Masters of Deception: Escher, Dali & the Artists of Optical Illusion

Book Description

Astonishing creations by masters of the art, such as Escher, Dali, and Archimbolo; amazing visual trickery; and an illuminating foreword by the Pulitzer Prize--winning author Douglas R. Hofstadter make this 320-page, breathtaking collection the definitive book of optical illusions.

Rings of seahorses that seem to rotate on the page. Butterflies that transform right before your eyes into two warriors with their horses. A mosaic portrait of oceanographer Jacques Cousteau made from seashells. These dazzling and often playful artistic creations manipulate perspective so cleverly that they simply outwit our brains: we can’t just take a quick glance and turn away. They compel us to look once, twice, and over and over again, as we try to figure out exactly how the delightful trickery manages to fool our perceptions so completely. Of course, first and foremost, every piece is beautiful on the surface, but each one offers us so much more. Some, including Sandro del Prete’s charming “Window Gazing,” construct illusionary worlds where normal conceptions of up, down, forward, and back simply have no meaning anymore. Others, such as Jos De Mey’s sly “Ceci n’est pas un Magritte,” create visual puns on earlier work. From Escher’s famous and elaborate “Waterfall” to Shigeo Fukuda’s “Mary Poppins,” where a heap of bottles, glasses, shakers, and openers somehow turn into the image of a Belle Epoque woman when the spotlight hits them, these works of genius will provide endless enjoyment and food for thought.

Customer Reviews:

Something everyone would find interesting.......2007-08-06

I teach high school freshmen, and I keep this book on my shelf for students to look through on their own time. It is easily one of the most popular books, and after only three years the wear is beginning to prove this. I don't know how many times I have dropped it off at a student's table because they were bored, and dared them to not find something interesting in the book. Without fail, a students will be engrossed in the book within minutes.

One of the best features about this book compared to other books of its kind is that it contains dozens of examples of dozens of various types of art. Beyond the typical optical illusions, it features trompe d'loeil murals, artwork created with hair or chocolate syrup, artwork that can only be viewed with a reflective cylinder, and much more. As I mentioned before, nearly everyone will find something fascinating in this book.

SPECTACULAR VISUAL DELIGHT.......2007-06-08

For anyone with eyes, I recommend this book. I purchased for my girlfriend and she loved it. Dali and Echer are particular noteworthy in this collection of illusioins. It will renew your sense of wonder about how your brain works.

my new coffee table book.......2007-01-30

Wow - I chose this based on the chorus of 5 star reviews, submitted by others who seem much more knowledgeable in this field than I, and I am NOT disappointed! This is a great looking book - big, hardcover, suitable for your coffee table. As stated in other reviews, the book has a nice sampling of well known artists, plus an array of fun illusions, and EXPLANATIONS, which is something I had not seen in other books of illusions. This is just a very nice book, meeting the hype, and worthy of your coffee table or anybody else's for that matter .. definitely gift-worthy.

Fascinating imagery.......2007-01-19

Overall this is a fascinating book, interesting to read and fun to look through the pictures. My only complaint is with a few of the images which are too small to appreciate. 2 x 4 inches is not sufficient to enjoy Escher's detailed graphics, and I found myself using a magnifying glass at times. Thankfully this is the exception, and many images are almost full-page size. Even if you know nothing about art, this is an enjoyable book, because you will find yourself amazed by the clever images.

Wonderful family book.......2007-01-16

I purchased this book for my teenage son for Christmas. It was a big hit with everyone in the family, and with our friends who stopped by that day. And even after the holidays, I saw my son (an avid video gamer who refuses to read books) pick it up several times, and even share it with a friend.
The information about the different artists is fascinating, and the artwork is fun, inspiring and amazing.

Modern Chess Series, Part 1: Revolution in the 70's (Modern Chess)

Average customer rating:

good book for the serious chess player
Good book, great subject, poor chess proofreading
Kasparov is best when writing and playing on chess!!!
Revolutions in the 70's

Modern Chess Series, Part 1: Revolution in the 70's (Modern Chess)
Garry Kasparov
Manufacturer: Everyman Chess
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Silman's Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner To Master

ASIN: 1857444221

Book Description

Between 1972 and 1975 alone, progress in the field of opening theory was more significant than in the entire preceding decade! Under the influence of Fischer, who imparted a great impetus to the development of the game, chess was radically regenerated. This process, with increasing acceleration, also continued in later years. As a result, the overall picture in the openings changed almost beyond recognition.

By studying this fascinating book, the reader will certainly learn a great deal, discover things that are unexpected, and see how rapidly and inexorably chess development approached the computer era.

*By the most famous chessplayer of all time
*Part 1 of the Modern Chess Series, follow-up to My Great Predecessors

Customer Reviews:

good book for the serious chess player.......2007-06-22

This book will probably be of most value to serious or aspiring chess players. Kasparov provides an interesting account of advances in chess theory in the 1970s, with a section in which he asked for the opinions of other leading grandmasters whose comments are also enlightening. A book that probably anyone seriously interested in chess and its history will find of interest and value.

Good book, great subject, poor chess proofreading.......2007-06-21

While I enjoy the material covered in this book as much as I have Kasparovs "My Great Predecessor" series', and the GM interviews at the end are delightful, there's numerous errors in the games throughout the book. For instance the Caro-Kann section lists games as starting out as a French (1.e4 e6), and while it's technically possible to transpose into the CK from the French these don't. The errors occur just often enough to be frustrating.

However it's still a great look back through time at the players and theory that shaped the modern game.

Kasparov is best when writing and playing on chess!!!.......2007-04-30

As Igor Stohl aptly commented, Kasparov is doing best on chessboard. Kasparov is arrogrant, that is a fact and sometimes not very cautious in commenting other chess players. But on chessboard and on writing chess, he is in his elements. This reminds me of Bobby Fischer, the behaviour is even more bezairre than Kasparov, but take a look in his " My 60 memborable games ", it seems to be a different person where the comment is candid and impartial. Kasparov also seems now be more rational.
( may be he has retired now???)

Revolutions in the 70's.......2007-04-24

Very inciteful look into the openings played by many grandmasters in the 70's and through today. Gary Kasparov guides you as if personally telling you about systems with exciting games played in them. It reminds me of New In Chess Surveys, but covering the most popular and often played openings explored by the masters. Although sealed in plastic from the publisher I was pleased with the content.

The Immortal Game: A History of Chess, or How 32 Carved Pieces on a Board Illuminated Our Understanding of War, Art, Science and the Human Brain

Average customer rating:

The World of Chess Through a Telescope...
SImply Outstanding!
A personal and rather shallow book
A Fun, Not Technical, Chess History -- and MORE!!
We're living through a mini golden age for chess literature

The Immortal Game: A History of Chess, or How 32 Carved Pieces on a Board Illuminated Our Understanding of War, Art, Science and the Human Brain
David Shenk
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0385510101
Release Date: 2006-09-05

Book Description

Why has one game, alone among the thousands of games invented and played throughout human history, not only survived but thrived within every culture it has touched? What is it about its thirty-two figurative pieces, moving about its sixty-four black and white squares according to very simple rules, that has captivated people for nearly 1,500 years? Why has it driven some of its greatest players into paranoia and madness, and yet is hailed as a remarkably powerful intellectual tool?

Nearly everyone has played chess at some point in their lives. Its rules and pieces have served as a metaphor for society, influencing military strategy, mathematics, artificial intelligence, and literature and the arts. It has been condemned as the devil’s game by popes, rabbis, and imams, and lauded as a guide to proper living by other popes, rabbis, and imams. Marcel Duchamp was so absorbed in the game that he ignored his wife on their honeymoon. Caliph Muhammad al-Amin lost his throne (and his head) trying to checkmate a courtier. Ben Franklin used the game as a cover for secret diplomacy.

In his wide-ranging and ever-fascinating examination of chess, David Shenk gleefully unearths the hidden history of a game that seems so simple yet contains infinity. From its invention somewhere in India around 500 A.D., to its enthusiastic adoption by the Persians and its spread by Islamic warriors, to its remarkable use as a moral guide in the Middle Ages and its political utility in the Enlightenment, to its crucial importance in the birth of cognitive science and its key role in the aesthetic of modernism in twentieth-century art, to its twenty-first-century importance in the development of artificial intelligence and use as a teaching tool in inner-city America, chess has been a remarkably omnipresent factor in the development of civilization.

Customer Reviews:

The World of Chess Through a Telescope... .......2007-10-02

and what an interesting world it is. An insightful look at the history, pyschology, philosophy, and implications for the future of the world's oldest and greatest game.

This book should please chess lovers, as it is a rare thing in the crowded gamut of chess books... a broad survey of the game. Many of us play the game, and we study chess books and chess software, we play computer progams and human opponents, but perhaps we do not stop to look at the game from a distance. This book does that for us. And there is much we can learn, in my opinion.

Mr. Shenk is a talented and capable writer, and he has done his work well. He builds on his personal relationship with the game. While he is not an avid player, his great great great grandfather was a Grandmaster. The book is a fun to read and a page turner, and while it delights, it also instructs. Not so much as how to play the game, but perhaps why.

Chess is the world's 3rd biggest sport. It was supposed to be killed by the computer - and yet paradoxically the computer has greatly enhanced the game. It is one of the oldest games and yet it defies mastery. This book looks at this and more, from wacky Grandmasters to precocious school kids and dedicated patzers. It examines the history of chess in ancient Persia, to Bobby Fischer versus Spassky in Iceland to Big Blue versus Kasparof in New York.

Most chess books place the game of chess under a "microscope" - they analyze one specific aspect of the game, by breaking the game into pieces with diagrams and algebraic notion. This book is so welcome and necessary because it looks at the big picture of chess... from a distance, through the years, chess through a "telescope".

My only critique is that I wish the book had been even longer!
This book will be of interest to all, from chess expert to novice to the non-player who merely wants an entertaining education about the world's greatest game.

SImply Outstanding!.......2007-09-17

What an outstanding read - part documentary, history, biography and mystery novel. David Shenk has stimulated all of my mental faculities by writing was is arguably one of the most compelling chess history book ever written. From Novice to Grand Master, lots of good moves within this read. Thank you for a job well done!

A personal and rather shallow book.......2007-08-19

Readers looking for a decent history of chess won't find it in this book. They will find a highly personal account of the author's chess experiences and rather indulgent reflections on those experiences, and a grab-bag of topics with some historical connection to chess - but treated in a superficial and almost journalistic style.

The last chapter (Chess and the future of human intelligence) is particularly trivial. Shenk observes a group of kids in an American Chess in Schools program. It is pure mawkisness - perhaps I should say silliness. Dialog is recorded verbatim. Portentious claims are made.

What makes the book interesting is that Shenk intersperses a famous chess game (The Immortal Game between Anderssen and Kieseritzky in 1851) among the otherwise forgettable chapters. One rushes through the chapters just to get to the next phase of this gripping chess game. This was an excellent device to inject interest into what could easily have been a dry, technical account.

The book will interest readers with no knowledge of chess, but who are curious about it and just want an entertaining and interesting read with minimum intellectual demands upon them. Readers who want a more scholarly and coherent account of chess should look elsewhere.

A Fun, Not Technical, Chess History -- and MORE!!.......2007-07-08

When I got this book, my wife took one look at the title and laughed. "A history of chess? Have fun with that." A lot of people will think that about this book, and that's a shame. The Immortal Game is far more than a history of chess.

Shenk does cover a lot of the history of chess. He traces the roots of the game to the Middle East, and traces its spread throughout Europe. But he traces the history of chess through how it is used - chess is used as a metaphor throughout history, and what it serves as a metaphor for tells us a lot about each time period.

Muslims enjoyed chess because it was not a game of chance. It emphasized the idea of personal responsibility and free will over strict determinism and fatalism. Medieval Christians embraced this symbolism as well, even as they changed the pieces to suit their own society (the Elephant of the Muslim game became the Bishop in Christian Europe, for example). Shenk tells of a Dominican monk who wrote what many consider the most influential chess book of all time -- Liber de moribus hominum et officiis nobilium as popularium sive super ludo sacchorum -- which translates as The Book of Morals of Men and the Dutie of Nobles and Commoners, or On The Game of Chess.

Shenk sees chess as a metaphor for life, and the responsibilities of each member of society. He goes so far as to justify the movement of each piece by the role its namesake played in society. Even today, chess is used by psychologists studying human thought processes and how intelligence develops. Computer scientists teach their supercomputers chess in an effort to simulate human consciousness and develop truly artificial intelligence. Elementary school children are taught chess to develop creative thinking skills. Each era adopts chess as its own metaphor, and the game continues to flourish.

Interspersed with the history of the game, Shenk offers a play-by-play of "The Immortal Game," a practice game played by Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kiesseritzky in 1851. The game began as something of little consequence, played between two acquaintances as they were waiting for the next game of their match, but quickly became something of note. The game has been studied by chess students ever since - Kiesseritzky even published a report in his own chess magazine immediately after it was over.

The Immortal Game is a history of the game of chess, but it's more than just a history. It's an attempt to answer the question, why chess? What has made this game so popular? Why has it lasted for over a thousand years? It's a study of the use of metaphor throughout history. It's a discussion of what intelligence really is. And it's an encouragement to novice chess players all over the world that there is a reason to study this game.

We're living through a mini golden age for chess literature.......2007-03-22

There have been a number of chess books published recently, most of them in expensive hardback format: Bobby Fischer vs. Russians, Kasparov's My Illustrious Predecessors, even Shahade's uneven Chess Bitch. Now add to those titles The Immortal Game, a great overview of chess by David Shenk. The author became interested in chess rather late, and he'll never be a great player, and he knows it. But that doesn't mean the game can't be fascinating. One of the things to take away from this book is you don't have to be a Grandmaster to get a lot of out chess.

The book follows the history of the game as it also tracks one famous encounter between two chess players in 1851. Dubbed "The Immortal Game," it sums up what is so magical about chess--its unpredictability, its sudden reversals, and the feeling that no matter how much you play it, you will never fathom its depths. That's also the point Shenk drives home in the part of the book not devoted to the game, as he looks at how chess has shaped thinking on everything from math to science to social class to warfare to art to computers to psychology. He talks about great achievements brought about by chess, and the game's darker side, which has led to more than one case of madness, more than one suicide, and a reclusive American genius' raving anti-semite comments. No other game, he argues, has impacted the world as much, and few have lasted as long.

This is a well-written book, and very engaging. It does not have to be read by a person deeply-immersed in, and it's not overly-technical. I have to quibble a little about his insistence that chess geniuses are made and not born. While I don't doubt that thousands of hours puts the Garry Kasparovs and Susan Polgars of the world ahead of the rest of us, he ignores the fact that many other a would-be champ devoted equal effort to the game and failed miserably. He also doesn't seem to get that much of the "research" that has "proven" effort over aptitude is effected and infused by social and PC bias of the time, just as research on the subject half a century ago was similarly biased in the other direction. We seem to hesitate to say there may be a "chess gene" because the game is predominantly male and almost completely excludes certain racial groups. Be honest and ask yourself if we'd approach the sport of basketball with the same convictions.

Overall this is a very good book, however, and I recommend it for both the devoted fan and the casual, as well as curious, person, as a fine entertainment. Hopefully we are seeing a chess-publishing revival in the book world, and renewed interest in the game in the U.S.

The Gaming Industry: Introduction and Perspectives

Average customer rating:

Fantastic Book

The Gaming Industry: Introduction and Perspectives
Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas, William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration International Gaming Institute
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471129275

Book Description

An authoritative introduction to the world of professional gaming and casino management, from the authorities on the subject, the faculty of the UNLV International Gaming Institute: Vincent H. Eade, Director David J. Christianson, Dean William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration

Contributing faculty members: Frank D. Borsenik Leslie E. Cummings Robert J. Martin John T. Bowen Bernhardt Fried Andrew Nazarechuk Pearl Brewer Zheng Gu John M. Stefanelli Anthony N. Cabot Jim Kilby

This is the book for anyone interested in pursuing or advancing a career in the gaming or casino industry, the ideal reference for hospitality students as well as professionals. Completely up-to-date and reflecting current academic and technological trends in the field, as well as the legislative developments permitting gambling casinos in almost every state, The Gaming Industry:

Covers the historical background and regulatory aspects of gaming
Explores all facets of casino operationsâfrom food and beverages to cage operations, auditing, marketing, and reporting
Examines the mathematics and utility analysis of gaming, including all newly introduced technologies and related practices for gaming and casino operations
And much more...

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic Book.......2005-06-14

I read this book, along with "Casino Operations Management" by Kilby, Fox, and Lucas. Both books were EXTREMELY helpful. They both start by assuming you know nothing about the gaming industry. They then show you the history and the evolution of the industry and then take you under the covers to show you the hows and whys of casino management and its decisions. I would HIGHLY recommend both books to anyone looking to gain insight into this fascinating industry.

The Millenium Problems: The Seven Greatest Unsolved Mathematical Puzzles of Our Time

Average customer rating:

Seven of the greatest mathematical problems
The best that could be done in a linear medium
Good reading for non-experts
hard math made interesting...
An uneven account

The Millenium Problems: The Seven Greatest Unsolved Mathematical Puzzles of Our Time
Keith J. Devlin
Manufacturer: Basic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0465017304
Release Date: 2003-10-14

Book Description

The definitive account of the Everests of mathematics--the seven unsolved problems that define the state of the art in contemporary math.

In 2000, the Clay Foundation announced a historic competition: whoever could solve any of seven extraordinarily difficult mathematical problems, and have the solution acknowledged as correct by the experts, would receive $1 million in prize money. There was some precedent for doing this: In 1900 the mathematician David Hilbert proposed twenty-three problems that set much of the agenda for mathematics in the twentieth century. The Millennium Problems--chosen by a committee of the leading mathematicians in the world--are likely to acquire similar stature, and their solution (or lack of it) is likely to play a strong role in determining the course of mathematics in the twenty-first century. Keith Devlin, renowned expositor of mathematics and one of the authors of the Clay Institute's official description of the problems, here provides the definitive account for the mathematically interested reader.

Customer Reviews:

Seven of the greatest mathematical problems.......2007-05-13

If you want to know about seven of the most difficult unsolved math problems for which the Clay Mathematics Institute offers 1 million dolars a piece to whoever can solve them, this is the right book. Actually, we might talk about six unsolved problems since Perelman apparently solved the famous Poincaré conjecture.

A quite readable account for someone who has some training in math.

The best that could be done in a linear medium.......2007-01-19

This compromise between the desire to be comprehensible to a wide audience, and to describe aspects of highly abstract mathematics, works better than one might expect, but it is still a compromise. (I skipped years of school and took my Math degree at London University too immature to be successful.)

In my opinion, the only way this (book)/project could have been successful would have been for the Clay Institute to have commissioned a website with home pages for each of the problems, and a large web of explanatory pages for the various mathematical concepts involved.

There was one place I thought the author (no doubt overwhelmed with the purely mathematical difficulties of the task he had set himself) missed an opportunity to be clear. His Navier-Stokes equations describe a perfectly incompressible fluid. Clearly this is a mathematical abstraction - the speed of sound in such a fluid would be greater than the speed of light, indeed infinite. I think the whole thing would have been clearer if he had noted that the real question to be answered is "are the equations for an incompressible fluid a useful approximation to the behaviour of a real fluid, or does the attempt to approximate inevitably lead to nonsense?". Attempts to simulate multi-body gravitational interactions on a PC screen, for example, seem easy to program, but simple programs that calculate forces at an instant and then step positions forward a finite time, inevitably lead to all the particles eventually shooting off the screen, simply because two particles very close together at the instant have mometary huge forces on them, and the approximation that the force is constant over a step is then nonsensical. So far, the Navier-Stokes equations seem to fail in the same way. The question is, can this be fixed? At least that's my understanding, but it does not come through in this book.

Good reading for non-experts .......2006-09-09

It is probably impossible to satisfy everyone when writing a book about modern mathematics: no matter how good the book, some readers are bound to find it too primitive, while others will be hopelessly lost. The author seems to have tried to find the middle ground, perhaps a little on the "simple" side. A professional mathematician would probably find this book far too elementary; as a chemist, I found it educational. In places, it goes on and on about elementary concepts instead of progressing quickly to something more advanced. But overall, it was a good and stimulating reading that provided a glimpse of contemporary mathematics. Recommended if you are a non-mathematician with an interest in mathematics.

hard math made interesting..........2006-06-17

This week I finished reading The Millennium Problems, by Keith Devlin. It's a look into seven of the hardest, unsolved mathematics issues we have on our hands today. A prize for solving any of these puzzles has been offered by the Clay Mathematics Institute, offering one million dollars to anyone who solves or resolves any of them.

Devlin's book is a math populizer, and he does his best to illustrate the seven puzzles in question. They are:

1. The Riemann Hypothesis, which asks if there is a pattern to the distribution of the prime numbers, related to the zeta function.
2. Yang-Mills Theory and the Mass Gap Hypothesis, which would help us understand why the electron has mass.
3. The P vs. NP problem, which seeks to understand the types of problems that computers can analyze, by trying to determine whether problems can be broken up into two groups: easy to find an answer (P), vs. easy to check the answer (NP).
4. The Navier-Stokes Equations, which are differential equations governing fluid dynamics, but don't have known general solutions.
5. The Poincare Conjecture which is a toplogical problem for 4-dimensional objects, asking the question as to whether the surface of a four-dimensional sphere is simply connected.
6. The Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture, which relates to whether a particular class of equations have solutions.
7. The Hodge Conjecture, which is a rather complicated piece of work in analytic geometry.

I have to be honest...while I followed the explanations given in the book for the last two, I know I have no hope of explaining them. The author does his best with the material, but he even admits that those two problems are rather obtuse.

All in all, it's a good book, for the mathematically inclined. The author provides good explanations for the problems, illustrating their histories, and the stories of those folks who originated the problems. Check it out...but only if math is your bag, baby.

An uneven account.......2005-11-28

As the author himself relays many times in the introduction, it is not the easiest task to explain to lay readers the forefront of mathematical research (or for that matter, the forefront of any academic discipline). However tried the author did, and in my opinion failed to convey the fundamental issues.

History is always a good place to start from when describing a problem. And the author excels in putting together the many strands of history leading up to the seven millennium problems. But history in itself cannot be sufficient in itself without describing the actuals. For instance in a chapter describing the Navier-Stokes theorem the author bluntly writes down the differential equation for users to read. Yes, specialists will relate to them, but for the lay readers? The chapter on Hodge's conjecture is even worse. The author acknowledges honestly there that he has no means to explain in lay terms the question in hand. In such case shouldn't the chapter be expanded to attempt to explain instead of just stating that there is no easy way? How else would writing a book on such topic be justified?

Even in the better chapters (the chapter on Riemann's hypothesis for e.g.) the disconnect between the good historical material and the lack of description for the real problem are evident. The book should either have been written for professional mathematicians or, if intended for general readers, should have limited its scope to things the author found clear-cut methods to explain. I admire the author's attempt, but as it is, the book appears uneven and incomplete.

The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon--The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World

Average customer rating:

Incredible Book
Behind the scenes of the games industry
Starts out strong, then fizzles about halfway through
Comprehensive
for real retro fans only

The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon--The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World
Steven L. Kent
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0761536434
Release Date: 2001-10-02

Book Description

Inside the Games You Grew Up with but Never Forgot
With all the whiz, bang, pop, and shimmer of a glowing arcade. The Ultimate History of Video Games reveals everything you ever wanted to know and more about the unforgettable games that changed the world, the visionaries who made them, and the fanatics who played them. From the arcade to television and from the PC to the handheld device, video games have entraced kids at heart for nearly 30 years. And author and gaming historian Steven L. Kent has been there to record the craze from the very beginning.
This engrossing book tells the incredible tale of how this backroom novelty transformed into a cultural phenomenon. Through meticulous research and personal interviews with hundreds of industry luminaries, you'll read firsthand accounts of how yesterday's games like Space Invaders, Centipede, and Pac-Man helped create an arcade culture that defined a generation, and how today's empires like Sony, Nintendo, and Electronic Arts have galvanized a multibillion-dollar industry and a new generation of games. Inside, you'll discover:
·The video game that saved Nintendo from bankruptcy
·The serendipitous story of Pac-Man's design
·The misstep that helped topple Atari's $2 billion-a-year empire
·The coin shortage caused by Space Invaders
·The fascinating reasons behind the rise, fall, and rebirth of Sega
·And much more!
Entertaining, addictive, and as mesmerizing as the games it chronicles, this book is a must-have for anyone who's ever touched a joystick.

Customer Reviews:

Incredible Book.......2007-10-01

This book is absolutely great. The author clearly loves the golden age of the arcade era. Very well written, a lot of neat insights especially regarding Atari. I simply could not put this book down. The best video game/arcade retrospective ever written.

Behind the scenes of the games industry.......2007-08-28

This is a pacy and enjoyable book that takes the reader on a journey from the earliest days of the games industry to the arrival of the Xbox (around 2001). It's mostly written from a business perspective and you get a good sense of the wheeling and dealing that went on behind the scenes. References are made to certain games but really if that's what you're after then you'd be far better of with The Video Games Guide. The writer clearly conducted a lot of interviews to help enliven the history and although he devotes an inordinate number of pages to Nolan Bushnell and Atari some of the anecdotes are priceless (love to hear about the execs who passed on Pole Position).

Starts out strong, then fizzles about halfway through.......2007-07-23

The final impression left on me by "The Ultimate History of Video Games" is that I was actually reading two different books--one on the early history of video games (up to about the time the NES was released) and one on the late 80s to turn of the century era. The first half or so of this book is obviously a labor of love, and though it does have its limitations the narrative is both smooth and engaging. The book is not exceptionally well written, but throughout the pre-video game era and all through the Atari years Kent manages to weave a narrative that is entertaining and reads well.

A host of quotes from firsthand sources is peppered throughout the narrative, and most of them serve to add to rather than detract from the overall quality of the book. Nolan Bushnell, Al Alcorn, and many others provide anecdotes and relate the early history of video games from the point of view of those who made it happen. The pre-video game era, the rise of Atari, the coin-op arcade business, and the advent of home console gaming is all chronicled here.

But then something happens to the narrative. Around the time Nintendo breaks into the console market with the Famicom the details become more sparse. Short blurbs about the Super NES pop up before the NES has even hit American shores, and entire chapters on litigation, with very little narrative and mostly lifted from transcripts, bog the story down. It seemed to me that I could almost feel Kent losing interest in the project, and my own interest tapered and then almost completely left as well.

The quotes are still there, but the overall feel of the book goes from a man telling the story through the eyes of the people who lived it to that of a high school book report. That may seem harsh, but the "and then this happened, and then this happened..." quality of the mid 80s through mid 2001 years left a great deal to be desired. Some of the most significant developments in gaming are glossed over with surprising indifference, and anyone who hoped to relive their glory days of gaming will be disappointed if those days occurred in the days of Nintendo, Sega, or Sony consoles.

It's hard to blame this entirely on Kent, of course, since the industry expanded so much during the late 80s and 90s that it's difficult to imagine being able to cover things with the level of detail and attention given to the 70s and first half of the 80s. Still, many of the omissions are glaring and, in my mind, inexcusable. While Sega's war with Nintendo during the Genesis/Super NES days is covered, very few games for those systems receive any attention whatsoever. Sonic, Mario, and Donkey Kong are covered, of course, but most everything else is either given scant treatment or is omitted entirely. Golden Axe is mentioned in passing, the Final Fantasy series is eventually given a couple pages (but not until he mentioned Squaresoft's defection from Nintendo to Sony). Kent leaves out the fact that there were Zelda games for both the Super NES and the N64 and forgets to mention Super Mario Kart as one of Nintendo's titles for the Super NES (he does mention Mario Kart 64 without pointing out that it was a sequel). Starfox is mentioned in passing or in a caption somewhere, and I think I saw the name 'Megaman' twice.

In addition, "Ultimate History" does not deign to discuss PC gaming with anything but a passing nod in the PC's direction. Myst and 7th Guest are mentioned, and Wolfenstein and later Doom are brought up a few times (mostly in conjunction with video game violence), but that's about it. Fans of such enormously popular franchises such as Civilization, Quake, Command and Conquer, anything made by Blizzard (Diablo, Warcraft, Starcraft, etc), Age of Empires, or the Star Wars universe will no doubt wonder why their games are not considered part of the 'Ultimate History' of the video game industry, but this question will go unanswered. Online gaming, which was already very popular when this book was published in 2001, is ignored entirely.

In short, "The Ultimate History of Video Games" is anything but ultimate. I realize that the title was the idea of the publisher, but in my mind the author, who is very familiar with the industry, should never have conceded to label the book an 'ultimate history.' In fact, I think Kent should have ended his narrative when the NES console burst onto the scene and billed it as the ultimate history of pre NES video games. To that I would have conceded, and would have given the first part of the book 4 stars if I could have. The second half deserves no more than 2 (and I'm being fairly generous) and in my opinion drags this book down from something worth owning to something barely worth finishing. It's obvious the passion infused in the early part of the book is gone, which is a shame--the first few hundred pages of this book are a great source of video gaming history.

Comprehensive.......2007-07-15

This book is very detailed and well done. It is 600 pages. I think a minor typo (p561) is that Playstation DVD hold 8GB or 17GB dual layer, I believe it is half that (4.7 GB and 9 GB). I also think a fun "fact" that wasn't mentioned in the book is that Donkey Kong Country on the SNES was thought to be the Ultra64 (N64) demo at the show. Otherwise, very in depth, lots of insights into the beginning of pre-pong games, creation of companies like Atari, etc., up to PS2 and Xbox timeframe. This took me a little over 8 hours to read cover-to-cover, but I was always very interested since I grew up playing a lot of arcade games, and enjoy home consoles too.

for real retro fans only.......2007-05-10

Not for the casual retro fan. This book goes deep - deep into the personal ins and outs of the early video game history. Would be better if there are more photos spread over the book. In all, a good read about the people rather than the actual games.

Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges into National Parks (Bathroom Reader)

Average customer rating:

A Different Sort of Travel Guide: Fascinating Park Trivia
Uncle John is still producing

Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges into National Parks (Bathroom Reader)
Bathroom Readers' Hysterical Society
Manufacturer: Portable Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Puzzles | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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National Parks | Canada | Travel | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1592237843

Book Description

Featuring the BRM’s trademark trivia, fun facts, amazing origins, and unknown histories, this book dips into every national park, monument, site, and trail (more than 150 in all), exploring such exciting phenomena as Yosemite’s firefall and the wild horses of Assateague, along with practical strategies for dodging that rampaging bear or moose. Printed in backpack- or pocket-friendly size with sturdy, waterproof cover, this brisk guide is ideal for both the outdoors type and those who prefer to travel by armchair — or throne.

Customer Reviews:

A Different Sort of Travel Guide: Fascinating Park Trivia.......2007-05-19

This latest Uncle John publication proclaims on its back cover "It's time to hit the Trail!" Hit the history books is more like it. This wonderful little volume is full of fascinating trivia about the national parks and monuments found in the US and Canada. Each chapter is brief enough to be read during a single trip to the throne room of your house, and for the most part the prose is enjoyable enough to keep you coming back. Favorite stories for me were "The Great Pig War" in which the US and England nearly managed to go to war over a dead pig (San Juan Island National Historic Park) and the Mojave National Preserve's "lonely phonebooth."

For the most part the history and folklore seemed accurate enough, though the authors did slip a little when they wrote that Ansel Adams had saved King's Canyon with pictures of its Giant Sequoia Grove. There is no such grove in King's Canyon proper. General Grant Grove is now administered as a part of King's Canyon National Park, but it has been protected since 1890. In any event, King's Canyon was preserved because it so closely resembled Yosemite. On the other hand, virtually every other element of the book is accurate. Indeed, this is one of the few sources I have ever read that correctly notes Hot Springs Arkansas is the oldest National Park, dating back to 1835, long before the Yosemite Grant or the creation of Yellowstone National Park.

So, by all means get this rather unusual travel guide. It probably won't help much with actual trip planning, but it is nice for whiling away the time between trips: especially that portion of the time when you are otherwise preoccupied.

Uncle John is still producing.......2007-05-06

Interesting tid bits about National Parks. Suggest you read this before visiting the parks. You might decide to change your routings, in some cases.

High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, Second Edition

Average customer rating:

Cool
Very comprehensive
This book is so awesome
Absolutely terrific! A must read for videogame fans.
Amazing Book!

High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, Second Edition
Rusel DeMaria , and Johnny L. Wilson
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

History | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Video Games | Games & Strategy Guides | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0072231726

Book Description

In this lavishly illustrated full-color retrospective, discover never-before-seen photos that bring to life the people and stories behind the most popular games of all time, including Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Centipede, Donkey Kong, Asteroids, SimCity, Quake, Myst, Tomb Raider, and more. This is the inside scoop on the history, successes, tricks, and even failures of the entire electronic games industry.

Customer Reviews:

Cool.......2007-04-28

This is a very cool book, lots of fun to read and browse. High quality glossy paper and tons of pictures. Highly recommended.

Very comprehensive.......2007-04-26

I've been designing games for a while now and started programming them. This book was a good book to reference games to see what I could and couldn't program.

As for the actual content of the book... the author makes the material interesting. His organization of the book could have been better. It goes in chronological order (most of the time). The visual design of the book is outstanding. The appendix in the back is good.

Its a great book for the most part.

This book is so awesome.......2007-03-19

I learned SO much about the video game industry. I wasn't all that interest in video game history at first. I was looking at this book for nostalgia purposes. I was reading a friends copy and I got hooked. Luckily, I found it used on Amazon.

If you think you'd be remotely interested, buy this book!

Absolutely terrific! A must read for videogame fans........2006-11-29

An amazing and comprehensive picturebook of all electronic games through history (not just "video" games). This book has some great photos of consoles and game prototypes you may have never heard about -- like the Atari Game Brain and Cosmos. It's just packed with images on thick glossy paper. My only complaints is there were no images of the very first videogame, "Tennis for Two". The book is also so thick and heavy, I don't know how long the binding will last under multiple readings. But these are minor gripes. A must have if you are interested in the beginnings of electronic entertainment.

Amazing Book!.......2006-03-11

It's a very colorful book, full of information and ilustrations. I am argentinian and I understand it all perfectly. Very recomendable!

The North Pole Was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World

Average customer rating:

terranova
*'Walking on Water' takes on NEW MEANING . . . *
Comments on The North Pole Was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World

The North Pole Was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World
Andrew Revkin
Manufacturer: Kingfisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Exploration & Discovery | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It

ASIN: 0753459930

Book Description

The sun never sets, the air is twenty degrees below zero, and the ice is moving at four hundred yards an hour. Welcome to the North Pole. In 2003, environmental reporter Andrew Revkin joined a scientific expedition to one of the world's last uncharted frontiers, where he was the first New York Times reporter ever to file stories and photographs from the top of the world. In his quest to understand the pole, Andrew leads readers through the mysterious history of arctic exploration; he follows oceanographers as they drill a hole through nine feet of ice to dive into waters below; peers into the mysteries of climate modeling and global warming; and ultimately shows how the fate of the pole will affect us all.

Customer Reviews:

terranova.......2007-05-26

timely topic, but book isn't exactly dense. more of a children's primer on Arctic issues.

*'Walking on Water' takes on NEW MEANING . . . *.......2007-01-03

After moving 400 yards an hour on an ice floe at the top of the world for three days, Science Writer Andrew Revkin looks down from a helicopter. He watches the icy expanses recede far below while he weighs questions and answers about global warming, and the challenge of presenting these to young readers who are often lured in other directions by iPods & computer games.

Tomorrow's scientists need to be 'shook up' and know there are still discoveries to be made; they can be the ones inventing new techniques needed to retrieve & examine rock core samples from deep below the ice. (See pictures on page 66). They can be detectives competing with the changing ice for answers to frustrating puzzles about the rising seas, for example.

The editor has used engravings and diagrams along with the latest photographs to give an impressive smattering of the history of arctic exploration. The double-spread of a lone seal on pages 100-101 should have been placed to better advantage, to help make Revkin's point about the loneliness of the Arctic where the silence is often interrupted by questions about the future of mankind. This is a excellent, stimulating book for all ages to read and discuss together.

The polar regions have always drawn explorers and it is our luck that the New York Times sent Andrew Revkin to the North to look for ways of stirring the public. We must each take an active interest and help stimulate youthful curiosity by showing the techniques used today. It is not enough to feel the exhilaration of travel without becoming responsible global citizens. In a recent interview by Gwen Iffel on PBS, Revkin cited the "slow drift" of events that do not receive adequate coverage by the media, as for example the recent announcement that the first whale species in China is now extinct. Consider also the projection that by 2040 the Arctic Ocean could be blue for the first time in a thousand years.

Already the levels of contaminates in the bodies of Inuit persons living in the North is beyond acceptable. The Pole is indeed moving . . . can we be instrumental in putting the puzzle pieces back together and work toward unity for the good of the Earth and our children's future?

We must not lose generations of the ingenuity of bright young minds to Wars and the Pestilence of mediocre minds.

Comments on The North Pole Was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World.......2006-09-18

While intended for a young audience this serves as a very basic introduction to Arctic exploration and scientific study. Scientific and political issues mentioned could have been a good springboard for young adults to understand that scientific methods can serve as a process to follow when trying to answer difficult questions. Additionally, it is unfortunate that Mr. Revkin did not include even a passing mention of Dr. John Rae (Fatal Passage). This is a good book to provoke discussion and does little to answer the "big" questions. Mr. Revkin also might consider using a paradigm from Paracelsus that all substances are toxic - its the dose that differentiates the poison.

Average customer rating:

A very personal, enjoyable account of Tal's remarkable 1960 world championship
Fantastic recount of the match by Tal.
The best written WC book of all time
An absolute must buy
Highly Recommended

Tal-Botvinnik, 1960
Mikhail Tal
Manufacturer: Russell Enterprises
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1888690089

Book Description

One of the greatest books ever written about a world championship match. Take a trip with the Magician from Riga as he invites you to share his thoughts and feelings as he does battle for the world title.

International Grandmaster Andy Soltis: "Mikhail Tal's splendid account of his world championship match victory is one of the masterpieces of the golden age of annotation - before insights and feelings and flashes of genius were reduced to mere moves and Informant symbols. This is simply the best book written about a world championship match by a contestant. That shouldn't be a surprise because Tal was the finest writer to become world champion."

Misha is no longer with us, but his highly acclaimed, deeply annotated account of his ascent of Mount Olympus continues to impress and intrigue players of all generations and strengths.

Customer Reviews:

A very personal, enjoyable account of Tal's remarkable 1960 world championship.......2007-02-17

Though the annotations and variations are detailed and full of chess insights, in the end it is the chatty tone and charming frankness of Mikhail Tal that sets this book apart. Yes, you can read it and learn chess, or you can just enjoy the story.
Some of the games are themselves spectacular and suggest fun opening lines that are not always seen. For example, game 1 in the "solid" French features Black sacrificing his kingside pawns to a rampaging queen in return for an opposite side attack. These Qg4 lines you will at least commonly see in books on the French, but Tal's ideas against the equally solid Caro (Ne2, Nf4 and sacrifice on e6) are not as well remembered and lead to some wild, wide-open play that is easily emulated by amateurs.

Fantastic recount of the match by Tal........2006-07-04

Indeed this is a great book and Tal's comments allows a reader to get the feel for what was going on during 1960 Championship Match. You'll get 21 thoroughly annotated games.

I want to warn potential buyers who plan to get a new book directly from Amazon. The new 2003 edition does NOT have the last section "Additional Games" and contains only 212 pages. If you preview Amazon pages, the Table of Contents refers to the 2000 edition and contains that last section. So, buyers beware. I tried Amazon customer service but they have no control over what edition gets picked. In fact, it seems that 2000 edition is no longer available from Amazon.

The best written WC book of all time.......2003-12-27

This has to be the most approachable WC book i've ever read. The annotations are very approachable, even for a weaker player such as myself. Variations are kept within reason. The real nice thing about the book is it gives you this feeling of being there, with Tal setting the scene both in words and with some very nice photographs throughout the book. Highly recommended.

An absolute must buy.......2003-10-15

One of the great World championship matches. Just a great book for any chess player of average or above playing strength.

Highly Recommended.......2003-09-18

As most other reviewers state over and over this is a great chess book. Tal provides insight on why he chose almost every move in his championship games against Botvinik in 1960.

I am a strong expert player. After reading this book, I drew with two IMs in the next tournament I played in, and in both those games I had winning positions when the draw was agreed.

I am not saying that this book will have the same effect on any reader. However, weak squares, strong vs. weak bishops, pawn breaks and a lot of other tactical and positional concepts will implicitely become a part of your chess awareness if you read this book.

Chess enjoyment and implicit teaching are provided by this book. I highly recommend it.

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