Documentation Books

I am taking a course for Medical Transcriptions and this book has been extremely helpful. I have the CD Rom, but am a hand's on person and this has given me an extra boost with my schooling. I would recommend it to anyone, at any level, in the Transcriptions field.

Amazon was the cheapest place I could find "The Book of Style for Medical Transcription." My school was charging me an arm and leg for books. I saved a lot of money for a brand new book, rather than a used book.

It was just as described - new, was delivered promptly. Very pleased with this service.

This is exactly what I was looking for. Shipping was fast! Thank you so much!

Very pleased with the speed of shipping and the condition of the book. Price was very reasonable.

I had the opportunity recently to hear the author, Steve Meltzer, speak in person at a local art gallery. He gave a day-long presentation for local artists on how to photograph their work for applying to juried shows or selling on the Web. It was a great day of learning and Steve was a wonderful teacher! Afterward I bought his book and it goes into more depth than what he could cover in the class. I sell a wide variety of goods on eBay, plus I photograph some of my own artwork and artwork for friends and family. The most helpful part of Steve's book for me has been the short chapters on photographing particular types of items, such as ceramic plates, ceramic sculpture, stained glass, glass plates, and so on. I also appreciate Steve's overall attitude that digital photography should be fun and that you can just keep trying different approaches until you get it right. He's a great guy both in person and in his writing!

Excellent Book, helpful and a resource I will use for a long time. And if you need a photographer for your work while you're learning he is great. Very helpful, thorough, and professional and the photos were excellent.
Thank you Steve and I will buy his next book.
Cynthia James

Until 11/03/08 there were seven 4-5 star reviews of this book. Where did they go?

This book is very useful for learning how to photograph smaller items very well for whatever reason. My only warning against it is that much of its content may be above the heads of those who do not at least already possess a thorough amateur knowledge of photography. Howevever, I did have this knowledge already.

I was hesitant about purchasing this book because I am a painter, and it appeared that the book was geared more toward crafts. However, I recently purchased a Canon SX10 digital camera, and the information about digital cameras alone was worth it. I am not an expert in photography by any means, so it was helpful to learn about digital cameras and to learn about the setting in my camera and how to utilize them. While the section covering 2D art is small, it still provided some of the most valuable information to date I have received. This, combined with the helpful information about studio lighting and set-up, has made this book extremely useful. I have no doubt that my photos of my artwork will improve dramatically. I highly recommend this book to artists (even 2D artists) who need assistance taking better pictures of their work, and who cannot afford professional photography services.

The first thing that I noticed about Angela's book is that it is huge! Weighing in at almost 500 pages (standard letter size, no less!), the book could literally serve as a classroom's cornerstone. But kidding aside, there's way too much valuable information inside to not keep it readily available on the bookshelf.

The Cornerstone is a handy reference guide for new and veteran teachers alike. There are tips, techniques, strategies, and actual anecdotes on a variety of topics, including behavior management, classroom organization, and developing and using routines.

I should state that I have not yet read the entire book. That's one of the great things about it though, is that you don't have to start at page one and read through to the back cover. Upon perusing the table of contents, the first thing that struck my fancy was Chapter 9: How to Teach Any Procedure. As I read through Angela's advice and stories from experience, I alternated between thoughts of, "Yeah, I already do that, and it works pretty well," and, "That sounds intriguing; I ought to give that a try!"

The only downside I have noted is that the photographs, showing implementations of the strategy suggested in the book, are black and white as opposed to color photographs. I fully understand the reason for this -- color photographs significantly raise the cost of printing each book -- but the pictures lose a bit in black and white.

Nevertheless, the upside far outweighs this minor downside, and I highly recommend The Cornerstone to teachers of all levels. For all of us that turn back to The First Days of School by Harry Wong in late August, The Cornerstone by Angela Powell makes a fine companion piece.

Lots of great ideas for a student/new teacher. Ideas to get ready for that classroom!

I absolutely love this book! I have been teaching for 18 years and have never quite mastered the art of classroom organization. I found out about this book on the author's website when looking for classroom organization tips. This author is clear and exact. I only hope that she teaches middle school at some point and adds a chapter or two that would target organization problems more specific to secondary education teachers. Otherwise, I carry this book around and read it all of the time.

This book is an outstanding resource in classroom management for elementary teachers. I often purchase this as a gift for my student teachers because it has such a wealth of information from setting up your classroom, developing a management system, dealing with all the paperwork; etc. The website downloads are an added bonus. As an elementary teacher with over 30 years in the classroom, I learned a few new things and would highly recommend this resource to anyone looking for support in building their classroom management skills.

I was an avid fan of her website. For years I've used her ideas and enjoyed the fabulous pictures and easy explanations that accompany room set-up to management and organizational ideas. This book is the best resource you can have. The book is a foundation for any teacher of any subject. Powell doesn't say there is one way to do something. She'll give you some ideas she'd tried years ago, and tell you what's working for her now. We all know that often our classroom students dictate how our systems need to be set up. This book will be as valuable in 25 years as it is now. The documentation chapter is especially important in today's world. Thanks Thanks Thanks to Mrs. Powell.

This book was recieved quickly. I founds the book to be very informative and useful. I found the answers to several of my questions I had. I will keep the book close to use for a reference and I am sure I will use it a lot. Thanks.

I have the 4th edition (at this time is the most recent edition in print) and as a psych home care nurse, this little, portable wealth of knowledge has helped me validate to management, as well as to public health and other surveyors, the range in situations that qualify "homebound status" for psychiatric patients. Throughout the book there are samples provided to support a variety of situations that help the nurse better understand, and therefore more accurately report, on each sector of the OASIS forms. Medicare regulations are explained in detail, and I learned information that I had not known in the 14 years I have been doing mental health home care nursing. The manual provides a history and background of homecare, its evolution, provides an overview of documentaion, including the importance of coding, and its significance in home care. Also, valuable tips on improving the nursing visit, setting achievable goals, managing the case, and the guidelines for care for all the home care disciplines, are provided, so the nurse can be knowledgable regarding the roles of the other disciplines. There is a great resource section at the end of the book, and home care definitions, roles, and abbreviations are delineated in this manual as well. All home care codes are listed.

With the often-confusing regulations and data gathering tools out there, at least we on the front lines have this portable manual to help us sort out our assessments and evaluations into the accurate coding and leveling criteria that supports what we do, what we observe, and allows for the appropriate revenue to support the levels of care our patients require. As OASIS data-gathering evolves, newer editions will be needed to keep up with the miriad of changes that will ensue, but at least here is a standard we can all make good use of, and I am willing to bet every nurse, from novice to manager, will find something in this manual that was not known or delineated as well to them in the past.

This manual would also make a wonderful teaching tool for nursing students. They may as well learn early on how intricate the data-gathering tools are in the real working world. Accurate notations on the OASIS forms can either make or break a case, not only regarding reimbursement, but as to whether the levels of care, and variety of disciplines, that you feel are needed, are allowed to provide services to your patient. Hasty and inaccurate translation of evaluations and assessments onto the OASIS forms results in inability to justify to Medicare that the levels of intervention you are requesting are appropriate.

I love this book because, being in the home health industry you have to know what you're charting. If charting is lacking then you will not get the full reimbursement that you are entitled to. Thanks alot.

i had the early verison and used it for making my care plan. the content is now updated and still valuable.

A MUST resource guide for all nurses who work in the Home Health industry.

I loved the Thomas Flanagan trilogy.
By chance, I believe I came across the primary source books for each of the three.
The Year of the French seems quite obviously informed and inspired by Thomas Pakenham's Year of Liberty, a novelistic but dense nonfiction recounting of the western uprising in 1798.
The End of the Hunt takes much of its feel from "The Big Fellow", Frank O'Connor's beautiful account of Michael Collins' revolutionary career.
If these two are obvious the third is less so:
The Tenants of Time builds very effectively upon the foundations of Micheal Davitt's book, "The Fall of Feudalism in Ireland." This book, by an 1867 Fenian who became a leader of the Land League movement and an obstructionist member of the British parliament, is rich in detail about the Land League and the parliamentary struggle of the late 1800's that shows up in the Flanagan book.
I recommend these books to readers who have finished the trilogy, just as I would recommend the trilogy to all.

"Tenants" begins on the eve of the Fenian uprising of 1867. We meet four young men and their compatriots as they train to confront the British and the Irish Constabulary and free Ireland -- or so they hope. There is Robert Delaney, shopkeeper and politician to be, Ned Nolan, a returning Irish-American whose hardline sympathies presage the IRS, Vincent Tully, squireen and future brother-in-law of Delaney, and Hugh McMahon, schoolteacher of Kilpeder.

But the uprising is only the beginning of their travels. After serving their time after the failed rebellion, we follow Hugh, Robert, Ned and Vincent through their lives and the history of Ireland in the late 1800s; Parnell and the Land League and the boycotts which nearly succeeded in driving the British out altogether and succeeded in breaking the backs, largely, of the Ascendency. It ends with Parnell's disgrace and downfall, and the deaths of two old friends.

Flanagan's writing has a lovely Irish flavor; it may be this, as much as the story itself, which holds so much pleasure for me.

An earlier reviewer complained that the path of one character's life too closely paralleled the more famous events which occurred in history. But rather than a flaw, I see that as the author's intent, bringing the historical events close and helping you see them from the inside through smaller characters rather than trying to put words in the mouths (not that he didn't do that anyway, to some extent) of the historical characters they represented.

Bob paralleled Parnell, rise, disgrace and fall; Vincent, the Anglo-Irish landowners whose life was disrupted for all time by Parnell's boycotts; Ned, those who found Parnell and his non-violent approach at best wrongheaded and at worst traitorous to Ireland; and Hugh stood outside it all as everyone else did, having some of the picture but not all, seeing it for us.

I bought this in an airport because I wanted something to read. It has become one of my favorite books ever.

Though I have not a drop of Irish ancestry I have long been fascinated by nineteenth century Irish history. The Green Flag: The Turbulent History of the Irish National Movement, by Robert Kee, was the best book I read in 1972, and The Parnell Tragedy, by Jules Abels, was the best book I read in 1974 (even tho it is not the best book on Parnell--F.S.L. Lyons' book, Charles Stewart Parnell, which I read 20 May 1979, is equally good and Robert Kee's The Laurel and the Ivy: The Story of Charles SAtewart Parnell and Irish Nationalism [which I read May 1, 1996] is better). This novel by Thomas Flanagan is written with a most authentic-seeming Irish touch, and the story takes us through the Fenian and Parnell years with a better story line than The Year of the French, the first volume in the trilogy, had for its period, the rising of 1798. Anyone who likes to absorb history by reading fiction could scarcely do better than read this book as to late nineteenth century Irish history.

"Tenants of Time", Flanagan's book between "Year of the French" and "End of the Hunt", deals with the Parnell era in Irish politics. But it is much more than that. Three men bound together by an act of failed rebellion in their early years, remain tied to one another and their actions on that day while a young historian tries to understand "a single moment in history" represented by that doomed rebellion.

The characters are large and complex, the ideas even bigger and the setting so evocative that you won't want the book to end.

Great literature that is also a great read. I really can't do the book justice. Read the first fifty pages and I bet you can't stop.

One minor complaint: Delaney's circumstances too closely mirrored Parnell's in the O'Shea debacle.

Spanning four decades of tense Irish history after the Famine years, Flanagan's tour de force masterfully weaves the life stories of four boyhood friends from County Cork whose adult lives result in different and conflicting choices regarding their roles in Irish society and politics. Together, they join the Fenian brotherhood in 1865, but the revolution's failure pushes them on divergent paths for fuller meaning in their lives. In exploring these developments, Flanagan expertly combines the characters' life challenges with the dramatice course of Irish history in the late Victorian era, presenting vivid depiction of the Fenian assassins, the agrarian struggles of the Land League, the rise and fall of Parnell, and the inevitable growth of Ireland into the modern era. Yet this striking panorama of Irish history never overshadows the rich and complex dynamic of the relationship between Hugh, Robert, Ned and Edward, whose struggles to find fortune and meaning in their world thrusts them into tragic internecine conflict. This is a novel you will never forget, and I would rank it among the best historical novels ever written.

I'll keep this brief, but I wanted to give this book the 5-star rating it deserves.

This book is a one-stop shop to go from "What the hell is CAN?" to "OK, now I know everything I need to know about *CAN*."

This book doesn't - and can't & shouldn't -- discuss higher layer protocols, nor the specifics of the CAN controller chip on your board. It (thankfully) sticks to the subject without getting distracted on tangential topics. (Note: I believe the author has a book coming out in early 2008 regarding the higher-layer J1939, I'll be waiting in line for that one too.)

The book is very clearly written, has lots of pictures (a must in any technical book), and is thorough & complete.

*Anyone* starting with CAN should start here.

I've had the chance to read about 1/3 of this book. It does a good job of explaining message CAN "frames", which could be said to be roughly analogous to TCP/IP datagram packets, except at a lower level of abstraction. It gives scenarios for the 4 different types of frames, explaining the use of each field in the frame for each scenario. It describes the interaction of transmitting and receiving nodes and the CAN bus. It describes the standard frame size (11 bit message id) and the extended frame size (29 bit message id) used in J1939. It begins with CAN history, applications, and where CAN fits in to the ISO/OSI 7 Layer Reference Model.

The book covers ISO-11898-1(data link and physical signaling) and ISO-11898-2(high-speed medium access unit). ISO-11898-3 (low speed, fault tolerant, medium dependent interface) and ISO-11898-4 (time-triggered communication) are not covered.

The use of "Notes" or captions to re-iterate information is effective. However, I noticed that the author chooses to repeat information too often. Its easy to overlook this, for as the author states, some of the original works that this book uses as reference material suffer from poor translations, while this book is indeed highly readable.

Also, although this book may not be the place for it, I would have liked to have seen more discussion about how CANOpen is used for automotive purposes, and perhaps some reference to FlexRay and LIN, which are often used alongside CAN in the automotive domain, in the "Higher Layer Protocols" section.

Also, for anyone that is interested in reading an alternate document to this one, Texas Instruments has a pdf file called "Introduction to the Controller Area Network (CAN)". You should be able to search for it on their website. Also, National Instruments has a decent introduction/overview in a webpage titled "Controller Area Network (CAN) Overview" which you should also be able to find via a search on their website.

The book is so well structured and narrative that even a newbie to CAN may learn essentials in a few days. Tough themes like bit timing and synchronization are introduced clearly with smart illustrations. The author is not trying to blow out pages with unnecessary details but rather selects content very carefully and builds a self-consistent guide based on (his) evident conscious experience. The guide's index is rather lean but covers all the main features I found useful for myself when was coding fw/sw CAN suite.

This small book gives intermediate-level description for low-level side of bus communication. For high-level CAN stuff see another rather good book, the "Embedded networking with CAN and CANopen" by O. Pfeiffer et al.

With the knowledge you get from the guide you most likely will not be able to create your own chip from the scratch ;-)... but definitely can develop your custom low-level s/w or f/w driver, as well as interpret waveforms on your scope with a greater confidence.

Here is the table of contents of the guide:

1. Overview
2. Main characteristics
2.1 Frames
2.2 Multi-master bus access
2.3 Message broadcasting
2.4 Message priority
2.5 Short messages
2.6 Data rate and message frequency
2.7 Bus arbitration
2.8 Error detection and fault confinement
3. Benefits of using CAN
3.1 CAN controller firmware
3.2 Low cost implementation
3.3 Speed, reliability, error-resistance
3.4 Worldwide acceptance
3.5 Higher layer protocols
4. Message frame architecture
4.1 Dominant and recessive bus levels
4.2 Data and remote frames
4.3 Data frame
4.4 Remote frame
4.5 Message frame format
4.6 Extended CAN protocol
4.7 Error frame
4.8 Overload frame
4.9 Interframe space
4.10 Frame length and transmission times
4.11 Baud rate considerations
4.12 Bandwidth
5. Message broadcasting
5.1 Message broadcasting with data frames
5.2 Message broadcasting with remote frames
6. Bus arbitration
6.1 Principles
6.2 Main rules
6.3 Example
7. Data transfer synchronization
7.1 Bit coding
7.2 Bit stuffing
7.3 Bit timing and synchronization
7.3.1 Bit sample point
7.3.2 Bit time
7.3.3 Bit time programming
7.3.4 Synchronization
7.3.5 Phase error and resynchronization
7.3.6 Oscillator frequency tolerance range
8. Error detection and fault confinement
8.1 Error detection
8.1.1 Bit monitoring
8.1.2 Checksum check
8.1.3 Bit stuffing error
8.1.4 Frame check error
8.1.5 Ack error
8.2 Error signaling
8.3 Fault confinement
8.3.1 Error counting
9. Physical layer
9.1 Bus topology
9.2 Bus medium
9.3 Bus signal level
9.4 Bus connection
9.5 Max bus length
9.6 Wiring and connectors
10. Summary
Appendix A - References
Index

This is the most complete work on CAN I have found so far. There are many details that are not explained in ISO11898. It is easy to read and has many helpful pictures. There are excellent sections on error detection, fault confinement and the basics on the timing registers of CAN controllers. I was easily able to apply the information from the book to my current project.

This book is highly recommended for everybody who needs to learn the basics of Controller Area Network. I have been collecting all written works on CAN through the years, but this book is by far the best reference to the CAN technology. The writing is clear and precise. I was impressed by the details, especially when it comes to the more complex topics such as bit timing, phase error, and resynchronization. Adding to the value of this book are the many pictures, which are appropriately placed according to the complexity of the current topic (something that is painfully missing in the official ISO specification). The author is also not shy to point out to discrepancies between ISO 11898 and the official Bosch specification. It is also refreshing to see that the book does not include product specific information as seen in other works (basically advertisement that you as the reader pay for). If you are in the CAN business (or CANopen, DeviceNet, J1939, etc.) you should have this book.

The attempts on the life of Adolph Hitler bring much to the imagination, with the hope that even when the most evil of men is in power, his countrymen may put him down for it. Now in a newly expanded third edition, "Stauffenberg: A Family History 1905-1944" brings history to this hope, which was recently transformed into a Hollywood movie. Following the life of the mastermind behind of this assassination plot, "Stauffenberg" chronicles a man who would have been applauded as a hero to many if he'd succeeded. "Stauffenberg" is well worth the read for history buffs, especially those with a focus on World War II.

Of the ten or so serious biographies on Stauffenberg, this will stand as the text to refer to for comprehensiveness and objectivity. The prose is clear, the questions of enduring interest are all answered, and the reader meets the man. Unreservedly recommended.

Aside from being the single man in history to make several (and one very famous) attempts on the life of Adolf Hitler, Claus Von Stauffenberg was a unique guy.

Born in 1907 to Prussian aristocracy, Stauffenberg was playing the cello, reciting Shakespeare, and taking an interest in Catholic theology
by the age of exactly 12. Had he made a career out of any of these three, his fate would have been less cruel. Claus Von Stauffenberg, though, was a born soldier.

Ultimately becoming a General Staff officer in the German Abwehr, Stauffenberg and his brothers Berthold and Alexander still made considerable time for poet Stefan George, and were part of his "Secret Germany", a quasi-mystical poetic cult of sorts which worshipped George as "Master, and the three brothers were were prophesied by the poet manque as the future leaders of the Fatherland. Goethe, Holderlin, Rilke and Nietzsche were heralded as the predecessors of the movement. The problem with the entire affair was that George was not very talented and his literary salon was composed mostly of teenage boys.

Despite George, the slow but sure rise of the Third Reich (which, like most Germans, Stauffenberg initially welcomed and his inevitable participation in nearly all of Germany's military campaigns, Claus Von Stauffenberg always retained an odd detachment from his surroundings and a sense of self which was very strong.

The sheer wealth and richness of not only Stauffenberg's life, but the life of his wealthy and somewhat sheltered family--his career as a decorated soldier in the Wehrmacht, his prestige as a model, and as head of the General Staff office--makes his brutal death in front of the Bendleerstrasse in Germany a surreal and bizarre turn of events.

Stauffenberg was aware of Germany's imminent defeat, yet as early as 1942 he was making some quit imprudent remarks about the Fuhrer: "In August 1942 Stauffenberg told Major Joachim Kuhn, a close friend, that the treatment of the Jews and other civilians was monstrous, *that Hitler had lied about the cause of the war*, and that he had to be removed. He then shouted: "They are shooting Jews in the masses. These crimes must not be allowed to continue!"

Then in in another outbrust which later got him arrested, news of more atrocities sparked Stauffenberg to scream in front of SS and general staff alike:"Does not one German soldier have the courage to shoot that pig?"

Attempt after attempt failed; Stauffenberg was regularly seen carrying a "remarkably plump briefcase" (as Albert Speer put it) to three different meetings in Hitler's "Wolf's Lair" in Prussia. Once Hitler did not show up: the second time Stauffenberg's incompetent superiors instructed him to not to set the fuse, and the third time the bomb exploded and by sheer chance did not kill Hitler.

Even in the face of the Gestapo's considerable wrath, Stauffenberg did his best to get the coup de'etat to to succeed. In a most fortunate turn of events for Stauffenberg, probably, a General Staff officer involved in the plot turned on the other plotters and had a handful of them, Claus included, shot on the night of July 20, 1944.

Why? Why was such a priviliged and wealthy figure in the German army who would certainly never have been charged with war crimes choose to sacrifice his life, the life of his family and friends, in an attempt so tenuous and fraught with uncertainty?

The answer, I think, lies in Stauffenberg's unbelievable bravery, sense of common decency, and Christian background. Without these things he may indeed have been a terrifying force for the Third Reich. He could no longer stomach what was going on around him. Peter Hoffmann here gives the definitive biography of this heroic man who embodies perhaps the most inspiring example of "what might have been" in history. A must read.

Peter Hoffmann's biography of Stauffenberg is the best anyone is likely to write on the subject. The book comprehensively assesses all primary sources hitherto used by Stauffenberg's previous biographers, plus many additional sources which the author himself found. Hoffmann's previous books, among them 'THE HISTORY OF THE GERMAN RESISTANCE, 1933-1945', and 'HITLER'S PERSONAL SECURITY' serve as a foundation to this work which, all told, spans 30 years of scholarly research. As the depth and breadth of this study eclipses any other attempt to date, its conclusions are unassailably judicious. Thus, Hoffmann's 'STAUFFENBERG' has made perhaps the most definitive contribution to the historical field of resistance to the Third Reich.

"Long live our holy Germany" were the last words of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg on the night of July 20, 1944. Peter Hoffmann's magnificient book is a salute to the Stauffenberg brothers and most importantly Claus von Stauffenberg. Stauffenberg was the real thing, a man of deep Christian principles and extradionary courage who knew that the future of Germany was more important than his life and the life of his fellow conspirators. He made the ultimate sacrifice so that others could live in freedom. Stauffenberg is not only a hero of Germany, but of anyone on earth who loves freedom and respects the laws of God and humanity. Stauffenberg was Germany's guardian angel, who attempted to save his nation and slay the man he deemed "the antichrist." Doctor Hoffmann paints a wonderful picture of Stauffenberg's early life and military career. He then moves into minute detail of the plot to kill Hitler and the man whom fate had chosen to lead it. Simply a great scholastic achievement.

I am delighted by this book. From the title I thought it was going to be something to read because it was good for me. Turns out its really interesting.

I'm a massage therapist and used part of this book to study for the National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCETMB). This book is really helpful for showing you how to take a client history. This book is needed because it shows you the legalities and proper way to run a massage business. Documenation protects you in cases of audits and also is a source for assessing the client's progress and contraindications. I also studied the following for the National Certification Exam:
The Ultimate Study Guide for the National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork: Key Review Questions and Answers (Volume 1), (Volume 2), and (Volume 3)
(Author: Patrick Leonardi)
The last 3 books helped me to prepare for the type of questions encountered on the national certification examination. I highly recommend all 4 books. I passed the first time with the help of these books

Very thoroughly explains why to document manual therapies, professionalism, and how to document effectively. Diana Thompson has lots of experience and know-how to share!

Her first edition of "Hands Heal" was a collection of forms used for charting massage therapy sessions. When I saw the new book on the shelf being three times as thick as the first I thought "Oh my what more can be done with charting!" I now understand her obsession with charting. It is not just charting your sessions, but learning to communicate what you do, so the medical community and the public will begin to understand massage therapy as a healing modality. Communication starts with the therapeutic relationship with the client. Healing begins when the client becomes involved in the process. Then you can pass the information along to all parties involved - the lawyers, the doctors, whoever. If you document every treatment, you will be able to find out what is working and what is not with each individual. Documentation can assist you in builing your practice and support the massage profession as a whole. I particularly liked the section on ethics as she supports the idea of peer groups, mentoring and supervision as a means of development for the practitioner. I believe the future of the profession lies in those areas.
If you are a massage therapist in any state, this will guide you to a successful practice whether you are involved in billing insurance companies or not.

I've watched this book evolve over a number of versions. Each one gets better and better. Yes, at times Dianna Thompson appears obsessive but on the other hand, that's what makes it great. Recently I was asked to write a detailed case summary that will be used as evidence in a lawsuit for a client I saw over a year ago. My SOAP notes are what saved the day for me. Thanks Diana. This book is essential for anyone working in a therapeutic environment.

...but not for Software CM.
As the title says, this is an Industry CM book. If your need is for Software CM, this book can be used for general CM concepts and background (and to develop a strong understanding of CM principles), but no more (get a software-specific CM/release management book instead). Only a few brief mentions of application of these concepts to software CM. If your need is for doc. control/industry CM, then this is probably an ideal book.

Unlike the vast majority of books available on configuration management, this book, as the title suggests, focuses entirely on configuration management in industry. Throughout the book, the author focuses on a simplified, fast configuration management system that exceeds DoD standards. This book, in the chapters titled Change Control and Fast Change, has an exceptional explanation of how to handle configuration modifications. In these chapters the author gives a detailed description of how to set up a system that allows the fastest possible changes to take place. Also, many case studies are given in these sections which provide further insight as to how to implement the correct system for a given situation. Overall, the book is very easy to understand, and serves as an excellent introduction and handbook to a configuration management system for industry.

This book explains the theory but includes plenty of examples of how to set up an Engineering Document Control, or Configuration Management (CM) system. The examples in the text focus on an imaginary manufacturing company. The text does include some mention of tailoring a CM system for software developers.

The text is crisp and the books organization clear and logical. One of the last chapters includes what is essentially a checklist of how to put together a CM system.

This is not a one size fits all system. The user must use the material in the book as a guide to tailor a CM system to their company's requirements.

Overall an indispensable book for someone trying to set up or overhaul a CM system. I highly recommend it.

I am a British Chartered Engineer working mainly in Blue Chip energy-related companies. I have just started using this book in my work and find it strongly re-enforces my passion for excellent documentation and design management. It is clearly the current 'bible' for Engineering Documentation Control and is extremely valuable in showing how to climb the 'Configuration Management Ladder' (page 8). It cuts away the dross and complexity that is plentiful nearly everywhere else. So many of us technologists and managers are struggling with hugely powerful new computer packages that integrate most processes in our companies. This is one of the very few books to chart our course and give us a chance of a reliable way through to simplicity, speed and profitability that are so often promissed but so rarely fully attained.

I wish this book existed during the turbulent 80's and early 90's. Outmoded accounting system's, corporate reorganizations, high employee turnover, pressure to do more, faster with fewer resources. As a Controller, most of my biggest headaches involved the amount of time required to close the books. The original closing schedule was 10 days into the new period. Then it was 8 days. Then 5, then 4 days.

I can't even guess at the time I could have saved had I known the techniques the author demonstrates in Just-In-Time Accounting.

This is not your usual accounting tome, based on statistics and theory. This is real stuff. Built out of scar tissue, experience and real world solutions. They are not necessarily easy solutions but lasting solutions worth the effort to implement.

The content deals with streamlining some basic areas:

Cash - How to speed up the process but still keep control. Some very interesting ideas about corporate credit cards, using your bank and lock boxes to save time and money.

Sales & Accounts Receivable - Some good ideas about redundant approvals, and minimizing paper.

Inventory - With hundreds of physical inventories under my belt I can vouch for the absolutely necessity of doing what the author recommends. This area was one of my great bugaboo's. Nothing affects the balance sheet like an inventory error. This involves bills of material, suppliers, production records, and computer system's. This is a whole world in itself but the problem(s) and solutions are concisely described here. Get your inventory under control and the rest is cake.

Accounts Payable - Good stuff that took me a long time to discover on my own.

Cost Accounting - Mostly about why you need it and how it allows you to spot P&L problems before the month ends. This is one of the critical areas to review since it is necessary for faster closes. Get the major variances identified early in the month instead of wasting time digging it up 4 or 5 weeks after the events occurred. One comment I have is the need for weekly staff meetings to review what happened last week, how will it affect this week and what is being done about it. These meeting will point out problem areas for the controller to preempt delusional variance explanations after monthend.

Payroll - Many good ideas that work. I have used the barcode system's.

The Budget - You probably know about these already but there are some time-saving techniques to minimize constant re-casting and interations.

EDI - I'm not too familiar with this.

The Quick Close - It can be done. This tells you how and I can vouch for the soundness of the concept. I actually set a corporate-wide benchmark of 1-1/2 days using these techniques. In my view that is the real payoff since it is the realization and payoff of all the other hard work. Gives you more time to do yet another iteration of the budget.

Some of the examples apply to huge corporations but most of the principles are universal. I really can't find fault in this book. It tells the controller, in the real world, how to get your system(s) sorted out. I have seen many "instant pudding" or fad of the month cause real damage if it didn't really work. There is no downside to these techniques. This is motherhood and apple pie. You can't go wrong trying.

A great reference on aspects of operational accounting -- easy to read and use format.

This book is the best in the market so far for accounting process improvements. The author did a great job in outlining the traditional and revised accounting procedures. Lots of opportunities available to streamline the work process and enhance the information flow. There are lots of useful flowcharts and tables that you can apply to your company right away.

I wish this book existed during the turbulent 80's and early 90's. Outmoded accounting system's, corporate reorganizations, high employee turnover, pressure to do more, faster with fewer resources. As a Controller, most of my biggest headaches involved the amount of time required to close the books. The original closing schedule was 10 days into the new period. Then it was 8 days. Then 5, then 4 days.

I can't even guess at the time I could have saved had I known the techniques the author demonstrates in Just-In-Time Accounting.

This is not your usual accounting tome, based on statistics and theory. This is real stuff. Built out of scar tissue, experience and real world solutions. They are not necessarily easy solutions but lasting solutions worth the effort to implement.

The content deals with streamlining some basic areas:

Cash - How to speed up the process but still keep control. Some very interesting ideas about corporate credit cards, using your bank and lock boxes to save time and money.

Sales & Accounts Receivable - Some good ideas about redundant approvals, and minimizing paper.

Inventory - With hundreds of physical inventories under my belt I can vouch for the absolutely necessity of doing what the author recommends. This area was one of my great bugaboo's. Nothing affects the balance sheet like an inventory error. This involves bills of material, suppliers, production records, and computer system's. This is a whole world in itself but the problem(s) and solutions are concisely described here. Get your inventory under control and the rest is cake.

Accounts Payable - Good stuff that took me a long time to discover on my own.

Cost Accounting - Mostly about why you need it and how it allows you to spot P&L problems before the month ends. This is one of the critical areas to review since it is necessary for faster closes. Get the major variances identified early in the month instead of wasting time digging it up 4 or 5 weeks after the events occurred. One comment I have is the need for weekly staff meetings to review what happened last week, how will it affect this week and what is being done about it. These meeting will point out problem areas for the controller to preempt delusional variance explanations after monthend.

Payroll - Many good ideas that work. I have used the barcode system's.

The Budget - You probably know about these already but there are some time-saving techniques to minimize constant re-casting and interations.

EDI - I'm not too familiar with this.

The Quick Close - It can be done. This tells you how and I can vouch for the soundness of the concept. I actually set a corporate-wide benchmark of 1-1/2 days using these techniques. In my view that is the real payoff since it is the realization and payoff of all the other hard work. Gives you more time to do yet another iteration of the budget.

Some of the examples apply to huge corporations but most of the principles are universal. I really can't find fault in this book. It tells the controller, in the real world, how to get your system(s) sorted out. I have seen many "instant pudding" or fad of the month cause real damage if it didn't really work. There is no downside to these techniques. This is motherhood and apple pie. You can't go wrong trying