Understand, I don't play Wraith. I read it for the background, which I find extremely interesting. So I can't help you on the subject of rules, game balance, whatever. But I can tell you something of the quality of this book.
Perhaps the most suprising thing, right off the bat, is that this is a soft cover. Generally, one does not expect deeply disturbing images to leap from the pages of an oversized floppy book. Consistantly, White Wolf has challenged that assumption, and this is probably the best example everywhere.
When you open it, you will find a two-page black and white image. This image is one of the most haunting pictures I have ever seen. Countless thousands of men, women, and children stand on the shores of a river. Garbed in prisoner stripes, heads shaven, they wait, some standing in edge of the water, some with their arms raised in supplication. There are so very many of them.
There is a single small boat, with a single ferryman, ferrying them one by one into the afterlife. The magnitude, the idea that death is never wholesale, that it is always, always a personal matter, is message enough to be worth the purchase price.
This book is never trivial. It is never "fun". It draws immensely from history, and makes it very clear what is fiction, and what is drawn from a history far darker than that found in any fiction.
The background is superb, the infomation interesting and vivid. Places described are disturbing and realistic. Characters make sense, plots seem feasable.
For many who read this, this will likely be a first look into the subjects described. It is much more intense than they may be used to. It is recommended for "Mature Audiences", and while I think teenagers should read this exact sort of thing, I think care should be taken that they be aware of the seriousness of such a subject.
This is the sort of book that will remain on my shelf,long after the game system fades into obscurity.
Castle Wolfenstein, this is not.

Indra

I am only 3/4ths of the way through this book, but I can honestly say that it has changed my views on the Burning and has possibly changed me as a person. I've read the history books, but they're nowhere near as detailed as "Charnel Houses". A few excerps shook me.

Even if you aren't a fan of Wraith: The Oblivion, or ANY role-playing game for that matter, you can still get the messege that this book is trying to get across: Never again.

Understand, this is not an expansion for you and your friends to sit down and play after watching Monty Python. In the darkest game of the World of Darkness, Shoah is the darkest corner. The opening artwork is a brutal example of what you'll find in the rest of the book: if it's too much for you, then you may not want to get any deeper.

Shoah: Charnel Houses of Europe opens with a brief bit of history (prompting some to even go so far as to use this section as a textbook) before detailing the Dark Kingdom of Wire: the Holocaust's wraithly inheritors. The book presents the falsified Jewish society that detoured a Red Cross investigation (which, in turn, kept the world blind just long enough for a few million more deaths), the Polish ghettos of Warsaw and their almost-victorious hero, and a Russian camp. These are, obviously, in descending order of darkness, but each are richly detailed and usable for any who think their troupe can handle the content.

Auschwitz is last. It is detailed. It is thorough. If you decide your troupe should go to Auschwitz, it contains enough information to horrify the players: that this is the worst atrocity in human history.

The book is dark, troubling, nightmarish, and easily worth three thousand times the cover price for any roleplayer who knows what it contains. It is very simply the best RPG book I've ever read.

This is a heartwarming story of the power of children to warm and open broken hearts. A good story to read to children every Christmas.

This is a beautiful story. The author did a reading/slide show of this book at our school several years ago. When the lights came on, there wasn't a dry eye among the parents (and some of the kids)in attendance. I still get choked up when I read this to my children. Its truly a beautiful story. I've bought 6 copies through the years for friends & family when they have children. A must read at Christmas time.

I still read this book to my children every year and they are 14 & 18 years old. This is a wonderful book about the meaning of Christmas, and renewal of a human spirit. A widow with a small boy asks the town woodcarver to make a duplicate of the nativity set she had lost. Her little boy wants to watch the carver at work, and as he works, the little boy describes how each piece is supposed to look. From happy sheep,and a proud cow, to the important angel, smiling baby, and loving Mary, Thomas describes each of the figures, and the woodcarver captures the qualities. I have alump in my throat by the end every time I read it. You will cherish this book, I guarantee.

When I got a call from a lawyer, I didn't know what to do. I found this book online, and wow was I lucky. Lots of useful trips which kept me out of trouble. Thank you.

Used this for a college course - very informative and fun to use.

Very useful... helps when you need it most. Demystifies court processes. Takes the advantage away from lawyers when you're on the witness stand. Thanks.

If you are working through an essay that contains an extensive amount of technical jargon in relation to theories of knowledge, then this is one book you'll have to buy. Blackwell's Companion to Epistemology is formatted like an encyclopedia and contains information on both ancient and contemporary philosophers, theories, the meaning(s) of certain words or phrases (i.e. what is a 'belief'?) and so forth. The format is nice because it is listed in alphabetical order with an index listed in the back in case you cannot find what you're looking for. It is also a nice reference for looking how to articulate particular arguments that are not as clearly explained elsewhere. Considering that many of the contributers are 'big name' philosophers in the field(e.g. BonJour, Sosa, Audi, Plantinga, etc.) and if you are interested in epistemology as a student or just a casual reader, this book is one you cannot go without.

This is yet another excellent "Companion" book in the Blackwell Series. The text is an A to Z companion to the study of how we know what we know (epistemology). It covers ideas of individual philosophers, movements, terms, and genres. For a reference work on the study of epistemology I know of no better text. Moreover, this text is a wonderful tool for the student and the professional alike. Some of the more popular contributors include, William Alston, Robert Audi, A.C. Grayling, Marilyn McCord Adams, and Alvin Plantinga, along with many others. The book also has a nice index, and bibliography at the end of many of the entries. Therefore, this text not only gives the reader a great wealth of info in the area at hand, but it also helps the reader branch out into other resources to further aid in study (via good bibliography). If you are a serious student of philosophy or even a "dabbler" in philosophy, this is a text you simply cannot be without.

With 250 entries from A to Z written by some of the world's leading philosophers, this encyclopedic Companion from Blackwell is an indispensible aid to students of philosophy in or out of the classroom. If you plan to do any reading in epistemology, an investment in this volume will be handsomely repaid.

It's hard to comment on specifics since the entries themselves are so widely varied, so let me just recommend a companion volume: Robert Audi's _Epistemology: A Contemporary Introduction_. (And _The Oxford Companion to Philosophy_, edited by Ted Honderich, is another keeper.)

The Blackwell "Companion" series is very good in general. See also _A Companion to Metaphysics_, which is highly recommended too.

I'm a freak for how-to books and this one is awesome. Friedman's Creation in Space is lucid and elegant. An architect friend in LA showed me her copy and I had to have my own. What I found was an updated version (second edition), with better developed exercises and accompanying illustrations. This first rate 3-D primer is a step by step design program, complete with hard-to-find but essential essays that every designer needs to have read. If you are a wannabe artist, architect, or just curious, this one is for you.

In the second edition of Friedman's excellent architectural guide, the writer and editors collaborate to bring much needed updates to illustrations and examples. Used widely as an artistic introduction to architecture at many of nations best accredited architectural programs, this second edition sets the stage for an excellent educational program. This second example is much easier to follow with better examples and illustrations. This guidebook is a much have addition to anyone's collection. For established architects, to students, to enthusiasts - anyone can learn a great deal about interactions between void and mass and architectural program from this text.

In the second edition of Friedman's excellent architectural guide, the writer and editors collaborate to bring much needed updates to illustrations and examples. Used widely as an artistic introduction to architecture at many of nations best accredited architectural programs, this second edition sets the stage for an excellent educational program. This second example is much easier to follow with better examples and illustrations. This guidebook is a much have addition to anyone's collection. For established architects, to students, to enthusiasts - anyone can learn a great deal about interactions between void and mass and architectural program from this text.

This is the quintessential book for all practicing physicians. No where else can you find the total knowledge that can be found in this manual. Highly recommended!!!

This text represents the first scientificly based attempt to define the clinical practice of disaster medicine. Despite the underlying science it is easy to read and understand and should appeal to nonmedical readers as well. It is a must for anyone trying to understand the impact of disasters in our modern era.

This book is very informative and a must have for anyone who wants to understand triage and disaster realted medicine! It is well written and easy to understand.

This is a book about a man and his mission in life: to blunder around and sing a little bit in between shows. Filled with lyrics about things that describe how, I think, we all feel when sitting in a bathtub. This book is humourful, and yet it is a tragically accurate depiction of modern culture and one man caught in the frenzy of it all. This is a book that speaks to the heart, and it screams out "I'm lonely". Read this while your drunk, it's better that way. You'll cry, you'll, um, chuckle, but you'll love "Me at a Glance"

This book opened my eyes to a different approach of psychotherapy, but they quickly shut soon afterwords and I fell asleep. Any book that can put you to sleep while riding a roller coaster, impresses me. All kidding aside, I feel that Dr. Katz has struck an above the belt blow for humor. Witty, intelligent, and intensely funny are some of the words I would use to describe my review. "Enough already" as Jonathan would say. The book was great and I plan on reading it again. I will recomend it to my friends, family, coworkers, and even my evil enemies

I loved this book. it is the best book I have ever read Dr. Katz A.K.A Mr. every thing is hilarous. I reccomend this book to anyone whoes anyone

Thomas Merton's journals take up here in the momonastery in Gethsemani abbey in Kentucky in the 1940"s. An expurgated version of these entries has previously been published as THE SIGN OF JONAS,my personal favorite before the publication in the late 1990's of these unexpurgated diaries.Here we see the dutiful young monk, full of the zeal of the newly converted, seeing all of his brothers as "signs of God's wonder and Mercy." Needless to say, the tomne shifts slightly as the aura of conversion wears a bit, and Merton is given time to write. One of his most famous pieces done while he was on watch in the abbeys fire tower is included here, without the editing. Firewatch in and of itself is worth the price of the book. We begin to see here Mertons wish for a life of more seclusion, and here he mentions the Carthusians and the camaldolese as possible places he could find that solitude.{a wish that he held,apparantly until the end of his life]Merton's insaitable curiousity,his honesty in dealing with himself and his foibles, and his crystaline perceptions on the life of the spirit are being formed here in this volume. Indispensible for Merton fans, and welcomed to any who seek the path trod by a spiritual giant, and a very honest man.

When Thomas Merton retreated from the civilized mainstream to enter the Trappist Monastery at Gethsemani, an unknowing observer might view his spiritual struggle as ending, becoming completely lost in the routine of monastic life, its repetition and overt acceptance of spiritual discipline. The battle against personal desire versus group obedience to higher powers beyond flesh and blood one would assume to have been a forgone conclusion. Merton brilliantly shows us, however, that within the souls of men the battle still rages. And it is how he dealt with that struggle that makes this book so marvelous. His caring and loving approach to life and others is tempered with griping about the choir's proficiency, the demands of writing within the monastic framework, the lack of understanding by superiors and comrades in spiritual arms concerning his shifting spiritual needs, for solitude, quiet and letting God sort things out for him, vice pushing his own, highly tempered will into the whirling mixture that made up this complex, brilliant man. The writing is first rate, his descriptions of the surrounding countryside are marvelously genuine as is his analyis of himself and his motives. (like to move onto a more strict, Carthusian order to reach the apotheosis of perfect contemplation). This book is a good building block for future reading of this author and I would recommend reading the entire biography/journals before even wandering into the not so clearly written efforts of Merton's theological books. Many thanks to the publisher for finally making such great writing available!!

The second of Merton's private journals in a series of seven, editor John Montaldo brings out the struggle that Thomas Merton, already a noted writer and critic, endured during his earliest monastic days (1940-early 1950s). Merton tackles a sort-of internal battle between the man who writes in the wee hours, and communicates with his New York society friends (among them was poet Mark van Doren!), and the monk who seeks to live out the Rule of St. Benedict to its fullest extent. First time Merton readers might be lost, but Montaldo skillfully fills in the details so that all readers will be able to focus on the struggle between man and Creator. Seasoned Merton fans will be given a deeper appreciation for the writer and devout monastic that emerged as a result of that internal confrontation. Not something to pass over!

A Reflection on the novel Epic of Porch, Jonathan L. Holman, Commonwealth Publications, Canada, 1997.
By: The Rev. Ben L. Somerville, II

December 28, 2002

This novel is a piece of literature, not just a great story. I call it literature because of its power of engaging the reader. The Epic of Porch engaged me as entertaining, thought provoking, reading my own story into it. I needed to think and look below the surface to infer philosophical and theological ideas and positions. It is a long read and never fails to engage a thoughtful reader.

Porch, the main character is not the only personality that stays with you and is not the only one to identify with as a companion on our own personal journey in life. Porch appears out of both romantic and tragic circumstances and is moved through the first part of life by love and protection from evil, showing the grace and power of love in one's early life. As he matures, he focuses on his dream and pursues it. There are many in life who knew what they wanted to do or be when they grew up and there are many others who wish they did. Either way Porch can capture your heart.

Porch's dream comes to fruition, but not in a smooth way nor in a way that we anticipate dreams coming true. Be careful what you pray for because you just might get it. The process of what we look for, dream about, or strive to achieve, often seems to have little reality to the idea or end we had in mind at the start. The development of the character of Porch as he faces trials and tribulations, surprises, and gifts of grace with hardships and friends of grace along the way is what turns this story of a journey of a person into an epic. The character grows into a full person with all the motives and emotions that go with being human. He has the full range of good and evil within himself and faces the full range of good and evil in life. The grandeur of the character is that even though evil is not defeated it is overcome by good. The victory is shown through a combination of the will of the person and intervention from outside self. Some may see this as luck and others as destiny. I inferred this to be an expression of forces at work in life that is beyond our control and that God is an active part in our life. The way we choose to accept who we are contributes to how we overcome evil within self and ward it off from the exterior world. The story of Porch and other characters and communities expresses this dimension of life. Do we choose to participate with the persona of evil or the persona of good? What force do we choose to guide our life, the force of evil or the force of good?

To think and contemplate the eternal is supported by the discovery of worlds that go beyond what we know. There are other rational ways of living that can involve creatures other than human who face the same struggle of the meaning of life and the difficulties that go with it. There is no place to go where the struggle is absent. There is one place to go when we choose our way and not the way offered to us by the one who is the giver of life, and that is not a place any wants to reside, but many do and others are saved from it by grace from the most unlikely places.

The author of The Epic of Porch, Jonathan Holman died December 16, 2002 and was buried with full Military Honors on December 19. I, his priest of the Episcopal (Anglican) Church presided at the funeral. Jonathan asked me shortly before he died that after I read the book to review it, and be honest about it specifically referring to the theology I saw. Was it good or bad? It is good.

Jonathan's death was timely for his leaving this world. It was untimely for us because he told me just days before he died that he had another novel in his head and the story line was great. Yet another statement by Jonathan that life goes on. He will write that novel somewhere or nowhere, but it is not lost. Thank you Jonathan for your offering.

This fantastic tale takes the reader from the simplest rural earth setting to imaginative and colorful worlds filled with memorable characters. Here you will find a hero and a villian for everyone, my favorite is Fleet Ensign Bonnie Brightwood. A very visual story, I hope Hollywood makes a movie out of this one!

This is an excellent book. The plot is well developed. Just when you think the excitement is over, there's a small catch that throws your understanding out the window. I don't know about this edition, but the previous edition of all 3 parts was very exciting. I don't know how Mr. Holman could pack that much action in just 650-some pages. I expect more excellent books from Mr. Holman in the future.

Crosslines Essential Field Guide to Afghanistan tells the full story about Afghanistan in a way I can't find in any other book. Whether it's politics, culture or humanitarian information you're after - it's all in there. I never realised how big those Buddhas were that the Taliban blew up until I saw a picture in this book! If you want to understand more about the country at the centre of world news, this is the book to buy!

CROSSLINES ESSENTIAL FIELD GUIDE TO AFGHANISTAN

Published by CROSSLINES Global Report and Media Action International (formerly the International Centre for Humanitarian Reporting-ICHR)

The Crosslines Essential Field Guide to AFGHANISTAN Is the only detailed guidebook dealing with the current situation of the country available in English. Although certain elements in the book have been overtaken by recent events, the field guide is still essential reading for all journalists, aid workers, diplomats and military personnel operating in the region or otherwise interested in Afghanistan. Journalists and relief workers from the BBC, TIME, UNHCR, UNICEF and other media or aid groups have already informed us that the Essential Guide to AFGHANISTAN is the best thing going for quick and informed background information.

The book features over 500 pages of political, humanitarian and military analysis, biographies of key Taliban and opposition players, essential information briefs on agriculture, medical relief, environment, culture etc. as well as all regions of the country, street maps, advice on health and security, phrasebooks in Persian and Pashto, contact details for diplomats, aid agencies and journalists. Specially commissioned essays written leading experts analyse the country's political, military, humanitarian, and cultural situation. All country data was collated through first hand field research the editors.

The editors are Edward Girardet (a journalist and former correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor; also author of Afghanistan - the Soviet War) and Jonathan Walter (a former officer with the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas, and editor of the World Disasters Report)

This book was made for the use of relief workers working in Afghanistan. Aid for Aid participated in helping provide the maps for this book .