If you have played the game u have probably been lost in several occasions. With this guide to the game you can see who is behind the pausing of the pocket universes. This game has many puzzles and unique gameplay and it could be challenging without this guide. If you have the game and decide that you dont know how to get around, buy this Book!!

Grandma Moses In The 21st Century is a catalog of an elderly painter's folk art and provides an excellent survey of her works including an intricate examination of her working methods, her interpretive process, and her role in the context of modern art and social movements of her times, in the 1940s and 50s. The result is an excellent catalog which features important analyses of her achievements and displays her notable works in lavish, full page color.

Though I have heard much praise of Jane Austen, this is the first time I've actually sat down and read one of her books. I was impressed. Though the plot would seem shallow now (it centers around marriages); then that was central to most women's hopes and desires. Besides the plot, the characters are amusing and Elizabeth is finely drawn. She is very self-confidant and will not allow others to look down on her for her ill upbringing. I don't believe men would enjoy this book, because the male figure is not drawn very realistically. I seriously doubt that all men thought or talked about were marriage and love. Walter Raleigh phrased it correctly by saying that "Austen's men wouldn't be allowed in any club in England!". I didn't find it to be at all boring, rather, a page-turner to see how everything was going to turn out (though in the end it became predictable). The formal language is confusing at times, but provides a bit more color with it's detail. Though many parts of the book are obviously contrived, and I feel as if Austen is trying a little too hard to invoke emotion within me, in many ways the book is ahead of it's time, and for that, it is commendable to be certain.

I have always loved the style and social politics of the Regency period (the time of Jane Austen.) But when I read "Sense and Sensibility" in 7th grade I found the first few chapters lifeless, dull and hard to read. Two years later I was encouraged by a friend to give "Pride and Prejudice" a try. I did and have since become a complete Janeite. I am now able to peruse joyfully through "Sense and Sensibility" with a new understanding and appreciation of Jane Austen. The reason? "Pride and Prejudice" is fresh, witty and is a great introduction to Jane Austen's writing style without the formality of some of her other novels (unlike S&S and Persuasion Austen does not give us a 10 page history of each family and their fortune.) If you have never read Jane Austen or have read her other novels and found them boring, read Pride and Prejudice. The characters, and the situations Austen presents to them, are hysterical and reveal a lot about Regency society and morality. This book perfectly compliments a great writer like Jane Austen and is essential to every reader's library. The Penguin Edition of the book is stellar and I personally recommend it not only for the in-depth and indispensable footnotes, but also for the cover that is non-suggestive of any of the characters' appearances. In summary "Pride and Prejudice" is a great book for beginner Austen readers and seasoned fans, and Penguin Classics is a great edition for fully enjoying and understanding the book.

I always have trouble reviewing my very favorite books on Amazon. It always seems as if nothing I can write does the book justice. Pride and Prejudice is one of those novels. I don't remember a time when I've enjoyed a read so much (and I read a lot).

It's a well known story. Of course, it's that Jane Austen world (which Austen pokes endlessly at) with the social artifaces, the endless gossiping, and clever schemes on how to get married, particularly to someone rich. Here, it is the Bennet sisters trying to get themselves hitched, and the central character is the spirited Elizabeth who clashes with (sometimes) arrogant, stuffy Darcy.

Pride and Prejudice is so entertaining on different levels. It is so funny! The characters (especially Mr. and Mrs. Bennet) are so eccentrically funny, and some of the situations Elizabeth gets into are hilarious. Austen's little asides about the local society are subtly cutting, too. Then, there are all of the brilliant characterizations and their changing relationships. Also, I'm always drawn to Austen's little theme of love's ability to break through the mess of a shallow society. I truly love everything about this little novel. It'll certainly alway keep a special place on my bookshelf (or by my bed).

Eddie Cantor is truly a great comedian! The two new autobiographies that were just released; you hear Eddie's story about how he got in to show business, his sucess's and also failures. This is a wonderful book and I would advise it to any Cantor fan.

Eddie Cantor was a larger-than-life musical comedian in the first half of the twentieth century who made a splash on Broadway and in the Goldwyn Musicals of the 1930's. If you want to hear about old-time showbiz straight from the mouth of someone who lived it, seasoned with intimate memoirs, you've got to check these books out. What's more, you get two for the price of one!

I've always been drawn to books that juxtapose our contempory world with a bygone historical world. That was what drew me initially to Jane Rogers' novel. I ended up reading it strictly for the historical sections. I followed Dawes' endeavors and evolving social conscious with delight. The sections featuring the latter-day Olla and Stephen at first appeared to be promising, but soon dwindled to insignificance. The deformed child was like a sore thumb, distracting from what seemed the book's true purpose. However, Stephen's comparisons of his own self with Dawes were intriguing. I would recommend this book only to those who love a good historical tale. I'm glad I read it.

My sister, the professor of English and sometime novelist, told me that this was a good book. She stopped short of recommemding that I read it, probably because she knows that most of my reading is done on airplanes and consists of mysteries and science fiction. "It's an interesting book," she said, "it's supposed to be about a deformed child," she paused, "...but it's not, not really. It's more than that." I started to read the book on an airplane, partly to prove to my more literate sister that I could read something serious, at least occasionally. Unlike the usual mysteries and science fiction, I did not put this book down when I got home. The writing is wonderful and the story is a whopper. The book is about families, late 20th Century Europe and the founding of Australia; it's about different people trying to do the same thing, trying to change the world so that it suits them. But, not really...It's more than that

This is a wonderful failure of a book. It is a heroic and searing assault on our decrepit educational system that we should all heed. However, the Dickensonian language and plot don't quite work. Schank is a fine writer (see his "Coloring Outside the Lines") but he is no novelist. The book is crammed with interesting stories and facts about the evolution of the modern curriculum which alone is worth the read. Schank's vision of education without standardized tests is a welcomed alternative to today's depraved political debate on educational standards. Recommend for educators and parents.

With wit and wisdom, Schank hits the nail on the head. Our schools are teaching nothing but test taking, a skill no one needs, wants, or will ever use in real life. If only President Shrub would read, and understand, this book! How much time, money and worry would be saved!

Instead of a frontal assault on the misguided notion that testing is needed in K-12 -- a strategy that clearly has failed since for the next 4 years, at least, we will have more testing and thus much less learning -- Schank tells us a story. A story that portrays the evil of testing at a personal level; a wonderful family is destroyed by the pressures brought about by trying to "do good on those tests." Literally, there were tears in my eyes. This little book makes a MOST compelling, Dickensonian, case for why our craze for testing in K-12 is horrific, wicked, and downright evil.

Based on what I had read about it, I had high expectations for this book, but I struggled to finish this book and only did so because I was so far into it. I was disappointed with the character development and thought the writing style left a little to be desired. The stream of consciousness sentences which changed topic mid-stream were distracting to me, and I often had to read parts over and over again to get an understanding of what was being said. I found the characters to have great potential but overall to be underdeveloped. I especially thought that she could have done more with the relationships of both children with the mother. I didn't mind knowing the ending from the first page, but when I got to the ending, I felt that I didn't know much more than when I started. I was disappointed.

Jane Rogers' ISLAND is one of those books that has the power to scare you -- REALLY scare you, deeply. The vividness with which she develops her narrator, Nikki Black, brings her to life in such a way as to make her VERY real. This book is quite a wild ride -- a look inside the life and thought processes of someone who has been so damaged by her life experiences that she decides that finding and murdering her birth mother is the only way to escape the fear that governs her psyche.

Rogers writing skills are very effective -- not only in developing and fleshing out her characters, but in setting the scene and mood of the novel as well. It's almost as if we are actually there with Nikki on a small island off Scotland's coast, feeling the wind and smelling the salt in the air, submerged in the seemingly uncontrollable emotions and events that lead inexorably to the book's well-crafted, unconventional climax.

This is a very engrossing novel, hard to put down -- it reminded me in some ways of Patrick McGrath's masterful SPIDER (which I HIGHLY recommend as well). Pass ISLAND by at your peril -- but be prepared for a gripping experience.

Enough introspective, tortuous self-discovery novels! Here is a narrator who determines to resolve her unhappy life by killing her mother. The language, characterization and plot of the book are just as refreshing as this unusual approach to self-realization. This smart, often disturbing book accomplishes alot, not the least of which is sustaining suspense even though the murder is confirmed on the first page, and making the narrator, a disturbed and sociopathic young woman, sympathetic and likable.

Some of the stories are quite similar to others. Of course, they all have to do with dragons, but several fall in the Hero goes to slay Dragon formula. The Orson Scott Card does not seem to fit in the traditional dragon formula and is the outstanding story. The Anne MaCaffrey is good but overwritten at points. I expected more from the Zelazny. It was very good, but Zelazny has done such mind-blowing work that this seems to be a bit trite. The Friesner is hillarious and the best of the funny stories in this book. The Martin and Tilton are quite good, but not estradordinary. The rest were merely okay, except for The Ever-After which had horrid prose.

This was a fairly good book. It gave a lot of information that someone might use while reading any of Anne McCaffrey's books. I liked this book because of that. Anyone who likes dragons could use this book.

I LOVED this book! I've never in my life read stories of this calliber!I couldn't put this book down.It was delightful from cover to cover.I highly recommend this book to anyone who has fallen in love with the world of dragons.

Mr. Wroe has annointed himself "The Prophet" of a small group of Christian Israelites" at the end of the 1800's. Claiming to hear the voice of God whispering in his ear, Mr. Wroe preaches the approach of doomsday, the end of the world. As the Prophet of God, he quotes, "The Lord has instructed me to take of your number, seven virgins for comfort and succor."

Of the numerous young women gathered before him, he chooses Joanna, sisters Rachel and Rebecca, Hannah, an unbeliever, Dinah, a cripple, Martha, a mute, and Leah, an unwed mother. As part of the bargain, Leah brings her infant into the home under the guise of a foundling.

The young women soon fall into their natural order, performing household tasks, laundering, planting a vegetable garden, their days filled with neverending chores. Occasionally, Mr. Wroe takes some of the girls along when he preaches to the townspeople, who are mostly illiterate mill workers. Mr. Wroe also requires that one of the virgins read from the Bible to him each evening.

The story is related through the eyes of four of the girls: Joanna, Hannah, Leah and Martha. Joanna is pious, constantly praying for guidance, while Hannah is skeptical but helpful, and Leah opportunistic, with a child to care for. Martha, the mute, eventually finds a means of expression through Joanna's patient teaching; she relives her past while preparing for the future. The story takes an interesting turn when one of the girls makes shocking allegations. Consequently, the household of virgins is disbanded, each left to find her own way.

As a religious period piece, the story creates a particular atmosphere of candle light, rustling petticoats and starched linens, as well as the crackling pages of a well worn Bible.

The best way to describe this book is "Atwood lite". The premise and early telling of the tale are interesting, with promising characters. About halfway through, the book unfortunately shifts into a predictable tale of jealousy and longing. Rather than allowing the characters to develop (which one would expect through the multiple first person perspectives), the plot is pushed forward with clumsy devices. Still, some characters remain intriguing, and the pages turn quickly. This book is ideal for people who are used to reading best-sellers, and want slightly more literary value.

Jane Roger's ISLAND impressed me so much that I began to look for some of her other works -- MR WROE'S VIRGINS is the first one I came across. It didn't disappoint. Rogers has done an amazing job retelling/reinventing the story of the 'real' John Wroe -- her prose and characterizations are excellent, and the technique of using multiple narrators is extremely effective and enlightening.

Told from the point of view of four women -- four of the 'virgins' taken into the home of Prophet John Wroe, 'for comfort and succor' -- but never from that of Wroe himself, Rogers' novel goes beyond simply telling a story. The voices of these four women are individual and distinct. The sections of the story they each relate overlap in time a bit, and their various points of view illuminate descrepancies in the way they view the events depicted here.

Leah is a beautiful, haughty, self-centered young woman -- she is sure in her own mind that she is the most beautiful and desirable of the seven chosen, and she is determined to play this to her own advantage. She sees her 'sisters' as competition, and she views their motives -- innocent though most of them may be -- with great suspicion, seeing and imagining things not quite as they actually are at times.

Hannah is an unbeliever, thrown in with this group of Christian Israelites, feeling much like a fish out of water. Rather than accepting Mr. Wroe's dire predictions of the imminent end of the world -- Judgement Day -- she instead sees the answer to humanity's woes through education, through working together for the common good. These beliefs lead her to working with the poor of the town, teaching them to read, attempting to raise their social and political consciousness, and getting involved in the birth of the trade union movement in England.

Joanna -- Saint Joanna, as she is called by most of the other women -- is completely devoted, in heart, body and soul, to God and to Mr. Wroe's movement. She views every single event in her life through scriptural interpretaion, bending to God's will every chance she gets. From the opposite end of the scale, her view is thus just as skewed as that of Leah.

Martha -- the fourth narrator -- comes to the house as a mute, obviously horribly beaten and abused by her father at home, who has seen Mr. Wroe's call for seven virgins to serve him as an easy way to rid himself of a daughter he doesn't want, a burden. Martha's narrative is, for me, the most striking in the novel. At first, it comes in fragments, little bursts of words, the most rudimentary images and feelings. As the novel progresses, Martha's thoughts and expression become more organized -- she is being taught speech and hymns by 'Saint Joanna', who evidently possesses the patience of Job -- and the horrors of her earlier life, which she sees as so completely separate that she thinks of it as happening to the 'other Martha', become clearer and clearer. The abuse and suffering she has endured is unbelievable and heartbreaking -- and it explains her temperament, which could at times be seen as epileptic or schizophrenic. This is an incredibly damaged young woman.

As the Prophet of his church, Mr. Wroe weilds immense power and influence. He hears instructions and illuminations directly from God, almost on a nightly basis -- even with a council of Elders to aid in governing the affairs of the church, Wroe's word is practically law. Living in a house with seven young women, it is inevitable that suspicions and accusations begin to mount -- the novel is set, after all, in 1830s England, a much more puritanical society that we enjoy today. Wroe himself is tempted by the presence of the women as well -- and this temptations, combined with his human frailty, lead to much trouble for him and his church.

Rogers skills in both narrating this tale -- and, again, the use of the four narrators is done to stunning effect -- share the spotlight here with her ability to convey the contradictions inherit in organized religion in general. When one person -- or even a group of persons -- holds such power and influence over their 'followers', there is bound to be trouble. The weight of the organization's purpose is too much for a leader to bear. When the people rely on a human leader to tell them how to follow the will of God -- rather than listening to their own hearts and finding their own path -- that leader's humanity will almost inevitably lead to disaster.

The novel is very 'heady' -- but at the same time very readable, being compelling and entertaining. It's a wonderful achievement. Knowing that Rogers wrote the script for the BBC's adaptation of the novel, I'd be very interested to see that as well.

Donnerjack is best described as a crying shame-first because I was practically crying reading the beginning third of the book that was so obviously Zelazny-fast, witty, engaging, unique-full of weird characters and a new computer type of mythology which is so Zelazny-ish! It was great to be reading Zelazny again years after he had died! The shame part of the book is after the first third (ended as part one) we enter part two which is obviously not Zelazny! Wordy to the extreme-boring, stupid, stupid humor (if I read "he or she or it CHUCKLED one more time I was gonna scream!) and chocked full of explanations which is one thing Roger once stated in an interview--He hated explanations!!! No wonder the book took so long to come out--it took Jane years to write the next 400 pages! As another reviewer pointed out, read the first third of the book and then stop, you'll be glad you did--Or else do as I do and read it with a handy magic-marker, its great for blacking out all the unnecessary wordiness!

Zelazny's Donnerjack is maybe one of the most complex books he wrote in his awesome carreer. Again he mixes fantasy and SF in a way only he seemed able to do. But this is a book you can read and think in many levels, enjoy only the story (a good one,as always), or the concepts and ideas behind it, too. You can think it as a cyberpunk adventure, or you can go deeper into the philosophycal and religious stuff that are present in the whole story. It's interesting to think that a book he wrote just before his death is a novel about a man and his son fighting Death himself. If you think this way, maybe Donnerjack is Zelazny's homage to himself, and a farewell legacy with his view of the world. Here he can explain the roles of technology, fantasy, religion and mythology in his own life. You can read Donnerjack and compare it with some other books such as Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land and Huxley's Brave New World, which deals with the same questions. Donnerjack isn't a! book easy to read and understand, and I don't recommend it for beginners in Zelazny's or science fiction books. But I recommend it strongly for those who already love this kind of literature. Anyway, have a good reading. You are all welcome to tell me your opinions about the book after you have read it.

In reading Donnerjack, I came upon feelings that flip-flopped and changed back and forth. Some parts were unbearably awkward, lame, and badly written, totally un-Zelazny and just plain unappealing. Then there were some parts that seemed to just flow by because they were so exciting. I know that a lot of readers have commented that Zelazny only wrote the first part, but I don't think that's true. Zelazny has a certain bold flair in his writing most of the time, as if he's utterly confident that what's he's writing won't be termed as lame or otherwise. There were certain sections in the second part of Donnerjack that I know weren't just Jane Lindskold, because Zelazny's style was so clearly stamped upon them. Although it's also true that Lindskold dominates much of the second half of the book, and her long and winding style is pretty apparent for any reader to see. I would recommend Donnerjack to only long-time Zelazny readers, or at least people who have read other Zelazny works, because this piece is definitely not his best one, and it is just so LONG and winding at times.