A nice collection of information but for what I was looking for the web had as much information on what was where and how much it cost. This book is not worth as much as others becuase it lacks the reader input and real experience of going and being there. Most info can be picked up from travel guides and brochures.

This is a wonderful resource with loads of candid opinions on what's great and not so great in the Alps. It is an overview and does not go into tremendous detail on any one resort, but if you are trying to pick from the overwhelming range of choices, this book will definitely help. Be aware, the book is written from a decidedly British point of view so it places much value on some criteria that American skiers may not value quite as highly (i.e. whether on-mountain dining is of a high enough quality). Also, don't rely on the section covering US resorts for anything other than a humerous glimpse at how the Brits size up places like Vail and Lake Tahoe (both criticized for "lack of non-skiing activities"). There are no photos and the mountain maps give only the broadest idea of the mountains and terrain offer, but the individual writeups are worth their weight in gold.

by far the best way to review and select resorts for your purpose. very easy to use, accurate and INDEPENDANT.
money well spent to ensure you go to the best place for you.

The first quarter of the book is excellent, the last quarter pretty good. The other half is where I found myself skimming the pages for relevant and interesting material but didn't find much.
Perhaps I expected too much after this good start. Social issues underlying the story are relevant and well presented in my view.
Read it, just get over the rather boring part without quitting.

This book, a political thriller has an original plot and is interesting enough to keep the reader riveted as never slackens its pace. Had the author added more twist and turns throughout all the story, it would have been more attractive and enjoyable and had also the author recreated more action packed suspense i.e.(the FBI tracking down Shea- the Pizzaiola shop episode) it would have been a hell of a -blockbuster--could-not -put- it- down. From my experience as a reader, in this book all the situations involved are solved in a short time and then the story goes back on. Overall, this novel has some twist and turns at the beginning, the run in a straight line and repeats the same scheme at the end with a lot of surprises. It is a fairly entertaining book and I would recommend it.

This book may be the best of this author's. I'm sorry I didn't read it earlier. Although the familiar Dismas Hardy is not the central figure of this book - you will recognize other central characters from other Lescroart work. I found this book to be very thought-provoking, fair, and unbiased in presenting the reader with a story that could happen in any city (and probably does happen to some extent more often than we wish to think). The reader cannot ignore the depth of fears, prejudices, attitudes, and personal agendas than hinder the progress of race relations in our country. You'll not be able to put the book down until you've read the last word.

This review concerns the revised 1964 edition. A young girl asks Mr. Hardy, Frank and Joe to find her brother, a young university professor, who recently disappeared. A clue left by the professor leads Frank, Joe, Chet and Biff to the Honeycomb Caves, not far from Bayport, where the boys discover a connection to Mr Hardy's other case involving sabotage at a new radar station in Bayport. I don't know what the author of the revised edition was thinking; he/she took the original edition, that was already not very good, largely rewrote it, stripped away the only really good thing about the original (its rich language and descriptiveness) and made an already dull book even worse. This is a bad book with a boring mystery and not much action. If you're determined to read this title, read the original if you can, neither one is very good, but at least the original was well written.

I think this book is the worst Hardy Boys book ever.This book is so poor I think it wasn't even made by Franklin W. Dixon.I would give it one star but I have to give it some credit.Listen to me and don't get this book.

I think Secret of the caves was the best book I ever read from the Hardy Boys Collection! It was so good I read it in one day! So if i were you I would get the Secret of the Caves right away!

The Hardy's journey to the American rockies to break up a phony credit card scam. Poor cover art - but the book was action packed with a lot of interaction with the criminals. Among the higher volumes this has always been one of my prefered books. The majority of the book is spent near Vampire Trail camped at the foot of an apparent mountain or large hill. As boys enjoy camping in the great outdoors - it makes for an appealing read. RATED B-

Frank, Joe, Chet and Biff go on a camping trip to the Rockies when Mr. Hardy asks them to track down a gang of credit card counterfeiters. Along the way they come across an Austrian mountain climber, a crazy man who believes he is related to King Arthur and a number of gangs that try to scare them off of the case. Most of this book is quite good; the story was fairly well written and it was fairly action-packed. I liked that there were three gangs after the Hardys and their friends. I found that it made it interesting trying to figure out who belonged to which gang and how they were all connected. The title is somewhat misleading, though, because the book has nothing to do with vampires and vampire bats play only a small role in the story. While most of the book deserves a four star rating, I gave the book three stars because the last chapter was really bad. It lacked excitement, was more silly than anything and was a big letdown to an otherwise good book.

One of the first I ever read. It still rocks. Biff! Chet! And the cover art is the same as when it first came out.

Published in 1959, this volume was a swift paced adventure set in Alaska. The best part of the book was the middle whereby they walked along a trail through the wilderness for several chapters. I found that entertaining. The end was horrible and thoughtless and really the book at times did not hold my interest. Throw in the good with the bad - I rank this an average book. RATED C

This book was the fifth book I've read in The Hardy Boys. This is probably my second favorite book in this series because I love mysteries. This book has alot of mysteries in it. My favorite part in this book is when the the group meets Tony. My second favorite part in this book is the ending. My third favorite part in this book is the beginning. My Favorite book in this series is The Disappearing Floor. You should read this book. This is a really good book.

This book was the fifth book I've read in The Hardy Boys. This is probably my second favorite book in this series because I love mysteries. This book has alot of mysteries in it. My favorite part in this book is when the the group meets Tony. My second favorite part in this book is the ending. My third favorite part in this book is the beginning. My Favorite book in this series is The Disappearing Floor. You should read this book. This is a really good book.

For some reason the interior artwork was inferior to The clue of The Hissing Serpent - this volumes' successor. Shattered Helmut I found a fairly decent read. A lot of interaction with the criminals. I particulary liked the character Kitten Cole who was regretably caught early on page 136. The brothers travel to Greece (Don't care for that part). I compare all volumes with one another and like 90% of the higher volumes they are drastically inferior to the lower volumes. Call a spade a spade and do not give every book a 5 star rating. This book was ok - but worthy of nothing higher than a 2. RATED C

Frank and Joe help their pen pal Evan Pandropolos located an ancient helmet lost by Evan's uncle on a trip to the U.S. many years ago. Personally, I didn't care much for this book. It certainly isn't one of the worst of the series, but it could have been much better. I didn't find that the book was written particularly well and it could have used more action. I found the book disappointing for a number of reasons. For one, the most important clue to locating the helmet was given to the Hardys; instead of being something that they figure out for themselves. As well, while Frank, Joe and Evan are harassed by a couple of the crooks throughout much of the book, they hardly ever actually come into contact with them until the end of the book. The only one of the Hardy's friend to appear in the book is Chet and he is only in the beginning and the end. I can't say that I hated this book, but it did little to really keep me interested.

This book has lots of action, too much to say. But what I can say is that the plot is superb, especially the Hollywood movies in the book. I like those kind of movies. For example, the best Hollywood cartoon is probably the Flinstones. But enough about the movie stuff. My other favorite parts are about the Motorcycle Monsters, the floods, and the Corfu Cave battle. This was the ninth book I read. I really enjoyed it, and I'd think everyone should.

Cthulhu Live is an excellent role-playing system for the Lovecraft Universe. The rules are explained very clearly, and are easy to remember and follow during live action play. I would highly recommend this to fans of the Cthulhu Mythos, or anyone who's tired of "The Same old LARP".

And they said it couldn't be done! The Great Old Ones themselves are stirring in their sepulchers over the first official live-action version of Chaosium's acclaimed Call of Cthulhu role-playing game. Based on the short stories of Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937) and the expansive group of writers known as the "Lovecraft Circle," Call of Cthulhu took the gaming world by storm when it first appeared in 1981. Over the years, several organizations have created their own systems to bring Cthulhu gaming to life. This has been a challenging proposition at best.

Cthulhu Live is the first officially licensed live-action role-playing system for Call of Cthulhu. The book contains a tremendous amount of information, ranging from the game mechanics of character creation, skill use, and combat, to the more challenging tasks of make-up, costuming, monster building, prop construction, and running a live-action game.

Although it took 16 years for an official live-action Cthulhu to appear, it seems to have been well worth the wait. The basic rules structure is top-notch, streamlining the Call of Cthulhu rules into a simple, fast-playing system that is quickly mastered. I would rate the combat system as fair. It is one of the better non-contact systems I've seen for live-action gaming, but it's certainly the hardest element of the game for a new player to learn. We tried running a couple "practice battles" with all the players before starting the actual game, which seemed to help everyone later in the adventure.

The greatest challenge gamers might face is assembling a large enough group to run many of the adventures proposed in the rules. Eight to 10 players seem to be about the absolute minimum for Cthulhu Live, and some scripts call for 12 to 20 players. Obviously, such games lend themselves well to a convention setting, but some gamers may find a challenge recruiting that many players outside of a larger city or a college environment. Some challenges may also arise finding a suitable area to play the game, but the book includes tips on finding game locations and preparing houses and apartments for game play. Quite a bit of preparation is required for the games, and the game master, or "Keeper," needs to have not only a good imagination and narrative skills, but some leadership and organizational abilities as well. This said, a well run session with a good Keeper and NPCs is a great experience.

Fantasy Flight Games has published a second edition of Cthulhu Live that has rules updates and additions, an optional new combat system, and several new adventures. Several other projects are also in the works, to include a game support website and players' network. A lot of gamers will be looking forward to the continuing development of the Cthulhu Live system. I know that I am one of them.

--Bob Apelt for Skirmisher Online Gaming Magazine

For all those who have said that the game is cheezy and doesn't lend itself to the Cthulhu atmosphere doesn't know how to play right. With the right amount of effort and this book, you can make a cardboard Byakee, yet surround it with such an spooky story, some good lighting and surprise, and you'll have your players screaming at the top of their lungs. Those that complain about the combat system seem to LIKE combat. The change from the first edition simplified the combat making the dice-like battles simpler. This is not a combat game, it is a game of learning and discovering the horrible truth of the universe around you. If anyone want's to run a LARP, yet is sick of seeing guys in trenchcoats chasing each other with stakes, then this is the perfect game for you.

This review concerns the original 1935 edition.
The Hardy Boys and their pal Chet head to the deep South and become involved in an old fued between the Rand and Blackstone families.
Modern readers are likely to have their sensibilities offended by the racial sterotypes in this book which cast African-Americans and Southerners in a particularly negative light.
Stereotypes aside, this isn't a bad adventure although it certainly doesn't rank among the best in the series.

This review concerns the revised 1961 edition. The owner of a newspaper based in a southern town asks Frank and Joe to prove his innocence in a libel case brought against him after his paper accused the ancestors of one of the towns leading families of having made their money through piracy. This isn't a bad book; there certainly are many different mysteries for Frank and Joe to solve: the libel case, a long-lost treasure and a strange "monster" which inhabits a pond not far from where the Hardys and Chet camp out. Mostly, the book was pretty good; although, the ending was a little disappointing as the criminals were caught without much trouble, but I think that most fans would enjoy "The Hidden Harbor Mystery".

This is a book filled with adventure. I don't like Joe because he's very impolsive. And Frank he thinks about things before he does things and I like that and plus I'm dark-haired too like him. Anyway this book was completely thrilling. How would you like to walk in a hurricane? Well here's your answer in a realistic way. Be part of the fun and treasure this book forever.

This review concerns the revised 1964 edition. Mr. Hardy gets Frank and Joe to help him track down a gang of jewel thieves. The trail leads Frank and Joe to the old Perth mansion on the outskirts of Bayport and into another mystery: what caused the death of Clarence Perth, who died in the mansion shortly after inheriting it from his uncle. This book wasn't bad, but with its appealing title and spooky mansion, I expected it to be better than what it was; although, most often, the books with the very appealing sounding titles don't live up to my expectations. This book is average; the mystery is interesting enough, there is a moderate amount of action and at least this edition wasn't confusing, unlike the original edition which was hard to follow at times. Some fans, like myself, might feel that this book wasn't as good as they had expected, but I don't think that any Hardy Boys fans would be bored reading the book.

This review concerns the original 1940 edition. Frank and Joe help their father track down a gang of vicious bank robbers and stumble upon a crazy man's mysterious, old mansion filled with his strange inventions. This is easily the most imaginative of all of the Hardy Boys books, with all of the interesting gadgets that the author included in the book; however, it is not a very well written book. There are a number of cases of people meeting in the most unlikely of areas, plot points that are totally irrelevant to the book and never explained (Frank and Joe find an envelope with a $100 bill in it at the beginning of the book, it is never mentioned again until the end of the book and it is never explained to whom the money belongs) and, at one point, Frank, Joe and Chet are at the mansion, Chet becomes frightened, runs off and is not mentioned again until Frank and Joe return to Bayport. The whole side of the book that concerns the mansion is not that important to the story, even though it is the most interesting part. It seems as though the author had a great idea for this weird house and then had to write in the bank robbers to provide bad guys for the story, because the first 80, or so, pages, until Frank and Joe first arrive at the mansion, drag on a bit. From that point on the book is pretty good. If nothing else, though, the book is interesting enough because of the strange gadgets and most Hardy Boy's fans would not think the book a waste of their time.

Personally, I enjoyed this book. It was pretty exciting. There are many exciting things that happen, like a car chase, a smoke screen, a dying man, mysterious robberies, a hidden tunnel, an errie ghost, a disappearing floor, a plane crash, a sabotaged boat, and a strange message. All in all it was a pretty good book.

I figured out who the murderer was about half-way through the book. I'm not very bright - the clues were just that obvious. Unfortunately, after the mystery is solved there is little reason to continue with the book. The characters were poorly developed and generally unbelievable. I did get a laugh out of Hardy's wife, Frannie, who repeatedly whined about her attorney husband working, on occasion, until 7 pm or so, "what's your job doing to us." Most attorneys I know, even government, would love to be out of the office by 7 on a consistent basis. This is just one example of the silliness in this book. I take it that we are supposed to admire the great Dismas Hardy despite his few flaws. However, I find it hard to believe that Lescroart would build his literary career around such a jackass. I would have enjoyed Hard Evidence a lot more if Hardy had never made it back from Viet Nam.

I've been reading Lescroart's series featuring attorney Dismas Hardy all out of order; fortunately, 'Hard Evidence' stands up well on its own. The author provides a brief update regarding what must be several novels worth of tumultuous events in the lives of Hardy and his wife while quickly moving on to the mystery at the core of the novel. Hardy has rejoined the San Francisco DA's office and, while toiling away at the sort of low-level crimes addressed by junior staff, finds himself investigating the murder of a wealthy and prominent businessman. With the help of his buddy, prickly police detective Abe Glitzky, Hardy searches for the murderer while striving to maintain the stability of his marriage and resolve his own doubts about his chosen career. It's not too hard to figure out who was the murderer, and the plot twist that puts Hardy on the side of the defense is so heavily foreshadowed (and practically given away altogether on the back cover of the book) that I spent the whole first half of the book wondering when it would finally arrive. However, 'Hard Evidence' strikes a good balance between plot-driven and character-driven elements ' the recurring characters are central to the story and are given plenty to do even as readers get to visit with old friends.

Lescroart ewrote this fast paced thriller. I enjoed it a lot! "Undownputable". A great thriller. Dont miss this one. Its not bad for 4 and a half stars. The beginning is great the ending is a tour de force!