A Philadelphia Catholic in King James's Court did a very good job informing the reader about the Biblical justification of some very important Catholic Traditions. However, while reading this book, aside from the informative parts, I felt as though I were reading a fairytale. To start, the whole concept that after the death of his father, Michael's mother would just pull all the children out of school to go to Kentucky seems unrealistic, especially because it is near the end of the school year. Once in Kentucky, everything seemed to work out just about perfect for Michael. When there, he managed to learn a plethora of information about the Bible and his faith, in a very short amount of time, and always, he knew it just when he needed it. Also, at the Bible Discussions, despite never having any of the books there that helped him originally, he remembered perfectly every argument the books brought up, and every book, chapter, line and verse from the Bible he sited in order to back his arguments. The response of the Fundamentalists to his proof also was somewhat too perfect for Michael. The Fundamentalists such as Luther, Jimmy, and Les appeared to have more of an amazed response to Michael's arguments, rather then to have any really strong dissentions. Had he encountered a few more problems, and a few more issues or strong objections by the Fundamentalists, it would have been more genuine. Michael just always had the answers, right when he needed them, and they were perfect, leaving almost no ground on which the Fundamentalists could stand. I think that they [the Fundamentalists] would have been much more outraged, and not quite so passive of his contentions, especially Les. Overall, I did feel the book provided some good information about Catholic Faith and Tradition, however the actual story seemed too cliché and perfect to grab the interest of this reader.

"A Philadelphia Catholic in King Jame's Court" was a pretty good book, nothing spectacular, but I did enjoy reading it. It's a story about a young Philadelphia Catholic (obviously), who finds himself forced to defend his faith against Kentucky Fundamentalists, including his Uncle. The author presents very good apologetic arguments, which are welcome to this reader. I've had to deal with the anti-Catholic barbs of some Protestants before, and this book responds well to the classic arguments. The story was interesting, and I eagerly read ahead, wondering how Michael refute the next attack. I have only a few complaints (hence the 4 stars). First off, it is unrealistic that a boy as naive and ignorant as Michael could suddenly parry any argument with Bibilical quotes after such a short period of time. Secondly, Michaels' strange prophetic dreams seem alittle too far-fecthed. Finally, the Fundamentalists are just too type-cast for my taste. For example, they act like "ignorant, self-righteous Bible Belt Christians" a little too much (they're the "bad guys" of the story). Besides these faults, a Philly Catholic is actually a good book, and if you're at all interested in the Catholic Faith, you'll be sorry if you pass it up.

I thought A Philadelphia Catholic in King James's Court was a great story about Michael, a young teenager, who has recently lost his father and is struggling to understand his faith, Christianity. After his father's death, Michael and his family travel to Kentucky where Michael's uncle, Les, a farmer and Fundamentalist preacher lives with his family. In Kentucky, Michael is constantly confronted with questions about his religion. The book becomes a little unrealistic at this point in depicting how Michael answers these questions. Using limited materials, a Bible and old books of his father, Michael prepares answers to these questions in a very short period of time. Michael defends the Catholic Church in areas ranging from the Inquisition to why Catholics honor Mary, the Mother of God. Les and his Fundamentalist friends hope tohat the questions draw Michael away from the Church and convert him into a Protestant. Les' plan backfires and Michael and the reader end up learning more about his faith in Catholic doctrine and Tradition. Although the book may be unrealistic in some areas, it really explains the Catholic faith in a unique way. I think this book strengthened my Catholic faith, and is a must for anyone who wants to learn or understand more about the Catholic faith.

I don't actually think you'll need a guide for an easy game like Hail To The King, which has no complicated puzzles and stuff. But, if you feel like taking a guide, to avoid commiting mistakes throughout the game, feel free to buy this guide, trust me, it's good.
It's fully colored and ilustrated, the walkthrough is full of hints and things, you shall finnish the game well with it. There are also descriptions of the game weapons, enemies, bosses (and the best ways to beat them down). In the index, it says there is an Evil Dead Trivia in this guide, but it's completely untrue. There is no Trivia in here.
So, the guide accomplishes its objective, but it's not awesome or anything. It will help you to beat the game, and it's... a good company for a regular game. That's about it.

WHILE PRIMA DID A GOOD JOB ON THIS GUIDE, I SEE THAT VERY LITTLE HAS CHANGED WITH THEM. I HAVE PURPOSELY AVOIDED PRIMA GUIDES IN GENERAL OVER THE YEARS AFTER BUYING A TUROK GUIDE THAT HAD MORE PICTURES THEN MAPS AND POORLY DRAWN MAPS AT THAT. I HAD TO GO OUT AND GET A BRADYGAMES GUIDE INSTEAD. SINCE NO ONE ELSE STEPPED UP TO PRODUCE A GUIDE TO THE EXCELLENT EVIL DEAD GAME FOR PLAYSTATION, I BROKE DOWN AND BOUGHT THIS GUIDE. MOST TIMES I BUY A CHEAT (GUIDE) BOOK AFTER I FINISH A GAME, IF I REALLY LIKED IT, TO GET THE PICTURES, DRAWINGS AND STORIES THAT WENT INTO MAKING THE GAME (AS WELL AS TO SEE IF I MISSED ANYTHING). SUCH IS THE CASE HERE. WHILE THE QUALITY OF THIS PRIMA BOOK HAS IMPROVED, THEY STILL PUT IN WAY TOO MANY OUT OF FOCUS PICTURES AND NOT ENOUGH CLEARLY DRAWN MAPS OR DIAGRAMS. IT'S GOOD BUT IT COULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH BETTER. GIVEN A CHOICE BETWEEN PRIMA AND ANYBODY ELSE, ANYBODY ELSE WILL WIN EVERY TIME. TIME TO WAKE UP BOYS.

Very cool guide. There are many pictures in there, so you can check where you are in the game with the walkthrough and hot hints to be a king. If you have the game or you're thinking about buying it, don't forget to buy this cheap and preety guide.

The Prince and the Pauper , first published in 1882, by Mark Twain is a literature classic and has been read by many generations. This book is hard to criticize because it is written by one of the greatest authors, has around for so long, and it is considered a classic. The story is about one prince (Edward Tudor) and one pauper (Tom Canty) who meet each other and end up trading places. At the time they don't realize the resemblance between them, so once they switch places and go off, no one will believe their true identity. This book shows the adventures of these two boys with the roles they end up in, one it the gutters and one in the palace. The main message and theme behind this book is about the natural human fault of judging people merely based on their outward appearance. My overall opinion was that this was a good book and it was fun to read. Yet there were some aspects that I think needed more improvement

One of the aspects that I think needed more developing was the characters At first I was a bit disappointed because, unlike all of the other Mark Twain books I have read, this one had very little character description. There is not much that you know about the two characters and you don't feel connected to them. There was nothing that you could relate to with Canty and Tudor and while reading the book the only image that you had of them was a very vague image. This was why it is pretty hard to get caught up in this book. I believed Mark Twain left a lot about the characters so that he could focus and develop more on the plot and adventure of the story than who they characters actually were.

In the book, Tudor is constantly being kidnapped by the pauper's father (John Canty) , who believes that Tudor is his son , and in return Tudor is always running away. After a while of this wild goose chase between Canty and Tudor it gets repetitive and tiresome to the reader. In this book Mark Twain focuses more on the situations of Tudor then those of Canty. He also wrote more about Tudor then Canty. I found the situations with Canty in the princes place were much more interesting and humorous then the situation of Tudor. I would have enjoyed this book more I think if there had been more scenarios and stories about Canty

This book is recommended for all ages yet I found parts of it hard and difficult to understand. The language that all the people in the book speak is old English. There are chapters in the book that is just conversation. I found this incredibly hard to understand by reading it through just once. The only reason that I understood the conversations is because I am familiar with the old English writing style (Shakespearean style) and have had past experience reading books in this style. To someone who would read this type of book for the first time, I think that they would hardly understand any of the conversations between people. Yet the author Mark Twain wrote this book in a great way. This is why it appealed to lots of audiences. For example, Mark Twain's description of the palace are not like usual boring ones, his descriptions are fun to read and you can almost exactly picture things that he is describing. Also his wording makes it easy to keep reading and reading as if each sentence flows perfectly to the next.

The book also had many strengths, in contrast to what I thought would happen, this book did not become predictable. Every chapter has a new twist or turn. The story was also very humorous. It was very amusing and hilarious what Canty did in the prince's position. For example at his first dinner he begins drinking the rose water, which is intended for washing his hands. He also says that all the ways of royalty are strange and annoying referring to when the official "food taster", tastes his food before he eats it and the long, grueling task of putting on clothes which involves a long chain of people who pass an article of clothing down one by one.

I would recommend this book mainly to people in high school or older. In my opinion it is too childish for an adult reader, and I think many adults would get bored. The adults that would enjoy this I think would be those who are "young at heart", and enjoy fictional fairytale like stories. The humor, marvel, and intrigue that this book contains is for a younger audience. Also the difficulty of the language in the book is too hard for children to understand (below 7th grade). I believe that if this book were to be rewritten in modern English it would be a perfect story for a child at any age.

The Prince and the Pauper written by Mark Twain is an adventurous, exciting book. The book takes place in London around the 1500's. Two boys were born on the same day, Tom Canty and Edward Tudor. Tom Canty was born unto a poor life, and as a boy growing up, "Tom's reading and dreaming about princely life wrought such a strong effect upon him that he began to act the prince." And just his luck, did he happen to some across the Prince of Wales, after suffering the hard blow of the soldier knocking him into the crowd. The Prince of Wales is Edward Tudor, the other boy born on the same day but born into a rich and wealthy family. As a result from the encounter, the two boys decide to switch places, as the Prince of Wales says to Tom Canty, "Doff thy rags and don these splendors."
The book describes the boys' adventures throughout the experience of living each other's lives. As the Prince of Wales lives as the pauper, he is introduced to and learns about many different people such as the Canty family, Miles Hendon, a troop of Vagabonds, Hugo, the peasants, the hermit, and others. And as Tom Canty acts as the Prince of Wales, he experiences living the higher life of royalty, being treated with respect and given so many opportunities and choices.
Through having the plot be that the characters switch places, the book is more exciting because the reader could act in the character's place and experience the lifestyles and adventures involved with each person's life. Other than being able to understand better each person's lifestyle with the type of writing, using dialogue in Old English adds a stronger effect to bringing everything back in time to understand the setting. Although at times, the Old English could get confusing.
Overall, I thought that this book was interesting because it explains the lifestyles of different people in London around the 1500's in a way that is fun and easy to understand. Although at times, I did feel as if it carried on too much about things that were insignificant. Other than that, the book was good and I would recommend that it be read, if you are interested in adventure.
Other adventure books written by Mark Twain, such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, were also interesting, but I enjoyed reading The Prince and the Pauper more because it contained more excitement for me.

Mark Twain's, The Prince and the Pauper is a classic look back into sixteenth-century English society. Tom Canty is a young boy who is born into poverty and is forced to beg in the streets of London by his father. Edward Tudor is the Prince of Wales, heir to the throne. Both of these boys were born on the same day but grew up in opposite ways of life. One day Tom is dreaming about being a prince and starts walking towards the royal palace. When he reaches the palace the guards try to stop him but Prince Edward sees Tom's condition and invites him to his quarters to hear what Tom has to say. While they sit there they begin to realize what strong resemblance there is between them and decide to switch clothes to fulfill Tom's dream of looking Princely. All of a sudden Edward storms out of the room to denounce the guards who did harm to Tom, only to be mistaken as the poor pauper and locked out of the royal palace. From here on out the two boys experience what life is like in the other's shoes. Mark Twain does an outstanding job of developing each character and showing how each must learn new ideas to deal with their latest way of life. Unfortunately I did find myself losing my concentration while reading this book. This easily could have been due to the fact that the way Twain wrote The Prince and the Pauper was actually on a very easy reading level, which would lead me to recommend this book to readers of middle school age who enjoy adventurous tales like The Boxcar Children or The Hardy Boys.

Partly a concordance, partly a topical reference, this text is a good book to have around when you can't quite remember what the Bible says on a certain subject. Although not exhaustive, it is a handy reference to have around when you need something fast.

Mr. King has done a fine job of researching the aircraft flown by the RNAS from the time it disassociated itself from the fledgling Royal Flying Corps to its inclusion in the formation of the Royal Air Force. He has obviously done many hours of research on Commander C.R. Samson's 'armoured car navy' which roamed northern Belgium in late 1914 while they waited for their aircraft to appear. However, comparatively little space has been given to the magnificent work done by the RNAS fighter Squadrons (Naval 1, 8, 9 and 10) formed to aid the RFC during late 1916 and 1917. It is in these Squadrons that the story of RNAS comes alive. Within these Squadrons we find men such as Canadian Ray Collishaw, the third-highest scoring British ace with 68 victories and the Australian aces Bob Little with 47 victories and Rod Dallas with 39 victories. It is also noteworthy that there is little mention of Number 3 (Naval) Wing, the first Strategic Bombing Wing and the first unit to fly combined operations (British, Canadian, French, and American). This book gives a good over-view of the RNAS but says little of the day-to-day history of the units and men who made the RNAS Britain's prime aerial fighting force during 1914 and 1915.

When David Smith died in 1966 he left his own personal field of dreams at his home/studio in upstate New York. Over 80 gigantic sculptures populated the grounds, pitting man against nature and daring to compete in size and moxie with the mountains around them.

After an initial flirtation with New York City, Smith retreated to the solitude of the Adirondacks. These mountains formed a somber monumental backdrop to the brooding nature of the artist. The sculptures were the landscape of his imagination, his spiritual domain, and his homage to the majesty of being human. Additionally, Smith created drawings, paintings and collages that filled his home with the living presence of art.

This is a lavish book that clearly reflects the artist's magnificent obsessions.

For reasons of political and religious correctness the Americans have issued their own versions of these pocket books. The British ones are much better.

Beautiful little series of books which I was coveting (mea culpa) long before I bought them. It seems awfully unfair for the people below to give the book such a low rating becase 'nick cave' didn't introduce the chapter. Who cares?

I enjoyed the format, design and lush language of the book.

I gather from the other extremely negative reviews that the British edition of this book has an introduction written by Nick Cave. While I'm sure Nick Cave's commentary on Mark is wonderful, so is the introduction by Barry Hannah in the American edition. Barry Hannah, a hilarious and rough-cut Southern novelist whose ability to craft a startling sentence is nearly unsurpassed, is drawn to Mark for reasons likely similar to those that drew Cave (or to those that led Borges to write an astounding story called "The Gospel According to St. Mark"): Mark is the strangest, least comforting of the Gospels, forging a dim and demanding Christianity out of the disquieting words and acts of Jesus with a minimum of explanation. God seems distant and truly ungraspable here; Mark is a million miles from the cloying certitude of the Pauline epistles, or from, say, the more prosaic Matthew. Hannah, a self-described "bad Christian" (again, not so different from Nick Cave, at least by my lights), manages to bring these qualities out beautifully in his introduction. (Hannah also makes "bad Christian" seem like probably the best thing anyone can hope to be.) By all means, get the British edition with Cave's introduction (as I now plan to do), but don't let that keep you from reading Barry Hannah's introduction too.

I bought this book along with the game itself, so I read it from a beginner perspective. I would say that a novice would get some value out of it, but it would be of very little help to a player with any experience.

My main criticism is that about half the book is devoted to descriptions of how to play the various civilizations. The author went into far too much detail on this. It would have been much better to talk about general strategies that apply to all the civilizations, and then maybe devote 10% of the book on some of the unique features of each civilization.

I spend a few days going through this book while learning how to play the game. Afterwards, I bought the Prima's Unauthorized Strategy Guide and found it to be much more useful. I find myself referring to the Prima guide all the time to refresh my memory on certain aspects of the game (eg. before I play a civilization for the first time). I never refer to Walker's book.

I got a sense that the author did not play Age of Kings thoroughly and in depth, and that the book was written too quickly.

I must say that I disagree entirely with others who have written a review for this strategy guide. I think that it's great that the author gave so much information on each civilization; that way you can become an expert in one area. His advise is great and it works, and he seems to know a lot about the game. I do, however, agree that he should have written more general tactics, but a lot of the general tactics he explains when writing about the civilizations. His walkthroughs for each campaign and scenario are fantastic and prescise, and if I were you I would buy this guide in an instant.

(By the way, I was about in the middle of between expert and novice when I bought this book.)

This is an awesome game for anyone who likes constant action...You advance trough the middle ages while making the best military you can. Then with your military you attack your enemy. I suggest this game to everyone. With more than 3000 players online, I think youll like it.It is an awesome gift for anyone.

Elie Wiesel's new children's book, King Solomon and His Magic Ring, is an unpleasantly surprising work. Wiesel, author of over forty works of fiction and non-fiction, stuns readers with an uninspiring, bland retelling of a famous legend. He attempts to catch our children's attention with a thin spidery plot that is difficult to grasp.

As a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Wiesel could have done much better for himself. Instead, he has written one more book that we are able to add to the growing pile of poorly written children's books lacking in stimuli. Surely, "Not only was Solomon the wisest of all rulers, he was also the mightiest." (12). Well, not only is that line cliché, it's also not something that would excite a young mind.

Speaking of exciting, the paintings featured in this piece are of very high quality and talent. However, they are not suitable for children. The art is too dark and depicts demons, giants, lions, and other things that might frighten younger readers. In addition to boring or perhaps scaring today's youth, Wiesel has also managed to impress upon them a couple of incorrect teachings, including one about women. "Solomon's worst mistake? His marriage to the daughter of the Pharaoh." (36) The daughter of the Pharaoh gives a poor example of women. The book describes her as an enthralling dancer who later tricks Solomon whilst he is under her spell. Not all women are evil temptresses out to control men through manipulative ways; the author should make that clear.

Now, what about this magic ring? "From the moment he slipped the ring on his finger, Solomon's authority extended over everything from spirits and animals to the wind." (14) That sounds a bit like mind control. Add that to the way Wiesel portrays King Solomon; a reader might think Wiesel was advocating ruling with an iron fist. Children's books are meant to be entertaining, yes, but not to cause the youngster to reach for incorrect ideals.

Our media claims '90's youth is desensitized to television murders and sex in the movies. However, since children are taught that books are the alleys towards truth, they tend to try to learn from them, rather than media. Let Wiesel not inadvertently poison the minds of tomorrow with works such as this.

Larry recounts the 1992 U.S. presidential campaign, with all the inside information and insight that could be garnered just by reading the paper or watching TV during the relevant period. In other words, Larry offers no inside scoop at all. The book just rehashes the campaign in more or less chronological order, and I could've written it. Some book, huh? Along the way, Larry does manage to bungle a fact or 2 (E.g., claiming a wacky question during Gennifer Flowers' press conference was asked by a reporter, rather than the Howard Stern show flunkie who really asked it. I don't think Larry can bring himself to say the words "Howard Stern", so perhaps that was the problem.). If interested in the 1992 campaign/election, try ALL's FAIR by Mary Matalin and James Carville or STRANGE BEDFELLOWS by Tom Rosensteil instead.