This book details more information on the factions in the Exalted game. Solars, Lunars, Dragon-Blooded, and Abyssals, there is probably a little bit of everything for everyone. There are several paragraphs covering each of the factions and a small section of additional charms to try out. But would you even want to bother with the snippets here merely to whet your appetite until the full supplements for the factions are released?

Also, since this is supposed to be a Storytellers Companion, I was pretty surprised not to find a hefty section on running games and campaigns. Dock 1 star there. The nifty storyteller's screen packaged with the book is useful and seems to work well for the few game sessions I ran. In the introduction, the book also mentions a full-color map that was supposed to be included in the book, but don't bother looking for it.

In summary: Nice but not essential, and left out a lot of the cooler stuff for the supplements. I would recommend buying the full supplement for your favourite faction(s) instead.

As a storyteller wishes to improve himself, he finds that, most often than not, companions are pretty useful. This particular companion, however, instead of optional rules or player characteristics, it gives a more complete background, absolutely necessary when running a chronicle for a game as Exalted. This sort of history and backgrounds is what will separate your chronicle from a common AD&D RPG and a more complete, more human world.
This book avoids the storyteller from inventing everything on the city and gives hundreds of guidelines for possible chronicles, besides, exalted is extremely hard to run precisely because of historical background, so, this book is quite useful.

I was highly skeptical of Exalted when I first heard about it, but I jumped on the bandwagon and bought it for kicks. The roleplaying community has been needing this game for a long time. An exciting, intruiging fantasy world, cool, chic powers, and a tried-and-true White Wolf emphasis on ROLEplaying, not dice. Instead of the cliched "Dungeons and Dragons"/"Lord of the Rings" fantasy RPG style, this game draws a lot of themes, moods, and powers from anime and Greek epics. If you're a fan of White Wolf's games, this is definitely for you. If you like fantasy RPGs, this is definitely for you. If you are looking for something fun and different, this is for you. Peace.

in any scientific arguement, the only thing that matters is the available evidence and that is clearly lacking at the CDC. It's been said that when the data doesn't support your arguement you don't have enough data. The gov't is renowned by flubbing its own studies, sponsoring stupid programs with no basis in fact, and draining the taxpayer just to create a jobs program. Enough!! Even WITHOUT all the nobel-leareates against it, I cannot condone the adding of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, fluoride, or green tea to public water at taxpayer expense. I can take care of my own teeth, thank you very much.

This book is outstanding! It documents false claims by fluoride pushers and provides unimpeachable evidence that fluoridation is public health quackery!

Fluoride destroys our purity of essence and saps our precious bodily fluids.

Although most applicable for improving management of a manufacturing concern, this book is worthwhile reading for anyone trying to run their own business better. I am a partner of a small CPA firm, and found several parts that were useful in running my practice better. I read, re-read, and underlined the chapters on job interviewing and employee reviews. Grove's style has obviously been successful for Intel, and this gives his comments tremendous credibility. I appreciated this, as opposed to the myriad of management books written by authors whose track record is unclear, questionable, or non-existent.

Grove describes his management techniques in a controlled, predictable environment. After reading Tim Jackson's book ("Inside Intel"), I saw the other side of the coin (less rational...). Grove is always coerent and clear. This is a must read, specially for middle-managers, but read Jackson's book for the full story...

This was a good book. I was not able to apply all of the techniques, but most of it came in useful. I always liked what Andy Grove did with Intel, his visions and his capability to keep Intel on the top. It's a good book. Read it. It will take you a couple of days, but you will be a better person after you have read it...

Jim Kaplan sets out in this well-researched book to resurrect the figure of Lefty Grove, a 300-game winner whose career spanned those of Walter Johnson and Ted Williams. For the most part, he convincingly makes his case that Groves deserves to be included among a handful of baseball's elite pitchers and that he was perhaps the best lefthander hurler ever.

Whatever shortcomings the book may have, the reader is bound to be impressed by Kaplan's knowledge of Grove's career (he takes us through each of his 17 big league seasons and four that he spent at the minor league level) and his painstaking efforts to convey a sense of the time in which Grove played. When he describes one of Grove's many confrontations with Babe Ruth, the writing has the ring of truth. Particularly effective is his recounting of the famous 1929 World Series game in which Grove's Philadelphia A's scored 10 runs in one inning to wipe out an eight-run Chicago Cub lead en route to winning the world championship.

Kaplan brings to life several key figures of Grove's time, most notably Connie Mack, Grove's manager with the A's and a man who not only strongly influenced the lives of his players but also the organizational direction of baseball. Long before the 1997 Marlins were broken up to save money, Mack was doing the same thing, jettisoning big names and large salaries to build teams anew. He also offers a valuable analysis of Mack's and Grove's 1929-1931 Philadelphia A's, convincingly arguing that these teams (that also included Hall of Famers Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane, to name a few) were the equal of the more celebrated 1926-1928 Yankees, whose 1927 edition is generally considered the greatest in baseball history.

Also of note is the final section, which analyzes the careers of Johnson, Grove and Sandy Koufax and offers the reader statistical food for thought in considering who was the greatest lefthander ever.

Kaplan's writing is solid but unspectacular and he lapses at times into a cheerleading tone, particularly when he discusses Grove's great achievements (which included nine ERA titles, a 31-4 season, a career .680 winning percentage and a 1935-1939 resurrection of his craft, during which he transformed himself from a fireballer into a finesse pitcher.)

Kaplan's otherwise fine description of the last day of the 1941 season, in which Williams secured his .406 average by going six-for-eight after refusing to sit on the bench for a doubleheader, is marred by the writer's tone of breathless admiration for the player's feat. Nothing wrong with being a fan when you write a baseball book, but I prefer that the author for the most part let the facts speak for themselves.

All in all, Kaplan produces a portrait of a driven, often disagreeable man who hated losing and was impatient with the shortcomings of mere athletic mortals. The picture of Lefty is convincing, but Kaplan uses the same strokes pretty heavily to produce it.

The baseball fan/historian will find this a very useful look at this undeservedly obscure figure and will find it particularly interesting to revisit an era of the sport that differs so radically from the present one.

LEFTY GROVE AMERICAN ORIGINAL IS WORTH READING. I ENJOYED THE TELLING OF HIS CAREER AND LIFE. HE WAS PHENOMINAL TALENT WITH A HOT TEMPER TO GO WITH IT. THIS NOVEL IS WELL WRITTEN AND KEPT MY INTEREST ALL THE WAY. I RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE WHO ENJOYS BASEBALL HISTORY AND THE GREAT MEN WHO PLAYED IT.

When I told friend of mine (a sports fan) that I was reading a book about Lefty Grove, he asked "Who is that?" Considering Grove was probably the greatest pitcher who ever lived, this public ignorance is unfortunate. Robert Kaplan in American Original does a very good job of letting us know who Grove was. Grove's terible temper and hatred of losing are brought to life in this book. Kaplan also includes a statistical breakdown of Grove's career and a detailed comparison between him and some other great pitchers. No true baseball fan should miss this book!

In concept, this book sounded promising--instead of a "how to manual" or yet another shallow "101" book, a practicing priestess writes a memoir of her spiritual experience.

However, as a rational educated adult, I found this a very nerve-wracking read. It is as if the author expects the reader to leave her critical mind at the door. Yes, mystical experience is intuitive, poetic, a right brain affair, but, in the words of a previous reviewer, the effect was flaky and an affront to the reader's intelligence.

I have read a lot of experimental prose, but even James Joyce was more coherent than this. Stream-of-consciousness is one thing, but this prose meanders into a quagmire. For example, in the first chapter, even in the here and now reality, the author has an interview with a journalist and leaves the pub at closing time, which is around 11 pm in Britain, then drives to her grove to meditate. So it must be the middle of the night, in October, very dark, and yet she describes her walk to the grove, the colors of the autumn leaves, etc. as if it were daylight. She encounters a blackthorn dryad who pricks her hand with her thorns, numerous other spirit entities. She slides into a trance and relives what reads like a childhood sexual trauma except that the perpetrator is otherworldly, then wakes up again and everything is all right. The trauma is not explored further, but there are numerous spirits and at one point pixies interrupting her thoughts. I was half-expecting unicorns and an alien abduction. The book reads like the Druids by Disney, as "new agey" and cartoonish as The Celestine Prophecies except not as well-written. As someone who used to work with mental health professionals, I wondered about the author's grip on reality. I shudder to think that she is anyone's spiritual role model. It is no wonder, given books like this, that earth spirituality is dismissed as a flaky trend.

This is disappointing as I have read interviews with the author in which she sounded very reasonable and coherent. Perhaps she is more grounded in person than she came across in the book.

There are so many books on similar subjects out there. The writing of people like Caitlin Matthews, Starhawk, Margot Adler, to name a few, are earth religion books that are intelligently written and do not ask you to amputate your brain before you read the first page. Although he hasn't published any books specifically about Druidry, Isaac Bonewits writes fantastic essays on the subject, available at no cost at his website.

It's important that Earth Religionists demand as much from their authors as any other spiritual community. We have our left brain for a reason. Be mystical by all means, but don't lose your critical faculties or commonsense.

First and Foremost, this book is not a text book. It is a very personal account of life through the eyes and experience of a highly intellignet, talented and very special druid priestess, who is not "flaky" by any means and who has been practising and living her craft for most of her life - certainly more than 10 years. This book transports you to Emma's world - a truly magical place which most of us can only dream of glimpsing. This book is real and inspiring, Emma's language is pure poetry and I feel sad for anybody who cannot see the beauty and passion in her words and who cannot be truly inspired by them. Druidry is the quest for Awen, divine inspiration ... it is not about new age magical practices.

If you are a pagan, buy this book. If you are not a pagan, buy this book!

Thank Goodness this isn't another "how-to" roast apples at Samhain or "how to" read a ritual poem straight from the book--there are countless examples of those. Instead, this is written straight from the experience of a Druid master...several days or events in her life, and does not tell the reader what to think or how to be. Discovering how Emma sees and connects with the world is moving, real and extrordinary. This is one of my five-must-haves in my own collection.

If you are stuck entirely in your mind, or have a problem with non-ordinary reality, however, this won't be for you, because Emma sees and speaks with tree spirits daily. She is deeply connected to her grove and may call forth Pan. Not just 'pretending,' mind you! It is truly revealing of a person who lives communion with nature, not just one who goes through the motions in costume, which is such a refreshing break from the posing that goes on in nature-religions-culture. This book is invaluable to those practicing shamanism, and/or communicating with spirits of nature. But first, you have to believe.

As an excited adoptive mother-to-be, I found this book to include completely unnecessary, anxiety-producing, and sometimes even judgemental information and commentary. After having experienced 5 years of infertility, AND read so many brilliant reviews about this book, I expected to encounter text that would conclusively lead me joyfully toward sourcing my children. Instead, I read ridiculous quips that urged me to "never underestimate the power of my social worker," second-guess myself in terms of the level of my education (I hold a terminal graduate degree), my age (40), and my decision to adopt internationally. I finally had to put the book away. Once tucked away, my husband and I breezed through our home study (no need for the anxiety caused by the countless "tips" about what to say and what not to say to your social worker), the building of our dossier, and are now awaiting the identification of a baby that will soon be ours. For sensitive folks like me, I do not recommend this book. There are several others that are much more helpful, supportive and informative.

After meeting a woman in a local parking lot who was hand in hand with a precious biracial little boy and engaging in an "adoption conversation", we contacted Mrs Martin and asked some simple questions, read her first book from cover to cover, and began our "baby search. About 16 months months later, (7/98) with the assistance of Dru and Cynthia as our adoption facilitators we became the proud parents of a healthy newborn biracial beautiful baby girl! We followed their steps and instructions and it WORKS!!! I have since read this book and passed them both on to prospective parents.

As an adult adoptee and a married woman who hopes to adopt soon, I found this book to be realistic and comprehensive. It earns extra points for being the collaborative work of an adoptive mother and her daughter, both now working in adoption. Perhaps their understanding of adoption from so many angles is what makes this book stand out as THE handbook for prospective adoptive families. The criticism from a UK reader really doesn't hold much weight. Cynthia and Dru facilitate adoptions with an emphasis on placing African-American and bi-racial babies. Reading this book is time well spent for anyone creating a family through adoption -- including extended family and friends who want insight into what's happening with the adoptive family. I recommend this book to everyone I know that is considering adoption.

After reading the Making of the Atomic Bomb, I thought I would get a view point from on of the actual participants. General Groves had an eclectic story keeping all his crazy scientists in line to meet an objective. Then handing the construction of the facilities and checking on the progress of the Germans.

It was interesting to see how he handeled the new recruites as well as the intelectuals. I enjoyed learning about how Handford was set up to be all automated, most books you only hear about Oak Ridge. I thought their willingness to try every avenue to get to the enrichment process seemed desprate. They were afraid that Germany was so far ahead. They took what they knew and were constantly trying to improve on it.

I like learning about the spys that he had under his command to see where Germany was and not to give up and complete his task when he found out there was not any progress in Germany.

He was an interesting character who got the job done.

Gen. Groves deputy on the Manhatten Project, Gen. Keith Nichols, was once asked what he thought of he thought of Groves. He began by saying "Leslie Groves is the biggest son-of-a $%&%* I ever met in my life" and ended by saying that of all the people he'd met in his life, he didn't think any of them could have done as well as Groves in running the Manhatten Project. I think that if he'd been put in charge in Jan. of '43, instead of Sept., the war probably would have ended earlier, saving hundreds of thousands of lives. This book shows him at his egotistical best and worst, and is essential for understanding how and why the U.S. got the bomb before Japan was invaded. Just don't expect any modesty at all.

I read this book in the early 1960's when it was first published. I was in engineering school then, in India, and my interest in reading the book was to learn the story of the greatest scientific achievement of the 20th century. The book is so fascinating and so readable that I read it in four hours without interruption and then went back to the first page and read it again in the next four hours. I wanted to memorize every event in the book, word for word. What fascinated me about the book was not only the scientific aspects of atomic energy and the development of the atom bomb, which are described in layman's terms, but the extraordinary skills and drive of General Leslie Groves in taking the project from concept to fruition, notwithstanding the sinister goal of the project. It is one of the best project management books I have ever read. It built in me a tremendous respect for the ability of Americans to carry out such a complex project in a time critical situation. Oppenheimer got all the glory of being the father of the atom bomb, but it was General Leslie Groves who was the driving force behind it. Without him the project would not have succeeded in such difficult times. I think the book should be a required reading in all business management schools.

The book was great. Derin grew metaly and physicaly while seeking out his fatther. Marna the witch helps him on his journy. The discover many forms of witch craft and evil

This novel by Victor was fantastic. He expressed all words very well. I read this book for a class study. Though the essay topics where hard I found it easy to study as it was well writen I wish I could of read this book forever

Victor Kelleher's Master of the Grove is a great fantasy, with similarities to Earthsea novels. It is about a boy called Derin who is on a quest to find his father. You will never want to stop reading it!!
So if you like Lord of the Rings, Ursuls Le Guin's Earthsea novels or Emily Rodda novel, chances are you'll like this too.

In The Year of The Leopard Song, by Eric Campbell, 18 year old Alan has just returned to his homeland Africa from a year abroad, and is reuniting with friends and family. In coming home, Alan sees with fresh eyes the racial prejudice against white Africans such as himself, and learns to accept that he will never be considered a true African by his friends and fellows. He is only beginning to face this seemingly new challenge when his best friend Kimathi disappears, and in search of him Alan finds himself in much more danger than he bargained for... Although this novel is well written and suspenseful, it is hard to tell whether it is meant to be realistic or simply magical. It is also confusing and you don't really understand the plot until well after the middle. Overall, it simply goes on too long before you can begin to grasp what is happening. I would not recommend In the Year of the Leopard Song because it is confusing and the plot takes too long to unfold. It is confusing because it seems magical in how the Chagga can transform a boy into a leopard, but feels like a story based on reality and African culture. I was never sure whether it was intended to be a magical fantasy or realistic fiction work. The story does not start out with a clear explanation of what is going on, it starts into the story and leaves you to figure it out. It was simply hard to understand, and I would not recommend it at all. Some people might think this is a worthwhile book, because the plot is suspenseful, when Alan finds himself on Kilimanjaro in the hands of the Chagga, if confusing. Still, the confusion overrides the suspense and after finishing it I thought it a waste of time. Older and more advanced readers might find this book worthwhile, but the average teen would not enjoy it. Overall, this book was a waste of time and I would not recommend it.

The Year of The Leopard Song by Eric Campbell is a very interesting book. Alan, a 16-year-old boy, lives with his parents at the foot of Mt. Kilma Njaro in Africa. When Alan's best friend Kimathi is missing, and they find a dead chicken hanging in their shed, they become frightened. So, Alan begins a journey up the mountain to find his good friend. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves action, suspense, and mystery.

I would recommend this book because it many great action scenes that keep your eyes glued to the pages to see what will happen next. For example, when Alan gets to the top of the mountain he finds kimathi. Kimathi is entranced and tries to kill his friend. Also, the book is very descriptive and it is almost as if one can feel the emotions that the characters possess. I think that this is a good quality in a book because it gives the book substance. Besides all of those great qualities, The Year of The Leopard Song gives geographical features of Africa and the mountains around it. You can really see how tough it would be to climb the mountains, like Alan and Kimathi do.

Some might disagree with my opinion of this book. They might think that it is too descriptive and boring. But Campbell does a good job of keeping the reader interested by bringing in brief action scenes that lead up to the main event at the end of the book. Also, the book is 192 pages long and it isn't until around page 170 that anything major starts to happen. But I think that the description before is needed to give the reader a better sense of what is happening, and the different views and feelings of each character. I would definitely recommend this book. It has action, suspense and description. That's about all that a book needs.

This supernatural struugle is truly gripping and thrilling. Campbell reveals the struggle between the African tribal and British white man's ways through the use of realistic, alternating dialogue and thoughts. The descriptions of Mt. Kilamanjaro make me want to climb it to see for myself its mystical wonders. The two boys, Kimanthi and Alan, move from boyhood best friends to predator-prey. The ending of the story left my heart aching for for both boys and their families. I plan to use this novel in my 11th grade English course called Communications III. This novel is a good example of world literature to teach students about Africa and part of its history. Also, it exemplifies how communication is used and misused by people of different age groups and cultures when they try to express themselves or relate to each other.

A reasonably well-written account of one of the most diasterous nights in Boston's history. One of only two books available on this topic. There are no pictures.

As far as I know, there are only two books on this subject and this is the better one. It's fascinating to learn the changes in medical care, emergency response and building codes that it brought about, but I was hoping for more detailed information on that. Someone could have written it better and more excitingly, but no one did.

This is an excellent book. It's just a tiny bit on the dry side, but that's not a criticism. The book sets the scene by creating an excellent picture of life in the early 1940's, and describes the events and people involved in what is certainly the best-known fire disaster in American History. Mr. Keyes certainly did his research well. For those are interested in history, you won't find a better book.