Makes Clarisents into much better psions, even for people who like to hack and slash. Clarisentsa at first seemed to weak, but other important uses for thewir powers are shared in this sourcbook

White Wolf has done well with the first area supplement for Trinity, making the least imposing group of characters - ISRA - much cooler than the original book. The color section is well done, and the information is valuable. My only complaints are that the B&W section blends player and GM information and there is too little equipment.

Robert Scott Martin is a fabulous writer and makes his wide scope of knowledges clear in this simple and lovely work. Clairsentients are exposed as being quite the important and opportune character, and like Robert Scott Martin's other contributions to White Wolf, this bears the mark of gentle scholarship and half-mad, magnaminous creativity.

Lewis Cass is one of the strangest biographies I have ever read. Only rarely in the book is Lewis Cass the center of the narrative. After reading the book, I still do not know if Lewis Cass was ever married or had a family. I know very little about his personality or disposition. I know only about his public career and some of the public issues with which he was involved during his long public career. Cass is presented almost exclusively through his public actions, statements and writings.

His public career is quite a story in itself. This native of New Hampshire move west into Ohio in time for Cass to become a general in the War of 1812, fighting on the front between Detroit and what is now Ontario. He then stayed in Michigan where he served 18 years as territorial governor.

Having grown into a National Statesman, Cass later served Andrew Jackson as Secretary of War, followed by a term as Ambassador to France. Upon to his return to the United States, Cass was a serious candidate for the Democratic nomination for President in 1844 before a deadlocked convention turned to James K. Polk. Four years later, Cass won the nomination, only to lose the election to Gen. Zachary Taylor, a loss which, according to the book, was probably attributable to the candidacy of former President Martin Van Buren on the Free Soil Ticket.

Presidential politics being behind him, Cass served two terms as Michigan's Senator until the rise of the Republican party swept him out of the Senate and into the cabinet President Buchanan's as Secretary of State. It was from this position that Cass watched the dissolution of the country as well as the cabinet in the waning days of that administration.

Returning to Michigan, Cass supported the cause of national unity until his death in 1866.

The most interesting thing about this book is the literary style in which it is written. Throughout the book, Cass is portrayed as a righteous character opposed by a series of villainous figures toward whom attention is directed in the particular sections of the book. Prominent among these are General Hull of the War of 1812, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. The general style is to relate a particular aspect of history and then allude to the public role which Cass played in it.

During the section on the War of 1812, Cass' position is contrasted favorably with that of Gen. Hull who is treated most roughly in the narrative. In the section on Cass' governorship of the Wisconsin territory, most of the attention is directed to the French inhabitants who occupied the territory at the start of Cass' tenure. A contrast is drawn the French, who are presented as happy but unambitious, and Cass who introduced American initiative and drive into the territory and, thereby, advanced it into the Western powerhouse which it became.

The section on his service in Jackson's cabinet portrays Jackson in a very unfavorable light, while praising Cass. Cass' service as Minster to France is presented most favorably.

Cass' Senate years were dominated primarily by the issues of slavery which were gradually tearing the nation apart. Cass is portrayed as the creator of the doctrine of Popular Sovereignty in which the voters of each territory would be permitted to decide the issue of slavery for itself. Swipes are taken at Stephen A. Douglas who is popularly remembered as the advocate of that position. The conclusion of the Senate service is seen against the backdrop of the swing of the Northwest from its tradition allegiance to the Democracy (Democratic Party) to the new Republican party which would soon sweep the area and the country into Civil War.

The service in Buchanan's cabinet is used to present the deterioration of the country as well as Buchanan's feeble efforts to deal with the problem.

The style of writing is shockingly judgmental in its treatment of the public figures portrayed in the book. While modern readers may expect to see facts presented in a way as to portray figures in favorable or unfavorable lights, we rarely expect to see the conclusions presented by strong and extreme adjectives.

What real value there is in this book is its portrayal of the general history of the times and places in which Cass played his roles in the nation's drama as portrayed in the 1890s. It is in seeing our history from through the 1890s eyes of the author that we can take the greatest lessons from this book.