Books with author . Taylor

How a form of play becomes a sport: players, agents, referees, leagues, tournaments, sponsorships, and spectators, and the culture of professional computer game play.Competitive video and computer game play is nothing new: the documentary King of Kong memorably portrays a Donkey Kong player's attempts to achieve the all-time highest score; the television show Starcade (1982–1984) featured competitions among arcade game players; and first-person shooter games of the 1990s became multiplayer through network play. A new development in the world of digital gaming, however, is the emergence of professional computer game play, complete with star players, team owners, tournaments, sponsorships, and spectators. In Raising the Stakes, T. L. Taylor explores the emerging scene of professional computer gaming and the accompanying efforts to make a sport out of this form of play.In the course of her explorations, Taylor travels to tournaments, including the World Cyber Games Grand Finals (which considers itself the computer gaming equivalent of the Olympics), and interviews participants from players to broadcasters. She examines pro-gaming, with its highly paid players, play-by-play broadcasts, and mass audience; discusses whether or not e-sports should even be considered sports; traces the player's path from amateur to professional (and how a hobby becomes work); and describes the importance of leagues, teams, owners, organizers, referees, sponsors, and fans in shaping the structure and culture of pro-gaming.Taylor connects professional computer gaming to broader issues: our notions of play, work, and sport; the nature of spectatorship; the influence of money on sports. And she examines the ongoing struggle over the gendered construction of play through the lens of male-dominated pro-gaming. Ultimately, the evolution of professional computer gaming illuminates the contemporary struggle to convert playful passions into serious play.

Push, pull, and slide into the holiday magic of The Nutcracker! Bring the classic Nutcracker story to life by pulling the tabs, spinning the wheels, and sliding the characters in First Stories: The Nutcracker. Join Clara and the Nutcracker as they go on a magical journey in this beloved tale based on the beautiful ballet. With movements on every page, youngsters will love this engaging introduction to the holiday classic.

This book provides a creative, fun way for kids to explore all the best things about their lives. Chock-full of thought-provoking prompts that encourage a feel-good attitude, My Happiness Journal suggests drawing pictures of people who make you smile, making a list of movies that put you in a good mood, writing about a friend who makes you laugh, and other uplifting ideas.

How a form of play becomes a sport: players, agents, referees, leagues, tournaments, sponsorships, and spectators, and the culture of professional computer game play.Competitive video and computer game play is nothing new: the documentary King of Kong memorably portrays a Donkey Kong player's attempts to achieve the all-time highest score; the television show Starcade (1982–1984) featured competitions among arcade game players; and first-person shooter games of the 1990s became multiplayer through network play. A new development in the world of digital gaming, however, is the emergence of professional computer game play, complete with star players, team owners, tournaments, sponsorships, and spectators. In Raising the Stakes, T. L. Taylor explores the emerging scene of professional computer gaming and the accompanying efforts to make a sport out of this form of play.In the course of her explorations, Taylor travels to tournaments, including the World Cyber Games Grand Finals (which considers itself the computer gaming equivalent of the Olympics), and interviews participants from players to broadcasters. She examines pro-gaming, with its highly paid players, play-by-play broadcasts, and mass audience; discusses whether or not e-sports should even be considered sports; traces the player's path from amateur to professional (and how a hobby becomes work); and describes the importance of leagues, teams, owners, organizers, referees, sponsors, and fans in shaping the structure and culture of pro-gaming.Taylor connects professional computer gaming to broader issues: our notions of play, work, and sport; the nature of spectatorship; the influence of money on sports. And she examines the ongoing struggle over the gendered construction of play through the lens of male-dominated pro-gaming. Ultimately, the evolution of professional computer gaming illuminates the contemporary struggle to convert playful passions into serious play.

TWELVE-YEAR-OLD AGGIE HAS NEVER MANNED A STEAM-BOAT ON HER OWN UNTIL SHE IS FORCED TO THE WHEEL. After Daddy disappears,Grandma threatens to separate Aggie and her two younger sisters.Aggie runs away to think up a plan.The sisters reunite aboard the IRENE,their sixty-foot steamboat,but are trapped with thugs intending to steal their boat.As Aggie pilots the IRENE from port to port, conjuring up schemes to regain the upper hand,the sisters search for Daddy.WINNER OF THE SAN DIEGO BOOK AWARD.Based on real people and facts.

Endorsed by: U.S. Congressman Trey Gowdy."Mac Taylor's book is a clear and penetrating expression of what is happening to America and a real challenge to the forces that would make America great again." S.C. Senator David Thomas.The Assault On Freedom In America will inform you about the assault that is being waged against your freedom and what you can do about it. You will see why and who is behind the constant clamor of destructive criticism of America. You will learn of the common themes and people that exist within each of the seemingly diverse protests which are adding to the individual and societal divisions within our country. The Assault On Freedom In America, with its focus on freedom's principles and not politics, will encourage you and reveal how we fix America, by fixing ourselves. You will learn what made America great in the first place. Why America is special and how we can make America, America again. Our country and our freedom is under the most serious assault in our lifetime. The very types of cunning assaults that our first President George Washington prophetically warned of. We the people must therefore come to grips with the fact that attention to our beloved America is needed now more than ever. If we do this, then together we can defend our country against The Assault On Freedom In America.

"Cinderella, you shall go to the ball!" First Stories: Cinderella is a perfect introduction to this classic fairytale. Push, pull, and turn mechanisms bring the story to life and introduce all the main characters: Cinderella, her stepsisters, the handsome prince, and of course the fairy godmother. This well-loved fairytale is beautifully imagined for a new generation by children's illustrator Dan Taylor.

ONE AUGUST MORNING THE TRUE STORY OF LIZZIE BORDEN BY TROY TAYLOR LIZZIE BORDEN TOOK AN AXE... OR DID SHE? Lizzie Borden is a name that has lived in infamy. As everyone knows, she's the young woman who "took an axe and gave her mother 40 whacks" and then "gave her father 41." Everyone seems to know the rhyme, but most people don't know the truth behind the grim story of one of America's most famous unsolved murders. In this new entry in the "Dead Men Do Tell Tales" series, author Troy Taylor delves into the true story of the Borden Murders, revealing what really happened on that morning in August 1892, how Lizzie was hounded by the police, prosecutors, and reporters, and then finally acquitted - yet always believed to be guilty. Was she a murderer or truly innocent? Did she swing the hatchet that killed her parents, or was Lizzie simply part of a plot that accidentally led to murders committed by a madman? You'll have the chance to decide for yourself as the suspects are revealed, the conspiracies unveiled, and the strange circumstances of this haunting case are presented. Forget everything you already think you know about this compelling case and discover what did - and what did not - happen in the story of Lizzie Borden! What dark secrets have never been told? What happened in the grim aftermath of the murder trial? Do the spirits of the dead still linger in the house where the Bordens were killed? You'll find these answers and more and you'll never look at this chilling story in the same way again! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Troy Taylor is the author of more than 110 books about ghosts, crime and the unexplained in America. He is also the founder of American Hauntings, ghost tours, books, events and excursions across America. He was born and raised in the Midwest and currently divides his time between Illinois and the far-flung reaches of America.

​NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER This novel, Shadowmancer, reached #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers List in 2004 and has been translated into 48 languages. The second novel, Wormwood is another New York Times best seller which was nominated for a Quill Book Award. G. P. Taylor also authored The Shadowmancer Returns: The Curse of Salamander Street, Tersias the Oracle, and Mariah Mundi. An apocalyptic battle between good and evil is vigorously, violently fought in British author G.P. Taylor's suspenseful, action-packed fantasy. The story, set in the 1700s on the Yorkshire coastline, revolves around Vicar Obadiah Demurral, a corrupt-but-inept, dead-conjuring "shadowmancer" who desires to control the universe by overthrowing God, or Riathamus. When two hard-luck near-orphans, (13-year-old Thomas Barrick, a bitter enemy of Demurral, and his troubled friend Kate Coglund) band together with a young African stranger named Raphah, they spend the rest of the book trying to stop the wicked Vicar as if their very souls are at stake...they are. Along the way, the three youths meet an enormous cast of friends and foes, some agents of Riathamus, others of Satan (Pyratheon), and some godless (but not for long) smugglers like Jacob Crane.Readers who love fanciful storybook characters will find mermaidlike Seloth, smelly hobs, leg-dragging servants, goodhearted whores, and benevolent boggles. Age-old superstitions abound, though old magic and witchcraft are clearly denounced here as the work of the devil. Indeed, the author, an English vicar himself, tells a very Christian story and his often deliciously dramatic adventure lapses into stiffly presented glowing-halo Touched by an Angel moments(readers will be lured into the Enchanted Forest, but tricked into Sunday school). Nonetheless, Shadowmancer, the first of a series, is a pageturner bursting with magic and myth, and will appeal to fantasy lovers who don't mind the Bible mixed in with their boggles. (Ages 11 and older) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.