To review these short stories demands the shortest of comments. Geling Yan thankfully has been translated so that for those of us who can only read 'English' have not been denied stories, which once read cannot be forgotten. I truly cannot praise the quality,emotional content, technical structuring,linguistic texture, etc. etc., sufficiently highly. I can only suggest that you read these short storiesand discover their wonder.

I was a bit surprised when my husband first handed me my copy of 'White Snake and Other Stories'. I had never read any Chinese literature in my life and was quite unfamiliar with Lawrence Walker and Geling Yan as a translator author team.
What a wonderful surprise my husband's gift turned out to be! The writing style was so sensitive, thoughtful, creative that I felt I was literally being transported into another time and another culture. I feel that what I learned about China in the short time it took me to read this book is priceless, not to mention the true enjoyment of reading good, creative original literature like 'White Snake'. My congratulations to both Geling Yan for writing this marvelous book, and to Lawrence Walker for doing such an incredibly brilliant job at translating what must have been an unbelievably difficult work. He made it so easy to read that one would have thought it was written originally in English. And Geling brought to me her China in her own wonderful way!

Geling Yan's WHITE SNAKE AND OTHER STORIES is an excellent collection of the author's 6 short stories. "White Snake" is pyschologically and emotionally most subtle. The story derives the theme allegorically from an ancient fable of love for its plot, and it transforms that faithful love into a very subtle and complex human experience that deserves various interpretations. As in her other stories, "White Snake" leaves room for the reader's imgaination to explore and appreciate its meaning. It is poetic! "White Snake," "Celestial Bath" and "Siao Yu" are also political. The author is skillful to portray an individual's life in the context of a large and powerful world of political entity. "Celestial Bath" and "Siao Yu" actually depict a tragedy of the Chinese nation. Hemingway-like detachment is the author's approach, even in "The Death of the Liutenant" in which the woman writer is apparently the author's alter ego. Lawrence Walker's translation is fluent, faithful to the original and very readable. Yan's style, however, is so sophisticate that no translation can do justice. (This is the problem for all translations). This collection of Yan's stories is a suitable text for a contemporary Chinese literature course.

Following in the legendary footsteps of S1, Lawrence Shick created the ultimate puzzle-solving adventure. Voted one of the best 5 adventures of all time in the recent TSR fan poll, S2 features riddles, unspeakable traps, ingenious settings, three weapons of unbelievable power, and a series of unforgettably twisted monster encounters that will give your players migraines as they desperately try to save the lives of their favorite PCs. Well, at least it's lots of fun for the DM... :) for levels 5-10.

I first played this campain when i was 11! Afther that i was hooked on AD&D. I loved the artifacts (black razor*),the puzzles were some of the best i've seen (frictionless room). It had alot of great monsters too (merfolk*)It is simpley a great campain for beginner D&D players.

Yes, this truly is a piece of gaming history worthy of being enshrined. Why? Well, S2 was the first module to incorporate the following - riddles ("Roleplaying? Egad! Can't we just hack our way through?"), unique magical items with strong, evocative personalities (without approaching the "breaking point" of artifacts), extensive mysterious hooks (you never know who the prime antagonist really is; in fact, the DM is practically begged to make this adventure his or her own), and unique puzzles that can only be overcome through teamwork and sheer creativity (the frictionless room, the cavern of the geysers, etc.). Yes, it may seem crude by today's standards, but when you consider the quantum leap forward that this adventure represented (along with S1, which it strongly follows), and the fact that all of this was in 1979, we definitely have a magnum opus. I love it.

It is a little disconcerting to follow the review of such a distinguished authority as Herr Tietmeyer but here goes.

The Annual Hayek Lecture Series is one of the major events of the year for the Institute of Economic Affairs, the London based free market think-tank. In 1999 the Institute invited Herr Otmar Issing, previously member of the board at the Bundesbank and currently an Executive member of the European Central Bank, to deliver the lecture. Professor Her Issing chose as his subject, Hayek, Currency Competition and European Monetary Union.

It is instructive some thirteen weeks after the introduction of the Euro to revisit this text and see how his argument holds up.

The lecturer begins with an acknowledgement of Hayek's contributions in several areas of politics and economics before consideration of his seminal paper for the IEA, "Choice in Currency: A Way to Stop Infation", and the later paper, "Denationalisation of Money".

In what follows Issing lays out as he sees it the essential concepts of Hayek's proposal before proceeding to establish through carefully argued analysis, a connection with the single European currency.

In his conclusions to the paper Issing suggests that having a single European Central Bank and a single European currency are the true heirs to hayek's legacy given that they will accomplish what Hayek himself had set out as his ultimate objectives.

Issing's case here is a travesty of the Hayek proposal, based as it is on the selective interpretation and misuse of the texts to substantiate his argument. In fact, if anything the single currency will do more harm than good as it is now in use in a European Union which does not have a single market, and where there are many barriers to internal trade and factor mobility. The so-called independence of the central bank is a falsehood. Consider the similar independence of the Bundesbank when Chancellor Kohl established the exchange rate between East and West German currencies. The continued high level of unemployment in the East of that country is a lingering testament to that political interference.

Similarly, the independence of the Central Bank cannot be guaranteed as the current jockying for positions by the French President, among others shows.

Having said that, this book provides a stimulating look inside the mind of a central banker, whose mindset now reflects that of the institution that employs him. Despite the attempted hijacking of the ideas of a great economist, this book deserves to be read by anyone with an interest in monetary economics.

Once again Otmar Issing has demonstrated his brilliance with this profound and insightful lecture, which debunks many myths surrounding currency competition while, at the same time, reaffirming the value of a currency firmly rooted in a culture of price stability. It is a real pleasure to read. It should be required reading for students of monetary econmics and all those interested in the conduct of monetary policy.

I love anthologies and this one is great. Especially Lynn Collum's SANDALOUS BRIDE. It was really fun.

Durrell's 1957 espionage classic is just as fresh and exciting as ever. Methuen, intrepid British secret service veteran, tramps about the mountains of southern Serbia in search of the White Eagles, a band of rebels to Tito's regime who support the long-deposed Yugoslav royal family and have come across a great secret. Lovers of the spy genre will enjoy this book immensely. Those interested in the Balkans will revel in Durrell's descriptions of the landscape and people of Serbia. The White Eagles do exist, in fact a modern incarnation was a paramilitary band responsible for much terror and mayhem in Bosnia in the 1992-5 war.

R. D. Lawrence writes a superbe tale of a rare and wonderous animal, a white puma. The novel follows the cat's life from his mother's coming to maturity to his adulthood. Running concurrently to this storyline is the story of a pair of hunting guides and their activities as guides, hunters and poachers. Being a naturalist, the author provides a startlingly accurate picture of the actions of all characters and the mountain valleys they live in. This tale provides a window into the behaviour of both pumas and people in a way few stories can. A must-read for all feline furries as well.

If you're interested in the "orphan lifestyle" the book is fantastic. Great info on a true street-level game. However, it doesn't make the orphans more interesting or complex. No new character enhancements. Don't buy it if you're looking for a way to make orphans more appealing as a character option. Buy it if your looking for the harsh reality of orphan life.

Amidst the plethora of truly unimpressive books White Wolf has been putting out over the past couple years, there are actually a few worth purchasing. If your interests lie in running a "street level" Mage game, this is one of them.

Picking up where Outcasts left off, this book takes an in-depth look at the lives, attitudes, and spirituality of the Orphans and manages to present material that's both new and useful. The lessons from characters at the beginning, and the more analytical look at Orphans near the end, can be good inspiration in your own game as well.

Unfortunately, as with most WW books, the vast majority of the pregenerated characters, templates, settings, and rotes in the book are dull and smack of a 'look how original I am!' attitude. Worse, there are far too many sections in this book where the authors feel the need to talk down to the reader. In fact, this tiresome trend has become increasingly prevalent in all WW books lately.

Lastly, well, it's the art. It's not bad, as such, just mediocre. Another trend in WW books in recent days.

Overall, my complaints with the book are largely aesthetic and don't nearly outweigh the valuable information and inspiration you can find. As long as you can put up with a little snottiness and the other typical WW garbage, you'll probably enjoy this book. In short, I highly recommend it.

Well, okay, you might get turned off by some of the content, thats okay, its the WoD, your supposed to be uncomfortable, anyways, it is very, very good, and may give you a brand new prespective on mage, like it did to me, buy it, read it, and you will begin to see Mage through Orphan eyes...

If you already have the sourcebooks for Vampire: The Masquerade or The Guide to the Camarilla, you may not want this book. It provides some information about each of the clans in the Camarilla (Pre Gangrel departure, vampric vernacular, explanations of some terms, the Traditions of the Camarilla as well as the Book of Nod. You may like to buy the book for the stories it contains or for allowing a beginner to read it and get a feel for the World of Darkness rather than throwing the game books at them. I believe that would be the most useful part of this book, for loaning to someone who has not played Vampire: The Masquerade before to learn about what they may have to expect in the games as well as observing current gaming sessions. The stories may give an insight to the new player of the adult horror and themes of Vampire.

This was Lawrence's first published novel in the UK, and represents the writer's early experiment in the quest for an established style.

Far too much descriptive detail, and too little narrative, to be considered an enjoyable read. It is however interesting to note the early appearance of themes that were to dominate later Lawrence works. In particular, the nature-civilisation dichotomy, which became a Lawrence trademark, is apparent here in the relationship between the cultured, educated narrator and his best friend, the raw-boned but affable farmer, George.

Readers wishing to introduce themselves to Lawrence would be better advised to start with the book published two years later, and that marked the beginning of his literary reputation: "Sons and Lovers"

Overall, it is easy book to read but you could really tell that each chapter was written by a different person. Some chapters are good but others are really poor. The end of the chapter tests were way too easy compared to the actual test. It has an incredible number of mistakes and typos especially in the calculation of subnet masking. I went round in circles and wasted so much time trying to figure out why I could never get a question correct. I think this book has a second edition that I hope is better. Avoid this book and you will be a much happier person.

OK! I know there are a lot of mistakes...especially for the beginner like me...I am really confused by this book because of its unnecessary mistakes...but, I really like the chapter 2...it's very easy to understand the ARP...IP or ICMP..However, I got confused on the chapter 5 with the wrong route table...Man, I hope it would be better when it come to the second edition!

I am using this book to upgrade my TCP/IP 3.5 to TCP/IP 4.0. I am already a CNE, NCIP, and MCSE. I'm working towards my MCSE+I. This book is a first print (or close to) of a TECHNICAL book. It will have errors! On New Riders' web site, they have a page with corrections which you can print out. I used these corrections as I went through the book. The CONTENT of this book is great and on target. I give four stars because I know from my past education, experience and my knowledge of what is expected on the exam that is book is key! Minus one star for the errors which DON'T affect the content due to the corrections page, but hopefully will be gone in the next print. MCP Magazine also did ratings on the best TCP/IP study book and THIS BOOK WON!