All the sound effects and music added much as well as having two members of the original cast from the movies(Mark Hamil and Anthony Daniels)was wonderful!! Anne Sachs was brillient as Leia and Perry King was magnifesent as Solo although getting used to King's voice instead of Ford's was a bit difficult.I enjoyed getting more background on Luke and Leia. Brian Daily wrote a wonderful script!! All in all this series should be re-brodcast.

When the Star Wars Radio Drama made its debut in 1981, on the NPR network, it was an instant success. Saga creator George Lucas sold the rights of the story to his alma mater for a dollar After that, a highly creative team took on the task of adapting the very visual film, for the radio medium. The end result is an enjoyable and very worthwhile, experience that makes the film come alive all over again, despite the lack of any of the film's landmark visuals

Using sound effects, the original score by composer John Williams, and with 2 key actors reprising their roles from the film, the radio drama boasts lavish production values. This is not some cheesy adaptation that they slapped together, quickly and put the name Star Wars on it, hoping for the best. Author Brian Daley's radioplay expands on the film verison by including additional "scenes" and backstory. Directed by John Madden (Shakespeare In Love), the radio drama has a top notch cast. Mark Hamill and Anthony Daniels add some additional class by recreating their film roles as Luke Skywalker and C-3PO respectively. Brock Peters as Darth Vader, makes the part his own, while Ann Sachs gives Leia the right amount of spunk. Perry King, as smuggler Han Solo, may not be Harrison Ford, but he could be Solo, and that's what counts. Bernard Beherns as Ben Kenobi and the late great character actor, Keane Curtis, as Grand Moff Tarkin, round out the main cast, with style. While I was listening to this, I got the impression that, even though it must have been a lot of work to put this production together, it seems like everyone had a good time too. Sure some of it may sound a bit off at times, because most of us know the film so well. But one must remember that no one working on the project set out to just copy the film. The Star Wars Radio Drama captures the sprit of its of source material perfectlly...and that's all it needs to do.

I highly recommend this presenation. The Star Wars Radio Drama on CD contains all 13 episodes as originally presented, spread over 7 discs, with a running time of about six and a half hours. The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi radio drama adaptations are also available as well.

At first, the idea seems bizarre, even ridiculous. Star Wars, a movie best known for its vistas of alien worlds and epic battles, as a 13 part radio drama? No way would it work, right?

Well, unless you have the cold heart of a Sith, Star Wars did indeed translate well from the silver screen to radio, thank you very much. Yes, Star Wars' visual effects are a big part of the magic of the saga, but the heart and soul of George Lucas' galaxy far, far away are the characters and the storyline. And while the movie is satisfying on its own, the radio dramatization written by the late Brian Daley takes us beyond the movie....beyond the screenplay...and even beyond the novelization.

By expanding the movie's story beyond its two hour running time, the Radio Drama allows us to catch glimpses of Luke Skywalker's life BEFORE the movie. It tells us how Princess Leia acquired the Death Star plans....and what, exactly, happened to her during her interrogation aboard the Empire's battle station...(it is an interesting scene, but not for the squeamish, by the way). In short, by expanding the story to nearly seven hours, characters we loved on screen acquire depth only equaled by novelizations.

The Radio Drama makes extensive use of material written (and in some cases filmed) for A New Hope's silver screen version but cut for editorial or technical reasons. Also, Ben Burtt's sound effects, John Williams' score, and the acting of Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and Anthony Daniels (See Threepio) give the whole project its "true" Star Wars cachet.

This book, so well and kindly written, is a very easy read, and thereby seduces the reader into practicing what many find to be daunting or intimidating. This book introduces you to the many ways of meditation. It is rigorously non-sectarian -- or perhaps one should say that it demonstrates the universality of meditation and spiritual quests in general among all religious cultures. It offers a broad variety of methods, and introduces ancient quotes from the world over providing very human insights into the benefits, difficulties, and pitfalls of meditation. This is an enjoyable read for beginner and expert alike.

I read this book as a form of meditation. The pace, the language, even the mandalas and other drawings can be used as tools to launch onesself into the deeper life. Best read or listened to during the morning commute to set a good tone for the rest of a hectic day.

All the reviews here are right on target. This book states some HUGE truths in a very simple, elegant manner. The talk about the ego and the mind chatter echos A Course in Miracles, Hiduism, and probably many other spiritual paths. His understanding of the human mind in general and meditation in particular drips from the page. I especially like that he doesn't "sell" one particular style of meditation but gives a fair introduction to all. Many roads, same destination. A must read for both the interested and the experienced.

If you only read one Christmas book this season, make it "The Light of Christmas" by Richard Paul Evans. This is a beautiful, well told story for children of all ages. "The Light of Christmas" pulled at my heart strings and brought tears to my eyes. This is a gift that I will share with my family and friends for Christmas. Thank you, Richard Paul Evans, for helping bring the meaning of Christmas back into my life.

This beautiful book caught my eye as soon as I walked in the bookstore. I was extremely touched by the message that it contained. The illustrations were also beautiful. This book will be the beginning of a great Christmas tradition in my family. It falls right in the catergory of "The Polar Express". I would recommend this to everyone who finds a greater meaning in Christmas.

This book tells a simple story about a boy who makes a hard decision that is both kind and generous. This story was read to a staff of adults at our annual Christmas party and all of us sat enrapt and charmed as we listened and watched each page turn. The pictures are beautiful and the story is something that all ages will enjoy. A delightful find and one that I will give as a gift each year.

The spiritually inspirational story of Father Vincent R. Capodanno has deeply touched myself, my family and my friends. Both of my parents served in the Navy during the Vietnam Era; my mother as a nurse and my father as an aviator. I passed the book on to them and it brought tears to my mother's eyes each time she picked it up. The autor, Fr. Daniel Mode simply portays a vivid picture of Father Capodanno's childhood, minissonary work, and especially his deep understanding of the spiritual and physical needs of his fellow "grunts". The troops leaned on him so that they could go forward in the daily struggles of war. It was obvious that Fr. Mode had a deep connection with his subject. The countless personal interviews with the men who served with Fr. Capodanno as a missionary and later as a chaplin, as well as the troops who were in country with him bring the book to life. It was obvious how the title of Father Mode's book came to be. He writes of Father Capodanno's committment to God through his selfless sacrafice in ministering to the people he encountered in his missionary work and in Vietnam. Thank you Father Mode for writing this beautiful story!

This is a "can't put it down" biographical story about a Catholic priest known as Father Vincent Robert Capodanno who served in the Viet Nam War. From a war that many would like to forget emerges an identifyable hero and quite probably a great saint. Fr. Daniel Mode does an excellent job in researching the life and career of this courageous officer who was described by one of the grunts who knew Capodanno as "a man who had the courage of a lion and the faith of a martyr." He died serving the "grunts" on the battlefield, minstering to them at the hour of their death. It is a well-documented account of Capodanno's childhood, manhood and priesthood and a tribute to the men who served with him. A great book for everyone, a missing piece of history that finally has come to light. Enjoy!

This is an interesting story which has been well researched by the author. We need more true stories of everyday people who have done great things to find their way in to the many media outlets that are over-enamored with the personal lives of actors, professional athletes, and pop singers.

Thanks to Fr. Mode, I and others have learned about this Priest who served his God and his country well in the ugly war that was Vietnam.

I enjoyed HOL more than I thought possible. The system is relatively easy to use (it is a little bumpy for my taste), but the entertainment value of the book alone is completely worth it. The companion, "Buttery Wholesomeness" is equally as quirky, and definately adds what is lacking to HOL. Character creation is such fun that my cohorts and I made several, just for giggles. Fun to play, a riot to read, if you are a gamer, I recommend this for a light-hearted spin on the atypical RPG.

With all of the complex, rules heavy games on the market, it was a pure joy to be able to teach my two kids, ages 9 and 11, to play HoL! The rules are insanely simple, make for fast, exciting play, and allow you to totally immerse yourself in playing. I recommend this game for any parent wishing to teach their kids to roleplay, and as an educational tool as well! No better fun to be found anywhere! Both books are fantastic, with great writing.. you will be laughing for hours!
HoL, so good the entire family can play!

Hol is one of the most interesting RPGs I've ever played. Let me give you an example. In my first game of Hol, at one point, we were stuck in a 10 by 10 stone room. We had no way to get out. Or so we thought. My friend summoned about 200 children, which he ordered to repeatedly run into the wall. AND IT WORKED! After playing in games where characters could grow extra limbs, make their voice sound more important than the voice of God, use sarcasm to make a meteor grow a face and cry, eat an obscenely large, unedible object, engage a huge evil enemy in a game of childish insults, buy Tito Puente at your local Caldor, or roll dice to die, it's hard to go back to Mage and Werewolf. Good job, Black Dog/White Wolf!

I bought this book on a hunch and it paid off. Dave Lowry manages to blend his training as a modern Samurai with the story of the history of his school. The combination is a fascinating insight into the ideals and philosophies of the Japanese warrior - how they shaped his training and how they grew around the school (ryu) that he has chosen. If you are interested in bushido or Japanese sword arts (such as Kendo) /martial arts - this is a must. Not so much for techniques (I don't think any specific techniques are discussed) but as a look into how a samurai is trained mentally. (As a beginner to Kendo I found many ideas in the book particularly relevant) But don't lend this book to your friends! I still haven't got my copy back.

Many books about the martial arts are dry and boring. Lowry, through his own life story and the fictionalized history of his style, makes this a book not to be missed! If you are a martial artist, you will find parallels and lessons. If you are interested in the martial arts, you will find this both a good read and an excellent introduction to the practice and history of martial arts. This is on my "must read" list!

Out of print for nearly ten years, Shambhala Press makes this masterpiece available to another generation of martial arts students and Westerners who are interested in the Japanese "student-teacher" relationship. As a young teenager, Lowry learned of a "Japanese swordsman" living in the same University town. In the tradition of old Japan when a student seeked an instructor, Lowry stopped by the house every day, asking the woman who answered the door if there was an instructor who would take him as a student. Lowry's persistence paid off and he was "adopted" by Kotaro Sensei (teacher), a master of Yagyu Shinkage-ryu swordsmanship. Lowry instruction was by no means limited to the physical techniques of the sword. As the subtitle implies, Kotaro Sensei transformed this wet-behind-the-ears teenager into an "American Samurai." Lessons learned within and without the dojo (training hall) taught Lowry that a "samurai" has to live ALL aspects of his or her life to a higher standard. While his schoolmates were busy experimenting with drugs and worrying about the Viet Nam war, Lowry's spare time was spent learning honor, respect, courage, virtue and justice through this sacred relationship between Sensei (teacher) and kohei (student). Lowry takes an interesting and very effective approach to the assembly of the book, alternating chapters that chronologically detail his experience and historical anecdotes about the martial arts that reinforce the lessons he learned. Lowry is a true "master of the sword AND pen," his masterful re-telling of his experience almost allows the reader to experience the same struggles and joys he experienced, yet he keeps this writing accessable. This book would be equally valuable to a nine-year old beginning karate student as it is to a 80 year old master of the arts. I have been involved in the martial arts for only ten years, but have read and collected more than 100 books on the subject. If I had only one book to recommend to students of the arts seeking the "definitive text" on what the "teacher-student" experience is SUPPOSED to be, this would be it.

perfect for any fan of the moonlight chronicles. most people who would have have read this book will be familiar to the moonlight chronicles and will already know how awe inspiring Dan's work is. For those first time readers, the moonlight chronicles are the amazing small zine format journal by Dan Price. Dan is the Jack Kerouac of drawing and free thought. he's a wandering vagabond, who travels and draws in search for simplicity and truth, if you can find them check them out. in the meantime this book shows us how to make a journal for ourselves unlike the monotonous bedside diaries that most keep....and he does so with ease and originallity. if you can find the moonlight chronicles check them out until then go get a coffee and relax with this great book.

I loved all of Dan Price's Moonlight Chronicles over the years. I am so happy that his works have been published for the masses to see. This particular book is fantastic at getting the creative juices flowing. This book gives you plenty of ideas and makes it easy to start your own journal. I hope that Dan some day compiles all the Moonlight Chronicle series into one huge volume. I would deinitely buy it!

For the long-time journal keeper as well as the beginner, Price's book was packed with info on how to make those memories kept on paper more informative, enlightening and enjoyable. I ordered it on Wednesday, received it on Saturday, read it cover-to-cover by noon Sunday, and ordered two more copies (as gifts) on Sunday afternoon.

I had had this book for about 2 years before even thinking of picking it up and when I did I read it in under half a day. It kept a constant grip on my imagination (mind you I am very interested in all sorts of aircraft) A GREAT READ!

There is so much in this book i don't know where to begin............

ALL I CAN SAY IS 'READ IT' AND FOLLOW CHAS,CEM,NICKY AND AUDREY IN THEIR FIGHT TO BE THE BEST AND DO THERE COUNTRY JUSTICE IN THE WORLD WAR. MOVE WITH THE CHARACTURES AND BE INVOLVED WITH THE MISCHEIEF THEY CAUSE. I REALLY LOVED THIS BOOK

as previous reviews have mentioned, this is a first rate novel from one of britain top childrens authors, now sadly deceased. It highlights some of Westall's own experiences in war torn tyne and wear - an idea born from his own son (who many of Westall's books are based on - in memorium), when asked by him to stop a leaking roof on the den/base his son and friends had built. Westall states that he felt extremely priveliged to have been invited into their secret world.(hence the den in the book). a very detailed account for those interested in ww2 britain - right down to shrapnel collections found under hedges, to chrysanthemums for christmas. an excellent read, and a book adopted by many schools for english tutoring. This is his best and first book, but try secret lovers, a collection of short stories, and in particular Blind Bill.

This is a wonderfully funny, interesting book. All the neat droids covered in this book are cool. I'm surprised only 5 other people left reviews for this book. The only downside is that the illustrations are absolutely DEVOID of color besides white. Now you may be criticizing me, mumbling under your breath "Oh go crawl back in the sand box," but it IS true that the mere prescence of color can make something marginally interesting massively interesting. The Star Wars: Visual Dictionary and Incredible Cross-Sections series are popular for that very reason, although the Essentials series has tons more information in sheer volume. The black-and-white illustrations were well-done, but mucho DRAB. The original concept art was cool, but the schematics and silhouette models are positively goofy-looking. Still, they get the job done of making it apparent how the droids are supposed to be designed.

I love this book because it shows you the size of the droids and stuff like that.

This was a great book. I was amazed at all the droids throughout the Star Wars universe. The book was nicley illustrated had great schematics and the text was very discriptive. It also gave a discription of different manufacturers of the droids. However this book was not as good as the planets and moons or guide to characters it still gets a 5 in my book. The droids book completes my set in this collection. I would like to say thanx to Daniel Wallace, Bill Hughes, and Troy Vigil, I hope you will continue to create other Star Wars books in the near future.

When he died in 1891, historian Draper left unfinished this massive biography of legendary Kentucky frontier hero Daniel Boone (1734-1820). Now Belue, who teaches history at Murray State University in Kentucky, has transcribed and annotated Draper's rambling manuscript, whose florid, hagiographic prose should not deter readers from some real merits. First, Draper, an indefatigable researcher, drew upon thousands of documents as well as interviews with white, Native American and black frontier dwellers to re-create Boone's colorful exploits, including his blazing of a trail through the Cumberland Gap; his construction of Boonesborough, the first permanent settlement in the "Far West"; and his dramatic rescue of his daughter Jemima and two other girls from Indians. Second, Draper's tome is a treasure trove of early Americana, covering Indian-Anglo wars and relations, the fur trade, the British presence and trans-Appalachian life, flora, and fauna. Third, the 76 period drawings, engravings, photographs and maps offer revealing glimpses of both whites and Native Americans. And finally, Belue's entertaining and informative chapter notes diligently correct Draper's romanticization, offering instead a lifelong wanderer from home and family, a failed land speculator, an adventurer who watched his son tortured to death by Cherokees but who still sought accomodation with the Indians. Regrettably, Draper's text breaks off in 1778, but a chronology, epilogue, and appendix sketch Boone's later exploits.--Publishers Weekly, September 14, 1998

I am not an historian, but have read many of the books that used the "Draper papers" as their primary source material, and marvelled at breadth of our knowledge of Boone, his time, and his frontier contemporaries. Anyone who has studied this chapter in American history has probably marvelled at the exhaustive trove of material left by Lyman Draper. Now, with TFB's superb editing, non-professional students of history have access to the source material. This is a "must have" for any student of the "Old Northwest" and its memorable characters. No work of fiction could possibly be this absorbing. And, as a valuable historical footnote, Ted Franklin Belue concisely introduces us to Lyman Draper, to help us put the "Life of Daniel Boone" in its proper context.

Lyman C. Draper's efforts have been by far the main source for the more accurate writings about Daniel Boone through the years, so as expected Draper himself went into a great amount of detail regarding Boone facts and frontier events. Ted Franklin Belue has included Draper's clarifying notes, and then has gone on to further clarify other items as well as Draper's notes. This is "real" Daniel Boone history, and will become and remain as the best book on the more active first-half of Daniel Boone's life.--Ken Kamper, Boone and Frontier Families Research Association