This was an excellent first book on the game of chess. A friend gave it to us and my 8-year old son and I read it together one evening and were playing chess that same night. If you've ever wanted a simple book on how to play chess (for kids and adults) this is it.

This magnificent and visually stimulating chess set contains a 96-page beautifully illustrated book, chess pieces and a custom chess board.

The book begins with a fascinating, detailed description of the history of the game and how it derived from medieval times. It is incredibly detailed and exquisitely written. Although I am not particularly a fan of medieval or military history, I found this section to be most engaging, and it certainly helped deepen my love and appreciation for the game. A basic example -- We learn that in medieval times the pawns were the serfs, the poor laborers, the foot soldiers and as in any society there were usually more of them than anyone else. If we were to imagine them in real life they would be traveling on foot and "carrying a long spear called a pike. On the battlefield he was known as a pikeman. Pikemen also carried shields, which they held directly in front of them for protection. This meant that they had to point their pikes to either side of the shield. Similarly, because of his shield, a Chess pawn is unable to strike directly in front of him. He can attack only on the diagonal." When presented with details in this manner you come away with a better understanding of why certain rules exist in the game.

The second chapter is an introduction to the chessboard itself. The only thing missing here (and it is a very important omission) is a discussion of rank and file. Subsequent chapters over each piece in depth; its significance in relation to the other pieces on the board and how it moves. Towards the end are chapters explaining how to play the game, (accompanied by interesting military history tidbits highlighted in boxes throughout), and basic play strategies (and I mean BASIC in every sense of he word. If you are looking for a more involved strategy-oriented text, then definitely consider buying Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess).

This book does a nice job of covering all the basic elements of the game in an entertaining manner. Your student will come away with a comprehensive understanding of, and appreciation for, the oldest war game of all.

Five stars. An absolute must for every budding and experienced chess enthusiast.

I like this book. I only learned chess a year and a half ago but I love it. I decided to teach my kids to play. My daughter is 4 years old. I bought this book (comes with chess set for kids) and my daughter was so excited to have her own chess set I couldn't believe it. Every day I came home for the next week she wanted to play, and we did. We also went through the book and she learned all the names of the pieces in only a couple of days (kids amaze me). Well, she calls the knight knighty for some reason, but that's fine with me. Now don't get me wrong, she doesn't know the rules, yet. It's only been a month since we got this and I am not pushing her to learn them at 4 years old. But she is getting familiar with the pieces and board. I am sure she will be playing by the rules in a couple of years. In the meantime it's just fun to have a game we can play together besides the regular kid's games. And she loves having her own chess set! Oh and the board has illustrations that tell you how you can move each piece. That will come in handy as she gets older.

This books is a story of building a computer, from start to finish, told in the form of an epic journey. It goes in depth on the people involved, strategy used, the company politics and how they all integrated into and affected the project.

Being in a small software organization for the last 4 years and having experience a tripling in size and about the same in revenue, it was very easy for me to find parallels to my company's growth, the people and the experiences that were at Data General when the computer was built. Here are some of the (summed up briefly) that I found:

1. Speech Period (pep ralley) 2. Leader becoming more and more distant 3. Need to be doing something interesting 4. Mushroom Theory of Management (put them in the dark, feed them s*$# and watch them grow). 5. Everyone burns out 6. All of the sudden, its just a job 7. The gunslinger 8. Management has changed and its no longer the same place ... and many others

I think that anyone reading the book curious of parallels in businesses (regardless of what they do), would find this book a good source of info.

The Soul of a New Machine is an interesting book. It is written in a story like fashion that allows for easy reading. It does not contain material that is difficult to understand.
The author does a good job in revealing real life situations that designers, programmers, and management might encounter while building new computers. Many situations involve challenges such as time, others involve ethics. With respect to ethics, it is clear that the characters representing programmers and designers understand that they have certain obligations to their employer: to accept responsiblity for jobs they agree to do; to respect confidentiality entrusted to them; and to present fair and objective viewpoints regarding their projects. It is also clear that the characters representing project managment understand that they have certain obligations to upper managment and to their customers: the products have to be on time and must be reliable. The project management characters seem to lack any sense of ethics when it comes to their employees. They hire recent college graduates with no experience; they mislead them from the date of hire; they overwork them; and they undercompensate them.
In short, Kidder does not go into great detail about technical details involved in building computers. Instead, he focuses on the souls - the individuals - that create the complicated machines.

I read this book a few years back and i've just finished reading it again. It's a well told story of the birth of pre-PC microcomputers. The effort of the engineers and "microkids", who struggled to make the first "Eagle", told with intense care and attention to detail. If you ever wondered how a computer is made from idea to production, this is the book to read.

As Fodors does like no one else, this pleasing digestible guidebook gives practical information to the traveller for an incredibly large and diverse region. A great starting point for trip planning in southeast Asia.

I love the Rough Guides, Moon Guides, and Lonely Planet. The only problem is, they often assume you're going for 3 weeks or 6 months. I can seldom get away for more than 8-10 days at a time. Fodor's doesn't just dump a lot of destination info on you. They help you prioritize by listing "must-see" sights and presenting multiple alternative itineraries for trips of different lengths, etc.

Last December, Fodor's SE Asia guide helped me figure out that the Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore odyssey we wanted just wouldn't fit comfortably into 10 days. So we postponed that trip until someday when we have at least 2 or 3 weeks. Instead, we simply flew into Bangkok and immediately booked a 3-day Phnom Penh/Angkor tour. In all, we did 3 days each in Cambodia and Bangkok and 4 days in Tokyo. It was a fabulous trip.

This time I'm using Fodor's Japan, together with the Moon and Rough Guides (and of course the Internet), to plan a 10-day solo trip to Hokkaido. From Fodor's I get the highlights, along with a good idea of what I can expect to fit into 10 days. From the other two I get obscure (but equally important!) details, such as the fact that the little farming town of Furano (not mentioned in Fodor's) gets a lot of Japanese tourists because it was the setting for the long-running TV drama Kita no Kuni Kara (From the North Country). I've only seen a few early episodes of that show, but it's enough that now I want to see Furano too.

To sum up, I use Fodor's as my starting point, then read other guides to get extra details. I've done 2 Asia trips this way, and I'll be doing the 3rd one very soon.

I thought this book was great beacause you got to see this kid who always hit home runs. The child is only 8 years old, and never strikes out. He is also the pitcher for his team. I thought pitchers were not officiant hitters, but not for this kid he was awesome.The other team could never hit the ball.

The Kid Who Only Hit Homers, by Matt Christopher, tells of a young boy who desperately wants to play baseball for his school. Unfortunately, he is neither a good fielder nor a skilled hitter. He quits tryouts and decides not to play. On the final day of tryouts, the mysterious George Baruth approaches him. This man teaches Sylvester how to field and hit a homerun every time. (spoiler) Everyone starts to ask him questions about this mysterious man and how Sylvester hits a homerun each time he goes to bat. (spoiler)These actions go on throughout the book (spoiler)
Sylvester changes in several ways throughout the book. His skills as a baseball player increase dramatically. This leads to the improvement of his self-confidence, which allows him to feel more comfortable with himself.
This book was banned because of Snooky Malone's belief in everyone's being born under a star, which some readers interpret as ant-Christian. I think that this book shouldn't have banned. (spoiler)

This was my favorite book for a time when I was about seven or eight. I read all the Matt Christopher books and this one was the only one I read more than once. Where as all his other books are pretty realistic tales where a kid learns an important life lesson from sports, this one is different in that it is is more of a fairy tale - kind of like magical realism for kids.

It's exciting enough to read about a kid who only hits homers but the book becomes even more interesting as a meditation on the meaning of success. The fact that I still remember this book at all is a true testament to how enjoyable it was. Buy it for your kid - among childrens literature, this book is a true classic.

Return of the Home Run Kid was an excellent story.The setting of the story was on a baseball field and on the streets The main characters in the story were Cheeko,Mr Barath and Sylvester.My favorite character Sylvester because he was a good batter.My favorite part of the book was when Sylvester learned how to bat.I would recommend this book to people that like baseball probably from 11 years old to 15 years old.

Matt Christopher,Return of the Home Run Kid was an exellent story.The setting of the story was on a baseball field and on the streets The main characters in the story were Cheeko,Mr Barath and Sylvester.My favorite character Sylvester because he was a good batter.My favorite part of the book was when Sylvester learned how to bat.I would recommend this book to my friend that like baseball.From 11 years old to 15 years old

THE BOOK THAT I READ WAS THE RETURN OF THE HOME RUN KID . THIS BOOK IS ABOUT ABOUT A BOY WHO WAS LABLED THE HOME RUN KID CAUSE HE HIT A LOT OF HOME RUNS AND NOW HE IS BACK . HE WAS OUT CAUSE OF AN INJURY AND PLUS AFTER HE WAS WELL THE SEASON ENDED CAUSE BASEBALL SEASON WAS OVER. IN THIS BOOK THE BOY DIDN'T GET OFF TO A GOOD START BUT LATER ON HE WAS HITTING HOME RUNS LEFT , RIGHT ,AND MIDDLE AND THAT CONTINUED THROUGH HIS HOLE BASEBALL CAREER. THIS WAS A GREAT BOOK. BUY IT.

I read this book when it came out thirteen years ago and I enjoyed every minute.

In this book, Tracy Kidder describes the process and personalities involved with building a new home, but it's more than that. Like his "Soul of a New Machine", it chronicles what it's really like to be caught in the middle of a major project. Even someone who hasn't built a home from scratch or developed a new computer system will gain an basic knowledge of the topic and an appreciation for what it takes to do something really big.

If you are thinking about becoming a builder, or are thinking about having a house built for you, this is a must-read. Be prepared for Kidder's no holds barred account of how devious a home buyer can be just to save relatively little money, how unprepared a builder can be to deal with such situations, and what crucial role good communication between the home buyer, architect, and builder plays getting the project completed on time and on budjet. Kidder emphasizes the fact that building a house is not just about people doing buisiness in an impersonal manner, but that personalities play a crucial role in any business relationship. Kidder also makes clear that the involved parties' abilities to see the other sides point of view in a dispute are paramount to achieving the ultimate goal in business: the customer gets a quality product on time and no one feels they're cheated at the end of the transaction. This is not an instruction manual; Kidder offers little advice on what is proper or what the characters could do better. Kidder simply relates an accurate account of the process of building a home, mostly with an eye toward human relations; a wise reader will learn from the successes and mistakes of the characters herein.

i am building an american house in the south of england. i was given the book by one of the professionals involved in my build three years ago. i sat on it and only read it recently. if only i had known the journey on which it would take me. i was absorbed into the lives of the seven people around whom this ultimately human drama revolves. rarely is a book genuinely unputdownable - unpickupable more like - but this is such a book. even if you are only vaguely interested in concept of the human nesting experience this is still a book for you. the house in question is both subject and setting, a theatrical backdrop upon which the characters reveal themselves. fascinating and quite brilliant.

Tough To tackle, by Matt Christopher, is one of his books about sports. This type of book is a realistic fiction book so it's not true but it can happen.

This story takes place on a football field and happens from the months of September and October. Matt Christopher helps us know the characters by telling us what the characters do and how they act. The major conflict is that a boy named Boots Raymond really wants to play quarterback for his team called the Apollos, but Coach Hayes said that he's too heavy to play quarterback so he puts him on right tackle. Will Boots ever improve on his position? Matt Christopher's writing style interest me because he likes to write about sports all the time.

This book would be great for 9-11 year old kids because this book is interesting and I would recommend it. I'd give this book a 4/5. A person that likes sports would like this book. So to find out if Boots will ever improve on his position, go get this book now at your local library.

This is a good Matt Christopher book. I read Matt Christopher alot, I have read better books by Matt Christopher but this one's still good. It starts out with Boots Raymond. He and his friends, Duck and Bud are going out for football. Boots hopes to be a quarterback but when the coach assigns him to be a tackle Boots thinks about quitting. But in recieving letters from his brother in the Navy he learns about sticking with it.

This book is wonderful for kids.It shows that quitting doesn't help you much, and football can be fun even if you don't get what you want.Boots wanted to be quaterback but he weighs too much to play QB so he is put on right tackle,and he hates it but soon he begins to like it.I think the book is really great and it teaches a lesson.

As much as I loved eating at Pepe's, this book is really fluff, but it is very light reading and you will enjoy her story. You will appreciate it even more if you have been to Barrow and especially if you get to meet Joe the Water Man.

Fran Tate has lived a truly amazing and interesting life. This book tells her story in detail, and what a story it is! Fran is a true character, and a really neat lady (I know her) who has worked very hard to build sucessful businesses and provide service to her adopted community. Barrow is a special and different place and Fran fits in well here. Her story is a good example of how hard work, creativity and sheer guts can get you where you want to go. It is also very funny! How can you resist someone who runs a business like Elephant Pot Sewage Haulers (before the town got sewers everyone had holding tanks or "honey buckets" and someone had to "clean up your act" as the slogan went) and sells the T-shirts in her restaurant to boot? Not only that, she does a great jazz show on the local radio station and sponsors (& shoots, with her attorney/pyrotechnician) the New Year's fireworks.

Pepe's North of the Border is a true Barrow experience, and really, the food isn't bad (I've had far worse in the Lower 48). There's always free pie & coffee to local seniors. The cooks are Mexican, too--Fran even wound up marrying one once at least in part to avoid his being deported. If all this sounds interesting, get the book!

I have read Fran's book before but I don't own a copy. I lived in Barrow for 3 years so I know first hand about that which Fran writes. However, as I was the district librarian for the school district my life wasn't quite as hard as Fran's. The food at Fran's probably wouldn't be eaten anywhere else, certainly not in the "Lower 48" and certainly not for the price one had to pay.
Getting back to Fran, she tells it like it is, and she is the very colorful, local figure that she portrays. For those unfortunate souls who have never been to Alaska, let alone Barrow, this book is interesting and full of some strange but true stories.
This book is for people who love to read about people who are "different" and who are probably braver and more interesting than the rest of us.

This is a good book about Barrow, Alaska. It covers a lot of information on the city. However, I didn't quite like the format of the book. It is put together in an A-Z format. You look up what you want to know, such as "Schools" and the information is there. But other than that, the book has all the information you would need if you wanted to learn about the town of if you are planning on going there.

The main character is the town of Northhampton, Massachusetts. The problem is, towns don't really do anything. The people who are born, live, or die in them add color and spice. In this town, as Mr. Kidder sees it, some of the main characters of this town include a bald hometown cop (who eventually departs for the FBI), a rich obsessive compulsive (whose therapy includes kinky photography), a Smith College student (who is 26 and suffers from a mid-life crisis), a police informant (who is a likable loser--big surprise), a mayor (who might be a lesbian). Kidder presents them respectfully. A thousand years from now sociologists may study the book with great curiousity. But in the here and now one is left with a huge so what? As a reader and fan of Kidder's earlier books, particularly SOUL OF A NEW MACHINE and HOUSE, I looked for something interesting to hold this book together. In the end, the town's main street is Kidder's only glue and is presented about as interestingly as Elmer's hardening on veneer. Elmer's hardening on veneer can be interesting, I suspect, but I know now there are more interesting subjects to study and more compelling ways to present the results.

Northhampton is a town. There are good people, bad people, indifferent people, well-intentioned people, crackheads, juvenile delinquents, liberal judges, graffiti, old buildings, a history, etc. There's nothing revealing or surprising here. Save your money. If you have to read HOME TOWN, borrow it from the library. Sorry, Mr. Kidder, but it may the last book of yours I read after the unevenness of SCHOOLCHILDREN and the perceptible decline and weariness of OLD FRIENDS.

This book is a pot pourri of stories about people who live in a little town in western Massachusetts, called Northampton.

However well the author writes this book, it is very hard to get involved if there is no real story that holds the book together. I found it very hard to be able to follow everybody's comings and goings if there is no real central story and no central character. Of course the policeman, Tommy O'Connor if interesting, but there is absolutely no relation to Laura (the single mother) or to Alan, or even to his friend Rick because Tommy "does not want to be involved".

The writing is very good, and the descriptions of characters and places are also very good, but without a real plot to the book, it just feels as if you are reading a newspaper story.

I enjoyed "Home Town" because it delved into the "shadow town" that underlies the physical town most people experience. The characters that Kidder chose to follow were interesting and eclectic. The realities of the dark side of Northampton were amply illustrated as were some of its historical and rebuilding facets.

Kidder's characteristically clear prose and ability to draw illustrative scenes is evident throughout the book. I've rated this book 4 out of 5 stars because it didn't reach a satisfactory sense of closure -- many loose ends dangle. While this is a characteristic of the life of Northampton - or any town - I would have felt closure if Kidder had provided more follow-up on the main characters.

This is a good read and portrays something that may be missing for much of our transient society - a true sense of place and belonging. The multi-generational history of some of the book's characters should be warmly familiar to long-time members of any small town.