Book Description
By the author of the bestselling Moneyball: in football, as in life, the value we place on people changes with the rules of the games they play.
The young man at the center of this extraordinary and moving story will one day be among the most highly paid athletes in the National Football League. When we first meet him, he is one of thirteen children by a mother addicted to crack; he does not know his real name, his father, his birthday, or any of the things a child might learn in school—such as, say, how to read or write. Nor has he ever touched a football.
What changes? He takes up football, and school, after a rich, Evangelical, Republican family plucks him from the mean streets. Their love is the first great force that alters the world's perception of the boy, whom they adopt. The second force is the evolution of professional football itself into a game where the quarterback must be protected at any cost. Our protagonist turns out to be the priceless combination of size, speed, and agility necessary to guard the quarterback's greatest vulnerability: his blind side.
Average customer rating:
- No more Scrabble squabbles!
- Be Prepared to meet the Challenges
- The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary
- I'm sorry, but Qwerty is NOT a word.
- To many two-letter foriegn words, e.g. xi, xu, qi
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The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary
Merriam Webster
Manufacturer: Merriam-Webster
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ASIN: 0877799296 |
Book Description
New edition! An inexpensive edition of the book that SCRABBLE players call their bible. Ideal for recreational and school play. More than 100,000 playable two- to eight-letter words including 4,000 new entries. Includes variant spellings. Endorsed by the National SCRABBLE Association.
Customer Reviews:
No more Scrabble squabbles!.......2007-10-06
Loving the Scrabble dictionary. Now there's no more sheepish looking around for a "layman's" dictionary while playing Scrabble, and many official Scrabble words are not in the regular dictionary. And no more Scrabble squabbles! This official version puts to rest any questioning looks from across the board. Who new "qat" was a word? And having learned it prior to a recent game, "qat" helped us build the board north when it was going hopelessly south. I'm having fun learning new Q, J, X and Z words for those formerly heart-sinking moments nearing the end of the game and drawing one of them. A great gift for Scrabble lovers. Nice big print, user-friendly, easy to carry to any game. With all the interest in keeping the brain healthy and sharp as we age, learning new Scrabble words and playing games and puzzles help the brain to stay agile and functional. Who knew Scrabble and this dictionary were actually good for your health!! I will be getting another to give to a friend as a gift. You simply can't play Scrabble without it!
Be Prepared to meet the Challenges.......2007-10-01
With each new volume the avid scrabble player becomes more adept to meet the challenges of intercultural usages of words, making the competition involved in word building, more exciting and satisfying.
Thank you for a great and informative volume.
The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary.......2007-09-06
I have enjoyed my book. It has increased my game. The book is in fine condition.
I'm sorry, but Qwerty is NOT a word........2007-09-06
I'm sorry, but Qwerty is NOT a word. Neither is "Herstory" or a good number of other stoopid werds in this aggravating book that - unfortunately - somehow got isself endorsed by Scrabble officials. The definitions are slim and in many cases, nonexistent. I thought Scrabble was supposed to be played in English? well, there's lots of foreign words in here too. "Barneys"?!?! That's a name. Furthermore, we've been playing Super Scrabble (twice the scores, twice the tiles, and twice the time - but BIG fun), and another aggravating "feature" is that this book does not contain any words longer than 8 characters - so you can fuggeddabout adding onto "Further" to make "Furthermore" - cause its not in here! This book gives me an Incredulity (11 letters - not in there!) socre of 75% and an Aggravation (also 11 letters - and not in there either!) score of 99%. Every time we play I want to do a Farenheit 451 on the damn thang!!!!
To many two-letter foriegn words, e.g. xi, xu, qi.......2007-09-02
I got this book because I was heading out on a month-long trip with some people I didn't know and they said they liked to play scrabble. I figured this would be the easy way to end all potential conflict between on this subject. It did that pretty well, but in part because we all did not like many of the words in this book.
I was especially appalled with the words Xi, xu, qi and others like that that converted scrabble from a game of leveraging your vocabulary to one of remembering odd otherwise-useless trivia about strange words.
The next time I play scrabble I am going to request that we either eliminate 2-letter words, or stick to ones that would have been in common english usage throughout the 20th century.
Amazon.com
This Revised Edition (also called 3.5) of one-third of the Dungeons & Dragons trinity of core rulebooks (the other two being The Dungeon Master's Guide and The Monster Manual) contains errata, rules updates, and outright changes to the already-published Third Edition rules. The majority of changes are made in a quest for the holy grail of game rules: balance. To prevent boredom and enable creative choices, no single ability, spell, character class, or weapon should have an overwhelming advantage over another. So what has changed?
- The spells Harm, Heal, and Haste have been toned down. Other spells have been adjusted or renamed.
- Weapons are classified by the Size of the intended wielder, not the size of the individual weapons. A noteworthy effect of this new weapon size system is that Small characters can wield small-size greatswords, longswords, longspears (with reach), and other two-handed weapons.
- Classes have been tweaked. Bards and rangers received the most changes.
- New feats have been added (some original, some from the builder books), and some feats have been altered (a Power Attack now gives double benefit for two-handed weapons).
- Redundant skills have been rolled into one (such as sense motive and read lips) while others have been renamed (such as "wilderness lore" becoming "survival"). Skill synergies have been expanded and knowledge skills now include appropriate monster lore.
In addition to outright rules changes and tweaks, much of the core rule content has been clarified and updated with 3E errata. The combat section, in particular, is organized much better. Even the dreaded grapple rules are now relatively clear. A much-appreciated import from the D&D Miniatures game are new and simple rules for cover and line of sight, as well as clear photographic illustrations of the concepts of facing, attacks of opportunity, and reach.
All in all, 3.5 is a welcome update. The typographical errors are forgivable, given the extent of the update. The new options available to players (in the form of new class features and feats) make the play experience more fun. Veterans will enjoy re-learning the game they love and exploring all the new character possibilities. Perhaps more importantly, they'll find that introducing new gamers to the admittedly formidable D&D ruleset is easier with 3.5 than it was with 3E--call it a +2 circumstance bonus. --Mike Fehlauer
Book Description
Endless adventure and untold excitement await! Prepare to venture forth with your bold compaions into a world of heroic fantasy. Within these pages, you'll discover all the tools and options you need to create characters worthy of song and legend for the
Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.
The revised Player's Handbook is the definitive rulebook for the
Dungeons & Dragons game. It contains complete rules for the newest edition and is an essential purchase for anyone who wants to play the game.
The revised Player's Handbook received revisions to character classes to make them more balanced, including updates to the bard, druid, monk, paladin, and ranger. Spell lists for characters have been revised and some spell levels adjusted. Skills have been consolidated somewhat and clarified. A larger number of feats have been added to give even more options for character customization in this area. In addition, the new and revised content instructs players on how to take full advantage of the tie-in
D&D miniatures line planned to release in the fall of 2003 from Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Customer Reviews:
Great Updated Game.......2007-08-07
Having played Dungeons & Dragons in all its incarnations back to Advanced D&D, I must say this is the best so far. I love all the updates.
Anyone who played AD&D for any length of time can tell you the biggest problem of the game was the SLOW level advancement. the group I'm in played the same characters for almost 9 years and struggled to get to 14th level. And the monsters were not hard enough once you got high level. But this issue has been addressed and solved in D&D 3.5.
Another pesky issue was that of Armor Class. I hated THACO, and the 1st ed. AD&D system was very limited plus you needed all those charts. In 3.5 there is no limit in sight. And it's easy as pie to deal with during combat. Just roll the dice and go.
My only drawback is that for a DM, it is harder to create complete NPC's, since character creation is so involved. But on the Player's side, I love that character creation is so involved. It helps me get a good feel of who my character is before we even play. Great to create role-playing opportunities.
All in all this is a really fun game that has been inproved in a wonderful way.
Player's Handbook.......2007-05-10
The structure and overall content more or less remained the same. This is still the main book necessary for making characters and running a game. The changes were, on the whole, in the details.
Pros
* They made some good tweaks on the barbarian, making him more playable. For instance, they now have a trap sense ability and the ability to go into an advanced form of rage at 20th level.
* They played with the bard, somewhat, too. Among other things, they now have more skill points, to give them a broader use in the game.
* The druid now has the ability to convert a spell slot to a summoning spell, much like the cleric's ability to convert a spell slot to a healing spell.
* The monk has a few minor tweaks as well, notably in the attacks per round department.
* The paladin now has their powers spread out a bit, to discourage multiclassing into paladin for one level, solely for the saving throw bonuses.
* The ranger has considerably more versatility. They almost made the ranger playable, but messed it up in the end.
* There are minor tweaks in the skill section. They cut the innuendo and scry skills for instance. No one used them anyway.
* Many feats were brought to the Player's Handbook from other books. This opens them up into open game content for the d20 companies out there.
* Weapons are now based on the character's size. For instance, a longsword comes in the medium variety, the small variety and the large variety. While a halfling's longsword may seem like a short sword to a human, the hilt is the wrong size for a human to wield properly.
* There are many tweaks to individual spells that for the most part, don't detract, and usually enhance things quite a bit. Some spells were too powerful in 3.0, some not powerful enough. You can tell that a lot of thought went into adjusting game balance in this section.
Cons
* The paladin is no more playable than the 3.0 version. The fighter is still much more powerful. WotC seems to be of the opinion that because the paladin gets played a lot, it isn't broken. They don't seem to realize that people would still play paladins if they had fur and barked like dogs. The paladin is too well ingrained in the D&D psyche for people to ignore it just because the class is broken.
* The ranger almost made it. On my first read, I thought the ranger was fixed, but then I saw that they shorted the ranger in the hit dice department, so the ranger is only a bit less broken than in 3.0.
* While I liked, overall, the combat section, I was annoyed that they didn't fix a few problems I had. For instance, I think mages should get a penalty for casting a spell in the same round that they are hit with a full attack (it seems surprising that a mage can get hit five times in six seconds and still cast a spell without anything more than the casting defensively penalty). They also didn't change the one rule in D&D which annoys me the most, the fact that attacking a collar on someone's neck or a pouch on their side provokes an attack or opportunity. I'll just never get that attacking any object on another person's person (I like the sound of that sentence), makes them so confident of their safety they get a free attack on you.
If you play D&D, you need this book........2007-05-08
Simple as that, if you play Dungeons and Dragons v3.5, you physically need this book. Doesn't matter if you're a PC or a DM, BUY IT.
Great revision.......2007-04-22
Any review of this book is, by necessity, a review of the 3rd edition book it replaces. Regular gamers had some common complaints about the way 3rd edition came out, and this revision addresses some of them. Before I get into the details, I'd like to make a general observation for any first time gamers. D&D is THE role playing game right now. If you're looking to get into an RPG, D&D is your best choice. The D20 engine (game mechanic) is intuitive, and with an experienced DM, any group of four or five friends can be up and running in no time. Now, on to the crunchy stuff (If you're a novice, you might want to stop reading now):
1. Ranger class revision. The ranger class was often maligned as either underpowered or only worthwhile for one level. The new ranger class isn't as front loaded, and turns the ranger from a poorly armored guy with two knives and a dog to the agile wilderness warrior I envisioned. I wish they had found a way to keep the d10 hit die, but I guess it was necessary to drop the ranger to a d8 to give the extra abilities (Evasion, woodland stride, etc). I'd hesitate to say that this is worth the price of admission, but as revisions go, it's heavy-handed enough that I'd consider it a new class.
2. Nerfed magic. There were certain spells or combinations of spells that could prove overpowered in battle. Haste was the most frequent offender, and now loses its effect if the target casts a spell. I don't play casters often, so others can speak to this better than I can, but wizards and sorcerers are brought slightly more in line with other classes in 3.5. That said, at higher levels, there's still far more sorcery than sword in this sword and sorcery game.
3. Fighter improvement. OK, there isn't much to speak of. I think a couple of new fighter feats from supplements were added to the core, but those who thought the fighter was underpowered before will likely still think so now. This shortcoming is probably enough reason on its own to keep this from being a 5 star rating. The new fighter feats are largely just another logical step from their prerequisites (greater weapon specialization, greater weapon focus, a few newer forms of toughness that grant more hp, etc). There's nothing in there that wouldn't immediately be house ruled in by any DM approached with the idea by a player playing a fighter. More importantly, anyone playing a fighter would likely already have thought of these. I'll move on now, but suffice it to say that this is the major shortcoming of this book. However, I still think fighters are great first characters, and yes, I still play them even though I've been playing since college.
4. Improved skill lists. I like adding Intimidate as a barbarian class skill, giving the bard and ranger six skill points/level, etc. Basicallly, the game has been made a little more skill-friendly for folks who don't play rogues. If the lack of creative upgrades for the fighter constitute the obvious shortcoming of the revision, then this is the total opposite, a much-needed revision that is subtle, but helps game play a lot in my opinion.
4. Altered races. Dwarves get a few upgrades to make them even more fighter-friendly. I like this, and feel it adds even greater flavor to the dwarves. I just wish that something would be done with/for half elves.
Final Verdict:
I consider 3.5 a step up from 3.0. I like it, and prefer playing 3.5 if given the option. Most people stepped up pretty much immediately, though, so I'm not sure that option really exists. If you want to play a role playing game, chances are you basically have to buy/borrow this book from someone because D&D is the universal RPG. It could be better, but I'd say this is an excellent system, and an excellent use of that system to create a set of classes/races that really gel.
The nuts and bolts for the nutz.......2007-01-16
anyone one of my friends and colleagues who ask me how to play DnD this is the first thing i hand them. i have a loaner copy that is in my house no more then 1 day out of the month. in short this is the best place to start.
Customer Reviews:
great buy.......2007-08-14
This book is pretty good. It is unreasonable to expect that every person is going to use every bit of this book. No one has that much time, or that many characters. Unless of course your characters are suicidal and you roll up a new one every session. To me, if you can pick up a supplement book, pluck out a few classes, feats, and some other good information out of it, chances are its a good buy. Especially considering you can bring that to your gaming group and someone else there might like something that you didn't have a use for. The prestige classes are pretty interesting in terms of class abilities, but I wasn't crazy about them. The enrichment material at the front of the book is excellent though, just like the stuff in PHB2. Solid gold for helping you role-play or just concept a character. The feats and skill tricks presented in this book are also good. In my current campaign I play a Scout (from Complete Adventurer) and I like the character a lot. The problem was, I wasn't getting the full statistical output that my character's personality supports. With the feats in this book, I was able to customize my character by multiclassing in some things without losing some of the Scout class ability progression, which let me make the character into who I felt he should be. The book also has many other feats that make it a lot more appealing to multiclass with levels in a Scoundrel-type class. The skill tricks also add a lot of flavor to your character as well as giving them some cool abilities like some feats give, but with the limitation that they can be used once per day. The book isn't all for the Rogue type, though. It has a fair amount of prestige classes and feats and skill tricks for various casters. To name a few, this book contains the Grey Guard prestige class, sort of like a Paladin with less remorse and more freedom of action. It also has a skill trick that lets anyone with 5 ranks in the Heal skill heal some damage when they stabilize. All in all, I won't use everything in this book, but I will use a good amount of it and it is likely that some of my other players will, too.
Who *isn't* a scoundrel?.......2007-07-24
I was very excited about pre-ordering this book, as it sounded like just the thing for giving sneaky, underhanded spells/feats to sneaky, underhanded characters.
However, being a scoundrel has nothing to do with being sneaky or underhanded. Or clever. Or...well, anything at all. EVERYONE's a scoundrel, as illustrated by the book's "What is a scoundrel?" section. Darth Vader and Mario (yes, that Mario) are cited as examples.
This book is full of very similar feats (more often than not, they're just "Choose to re-roll" affairs).
I would not recommend it.
I loved this book.......2007-07-19
I really found this book helpful, as the skill tricks can be used for different classes and I tend to play a more tactical based character anyway. I've had an enjoyable time experimenting with many classes using the recommendations from this book and the luck feats are rather entertaining at times.
A 5 star, if you're more devious, than "Conan" ;).......2007-06-27
More a sort of explanation and thought provoking book to stir your adventures and characters, than just hard "crunch", it's a good one for those who play more devious, roguish characters or settings, than a "hack n' slash" one.
So, 5 star if you like that, but 3 or 4 star if not into such things.
It's less practical than "Complete Adventurer", but if you play a more roleplay focused, or gritty/personality type of campaign, it can be just the thing.
:)
I'd rather be lucky than good........2007-06-15
This book is an excellent addition to your D and D library, especially if you like to play a character who uses their wits in place of brawn.
If you are familiar with "The Complete X" line of books from WotC than the layout of this book is no surprise. Prestige classes, new feats, new equipment, etc... Either you need more feats to choose from or you don't, same with Prestige classes. However, please read on.
What is new in this book is what really makes this book stand out, in my opinion. Skill Tricks. These tricks are almost like mini feats. They are extremely useful and come in several varieties. Basically they add a bit more flavor to your already useful skill ranks to get a bit more milage out of a skill check. They aid in combat, movement, awareness checks and other sundry uses.
Face it, if you are attracted to this kind of character to begin with you are going to have a on of skill points, skill points gives you more options and uses for spending them.
Book Description
Texas Hold 'em is not an easy game to play well. To become an expert you must balance many concepts, some of which occasionally contradict each other. In 1988, the first edition appeared. Many ideas, which were only known to a small, select group of players, were made available to anyone who was striving to become an expert, and the hold 'em explosion had begun. It is now a new century, and the authors have again moved the state of the art forward by adding over 100 pages of new material, including extensive sections on "loose games," and "short-handed games." Anyone who studies this text, is well disciplined, and gets the proper experience should become a significant winner. Some of the other ideas discussed include play on the first two cards, semi-bluffing, the free card, inducing bluffs, staying with a draw, playing when a pair flops, playing trash hands, desperation bets, playing in wild games, reading hands, and psychology.
Customer Reviews:
You'll get a big edge.......2007-09-29
I really am not a fan of the reviews, but I feel that I have the obligation to recommend this book because if you read it, you will understand better the others players' game, and the best of it you'll get a big edge over them.
Excellent.......2007-08-23
I was constantly breaking even before getting this book on online poker sites. After reading it, I took nearly all of the guesswork out of my playstyle and recently just bought a new guitar entirely with winnings.
I recommend this book to anyone who already considers themselves decent at poker and already has good intuition as to spotting how others play to determine what they have... or don't have. This book will not probably help you with those things. This book is best for those who are already good at poker but either have their game strategy wrong or off a little.
The best part of this book is it makes it much more easy to spot poor play from other people at your table and thus allows you to profit hugely from that.
Overrated .......2007-08-14
Sure, there are tips in the book - but there isn't any supporting...anything. You are expected to just take things on face value. Also, it is TERRIBLY written. I think I read the word "finally" 4 times in a chapter. It's terribly nonsensical at many times. It needs a complete re-write and edit.
The thoughts are chaotic and presented sloppily. It takes 3 reads to understand paragraphs most of the time...
TERRIBLE READ.
LIMIT HOLD EM ONLY!!!.......2007-06-02
Buy this book only if you play fixed-limit hold em, not the pot limit and no limit games that most people play, all the strategy in this book relates to fixed limit and DOES NOT carry over to no limit. I don't remember this being mentioned on the sleeve, and it would be easy for a NL player to add this to their library only to read it and find out too late that it does not apply to NL.
Just so you know!!!
Perfecting your game.......2007-05-21
This is a great book by the original expert in Texas Holdem, David Sklansky. After learning the basics this book is great for teaching the finer details and less obvious nuances of the game. It's a must for anyone who's serious about learning Texas Holdem.
Book Description
In the spirit of Rick Pitino's New York Times phenomenal bestseller Success Is a Choice, living legend Cal Ripken, Jr., presents an inspiring guide to overcoming any challenge and building a life you love.
Baseball's all-time Iron Man, Cal Ripken, Jr., retired from baseball in 2001 after breaking countless records, including Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played (Ripken played 2,632). Ripken is admired by thousands of fans not only for his relentless perseverance, but also for his unparalleled integrity. Now, in a stirring book that draws on his exhilarating career as well as the wisdom of his legendary father, Ripken shares rousing advice centered around his proven 8 Elements of Perseverance:
•
The Right Values: hard work, excellence, honesty, and integrity
•
A Strong Will to Succeed: advice for those who inadvertently “bench” themselves in life
•
Love What You Do: tips for discovering where your true passion lies •
Preparation: ways to continually envision your next position and prepare for it as if it were already yours
•
Anticipation: strategies for creating your own opportunities
•
Trusting Relationships: how to build them in even the most turbulent environments
•
Life Management: making time to enjoy the journey
•
The Courage of Your Convictions: insight into how Ripken not only broke but far exceeded numerous records Cal Ripken is a sought-after advisor to fans from all walks of life.
From his numerous public-speaking engagements each year to his weekly “Ask Cal” column for the Baltimore Sun, he always brings a winning combination of compassion and motivation to each topic. A book for moms and dads, recent graduates, entrepreneurs, and anyone who is simply facing an important turning point, Get in the Game gives all of us access to legendary advice from a legendary achiever.
Customer Reviews:
Get in the Game: 8 Elements of Perserverance that Make the Difference.......2007-09-28
This book provides extremely useful guidelines in dealing with situations we all eventually run into in our lives. While alluding to baseball related examples, it does not simply dwell solely on recounting Mr. Ripken's impressive baseball accomplishments or relate amusing/interesting anecdotes. Instead it gives thought-provoking insights into two all too fast-disappearing basic axioms in our country's psyche: "practice makes perfect," and "do unto others." I highly recommend this book for everyone, especially young people still in their formative years. In fact, it presents an excellent opportunity for parents to reconnect with their child(ren) by reading it aloud and together, with discussion centering on each of the eight elements as they are completed.
Baseball analogy of the game of life.......2007-08-29
Get in the Game is not only a book about Cal Ripken Jr., his consecutive games streak and his fine career. It's a recap of some simple but overlooked values.
Using his core strength in baseball to describe his thinking, the reader will not only appreciate some particular plays in his career, but also down-to-earth ways of approaching things in life.
If at first you don't succeed................2007-08-17
Life's little lessons taken from one who knows. Good title. Inspirational! Thanks Cal.
Mr. Ripken Knocks it Out of the Park.......2007-07-11
This is an excellent book by one of our modern-day greats: Cal Ripken, Jr. A native of Aberdeen, Maryland, he spent his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles. He broke a record that many said would stand forever, and this book parallels the former holder of that feat, Lou Gehrig, with a treasure trove of quotes about the latter's life. In a sense, we learn as much about the character and perseverance of Mr. Gehrig as we do about Mr. Ripken.
One early quote set the tone for the entire book:
"I just played because I loved the game, and because I had been taught certain principles that prevented me from backing away from anything."
Mr. Ripken chronicled his youth, the special relationship with his father, Cal, Sr., and then explained in concise fashion his eight principles for perseverance. Some themes related directly to baseball, while others are about life itself.
Here are the eight elements:
Right Values
Strong Will to Succeed
Love What You Do
Preparation
Anticipation
Trusting Relationships
Life Management
The Courage of Your Convictions
This is a very entertaining and informative book. Thank you for the opportunity to review it.
An education in more ways than one........2007-06-12
I am not now nor have I ever been a baseball fan. It just never appealed to me. But Cal Ripken has been heralded as the nicest guy in baseball and the sub-title ("8 elements of perseverance that make a difference" was definitely attractive, so I read the book.
I'm glad I did.
Ripken interweaves a literal history of baseball into his core message of how persevverance plays out in a ball game and life. It's an interesting, informative approach. I can see why Ripken has succeeded in his motivational speaking career as he did is his baseball career: life literally starts anew each day for this guy. Yesterday's msitakes and regrets are left behind. One of the most fascinating parts of the book for me are Ripken's descriptions of team work in baseball and how it works. Frankly, because I've never been a fan, I didn't realize just how much cooperation and coordination is required on the field.
Overall, a very worthwhile read and uplifting.
Jerry
Book Description
Coaching Youth Softball is written especially for the unprepared parent thrust into the role of coaching his or her 8- to 12-year-old child's softball team. Upbeat and inspirational, it schools new coaches in the fundamentals of controlling, motivating, and encouraging a disparate group of kids in the art and science of softball.
Parents learn the logistics of running a youth team and the specifics of coaching softball. They learn how to match drills to a player's skills and motivation level and gain a wealth of detailed instructions on such specifics as how to run a successful practice and manage during a game.
- Takes a drill-based approach to teaching basic skills
- Reviews softball fundamentals for inexperienced parents
Customer Reviews:
Great Book!.......2005-04-22
This book is another great in the series of A Baffled Parent's Guide. These books are thorough and complete - a coach's bible, especially a new coach. The book covers everything from basics of the game to working with the children and dealing with the parents. I highly recommend books from this series.
good book for beginning coaches.......2002-06-23
I have yet to coach a girls' softball team, but I am really interested in doing it. This book has some great advice on how to handle beginner players and their parents. The thing about this book that I found great was that it told you some characteristics to look for when selecting a pitcher, something that I would not have had a clue about doing. Highly recommended.
Excellent for beginner or experienced coach.......2002-05-11
This is an AMAZING book! Even if you have never coached, played, or even heard of softball, it helps you out. It breaks every aspect of the game down and puts it in simple terms so you can explain it to your team. It gives you practice advice and schedules as well as drills you can use for team members to improve, or establish, softball skills. It also gives you advice on how to become the best coach, dealing with gender issues and how to handle difficult parents. This book is a MUST for EVERY coach!
Excellent Coaching Book for New Coaches.......2001-04-28
I am not a parent but nonetheless, this book is excellent! This book gets right down to the heart of coaching. It tells you step by step how to teach someone how to throw, catch, pitch, hit and play every position. It also tells you what type of girl would be good for positions of pitchers and catchers which is important since most girls at this age have no experience in many positions. The drills have diagrams and there is glossary in the back to help with the terminology. There are not that many good softball coaching books (believe me I've looked), so grab this one!
Book Description
The Player’s Handbook II builds upon existing materials in the Player’s Handbook. This is the first direct follow up to the best-selling and most used D&D rulebook. It is specifically designed to expand the options available for players by both providing new material and increasing the uses for existing rules. Included are chapters on character race, background, classes, feats, spells, character creation, and character advancement. New rules include racial affiliations that make race matter as a character advances in level, new character classes and alternate class features for existing classes, new feats, tools for rapid character creation, and additional organization and teamwork benefits -- an option first introduced in Dungeon Master’s Guide II and Heroes of Battle.
Customer Reviews:
Nice complement.......2007-08-15
This book is a very nice complement for creating your D&D character, specially for the new feats.
A Risk Worth Taking.......2007-06-28
When I originally heard about this book, I was worried. I thought about how poorly they made Dungeon Master's Guide 2. However, this book turned out great! They added some great new classes and prestige classes. They really add to the game.
One thing that's really nice is that it's not needed, but it just adds a couple new dimensions to the game.
I will admit that I'm a sucker for more options and variant rules, so you should check this book out before you buy it. You might not think some of the additions are worth it.
Players Handbook 2 Review.......2007-05-13
I eagerly awaited this book to come out, thinking it to have quite a bit of new information. It does offer some new classes and some new spells and such, but over all the book to me was a dissapointment. The book goes into more variations of the original classes and spends some time on your character's background. Most of this information is available in the DMG and other books, this book simply puts them in one place. There is an NPC generator section that was somewhat useful, a good idea and section just not for me.
Having been a gamer for over 20 years, I have read and owned my fair share of rules books, supplements and misc. books. This book in my opinion is not essential to any gamers collection nor does it truly provide much info that can not be gained from the core collection of books. The classes inside while nice, are not enough to warrant spending the money for the book.
PHB2 in 5 easy steps, NOW WITH OVER 200% MORE FLUFF!!!.......2007-04-12
DISCLAIMER: THE AUTHOR OF THIS REVIEW IS A SELF-PROCLAIMED FRICKIN' MORON WHO IDN'T PAYIN OR BEIN' PAID JACQUE DU SQUATTE, AND, IN ADDITION, IS NOT LONG FOR THIS WORLD!.AFFILIATE YOURSELF WITH HIM AT YOUR OWN RISK!
SAFETY IS MOST ASSUREDLY NOT GUARANTEED!!!
P.S. Although...I have attempted something rather similar once before...
P.P.S. that guy, Jacques, can no longer be found at the usual address...
error 404 or some such, most likely, I shouldn't wonder...
A lot of people seem uneasy in their confidence in suggesting or purchasing this book. Being Clinically diagnosed as "thinking outside the box 24/7 and regarding the status quo, "fitting in", and "being POPULAR and commonly accepted as both bland and boring".(to put it in a positive light) or simply as a "motormouthed gibbering lump of idiocy" (The more popular kind of judgment for my ilk), I feel somewhat compelled to offer advice on the matter, as well as my perspective where the subject matter of this book is concerned.
Firstly, the 5 fool-proof (and I should know, lm...) steps to establish a grounded (so to speak) basis for opinion, judgment (should you go for that sort of thing),and so on so forth, yadda-yadda-yadda, etc., etc., ANYWAY...
1. SHARE IT
2. READ IT
3. DELETE IT
4. BUY IT
5. "5" IT!!!
if you are EPIC-impaired, you may wish to forgo one or more of steps #
2-5. The choice lies with you.
Being A rather Casual and Social group, and some of the most NPC people around (ironic, isn't it), file-sharing is hardly necessary. This is already laughably obvious to most gamers I've known, but I mention it for the sake of my friends as well as the already cataclysmically overpaid legal watchdogs what've sold their own savior into crucifixion for a quick gp or 3 long ago..
As for the book itself...
It strikes me as being an attempt of sorts to rectify mistakes of the past. Although the errors of judgment that matter the most to me go largely unaddressed to this day in ANY of their books, The Knight class makes me truly happy, as well as the much-criticized Duskblade, hailed by close friends as "groundbreaking" for taking Archetypes Boldly into new territory, though only the most observant among you will be able to see why.
(Hint: Look Closely. Read between the lines. Its Strengths rest within the details.....).Da' rest a' yas wont even see it coming.
The Paladin from #1 Pales in comparison by far, with its unoriginal recipes & Extra Stuffy Starchy, over-controlling aristocratic rules, protocols, restrictions and regulations that have always made the class unplayable unless the Dungeon Master is VERY loose in his interpretation (I.E. D.. Maxwell), requiring paladins outright to act much more like spies, charlatans, thieves, liars, scoundrels, and assassins as part of their identity as "Lawful Good" (rolling 2d0). With Stricter interpretation, the controversial Christian policy of Plenary Indulgence (forgiveness of sins based upon amount of immediately pending monetary donations), silent consent to the practice of slavery and a platform stance of non-involvement where genocide of biblical proportions is concerned...These real-life historical counterparts could make the Paladin VERY playable as well, but I would still choose the Knight Class hands down, even with ALL of these house rules and role-playing concessions, but just for those who disagree, Check pp.86-87 in "The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting" rules supplement for a VERY SMALL section (in need, I feel, of strong fumigation) "good" ideas regarding pricing of slaves in the skin trade, should your PCs wish to commit such an unwholesome act of savagery and ruthless dominance.
The Knights of Cheval, upon which the Knight Archetype is based, and most pathetically heralded as a "Rip-off" of "mmorpgs", despite the fact that the Descendant(s) of this Knightly Organization DO NOT grant recognition of any sort to bullies, critics, and thugs who enjoy throwing their weight around among these online games. MY ANCESTORS WERE GIFTED WITH THE HONOR OF CREATING THE VERY FOUNDATION UPON WHICH THE ENTIRITY OF YOUR SILLY RICH-KIDS GAME RESTS UPON, IN ALL OF IT'S IRREVERENCE! Ahem... The Knights of Cheval, analogously speaking, are the strongest in resemblance to the much-borrowed, but still much-admired concept of the Knights-Of-The-Round, of King Arthur's fame. These Knights of Cheval adhered to a code of conscience, however, and did not bow to any mortal man, regardless of so-called sovereignty. In a way, however, I have misspoken, as it was the solemn duty, by obligation of the heart, for these Knights to serve and protect the needs of each and every person in their realm, with respect, consideration, charity, kindness, and love no less than that which they would give to their own kin. Their status, or lack thereof, as Christians, is as yet unknown to me, so I cannot speak on the matter with any due certainty or credibility where this is concerned. The Shield at their right arm is far more symbolic of their code of beliefs than the sword on their left, or any other weapon of any kind could be.
An extended rendition of the Knight's Credo can easily be found by the ones among you who are most generous of heart.
Seek...somethin'll turn up.
Ask...you'll get results.
To defend those who cannot defend themselves...
To bestow the food and shelter to each and every man, woman, and child that have none of those basic needs which are due them all...
to fight for the right to adventure and PARTY ON!
"WE ARE THE THIN VEIL THAT HOLD BACK THE NIGHT!!
WE ARE THOSE WHO HACK, TURNING WRONG INTO RIGHT!!!"
-A credo of a different sort, inspired by, and perhaps indeed from,
the Knights of the Dinner Table,
may they live long and level up!
LONG LIVE KODT! HELP ME SUPPORT TEH LOCAL GAMESTORE!
Bringing MMOGs to pen-&-paper.......2007-03-13
I usually love new rulebooks, but this one is a stinker. It was obviously written by someone who loves multiplayer online games and is trying to bring some aspects of those games into a D&D campaign. The problem is, a lot of features that were unique to online games were created because it was impossible for a computer AI to portray certain aspects of combat in a realistic manner. They are therefore pretty contrived and unrealistic by definition.
The Knight class, for example, is a direct import of the "tank" classes from online games. And it shows. None of the class abilities have any precedent in fantasy literature -- unless you view them through a lens of computer gaming.
The Beguiler is likewise a ripoff of online "crowd control" classes, and is completely unnecessary. The same goes for many of the feats and spells.
I will admit that some of these might be fun to play, but they just feel so horribly unnatural that I cringe at the thought of introducing them into any campaign. Some of the ideas might have worked, but I see only the most minimal attempt to disguise the computer-game inspirations behind them. With a little more effort, they might have had a 3-star supplement instead of 2.
Book Description
Complete Mage™
A Player’s Guide to All Things Arcane
Skip Williams Penny Williams
Ari Marmell Kolja Raven Liquette
Arcane Power at Your Fingertips
Every sentient creature is born with some potential to work magic. However, true mastery of arcane magic requires skill, practice, and power beyond the reach of common folk–specifically, the power to harness raw magic and shape it into a desired effect. You are among those gifted few who have learned to channel arcane magic, shaping it to serve your creative or destructive whims.
This D&D® supplement is intended for players and Dungeon Masters. In addition to providing the definitive treatise on arcane magic, it expands the character options available to users of arcane magic, including bards, sorcerers, wizards, assassins, warlocks, and wu jen. Herein you’ll find never-before-seen prestige classes, spells and invocations, magic items, alchemical items, heritage feats, and reserve feats (a new type of feat that grants special abilities to those who remain charged with magical power). Alternative class features give other character classes–from the barbarian to the rogue–a little taste of what it’s like to be an arcanist without sacrificing their core identities.
For use with these Dungeons & Dragons® core books
Player’s Handbook™ Dungeon Master’s Guide™ Monster Manual™
Customer Reviews:
Great product.......2007-09-06
This book really enhances the D & D system. It gives the various arcane classes alternatives on how they came into their abilities
Generally ok, with a few very nice additions.......2007-05-13
Reading the first chapter, I was pleasantly surprised to see how the fundamentals are laid down; a quick overview of the differences between arcane magic, divine and innate magic. Then some slightly more in depth than Player's Guide articles on the various spellschools and finally very nice to read the various archetypes. I especially liked the miniguides that accompanied the archetypes, which explain why you should or shouldn't select certain spells or feats. Very nice for me anyway, because I'm not too experienced and the thought processes described really helped me think for myself.
An intriguing chapter 2 'Character Options' has a section 'Alternative Class Features' which describes how you can modify and augment some specific class. For example there's an alternative class feature called 'Spell Sense' for barbarians or rogues that allows you to swap the trap sense class features for an extra dodge bonus to your AC against spells. It adds some more options for you as player.
Then there's a section about a new type of feat: the Reserve Feat. Ofcourse the other types are still described - like heritage and tactical feats - and added feats for, but reserve feats are feats that provide secondary effects for spells you carry. For example "Acidic Splatter" allows you to cast a lower level orb of acid as long as you have an 2nd+ level acidic spell available to cast. There are various kinds of secondary effects for different feats way (including traveling plains at will). In addition to this secondary effect, most reserve feats add an extra competence bonus for castingtype-related spells. The general idea behind reserve feats is to be able to use your innate magical potential in more encounters without using your spell slots with every cast. It's like there suddenly many shades of gray between the extremes 'cast a spell' and 'don't cast a spell'. Also, they can't be countered, fail, ignore spell resistance and don't need any components.
Then there are ofcourse a handful of prestiege classes and a basket full of new spells as well as some items. I won't go into those; you can probably find those reviews anywhere on the Internet already. Plus, I'm not the guy for that anyway.
Finally there's the chapter for DM's that contains a list of hundred arcane based adventure ideas, and describes various arcane related game facets such as magic item shops, mercenary spellcasters, crafting, creature born of magic experiments and whatnot. In addition, there are the 'magical locations' as treasure, which basically states a magical location somehow made available to the player characters that in itself is the treasure because of the specialness and rewards that come from it. There are a number of predescribed magical locations ready for you to use accompanied by some maps.
Conclusion:
All in all, not everything is new and half of the book is the usual fluff. But combined with the various new features and options it makes for a nice book to join your collection. No unusual well writing or rich background history and characterization (though the archetype section does provide some), just straight up information... mostly.
Complete Mage: Ok but not great.......2007-03-23
Some new spells and feats but a lot is just fluff.
Worth it.......2007-03-22
Sincerely I hoped not too much for this book. There was a Complete Arcane already, and much more about wizards/sorcerers in other books. But it suprised me with some new concept, mostly in the feats section. The reserve feats are good for wizards to add them more "long-term usability" in adventures, and tactical feats have their - albeit more special - uses as well. Some prestige classes are good extensions too (master specialist for example), so all in all its a much better book than I anticipated, maybe better than Complete Arcane was.
Good Book.......2007-02-18
I have to admit I am a bit weary of all the splatbooks that WOTC keeps pumping out. But I perused this one in the bookstore first then bought it online. It's not as good as the complete arcane was, but its got interesting feats, prestige classes and spells for the players. A good buy overall if you are currently playing a mage or want to play on in the future.
Amazon.com
Billy Beane, general manager of MLB's Oakland A's and protagonist of Michael Lewis's Moneyball, had a problem: how to win in the Major Leagues with a budget that's smaller than that of nearly every other team. Conventional wisdom long held that big name, highly athletic hitters and young pitchers with rocket arms were the ticket to success. But Beane and his staff, buoyed by massive amounts of carefully interpreted statistical data, believed that wins could be had by more affordable methods such as hitters with high on-base percentage and pitchers who get lots of ground outs. Given this information and a tight budget, Beane defied tradition and his own scouting department to build winning teams of young affordable players and inexpensive castoff veterans.
Lewis was in the room with the A's top management as they spent the summer of 2002 adding and subtracting players and he provides outstanding play-by-play. In the June player draft, Beane acquired nearly every prospect he coveted (few of whom were coveted by other teams) and at the July trading deadline he engaged in a tense battle of nerves to acquire a lefty reliever. Besides being one of the most insider accounts ever written about baseball, Moneyball is populated with fascinating characters. We meet Jeremy Brown, an overweight college catcher who most teams project to be a 15th round draft pick (Beane takes him in the first). Sidearm pitcher Chad Bradford is plucked from the White Sox triple-A club to be a key set-up man and catcher Scott Hatteberg is rebuilt as a first baseman. But the most interesting character is Beane himself. A speedy athletic can't-miss prospect who somehow missed, Beane reinvents himself as a front-office guru, relying on players completely unlike, say, Billy Beane. Lewis, one of the top nonfiction writers of his era (Liar's Poker, The New New Thing), offers highly accessible explanations of baseball stats and his roadmap of Beane's economic approach makes Moneyball an appealing reading experience for business people and sports fans alike. --John Moe
Book Description
"One of the best baseball—and management—books out....Deserves a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame."—Forbes
Moneyball is a quest for the secret of success in baseball. Following the low-budget Oakland Athletics, their larger-than-life general manger, Billy Beane, and the strange brotherhood of amateur baseball enthusiasts, Michael Lewis has written not only "the single most influential baseball book ever" (Rob Neyer, Slate) but also what "may be the best book ever written on business" (Weekly Standard).
I wrote this book because I fell in love with a story. The story concerned a small group of undervalued professional baseball players and executives, many of whom had been rejected as unfit for the big leagues, who had turned themselves into one of the most successful franchises in Major League Baseball. But the idea for the book came well before I had good reason to write it—before I had a story to fall in love with. It began, really, with an innocent question: how did one of the poorest teams in baseball, the Oakland Athletics, win so many games?
With these words Michael Lewis launches us into the funniest, smartest, and most contrarian book since, well, since Liar's Poker. Moneyball is a quest for something as elusive as the Holy Grail, something that money apparently can't buy: the secret of success in baseball. The logical places to look would be the front offices of major league teams, and the dugouts, perhaps even in the minds of the players themselves. Lewis mines all these possibilities—his intimate and original portraits of big league ballplayers are alone worth the price of admission—but the real jackpot is a cache of numbers—numbers!—collected over the years by a strange brotherhood of amateur baseball enthusiasts: software engineers, statisticians, Wall Street analysts, lawyers and physics professors.
What these geek numbers show—no, prove—is that the traditional yardsticks of success for players and teams are fatally flawed. Even the box score misleads us by ignoring the crucial importance of the humble base-on-balls. This information has been around for years, and nobody inside Major League Baseball paid it any mind. And then came Billy Beane, General Manager of the Oakland Athletics.
Billy paid attention to those numbers —with the second lowest payroll in baseball at his disposal he had to—and this book records his astonishing experiment in finding and fielding a team that nobody else wanted. Moneyball is a roller coaster ride: before the 2002 season opens, Oakland must relinquish its three most prominent (and expensive) players, is written off by just about everyone, and then comes roaring back to challenge the American League record for consecutive wins.
In a narrative full of fabulous characters and brilliant excursions into the unexpected, Michael Lewis shows us how and why the new baseball knowledge works. He also sets up a sly and hilarious morality tale: Big Money, like Goliath, is always supposed to win...how can we not cheer for David?
Customer Reviews:
Moneyball as antidote to stupidity.......2007-10-05
Read Michael Lewis' Moneyball before the playoffs get too far along. As Lewis quotes someone in the book "Up till I was 14 years old, everything I learned about baseball came from broadcasters. And it was all b------t!" So before Joe Morgan et al start waxing eloquently about "manufacturing runs, etc." (which means abandoning the game that got you to the playoffs), you better immunize yourself with this book. It's simply the best baseball book ever.
Amazing Insight.......2007-10-03
Provides intriguing insight into the real skills that are required by a major leaguer and those coaching decisions that do and don't make sense.
A Must for Baseball Fans.......2007-09-28
Anyone who considers themselves a die-hard baseball fan must read this book.... but you knew that already.
Amazing book for every level of baseball fan.......2007-09-27
First off, this is not a book by Billy Beane, or anyone in the Oakland Athletics organization. This is a look at the use of Sabermetrics in baseball, originally thought up by Bill James, and how it can be used to help evaluate talent, and give you an edge in an unfair game, as the title states.
Reading this book, whether you are a casual or avid baseball fan, gives you a whole new look at the game of baseball, the way it is played, and the way teams are run. It breaks away from the norm, and shows that it is not the size of the payroll you have on your team, but how you use the money you have. Also, it is set a few years back, and it mentions some of the players that were scouted and drafted by Beane and his staff. It is nice now to read it, and see how these players have panned out.
Again, great book, flows very well, and I would recommend that if you are even a little interested, you pick this book up in a second.
Legendary.......2007-09-17
Moneyball changed the face of professional baseball and pro sports in general. It is a very compelling portrait of A's general manager Billy Beane and how he explits market inefficiencies to create a winning baseball team, despite having a small payroll. Highly recommended to all readers.
Books:
- The Crossroad (Amish Country Crossroads #2)
- The Crucible (Penguin Classics)
- The Dark Highlander
- The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
- The Fall (The Seventh Tower, Book 1)
- The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book)
- The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour
- The Likeability Factor: How to Boost Your L-Factor and Achieve Your Life's Dreams
- The Power of One: A Novel
- The Rules of Engagement: The Art of Strategic Prayer And Spiritual Warfare
Books Index
Books Home
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Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street
Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
Losers: The Road to Everyplace but the White House
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