I've only coached men's college teams, but I'm convinced Anson's principles represent a foundation for the future of coaching -- for athletes of either sex. Competition is fun and practices need to be fun. The days of drill sergeant as coaching model are over.

Kids from most countries now have hundreds of choices in terms of different sports and entertainment. Every minute of practice needs to be fun or they'll do something else. And it's only going to get worse.

Obviously the "competitive caldron" can create women's US college soccer champions (UNC won the title again in 2000), but it may also be our best chance to lure the upcoming Sega generation into team sports.

This book is an excellent guide for ways to develop your soccer team and take them to a new level. This is more for advanced coaches, but I think beginning coaches can utilize these techniques also. Covers great program building techniques for youth boys and women of all levels. Great resource for all soccer coaches.

I am not a soccer coach. This book was recommended to me by a volleyball coaching mentor. He recommended it and said it was the best coaching book he had ever read.... I agree.

There is not doubt why Anson Dorrance is one of the best soccer coaches in the world. His insights into success with female athletes is extremely helpful and I recommend this book to anyone who wants to be a better coach, period.

The very best thing about this RPG has to be the character races. No other game I've seen has such original, and fully developed characters. The Eridani sword saint, all the way to the feministic Cizaracks.
One of the other great qualities about the game is the prices for the supplements. My friends all seem to baulk when I tell them I bought all of the books for less than $... For most RPG's it would take a life time to afford all of the supplements.

Battlelords is still an amazing RPG after 10 years. My friends and I have played countless other games, but this is the one we keep coming back too. It's easy to play, easy to learn, and lots of fun. If you could own only 1 sci-fi RPG, this would have to be the one.

Battlelords is one of 2 sci-fi rpg's that, after playing rpg's for almost 20 yrs, I can honestly say is a great game. The system is easy to use and understand, the wide variety of races (complete with histories and profiles), and equipment make Battelords a game that will keep both players and Battlemaster entertained for years.

I really improved after reading this book. I read this book on a plane ride to California (from Buffalo) and during my trip (4 days). I finished it a couple days after returning (about a week and a half total on the book).

I did not have a board, but I visualized the board from the diagram as there were enough for me to do so. I enjoyed the examples and thought they were very useful in teaching the material.

In any case, a couple weeks later, I won the Under 1600 section of the New York State Chess Championship. I'm not saying that this book was the only reason for doing this, but I learned much and was inspired by the positional play in all of the examples I read.

My only criticism is that there wasn't enough analysis behind some of the moves where the author makes a statement such as "and of course move x was terrible" and doesn't explain it. However, in my specific case, this was good, as I couldn't really analyze too many variations anyway, and instead was able to get the ideas behind the strategies explained.

I highly recommend this book as well as "Chess Tactics for the tournament Player" by the same author.

I disagree most ardently with the reviewer who gave one-star and claimed this book was misleading. I am a chess instructor and have found this book to be outstanding. Perhaps the other reviewer is used to Kotov or Timman or Igor Stohl; it is true, that this book by Alburt is not a book like that. But this book is magical and wonderful for several reasons. First, the instructive examples are absolutely wonderful. They seem very carefully chosen to illustrate the theme, and Alburt's comments are not extensive, but they constantly reiterate the theme to be followed. Deep study of these examples will pay huge dividends for your chess. For instance, just look at the first game, Alatortsev v. Levenfish. Not only is the good/bad bishop theme perfectly shown, but we see how that factor influences the endgame, and how the advantage of the good bishop is translated into a superior endgame. Second, the book is superbly produced. The paper is thick and strong, and so is the binding. It is true that there is quite a bit of blank space in the book, but I think this is a strength of the book. I have my students write notes and questions in the book, and there is plenty of room to do this. Other books have more text and variations, and I have found that students get bogged down in Kotov-like treatises. But with this book, they are filling up the margins with their comments and questions, they end up with a superior understanding of the straetgic theme being discussed, they know how the theme works in a practical setting, and they are truly progressing. Finally, I would like to address the other reviewer's point avout the title of the book being misleading. I disagree completely, as I think this book is in fact the ultimate book of strategy for the tournament player. "Tournament players" to me means the masses of players at tournaments. Those are the people who most need a practical guide such as this to show them how to implement crucial themes of strategy in their games. I have found that works like My System and Pawn Power in Chess are too abstract or unique to impart much practical working knowledge to the "tournament" player. This book by Alburt is of far more value to players than those books, even though they are of course classics. Many students get frustrated with the density of most chess books. It is valuable for a book to teach you without holding your hand. I have found that this book, and the companion books on Tactics, King in Jeopardy, 300 position pocket book, and Just the Facts, teach you, but make you learn for yourself too. THAT is the key--the knowledge in this book becomes the living property of the student, if he uses this book correctly. I love this book.

There is something special about these books. It's not just the paper and production, which is probably the best in all of chess publishing, and it's not just the crystal clear instruction. More than that, it seems somehow that Alburt understands exactly how to teach an aspiring chess player. Alburt knows that the player must feel he is progressing through a book. How often have you spent two hours on a single page of Dvoretsky and felt that you were getting nowhere? (Not to say that Dvoretsky books are not great, because they are. The point is that those books are aimed at a very advanced player; these are aimed more at typical club players). With this Alburt book on Strategy, you will feel that you are learning, and that you are plowing through the book. His books are long in pages, leaving plenty of room on pages for your own notes or thoughts. The examples are very well chosen to inculcate core concepts into your head. This sounds trite, but there is really something here in that regard; Alburt knows how to pick examples that will provide maximum instruction. Most importantly, as I go through this book, I am having fun. It never goes over your head. There are variations placed at precisely the rights spots. Having fun going through a chess book is very key, since many of us have a very up and down relationship with chess. Sometimes is seems to hard to improve, and thus becomes less fun. If I had to sumamrize this Strategy book and all the other books of the Alburt series, I would say that they are fun, and you will ENJOY chess working through them. Is there a higher compliment than that?

In the Aubry/Maturin series, Mr. O'Brian shows us life in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars from the perspective of an officer. In the Golden Ocean, we get a glimpse of what life was like as a midshipman and a closer look into the lower decks during war with the Spanish. Like Mr. O'Brian's later works, the characters are likeable but also completely human and therefore fallible. Newcomers to Patrick O'Brian's works might be put off early in the book by the British and Irish colloquialism and the seemingly lengthy delay in getting to sea and thus the meat of the story. However, it's worth the initial learning curve because both of these apparent shortcomings are actually the jewels that make Mr. O'Brian's books so great. The colloquialism is easy to get used to and adds colour (u added in honor of Mr. O'Brian) to the story. At the same time, the apparent delay serves to give the reader insight into what it must have felt like for a seaman utterly dependent on wind and tide and just as eager to get to sea. That's the beauty of Mr. O'Brian's stories, they really draw you into them.

For me the experience of reading this book is a Microcosm of the Aubry/Maturin series, in the beginning I wasn't sure I would enjoy or even stick with it, but shortly I would find I couldn't put it down and was sad to see it end. I would recommend this book with the caveat that if you like it you'll love the Aubry/Maturin series.

Patrick O'Brian's fans who mope about hoping for still another Aubrey/Maturin masterpiece should read this, his first historical tale of the sea. An incredible adventure surrounding the true account of Commodore Anson's small fleet intent on circumnavigating the globe. Some of the most gut-wrenching tragedies imaginable are tempered with subtle humor and sidesplitting hilarity. The fleet is eventually reduced by the ravages of the sea to one ship, Anson's Centurion, but it returns to England laden to the gunnels with an incredible fortune wrested from a Spanish galleon.

You few million Aubrey/Maturin addicts out there will love this book as well as any of the seventeen in the Aubrey/Maturin series. You'll notice that his superb writing skill was wholly present then as now, treating us to every human emotion in his uniquely masterful style. I've heard him compared to Conrad in his ability to describe the terror of an ocean run amuck, ravaging those small ships,the desp! ! erate efforts of the mariners to save their ships -- and themselves, sometimes successful, sometimes not. But after going back to Conrad for a fresh look at his work, my opinion is that O'Brian excels him.

Following this brilliant work is The Unknown Shore, O'Brian's account of what might have happened to the survivors of one -- or was it two? -- ships in Anson's fleet that were wrecked during the voyage.

In The Golden Ocean, as in all of O'Brian's stories, the characters live and breathe, love and hate, are often courageous but sometimes are not, often behave as we would wish but occasionally veer off the straight and narrow. Above all, though, they are always true to their individual characters.

Readers who lament that they have read all his novels -- thereby feeling themselves left dashed on a lee shore -- might do as I do, keep reading them over and over. I promise there is more there in each book than can be gleaned in a single reading. I'm on my sixth pass through ! ! the Aubrey/Maturin series and loving every story anew.

Th! e Golden Ocean, like everything else from O'Brian's pen (yes, he writes with a pen) is an exquisite example of the true craft of writing.

I put no writer above him in craftsmanship. Writers wishing to sharpen their own skills would do well to carefully study O'Brian's work. I shamelessly admit to adopting as much as I can from his compact yet radiantly illustrative style.

Some of my friends, to whom I've enthusiastically recommended O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series, complain that the naval jargon is too dense or that there's too much talk. I suggest they try The Golden Ocean. In the mid-1700's, Commodore Anson's mission was to explore the Pacific, extend British trade, and capture the fabulous Spanish treasure that sailed from South America to the Philipines. By good fortune, Peter Palafox (whose naval experience was limited to small fishing boats) was able to join the expedition as a midshipman on Anson's ship. Since the book is written strictly from Palafox's point of view, the reader is introduced to the jargon and oddities of the Navy along with our hero. After this book, one should read The Unknown Shore, which is the account of another ship in the same expedition, with quite a different fate.

A standard illustration of the time-distorting effects predicted by Einstein's relativity equations is the traveling twin problem, where one twin remains on Earth while the other travels at near-light speed to some distant destination. Heinlein takes this textbook concept and adds two other ingredients to the mix: the twins are telepathic, and they are real people, in concocting this nice blend of great adventure and hard science.

Tom and Pat are the twins in question, targeted by the Long Range Foundation as a potential communications pair on the first exploratory star-ships due to their telepathic ability to communicate over any distance at (truly) instantaneous speeds. Which one will go and which will stay forms the initial conflict of this story, and how the decision is made provides a strong base for filling in the character of each, along with some interesting psychological insights into the problems that face close siblings. While still on Earth, this section also allows Heinlein to throw in some of his typical comments about bureaucracies, government meddling, taxes, population control, and the non-democratic nature of families, all deftly folded into and directly contributing to the story line.

Once the starship takes off, we find something of a more traditional adventure story, as we follow Pat on the starship and his meeting with the duties and responsibilities of ship-board life and the unforeseen hazards that the ship encounters at each of the stars it explores. In the meantime, Tom is rapidly aging on Earth, the link between the two becomes very fragile, and eventually Pat manages to establish a new telepathic link with his niece (and later his grand and great-grand niece). All necessary in order to continue the starship mission, for without being able to report the findings of the explorations, there is little point in continuing. As we move further and further out in time and space, we can see Pat grow as person, melded both by these external events and his own musings on the purpose of life and humanity, and it is this very growth that really provides the best portion of the 'entertainment'.

Heinlein fully recognized that positing instantaneous communications (of any nature) was a violation of Einstein's basic theory, and rather than ignore it, he used it as a springboard to a new science that forms the basis for the ending of this book. It also allowed him to neatly finish off the story line of the two twins, but I found the ending not quite satisfying, a little too pat and quickly done (and with some gender-roles that would be considered decidedly non-politically correct today). Still, this is one of the best of his so-called 'juvenile' novels, both due to its great science and very solid characterization, couched in his typical, unforced American prose, and with enough 'meat' on its bones to engross any reader.

In this story of telepathic twins, Heinlein does better than usual at balancing characters, logic, sentiment, science, and suspense. Each aspect of the novel is fascinating, from the revelation of the twins' telepathy to their ultimate separation by 63 light years of space and some 80 years time. Heinlein carefully makes future society and star travel seem real, all while making his characters live. I've read this book twice, and again found I could not put it down.

This book goes to show you the different attitudes prevailing in SF compared between the fifties when this book was written and the ideas today. Today, if someone took the concept of twins being separated by relativistic effects (ie one ages faster than the other . . . go read a physics textbook for the equations) it'd be a massive complex novel detailing the cultural shock and changes, the emotional cost, and mostly have a really downer attitude about it, treating it, for the most part "realistically" whatever that's supposed to mean in science fiction. But that's now and we're talking about then. Here Heinlein takes two vastly different concepts, telepathy between twins and the travelling between the stars in ships moving at barely sub-light speeds. The focus here is on both SF adventure and what it means to leave everything you know and have not only your entire family grow old and die while you age much slower but have the whole world change (Heinlein's future slang is a gas), while you stay the same. It's a fun story, and the main character, the twin that goes, narrates his story somberly but still with a dash of zest in his voice, for all the regret he feels at being left behind, he's having a grand adventure and seeing things that no one else has ever seen. Not that it's all fun and games and a lot of things happen before the mission is over, some good and some bad. Like I said, it's a light story, you won't find anything totally deep here but it's all handled capably, as you'd imagine a master like Heinlein dealing with this . . . but please don't read it as a gender study guide and keep in mind that it was written in the fifties, when women weren't expected to do all that much. Asking permission from your husband for just about everything was the order of the day mostly . . . just don't let it bother you. Other than that, it's good solid fun, though the ending comes totally out of left field (unless I missed something), but it's a great example of the golden age of SF, when anything seemed possible. For those who want a slightly darker take on the same subject . . . go read Joe Haldeman's The Forever War and that should knock the depress-o-meter right off the scale. Still a good book though. They're both good. Read them both, now!

I am familliar with the 1977 Edition of Baird's Manual, but I have some concerns. As an officer of a fraternity, I am concerned that the omissions and inaccuracies reflected in the listing of my own organization are generalizable about the book. While the basic data is true, the book paints a somewhat innaccurate picture of my organization. It is my hope that these will be corrected in future edition of this pblication. Additonally, the lack of a bibliography bothers me.

This is a valuable reference guide for anyone who wants to know about the history of college fraternities, sororities, and honor societies. It includes detailed information about each organization, historical data on societies that have folded, merged, or transformed, etc..

The only issue with this reference is that it was printed in 1991. So obviously chapter lists have changed and there is a gap of modern greek history not present. If only the Baird's foundation would publish its reference guide online as a living document.

Otherwise, it is an excellent addition to any chapter library, with its detailed information on key dates (e.g., founding), official seals, flowers, songs, etc. and history.

definition of fraternities.reason why the student join fraternities.what is the goal of your organization,.

Vaux' thoughtful commentary on a number of popular and award-winning films is refreshing in its heavy emphasis on "values" and critical "issues" (and its avoidance of preaching and dogma).

Typical of the entire book is her handling of Riddley Scott's BLADE RUNNER: she's not afraid to tackle this excellent and boxoffice-drawing (but also "mature") science fiction film head on, guiding readers point-by-point through its highlights in pursuit of key subject matter and possible discussion topics. Actually, the result is a better/deeper appreciation of the film itself, whether or not the reader originally was only looking for dramatic illustrations of values!

Liberal-to-moderate and/or "mainstream" Christians should enjoy and benefit from this intelligent, well-reasoned guidebook -- and should be pleased by its freedom from religious doctrine and dogma. Protestants and Catholics alike should be able to make good use of the stimulating, conversation-starting notions she shares, while enjoying the subject films themselves as both art and entertainment. (Nor is there any reason that Jews or Muslims, or persons of other or no religious orientation, should not benefit, as well.)

More conservative/fundamentalist readers, however, may find Vaux's book personally disturbing in its tolerance of several "pop" movies (including adult themes, language, partial nudity and at least suggested sexual behavior and sometimes graphic violence), and dissapointed in its lack of direct one-to-one correlations with openly "religious" subject matter. Those readers wishing to be "preached at" or to find a guide to so-called "religious movies" will need to look elsewhere.

Personally, I found Vaux' approach both refreshing and enlightening, and I thank her for this step forward in recognizing the deep commitment to critical values that runs through the majority of modern art -- including The Movies!

Vaux presents an excellent study book for groups or individuals, focusing on themes from life which can influence getting more from movies than simply entertainment. Each chapter focuses on a single theme, with several related films (and many more listed in an appendix). Faith reflections come from the author's knowledge of the Bible and experience as a professor of theology. At the end of each chapter are questions for group discussion. Dr. Vaux gives brief synopses without giving anything away. Although she inspires thinking about a film's spiritual meaning and life values, she wants viewers to find this in ordinary or extraordinary street stories, not religious films where we might expect it. I found this book awakened me to a new appreciation of films I had seen, and also to films new to me, foreign as well as American, from the 'sixties and 'seventies, as well as the 'nineties.

For someone below the age of 13, you would have to know alot of vocabulary words. The book didn't have much action in it, and it was very confusing. On the positve side, the book was extremly realistic and fast pace. Though I dont think I'd read it again to be honest.

Anson has heard tales of Irish rebellion from his family and willinglly and proudly, accompanies his father to Dublin on behalf of King GerogeII. When he actually lives in the country, meets the people and witnesses the King's justice, he comes of age. Anson becomes an independent thinker and resigns from the King's army. I wonder if a third generation Fencible would break with his family? Reminds me of Charlotte Doyle. Are these characters true to their times or politically correct for 1999? Again, Australia, the land of "transports", was not available to the English for "transports" for at least ten years after King GeorgeII reign ended. It is still a good read, full of excitement. I loved it.

Gary Schmidt has done an amazing job of researching this rich and realistic novel. Everything down to the color of the soldiers' pants is correct. This book moves very fast and gives the reader an idea of the origins of the conflict between the English and the Irish. The story of the hedgemaster is truly inspiring. I could only give it five stars, but it deserves many more.

Just a comment about your blurb for the book:
"... not only does it wett the apetite..." should read,
"... not only does it whet the apetite..."
Thank you.
Jay Rasmussen

The previous reviewer must be corrected in turn, as "appetite" is spelled with two p's - if I'm not mistaken - and as for "blurb for...," well, it's "blurb on...!"

This book is being used by a group of women artists who are studying a wide range of painting styles. There is an incredible range of artists and their techniques to be seen and studied in this book. The bibligraphies are conicse and very informative. Not only does it wett the appetite of the young and old, but it encourages them to delve into and study the artists who interest them and opens up a new world of art hisotry, thus educating even more. A wonderful resource and text book. The reproduction of the paintings are very good and the book is a credit to the two authors.