Though this book set out what it was meant to do, I was nevertheless disappointed after finishing it. Enright and Ryan do describe in good detail the stalking and sinking of Japan's secret "supercarrier." However, the writing style struck me as amateurish, filled with meaningless detail probably meant to provide a human touch but instead distracting. A tougher editor could have tightened this book up and increased the suspense.

I disgree with some of the previous reviewers. This is a great read for adventure and it is true. It competes well with fictional Tom Clancy novels. A small U.S. submarine under an unlucky Captain sinks the largest ship in the Japanese Navy.
Shinano was the sister ship to the battleship Yamato (A Glorious Way to Die) and converted into a carrier, the size of one of our nuclear carriers today. The Japanese intended to confront the U.S. Navy with the tremendous firepower of the Shinano. Instead a lowly submarine sinks the Shinano on her maiden voyage.
Regardless of whether the submarine captain Enright or Ryan wrote the story, it is great adventure. Enright is certainly frank in his views, even about his own shortcomings. Both the Japanese and American sides are presented here and this makes it good reading. One understands the fog of battle, after reading about the pursuit of the carrier. A good quick read which is not fiction.

During the years before the outbreak of World War II, the Japanese navy constructed two super-battleships, the Yamato and Musashi. There was a secret third ship, the Shinano, that was to be included in this class. However, with the rise of the aircraft carrier, it was decided to convert the Shinano from a battleship to a carrier. Measuring almost 900 feet in length, Shinano was the largest aircraft carrier in the world, and she held that distinction until the United States launched the USS Enterprise in the 1960s. Cloaked in secrecy, the conversion took place. Crewmembers were threatened with imprisonment or execution if they muttered even the slightest words about the existance of Shinano. Due to the extreme secrecy of her construction, many essential tests, which would later prove to be fatal, were not conducted on Shinano. For example, the watertight integrity of the bulkheads and seals were never tested properly.

An ocean away, Captain Joseph F. Enright and his submarine Archer-fish, were leaving for the boat's fifth war patrol. Captain Enright had been haunted by the memory of failing to sink an enemy carrier earlier in the war while serving as commander of the submarine Dace. Feeling inadequate as a commander, he asked to be relieved of command. After serving at the American submarine base on Midway island as a relief crewman, he finally got his chance to command his own boat again, and he was determined to make sure that he didn't repeat his earlier mistakes this time around. Taking up his patrol station along the main Japanese island of Honshu, Archer-fish awaited action. This particular area of ocean had become known as the "hit parade", due to the large number of sinkings by American submarines. On Tuesday, November 28, 1944, Archer-fish sighted a large enemy vessel with four escorts. This proved to be Shinano. Unable to run at maximum speed due to only eight of her twelve boilers being lit, and also suffering from a problem with her propellers, Shinano was limited to a speed of approximately eighteen knots. What ensued over the next several hours could only be described as a classic game of cat and mouse. Enright and Archer-fish desperately tried to keep up with the Shinano while trying to anticipate any course changes she might make. Finally, at 0300 hours on Wednesday, November 29, 1944, the Archer-fish was ready to fire.

A spread of six torpedoes leapt from her torpedo tubes, each being fired at eight second intervals. Four explosions rocked the Japanese carrier while Archer-fish dove for the safety of the depths. The ship was mortally wounded. Her protective bladder had failed to stop the torpedoes, and, in the words of Enright, they cut through the bladder "like a sword through butter". Later that morning, the Shinano, with her bow raised high out of the water, slipped below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Her maiden voyage had lasted all of seventeen hours.

This is a very exciting book. The format is excellent, with the chapters alternating between the action on the Archer-fish to the action on the Shinano. The first-hand account of the action by Captain Enright leaps off the pages and places the reader directly at the conning tower during the attack. Loaded with action and adventure, this book is a must for submarine readers.

Sertillanges delivers the reader a concentraited dose of sound advice on how to understand and obey the call to Christian scholarship. In addition to pragmatic material on life as an Academic, the author unfolds the truth that knowledge is "nothing more than a slow and gradual cure of our blindness." This insightful book is a must read for anyone who is feels a call to excellence in scholarship.

I first read this book as an undergraduate and I have reread it several times over the years. I regard it as one of the most important books that I've read. Why? A. G. Sertillanges does more than provide advice about how to organize your life to have time to think and write, although he does that. He argues that research is a vocation to find the truth -- a great calling no matter how small one's own part. His suggestions for organizing your life follow from the seriousness of this vocation, advice that's far more useful than merely how to get the next paper written.

Susan Hughes generously allows us into her familys private struggle with TS and ADHD. She shows how life really is as a parent struggling to control this disorder. She offers us a look into what the future might hold for any parent that has a child with Tourettes. This book gives parents and educators a much better understanding of these disorders. If there is someone in your life dealing with Tourettes then you must get them this book

I would like a 3-4 page review of this book, please. It would mean so much to me.

Thank you,

Karie

During all the adventure and excitement (of which there is plenty) you learn quite a bit about Vikings. My only complaint is that occasionally these historical facts can slow down the story.

Scarlett Ryan Foster surprised me with her historical knowledge and expertise in writing. This book can and should be read by children of all ages as well as adults. The concept of two young Michigan children traveling back in time made me think of "Back to the Future" films only going in the opposite direction. To suddenly find yourself in a foreign country, not know the language or customs, and be able to deal with the problems because you already learned about it in school or from your parents was a great concept. The book not only travels through time but also places that are no longer on the maps of today's world. It teaches grammar in a most delightful way. It also teaches history in a way that makes it enjoyable to read. In so doing children can learn from it and not realize they are doing so. The book may be fiction but it is based on history and the Viking way of life. The author has placed a Glossary in the Appendix, along with a listing of additional sources to help children learn more, and went so far as to list suggested activities for children, students, teachers, parents, and families to do to further educate everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and learned from it as well and I have been out of school several decades. I recommend this book for any school, library, and family.

This book is a must have for parents of childrens with tourette syndrome. It certainly proved we are not alone in the daily struggles we and our familys face. Although this can be a depressing book at times, it does go to show that with an incredible amount of patience and knowledge, you can handle anything.

this book is about a mom of a boy with servere tourettes. I t is excellent written she is real able to convey her pain and also her hope for her children. A must read for all intrested or avected by tourettes. the last chapter is by young ryan himself it is also vey intrsting.

I bought this book at the suggestion of the manager of the local bookstore to keep me occupied during an unwanted month-long trip to Poland. I normally don't read Star Trek novels, because Paramount doesn't recognize them as canon. That means that they never happened. They're basically authorized fan fiction. In fact, this is the first Star Trek novel that I've read all the way through. It's actually pretty good. In fact, I read so much of it at a time that I had nothing to do to relieve my boredom for the rest of the vacation. It's written by William Shatner. Who better to write a Captain Kirk story than James T. Kirk himself? This story is Kirk in his own words. It takes place between the end of "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" and Kirk's apparent death in the opening scenes of "Star Trek: Generations". Kirk joins a young woman on a journey to save her homeworld and, perhaps, recapture his youth and be young forever. Sure, we know that he won't be young again. Sure, we know that he'll survive the events of the novel. It's still fun and exciting to read, though. Don't let "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" fool you. Shatner can write. The only complaints that I have are a few typos and Shatner's writing style. He often omits the word "and" in compound sentences, and he often uses incomplete sentences lacking subjects. He also writes a lot of the characters' thoughts into the narrative itself, which is supposed to be neutral. It's as if the narrator knows what the characters are thinking and agrees with them. Other than these things, which you can get used to, it's a good book. Shatner even references events in numerous TOS episodes and all of the TOS movies except for "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (which really didn't need to be referenced anyway). The story is bookended with scenes of Spock, standing over Kirk's grave on Veridian III, thinking about his late friend. Some historical notes are contradicted, such as when phasers were invented ("Enterprise") and the time period of Cochrane's first warp flight ("Star Trek: First Contact"), by later canon material, but the main story itself can still fit into the canon. The ending sets up Shatner's next Star Trek novel, "The Return". Overall, "The Ashes of Eden" is a good story and worth your time to read. It IS James T. Kirk.

Starting with this book, Willam Shatner has proven how much he knows about and truly loves Star Trek and its characters. Along with the help of the Reeves-Stevens (They also deserve a high salute as well), Shatner adds some much needed depth to the cheap "death" of Kirk in Star Trek: Generations. He also takes care of some hanging continuity threads from the past movies as well. Gosh! Is it more than satisfying or what to finally see the resolution and evolution of some key questions and themes! The interesting thing here, while reading this, is that word has it Shatner proposed this story for the next Star Trek film. 6 was a great way to go out, but if they would have come back for one more, this would have been it. This story would have merited it, and I gurantee you everyone would have been leaving that theater with tears in their eyes and their fist in the air in victory. All sorts of juicy details are touched upon, including how and why The Genesis Project failed and more about David Marcus's death and everything else. I, too, had a little bit of a struggle seeing the young Teilani go after Kirk. I realize he IS Kirk, but come one, he is 60 years old now. (This is rectified in the following books in the series when Kirk is in the 24th century and Teilani is more his age) Whatever reputation Shatner may have, there is one thing no one should dispute: He knows and loves Star Trek like the back of his hand. It's too bad; as awesome as his books in this series have been, I wish he and Nimoy would take over the reign of control over the Star Trek franchise. I would DIE to see the saga Shatner had portrayed in these books on the big screen. For me, his books are what the movies used to be. Star Trek has become so cheapened, watered down, and politically correct, that when I finally ran across these books, I finally had REAL Star Trek again. Not some soap opera like what it has become. Go ahead: Compare these books to anything Star Trek in the past several years. The difference will make you weep. Here is the difference between love and the almighty dollar.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, William Shatner has written what I would proclaim as a piece of fine science fiction and Star Trek literature. The story begins with a great mysterious/emotional awe as it opens with Spock at the grave of his fallen friend James T. Kirk. Then, the story sky rockets as Mr. Spock recalls their last adventure in the final days of the beloved James Kirks life! The story starts with Kirk reliving a simulation on Tycho VI where he lost his girl friend and relives a challenging moment with arch-villian Androwar Drake. In the end Kirk awakes from a simulation and drags on his last day virtually hopeless until a new young lady enters his life. A half Romulan/Klingon hybrid she leads Kirk and virtually gives a desperate Kirk hungary for a last piece of action hope. Kirk's friends think he is crazy but Kirk does not listen. Instead he gets involved with the young women and leaves Starfleet to aide her in defense of her planet Chal. This young woman named Telani gives him the Enterprise after Kirk learns his arch-enemy Androwar Drake becomes the CiC of the Fleet and plans to blow the ship to dust. So, Kirk returns with the Enterprise and old friends Scott to the planet! But that is one half. Meanwhile Checkov and Uhura go on a mission to find out Klingon's are selling weapons of mass destruction. While there both Checkov and Uhura run into a rogue agent of Star Fleet Intell and get ditched and left to die until Captain Sulu rescues them. Then the crew goes to the new CiC and the old gang along with Spock and McCoy are assigned to hunt down Kirk! Well, in the end the two sides meet in epic battle that only the reader will have to find out! Shatner blows the fans away with a great book! Long life James T. Kirk!

Let me first state that this is the first book I have read on the subject. This book definitely has some really helpful exercises and ideas to help a budding screenwriter, like myself. I am however disappointed in the writing; a major flaw in an instructional book about... writing.

The author seems somewhat self-important. He likes to use large or obscure words where smaller, more common ones would not only suffice, but would not only suffice, but would probably work better; I believe I have a good vocabulary, but had to dust off the dictionary to read this one. The book is also poorly researched. Two examples: in the introduction, mentioned "Hollywood films such as 'Operation Condor,'" a film from Hong Kong (obvious to anyone who has actually seen the film, since the dialog is dubbed); in a synopsis of the film "Pulp Fiction," the author totally butchers the timeline, and states that BUTCH (Bruce Willis) only briefly meets JULES and VINCENT (Jackson and Travlota respectively), neglecting to mention that BUTCH kills VINCENT while VINCENT is camped out waiting to kill BUTCH (the mention of this would defeat the argument he uses the story to demonstrate).

I must repeat that the book was helpful in several ways. I would imagine there are much better books on the subject, and recommend you seek those first.

James Ryan's idea of writing from the heart reinforces confidence in the hearts of novice writers. As opposed to most of the other approaches which scare the novice showing that the writing process is an alien mechanism which has to be learnt from the seasoned Gurus or some institutions, rather than by intuition. Ryan demystifies the myth behind the writing process as, "there is nothing very abstract or academic about writing; it is an art form, yes, but first and foremost it is a craft." (pp. 5) While reading the first half of the book, this starting assurance has helped me to proceed further with enthusiasm. But, somewhere along the line, I found a question which was bothering me. That is, "How do you judge your own work whether you have achieved a genuine product of your heart or synthetic product of overflowing intellect, based on this approach?" I didn't find the answer to this question yet, but, this question is not meant as a complaint. James Ryan explains how the intangible creative flow from the heart can be triggered consciously by choosing an object. This exercise sounded very interesting and promising. Over all, this is a very useful book for both beginning writers and experienced writers.

One small comment I cant resist sharing with the co-readers and the author: On the one hand, Ryan advocates the ORIGINALITY that a writer can discover from his/her work, and on the other hand he tells us how there are already existing/fixed styles and types of films. This comes as a slight contradiction in the book: if every writer starts respecting his/her own originality, he/she can't stop it at the content only..it could eventually extend to inventing a new style or type!

I wrap up again summing up that this is a great book which gives a deep insight into the complex writing process without scaring the novice writer.. and to an experienced writer, it serves as a tool to re-examine if he/she is on the right track. This book shows us how we can control the final product, the screenplay by working on the central controlling element, the heart, just like how we can affect the external beauty of a plant by just feeding its roots. 'the heart.'

I really liked this book because it helped me in so many unexpected ways. I liked how he showed me that a screenplay can be one or five acts, not just three, as the formula tells us it should be. His Free-Write exercises were just great. They actually broke me of this block I was having with my work and lead me to some very interesting places. They helped to make my work more original, which, right there, is worth the price of the book.

This is not a dumbed down book. It is really smart, tough, and very original. Even if you don't agree with what he says, you have to admit he makes you really think about screenwriting in a very fresh and original way. And I do agree with him that without great characters a screenplay will never be great.

I thought is was very well written and I recommend you give it a try. It will broaden your skills.

The Bolivian Diary of Che Guevara is pretty fascinating, because when I thought about the Bolivian Adventure, Che being a horrible comandante and guerrilla leader always came to my mind. When I read the book I found that there were many aspects that didn't let Che prevail in Bolivia. From Mario Monje and PCB Party's betrayel, Fidel's lack of re-establishing contact with the guerrillas, lack of peasant recruiting to create a people's army, lack of conditions being right in country for an insurection, etc. Even with all these things stopping Che I was very amazed on how far he got, any other leader wouldn't have lasted 2 months. Che's tactics in his ambushes was incredible and even with lack of guerrillas he wiped out mostly all army forces that opposed him. Che was doing superb until US intervention. To understand Che's mission and how he failed is to understan Latin America today.

I found the writing to be excellent and the story flow to be very compelling. However, I did feel that the illustrations left much to be desired. Very crude drawings with very little artistic appeal. I feel that when one purchases a graphic novel like this, it is as much for the story line as the art work. The stories are wonderful, the art work is very lacking.

Because I'm a huge fan of Spike, I knew that I had to find a copy of this rare graphic. I'm very glad that I did. It contains 3 reprinted stories, and 1 original story.

ALL'S FAIR- takes place during the World's Fair of 1933. The story follows Spike and Dru as they maim. Slash, and slay their way through the glitter and lights of the Fair. They also encounter hideous demons from another dimension and highly skilled assassins out for blood.

THE QUEEN OF HEARTS- As the pair travel to Sunnydale to be near the Hellmouth, the star-crossed lovers stop in St. Louis to do a bit of gambling and cause major mayhem on a riverboat casino. But, their blissful vacation is cut short by river demons.

PAINT THE TOWN RED- this story takes place shortly after Spike and Dru leave Sunnydale at the end of Buffy's second season. Dru's renewed love for Angel drives a wedge between the lovers. The end result is both of them trying to hurt the other as much as possible- which is a whole lot! With James Marsters helping with the writing, and Ryan Sook's artwork, this is by far the best story of all four.

WHO MADE WHO- tells the tale of Spike and Dru's final break up in Brazil. This is an epilog to Buffy's season three episode " Lover's Walk".

The only downside to this graphic is the artwork. Highly stylized, it's a deterant to fans who like Spike for his rugged good looks.

Still, if you like Buffy, Dru, or Spike and can find a copy of this graphic, than by all means buy it!

Spike has gradually become one of the most popular figures in the Slayer world. A hopeless romantic when alive he managed to cross over to the dark side with his capacity for love intact. His loyalty to Drusilla, who made him, was remarkable considering Dru's own flighty nature. Of course, his complex relationship with Buffy once again showed us a Spike who can be stubbornly in love despite every possible roadblock.

Dru of course, is the mad mistress. Psychically hypersensitive and more than a little kinky, her relationship with Spike actually lasted for a very long time. Her beauty is hard to define and her mind is, well, let us just say she is a bit distracted. Sometimes it is hard to see what the two lovers saw in each other, other than Spike's willing compliance with Dru's every wish. Certainly, as Spike developed more independence, the relationship between the two deteriorated.

This trade paperback collects the contents of three Spike and Dru comics, two from 1999 and the other from the end of 2000. In addition, there is a short from the "Lover's Walk" comic issued in 2001. The stories run from the Chicago World's Fair in 1933 to a more contemporary Carnivale in Brazil. During this journey, we will learn much about what makes our anti-heroes tick.

"All's Fair" takes a short flashback to China and the Boxer Rebellion and then jumps forward to the Chicago Fair. Spike and Dru treat the fair as a giant delicatessen until they run into some characters bent on vengeance from their past and a demon who wants to make earth its home.

To open "The Queen of Hearts" the lovers eat an entire topless bar and then move on to a riverboat casino. No one seems to have warned Spike that winning too much draws the wrong kind of attention - in spades.

In "Paint the Town" Spike is so frustrated with Drusilla's obsession with Angel. He ends the relationship in a fiery blaze and heads of for Turkey for a prolonged escape. Unexpectedly Dru tracks him down with a new friend in tow - a necromancer. She wants to get even, but before long, everyone is in trouble.

The final story, "Who Made Who," is a short finds the newly made up lovers in Brazil. However, Dru's attention once again wanders and Spike spoils the party.

I don't care all that much for the pencil work in these stories. Two were done by Eric Powell and the other two are by Ryan Sook. The work isn't bad, just a little to simplified and roughed in for my tastes. Since Sook has become quite well known, I am probably in the minority. Regardless of the artwork, the stories are all excellent, Chris Golden doing the lion's share on all of them. Certainly, any Spike fan will find this required reading.

As with the other 2 Traditions Gathered books, this one covers 3 different Tradition books. In this ocasion, White Wolf delivers Akashic Brotherhood, Celestial Chorus and Euthanatos in one single book. As a whole, the book increases it's quality.

AK Brotherhood is the worst Tradition book you can imagine. They are depicted as shaolin temple dwellers, who know nothing about outside world. They're much better developed in the 2-page description in Mage 2nd Edition than in the Tradition Book.

Celestial Chorus is a mixed bag. Some good info and some info which could be better developed. The style is fine, though.

Euthanatos is the best Tradition book ever published (maybe along with Order of Hermes), with great information about the death mages, and presented in a very enjoyable form (the story of a trial).

Overall, 1 bad one, 1 enjoyable (but nothing more) and 1 excellent one.

This compilation featured the Akashic Brotherhood, the Celestial Chorus, and the Euthanatos. This book was really three assembled into one. Much like the first two editions, this book had one book that was not so good, and two that were decent. The worst one was presented first.

The Akashic Brotherhood book was the first one featured. I have to say this was the worst of all the tradition books. It was a really dry and boring read loaded with a ton of kung-fu philosophy. Their tradition was so stereotypical that it appeared as though the authors based all their information on cheesy kung-fu movies. Their paradigm was mixed in with a lot stereotypical martial arts lingo and it made it difficult to isolate. After reading the book I was still confused as to how the mages in this tradition did some of their magick. There was some interesting information regarding the Akashic record and some neat Kung-Pow rotes. The amount of useful information was miniscule and the templates were cardboard cutouts, except for the superhero. I'm sure true fans of the Akashic Brotherhood would find the book entertaining and maybe even useful, but it was just a waste of time for me.

The Celestial Chorus book was something completely different. This tradition had always been labeled as the Christian Mages. Though that does describe a good number of them, it does not describe the entire tradition. This book had a lot of history and clarifications and made a valiant effort to prove that anyone who believes in a divine and righteous creator could be a Celestial Chorus member. There was plenty of information on the paradigm, practices, and secrets. The Celestial Chorus actually gave birth to a group that would eventually become a Technocratic Convention. This book is a must for anyone who wants to play a no nonsense good mage. It is loaded with a lot of useful information and is presented without a holier than thou attitude.

The Euthanatos tradition book was the last one in the compilation. It was quite possibly the best first edition tradition book in the series. This book completely illuminates the practices of the death mages, their paradigm, history, beliefs, and the risks they take. The Euthanatos are not psychotic killers created for power-gamers. They were described as the keepers of the Great Wheel who actively work to keep it in top shape. They also have a few covert duties that were instigated to police the Traditions. Very useful rotes were presented as well as a new game mechanic that is a great storyteller/player tool for mages who spend so much time with the macabre. After I was through with this book I placed the Euthanatos up with the Sons of Ether and Virtual Adpets as my most favorite traditions.

Overall the compilation was nice. Get it for the Celestial Chorus and the Euthanatos. Don't get it just for the Akashic Brotherhood. Their revised tradition book is a lot better; at least that's what I've read from other reviewers.

Swords of Faith (The Traditions Gathered, Vol. 3) completes the reprinting of the Tradbooks with the Akashic Brotherhood, Celestial Chorus, and Euthanatos. Tradbook: Euthanatos is generally considered the best read of the Tradbook series and my personal favorite. It continues the House of Helekar storyline mentioned in the Preludes to the other Mage supplements and Horizon: The Stronghold of Hope.