Black Wall Street was very imformative book and gave a lot of insight about how successful we were as a people and how unified the community was at that time. Mr. Hannibal Johnson did a wonderful job in potraying the devesatation brought upon the African-American community on May 31, 1921. This particular book should be in every African-American home as a must read to show our youth that in the past were have been a prosperous people.

Imformative as well as historical commentary on sucessful Afro-Americans during a time of extreme overt racial hatred. A positive example of what others have achieved in the past, in spite of the terrible consequenses, to help focus others in the future. An excellent contrast with your usual American history text verbage about the Roaring 20's. A must for Afro-American home libraries as well as American history buffs.

This book was a bit hard to read - the format is not very nice (small writing, rough pages, only black and white, lots of solid text and no charts or similar) and the first 2 chapters are particularly hard, as the author goes into very much detail of what causes cellulite and what happens at the cellular level and so on. Personally, I'm a bit challenged as far as chemistry goes, so I ended up skipping this section after I had a hard time for several pages.
That said, the book does give great, valuable info on supplementation and the right foods to eat to eliminate cellulite and create a cellulite-resistant body. The training section is particularly good, the suggested system of doing 3 sets of each exercise and stretching that muscle in between sets will not only help you eradicate cellulite, but make you much stronger than strength training or cardio alone, much faster. I think the meal plan has a bit too much gluten and dairy for someone who wants to avoid water retention and bloating (and for for general health, too, without mentioning possible intolerances), but if the reader considers that in addition to following the guidelines listed in the chapter about nutrition she can work out her own meal plan better than the one suggested in the book.
To really reach your goal, I would recommend pairing this up with the guidelines in "The Fat Flush Plan" by Ann Louise Gittleman, as well as performing periodic mono-dieting, as suggested in "Fit for Life: a new beginning" by Harvey Diamond.

This book is very informative. It explained the reason for cellulite. It discusses what products out there are geared to help to combat the situation. The author explains what each product (herbal, topical, etc.) is supposed to do and follows up with any studies that have been done. There is really good 30 day diet in the book to help to drop pounds and there are exercises with information on how to "downsize your thighs". I read this and discussed it with a friend. I am now buying it for my friend to read.

Another of my large Kalamar purchase, this book initially impressed more than the Kingdoms of Kalamar sourcebook did. In the end however, it got the same rating, and the same overall impression. Nice, hung together well enough, lots of NPCs in good detail, but numerous irritations and inconsistencies dragged it down. Worse, not one immediate idea for an adventure sprang to mind reading it. This might be a lack of imagination on my part (I'll not so humbly say that this is unlikely), or more likely the kinds of adventures suggested by this book don't appeal to me.

This book is an exploration of a city in the campaign setting, and follows the same feel in that the emphasis is far more on the politics rather than old ruins or monsters. This is fine, but not quite what most people expect from AD&D. The cover is a very nice picture of a stone and a fire giant fighting while adventurers watch behind small hills, and the city in the background. Unfortunately, that's about all that these kinds of threats are seen, except in passing. The underground sewers are detailed well, but most areas are given the same "rumors of treasures hidden in the walls" treatment.

So the emphasis is on the people and their interactions. The city overall is one with a very peaceful reputation. You have five main groups, the Castle, the Guilds, the Nobles, the Priests and the common people. The Castle and leaders seem mostly good, with the potential heir being somewhat weak, leading to worries as to what will happen if the Lord dies. The guilds are builders, craftsmen, parcel carriers, etc, and basically well respected. There are one or to evil guildmasters, but very little detailed as to if they have any real plans. The Nobles are the most interesting group at first, as they're disliked by the commoners and Guilds alike. But rather quickly it's obvious that most follow a pattern.. Leader of the house, the heir is almost always a young man or woman who either seeks adventure to make a name, seeks adventurers to provide a power base for when they become the leader, or weak/not interested in the job of being house leader. One or two plots are laid out in fair detail, but they still didn't really grab me, and the sameness of each noble house got monotonous after awhile.

The religions are primarily good or neutral, and the evil religions again follow a pattern of only a few followers, want to expand their powerbase in the city, preparing to do so but not yet... One religion is truly evil, with some fleshing out of the despicable practices of its leader, but this was only a blip in the monotony. The shady dealings in the city are minimal and glossed over in the chapter devoted to this, because the town watch is so effective. The section on adventures is quite thin, and almost nothing in it really grabbed me.

Another element of this book that I disliked were some writing style choices and inconsistencies.
1. Names not always consistent between book, glossary (with page number where character is found) and the NPC list.
2. Almost every paragraph had at least one word in quotes, sometimes needed but more than often not.. Example: "If being 'noble' accords him special privileges, he will shamelessly make use of them ... However, he knows very well that anyone who truly believes Talasaarans are 'better' than their fellow Geanavese..." These quotes interrupt the flow of reading for me.
3. The authors use city-wide versions of common words throughout (at least they do explain the meaning) but this is annoying when they're for words like street, corner, avenue, left (sinister) and right (dexter). Again, it breaks up the flow.
4. The walkthrough of the city switches from guide-book style of simple description to actual guide style ("Now, as we go down this street, we decide to turn in the sinister direction and...") multiple times. Combined with huge amounts of quotes and city specific terms, plus including information already mentioned in the rest of the book, this chapter seemed a waste.
5. Sometimes the book goes into great detail about specific plots and plans (well, all of a couple of them), and other times things that it would help the DM to know are merely mentioned and then left alone as something that "No one really knows.". This seems inconsistent.

Ok, so lots of complaints.. It still gets a three for the high production quality and the wealth of NPCs and locations included. The nits and sameness drag it down to just average.

One of the top challenges for a good DM is to run a quality city adventure, as you have to have lots of potential NPCs that your players can run in to - and, you often have to create a lot of them on the fly as well. This book gives the DM a lot of good information about a medium sized city that can be put into a lot of generic campaign settings fairly easily. You have information about the king and his family, then the idle rich "Blackflame" nobility (who can cause a lot of problems), the guilds, as well as the underworld. Very solid information, and not over the top/overpowered like some of Ed Greenwood's past work on the Forgotten Realms. If you want political intrigue in an adventure - you have tons of potential with the Blackflames and the guilds... if you want a dungeon crawl, the city has an extensive sewer system that you can populate with all kinds of bad guys... this book has a lot to offer anybody who is into D&D and the d20 system.

Parrillo gives advice to advanced bodybuilders looking to improve lagging bodyparts, don't bother if you don't fit this category. Of special interest is Parrillo's trademark high-calory nutrition recommendation for a more muscular look.

If you are interested in putting your body into the greatest it has ever looked, this book will get you there. Parrillo has put together advice for advanced, beginners, and intermediates. If your ego is large, you may want to stand off. Parrillo recommends looking at your physique with a discerning eye. That means be critical of yourself. However, if you can do that, you will improve. A great book for a great body.

I have used Rough Guides and similar travel books for years.Information about buses and trains is well researched as are descriptions of youth hostels. That of other accomodations is sparse.A good index is a must in a travel book you carry with you. The index is totally unacceptable.Many important sites are described in detail but are not listed in the index. The maps are good, but it would be frustrating to use this book as a guide while traveling because of the index.

Don't be put off by some of the less-than-glowing reviews of the Rough Guide to Ireland, for this, the sixth edition, remains without question the best in a long line of books geared to the Eire-bound traveler.

Yours truly has traveled to Ireland for eight of the past nine years, and the Rough Guide has been a consistent and consistently helpful travel companion. The recently updated (May 2001) sixth edition is a candid and comprehensive guide, as it covers all the well-known and little-known aspects of the Irish landscape. What distinguishes the Rough Guide from Fodor's, Frommer's, Let's Go, Lonely Planet, et al., is its writing: frank, literate, hard-to-put-down. This reader has all of the aforementioned guides to Ireland (and more), and it's the Rough Guide that receives the overwhelming bulk of my attention. It's the one guide that I turn to again and again, and the one guide that accompanies me to Ireland.

Beyond it's highly literate style, the Rough Guide is particularly strong in the areas of Irish history, and its relationship to the sites that dot the Irish landscape. In recent years the Rough Guide has increased its emphasis on dining and lodging options (this guide is no longer content with hostels as the only way to go). Indeed, the Rough Guide now caters to a broader geographic. In other words, it's not only for those who want to "rough it." Another noteworthy improvement in recent years is the Rough Guide's expanded index, and, even more noteworthy, is its "Contexts" section, which is a wonderful, most informative 75-page section devoted to numerous things Irish: history, wildlife, books, movies, architecture, and more. The contexts section, come to think of it, may alone be worth the publisher's asking price. As for maps, however, this is one of the Rough Guide's shortcomings. While there are more than 40 (and they are clear and helpful), this dedicated reader would like to see more of a particular region. Three pages of maps for all County Donegal, for example, doesn't do justice to a chapter that runs 45 pages. In the future, it would be helpful to have more detailed maps of, say, southwest Donegal, western Donegal, and the like.

Minor criticisms aside, the Rough Guide's sixth edition is a must-have for the serious traveler to the Emerald Isle. While not nearly as slick as some other guides (i.e., Eyewitness), its depth of subject and highly literate style more than compensates. Perhaps it's the ideal guide for the traveler who intends to return to Ireland again and again.

This game supplement is a departure from the other "Volo's Guide" books. Rather than being the somewhat tongue-in-cheek tourist guides that the other books are, this is a reference guide to magic in the Forgotten Realms. This broad purview covers a wide range of topics. Included in this book are guides to magical legends (both people and places) in the Realms, discussions on magic items and their creation (the lion's share of the book), and a study of certain spells.

The most value you will probably get out of this guide is for its detail on magic item creation under the 2nd edition rules. This was always something the core rulebooks remained rather vague on, and this guide takes a good step towards laying down some more concrete details (but just a step). It includes some "recipes" for magic items and walkthroughs for the creation process. If you are interested in magic item creation for 2nd edition AD&D, this is a worthwhile supplement.

Beyond that, it introduces some new magic items, some new spells, a few artifacts, and a monster or two. Some interesting stuff, but nothing particularly spectacular. Given the changes to 3rd edition D&D (which lays down its own clear and straight-up magic item creation guidelines), there probably isn't that much of value here for players who have moved on from 2nd edition.

I found Volo's Guide to All Things Magical to be an excellent resource on magical item creation for Second Edition D&D. The type face is small, and the style is cramped, but to me that indicates that a lot of effort went into packing as much material into the book as possible, while keeping the page count and thus cost down.

The sections on magical woods, gems and metals are perfect for putting those little extra touches that take a magic item from the humdrum to the extraordinary. Since it's all there ready for you, it can also help you give consistent hints to players about what a magic item does by it's description. For instance, your player may eventually learn that magic items bearing alexandrite almost invariably have good luck powers, while those with onyx inlays are often either cursed or unlucky.

The item creation spells are probably the best feature over all. Unlike the Complete Book of Artifacts, and the Second Edition Dungeons Master's guide, this book actually gives a detailed process for magical item creation, including an example item preperation.

The book is a must have for the detail oriented person or any Dungeon Master running a First or Second Edition campaign that is going to involve magical item creation in any way. The gems and woods section above provide plenty of inspiration for adventures when your would be enchanter has to collect some of his materials by hand.

Unfortunately, the magic item creation system in Third Edition does not work at all with this book. I consider that a failing of Third Edition. It has made the construction of magic items exceptionally mundane.

So let me finish with a few words of caution, if you are not a Dungeon Master or are not interested in fleshing out the magic in your campaign you probably don't want this book. But for the Dungeon Master who is, this book is invalueable.

This book would make a great gift for anyone you know who is expecting. The book itself is small and fits in my purse easily. This book covers quite a few helpful topics for during pregnancy and child care after the delivery. I liked the section for the partners, which explains why aromatherapy is beneficial and encourages them to massage you (which is always a plus). The layout of the book was confusing, because it jumped right into pregnancy care without much discussion of the essential oils to use first. It may be better to buy this book if you already know a bit about aromatherapy. I really like the chart at the end of the book telling you the oils to use in each trimester. It makes looking up a particular oil very easy. This book is a good thing to have on hand while you are pregnant. It tells just enough to give you all the information you need to safely use aromatherapy in pregnancy without repeating itself. I think I'll take it to the hospital!

This book is very passionate and emotional. The sex scenes are really hot and there is alot of emotional upheaval. It is your basic kidnapping romance, the heroine Summer Ashton is forced to wed by her father. She is headed to meet her new husband when her ship is attacked by another ship. The captain of the other ship is Brent Douglas and he has a grudge against Summer's husband. He decides to get back at him through her. When he realizes she is innocent and she was forced to marry he no longer uses her as a form of revenge and they have a steamy affair, but Summer cannot forget what he did, so even though she desires him she is forever fighting him and at odds with him. This book has plenty of passion, the story is fast paced and interesting. The female character is not a complete doormat for the male, like they tend to be with these older historical romances. I recommend this book.

First book in the Delphic Women series.

I loved this book for its refreshing retelling of the Classic Greek stories from a new viewpoint. This is a re-telling of the fall of Troy, seen from the point of view of Cassandra, the woman gifted with prophecy and cursed to be unable to use it, and Diomedes a healer with the Greek army.

Kerry Greenwood has researched the background setting and details of every-day life very well, and her style is gripping, and alluring.

This is a fast-paced, thoughtful, sexy and immensely satisfying race through a well known classic story.

(The next two books are Electra and Medea).

I stumbled onto "Clerical Errors" in a secondhand book shop and was delighted. D. M. Greenwood is a novelist who writes well, understands the Anglican Church, and has a well-honed sense of evil. She also has created a winner in her low-key detective, Deacon Theodora Braithwaite, who serves in the fictional Diocese of Medewich. These attributes all have the makings of an outstanding mystery series. Alas, Ms. Greenwood also suffers from some of the negative characteristics of a first novelist -- namely an over-complicated plot, scant motivation for her amateur detectives to go it alone, and a not-quite-believable resolution. I still rate the book highly, though, and will be on the lookout for the two other novels in this series begun in the early 1990s. I'm sorry Greenwood didn't continue her efforts after the third. If nothing more, I'd like to know if Theodora was ever ordained to the priesthood, since at the time this novel was written, women couldn't advance beyond the diaconate in the Church of England.