampire. When one has not one but two yearly best-sellers to produce, it's just as well that three hours' rest per night is sufficient.
"The world of popular fiction knows me as Daphne Deepwood (historical romance) and Dorinda Darlington (hard-boiled female private-eye novels). Little do my devoted readers suspect that Daphne-Dorinda is really Simon Kirby-Jones, respected historian, author of acclaimed biographies of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard the Lionheart. Nor do they suspect I'm a vampire. And gay."

James has written a throwback to the old English cozy mystery perfected by Agatha Christie, except he adds an original twist. Instead of Miss Marple, we get Simon Kirby-Jones, a gay vampire from the American South who now lives in a small town in England. It's an idea that could have made for an interestingly unique touch. Unfortunately, James didn't deviate much from the formula.

When Simon is invited to a Writers Conference as himself, he's very surprised to find that his alter ego Dorinda Darlington is scheduled to appear as well. The phony Dorinda quickly insults everyone at the conference - held of course, at a secluded English manor - so it's no surprise when she ends up dead. Predictably, the police ask everyone to stay at the manor overnight and, not surprisingly, someone else ends up dead.

Simon, who just like amateur sleuths the world over (alive or dead), can't seem to keep his nose out of police business, investigates and figures things out before the police do. I had the mystery figured out long before the big denouement, although for a while I thought James was not only going to follow formula to a tee, but was actually going to steal one of Christie's most famous plot-twists. Thankfully, he didn't go quite that far.

Despite the predictability of the book, I did enjoy James' writing style. Simon Kirby-Jones is a likeable protagonist, even if he does tend to be a bit insufferable at times. Still, I expected more from the premise than was actually delivered. A good beach read if all you want to do is escape with a bit of fluff.

I have to tell you that I received Faked to Death in the post late in the afternoon on a Thursday; by Friday morning I was reading the final words - and I loved every minute of it. Posted to Death was a great surprise and a thoroughly enjoyable read, and its sequel was even more enjoyable. I really want Simon Kirby-Jones to have that conversation with Giles. I won't divulge the details or the plot - just read it and enjoy!!

Dean James has done it again with his ingenious creation--a mystery solving vampire in a small English village. The setting is a writer's weekend at Kinsale House, where several mystery writers meet their fates. The repartee between Simon Kirby-Jones and the other characters (especially the agent) is laugh-out-loud fun. James is both clever and kind in his rendition of writerly egos and the pitfalls of fame. "Posted to Death" (first in the series) was great fun, but this is a Coney Island ride. I couldn't put the book down.

Barry Ween's at it again. Rather, the world around Barry is at it again, and the time has once again come for him to save the day, in one form or another. (It's tough being the world's smartest entity. It's even worse when you're a ten-year-old boy.)

First, Barry finds that the unusually large ape in the local zoo is not entirely what he seems. In the process of finding out exactly what's going on, Jeremy once again commits Barry to a course of action he otherwise would not have followed. But then, that's what Jeremy's there for, right? Once that crisis is averted, Barry must save his family from the terrors of the woods. (Haven't you always wanted to know the truth behind bigfoot?) And if that isn't enough, there's a school dance in Barry's future, and something about an ebola-infected monkey.

As with the rest of the Barry Ween series, this volume has all the craziness surrounding a foul- mouthed, world-dominating, charmingly insecure, arrogant, 10 year old genius and continues to hold on to those solid bits of humanity and sympathy that make Barry such a loveable character.

Oh man... just when I thought the Barry Ween saga couldn't get any funnier, writer/artist Judd Winick somehow manages the impossible and gets me rollin' on the floor with even bigger fits of laughter than ever before. And I haven't even gotten beyond page four yet! Who knew a hyperactive ten-year-old's intricate & disturbingly gleeful descriptions of a rhino's restroom habits and monkey mating methods could be such an aneurysm-blowing yuk-fest?

Barry's third TPB outing features our titular ten-year-old genius and his slightly-thick sidekick Jeremy getting into all sorts of simian shenanigans. From helping a giant extradimensional gorilla get back home, to saving the 'rents from a famished sasquatch, to racing against the clock to capture an ebola-infected lab monkey that crashes the school dance, Bar' and Jer' produce plenty of laughs with their profane banter and the bizarre predicaments they get into. Also included to help lighten the tone are scads of movie references, sex-ed jokes, the funniest take on the 'tastes like chicken' cliché I've ever experienced, and other things you shouldn't laugh at, but do anyway!

Fair warning, though- be sure read this in the privacy of your own home. There's nothing worse than getting your hysterical laugh-on at the local comic-book shop and having the other geeks stare at you like you're some kinda weirdo (Now THERE'S a case of the pot callin' the kettle black if I ever saw one)! Trust me on this, I'm speaking from experience! (=)

'Late

When Jigsaw loses his dog, Rags he has to tell his family.His friends find Rags collar and bring it to him.Jigsaw knew that someone had dognapped him.In the end he finds the person who dognapped him.

THE RUNAWAY DOG is a book about a boy, his friends, and a dog named Rags. The boy was playing Pilgrims, Indians, and a turkey. Rags was the turkey. Jones, the boy, was chasimg Rags and they did not know that he disappeared. The boy went looking for him but did not find him.
After the boy found his dog, they went to find Mr.Signorelli. He had no family. So the boy asked if he would have Thankgiving dinner with him. He said, "Yes, I will have dinner with you." That is the end of the Case Of The Runaway Dog.
I like this book. It is fun. When you get in the middle of the book you will find out who the bad person is. This is exciting book because you have to figureout clues.

We'll be using this book, I'm sure, on our first trip to Belize in May of 1999. Belize isn't a country that most people have been to --- I would imagine --- so I think that pictures would have helped this book out tremendously.

Having done TONS of research on the web about our impending trip, I plan to use this book more as a hard copy of things I would have hand written had I not been too LAZY! Almost everything I have gathered in my quest on the web seems to be included. And, from what I gather, the information seems to be in line with what I've learned from people who have actually been to Belize.

I very much like this book with all the beautiful pictures included. I am trying to get in touch with the editors, if you have contact to them, please send it to me.

I can't deny the truth of the review below, but this book didn't help me because it is too analytical. Verbs are listed by the root, and since in Athabaskan one root may make many verbs, it's hard to find a form on those 3, 4 or maybe more pages of examples. The grammar is also rather analytical than practical. It is true there is a lot of great nonlinguistic information. The dialect described is toneless. BTW Jette was not a good phonetitian, a modern native speaker corrected his k into k, k', kk(=q), kk', g, gg. This dictionary has the full correct pronunciation.

During his many years with the Koyukon, Father Jules Jette, one of the few missionaries to learn an Athabaskan language well, made prodigious linguistic and ethnographic notes. This material has been edited and re-organized, and much added, by a distinguished group of linguists, including Eliza Jones, a fluent native speaker of Koyukon. The result is one of the most comprehensive dictionaries ever published for any native language. In part because Jette was able to record so much while elements of the traditional culture now lost were still in place, the ethnographic information is unusually detailed. The dictionary contains hundreds of sketches and photographs. It is in effect not merely a dictionary but an encyclopaedia as well.

Jacquelyn Dowd Hall and the other writers of _Like a Family_ created a tour-de-force study of cotton mill towns in the American South. It is a very rare book that captures such a clear, complex sense of history; Hall balances a careful sense of detail with a sweeping picture of life in the cotton-mill South by using a combination of oral and written sources. This book is perfect for scholars and non-scholars alike, and richly conjures a full picture of this period in American history.

Like a Family interestingly and accurately portrays life in southern cotton mills and mill towns in the central southeast, primarily North Carolina. The book examines family, work and community life; it is a social, cultural and political history. Working in the mills was harsh, dangerous and monotonous. Most employees left farms and a rural way of life to toil in the mills; for these people living under the constant eye of mill management was humiliating at times. The mills controlled not only the worker's jobs, but their housing, churches, schools, entertainment and shopping through company stores. It is important to note that this book does not leave out women's perspectives, as many mill workers were young women and working mothers.

A great deal of the content of this book was provided by interviews done in the 1980's of people who worked in the mills and lived in mill communities. This oral history is both fascinating and priceless. Most of the mills have closed and the memory and history of them is becoming scarcer to find as most of the mill workers who lived during the era portrayed in this book have died.

While most of the mills have closed, central North Carolina is dotted with the communities that are remains of old mill towns. I am from this region and my mother lives in Bynum, NC, a mill town dating from the mid-19th century. Several of her neighbors were interviewed for and written about in Like a Family. The old company store still serves as a post office and the mill community's church has regular worshipers. Unfortunately the rest of the community from the mill days, including the mill itself (which closed in the early 1980's and has burned down recently), have succumbed to time and aging from the elements.

I was quite surprised to see that this book was un-reviewed. Jones' lead character in some ways must be him...young man returning to his Illinois small-town home from the war.

It certainly appears to me that his writer's colony patron is here in some part.

His anger at the less than wholesome undercurrents in his home town come through strongly.

The characters are quite vivid, especially 'Bama. and the dialogue is good.

I vote this one in Jones' upper tier, but definitely below his best.

What happens to the Band of Brothers when they return home?

Jones explores life in a small midwestern town when soldiers returned home from WWII. Unforgettable characters. An indictment of the hypocrisy of Main Street USA.

One of the last Great American Novels.

They don't write 'em like this anymore.