I am a longtime gamer who probably has spent more on rolegaming then I can afford since the late 1980's. My shelves are filled with books for dozens of game-systems but Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP) remains one of my personal favourites.

This superlative product was originally published by Games Workshop as two separate books: Power Behind the Throne and Warhammer City - Middenheim. This Hogshead version has the full material from both books in one handy volume. The first section of the book, Power Behind the Throne details an extremely intricate conspiracy by the forces of Chaos in the city Middenheim.

A distinct contrast to the wimpy plots so prevalent in the fantasy roleplaying industry, this is a grade-A, master-level investigative scenario for the veteran player. The huge cast of characters each playing a part in the adventure, yet having motivations and plans of their own, make this adventure a real challenge for players and gamemasters.

This book should be on every gamer's shelf, regardless of which game system you play as an example of how it should be done. Be warned though, the deep roleplaying and many conversations required will bore the combat-oriented player to tears. Real roleplayers who fancy themselves as the fantasy equivalent of Poirot or Holmes will have the case of their lives to unravel.

This short collection of 'mutant' stories is a book I did not expect to have a fond memory of, but it happened nonetheless.

Within its pages is a short story ©1938 by Edmond Hamilton, entitled "He That Hath Wings." It remains to this day one of my favorite short stories.

In it, a boy named David Rand is born with wings. He is raised on a private island owned by doctor Harriman, also his legal guardian. The years of growth are eloquently described in a few pages and you learn from David's perspective what it must be like to grow up with wings, and wonder why nobody else does.

As the story evolves, he escapes to the mainland and falls in love with a woman. He makes a huge sacrifice in order to keep his life normal, but the story ends with a twist; you shall have to read.

It's short and wonderful, highly emotional. If you can find a copy of this book and you're like me, you will love it for this one story alone.

Some information about the book: * Paperback ISBN 0-06-020156-8 or ISBN 0-694-05629-4 * ©1984 by Nightfall, Inc., Martin Greenberg, and Charles Waugh

A list of the short stories: * Introduction - Isaac Asimov * Hail and Farewell - Ray Bradbury * Keep Out - Fredric Brown * What Friends Are For - John Brunner * The Wonder Horse - George Byram * He That Hath Wings - Edmond Hamilton * Second Sight - Alan E. Nourse * I Can't Help Saying Goodbye - Ann Mackenzie * The Listening Child - Idris Seabright * The Children's Room - Raymond F. Jones * The Lost Language - David H. Keller, M.D. * Prone - Mack Reynolds * Come On, Wagon! - Zenna Henderson

And finally, a list of the themes of some of the stories, to pique your interest: * What would it be like if childhood lasted forever? * A horse that can fly - without leaving the ground. * A young girl with overwhelming psychic powers. * Predicting the future. * Telekinesis * Evolution sped up through science.

This collection of short christmas stories is wonderful. This is a great book to start a Christmas family tradition. Some stories teach a lesson, some warm your heart and soul and others just make you feel good. I take it with me when I babysit in December, and often read favorite stories over and over. This is the kind of book you share with friends and family!

Richly satisfying artwork, with text that rhymes. Out of a large basket of small books, our kids choose "Noah's Ark" by Amy Flynn & Linda Hayward to be read time and time again. A classic "chunky book".

I have to be honest with you guys: I have not read this book yet (although I will soon). However, if we keep in mind that this book was written by one of the most famous British geologists of the XIX century, we will certainly find it great. It is good to mention that this was the book that Charles Darwin took with him in his famous trip around the world aboard the Beagle, around 170 years ago. After having read it, Darwin witnessed the effects of an Earthquake in South America, and confirmed the teachings of Lyell. Lyell and Darwin actually met and shared their findings on the Earth's physics. I think that rather than considering this book as a novelty in the Earth Sciences, what is most valuable are the original descriptions of the dynamic forces shaping our planet, seen from the point of view of one of the pillars of the Geology as a Science. If you like Earth Sciences, don't miss the chance of reading this jewel of the history of Geology.

This book in its original edition was titled THE SECRET OF SHAKESPEARE. That title had problems, as the author acknowledged himself, in that it made people assume the book was about the identity of Shakespeare which it is not. This new edition has the new title - THE SACRED ART OF SHAKESPEARE - and is expanded as well. The first edition was about 140 pages and this new edition is over 200 pages, yet there are no new chapters. Lings starts out with a chapter on Shakespeare's 'Sacred Art'. He then continues with a chapter called Shakespeare's Outlook which contains much of the heart of what Lings has to say about the esoteric nature of Shakespeare's works. He then follows with surprisingly illuminating glosses on ten of the plays. It's in these short and well-written chapters that you realize you have found a very unusually enlightening and not run-of-the-mill 'Shakespeare' book. Mr. Lings' expositions of these plays does not fall into any predictable camp. In fact, what he does is really to bring the universal, underlying structure of the plays to light and on that to point the reader in the direction of where each play stands within that overall universal structure and what main characters represent in that structure as-well-as some of the dramatic points-of-interest and how they are often not seen or completely misunderstood by directors and actors, etc... This may give the impression that Mr. Lings seems to think he holds THE key to interpretation, yet what he has done is really just set the plays on their true foundations which are fundamental and universal, and from there one is able to interpret on up towards the sun if one likes... The ten plays discussed are: Henry IV, Hamlet, Othello, Measure for Measure, Macbeth, King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra, Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale, and The Tempest. He also says much, in passing, on Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream... There then follows a chapter called Notes on Performance and Production, and he ends the book with a chapter called, in the first edition, 'The Secret', and, in this new edition, 'The Mystery of Things'. It discusses further the esoteric elements in Shakespeare's art. A final note: for those reading this who think they know of all angles of approach in Shakespeare scholarship or pseudo-scholarship and have divined that this book in question is obviously another out-of-breath revelation from the Pythagorian, Platonic, Cabalistic, Hermetic, Illuminist, Rosicrucian, Alchemical, etc., etc., etc. side of things - think what you will and just walk on by... Shakespeare doesn't need any more scholars.

The kids in Ms. Colman's class are having a science fair and Bobby Gianelli's project is watching how a mouse lives and they use a mouse and call her Harriet. But then Harriet goes missing and when she's found theres another surprise but I won't spoil it for you but it is a really brilliant book. I rate five stars.

I have seven year old twin daughters. One of them loves to read, the other isn't quite as interested. This book, however, got her interested in chapter books. We read it together and the plot was so good, that she stayed interested enough to finish it. It is about a second grader named Natalie whose classmates think she is a baby. They find out just how grownup she can be when she turns out to be the only one brave enough to send her beloved stuffed animal--"Buzzy Bear" on a trip around the world. At the end of the book, Natalie ends up doing something even more brave and surprising! A wonderful book for that age group.

This is by far the best compilation of Sigmar Polke's images I have come accross. This book is FULL of his images, all in extrodinary quality. This is highly recomended for any artist's library. Amazing.

Space Gladiators is full of great short stories by Brain W. Aldiss, Ben Bova, David Drake, Keith Laumer and more. Edited by David Drake, this is one in a series. There is also SPACE DREADNOUGHTS and SPACE INFANTRY (also edited by David Drake).