I've ben GMing for something like fifteen years and this is the system I always return to. If I want to run someting of my own, this is the system I base it on.

Slim-line, fast, flexible, simple, expansive, effective. All words that describe Talsorian's game mechanics - it simply does not get any better.

As for the universe - this is a REAL world of darkness. No bright dawn, no happy ever after. Only your wits and tech, style and edge. No right or wrong, only power and death, a world of grey areas that seems only just around the corner.

If you are a gamer and you don't have this - get it now.

If you aren't a gamer but love the Dark Future setting, it's worth it.

Magnificent.

This is one of my all time favorites!! I got into the gaming craze at an early age and quickly tired of singing burds and happy elves. This game takes a long hard look at where were headed as a society and allows you the player to take part. It has one of the more versitile character creation systems and is not hard to follow the logical progression to modify equipment! Oh, and not to forget it supports two of my favorite philosophies: 1)Knowledge is power! 2)Attitude is everything! So don't lose any cool points chumbada, buy the book!

I was stationed in Vilseck Germany with the 2nd of the 63rd Armor when I friend told me about Cyber Punk. It was almost a year before we found someone with the books, and immediatly set up a game. It was a game that I have never forgoten. It sits in my mind like the begining of Secret of Mana, forever a defining factor in my oppinions.

This game does tend to drag with its role to hit/role to dodge rules, but it is more believable then any other game I have seen or played. The setting for Cyber Punk is OURT world, with OUR history. It is science fiction. We can look at our own lives, make few changes to the timeline, and see that it IS possible. In reality, these things would never happen, but in the game, it is easier for us to adapt to this new world because it is so close to our own. Realy, what has changed? The world has met a sort of anarchy, like in Mad Max. The government is now run by Corporations. Bionics are common enough that you see people with mettle limbs on a regular basis. This world is more real then any other I have seen, and this makes more believable. Since it is more believable it becomes easier to enter your charactor and enjoy the game.

If I had to rate all the games I have played, I would put this on tope, even with its long combat and ineffectiveness with machine guns.

In this age of ethical confusion detached from traditional sources of guidance Mike's delightful compendium of observations is refreshing indeed. This slender volume poses and answers disarmingly simple questions that often lead to exquisitely delicious reflections on morals and mores.

You'll love it if you love golf or life.

Mike Smith's book is packed with tips that are very helpful both on the golf course and at the office. As a re-emerging golfer, I found it helpful for my golf game and etiquette, and it has given me useful insight into running my business.

If you're an entrepreneur who likes to play golf or if you think playing golf could be a good business networking opportunity for you, you'll enjoy reading "Business-To-Business Golf: How To Swing Your Way To Business Success" by Michael Smith.

Smith divides his book into eighteen chapters, one for each hole of golf. Smith begins by posing a question about business-golf etiquette, answers it, and then discusses solid business ideas based upon his experience in the financial services industry and as an entrepreneur in the field of manufacturing.

On the 6th hole, Smith gives us this scenario: "... You're on the green putting for a birdie from about twenty-five feet away. Your guest is standing quite close to you and does not seem to realize how much it is bothering your concentration. You wish to communicate using one of the following:"

Smith gives three possible golf-etiquette answers:

"A. Wave your arm at your guest to have him or her move a little and say nothing.

B. In a pleasant way, ask your guest to move away since it is bothering you.

C. Don't rock the boat since this is an important client and you do not want to miss any sale opportunities. Go ahead and putt."

What? Whack the guest on the shin with your putter is not an option? Smith says the correct answer is B because it shows diplomacy and shows you're willing to confront problems without hesitation. Smith says C is the worst choice because it may indicate a personal weakness your guest is trying to probe--a lack of assertion which might well lead you to hide problems from the client.

On the 8th hole, Smith poses the question: "...Your second shot finds you just off the fairway in the rough. While addressing the ball, you inadvertently touch the ball with your club and the ball moves from its original position about an inch or so. You know full well that the golf rules mandate a one stroke penalty."

What do you do? Smith gives these choices:

"A. Do not worry about it since your guest was on the opposite side of the fairway and could not have possibly noticed.

B. Your intention is to say something but wait until later in the round.

C. You immediately add the penalty to your score and hit the ball. You advise your guest right away of your score."

The birdie (correct answer) is C. However, since the film "The Legend of Bagger Vance," I question people who call strokes against themselves for just touching the ball. Are they really just being honest or are they sacrificing an insignificant golf stroke to impress me with their Matt Damon honesty?

So, maybe, if you are playing the skeptical, untrusting sort, it's better to ignore the minor touch. Or, if you feel it's really a question of ethics, take a huge swing and run it over the top of the ball! Personally, I feel that the rules of golf should be changed to exclude any stroke, excluding putts, which moves the ball less than about five feet!

Many of the golf-etiquette lessons are pretty basic, but some are also more advanced and could really help you in a business-golf situation. For example, I didn't know that the rules of golf disallow a person to search for a ball for more than five minutes.

While half of "Business-To-Business Golf: How To Swing Your Way To Business Success" is devoted to golf etiquette, the other half is devoted to business lessons entrepreneurs will find useful.

For example, Smith tells us about the 80/20 principle which says that for many businesses only 20% of all customers account for 80% of the company's sales. Smith compares business measurements to golf scores. How can you know how well your company is doing if you don't keep proper score?

Smith writes: "Do you list your most important statistics? Can you readily assess your key costs? How are your sales listed--by type of units or services, volume or profitability? Who are your most profitable customers? Why do they place their business with you? Are there others that you can add to your list of key customers? Do you know what your tip customers represent in overall sales to your business?"

Smith suggests listing your top 20% of customers by both gross sales and profitability and then looking for similarities between these customers so that you'll have more insight into finding profitable customers.

"Business-To-Business Golf" also contains a short glossary of golf terms (bogey is one over par, birdie is one under par) and a short list of some basic golf rules which people new to golf can use.

Overall, if you enjoy golf (or, are just learning to play it) and you enjoy reading about business, you'll probably enjoy Business-To-Business Golf.

Peter Hupalo, Author of "Thinking Like An Entrepreneur."

Eagle in The Sky takes you through a full range of emotions and once you think you have experienced it all, guess again! This is the first book of his that I ever read and now I read it at least once a year. He writes so you can see, smell, taste every word. I only purchase his books in hardcover since so I can savor them over and over. You can't go wrong with this one.

David and Deborah find love, adventure and horror but you won't want to put the book down once you have picked it up. The ending will suprise you. You will be glad to have spent the time

I've read all 27 of Wilbur Smith's books -- looking back I have to say that this one is the best. It's not the funniest, most interesting, or most exciting of his books, but it certainly made the biggest impact on me. Just thinking about the book (and it's been a long while since I've read it) sends a wave of emotion over me.

This is just a wonderful book.......I recommend it to anyone who is a Michael W. Smith fan

Michael does a great job of choosing bible verses that can be applied to real life situations. He also shares stories from his tender heart. His love for his family and friends are very obvious in this book. This is a great book to read if you need some encoragement from the greatest book ever written,the bible and also michael is a great encourager. I would recommend this book to anyone who feela like they need a friend

This is my absolute FAVORITE book!! I just started it and it's great!! I can't say enough about it. It just makes you feel good inside after you read it. After I read the first page, I knew it was going to be my favorite book. I just couldn't wait to get it!! It's SO GOOD!! I would reccomend this book to everyone!! Michael, this is a WONDERFUL book and I am going to buy another one for my cousin! Keep up the good work!! You are doing a great job preaching God's work!! God Bless You!

This is a great book for beginning riders and for people who teach them. Common sense, clear and full of answers to questions riders are often afraid to ask. Every chapter one or more school horses get introduced, each with their own quirks and special skills to make the life of a novice rider even harder than it already is. The book explains how to deal with different types of horses and provides clear strategies in 'what if' scenarios.(What if my horse won't move?)

What I don't like about the book, though, is that riders wear spurs in the pictures illustrating the novice's first lessons. A novice rider shouldn't even think about needing that kind of stuff!

and here is why! When I took lessons as a kid, I frequently didn't understand what the instructor was trying to get me to do. I faked my way through the extended trot for years without ever really knowing what it really meant (other than just "faster"). If I had had this book then, that wouldn't have happened. As a returning adult rider I do ask my instructor questions, but sometimes we learn so much in a lesson that I can't remember everything afterwards. This book clearly lays out exactly what all those aids were that I did in my lesson, so I can visualize them more clearly. The author also provides very realistic "what if this happens" situations with answers, which are very reassuring. He also tells you what to do if this doesn't work, and what to do next. His school horse portrayals are very accurate to the types of horses a novice rider will encounter, and helps one understand that while no horse is perfect, every one of them will contribute to one's becoming a better horseman. This book is very similar to the Cliffs Notes for riding lessons. Although not a substitute for qualified instruction (and it isn't trying to be either) the wealth of knowledge contained in it will enhance and reinforce all the things you will learn at the barn. Super!

Generally, I don't take the time to add a review on [...] if mine is merely a repeat of what others have written. In this case it is warranted. As (yet another) adult novice, I quickly found that riding is far more art than science, given the variables involving rider and horse AND instructor. What I found is that riding is a very complex art whose complexity becomes apparent only as one (hopefully) progresses in skill. Having waited a year before writing this review, I now feel competent to write a review about a book intending to assist fledgling riders figure out what they are doing, what the instructor is doing, and how they can improve. That is the market for which this book was intended. That is the intention in which the book succeeds and deserves the five-star rating. Having said that, here are the caveats.

As one becomes serious about riding, one finds that the communication relationships (horse, rider, instructor) are what keep riding instructors employed. You will continue to find that there are differences between what your instructor tells you, what you are feeling while on the horse, and what Mike Smith (the author) writes. For example, take the canter depart--making a transition into the canter gait.

A particular horse is going to respond differently to the various aids (signals) one uses--right leg, left leg, right rein, left rein, and your seat and torso. Mike--correctly I think--has to simplify that for novices. He writes, "5. Squeeze with your outside leg." This, to him, is the "signal" to the horse to start the canter. In fact, one can discover that three out of seven "experts" agree with him. Four out of seven write that it is the inside (driving) leg that is the signal. MOST importantly, the rider will find that horses differ in their opinions. What is the fledgling rider to do?

Buy and read this book. Try to listen to your instructor while you are struggling to learn. Periodically, re-read this book. (I made the mistake of confusing the trot depart and the canter depart in my fourth week of training--a wild riding experience both the horse and I will never forget!) As you progess, get another book, so you can begin to compare and appreciate the subtleties of riding. I guarantee that you will begin to figure out what Mike is saying when, for example, he says "When you can distinguish these differences in how your hips move, you're starting to learn to really feel the horse--a definite indication of YOUR progress." (My emphasis.)

Finally, don't fall into an early trap of riding the same horse every week ("Charlie is sooo nice.")or failing to occasionally compare your instructor with another (Every instructor has their personal riding vocabulary with which they communicate; sometimes, a different phrase will produce an "Aha!". The more horses with whom you try to communicate, the more proficient you will become.

Good riding.

Most people are probably familair with the Disney adaption of this book. However, even I was surprised at how much Disney cut out of the film version.

In Dodie Smith's book, Pongo, Missis, Perdita, and the 15 puppies take on dimensions only hinted at on the silver screen. We can feel Pongo's and Missis's agony as their children are stolen. We are with them as they cross England as they trek to Hell Hall to attempt a rescue before Cruella has the puppies skinned for fur coats. And everyone will shed a tear as, after days of trudging through the snow, avoiding the De Vil woman and local dog catchers, make it home in time for Christmas with the kindly help of a boxer and a removal van.

This is a wonderful, charming book that you won't be able to put down and that you will find yourself coming back to again and again.

This book is amazing. It is very believeable although it is clearly fiction. This book is one of the best books I've read and believe me,I've read alot of books.

Although Disney did a wonderful job on adapting the book, the movie can't do it justice, because, unless you want another three hour movie, you can't get all the details in.

Like in the movie, Pongo and Missis (later know as Perdita) set out to find the pups. However, the book also has many sub-plots that the movie does not(ie. Mothers losing their kids and still loving them). It was the ovious thought put into the book that wasn't in the movie that inspired me to get the sequel, " The Starlight Barking", from amazon.com All in all, the book is a must have for dog lovers and those who liked the movie, you'll LOVE the book.

This book, though much different than the Disney movies, is a must read for kids who love action and fantasy books. The story gives ideas that we don't own our pets, they own us (Which may be true in some cases). I love this book and enjoyed reading it alone and to my kids.

The book I read aloud to my 7 year old daughter is the 1956, 1957 Copyright with a yellow hardback cover with drawings of dogs on it. The illustrators are Janet and Anne Grahame-Johnstone.

This book is fun and exciting and is more enjoyable than the Disney cartoon version. You will be surprised by the Dalmation Perdita in this book. She is not what you expect. Also, you will not find out where the "101th Dalmation" comes from until the last two chapters unless you are very, very perceptive. I kept coming up with 100 total Dalmations until the very end.

This book is a must read for everyone; but, you will probably have to borrow it from your local library. This book needs to be rereleased.

We bought this audio book hoping to wean our young children (who enjoyed both movie versions of this book very much) off of movies and get them more interested in "real stories."

I have to tell you that this story far exceeded my expectations. Not only was it a fun story that my children enjoyed immensely, but one with subtleties, humor and bits of truth sprinkled throughout that had me listening and laughing right alongside them.

There are a lot of dog stories out there and I admit to being a dog-lover (well at least of big dogs), but this is a lot more than just a dog story. Certainly there's a great deal of humor, adventure and ... Dalmatians... but underneath all that you get many tidbits of truth that are applicable to life itself.

Martin Jarvis does a fabulous job in narrating this unabridged classic. Highly recommended!

101 Dalmations deserves ongoing mention as an excellent audio that will appeal to a wide age range. Martin Jarvis' smooth voice provides a clear, unabridged production bringing to life the classic story of a host of puppies who must escape the cruel Cruella de Vil in order to get back to their home. Cruella has a fur coat in mind - made of dalmations. The whole family will find this fun and a fine listen.

Being an adaptation by and with the great Martin Jarvis, I thought it would be absolutely excellent, as I have found his audio efforts to be always. But in his performance there is something lacking, Sir Robert Chiltern should be played with a bit more pathos. Jacqueline Bisset is formidable, and Alfred Molina also as Lord Goring.

As to being a live recording, this is a mixed blessing. This public seems to misunderstand some lines, and there are misplaced laughs, for example when Robert Chiltern says: "I did not sell myself for money. I bought success at a great price. That is all". I'm sure Wilde didn't intend this to be a joke. Chiltern is not bought, he is not changed, it is he who buys something, therefore his character, his person, is not altered. The public dismisses this important nuance and bursts into a hearty fit of laughter.

There are three o four more like that. But on the whole, this recording by L.A. Theater Works is highly enjoyable.

Oscar Wilde gives us here one of his best plays. He explores the political world in London and how a young ambitious but poor man can commit a crime, which is a mistake, to start his good fortune. But he builds his political career on ethical principles. Sooner or later someone will come into the picture to blackmail him into supporting an unacceptable scheme, by producing a document that could ruin his career if revealed. His past mistake may come back heavily onto him. But he resists and sticks to his moral reputation. He prefers doing what is right to yielding to some menace. He may lose though his political ambition and career and his wife's love. But love is saved by forgiveness and the man's career is also saved by the work of a real friend who recaptures the dubious document and destroys it. In other words love and an ethical career are saved by the burrying of the old mistake into oblivion. In other words love and friendship are stronger than the scheming action of a blackmailer. This is a terrible criticism of victorian society which is based more on appearances than principles and yet able to destroy a man's absolutely ethical present life with a mistake from his youth, throwing the baby along with the water of the bath. It is also a criticism of the victorian political world where you cannot have a career if you are not rich, money appearing as the only way to succeed, at least to succeed fast. But it is a hopeful play because love and friendship are beyond such considerations and only consider the best interest of men and women, in the long run and in the name of absolute purity. Better be a sinner and be forgiven when you have reformed than see a reformed sinner destroyed by the lack of forgiveness. Oscar Wilde advocates here a vision of humanity that necessitates forgiveness as the essential fuel of any rational approach. Real morality is not the everlasting guilt of a sinner without any possible reform. Real morality is the recognition that forgiveness is necessary when reform has taken place. Otherwise society would be unlivable and based on hypocrisy and the death or rejection of the best people in the name of (reformed) mistakes. One must not be that sectarian, because man can learn from his mistakes and improve along the road : one can learn how to avoid mistakes and repair those oen has committed. If condemnation is absolute, no progress is possible. A very fascinating play, a very modern play. And yet when can one be considered as reformed, when can we consider one has really corrected one's mistakes and improved ? And who can deem such elements ? The very core of political and ethical rectitude is concerned here and Oscar Wilde embraces a generous approach.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Perpignan

Wilde, in part, attempts to portray the relativity of truth, power, and character, things we often take as absolutes, while also entertaining his audience with witty dialogue and comical mishaps.

Updated for the continuing growth of the field, Jerry March had simply written one of the most comprehensive works in organic chemistry. The huge, thick volume might not serve as a text but rather a desktop reference. It was chosen as a course bible for my organic synthesis class.

The first part of the book deals with strcutures in organic chemistry. It serves as a prerequisite to understanding of reactions and mechanisms. This section contains information about some of the most ambiguous organic intermediates (species) such as nitrenes, carbenes, carbocations, and tautomers. One can also find detailed discussion on cis-trans isomerism and structural reactivity relations.

Part II of the volume discusses organic reactions and types of reactions in depth. Representative reactions include nucleophilic substitution, electrophilic substitution, rearrangements and radical reactions. Though March's work is self-containing as a sole reference, it is also meant to serve as a companion to major texts such as Miller's "Advanced Organic Chemistry", the double volumes of "Advanced Organic Chemistry" by Carey and Sundberg and any undergraduate introductory texts.

March's book distinguishes itself in discussion of organic named reaction such as Susuki reaction, Wolf-Kishner reduction, Swern oxidation, etc. One might often encounter difficulty in looking up named reactions. Jerry March's book will ease much of the trouble. Organic chemists and students should not miss this treasured work. Highly recommended.

I agree with the other reviewers. I'd like to add that this book is also phenomenally useful as a reference for all chemists, not just organic chemists. It is undoubtedly the most complete work in terms of useful organization of cited references going back nearly a century. Its usefulness has led me to dedicate a recent article to Jerry March. Since Jerry's death in 1997, it will be up to Wiley to find a suitable coauthor to update this volume. I can only hope for a choice as good as Jerry. Along with Cotton & Wilkinson's Adv. Inorg. Chem., Jerry's book is a must for every chemist's ready-reference library.

I ordered this book based on a recommendation of a fellow chemist in my organic chemistry classes. Once I got it, it blew my mind. I ordered it for my advanced organic chemistry class, and it's been extremely helpful. I've taken it to entry-level organic chemistry classes and read it while the professor lectured. Not only did I find everything he was talking about, but it was explained better. If anyone seeks to better themselves in chemistry, or just have it as a reference guide, this book covers both.

This book is chock full of Java programming and architecture goodies. No Java programmer or architect should be without it. It hits on some of the subtleties of the paradigm and makes some great suggestions for solutions to common problems. I've already used several since I read the book three months ago. It covers the full range of the Java paradigm from EJBs to Servelts and JSPs. It also covers many Java Web service APIs such as JAXP, JAXR and JAXM. Unlike many other books, it also address J2ME, GUI programming and several utilities. Readers should also check out the web site that goes along with the book. It provides sample code, corrections to the text and links to additional resources.

The book is easy to read and well organized with excellent "how-to-fix" information about the "hard-to-figured out" problems. We found many of our Java servlets problems in this book and wished that we had this book earlier when we struggled to solve the instance concurrency problems in our web-based Java/Servlet application. This book is definitely the first book that we will refer too when we have any difficult Java related problems in the future.

This book is full of valuable information, and something that I believe I can use for my team of Java developers on our projects. I have enjoyed this entire book, but here are my comments on a few of my favorite "articles" from this book.

#1 - When Runtime.exec() won't. An excellent 13 page discussion of how things can go wrong with the famous Runtime.exec(). There are so many ways to mess up when running OS processes from Java, and this article discusses most of them, and more importantly, the right way to go about using Runtime.exec().

#5 - Avoid Granularity Pitfalls in java.util.logging. This is a well-written discussion of the java.util.logging API, and helps programmers avoid using it in the wrong way. This is a good tutorial, but I really like the pictures that show the relationship between the logger and the handler - it is much easier for people to understand that way.

#15 - Avoiding singleton pitfalls - This is a great discussion of how multiple "singletons" can happen in your VM, if you don't set them up the right way... My company has seen this happen a lot, but I have seen few discussions on it before this book.

#24 - JSP design errors. This is something that I don't believe many other books talk about, and is very valuable. A lot of the JSPs that I have seen out there look bad, and this shows how they should be developed. The examples are good, and this is short and to the point and conveys the points well.

#41 - The problem with multiple concurrent ResultSets. This shows an example of having 2 ResultSet objects open at the same time in an iteration, and showing the results in Sybase, Oracle, MySQL, Access, and SQLServer. It shows how, depending on the implementation of the driver & database, different behavior can be seen, and shows how to fix it. This is an excellent article - most examples I have seen before do not take the time to show behavior from multiple databases.

These are only a few of the articles from this book. I like the book because it is full of self-contained articles that discuss aspects of the Java programming language that are tricky - or are often misunderstood and misused. I also like it because it covers performance, design, and in many cases, gives metrics. Some of the APIs discussed in the book I have not used yet (j2me, jaxrpc, jaxr), but probably will in the future. This is an extremely relevant resources.

I can't say enough good things about this book. I give this an excellent rating, and recommend it highly.