Blair Books

The french original version is written with an incredible command of the language.Altogether, the book is a good source of information about senegalese culture(belief, values, behavior etc.)and a reference for studying the West African tale.

Although the English version was a little labored, I found the folk tales to be extremely well written (or rendered, since they're taken from an oral tradition). It was refreshing to sort of look at Senegalese literature without being hampered by the lens of the novel.

Hugo Young of the Guardian gives us a fascinating and revealing portrait of Britain's relations with the European Union. He is passionately committed to the European Union, but his book presents much information very useful to those who oppose it.

He recounts that in the 1971-72 Parliamentary debates, "Ministers did not lie, but they avoided telling the full truth. They refrained from stating categorically that the law of the European Community would have supremacy over British law." "Nor did ministers state that the European Communities Act would be, in practice, irrevocable." "Enthusiasts for entry, as we have seen in the cases of Edward Heath and Geoffrey Howe, felt it prudent to mask the radical nature of the transaction they were proposing." He cites Howe's admission that the Government concealed much from Parliament. And he recalls that a Government lawyer said, "Open admission of what was being done to parliamentary sovereignty would be `so astounding' as to put the whole Bill in danger."

None repeated the clarity of Foreign Secretary Lord Home when he told the Lords in August 1961: "let me admit at once that the Treaty of Rome would involve considerable derogation of sovereignty." Its consequences would, he said, be "different in kind from any contract into which we have entered before."

EU supporters said that EC entry would bring economic growth. When it didn't, they said the Single Market would. When it didn't, they said the Exchange Rate Mechanism would - Young remarks, with considerable under-statement, "The story of the ERM was not an entirely happy one." When that failed, bringing the worst slump for sixty years, they said that the euro would bring growth.

He presents the real issue: "The serious case, surely, is ... about national control over big decisions. The EU renders collective a decision-making process, in some areas, that was once exclusively national." Entering the euro would end our national democratic control over policy: is this what we want?

"A history of Britain's relations with Europe since 1945 as seen by the country's leadership. Thoroughly researched, powerfully written, intense and passionate. A book of the decade, not just the year" -The Economist

Honeycutt's poems are honest and full of family. The poems are full of clairty and intimacy. The landscapes depicted in this collection mediate on the natural world and losses. The readers go with Honeycutt into this landscape she makes familar. Waiting For The Trout to Speak is a friendly, thoughtful collection.

Waiting For The Trout To Speak is an impressive selection of Irene Blair Honeycutt's emotional, rhythmic free-verse poetry that celebrates the simple, everyday activities of life, from grocery shopping to daily meditations, to stopping to observe the natural wonder of an eclipse. A fluidly written, engaging collection to draw the mind into a new and marvelous way of looking at the world. Stroupie, One Autumn: My mountain friend keeps hearing birds call her name./She swears she heard them in the woods this morning/when dawn rose behind her cabin. And last summer/--through her broken windshield--/she thought she could identify that bird./I don't say what I'm thinking because it scares me/and might frighten her, although she's said the only/thing she's ever feared is fire./I could walk through Death's door right now,/she told me yesterday,/cutting a path through the air/with her hands. I wonder if we all will hear/some special call. I've read of the patterns observed/in the dreams of the dying: trees with one side leafless.

In The Wisconsin Traveler's Companion, Jerry Apps and Julie Sutter-Blair introduce the reader to the sights one might see in the Wisconsin countryside. Unlike many guides, this isn't limited to wildlife and/or attractions. Rather, the reader is introduced to the variety of rural structures, wild and domestic plants and animals, and landscapes one can expect to encounter on Wisconsin's byways. Agricultural-themed sights are a particular emphasis.

This book is really a quite unique resource, providing descriptions and drawings of many of the commonplace, but not often comprehended, features of Wisconsin's rural lands. Despite having grown up in the countryside of Wisconsin, this book made apparent that the variety of farm structures and much of the variety of domestic animals in Wisconsin had eluded my notice. Read this book then go for a drive down any Wisconsin county highway and you can't help but see with transformed eyes. My only issue with the book is its brevity and its apparent incompleteness, that is, this book is too small for its thesis. I would not hesitate, however, to pick up an extended version.

In The Wisconsin Traveler's Companion, author and Wisconsin native Jerry Apps brings to life and carefully explains the sights of rural Wisconsin: its landscape, farmsteads, crops, rural buildings, roadside animals, birds and flowers, planting and harvesting cycles, and more. Readers will learn the differences between Jersey and Brown Swiss diary cattle, Finnish and Swedish style barns, and wild flowers from the columbine to the geranium. Whether day tripping, vacationing, or simply traveling the state, The Wisconsin Traveler's Companion is an invaluable resource enhanced throughout with beautiful illustrations by Julie Sutter-Blair.

I really enjoyed this book. When I started it I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but I was immediately swept into the story and the relationship between Griet and Vermeer.

I think I'll rent out the movie now :)

I started to read it and could not put it down.

Some authors will spend pages describing a scene or a person, making a book drag out. This author, with a few words, made you feel like you where standing next to the character.

I loved it. The way the writer portrayed each character was so vivid that you can almost see what they look like and the way they talk. It is a great book.

A friend recommended this book to me and I completely loved it. The movie adaptation was completely beautiful, adding a visual aspect to the story, but the book, as usual, managed to carry more depth to the story; a sense of how very hard the girl had to work, the kinds of pressure she was under and how very dangerous it was for her to pose for the painting.
Unforgettable.

we read this in English class. So good... easy words, but created a great sense of romance and mystery

Reading this book, for me, was like riding on a commercial airplane.

You get on the plane, all excited. You hear about what's coming up in your city of destination. You strap yourself in. You're all fidgety with anticipation.

Then you wait. And wait. And wait.

You feel like getting off the plane, you're so sick of waiting.

FINALLY, it takes off!!

That's how "Airframe" seemed to me. I nearly gave up on it, I was so weary of all the aeronautical acronyms and explanations of airplane processes and functions, I wanted action!

I'm SO glad I waited. The last quarter of the book is completely worth the boredom of the 2nd and 3rd quarters of the book. Still, I wish those sections had been a little less yawn-inducing.

As the novel opens we see a young family nearing the end of a very long flight across the Pacific. The sun has come up, the passengers are waking to the sounds of the crew getting the breakfast service ready when suddenly, and without warning, the plane hits very rough turbulence. By the time the makes an emergency landing there are deaths and over 50 injuries.

The manufacturer of the plane, Norton, finds itself blamed for the event by the FAA, the carrier and the media. Casey, the vice-president in charge of Quality Control begins the detailed investigation into the cause of the accident, one that she soon discovers to be complicated by various hidden agendas that have nothing to do with passenger safety.

AIRFRAME is written in the usual Crichton taut style of short sections, some only a couple of paragraphs, that jump from character to character, as they progress in chronological order over the course of a week. Unfortunately although Crichton has stuck to his trademark style and done his usual thorough research this one is just not as compelling as JURASSIC PARK or ANDROMEDA STRAIN. The novel starts out strong but begins to drag towards the middle and by the end, this reader at least, was at the 'only a few pages to go, might as well finish' stage. Still, a less than average Crichton novel is better than many other authors' best effort so AIRFRAME is an excellent read. Just not the best choice for a reluctant flier to take on their next flight.

I enjoyed this book. A bit different than the author's previous books. Quite a bit of mystery to the story which was very readable. The main character is very human and easy to identify with. The story goes into some interesting technnical aspects of airframe design and the ins and outs of contract grabbing.

Some have criticized this book as being slow but I don't think so. This book is a good read.

This book is much slower than most Crichton early novels. More of a mystery book than action.

AIRFRAME is a competent suspense novel, and I applaud Crichton's attempt to write an intelligent potboiler. But the characterization in this book is quite thin, and the subject matter is simply not as fascinating as Crichton seems to think.

As another reviewer commented, the technology in AIRFRAME outweighs the thrills. Crichton is a remarkably intelligent writer, but he tries too hard to incorporate aviation jargon into this particular book. I know that Crichton does extensive research for this novel, but I felt he made little effort to make most of it understandable to the reader. There were certain chapters where I simply felt my eyes glazing over.

Crichton also uses this novel to rant against certain things he dislikes in society (the media, trial lawyers, unions, US trade policy, the abolition of the fairness doctrine, etc.), which I ultimately found tiresome. The ending of AIRFRAME is also somewhat disappointing, given the huge buildup.

My advice is to go with some of Crichton's other work, such as THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY, SPHERE, or JURASSIC PARK.

Hyperventilation over a non problem. Not a scholarly or unbiased look at the issue. Fails to provide any evidence of how global warming may prevent cold weather related deaths and improve agricultural production. This book describes a sham scary scenario as a pretext for controlling our lives.

As close to everyone knows, this is Al Gore's book which allegedly proves that, because of mankind's increased carbon emissions, therefore the global climate is warming and therefore we will suffer from a wide variety of catastrophic problems unless we act to reverse the situation. Gore actually argues in this book that, unless we radically decrease CO2 emissions, the oceans will rise 20 feet, most of Florida and New York City will be drowned -- he provides very real looking computer-generated maps of these predictions -- there will be many more hurricanes and, in general, the world as we know it will come to an end.

It is possible that Gore's basic thesis is correct. Our climate might be warming from CO2 emissions. There is no way to assess the value of his thesis from this book, however. This is a beautifully illustrated picture book. It is filled with gorgeous photographs. It has very little text. On the few occasions when Gore actually puts more than 50 words in a row it is generally to tell some heart-wrenching anecdote such as why the near-death of his son made him passionate about global warming. The book has no footnotes, and no connected argument. It is, to be blunt about, a coffee-table book, not a scientific book.

I appreciate that Gore's defenders will disagree. After all, the pictures show facts don't they? We can see, from the pictures, that there is less ice on Mt. Kilamanjero. We can see that many glaciers have retreated in the last century. We can even see the photos showing how much of Florida would be submerged, if the sea rose 20 feet, which it would, if all of the ice in Greenland melted.

Yes, the pictures give isolated facts. But science is not done with pictures, because one can always take a few facts out of context to prove anything. You do not do science with a few photos. You do science with hard data, taken from as many sources as possible. You do science by looking at the whole picture, or as much as you can. You also do science by seriously addressing critics and alternative theories. I am sorry, Al, but this book is much closer to a rock video than it is to a scientific argument. It relies on pictures, emotions and wild claims. That does not prove that it is wrong. You can not , however, rationally assess the truth or falsity of the statements with Gore's presentation.

Al thinks we are stupid. He does not think we will read through serious science. He thinks we need lots of pictures or we just won't get it.

Although i was well aware of global warming, the scientific evidence and the real statistics of the global warming from this book definitely raised my awareness even more. I mainly bought this book because i am very interested from saving the earth from the global warming. This book is informative and contains many pictures that reveal impact of the global warming in the world. This book is worth of every penny and worth of time to read it.

I purchased this book despite my skepticism on human caused global warming. I figure i need to know both sides of the argument before I formulate an opinion.

There were some great points made in the book and despite my belief that global warming is not entirely human caused, there are a lot of things where I said "ya, why not? Wouldn't hurt to reduce this or that."

I did have a problem with Al's failure to show both sides of the coin when he pointed out statistics and used charts. One chart he used pointed out recent increases of this or that, but didn't comment on the historical increases that were shown on the same chart.

I also felt like the charts and graphs were misleading in many ways. Often they used visual tips and tricks to draw the eye to the points they wanted to make while 'hiding' the counter arguments. Although I was probably especially sensitive to this as I just read a book on the visual presentation of data.

If you are interested in global warming, even if you are a conservative that is against it, I believe you need to read this book. It would be naive to argue against it if you haven't read it.

31,000 U.S. scientests have signed a petition refuting the claims that mankind is causing global warming and many scientests are now saying we are about to enter a period of global cooling due to changes in our sun. A British court found over 30 of Gore's claims in his movie to be false. Al Gore's home uses more energy in one month than the average home owner uses in one year and the zinc mine that was on his property was once listed by an environmental group as the most toxic mine site in America and Gore wants to reopen it. Are these the actions of a man truely concerned about the environment? Do a little searching to find out about Gore's financial interests in promoting global warming, other than his film and books, and you will find what I believe to be his true motivation.

While we do need to be better stewards of our planet the rush to stop climate change is harming millions around the world and will harm hundreds of millions more if we continue on this course. Gore and his followers say warmer temperatures will produce crop failures that will lead to starvation for millions but in our rush to develop cleaner burning bio fuels we are currently leaving millions of people around the world without enough food to eat. The move to develop bio fuels is also causing a huge price increase in foods which will harm the poorest among us. The amount of corn required to produce 25 gallons of ethanol is enough food to feed an adult for one year and that is one years worth of food someone will have to go without. When you rush into something based on emotion instead of facts you often take the wrong course and that is what I see happening with the issue of global warming.

True science has shown us the earth has been warming for thousands of years, the earth has been much warmer in the past then it is currently, and the only thing normal about climate change is it's always changing. As once scientest has said, a never changing climate would be abnormal.

I must say this is the third book I read from Grisham. It really is a page turner and you really want to know what's next.
The thing I like the most about Grisham's wrtting is the way he describes feelings.... the way he describes the situations.
Mark is just a geniuos and there is no way you would not love him... He's smart and funny, and he is the typical boy who has seen way too much TV....
Reggie... well, she is just the kind lawyer and the one who feels most like Mark's mom.
Honestly, I read the book like in 4 days... I just couldn't put it away... However I didn't like the end, I think that somehow he was tired of writting and at the end everything happens so fast.
Anyway, you will enjoy this book.....

If you only read one legal thriller by John Grisham, I strongly urge you to choose The Client. It's a remarkable book that will reward your patience, pique your curiosity, and keep you guessing until almost the very end.

The client has to be the most unusual legal thriller every written. The book's indomitable hero, Mark Sway, is an 11-year-old with a lot of guts and a desire to do the right thing. John Grisham takes that premise and pushes it to the limit by teaming Mark with the only lawyer that Grisham ever wrote positively about, Reggie Love. In the process, Grisham entertains with the petty foibles and vanities of the legal "powers that be" in a way that will make you wish that nice people worked at the law.

Enchanting books have heroes and heroines who intrigue and inspire us. Mark Sway and Reggie Love are well designed for those purposes. Mark is that wonderful combination of scamp, optimist, and idealist that Mark Twain first imagined in the character of Tom Sawyer. Reggie Love is a composite of the loving concern of everyone's favorite aunt combined with the toughness and smarts of Perry Mason.

The Mafia characters are bozos. The FBI agents are cretins. The prosecutors are sleaze balls. The other characters fade into the woodwork except for Reggie's favorite judge.

Have a ball!

If you only read one legal thriller by John Grisham, I strongly urge you to choose The Client. It's a remarkable book that will reward your patience, pique your curiosity, and keep you guessing until almost the very end.

The client has to be the most unusual legal thriller every written. The book's indomitable hero, Mark Sway, is an 11-year-old with a lot of guts and a desire to do the right thing. John Grisham takes that premise and pushes it to the limit by teaming Mark with the only lawyer that Grisham ever wrote positively about, Reggie Love. In the process, Grisham entertains with the petty foibles and vanities of the legal "powers that be" in a way that will make you wish that nice people worked at the law.

Enchanting books have heroes and heroines who intrigue and inspire us. Mark Sway and Reggie Love are well designed for those purposes. Mark is that wonderful combination of scamp, optimist, and idealist that Mark Twain first imagined in the character of Tom Sawyer. Reggie Love is a composite of the loving concern of everyone's favorite aunt combined with the toughness and smarts of Perry Mason.

The Mafia characters are bozos. The FBI agents are cretins. The other characters fade into the woodwork except for Reggie's favorite judge.

Have a ball!

I've never been a huge fan of John Grisham, but it's hard not to admire an author with such an incredible level of sales success. Whatever his faults, Grisham is clearly able to connect with his audience in a way that few writers can. I've read almost all of his novels now, and I think his first two, THE FIRM and A TIME TO KILL, are by far the best ones. THE CLIENT, Grisham's fourth novel, is moderately enjoyable, but not in the same league.

An earlier review referred to THE CLIENT as a "Disney movie for adults" and I think that serves as an apt description of this novel. This book is entertaining enough, but I think Grisham's major weakness as a writer is on full display here, because nearly all the major characters are essentially caricatures of one sort or another. If you enjoy complex, subtle characterization, you may want to think twice before reading this one. But if you're looking for a highly sentimental "David v. Goliath" type story, then you will probably be pleased with what Grisham dishes up.

Grisham's mains strength is his plotting (he carefully outlines all of his novels in advance), and he structures THE CLIENT in a manner that makes the book a page-turner. In most of his novels, Grisham is fond of writing about the little guy fighting against the big corporate and/or political interests, and he pretty much sticks to that winning formula here, with an eleven-year old hero battling the mafia and the FBI simultaneously. While there are some interesting twists in the plot, I found the story's progression and resolution to be quite predictable.

I know several people who love THE CLIENT, and consider it one of Grisham's best early efforts. While I wouldn't put the novel in that category, it's a nice popcorn read, especially for readers who enjoy storytelling that's written in a more traditional, sentimental style.

If you only read one legal thriller by John Grisham, I strongly urge you to choose The Client. It's a remarkable book that will reward your patience, pique your curiosity, and keep you guessing until almost the very end.

The client has to be the most unusual legal thriller every written. The book's indomitable hero, Mark Sway, is an 11-year-old with a lot of guts and a desire to do the right thing. John Grisham takes that premise and pushes it to the limit by teaming Mark with the only lawyer that Grisham ever wrote positively about, Reggie Love. In the process, Grisham entertains with the petty foibles and vanities of the legal "powers that be" in a way that will make you wish that nice people worked at the law.

Enchanting books have heroes and heroines who intrigue and inspire us. Mark Sway and Reggie Love are well designed for those purposes. Mark is that wonderful combination of scamp, optimist, and idealist that Mark Twain first imagined in the character of Tom Sawyer. Reggie Love is a composite of the loving concern of everyone's favorite aunt combined with the toughness and smarts of Perry Mason.

The Mafia characters are bozos. The FBI agents are cretins. The other characters fade into the woodwork except for Reggie's favorite judge.

Have a ball!

Rose Madder
This was another one of king's great books,I love every one of his books.This one just shows women living like that can get out and survive.Some women die in those situations,They dont have to.I'm used to his horror stories(of course this is one in it's own way).I didnt think it would be as good but I was entranced to finish every word.He is truly one of the best Authors,I've been reading his books since i was a teen.I have not found one i dont like.

After more than a decade, stuck under the power of her abusive, high-tempered husband, something inside Rose Daniels's brain pops, and she makes a break for it. She flees to a new city, some 800 miles away, to start a new life, hoping to be rid of her husband, Norman, for the rest of her life.

But Norman Daniels is a cop, and tracking people down is what a cop does best...

I have read most of King's work up to this point, and this was definately one of my favorites. The pages fly by, and the plot never seems to slow down, even when there is not much in the way of action going on. While the introduction of fantasy elements into the book was a unique twist, it did hamper the story, somewhat.

Rose herself is a very well-portrayed character, and easily the best of King's female leads. Norman was a pretty wicked bastard as well, but I think his actions were, at times, a bit over-the-top, especially towards the end. The whole "Ferdinand the Bull" thing was pretty darn creepy, though.

But despite its faults, 'Rose Madder' is another great effort by King, and it's definately something I'll read again. The audio recording of this book was also very impressive.

This was one of those Stephen King books for whatever reason I missed or skipped. I read it recently for the first time and I was very pleased. The story was fairly tight good characters, all in all very entertaining. One detractor is the "world" thru the painting is clearly Mid World or the world of the Dark Tower. While this is apparent to Tower fans, the casual SK reader will probably go "Huh?!" and "Whassit?" What the heck does "Ka is a wheel" mean?? - Grins. Well WE know, and I loved the subtle DT references, I had not know they were here before or I would have read sooner.

Other small complaint is Norman, while scary, doesn't make much sense. He functioned as a cop and all around regular person (tho abusive husband) for decades, and then his wife leaving him and taking his bank card turns him into a savage, cannibalistic monster? Why? Yes he was abused a child but - well its a stretch that we just have to accept. That this abusive husband of Rose could snap into a monster unlike we have ever seen. Recent SK novels spend more time "showing" the descent into madness of his villains rather that just have us accept they are mad. But this novel was 1994 I think?

The character of Rosie, however, is wonderful. I would love to see her again. We root for her from the first page to the last. She is one of his best crafted characters. We cheer every good thing that happens to her.

I am a huge Stephen King fan, but I found this book to be one of his weaker efforts. The story centers on a woman named Rose Daniels, who escapes the wrath of her husband, Norman, after being subjected to extreme abuse for 14 years. She moves to a new city, and falls in with a group of women at a halfway house while Norman hunts her down with murder on his mind.

In my opinion, the best parts of the book were told from Norman's point of view. He is one sick individual, and King masterfully intertwines Norman's inhumanity with black humor. Norman's thoughts will make you laugh and cringe at the same time.

All the characters in the book, including the minor ones, have their own personality and depth, which is one of King's many great talents. The suspenseful and terrifying climax of the story(when Norman finally catches up to Rose) was excellent, and Norman's gradual degradation into pure insanity is both believable and horrifying.

Despite all this, "Rose Madder" is a very flawed book. King does an overall good job at portraying how inept Rose is at interacting with others after being kept prisoner at her house with Norman for so long, except for the fact that she so readily dives into a relationship with another man.

My main complaint however, is the magical/haunted/cursed painting, which is one of the main factors in the story. There is a large chunk in the book where Rose goes into the painting, and I found this to be tedious and dull. I thought the book could have done without the painting side story, as it seemed to be hastily tacked on the the rest of the story so that the book could have a supernatural aspect. Frankly, I thought Norman was much creepier than the painting.

Rose Daniels is a woman who has been married to a policeman for 14 years. Unfortunately, he has subjected her to abuse of the most extreme variety for that entire time until she is finally spurred to leave him and begin a new life. After taking a bus to a new city, she starts to build a new life but her husband, Norman, hunts for her with murderous intent.

The first half of this book is pretty strong. There were a few unlikely plot developments such as Rose being ready for a relationship with a man just a month or so after escaping 14 years of living hell with her psychotic husband. But the characters and story largely carry you along and make you want to see what happens next. The most compelling and scary parts of the book, not surprisingly, are the scenes where Norman hunts for Rose. He is one sick puppy and King is a master at wringing both suspense and humor from characters like this.

Then, the story gets hijacked by a lengthy interlude that carries Rose into a world of Greek mythology by means of a magical painting. I enjoy supernatural elements in a horror story, but in this case it feels completely out of place and tacked on to the rest of the plot. I also didn't care for King's choice to basically reveal the ending during this interlude and tell us what will happen to resolve the situation with Norman.

All in all, Rose Madder is not one of King's best books. Some parts are riveting, but I found myself struggling to get through some chapters and generally found most of the second half to be predictable and weak. If you've never read one of Stephen King's books, then you should start with one of his stronger works such as The Shining or Misery. If you're a long time fan, then go ahead and give it a try, but keep your expectations modest or you'll probably be disappointed.

This is my first Anita Shreve book. I decided to give it a go because I needed something easy to read but reasonably intelligent.

I found the book in some parts extremely annoying. For no other reason but for the subject matter. It was still very compelling to continue reading.

What I liked was it was not too cliche' as a love story. I am not into love stories at all. This book I feel could be classed as controversial by today's standards but still well written enough not to cross any immoral boundaries.

It is a good read and very much recommended. I would think though it is a book for females.

Well written story of 15-year-old Olympia, who goes from flirtation, to lust, to love with her father''s well -educated -physician friend, three times her age. All this in the restrictive, moralistic views of New England at the turn of the century. The reader wants to shake this girl and grab her back from the disaster she is about to embark upon. Likewise, there is an urge to shoot this married, father of four, who is about to betray his friend and take advantage of an innocent young girl. Emotions run high for all involved, even the child to come of this union. An interesting story, rich in details of place and plot.

I think of this story a lot. The story is definitely taboo , but undeniably romantic. I enjoyed this book. My favorite of Ms. Sreve's to date.

I am so fascinated by this novel. I wanted to find another novel following the life of Olympia. Anita Shreve makes you feel as though the characters are your friends, family. Since I discovered this book, I have picked up all of Anita Shreve's books. She is my favorite author!!!!

Again, Ms. Shreve has shocked me with her strikingly beautiful prose and sadly human characters. Although the end of this book was just a little bit too filled with "perfection" for my taste, I truly found myself aching for Olympia and her lost love, and debating who the boy should end up with. To me, those are markers of a truly good story with meaningful characters, and for that, I applaud Ms. Shreve.