text:
A backgammon set, consisting of a board, two sets of 15 checkers, two pairs of dice, a doubling cube, and dice cups
|Years active
|Approximately 5,000 years ago to present
|Board game
Race game
Dice game
|Setup time
|10–30 seconds
|Playing time
|5–60 minutes
|Random chance
|Medium (dice rolling)
|Skill(s) required
|Strategy, tactics, counting, probability
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and a player wins by removing all of his pieces from the board before his opponent. Backgammon is a member of the tables family, one of the oldest classes of board games in the world.
Although luck is one of the determining factors in the outcome, strategy plays a more important role in the long run.[1] With each roll of the dice, players must choose from numerous options for moving their checkers and anticipate possible counter-moves by the opponent. In variants that originate from early 20th century New York, players may raise the stakes during the game. There is an established repertoire of common tactics and occurrences.
Like chess, backgammon has been studied with great interest by computer scientists. Owing to this research, backgammon software has been developed capable of beating world-class human players.
- 1 Rules
- 2 Strategy and tactics
- 3 Cheating
- 4 Social and competitive play
- 5 Software
- 6 History
- 7 See also
- 8 References
- 9 External links
Backgammon playing pieces are known variously as checkers, draughts, stones, men, counters, pawns, discs, pips, chips, or nips.
The objective is to remove (bear off) all of one's own checkers from the board before one's opponent can do the same. The checkers are, in the most often-played variants, scattered at first, and may be blocked or hit by the opponent. As the playing time for each individual game is short, it is often played in matches, where victory is awarded to the first player to reach a certain number of points.
Each side of the board has a track of 12 long triangles, called points. The points are considered to be connected across one edge of the board, forming a continuous track in the shape of a horseshoe, and are numbered from 1 to 24. In the most commonly used setup, players begin with two checkers on their 24-point, three checkers on their 8-point, and five checkers each on their 13-point and their 6-point. The two players move their checkers in opposing directions, from the 24-point towards the 1-point.[2]
Points 1 through 6 are called the home board or inner board, and points 7 through 12 are called the outer board. The 7-point is referred to as the bar point, and the 13-point as the midpoint.[2][3]
To start the game, each player rolls one die, and the player with the higher number moves first using the numbers shown on both dice. If the players roll the same number, they must roll again as the first move cannot be a doublet. Both dice must land completely flat on the right-hand side of the gameboard. The players then alternate turns, rolling two dice at the beginning of each turn.[2][3]
After rolling the dice, players must, if possible, move their checkers according to the number shown on each die. For example, if the player rolls a 6 and a 3 (notated as "6-3"), the player must move one checker six points forward, and another or the same checker three points forward. The same checker may be moved twice as long as the two moves are distinct: six and then three, or three and then six. If a player rolls two of the same number, called doubles, that player must play each die twice. For example, upon rolling a 5-5 that player may move up to four separate checkers forward five spaces each. For any roll, if a player can make moves corresponding to the numbers on both dice, that player is compelled to do so. If players cannot use the number from either die in a roll, given the position of their checkers, then that turn is over and the turn passes to the opponent. If moves can be made according to either one die or the other, but not both, the higher number must be used. If one die is unable to be moved, but such a move is made possible by the moving of the other die, that move is compulsory.
In the course of a move, a checker may land on any point that is unoccupied or is occupied by one or more of the player's own checkers. It may also land on a point occupied by exactly one opposing checker, or "blot". In this case, the blot has been "hit", and is placed in the middle of the board on the bar that divides the two sides of the playing surface. A checker may never land on a point occupied by two or more opposing checkers; thus, no point is ever occupied by checkers from both players simultaneously.[2][3] There is no limit to the number of checkers that can occupy a point at any given time.
Checkers placed on the bar by being hit re-enter the game through the opponent's home board. A roll of 1 allows the checker to enter on the 24-point, a roll of 2 on the 23-point, and so forth, up to a roll of 6 allowing entry on the 19-point. Checkers may not enter on points that are occupied by two or more opposing checkers—these points are blocked. Checkers can enter on points occupied by a single opposing checker—this opposing checker is hit and goes to the bar, the same as any hit checker. More than one checker can be on the bar at a time. A player may not move any other checkers until all checkers on the bar belonging to that player have re-entered the board.[2][3] If a player has checkers on the bar, but rolls a combination that does not allow any of those checkers to re-enter, the player does not move. If the opponent's home board is completely "closed" (i.e. all six points are each occupied by two or more checkers), there is no roll that would allow a player to enter a checker from the bar, and that player stops rolling and playing until at least one point opens (occupied by one or zero checkers) as the opponent makes his moves.
When all of a player's checkers are in that player's home board, that player may start removing them; this is called "bearing off". A roll of 1 may be used to bear off a checker from the 1-point, a 2 from the 2-point, and so on. A die may not be used to bear off checkers from a lower-numbered point unless there are no checkers on any higher points.[2][3] For example, if a player rolls a 6 and a 5, but has no checkers on the 6-point and two on the 5-point, then the 6 and the 5 must be used to bear off the two checkers from the 5-point. When bearing off, a player may also move a lower die roll before the higher even if that means the full value of the higher die is not fully utilized. For example, if a player has exactly one checker remaining on the 6-point, and rolls a 6 and a 1, the player may move the 6-point checker one place to the 5-point with the lower die roll of 1, and then bear that checker off the 5-point using the die roll of 6; this is sometimes useful tactically. As before, if there is a way to fully use the moves showing on the dice, by moving checkers within the home board and/or bearing them off, the player must do so.
If one player has not borne off any checkers by the time that player's opponent has borne off all fifteen, then the player has lost a gammon, which counts for double a normal loss. If the losing player has not borne off any checkers and still has checkers on the bar or in the opponent's home board, then the player has lost a backgammon, which counts for three times a normal loss.[2][3]
Doubling cube[edit]
To speed up match play and to provide an added dimension for strategy, a doubling cube is usually used. The doubling cube is not a die to be rolled but rather a marker, in the form of a cube with the numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64 inscribed on its sides, denoting the current stake. At the start of each game, the doubling cube is placed on the bar with the number 64 showing; the cube is then said to be "centered, on 1". When the cube is centered, the player about to roll may propose that the game be played for twice the current stakes. His opponent must either accept ("take") the doubled stakes or resign ("drop") the game immediately.
Whenever a player accepts doubled stakes, the cube is placed on his side of the board with the corresponding power of two facing upward, to indicate that the right to re-double belongs exclusively to the player who last accepted a double.[2][3] If the opponent drops the doubled stakes, he loses the game at the current value of the doubling cube. For instance, if the cube showed the number 2 and a player wanted to redouble the stakes to put it at 4, the opponent choosing to drop the redouble would lose two, or twice the original stake.
The game is rarely redoubled beyond four times the original stake, but there is no limit on the number of redoubles. Although 64 is the highest number depicted on the doubling cube, the stakes may rise to 128, 256, and so on. In money games, a player is often permitted to "beaver" when offered the cube, doubling the value of the game again, while retaining possession of the cube.[4]
A variant of the doubling cube "beaver" is the "raccoon." Players who doubled their opponent, seeing the opponent beaver the cube, may in turn then double the stakes once again ("raccoon") as part of that cube phase before any dice are rolled. The opponent retains the doubling cube. E.g. White doubles Black to 2 points, Black accepts then beavers the cube to 4 points; White, confident of a win, raccoons the cube to 8 points, whilst Black retains the cube. Such a move adds greatly to the risk of having to face the doubling cube coming back at 8 times its original value when first doubling the opponent (offered at 2 points, counter offered at 16 points) should the luck of the dice change.
Some players may opt to invoke The Murphy rule or the "automatic double rule." If both opponents roll the same opening number, the doubling cube is incremented on each occasion yet remains in the middle of the board, available to either player. The Murphy rule may be invoked with a maximum number of automatic doubles allowed and that limit is agreed to prior to a game or match commencing. When a player decides to double the opponent, the value is then a double of whatever face value is shown (e.g. if two automatic doubles have occurred putting the cube up to 4, the first in-game double will be for 8 points). The Murphy rule is not an official rule in backgammon and is rarely, if ever, seen in use at officially sanctioned tournaments.
The Jacoby rule, named after Oswald Jacoby, allows gammons and backgammons to count for their respective double and triple values only if the cube has already been offered and accepted. This encourages a player with a large lead to double, possibly ending the game, rather than to play it to conclusion hoping for a gammon or backgammon. The Jacoby rule is widely used in money play but is not used in match play.[5]
The Crawford rule, named after John R. Crawford, is designed to make match play more equitable for the player in the lead. If a player is one point away from winning a match, that player's opponent will always want to double as early as possible in order to catch up. Whether the game is worth one point or two, the trailing player must win to continue the match. To balance the situation, the Crawford rule requires that when a player first reaches a score one point short of winning, neither player may use the doubling cube for the following game, called the Crawford game. After the Crawford game, normal use of the doubling cube resumes. The Crawford rule is routinely used in tournament match play.[5] It is possible for a Crawford game never to occur in a match.
If the Crawford rule is in effect, then another option is the Holland rule, named after Tim Holland, which stipulates that after the Crawford game, a player cannot double until after at least two rolls have been played by each side. It was common in tournament play in the 1980s but is now rarely used.[6]
There are many variants of standard backgammon rules. Some are played primarily throughout one geographic region, and others add new tactical elements to the game. Variants commonly alter the starting position, restrict certain moves, or assign special value to certain dice rolls, but in some geographic regions even the rules and directions of the checkers movement change, rendering the game fundamentally different.
Acey-deucey is a variant of backgammon in which players start with no checkers on the board, and must bear them on at the beginning of the game. The roll of 1-2 is given special consideration, allowing the player, after moving the 1 and the 2, to select any desired doubles move. A player also receives an extra turn after a roll of 1-2 or of doubles.[7]
Hypergammon is a variant of backgammon in which players have only three checkers on the board, starting with one each on the 24-, 23- and 22-points. The game has been strongly solved, meaning that exact equities are available for all 32 million possible positions.[8][9]
Nackgammon is a variant of backgammon invented by Nick "Nack" Ballard[10] in which players start with one fewer checker on the six point and midpoint and two checkers on the 23 point.[9][11]
Russian backgammon is a variant described in 1895 as: "...much in vogue in Russia, Germany, and other parts of the Continent...".[12] Players start with no checkers on the board, and both players move in the same direction to bear off in a common home board. In this variant, doubles are more powerful: four moves are played as in standard backgammon, followed by four moves according to the difference of the dice value from 7, and then the player has another turn (with a few exceptions).[13]
Gul Bara and Tapa are also variants of the game popular in southeastern Europe and Turkey. The play will iterate among Backgammon, Gul Bara, and Tapa until one of the players reaches a score of 7 or 5.
Coan ki is an ancient Chinese board game that is very similar.
Other minor variants to the standard game are common among casual players in certain regions. For instance, only allowing a maximum of five checkers on any point (Britain)[14][15][unreliable source?], or disallowing "hit-and-run" in your home board (Middle East). [16]
Strategy and tactics[edit]
Backgammon has an established opening theory, although it is less detailed than that of chess. The tree of positions expands rapidly because of the number of possible dice rolls and the moves available on each turn. Recent computer analysis has offered more insight on opening plays, but the midgame is reached quickly. After the opening, backgammon players frequently rely on some established general strategies, combining and switching among them to adapt to the changing conditions of a game.
The most direct strategy is simply to avoid being hit, trapped, or held in a stand-off. A "running game" describes a strategy of moving as quickly as possible around the board, and is most successful when a player is already ahead in the race.[17] When this fails, one may opt for a "holding game", maintaining control of a point on one's opponent's side of the board, called an anchor. As the game progresses, this player may gain an advantage by hitting an opponent's blot from the anchor, or by rolling large doubles that allow the checkers to escape into a running game.[17]
The "priming game" involves building a wall of checkers, called a prime, covering a number of consecutive points. This obstructs opposing checkers that are behind the prime. A checker trapped behind a six-point prime cannot escape until the prime is broken.[17] A particularly successful priming effort may lead to a "blitz", which is a strategy of covering the entire home board as quickly as possible while keeping one's opponent on the bar. Because the opponent has difficulty re-entering from the bar or escaping, a player can quickly gain a running advantage and win the game, often with a gammon.[2]
A "backgame" is a strategy of placing two or more anchors in an opponent's home board, while building a prime in one's own board. The anchors obstruct the opponent's checkers and create opportunities to hit them as they move home. The backgame is generally used only to salvage a game wherein a player is already significantly behind; using a backgame as an initial strategy is usually unsuccessful.[2][17]
"Duplication" refers to the placement of checkers such that one's opponent needs the same dice rolls to achieve different goals. For example, players may position all of their blots in such a way that the opponent must roll a 2 in order to hit any of them, reducing the probability of being hit more than once.[2][17] "Diversification" refers to a complementary tactic of placing one's own checkers in such a way that more numbers are useful.[17]
Many positions require a measurement of a player's standing in the race, for example, in making a doubling cube decision, or in determining whether to run home and begin bearing off. The minimum total of dice rolls needed to move a player's checkers around and off the board is called the "pip count". The difference between the two players' pip counts is frequently used as a measure of the leader's racing advantage. Players often use mental calculation techniques to determine pip counts in live play.[17]
Backgammon is played in two principal variations, "Money" and "Match" play. Money play means that every point counts evenly and every game stands alone, whether money is actually being wagered or not. "Match" play means that the players play until one side scores (or exceeds) a certain number of points. The format has a significant effect on strategy. In a match, the objective is not to win the maximum possible number of points, but rather to simply reach the score needed to win the match. For example, a player leading a 9-point match by a score of 7-5 would be very reluctant to turn the doubling cube, as his opponent could take and make a costless redouble to 4, placing the entire outcome of the match on the current game. Conversely, the trailing player would double very aggressively, particularly if he has chances to win a gammon in the current game. In money play, the theoretically correct play would never vary based on the score or the value of the doubling cube.
To reduce the possibility of cheating, most good quality backgammon sets use precision dice and a dice cup.[18] This reduces the likelihood of loaded dice being used, which is the main way of cheating in face-to-face play.[19] A common method of cheating online is the use of a computer program to find the optimal move on each turn; to combat this, many online sites use move-comparison software that identifies when a player's moves resemble those of a backgammon program. Online cheating has therefore become extremely difficult.[18]
Social and competitive play[edit]
In State of Oregon v Barr, a 1982 court case pivotal to the continued widespread organised playing of backgammon in the USA, the State argued backgammon is a game of chance and that it was therefore subject to Oregon's stringent gambling laws.
Paul Magriel was a key witness for the defence, contradicting Dr. Roger Nelson, the expert prosecution witness, by saying, "Game theory, however, really applies to games with imperfect knowledge, where something is concealed, such as poker. Backgammon is not such a game. Everything is in front of you. The person who uses that information in the most effective manner will win."
After the closing arguments, Judge Stephen S. Walker concluded that backgammon is a game of skill, not a game of chance, and found the defendant, backgammon tournament director Ted Barr, not guilty of promoting gambling.[20]
Club and tournament play[edit]
Enthusiasts have formed clubs for social play of backgammon. Local clubs may hold informal gatherings, with members meeting at cafés and bars in the evening to play and converse.[21][22] A few clubs offer additional services, maintaining their own facilities or offering computer analysis of troublesome plays.[23] Some club leaders have noticed a recent growth of interest in backgammon, and attribute it to the game's popularity on the Internet.[24]
A backgammon chouette permits three or more players to participate in a single game, often for money. One player competes against a team of all the other participants, and positions rotate after each game. Chouette play often permits the use of multiple doubling cubes.[2]
Backgammon clubs may also organize tournaments. Large club tournaments sometimes draw competitors from other regions, with final matches viewed by hundreds of spectators.[25] The top players at regional tournaments often compete in major national and international championships. Winners at major tournaments may receive prizes of tens of thousands of dollars.[26]
International competition[edit]
The first world championship competition in backgammon was held in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1967. Tim Holland was declared the winner that year and at the tournament the following year. For unknown reasons, there was no championship in 1970, but in 1971, Tim Holland again won the title. The competition remained in Las Vegas until 1975, when it moved to Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The years 1976, 1977 & 1978 saw "dual" World Championships, one in the Bahamas attended by the Americans, and the European Open Championships in Monte Carlo with mostly European players. In 1979, Lewis Deyong, who had promoted the Bahamas World Championship for the prior three years, suggested that the two events be combined.[27] Monte Carlo was universally acknowledged as the site of the World Backgammon Championship and has remained as such for thirty years.[28] The Monte Carlo tournament draws hundreds of players and spectators, and is played over the course of a week.[26]
By the 21st century, the largest international tournaments had established the basis of a tour for top professional players. Major tournaments are held yearly worldwide. PartyGaming sponsored the first World Series of Backgammon in 2006 from Cannes and later the 'Backgammon Million' tournament held in the Bahamas in January 2007 with a prize pool of one million dollars, the largest for any tournament to date.[29] In 2008, the World Series of Backgammon ran the world's largest international events in London, the UK Masters, the biggest tournament ever held in the UK with 128 international class players; the Nordic Open which instantly became the largest in the world with around 500 players in all flights and 153 in the Championship, and Cannes, which hosted the Riviera Cup, the traditional follow-up tournament to the World Championships. Cannes also hosted the WSOB Championship, the WSOB finale which saw 16 players play three-point shootout matches for €160,000. The event was recorded for television in Europe airing on Eurosport.
The World Backgammon Association (WBA) has been holding the biggest backgammon Tour of the circuit since 2007, the "European Backgammon Tour" (EBGT). In 2011, the WBA collaborated with the online backgammon provider Play65 for the 2011 season of the European Backgammon Tour and with "Betfair" in 2012. The 2013 season of the European Backgammon Tour featured 11 stops and 19 qualified players competing for 19,000 € in a Grand Finale in Lefkosa, Northern Cyprus. WBA also staged the "US Open" and other events around the globe. WBA has contributed to a high stakes event called "Crowns Cup" broadcast on several TV-channels.[citation needed]
When backgammon is played for money, the most common arrangement is to assign a monetary value to each point, and to play to a certain score, or until either player chooses to stop. The stakes are raised by gammons, backgammons, and use of the doubling cube. Backgammon is sometimes available in casinos. Before the commercialization of neural network programs, proposition bets on specific positions were very common among backgammon players and gamblers.[30] As with most gambling games, successful play requires a combination of luck and skill, as a single dice roll can sometimes significantly change the outcome of the game.[17]
Internet play[edit]
Backgammon software has been developed not only to play and analyze games, but also to facilitate play between humans over the internet. Dice rolls are provided by random or pseudorandom number generators. Real-time online play began with the First Internet Backgammon Server in July 1992.[31][32] It is the longest running backgammon server on the internet.
Play and analysis[edit]
Backgammon has been studied considerably by computer scientists. Neural networks and other approaches have offered significant advances to software for gameplay and analysis.
The first strong computer opponent was BKG 9.8. It was written by Hans Berliner in the late 1970s on a DEC PDP-10 as an experiment in evaluating board game positions. Early versions of BKG played badly even against poor players, but Berliner noticed that its critical mistakes were always at transitional phases in the game. He applied principles of fuzzy logic to improve its play between phases, and by July 1979, BKG 9.8 was strong enough to play against the reigning world champion Luigi Villa. It won the match, 7–1, becoming the first computer program to defeat a world champion in any board game. Berliner stated that the victory was largely a matter of luck, as the computer received more favorable dice rolls.[33]
In the late 1980s, backgammon programmers found more success with an approach based on artificial neural networks. TD-Gammon, developed by Gerald Tesauro of IBM, was the first of these programs to play near the expert level. Its neural network was trained using temporal difference learning applied to data generated from self-play.[34] According to assessments by Bill Robertie and Kit Woolsey, TD-Gammon's play was at or above the level of the top human players in the world.[34] Woolsey said of the program that "There is no question in my mind that its positional judgment is far better than mine."[34]
Tesauro proposed using rollout analysis to compare the performance of computer algorithms against human players.[8] In this method, a Monte-Carlo evaluation of positions is conducted (typically thousands of trials) where different random dice sequences are simulated. The rollout score of the human (or the computer) is the difference of the average game results by following the selected move versus following the best move, then averaged for the entire set of taken moves.
Neural network research has resulted in three modern proprietary programs, JellyFish,[35] Snowie[36] and eXtreme Gammon[37] as well as the shareware BGBlitz[38] and the free software GNU Backgammon.[39] These programs not only play the game, but offer tools for analyzing games and detailed comparisons of individual moves. The strength of these programs lies in their neural networks' weights tables, which are the result of months of training. Without them, these programs play no better than a human novice. For the bearoff phase, backgammon software usually relies on a database containing precomputed equities for all possible bearoff positions.
Persia (Iran)[edit]
Excavations at Shahr-e Sukhteh (Persian شهر سوخته, literally "The Burnt City") in Iran have shown that the game existed there around 3000 BC. The artifacts include two dice and 60 checkers, and the set is believed to be 100 to 200 years older than the sets found in Ur. On the board found at Shahr-e Sukhteh the fields are fashioned by the coils of a snake.[40][41]
Touraj Daryaee (2006)—on the subject of the first written mention of early precursors of backgammon—writes:
The game of backgammon is first mentioned in Bhartrhari's Vairagyasataka (p. 39), composed around the late sixth or early seventh century AD. The use of dice for the game is another indication of its Indic origin, since dice and gambling were a favorite pastime in ancient India. The rules of the game, however, first appeared in the Middle Persian text Wızarisnı Catrang ud Nihisnı New Ardaxsır (Explanation of Chess and Invention of Backgammon), composed in the sixth century during the rule of the Sasanian king Khosrow I (530–571). The text assigns its invention to the Persian sage Wuzurgmihr (Persian) Buzarjumihr/Bozorgmehr, who was the minister of King Khosrow I. According to the historical legend, the Indian king Dewisarm sends his minister Taxritos to Persia with the game of chess, and a letter challenging Sasanian King Khosrow I to solve the riddle or rationale for the game. Khosrow asks for three days to decipher the game, but initially no-one in the court is able to make any progress. On the third day, Khosrow's minister, Wuzurgmihr, successfully rises and explains the logic of the game. As a reciprical challenge, Wuzurgmihr constructs the game of backgammon and delivers it to the Indian king who is unable to decipher the game.[42]
In the 11th century Shahnameh, the Persian poet Ferdowsi credits Burzoe with the invention of the tables game nard in the 6th century. He describes an encounter between Burzoe and a Raja visiting from India. The Raja introduces the game of chess, and Burzoe demonstrates nard, played with dice made from ivory and teak.[43][44] Today, Nard is the name for the Persian version of backgammon, which has different initial positions and objectives.[45] H.J.R. Murray details many versions of backgammon; modern Nard is noted there as being the same as backgammon and maybe dating back to 300–500 AD in the Babylonian Talmud.[44]
Egypt and Iraq[edit]
Board games have existed for millennia in Ancient Egypt and Southwest Asia. The ancient Egyptian game senet was excavated, along with illustrations, from ancient Egyptian royal tombs.[46] The Royal Game of Ur, played in ancient Mesopotamia, may also be an ancestor of modern-day table games. In the modern Middle East, backgammon is a common feature of coffeehouses.
The ancient Romans played a number of games remarkably similar to backgammon. Ludus duodecim scriptorum ("Game of twelve lines") used a board with three rows of 12 points each, and the checkers were moved across all three rows according to the roll of dice. Little specific text about the gameplay has survived.[47] Tabula, meaning "table" or "board", was a game mentioned in an epigram of Byzantine Emperor Zeno (AD 476–481). It was similar to modern backgammon in that the object of the game was to be the first to bear off all of one's checkers. Players threw three dice and moved their checkers in opposing directions on a board of 24 points.[48][49]
East Asia[edit]
Backgammon was popular in China for a time and was known as "shuanglu" (双陆), with the book Pǔ Shuāng (譜雙) written during the Southern Song (1127–1279) period recording over ten variants - but over time it was replaced by other games such as xiangqi (Chinese chess).[50]
In Japan ban-sugoroku is thought to have been introduced from China in the sixth century. As a gambling game it was made illegal several times.[51] In the early Edo-era, a new and quick gambling game called Chō-han appeared and sugoroku quickly dwindled. By the 13th century the board game Go, originally played only by the aristocracy, had become popular among the general public.[52]
Western Europe[edit]
The jeux de tables (Games of Tables), predecessors of modern backgammon, first appeared in France during the 11th Century and became a favorite pastime of gamblers. In 1254, Louis IX issued a decree prohibiting his court officials and subjects from playing.[44][53] Tables games were played in Germany in the 12th century, and had reached Iceland by the 13th century. In Spain, the Alfonso X manuscript Libro de los juegos, completed in 1283, describes rules for a number of dice and table games in addition to its extensive discussion of chess.[54] By the 17th Century, tables games had spread to Sweden. A wooden board and checkers were recovered from the wreck of the Vasa among the belongings of the ship's officers. Backgammon appears widely in paintings of this period, mainly those of Dutch and German painters (Van Ostade, Jan Steen, Hieronymus Bosch, Bruegel and others). Some surviving artworks are "Cardsharps" by Caravaggio (the backgammon board is in the lower left) and "The Triumph of Death" by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (the backgammon board is in the lower right). Others are the Hell of Bosch and interior of an Inn by Jan Steen.
Great Britain[edit]
In the sixteenth century, Elizabethan laws and church regulations prohibited playing tables, but by the eighteenth century backgammon was popular among the English clergy.[44] Edmund Hoyle published A Short Treatise on the Game of Back-Gammon in 1743; this described rules and strategy for the game and was bound together with a similar text on whist.[55]
In English, the word "backgammon" is most likely derived from "back" and Middle English "gamen", meaning "game" or "play". The earliest use documented by the Oxford English Dictionary was in 1650.[56]
Backgammon is popular among Greeks. It is a game in which Greeks usually tease their opponent and they create a lively atmosphere. The game is called "Tavli", derived in Byzantine times from the Latin word "tabula".[57] There are three games of Tavli commonly played:
Portes: Set-up and rules the same as backgammon, except that backgammons count as gammons (2 points) and there is no doubling cube.
Plakoto: A game where one checker can trap another checker on the same point.
Fevga: A game where one checker by itself can block a point.
These games are played one after another, in matches of three, five, or seven points.[58] Before starting a match, each player rolls 1 die, and the player with the highest roll picks up both dice and re-rolls (i.e. it is possible to roll doubles for the opening move). Players use the same pair of dice in turns. After the first game, the winner of the previous game starts first. Each game counts as 1 point, if the opponent has borne off at least 1 stone, otherwise 2 points (gammon/backgammon). There is no doubling cube.
Backgammon, which is known as "tavla", is still a very popular game in Turkey, and it is customary to name the dice rolls with their Persian number names: yek (1), dü (2), se (3), cehar (4), penc (5), şeş (6).
There are many variants of tavla in Turkey, where the course of play changes drastically. The usual tavla is also known as erkek tavlası meaning boys' or men's tavla. The other variant kız tavlası (meaning girls' tavla) is a game which depends only on the dice and involves no strategy. There is another variant called asker tavlası (meaning soldiers' tavla) where the pieces are thrown to the board randomly and the opponents try to flip their pieces over the opponents' pieces to beat them.
The usual Tavla rules are same as in the other neighboring Arab countries and Greece, as established centuries ago.
United States[edit]
The most recent major development in backgammon was the addition of the doubling cube. It was first introduced in the 1920s in New York City among members of gaming clubs in the Lower East Side.[59] The cube required players not only to select the best move in a given position, but also to estimate the probability of winning from that position, transforming backgammon into the expected value-driven game played in the 20th and 21st centuries.[59]
The popularity of backgammon surged in the mid-1960s, in part due to the charisma of Prince Alexis Obolensky who became known as "The Father of Modern Backgammon".[60] "Obe", as he was called by friends, co-founded the International Backgammon Association[61] which published a set of official rules. He also established the World Backgammon Club of Manhattan, devised a backgammon tournament system in 1963, then organized the first major international backgammon tournament in March, 1964 which attracted royalty, celebrities and the press. The game became a huge fad and was played on college campuses, in discothèques and at country clubs;[60] stockbrokers and bankers began playing at conservative men's clubs.[62] People young and old all across the country dusted off their boards and checkers. Cigarette, liquor and car companies began to sponsor tournaments and Hugh Hefner held backgammon parties at the Playboy Mansion.[63] Backgammon clubs were formed and tournaments were held, resulting in a World Championship promoted in Las Vegas in 1967.[27]
Most recently, the United States Backgammon Federation (USBGF) was organized in 2009 to repopularize the game in the United States. Board and committee members include many of the top players, tournament directors and writers in the worldwide backgammon community. The USBGF has recently created a Standards of Ethical Practice to address issues on which tournament rules fail to touch.
See also[edit]
|Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Backgammon.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Backgammon.
- ^ "Backgammon Luck vs Skill", backgammon.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Robertie, Bill (2002). Backgammon for Winners (Third ed.). Cardoza. ISBN 1-58042-043-5.
- ^ a b c d e f g edited by Albert H. Morehead and Geoffrey Mott-Smith. (2001). Hoyle's Rules of Games (Third Revised and Updated ed.). Signet. pp. 321–330. ISBN 0-451-20484-0.
- ^ Robertie, Bill. "Backgammon Beavers". GammonVillage. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- ^ a b Robertie, Bill (2006). Backgammon for Serious Players (Second ed.). Cardoza. pp. 19–22. ISBN 0-940685-68-X.
- ^ "Backgammon Glossary/Holland Rule". Bkgm.com. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
- ^ The Backgammon Book, Chapter 11, O. Jacoby & J.R. Crawford, 1970, Macmillan & co
- ^ a b Tesauro, G. (2002). "Programming backgammon using self-teaching neural nets" (PDF). Artificial Intelligence 134 (1): 181–199. doi:10.1016/S0004-3702(01)00110-2. Retrieved 2007-08-08.
- ^ a b Strato, Michael. "Backgammon Variants". Gammonlife. Archived from the original on 13 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-08.
- ^ Thompson, Mark. "Nackgammon". mindfun. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
- ^ Woolsey, Kit (September 2001). "Nackgammon". Gammonline. Retrieved 2007-08-08.
- ^ "Draughts and Backgammon", 1895, Berkeley
- ^ "Russian Backgammon". Bkgm.com. Archived from the original on 13 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
- ^ http://www.bkgm.com/variants/OldEnglish.html
- ^ Discussion at bkgm.com
- ^ http://www.bkgm.com/faq/BasicRules.html#is_hit_and_run_allowed_also_known_as_pick_and_pass_
- ^ a b c d e f g h Magriel, Paul (1976). Backgammon. Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Co. ISBN 0-8129-0615-2.
- ^ a b Bray, Chris (2008). Backgammon for Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. p. 13 and 224. ISBN 978-0-470-69456-5.
- ^ Harrington Green, Jonathan (1845). An exposure of the arts and miseries of gambling. Redding. p. 203.
- ^ "The Trial (and Tribulations) of Oregon Promoter Ted Barr", Backgammon Times 2 (2), 1982
- ^ "Tribes of Sydney—Sydney Backgammon Club". The Daily Telegraph (Australia). June 24, 2006. p. 95.
- ^ Bray, Chris (June 29, 2002). "Backgammon". The Independent (London). p. 50.
- ^ Bray, Chris (November 25, 2000). "Backgammon". The Independent (London). p. 19.
- ^ Laverty, Roy (May 16, 2003). "Backgammon warriors—columnist, club member square off as board game's popularity grows". The Alameda Times-Star (Section: Bay Area Living).
- ^ Magriel, Paul (June 1, 1980). "Backgammon: Before Planning Big Attack, Be Sure to Cover Your Rear". The New York Times, Late City Final Edition. pp. 50, section 1, part 2.
- ^ a b Maxa, Rudy (September 6, 1981). "Where the Rich And the Royal Play Their Games—Monte Carlo's Seven-Day Backgammon Soiree With Countesses, Princes and Other Sharpies". The Washington Post. p. H1.
- ^ a b [1] Play65, The History of the World Backgammon Championships
- ^ Michael Crane (July 25, 2000). "Backgammon News—World Championships 2000". Mind Sports Worldwide. Archived from the original on 7 September 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-14.
- ^ "PartyGammon.com to Stage First Ever US$1 Million Backgammon Tournament". PR Newswire (Lexis-Nexis). July 10, 2006.
- ^ Wachtel, Robert "Backgammon Proposition" backgammon.org
- ^ Schneider, Andreas; et al. "Brief history of FIBS". FIBS, the First Internet Backgammon Server. Archived from the original on 13 August 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
- ^ Schneider, Andreas. " "Backgammon server available NOW". Retrieved 2012-02-11.
- ^ Berliner, Hans (January 1980). "Backgammon program beats world champ". ACM SIGART Bulletin (69): 6–9. doi:10.1145/1056433.1056434.
- ^ a b c Tesauro, Gerald (March 1995). "Temporal difference learning and TD-Gammon". Communications of the ACM 38 (3): 58–68. doi:10.1145/203330.203343.
- ^ "Jellyfish". Jellyfish-backgammon.com. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
- ^ Snowie
- ^ eXtreme Gammon
- ^ "BGBlitz". BGBlitz. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
- ^ GNU Backgammon.
- ^ "World's Oldest Backgammon Discovered In Burnt City". Payvand News. December 4, 2004. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ Schädler, Dunn-Vaturi, Ulrich, Anne-Elizabeth. "BOARD GAMES in pre-Islamic Persia". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ Daryaee, Touraj (2006) in "Backgammon" in Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia ed. Meri, Josef W. & Bacharach, Jere L, pp. 88-89. Taylor & Francis.
- ^ Wilkinson, Charles K (May 1943). "Chessmen and Chess". The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. New Series 1 (9): 271–279. doi:10.2307/3257111. JSTOR 3257111.
- ^ a b c d Murray, Harold James Ruthven (1952). "6: Race-Games". A History of Board-Games Other than Chess. Hacker Art Books. ISBN 0-87817-211-4.
- ^ "Backgammon, or Takheth Nard"
- ^ Hayes, William C. (March 1946). "Egyptian Tomb Reliefs of the Old Kingdom". The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. New Series 4 (7): 170–178.
- ^ Austin, Roland G. (October 1934). "Roman Board Games. I". Greece & Rome 4 (10): 24–34. doi:10.1017/s0017383500002941.
- ^ Austin, Roland G. (February 1935). "Roman Board Games. II". Greece & Rome 4 (11): 76–82. doi:10.1017/s0017383500003119.
- ^ Austin, Roland G (1934). "Zeno's Game of τάβλη". The Journal of Hellenic Studies 54 (2): 202–205. doi:10.2307/626864. JSTOR 626864.
- ^ [博弈篇]舶来棋戏——双陆
- ^ Origin of Sugoroku in Japan, sugoroku.net
- ^ History of Go in Japan: part 3, Nihon Kiin, archived from the original on 14 November 2007, retrieved 2007-11-02
- ^ Lillich, Meredith Parsons (March 1983). "The Tric-Trac Window of Le Mans". The Art Bulletin 65 (1): 23–33. doi:10.2307/3050296. JSTOR 3050296.
- ^ Wollesen, Jens T (1990). "Sub specie ludi...: Text and Images in Alfonso El Sabio's Libro de Acedrex, Dados e Tablas". Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 53 (3): 277–308. doi:10.2307/1482540. JSTOR 1482540.
- ^ Allee, Sheila. "A Foregone Conclusion: Fore-Edge Books Are Unique Additions to Ransom Collection". The University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 2006-08-08.
- ^ "backgammon". The Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition. 1989. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
- ^ Koukoules, Phaidon (1948). Vyzantinon Vios kai Politismos 1. Collection de l'institut français d'Athènes. pp. 200–204.
- ^ "backgammon". Internet, Second Edition. 2003. Archived from the original on 13 August 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
- ^ a b Robertie, Bill (2002). 501 Essential Backgammon Problems (Second Printing ed.). Cardoza. p. 22. ISBN 1-58042-019-2.
- ^ a b [2] GammonLife
- ^ The Father Of Modern Backgammon - GammonVillage Magazine
- ^ Bernard Weintraub (January 13, 1966). "Urge to Play Backgammon Sweeping Men's Clubs". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-09-10. "A disk and dice game that has been played in Middle Eastern streets for thousands of years, in English homes for hundreds of years, and on Bronx stoops for dozens of years has suddenly gripped the bankers and brokers of old-line men's clubs all over town."
- ^ [3] Play65.com, World Backgammon Championships
External links[edit]
|Look up Appendix:Glossary of backgammon terms in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
|Wikibooks has more on the topic of: Backgammon
Note: this file is approximately 5.2 megabytes
- Backgammon at DMOZ
- UK Backgammon Federation
- US Backgammon Federation
- Backgammon World Championship - Monte Carlo


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Application Process
1. Complete housing application
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You may send the application and deposit along with the admissions packet, if you so choose. You can also choose to come to the office to pay in person. Each student under the age of 21 and whose permanent residence is over 50 miles away is required to live on campus. To apply to live off campus, you must submit the Application to Live Off Campus. Students who are disabled should inform the housing director, in addition to the director of Student Support Services at 601.318.6211.
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All students will be sent a letter notifying them of their room assignments by July 15. This letter will include the building, room, and roommate, and there will also be a print out of important information pertaining to housing.
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If you decide not to attend WCU or will not require housing, please contact the Residence Life Office as soon as possible. If you have already made a housing deposit, you will need to fill out the Housing Deposit/Refund Request form.

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A renowned molecular biologist and an internationally acclaimed global health leader from UC San Francisco have been elected as members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Latest News
April 25, 2014
March 12, 2014
It doesn't always make sense to do a heart scan to measure how much plaque has built up in a patient's coronary arteries before prescribing statins, UCSF research shows.
September 27, 2013
A consortium of the five University of California medical campuses, including UCSF, has been awarded a $12 million grant and designated by the National Institutes of Health as one of three Centers for Accelerated Innovations by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
October 27, 2011
UCSF will celebrate "Clinical Research Education Day'' as the host of Aware for All – San Francisco, a free health education program that is open to the public and designed to help people make informed decisions about participating in clinical research.
October 26, 2011
An 11-month-old partnership between UCSF and Pfizer, Inc., aimed at rapidly moving new therapies into human clinical trials, has selected its first projects for funding and joint development.
November 29, 2010
A UCSF research collaboration with GE Healthcare has produced the first results in humans of a new technology that promises to rapidly assess the presence and aggressiveness of prostate tumors in real time, by imaging the tumor's metabolism.
November 16, 2010
UCSF and Pfizer, Inc. have formed a new partnership to accelerate the translation of biomedical research into effective new medications and therapies for patients.
November 15, 2010
UCSF researchers have for the first time shown that an external optical pacemaker can be used in a vertebrate to control its heart rate.
November 04, 2010
UCSF global health experts have outlined a new strategy and action plan to help countries eliminate malaria and bring the world closer to global eradication of the deadly disease.
November 03, 2010
UCSF Nobel laureate Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD, and researcher Elissa Epel, PhD, are co-authors with UC Davis scientists of a paper showing that the positive psychological changes that occur during meditation training are associated with greater activity of the enzyme telomerase.


text:
Thursday, August 3, 2006
© Copyright 2014 Gwinnett Daily Post
The Assoicated PressBIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Saks Inc. said Wednesday it has agreed to sell its Parisian specialty department store chain to Belk Inc. for $285 million in cash, a move that will allow the high-end retailer to focus on its core luxury business. Under terms of the deal, Belk will acquire assets comprising real estate, operating leases and inventory from 38 Parisian stores, along with a headquarters building and a distribution center, both located in Alabama. Parisian operates nine Georgia stores, including ones at Gwinnett Place Mall in Duluth and the Mall at Stonecrest in Lithonia. A message was left at Belk headquarters. The Parisian sale is the latest asset sale for Saks, which has been shedding its mid-brow regional department store chains over the past year. In January, Saks said it was exploring strategic options for Parisian, which operates department stores in nine states in the Southeast and Midwest, and had revenue of about $723 million last year.
More like this story
- Belk says it will close local store ( December 29, 2005 )
- Belk to close at Gwinnett Place ( March 19, 2013 )
- Mall of Georgia names new marketing director, store openings ( October 29, 2006 )
- Stores coming to Gwinnett Place Mall ( March 29, 2009 )
- Gwinnett Place names new manager ( January 17, 2007 )


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The Limited has a deal for us! "Like" The Limited on Facebook and print a coupon for $25 off a purchase of $50 or more. This offer is good through January 13th. You can save online or in stores. Save on something chic!
Note: The coupon can be shown off your smartphone or you can print it. The online code is provided once you click on the button as instructed.
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Kohl's: 20% off + Free Shipping on $75 or More Orders (Exp. 1/15)
Target: Chugginton DVD Only $2 After Printable Coupon


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Group Attendees
Group Attendees
Canyons Resort is honored to be the host property for many organizational programs throughout the year. If you are attending a meeting here at Canyons Resort and are interested in your program's lodging details, please contact our reservations office at 1-888-CANYONS (1-888-226-9667) to learn more.
Please indicate the Organization's Name, Event Name and Dates of the program in order to receive accurate reservation details.


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The release of these two new maps also marks the end of the "Get to the Chopper" game mode's Beta period, so get in game, grab yourself a mighty Spinosaurus and prepare to turn the pristine snowy white landscape of "Ruthless" blood red in the aftermath of your very own personal rampage of primal themed carnage.
To celebrate the ritualistic tearing down of the Get to the Chopper Modes' BETA sign, Lukewarm Media has patched in a brand new free skin, the Battle-Scarred T-rex.
Lukewarm Media has also teamed up with artist, Infected Mushroom, and released a new gameplay trailer showcasing the myriad of action, awe and terror to be expected in the Get to the Chopper game mode, which is set to the heart pumping track, "Nation of Wusses," from the album Army of Mushrooms.
So are you hungry for prehistoric action? Do you yearn to stand shoulder to shoulder to you fellow man and hold back the tide of the ancient world? Do you itch to take control of the mightiest beasts ever to have existed and rain down extinction on your human foes? Or are you just looking for an action packed video featuring dinosaurs set to an awesome beat? Whichever the case, Primal Carnage is most certainly for you. What are you waiting for? Get on board, because things are about to get… Primal.


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Premier League: Swansea draws United; Chelsea batters Villa
Swansea City, United Kingdom (4E Sports) – Swansea tied the game, 1-1, to keep Manchester United from extending their lead in the title race to six points in Saturday's Premier League match.
Patrice Evra put the visitors ahead, arriving to glance a header in off the far post from a Van Persie corner.
But Evra was caught out by Jonathan De Guzman's clever run and when De Gea could only parry the Dutchman's angled shot, Michu was on hand to tap in.
The goal added an extra bite to Swansea's play and it had the better of the remainder of the opening half.
The second half started at a furious pace and there were chances for both sides.
In the other match, Chelsea smashed Aston Villa for eight unanswered goals at Stamford Bridge.
Fernando Torres got a power header inside three minutes before a stunning free-kick by David Luiz and a Branislav Ivanovic header madeit three point by the break.
Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan did his best to limit the damage with a string of fine saves in the second half, but he could not keep out Frank Lampard's stinging long-range effort before Ramires slotted a fifth between his legs.
Oscar made it six in the 79th minute and Eden Hazard became the seventh different goalscorer when he lashed home, while Ramires made it eight.
Paul Lambert's men were brought back to earth with a bump following last week's impressive win at Liverpool.
With the win, Chelsea sits at third in the Premier League on Christmas.
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Wear this minimalist nude leather belt over a fine gauge sweater dress for a refined silhouette.
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It is agreed that the following terms set out in our Photography Workshops Terms and Conditions form the total agreement between the parties and that no variation or modification of this contract shall be effective unless agreed by both parties in writing.
Each workshop is designed and run by resident professional photographer Phil McDermott and provided to you by Phil McDermott Photography.
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A 25% Booking fee secures the date, time and services of Phil McDermott Photography for the workshop and is non-refundable or transferable in the event of cancellation, it being the agreed loss suffered by the photographer due to cancellation. (See below – Cancellation). Workshops that are postponed to a later date will retain the fee as long as we can re-schedule for the new date and time.
A 25% deposit is required to confirm your booking, the balance due to be paid no less than 6 weeks prior to the start date of the workshop.
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The due performance of this contract is subject to alteration or cancellation by either party owing to any cause beyond their control.
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Phil McDermott Photography accept no liability for death, illness or injury or loss or damage to photo equipment or personal belongings during your workshop. Any existing medical condition that may affect your ability to undertake our workshops must be notified in writing to Phil McDermott Photography at the time of booking. You are strongly advised to obtain adequate insurance to cover all eventualities related to your workshop.
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The 60′s are one of the more memorable fashion decades of the last century. the 60′s saw the coming of full living color and with color photography came incredible prints and fashion color. The 1960′s saw the coming of the first supermodel, Twiggy, and a whole new look that would shape fashion and style for many years to come.
The 1950′s were full of well tailored, slim skirts, tweed was big. The free flowing, free thinking 60′s brought free flowing fashion as well. Skirts and dresses became more free form, free and flowing. Tightly fitted suits became a thing of the past and women seemed happy with softer fabrics and much more comfort and movement in their garments. Fabrics became more shear and swim suits got a bit smaller… lets check em out.
Twiggy is still a fashion icon today and I gotta admit I really enjoy her on the show "America's Next Top Model" where she has been on the judging panel. The 1960′s were an awesome time for high fashion and I would love to see a return to some of that 1960′s wild print style.
The looks below from the sixties are just gorgeous, and the models look absolutely insane, this is before computer photo retouching…
1960′s print from Verucshka, around 1964
Emilio Pucci in 1966 shows a lot more skin than the previous decade
Verucshka 1966, full of color and very 1960′s
1968 suit by Mila Schoen
Model Susan Murray in a gorgeous blue print dress – 1960′s fashion
Verucshka in 1965
A gorgeous sheer yellow dress on a model with the classic 1960′s long straight hair
A pretty insane print from the mid 60′s


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HP Slate
This is the new HP tablet PC "slate" teaser which will be released later this year. 2010 will start the "tablet" hype like what happened in 08/09 when the netbook suddenly got all the attention from the manufactures and started a market-share war within the major producers. We've already heard about apple's new tablet computer coming up soon.. no specifications was announced on both.


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Islamic world
The most visionary general work on Islamic history is Marshall G.S. Hodgson, The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilization, 3 vol. (1974), which sets Islam into a world historical context. A similar but shorter work, sumptuously illustrated, is Francis Robinson, Atlas of the Islamic World Since 1500 (1982).
Regions of Islamdom
Peter B. Clarke, West Africa and Islam: A Study of Religious Development from the 8th to the 20th Centuries (1982); Jamil M. Abun-Nasr, A History of the Maghrib, 2nd ed. (1975); Clifford Geertz, Islam Observed: Religious Development in Morocco and Indonesia (1968, reissued 1971); S.M. Ikram, Muslim Rule in India and Pakistan, 711–1858 A.C., rev. ed. (1966); Raphael Israeli, Muslims in China: A Study in Cultural Confrontation (1980); and Nehemia Levtzion (ed.), Conversion to Islam (1979).
Periods and aspects of Islamicate history
Premodern Islamicate social structure is treated in Roy P. Mottahedeh, Loyalty and Leadership in an Early Islamic Society (1980); Ira Lapidus, Muslim Cities in the Later Middle Ages (1967); and S.D. Goitein, A Mediterranean Society: The Jewish Communities of the Arab World as Portrayed in the Documents of the Cairo Geniza, 4 vol. (1967–83). Hamilton A.R. Gibb, Studies on the Civilization of Islam (1962, reissued 1982), is a collection of interpretive articles on history, historiography, literature, and philology. René Grousset, The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia (1970; originally published in French, 1939); and John J. Saunders, The History of the Mongol Conquests (1971), deal with the Mongol conquests. John J. Saunders (ed.), The Muslim World on the Eve of Europe's Expansion (1966), combines primary sources on the last three great Islamic empires; John Obert Voll, Islam, Continuity and Change in the Modern World (1982), provides an especially fine treatment of the 18th century; and Albert Hourani, Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age, 1798–1939 (1962), covers intellectual trends in the Arab Middle East in the first part of the 20th century.
Lois Beck and Nikki Keddie (eds.), Women in the Muslim World (1978); Elizabeth Warnock Fernea and Basima Qattan Bezirgan (eds.), Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak (1977, reprinted 1984); and Jane I. Smith (ed.), Women in Contemporary Muslim Societies (1980), provide excellent studies of women in Islamic societies. A sociological analysis of developments among Islamic movements since the middle of the 20th century is Olivier Roy, The Failure of Political Islam (1994). Dale Eickelman and James Piscatori, Muslim Politics (1996), examines Islam's sociological, political, and intellectual transformations in the 20th century. John Esposito and John Voll, Makers of Political Islam (2001), is a study of the thought and life of crucial Muslim thinkers and activists in modern times. Peter Mandaville, Transnational Muslim Politics: Reimagining the Umma (2001), is an important overview of the effects of globalization and migrations on Islam and Muslims; and Giles Kepel, Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam (2002), analyzes the evolution of political Islam in the second half of the 20th century.
Collections of primary sources in English translation
Eric Schroeder, Muhammad's People (1955); Arthur Jeffery (ed.), A Reader of Islam (1962, reprinted 1980); John Alden Williams (ed.), Islam (1961, reissued 1967), and Themes of Islamic Civilization (1971, reprinted 1982); William H. McNeill and Marilyn Robinson Waldman, The Islamic World (1973, reprinted 1983); James Kritzeck, Anthology of Islamic Literature (1964, reissued 1975); and Bernard Lewis (ed.), Islam: From the Prophet Muhammad to the Capture of Constantinople, 2 vol. (1974, reissued 1976).
Major reference works
The Encyclopaedia of Islam, 5 vol. (1913–36), and a new edition, of which 5 vol. appeared from 1960 to 1986; The Shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam (1953, reprinted 1974), with articles culled from the Encyclopaedia of Islam; The Cambridge History of Islam, 2 vol. (1970, reprinted in 4 vol., 1980); Jean Sauvaget, Jean Sauvaget's Introduction to the History of the Muslim East: A Bibliographical Guide (1965, reprinted 1982; originally published in French, 2nd ed., 1961), a dated but still useful annotated bibliographic guide; Clifford Edmund Bosworth, The Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Handbook, rev. ed. (1980); and Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures, 6 vol. (2003, 2005–07). Jean Jacques Waardenburg, L'Islam dans le miroir de l'Occident, 3rd rev. ed. (1970); and Edward W. Said, Orientalism (1978, reissued 1979), are critiques of Western approaches to Islam.


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Satya Tandon
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Pulitzer Prize, General Nonfiction, 2012
National Book Award, Nonfiction, 2012
Renowned historian Stephen Greenblatt's works shoot to the top of the New York Times best-seller list. With The Swerve, Greenblatt transports listeners to the dawn of the Renaissance and chronicles the life of an intrepid book lover who rescued the Roman philosophical text On the Nature of Things from certain oblivion.
Nearly six hundred years ago, a short, genial, cannily alert man in his late 30s took a very old manuscript off a library shelf, saw with excitement what he had discovered, and ordered that it be copied. That book was the last surviving manuscript of an ancient Roman philosophical epic by Lucretius—a beautiful poem containing the most dangerous ideas: that the universe functioned without the aid of gods, that religious fear was damaging to human life, and that matter was made up of very small particles in eternal motion, colliding and swerving in new directions.
The copying and translation of this ancient book—the greatest discovery of the greatest book-hunter of his age—fueled the Renaissance, inspiring artists such as Botticelli and thinkers such as Giordano Bruno; shaped the thought of Galileo and Freud, Darwin and Einstein; and had a revolutionary influence on writers such as Montaigne and Shakespeare, and even Thomas Jefferson.
©2011 Stephen Greenblatt (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC
"More wonderfully illuminating Renaissance history from a master scholar and historian." (Kirkus Reviews)
"In this gloriously learned page-turner, both biography and intellectual history, Harvard Shakespearean scholar Greenblatt turns his attention to the front end of the Renaissance as the origin of Western culture's foundation: the free questioning of truth." (Publishers Weekly)
"Pleasure may or may not be the true end of life, but for book lovers, few experiences can match the intellectual-aesthetic enjoyment delivered by a well-wrought book. In the world of serious nonfiction, Stephen Greenblatt is a pleasure maker without peer." (Newsday)
On Audible since the late 1990s, mostly science fiction, fantasy, history & science. I rarely review 1-2 star books that I can't get through
"Very compelling history, a less compelling thesis"
The Swerve is a Pultizer-prize winner, and justifiably so. In a compact way, it manages to tell fascinating, well-researched, stories of both the Epicurean philosophers during the Roman Empire, and the intellectual and religious struggles of the late Middle Ages. These two threads are both really well done, and full of fascinating and illuminating details: monks were not allowed to discuss the books they copied, Epicurus presaged our modern understanding of atoms and evolution, the Papal secretary wrote a joke book, and so on. Greenblatt just does a wonderful job in illuminating these time periods, and how they relate to our own way of thinking. Similarly, the reader is excellent, and the many languages invoked in the book flow naturally from him.
The only downside, and it is a small one, is in the argument itself, that the discovery of the poem "On the Nature of Things" was a critical event in that led to the world becoming modern. I was convinced that the rediscovery of Lucretius was certainly one of the elements that led to the "swerve" and the Renaissance, but there are already other forces at work, many alluded to in the book, that play at least as big a role. However, Greenblatt really wants to make the poem central, though, so we get a somewhat more evasive account of other factors, such as the popularity of humanism, that were also important. As a result, the book becomes a little strained in its main argument, but it doesn't detract from a wonderful historical account. Greenblatt uses all of his considerable ability to make his argument, one that you may or may not buy, but that you are certain to enjoy if you like Medieval, Roman, or intellectual history.
"Too many swerves"
Truth be told, I have not quite finished the book, I have read about 3/4 of it, and I am running a bit out of steam. Unless the author is.
The Swerve is amazing in some regards, but it is also problematic, at least for me.
First let me say that the narrator is perfect. In addition to having a beautiful enunciation and pace, he obviously knows Italian, convincingly integrating all these Italian names in the English text. (I am French, and too often cringe at the French pronunciation of some otherwise excellent narrators).
The rationale for the book, the history of the discovery and rediscovery of the ground breaking On The Nature of Things, written c. 50 b.c.e by Roman philosopher Lucretius, is fascinating. My jaw dropped when The Swerve first revealed what was in that ancient poem of which I knew nothing. (I won't spoil it for you if you haven't read it yet.)
The historical and sociological backgrounds are fascinating. I have a passion for the history of books as objects, and that was honey to my ears. You will learn a huge amount about bookmaking, the scribal profession, the importance of lettering, as well as the role of Christianity and the Church on culture, knowledge, science, taste, sex, love, pleasure, pain... in brief, on Western human LIFE. You'll learn how all of the above is connected to books, libraries, collections... and politics, wars, papacy, schisms, heresy.... and then some.
And this is where, in my view, the Swerve puts you on info overload. Don't get me wrong. It is ALL interesting. And I want to hear it all. But maybe not in one single book, the premise of which was to tell me the story of an ancient manuscript. The background too often takes center stage, and feels like a massive digression. He could almost have written one book with each of those digressions into the societal history of the time.
Another problem with the Swerve, which is related to the volume of information it contains, is the time lime. Until the narration settles on the life of the genial Poggio Bracciolini in 15th century Italy, the first 1/4 of the narration repeatedly shifts between Antiquity, Middle Ages, and Renaissance, making the sequence of events rather confusing.
I am at the point in the story when Poggio has died, and I find myself loosing interest in the narrative. The author had succeeded in making Poggio so real, that I felt I was reading a novel. Without Poggio, I find the Swerve to sound a bit more like a history textbook. Maybe I am only suffering from "Poggio withdrawal". I will finish it. Maybe it will pick up steam in a while.
Overall, I highly recommend the Swerve. It is very well written. It does not feel like a theses. The language is elegant and accessible. What you'll learn about The Nature of Things alone is worth the read.
Letting the rest of the world go by
"Exciting, I couldn't wait for the next page"
Books like this ruin it for me since they are so much better written (and read) than the average. Each page is exciting and I couldn't wait for the next. How an author can do that about an era which I've avoided because of its dryness is a compliment to the author. What I like best about the book is now I feel like I'm a scholar of the Italian Renaissance and the Epicurean movement! I never knew that something about book binding, Epicurean philosophy, script development and a poem could keep me on the edge of my seat and eagerly awaiting for the next paragraph.
You don't have to have the faintest interest in the Italian Renaissance or Latin Poetry to appreciate this book. The author is that good of a writer, and he will make you anxiously await the next page.
Can't stop listening
Stephen Greenblatt tells the story of a treasure hunter of the 1400's who unearths a remarkable manuscript. But there is another story told about the way ideas are disseminated and remembered as well as censored and forgotten. The radical shifts of cosmological views during the Renaissance are also explored through the colorful characters that are touched by the ideas contained in the ancient manuscript. For those who love books, for those who love ideas, and for those who enjoy seeing how the two can change the world, this is a great listen.
The narrator is also wonderful. The right pace and a clear voice.
50yrs old / audible member for 5 yrs library. 75% nonfiction, 15% classics and 10% fiction. History/Science/biography/Eng.18th cent fiction
Despite reading this in spurts over a long period of time, I enjoyed it immensely. For me it was a wonderful great multifaceted intellectual adventure. I not only enjoyed a great story, I learned a great deal about books, facets of history and how art and knowledge have been lost and found over the ages- resulting in major impacts on thought, politics etc. I found the whole thing utterly fascinating and surely deserving of a very attentive second read. There is so much to love and go on and on about in this rare gem. On reflection I think that this may be one of the most profound books Ive ever read- but strangely it actualy manages to be profound in so many differing areas and that is rare indeed!!
history buff
"outstanding book"
Outstanding book tells the story of the rediscovery of classical texts during the late-Middle Ages & early Renaissance. Greenblatt is especially effective in providing context to the period of discovery, the
A part-time buffoon and ersatz scholar specializing in BS, pedantry, schmaltz and cultural coprophagia.
"How One Book of Poetry Changed How We THINK!"
A fascinating history of both Poggio Bracciolini's persuit of fading Latin texts, focusing on Lucretius' "On the Nature of Things", and the impact that Lucretius' philosophic poem had on the development and shape of the modern world.
"History can be Fun"
The basic premise of this book -- that one poem modernized the world-- is a little unrealistic. However, the history is both fascinating and delightfully narrated. I don't even like history but this book is brilliant. It is witty and fun and was a pleasure to listen to.
I knew nothing about Lucretius, and now I know a great deal. I have never stopped to wonder how old books have been passed down through the ages. Well, now I know.
I highly recommend this great listen!
"How the Renaissance Began"
If you've enjoyed audiobooks by Malcom Gladwell, you'll probably enjoy "The Swerve." The author, Stephen Greenblatt, does a wonderful job of turning history into a compelling story, moving between small details and grand implications in much the same style Gladwell employs.
Some reviewers seem disappointed that The Swerve doesn't go into much detail on the contents of "On The Nature of Things." If that's what they're looking for, they should read Lucretius themselves. While the rediscovery and republication of "On the Nature of Things" takes a central role in how the world became modern, what's also critically important is the role of the Humanists and the ancient book hunters who sought out such ancient texts as part of a re-visioning of knowledge that started the Renaissance. This is what "The Swerve" is about. It's much bigger than just the contents of "On The Nature of Things."
The reader, Edoardo Ballerini, gives a first-class performance. His pace is on the slow side, but his clarity, intonation, and cadence are perfect.
"Very surprising information"
Yes, definitely. I liked the story, I was very entertained, but also there is a large amount of information which I would like to review and reconsider.
I would compare this book with books like Auerbach's Mimesis in that it traces an idea, a philosophical idea from its earliest manifestation to our own times.
The first chapters on the life of Pogio are very entertaining. I think Greenblatt paints a very realistic picture and conveys what it must have been like during those years, searching for manuscripts and translating them.
The book deserves to be considered highly. The information it deals with seems to have transformed the way we presently think about natural phenomena, and yet, there seems to be a sort of blind spot between what we now consider the truth about the physical world and how we got there. This books seems to deal with that.
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Fire drills and tornado drills are commonplace, but would you know what to do if the ground beneath you started to shake? This Thursday morning, schools, businesses, and other organizations across the state will take part in an earthquake drill known as the "Great Central US Shakeout." Steve Besemer with the State Emergency Management Agency says Missouri is in an extremely active seismic zone, so it's critical to know what to do.
"You should drop to the ground, take cover under a desk or table, and then hold onto that desk or table until the shaking stops."
Participants in the Great Central U-S Shakeout will practice that "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" technique for 60 seconds. In 1812, Missouri was rocked by one of the largest earthquakes ever to hit the continental United States.


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March 5, 2007 / Posted by: admin
There's a little video floating around the internet of allegedly Dlisted favorite Kerry Katona touching her naughty bits all inside. First of all, I'm not sure it's her. Second of all, if it is homegirl needs a straight-up wax. One thing that makes me think it's not Kerry is that the woman is using the phone and touching herself at the same time. Kerry's brain is not capable of doing two things at once. Click here to see the NSFW tape! VIA Totally NSFW


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OBJECTIVE: The authors' goal was to analyze reported cases of neuroleptic malignant syndrome in patients given clozapine and risperidone. METHOD: They assessed 19 cases of clozapine-induced neuroleptic malignant syndrome and 13 cases of risperidone-induced neuroleptic malignant syndrome against three criteria sets and against extent of exclusionary workup and then designated them as high or low probability of being neuroleptic malignant syndrome. RESULTS: Nine of the 19 cases of clozapine-related neuroleptic malignant syndrome and eight of the 13 cases of risperidone-related neuroleptic malignant syndrome were designated as having high probability of being neuroleptic malignant syndrome. The remainder were designated as having low probability because presentations were not linked to treatment or failed to meet criteria for the syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: Neuroleptic malignant syndrome can occur in patients given atypical antipsychotics and resembles "classical" neuroleptic malignant syndrome. However, side effect profiles overlap considerably with neuroleptic malignant syndrome criteria, and atypical antipsychotics may cause neurotoxicities unrelated to (but misattributed as) neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Insufficient evidence exists for "atypical" neuroleptic malignant syndrome with novel antipsychotics. (Am J Psychiatry 1998; 155:1113–1116)
Two reviews (R1558231, R1558232) found insufficient evidence for neuroleptic malignant syndrome attributable to clozapine. Another (R1558233) proposed a causal relationship, advocating the concept of "atypical" neuroleptic malignant syndrome as well as the disputed spectrum concept (R1558234). Incorrectly diagnosing neuroleptic malignant syndrome during clozapine or risperidone therapy may deprive patients of potentially more efficacious and safer medications; however, clinicians must be alert for neuroleptic malignant syndrome with novel antipsychotics. This review, by critically examining reported cases against established diagnostic criteria, addresses this conundrum.
Cases of neuroleptic malignant syndrome related to clozapine or risperidone reported in English were collected (by means of a MEDLINE literature search and contacting pharmaceutical companies as well as authors when necessary) and analyzed against three sets of criteria that represent a continuum of formulations of neuroleptic malignant syndrome: most stringent (Caroff and Mann [5]), intermediary (DSM-IV), and least stringent (Levenson [6]). All criteria sets require adequate workup for exclusion of other etiologies; importantly, the extent of workup is unspecified.
Cases were categorized as high or low probability of being neuroleptic malignant syndrome according to criteria sets, agreement across these criteria, and documentation of adequate, exclusionary workup. For cases designated as having high probability of being neuroleptic malignant syndrome, potential predisposing, precipitating, or contributing factors (use of concomitant medications, rapid titration, age, use of depot neuroleptics, and previous neuroleptic malignant syndrome) were identified.
We identified 19 reports of clozapine-induced neuroleptic malignant syndrome and 13 reports of risperidone-induced neuroleptic malignant syndrome (T1) with variability in ascribed diagnostic certainty. When we applied the criteria of Caroff and Mann (R1558235), we identified four of the clozapine cases and five of the risperidone cases as being neuroleptic malignant syndrome; when we applied DSM-IV criteria, 10 of the clozapine cases and 10 of the risperidone cases were so identified; when we applied Levenson's criteria (R1558236), 14 of the clozapine cases and 11 of the risperidone cases were so identified. All of the cases identified as being neuroleptic malignant syndrome when we applied Caroff and Mann guidelines were also identified by DSM-IV and Levenson's criteria. All but one (a risperidone case reported by Singer et al. [26]) of the cases identified by DSM-IV also met Levenson's criteria. Four clozapine cases (3 [patients 1 and 2], 9, 13) and two risperidone cases (R15582321, R15582327) met Levenson's criteria alone. There was consensus for nine clozapine cases (3 [patients 3 and 4], 10, 12, 14, 16, 17 [patient 1], 18, 20) and six risperidone cases (R15582322, R15582324, R15582325, R15582328, R15582330, R15582332); of these, five clozapine cases (3 [patients 3 and 4], 16, 18, 20) and one risperidone case (R15582324) failed to fulfill any criteria.
Clozapine cases were designated as having low probability of being neuroleptic malignant syndrome if 1) presentations were not causally linked to clozapine because important differential diagnoses were not clearly excluded and concomitant medical illness (3 [patient 1], 18), and concomitant psychotropic medications (R15582315) were present or 2) they did not fulfill neuroleptic malignant syndrome criteria but were suggestive of possible neurotoxicity of clozapine alone (R1558239, R15582313, R15582316) or with polypharmacy (3 [patient 4], 8, 20). Risperidone cases were designated as having low probability if the presentations were attributable to infection (R15582326), neurotoxicity from polypharmacy (R15582331), benzodiazepine withdrawal (R15582321, R15582331), serotonin syndrome (R15582331), and risperidone-induced extrapyramidal side effects (R15582324, R15582327).
Nine of 19 clozapine cases were designated as having a high probability of being neuroleptic malignant syndrome, with consensus across criteria sets for four cases (10, 12, 14, 17 [patient 1]). The remaining five cases were close in presentation to typical neuroleptic malignant syndrome, and this was the most parsimonious diagnosis (2 [patient 2], 7, 11, 17 [patient 2], 19). Diagnostic ambiguity remained for three patients (3 [patient 2], 12, 14) with infections of unclear temporal sequence. Eight of 13 risperidone cases were designated as having high probability of being neuroleptic malignant syndrome, with consensus for five cases (R15582322, R15582325, R15582328, R15582330, R15582332). Most cases had both fever and rigidity, except two (3 [patient 1], 22) with minimal rigidity and two (R1558237, R15582329) with fevers around 99°F.
Notwithstanding methodological limitations, the following tentative conclusions appear justified: 1) Neuroleptic malignant syndrome can occur during clozapine or risperidone monotherapy. 2) A proportion of published cases of neuroleptic malignant syndrome appear to have implicated clozapine or risperidone inappropriately. 3) The diagnostic conundrum inherent to neuroleptic malignant syndrome is further complicated when atypical antipsychotics are used because side effects are likely to be misattributed to neuroleptic malignant syndrome or because diagnoses of concomitant infection or neurotoxic drug effects may be consistent with the clinical presentation. 4) Insufficient evidence exists currently to support the concept of "atypical" neuroleptic malignant syndrome with novel antipsychotics.
The potential for diagnostic confusion is considerable because of overlap between features of neuroleptic malignant syndrome and adverse effects of atypical antipsychotics. Approximately 3% of patients receiving clozapine develop benign hyperthermia, and approximately 25% have autonomic instability during initial titration of clozapine or risperidone therapy (R15582333). Also, massive creatine phosphokinase elevations with atypical antipsychotics may occur in the absence of other features of neuroleptic malignant syndrome (R15582334). These observations suggest that clinicians should be particularly judicious in ascribing a diagnosis of neuroleptic malignant syndrome (especially early or "incipient" forms) at the initiation of atypical antipsychotic therapy.
Some reports were most likely drug-drug interactions occurring during polypharmacy with lithium, benzodiazepines, antidepressants, or other neuroleptics (R1558238, R15582315, R15582321, R15582331). In several cases (3 [patients 3 and 4], 8, 9, 16, 20, 21, 24, 27), neurotoxicity related to initiation or discontinuation of neuroleptics seemed a more apt explanation. Clarifying risk factors and mechanisms for such adverse reactions and distinguishing these from neuroleptic malignant syndrome is particularly important because treatment of neurotoxicity differs from that of neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Among the high-probability neuroleptic malignant syndrome cases, seven of the nine clozapine-treated patients had schizophrenic or schizoaffective diagnoses and four of the eight risperidone cases had schizoaffective or affective disorders. Concomitant diagnoses of mental retardation were also prominent. This is consistent with findings of high rates of comorbidity and affective disorder in neuroleptic malignant syndrome from typical neuroleptics (R15582335). Three of the nine patients given clozapine (but none given risperidone) had a history of neuroleptic malignant syndrome from typical antipsychotics; there may be a selection bias for clozapine treatment in such patients. Although neuroleptic malignant syndrome patients may tolerate clozapine without recurrence, this clinical practice may over time accrue cases of clozapine-induced neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Four of the clozapine-treated and four of the risperidone-treated patients received concomitant psychotropics; three of the clozapine-treated patients were receiving decanoate preparations before clozapine treatment (with washout periods of 3 weeks to 11 months). Notably, substantial dopamine receptor blockade occurs even at 16 weeks after discontinuation of depot neuroleptics (R15582336). Three of the four patients with clozapine-induced neuroleptic malignant syndrome were rechallenged with clozapine and one with risperidone without subsequent problems. Both patients with risperidone-induced neuroleptic malignant syndrome developed some signs and symptoms short of neuroleptic malignant syndrome when rechallenged with antipsychotics: one had creatine phosphokinase elevation (3293 IU/liter); another had rigidity, fever (99.1°F), and creatine phosphokinase elevation (220 IU/liter). It is important to evaluate carefully whether neuroleptic malignant syndrome can occur with other novel antipsychotics. This process will be advanced by reporting based on recognized diagnostic criteria and by meticulous attention to alternative medical diagnoses and possible neurotoxicities.
Received June 3, 1997; revision received March 9, 1998; accepted March 24, 1998. From the Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland; and the Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare System, Cleveland. Address reprint requests to Dr. Buckley, Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University, 2040 Abington Rd., Cleveland, OH 44106; firstname.lastname@example.com (e-mail).
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Friday is upon us once again and we've got you covered with another blistering Trivium set! Go to the MUSIC page right now and check out the new set from the October 2nd show at The Ventura Theatre in Ventura, CA. Don't forget to leave your comments on your favorite tracks!
We are glad to announce that Rise To Remain will also support our upcoming UK Tour!
Visit Rise to Remain on Mypsace : http://www.myspace.com/risetoremain
All of us here at Trivium World would like to offer our most sincere congratulations to Matt Heafy, who got married this past weekend. Best of luck Matt and Ashley!
Another Free Stream Friday is upon us and that means another CRUSHING Trivium set just for you! The new set is from the October 1st show at The Glasshouse in Pomona, CA. Go to the MUSIC page right now and check it out. Don't forget to let us know what you think!
Just a reminder to get your thinking caps on and enter the Trivium Lyric Contest today!! Here's how it works: each of the 10 lines below contains 5 words. Each group of words were taken from the lyrics of a different Trivium song. To enter, you have to tell us the ten songs that these words were taken from along with the albums these songs are on. For example, if we gave you the five words GUNS, DECISION, DARK, PREACH, WAR the correct answer would be "Ignition" from The Crusade album. Simple enough right? We will randomly choose one guy and one girl who answer all ten correctly to EACH...
Firstly a Huge Happy New Year to All!
We are very proud to announce our maiden journey to the Philippines; Trivium will be Playing in Manila on the 13th of February
For more venue + ticket Information head over to the Tour Page
We look forward to seeing you in Manila!
Roadrunner Records today announced plans to release an exclusive digital EP soundtrack for the highly anticipated PlayStation®3 (PS3™) exclusive videogame, God of War® III. The EP, titled God of War®: Blood & Metal, will be released in March as a part of the God of War III® Ultimate Edition, and will feature five exclusive unreleased songs from Roadrunner artists, including Killswitch Engage, Dream Theater, Trivium, Opeth and Taking Dawn.
Happy New Year Trivium World! It's the first Friday of 2010 and we've got another great live set for you from the September 29th show at The Catalyst in Santa Cruz, CA. Go to the MUSIC page right now and comment on your favorite tracks!


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In the Baby Zone with Soleil Moon Frye
We loved her in the 80s, and we love her even more now! Find out what Soleil Moon Frye can't live without, and what she loves (and sometimes hates!) about her third pregnancy.
You probably know her best as Punky Brewster, but Soleil Moon Frye has come a long way since starring in that hit 80s sitcom.
For starters, she's now happily married with two daughters (Poet, 8 and Jagger, 5) and is expecting her newest addition in February 2014. The busy mompreneur recently launched a free photo-sharing app, Moonfrye. Her book, Let's Get This Party Started, is out October 15. And she'll be hosting a new season of Home Made Simple, premiering October 19 on OWN.
And, in case you were wondering, she's just as likable and enthusiastic as her beloved Punky character. Read on for Soleil's spunky parenting and pregnancy wisdom.
What's your golden rule of pregnancy?
To embrace it, have fun with it, enjoy it and let my belly grow! As much as I feel like I'm as huge as a house, I'm trying to not be hard on myself and be proud that this incredible life is growing inside, and to just feel good about that. I think we all too often get self-conscious as we change, and so I think just embracing it and being in touch with your femininity and the beautiful element of what's happening, and all while being nauseous and trying to not throw up (laughing), but just embracing it, because I am so grateful!
What's been your best moment of pregnancy so far?
Finding out you're pregnant is one of the best moments of pregnancy, when it's something that you want so badly and when it happens, just that excitement of finding out. For this one, it was really special being able to tell the kids, and their reactions were just so incredible. Then, I'm sure the birth will be another incredible moment! And all the moments in-between—the kids kissing the belly, talking to the belly—and just embracing it all.
And the worst?
I've been much more tired this pregnancy. That's not the worst, I mean I guess that's part of it, but I think because I have had a few [kids], my body immediately has gone back to where it was at the end of my other pregnancies, so the back pains and the nausea, and I have no idea why they call it 'morning sickness' because that first trimester of being nauseous throughout the day and night… but even with all that said, I just keep saying how grateful I am and how excited I am to add to my family. I can't really say there's been any 'worst part' because any time I'm not feeling well, I just remind myself how happy I am!
What's the best advice you ever got about pregnancy?
I don't know if there's one certain thing—I think for me, the best advice that I can give is something that I discovered as a mom. In the weeks leading up to the birth of my second baby, Jagger, I really took that time to be with Poet, and we would take these long walks, and we would stop and smell the flowers and the trees and the sky, and I think just taking advantage of those moments before having your first, second or third child, is important. Embrace that time that you have together and make your other kids feel just as loved and like they're going to be a big part of it and show them how much you need their support. I think it's really important not to alienate other kids and not to make them feel left out, and I think the more you involve them and the more you make them feel just as loved, before and after [baby] comes, I think it's really important. And I think it's always stood out to me as one of the most special times I've shared with Poet and now that I'll share with Jagger and Poet, to have that quality time together and to talk about the adventure ahead.
What's the one thing you can't live without?
My family, of course! They're my support team! My flight was delayed recently and I got home late and crawled into bed and Jagger came in, in the middle of the night, and said, 'Where's that belly?!' and she's only 5 years old, giving the belly kisses, it was like 3:30 in the morning, it was just so sweet! My family is really important to me, what would I do without them?
Finish this sentence: You know you're in the Baby Zone when…
…you aren't sleeping, when you can barely keep your eyes open, you go out with your shirt on inside out, you're out with spit-up in your hair and on your clothes, and when you need to bring your own change of clothes in addition to the baby's!


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My sweet daughter had a Medieval Festival at her school today. It was SO fun! The kids in her class all dressed up in Middle Age costumes, made castles and hats, shared some of their talents in performances, and sat around and feasted on treats their mama's made for the event. The parents and grandparents were all invited to be apart of the festivities. My little princess read part of a story she has written...she's becoming quite the little writer for a 1st grader! I'm so proud of her!!! :)
Last year a mom made some amazing miniature fruit out of marzipan for the feast and the kids thought it was so cool! So this year my daughter's teacher asked me if I could do the same thing. I decided to make the fruit out of rice crispy treats covered in various color of modeling chocolate. They ended up being about 50-75% the size of regular fruit. Perfect for little hands...and FULL of sugar for their little tummies! :) YUM!
I whipped up some rice crispy treats, and while warm, I formed them into the various fruit shapes. Once they were cooled in the fridge, and firmed up, I began covering them in modeling chocolate. I love using that stuff because with just the warmth of your hands, you can smooth out all the seams so you can't tell how I covered them! Brilliant! My son and daughter rolled all the little grapes and stuck them on the wedges I had covered in purple fondant...they rolled and rolled and rolled! :) It was a group effort!
To make the fruit you see above, I used about 10 cups of cereal, 2 tbsp of butter and 7 cups of marshmallows. I crushed up the cereal really good so it wouldn't be so bumpy, then added that to the melted marshmallow/butter mixture. You might need to add more cereal if you want, depending upon the texture you're going for. Stir stir stir then shape into the fruit and let firm up in the fridge. Then, cover in chocolate and add the texture/stems/brown lines (with brown gel color and a tiny brush). To get the texture of the oranges, I wadded up some saran wrap and pressed it all over the orange. Worked great!
Thanks for looking!!