In Search of Dracula (McNally & Florescu)

You're probably familiar with Bram Stoker's 1897 masterpiece Dracula.  What you may not realize is that Stoker's vampire was based on a historical figure: Vlad Tepes, or "The Impaler," a Wallachian* prince who lived from 1431-1467.  He was also known as . . . Vlad Dracula.  In Search of Dracula is a short (180 page) history of both the historical and legendary (in folklore/pop culture) figures.

Though I enjoyed the subject matter a good deal, this book has many shortcomings.  It's a meandering account, with information presented in an unstructured, confusing manner.  The authors claim to be the first to connect the fictional vampire with the historical figure; I found that hard to believe, as Stoker must have done the same over a century ago, based on similarities between his count and Vlad (the authors mention this very fact later in the book . . . which seems self-contradictory).  As both authors are professors and have jointly penned several books on this subject, I don't doubt their authority- but they could work on their content/consistency/delivery.  As a final ding, I was surprised by their historical investigative methods, which seemed amateurish in places (when the facts are cloudy, they tend to believe the folklore as fact- seems to me an odd way of approaching historical research).  Despite these issues, though, the book does have a lot of good resources- almost half of the pages are appendices with useful information (to include a chronology, bibliography, filmography, and travel guide)- so I'll keep this until I find something better.

Rating: B-

*Wallachia is a region in modern Romania; on its north border you'll find Transylvania (also in modern Romania)

The Middle Sea (John Julius Norwich)

Most historical surveys focus on specific countries, continents, or time periods; in The Middle Sea, however, author John Julius Norwich summarizes the history of nations lying along a body of water: the Mediterranean.  This is largely a political/military history, with summaries of the myriad rulers and conflicts the region has seen over the past six (or so) millenia.  After brief treatments of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, the bulk of the work focuses on the Crusades (and Knights of St. John), Papal States, Republic of Venice (and her territories), Ottoman Empire, Spain, Napoleonic France, the Barbary Coast, a smattering of islands (to include Sicily, Crete, Cyprus, and Malta), and the unification/independence of modern Greece and Italy.  The author chooses to conclude immediately after WWI.  For each topic covered, only portions close to the Mediterranean are considered- thus, for example, the WWI portion covered only conflicts in Gallipoli, Salonika, and Palestine.

Why choose this specific body of water as the focus?  Because of its importance:

Some six or seven thousand years ago the Mediterranean gave birth to Western civilisation as we know it.  Its relatively small size, its confined shape, the gentleness of its climate, the blessed fertility and the manifold indentations of its European and Asiatic shores, all combined to provide a uniquely protective environment in which its various peoples could develop and flourish.

Overall, this is a solid read.  Norwich does a good job with a straightforward and concise delivery. He includes amusing anecdotes, making it easier to digest the wave of information.  Focusing on a body of water was an interesting twist, and the variety of nations discussed help me make some historical connections I had previously missed.  It's not perfect- some sections feel like he left out key backstory that left me hopelessly swimming in names and dates I didn't understand or put in context . . . but on the whole, this is a good summary.

You learn things about yourself when reading a work of such scope.  I learned, for example, that (for whatever reason) I simply don't care much about Spanish or Italian history.  I don't know why . . . but I started skipping or skimming those sections (again, due to my lack of interest, not lack of quality).  Thus, I read most of this- probably 80% of the 600 pages- but not all.  The work as a whole, however, is of value.  It's a good summary for those planning vacations to the region.

Rating: A-

Biblios

Today's game review is a nifty little number called Biblios.

Overview
In Biblios, you are the head of a Medieval monastery, and "compete against other monasteries to become the one with the most wonderful library."  To do this, you aim to collect the most victory points.  You do this by gaining cards (each with a value 1-4) across five different categories (Monks, Pigments, Holy Books, Manuscripts, Forbidden Tomes).  At the end of the game, you compare your tally for each category with your opponent(s); the one with the highest value for each claims the victory points for that category.

• Example: you end the game with 3 Holy Books cards with a total value of 10 points.  Your opponent has 4 Holy Books cards with a total value of 9 points.  You have more points, so you win the Victory Points for the Holy Books category.

Here's the catch, though: the Scriptorium (pictured below) tracks how many victory points are awarded for each category.  Initially, each category is set at 3 victory points, but the values will change throughout the game based on "Church cards" people can play.  So, you may end up with the highest tally for Pigments, but winning that category may grant you only one victory point at game's end- or six, depending how it has been influenced during the game.  So play wisely!

The Scriptorium at the start of the game

Simplified Gameplay
Biblios is played over two phases: the Gift Phase and Auction Phase.

Gift Phase:
The active player "allocates" X+1 cards, where X = the number of players.  "To allocate a card means to draw a card, look at it, and then place it into one of three locations:"

• in front of himself (face down)
• into the public space (face up)
• into the Auction pile (face down)

After all X+1 cards are placed in these three areas, the remaining players, going clockwise, choose one face up card in the public space and put it in front of them.  When all players have a card (and hence the public space is empty), everyone puts the card in front of them into their hand, and the next person (moving clockwise) becomes the active player, allocating X+1 cards again.  This continues until the deck is empty; then play goes to the next phase.

When you're the active player, the ideal is to put the best card in front of yourself, the next best in the auction pile (where you can bid on it in the next phase), and the rest in the public space (for the other players to draw).  But since the cards are drawn (and placed) one at a time, you must choose without knowing which card(s) will be drawn next.  So, you take a decent card and possibly pass up a great one?  And which goes in the auction pile?  Choose wisely . . .

The types of cards: item (top), Church (bottom right), gold (bottom left)

Auction Phase
Here, the Auction pile (created during the Gift Phase) is shuffled.  The person who started the game (the first active player during the Gift Phase) starts again here, and reveals the top card of the Auction pile.  He then bids on the card:

• if a gold card, he bids the number of cards he is willing to discard from his hand to obtain the card;
• if a church or item card, he bids the amount of gold he is willing to pay (by discarding gold cards of sufficient value) to obtain the card

Bidding goes clockwise; when all players pass, the person who bid the most discards or pays the amount promised, and collects the card.  Then, the next person (moving clockwise) reveals the next card in the Auction pile, and the bidding commences.  This process is repeated until the Auction pile is empty; the game has ended.  Tally your points for each category, and assign winners to each.  Then, each player adds up their victory points, and the highest total wins.

Review
Biblios is a tidy little game.  For 2-4 players, it takes only 30 minutes, is simple to learn, and fun.  Both phases have hard choices to make (an essential element of good games).  There's a large luck component, of course, especially in the gift phase.  The Scriptorium concept is an interesting and enjoyable twist.  My only ding on this one is that the theme- which is what attracted me to the game in the first place- is just pasted on.  It gives some flavor, but you could do this game with just colors, so I didn't get the Medieval experience I was wanting.  Still, this will have a place on my shelf.

Rules can be found here; a video review, here.

Rating: A-

Ticket to Ride

I plan to review lots of games in the coming months.  I'll start with a winner: Ticket to Ride.

Overview
In Ticket to Ride, your goal is to claim tracks on a map (like the USA map shown below).   You do this by collecting sufficient numbers of appropriately-colored train cards to complete a given segment of track (so, for example, you need 6 black train cards to complete the track from Los Angeles to El Paso).  You get points for each segment of track you complete, and if you complete track between cities on destination tickets you own (which you draw at the start of the game, and can add more later), you get further points.  The person with the most points at the end of the game wins.

The USA map for Ticket to Ride

Simplified Gameplay
At the start of the game, every player draws three destination cards (keeping at least two), and four train cards.  Play proceeds clockwise; on your turn, you can do one of three things:

1. pick up two train cards
Five train cards are shown face up on the table, with the remainder face-down in a pile.  You can pick up two from the table, draw two from the pile, or any combination thereof.  If you choose to pick up a rainbow train, though, that is the only card you get that turn.  If you pick up cards from the table, replace them with cards from the pile.

The colors of train cards.  The "Rainbow Train" can be a substitute for any color.

2. lay a segment of track
You start with 45 plastic train cars; you must put one car on each square in a given segment to claim that segment.  Once you have it, nobody else can claim it- so plan carefully.  You can lay only one segment at a time, and you must lay the entire segment at once.  Example: you want to claim the Denver to Kansas City segment.  You can do this on your turn by laying 4 plastic train cars between the two cities.  To do so, you need to pay either 4 black train cards or 4 orange train cards (see the map above).

3. draw three destination tickets (keeping at least one)
The key to the game is to re-use as much of your tracks as you can.  So, if you have built track from Los Angeles to New York, and then draw a San Francisco to New York destination ticket, you have most of the track built already, and need to complete only one segment- from LA to SF- to complete the second destination ticket.

Example destination tickets

The game ends when a player ends his/her turn with 0,1, or 2 plastic train cars remaining.  Then every player gets one final turn, and points are tallied.

Review
Ticket to Ride is a great game.  It has a luck component (the randomly-drawn destination cards can make or break you), but it also requires a fair amount of strategy.  It's infinitely replayable, and a good choice for any game night.  Many maps have been produced since the initial USA offering- a sure sign of the game's popularity.

You can read the complete rules here or watch a video tutorial here.

Rating: A

Storied Leadership (Jensen and Martel)

Keith Martel and Brian Jensen "are weary of books that turn leadership into a technique or a program."  They "recognize that leadership is not a form of coercion or a mode of control; rather it is a relationship.  It is a pattern of social life and that pattern emerges in a narrative context."  To that end, they wrote Storied Leadership.  All quotes presented here are from this book.

Storied Leadership starts at the foundation.  The authors "contend that the assumptions held about reality are the ultimate foundation of one's perspective on leadership."  Thus, "every leadership model and all acts of leading are manifestations of the stories that we believe."  Stories?  What are they talking about?  To provide more detail:

All narratives are embedded with certain assumptions about the limits and possibilities of humans, the problems of the world and what creates them, and possible solutions to these problems.  People always lead and influence others- for good and for ill- out of the stories that have captured their hearts and shaped their commitments.

The authors are Christians; accordingly, the story that has captured their hearts is the Gospel, as presented in the Bible.  Storied Leadership summarizes the Gospel story, and then discusses leadership principles and practices that arise out of it (or because of it).

The (extremely condensed) Gospel is as follows:
God created the world.  He made man and woman, in His image, to share in this created order- to enjoy, shape, and care for the Earth.  To create culture and be stewards.  All was perfect.  
Humans went outside the limits given to them; they disobeyed, fell from perfection, and in so doing, irrevocably damaged the relationship with our Holy God.  Because of their sin, humanity (and even all of creation) was forever distorted.
Humans could do nothing to fix the rift they had created, but God could.  Because He is holy, He could not overlook the sin . . . so He paid the price for it Himself, in the form of Jesus (God in flesh) dying on the cross as payment for man's fall.  Because of His sacrifice, we have been reconciled with the Lord, and now live in a time of restoration.  The world and humanity are not perfect- we still have the distortion, the mark of the fall.  But we have been redeemed, and thus "we are in a world of gravity and grace- distortion and renewal."

The Gospel can be summarized as Creation, Fall, Redemption.  In a nutshell, "perfection distorted and restored."  It is the basic story of Christianity, and fundamental to the Christian's worldview.  Storied Leadership uses this story as the foundation from which leadership happens.  Specifically, from the Creation mandate, leaders are to be loving lords.

The loving lord is the one who protects the limits and draws out the possibilities.  She is able to consider the potential of her subject and nurture it toward maturity.  The loving lord leads the created order into the way it is meant to be . . . loving lordship seeks to bring out the fullness of something for the common good and for the benefit of the thing itself.

Said another way, "We are called to lead the nascent creation from potentiality into actuality."  To
"Guard and till.  Preserve and cultivate."  But it's not just about this.

Because of the Fall, "All has been distorted."  Thus, "Our role as image bearers is also the work of reconciliation."  That can mean we're called to fix in addition to creating.  So, we are called to be "cultivators and restorers."  Ultimately, whether cultivating or restoring, our goal as leaders is to make "the world more like the Kingdom as God intended it to be."

The Creation/Fall/Redemption reality means things will never be perfect.  Thus, in Steve Garber's words, we have to "Make peace with the proximate," which means "that we accept the world as it is and hold realistic expectations."  We strive for perfection, but realize it's unattainable this side of glory.  We should be neither cynics (who ignore the restorative work of God) nor naïve optimists (who ignore the Fall).  We can make things better- but cannot make them perfect.  So we do what we can.

Leadership is never done alone.  The authors "define leadership as a collaborative effort that influences positive purposeful changes."  In effect, leaders are engaging in "Kingdom collaboration."
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The above is a summary of the core of the book; it is by no means a complete recollection of all discussed.

Overall, I really enjoyed this work.  The authors do well to recognize the criticality of worldview as the foundation for leadership (and everything else).  Effectively,  you can't separate leadership from worldview, which in turn is inseparable from religion.  This is true of everything- recall the claims to the same effect found in The Soul of Science (reviewed here) about that discipline.  Most leadership books ignore this, but they get it right in Storied Leadership.  Overall, the content is excellent, and the book is highly recommended.

Rating: A

Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs (Barbara Mertz)

In Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs, Egyptologist (and acclaimed author) Barbara Mertz takes the reader through thousands of years of ancient Egyptian history.  She goes through the dynasties (nearly 30 of them are in the ancient period), rulers or important personalities (you'll recognize some names, like Nefertiti and King Tut), and culture (mummification, the pyramids, and more).  As the book's title implies, most of what we know about these ancient peoples are gleaned from their temples, tombs, and hieroglyphs, and so her focus is on history as revealed in these items.

I like this book.  The New York Times called this "a successful combination of popular readability and sound scholarship," and I couldn't have said it better.  Mertz is that rare person who knows her stuff cold and can write about it in a compelling way for the laymen.  She's a playful personality, and doesn't take her trade over seriously, giving the reader glimpses of relevant (but contentious) scholarly topics without taking sides or getting wrapped up in the drama.  She knows how to be informative and entertaining, and shows the complexity/uncertainty of ancient studies without boring the reader or getting emotional.  This is a great place to start for Egyptian studies.

Rating: A

The Best Lego Sites

There are many cool websites out there regarding Legos; this post goes over the best.

Current Sets for Sale
Where's the best place to buy Legos?  The obvious place to start is the official Lego Shop.  There, all current sets for sale (from the Lego Corporation's point of view- other stores may have older sets still in stock) can be purchased.  This is a good resource to see not only what's out there, but what Lego says is the MSRP- the recommended price.  Most other stores also sell Lego sets at MSRP (with miniscule discounts from places like Target and Wal-mart), meaning you can shop at multiple places and expect to see the same prices.  However, some- like Toys R Us- can sell sets at 10% above MSRP.  So do your homework, and start at the official source.

Past/current/upcoming Sets
Brickset is an amazing resource.  It lists all past and current sets, including their instruction manuals (yes!).  It also shows upcoming sets, if it can obtain pictures (often, new sets are previewed at toy fairs and the like).  For all of them, you can filter by year or theme.  For example, if you want to know what 2016 Marvel Lego sets are out there (and coming), two simple filters produce the result (here).  Brickset also shows price (at the time of release), which is a helpful baseline, especially when looking at old sets (the older the set, generally the more expensive it is to buy on places like eBay).

ToysNBricks is also a good site for upcoming Lego set news and rumors.

Parts for sale
Do you have an old set missing a piece or two?  Or, are you a few parts short of completing your custom creation?  Look no further than Bricklink.  Buy (or sell) individual Legos here, and join thousands of other sellers around the world doing the same thing.  This is an indispensible resource for the Lego enthusiast.

Sets Reviewed
Does a Lego set intrigue you, but you're on the fence about purchasing it?  Jangbricks, on Youtube, is an excellent resource.  "Jang" has hundreds of videos, covering both individual set reviews and his custom creations (which are impressive).  For the former, he shows in detail the set and minifigures, going over all the little 'gadgets' and items of interest that make a set appealing.  He's a good resource and always kid-friendly; highly recommended.