Blair Books

"These useful guides are highly recommended... " Library Journal "[Adventure Guides] direct you away from the theme parks and into the great outdoors... the information on trekking routes, canoeing, wildlife refuges - even golf courses - is well researched." The Sunday Telegraph "...intended for the adventure-minded travelers with special affection for the outdoors and nature. Each Adventure Guide packs in outdoor-oriented activities set in different regions. There's something for nearly everyone." Midwest Book Review

This updated third edition of the Adventure Guide To The Bahamas And Turks & Caicos includes heavily expanded sections on hotels, restaurants, dive sites and fishing in all the Bahamas, surveying the best of adventures and establishments. Adventure Guide To The Bahamas And Turks & Caicos is an outdoors-oriented adventurer's guide, and destination-oriented visitors will appreciate the attention to regional specialties and attractions.

This book does not purport to be exhaustive, and, certainly, it is not. But for the price, it is an excellent introduction to a relatively unknown part of the world, The Bahamas. This group of islands seems to have some of the best fishing, diving, and boating in the world, and you can feel it in these pages, which is a switch from most other bigger, more expensive books. Loved the part about Eleuthera.

Hardly and adventure guide to the Bahamas, this guide gave only brief mention to various outdoor sports and focused mainly on dining, shopping, and lodges. The information of dive spots is much more detailed in numerous other guide books. An average introduction to the Bahamas, but seriously lacking in detail. Please change the title.

Oh gosh this is thee worst book I have ever read! Good thing I picked it up at a dollar store. The story started out alright but I think it was when Barf stumbled tipsily onto the scene that things went down hill. The last scene were they were in the woods was.....about as romantic as watching a dead tree rot.
The L.J. Smith type cover design attracted me to it despite the giggle worthy red eyes of Garth, our "hero" (snort) and the way Miranda's sprawled across it like one of those cheesy 80's romance covers. And if I remember right (this book is in a deep dark place in my closet and will hopefully never be unleashed on the world again)Garth even has a mullet..and then there's the demonic blood shot red eyes staring out from the cover.)
My suggestion, L.J. Smith is worlds better and I'm just glad I got this book for a dollar.

Set in Overlook, Oregon, 17-year-old Miranda Campbell has become the target of a secret admirer (Garth Gautier) who hides an unbelievable secret--he's a werewolf, one that must kill to survive, even if his prey is human. But how far will Garth's hunger go before it effects the ones Miranda is closest to?

If you like young adult romance/suspense/horror novels, then you'll probably like this trilogy (Dark Moon Legacy). "The Curse" is the first book, followed by "The Seduction" and "The Rebellion". Also recommended: anything by L. J. Smith, for those who enjoy the same type of genre mentioned above.

I bought the book form a used book sale on vacation and thought that it might be a good book to read on the plane, but as i read i found myself just bewitched by it. I couldn't put it down and since then i have read it at least 5 times.

Miranda Campbell had a perfect life, ordinary in every aspect. She had great parents, loyal friends, a wonderful boyfriend. But it all fell apart overnight. Her parents split up. Her friends betrayed her out of jealousy. Her boyfriend left her for another girl. Miranda would have fallen into despair if it wasn't for Garth, the mysterious older guy she falls in love with. But Garth claims he has a secret that will keep them apart forever. Miranda is determined to prove him wrong, and will do whatever it takes. I highly reccommend this book. I was rooting for Miranda the whole time. And the end was a real cliff-hanger.

There are in-depth chapters on distributed PowerBuilder applications and building multi-lingual applications. These two topics are of interest to me. The chapters walked me through all the steps to distribute an application and to make our application multi-lingual. There are a lot of samples and the code is really simple to follow. There is also a lot of coverage of other "Enterprise" issues.

I really liked the book. It has a lot of good ideas about distributed applications, internet applications and powerbuilder 6. There is also a lot about Oracle and Sybase.

This text is very insightful and wounderfully written, however, I would consider using this book solely for lectures and theory. There are very few examples and and many topics are simply glossed over. If you would like to have a great deal of "head knowledge" in regards to PowerBuilder, this is the text for you. If you are a hands on developer, this book will leave you stranded, smart, but stranded! If you have a need to go into a meeting knowing all the buzz-words and PowerBuilderees, buy this book.

If you want to develop systems for your clients, keep surfing!

The author did say that "this is not a tutorial", he's right, it's not a tutorial, it's not even a reference text. Save your money!

I almost did not buy this book. I read the reviews and the book received a pretty bad review from one reader. Fortunately I found it in the book store and took a look at it - I was impressed. This is a pratical book for experienced developers, not Sybase promotional literature. It covers a lot of advanced material (with examples) and the authors seem to speak from experience. I took a look at the reviews again an noticed the poor review was from a reader in public school. So I guess I you should not buy this book if you are learning PowerBuilder. I DO recommend the book for experienced developers.

This is an excellent book for both beginners and those with some knowledge of DNS and how it works. It starts with the basics and includes how DNS relates to TCP/IP and the OSI model. It continues with setting up your DNS servers and troubleshooting. It continues on with more advanced concepts and security issues. All this is in a very readable format.

I have read a few in the "Dummies" series and found them to be very good, but not as high level as the titles would suggest. This book is, however, very high level. It is very basic. If you know nothing about DNS, this is the book for you. If you have a basic understanding of DNS, then I would not recommend this book.

This book pretty much unveiled the mysteries behind DNS. What used to seems like the science for only network engineers, now seem so easy to understand and practical.

If you are new to the world of networking, and want to do deeper, this book is a great launch pad.

The book is so so. It's really not for anyone that doesn't have a working knowledge networks or computers. There are sections that are not very well-explained and i've run across grammatical errors.

The book is not without some value but it could be much better written. I wonder if Mike Minasi has written any books on DNS...his books are usually pretty good. :)

After hearing a sample track for this product, I was interested in the concept of telling a story while teaching a language.
I knew things were going to be different however when I uploaded it to my mp3 player and saw the total run time was barely two hours. Regardless of how good the program may be, that is far too short a time to teach anything worth while.
To my unpleasant surprise the opening intro is actually about a fourth of the entire audio "story" itself. Their is a great deal of potential here, but none that is realized.
Dr. Blair's "amazing new method of language learning" consists of memory association, a tool that can be useful or completely counter-productive. For example, one of the first phrases introduced in the lessons is "ohyasumi". It tells us to remember it like someone saying "oh ya? sue me!" in English. Now does that make any sense? Wouldn't it make more sense to memorize the actual meaning of the word, (rest, break, day off) then to memorize several english words that do not even relate to it? Aside from a few exceptions, all of the phrases are introduced to you in this way. And while I could easily remember the non-related english words I did in fact have to look the word up to write this.
I have purchased many Japanese audio products to listen to at work and this is by far the worst. You will make confused associations learning this way, and later on when you try to use the actual meanings will find it much like trying to drive on the other side of the road in Europe.
Dr. Blair should include a personal apology on each box of this product.

I bought this item to accompany a Japanese language class I was taking. My wife and I are going to Japan and we decided it would be great to use in the car on an extended road trip we were taking prior to leaving.
Easy to use and follow along. Good beginning phrases and expressions. JB

I have listened to many different language programs, and this one is by far the best. This one is actually fun to listen to and I've learned so much so quickly. Most informative and great value!

I've listened to several of the language programs in this series, and I'm consistently impressed by the freshness and effectiveness of their approach.

Though the programs have their comic side--hard to believe in a language instruction program--they have clearly been put together with expertise into the language learning process. I'm no linguist, but the mix of techniques seems to be a significant improvement over the rote vocabulary rehashes of other series.

The CD-ROM full of information and practice tips just puts it over the top. A great program and a great value!

A team composed of an MD (Blair A. Keagy) and a CPA (Marci S. Thomas) created this comprehensive guidance resource covering the widest spectrum of mission-critical practice management topics and including contributions by multiple specialists:

1) Budgeting for Physician Practices (Marci S. Thomas).
2) Revenue Cycle (Lou Porn, Polly Minugh).
3) Understanding the Cost of Providing Services (Suriya H. Grima, John A. Grima).
4) Taxation and Physician Practices (Anne M. McGeorge).
5) Capital Investment Decisions (Marci S. Thomas, Elisabeth Fowlie Mock).
6) Monitoring Financial Performance (Teresa L. Edwards).
7) Negotiating Managed Care Contracts and Contract Management (Beacham Wray).
8) Federal and State Regulations (Bruce A. Johnson).
9) Corporate Compliance in a Medical Practice Setting (Bruce A. Johnson).
10) Risk Management (Kathryn Johnson).
11) Governance and Leadership in a Medical Practice (Blair A. Keagy).
12) Human Resource Management (Bruce J. Fried, Marci S. Thomas, Lisa L. Goodrich).
13) Physician Compensation (Lou Porn).
14) The Role of Nonphysician Clinicians in Medical Practice (Blair A. Keagy).
15) Impact of Nursing Workforce Issues on the Physician and Practice Manager (Elizabeth A. Arsenault).
16) Developing a Business Plan (Lou Porn).
17) Adding a New Service or Program to a Medical Practice (Blair A. Keagy).
18) Marketing a Practice (Karen McCall, Dan Dunlop).
19) Integrating a Clinical Research Program into a Medical Practice (William A. Marston).
20) Relationships Between Medical Practices and Community Hospitals (Blair A. Keagy).
21) Academic Medical Centers (Mary Jane Kagarise, Anthony A. Meyer).
22) Information Systems (David D. Potenziani).
23) Performance Improvement, Teamwork, and Monitoring Outcomes (Bette G. Brotherton, Larry Mandelkehr).
24) The Twenty-First-Century Medical Environment (George F. Sheldon).

It is the most comprehensive and academically solid practice management guide.

Yuval Lirov, Practicing Profitability - Billing Network Effect for Revenue Cycle Control in Healthcare Clinics and Chiropractic Offices: Collections, Audit Risk, SOAP Notes, Scheduling, Care Plans, and Coding

The structure of the book is excellent, and drive to an objective and quickly understending about a complex theme. It is more directed to hospitals and group (business effort) of physicians. It has not a commitment with a "day-by-day" aproach and with dynamic changes of consumer (patient) behavior.

Easy to read. Concepts clear and concise. All relevant topics covered.

I purchased this book as my husband and I are about to begin the process of opening our own Plastic Surgery Practice. While I am certain that this is an excellent read for a PhD candidate or a physician with an MBA, it is not for the average or even above average physician looking for advice and information concerning the management of a practice. It is most definitely an extremely in depth and detailed examination of all aspects of medical management. It presupposes that the reader is well-versed in fiscal policy, business law, and graduate level economics. I struggled with the book for several days before making it a gift to my brother-in-law who is an MBA student. At the core it is a textbook for a graduate business student and not for a physician.

John Caldwell, now a professor at Cambridge, is a man of humble beginnings. He grew up in Cheapside, and he has little tolerance for London gentry. When he meets Eleanor Whitcombe ("Lady" Whitcombe, a widow), he expects her to radiant and uppity. However, she is not what he expected. She aloof, not flashy, and overprotective of her son. Professor Caldwell is intrigued. The more he gets to know her, the more he wants to unravel her mystery. Why would any lady of society choose to tuck herself away in a small town?

Wherever Eleanor goes, her scandalous past seems to follow her. She made bad judgements in the past, and she desperately seeks a new beginning. Her long-time friend, Lord De Vaux, introduces her to Professor Caldwell, whose endless questions are sometimes infuriating. Lady Whitcombe didn't want to let any man into her life... but Mr. Caldwell makes it difficult.

Bottom line? Catherine Blair delivers another enjoyable story. It is bold and romantic, and very easy to read. While the characters were not always loveable (they have their faults--especially Eleanor), you find yourself rooting for them in the end. As Caldwell unravels the mystery, so does the reader. There are little surprises the whole way through. Overall, very enjoyable!

This was the first book I read by Blair and I loved it. She is very creative and keeps the story interesting. I loved the personalities of both Lady Eleanor and John Caldwell. I always like it when a child is involved too. This was another one I could not put down and handed around to a lot of friends to read. They loved it too!

Here is a slightly different traditional regency from Zebra. Our heroine, the widowed Lady Eleanor, is indeed a woman with a past. Stifled in an arranged marriage,
she dared to take a chance at love and was abandoned by the father of her child.
She fled to a small town outside Cambridge and even though her husband claimed the child as his own, she has lived a secluded life with her son trying to live down
her notorious past.

John Caldwell is a sweet Beta guy. He's puzzled as to why this Lady is so
cold towards him initially but since he's not a member of the ton, he doesn't know
of her past. As John is a self made man and has to watch his step in Trinity
College society, he soon learns that his growing friendship with the reclusive
widow and her son could cost him dearly.

Catherine Blair has written a sweet, gentle character centered love story.
Since it's set outside of London and the Season, we get a refreshingly
different look at regency society and a reminder that those who fell from
grace did indeed have to worry about "what society would say."

The main characters are people I felt happy spending more time with
and for whom I rooted all the way. Especially nice is the relationship
between John and Eleanor's son William who truly does act like an
eight year old boy. The pace of the romance is slow and steady
and never gave me the feeling I was watching 21st century people
playing at dress-up.

If I have a qualm, it is in how Eleanor is suddenly accepted by
a large section of the female society around Cambridge and in
her small village after having spent eight years there feeling as if
she would be shunned if she dared poke her head outside. The
resolution of the outside conflict also felt a bit fairy tale like, even
if it was nice to see the minor villain get his comeuppance.

Catherine Blair's latest Regency-era is not your usual fare: it features a nobly born heroine with a scandalous past and a humbly born hero who also happens to have a chip on his shoulders. Tied to a previous novel "A Scholarly Gentleman," "A Notorious Lady" focuses on the story of the scandalous Lady Eleanor Whitcombe, whose painful and colourful past, affected the lives of both the hero and heroine of "A Scholarly Gentleman." This is Lady Eleanor's tale.

After her "fall from grace," beautiful Lady Eleanor Whitcombe retired to Potton (a small village near Cambridge University) in order to raise her son, William. In Potton, Lady Eleanor hoped to live down her notorious reputation and to be left in peace. She has only one friend, Jordan Blakley DeVaux, who knows the most intimate details of her past, but who, nevertheless, has stood a friend, helping her move to Potton and helping her raise William. And for years, he has been urging Lady Eleanor to shed her quiet life and to socialize more; and for years Lady Eleanor has turned a deaf ear to his pleas, until now. A chance meeting with a colleague of DeVaux's raises all kinds of feelings in Lady Eleanor that she had thought dead: anger, disdain and attraction. Professor John Caldwell, Lady Eleanor discovers, just happens to be a totally aggravating, judgemental and sinfully attractive man, whom she quickly realizes, is attracted to her in spite of himself. Should she unbend and allow the man to become a friend? Years of being judged, insulted, cut and propositioned has taught Lady Eleanor caution. But would any harm come from allowing John Caldwell to become a friend, especially since William likes him so? And what to do about her conflicting feelings for John Caldwell? Will he be satisfied with a respectable friendship? Would she? Suddenly Lady Eleanor is confronted with decisions and choices long closed to her...

"A Notorious Lady" was a very well written book, that made for some sobering reading. Catherine Blair did a magnificent and unsentimental job of painting Lady Eleanor's plight. Not many Regency-era romance novels possess heroines who are fallen women, and the author's stark rendering of what Lady Eleanor's life has been like since her move from London, raised the level of this particular novel above most others, I thought. It was truly easy to empathize and sympathize with Lady Eleanor. John Caldwell, on the other hand, was a little more difficult to relate to, mainly because he keeps failing to come up to snuff when he's obviously supposed to! But even that quibble fades away since he behaves satisfactorily in the end, when it really counts. However, while this is a well written, nicely pace, out-of-the-ordinary novel, I did feel that more could have been made of the romance between Lady Eleanor and John. Somehow the story of Lady Eleanor's sobering circumstances somewhat eclipsed the romance angle of the story. However, this quibble aside, "A Notorious Lady" is still worth recommending as a good, worthwhile read.

Richard Blair and Kathleen Goodwin have a deep love and appreciation of the Point Reyes area that comes across beautifully in this book.

I like the way the book combines the natural and cultural history of Point Reyes. You can get a feel for this by looking at this partial listing of the table of contents:

Selected Fauna
The Ocean
Lighthouses
Weather in West Marin
The Mount Vision Fire
Tomales Bay
Clayton Lewis of Tomales Bay
Oysters
Farming in Marin
Mount Tamalpais
Classic Hikes

The book is rich in stunning photographs, and I learned a lot from the text. I was really absorbed by the story of their experience of the Mount Vision fire. While I tend to be most interested in the natural history of Point Reyes, I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed the biographical sketch of Clayton Lewis and other bits about the people of the area; it's a view into another side of Point Reyes I knew little about. The photos really capture some magical but fleeting moments of light and color that happen at Point Reyes.

I'm so happy to be living in an era where self-publishing is becoming a more accessible option, so that books like this can flourish. I can really appreciate the labor of love that must have been behind this beautiful book. Bravo!

A problem with self-publishing is that there are many opportunities to miss important publication steps like a simple copy-edit for grammar. The pictures in this book are lovely; the text is full of grammatical errors. Still, the authors' love for Point Reyes shows.

When I think about Point Reyes, images of beautiful lighthouse, geographically peculiar landscape, boats on the serene Tomales Bay. Point Reyes Visions has captured some stunning views of Point Reyes. The book is unique in its coverage on oysters, the fire, and lives on the peninsula. If you are looking for many breath-taking views of Point Reyes landscapes, Point Reyes Visions would be a disappointment.

MaryKae and I saw this book at the Olema Inn this afternoon when we stopped for a latte' and a mocha. It was on the coffee table in the lobby. The photographs are wonderful. Marin County is a treasure, and this book captures its beauty exquisitely. It will be a number one selection for us to send to friends for Christmas so we can share with them the beauty of our beloved Marin County...

I've read all of the presidential sites books, and this is the most informative one out there.

It's not flashy -- there aren't a ton of pictures -- but it has all the info you want, including where every president was born, lived and is buried. It also includes president libraries.

In the back it has a listing of sites by state, which comes in handy when traveling.

Of course, this is a reference book -- it's not for light reading. (I've read reviews by some Amazon readers who bought reference books and say they're "boring.")

If you travel and want to visit the presidential sites, this is the book you need.

I found this book far inferior to the Clotworthy book and particularly Brian Lamb's book, both of which I own. The quality of the comments is lacking and the photo quality quite inferior. Maybe this book is well suited for someone not truly interested in Presidential history, but then, would they make the effort to visit these places anyway? A big disappointment.

I have taken to working historical sites into my vacations, mostly Civil War and, since last year, Presidential sites. My interest in Presidential sites has increased with C-Span's 25th anniversary series on U.S. Presidents. A friend told me about the book and I bought it. I like the format (organized by President) and it has been very useful in helping me plan an upcoming trip into Virginia, with various Presidential related stops. Not that I'd carry it in the car all the time (since there are no Presidential sites here in Wisconsin) but when I'm on one of my road trips, this goes next to the atlas.

If you're a presidential buff like me, you'll love this book. Whenever I travel, I love to look up and visit sites relating to the presidents. Before this book, I had to rely on general maps, which have lots of limitations for this kind of thing. Now, I just need to carry this book.

It's very well organized. The two basic organization schemes are by president and by state. The first scheme constitutes the main part of the book. It's very well laid out, with sections for different life events (birth, death, inauguration, etc.). Each of these sections includes clearly-delineated addresses and hours. There's just enough "story" to know what you're visiting, but without being bogged down in the details. There are also URLs for those sites that have web pages!

On the down side, I wish there were more pictures. They could have well fit in the grey boxes that say "travelogue" (I haven't a clue what those are for!). I also wish sites that aren't open to the public at least had addresses (it can't hurt just to look from the street).

Updated edition has a glossier cover. Corrected some of the issues from an earlier edition noted by some readers, but the book is basically the same as the earlier one - minus any small production errors. Has a great behind the scenes look at The Crow and Twilight Zone-The Movie and a rare look behind Bette Davis' last film The Wicked Stepmother. Also Amityville Horror story look at the real killings ands the movies tale.

Not to be confused by Reel Terror, a book containing the stories that influenced several sc-fi and horror movies. This book focuses on the tragic real life events surrounding some recognizable movies.

Be warned, the book is cheaply made and is 8.5 x 11, not a standard paperback size as I was expecting. For the price, I would recommend trying to find it at your local library over purchasing. But a good read, nonetheless.

The book was kind of interesting. The first few stories "The Crow" and "Twilight Zone, The Movie," were definitely eerie and gruesome. Loaded with details I didn't previous know. But for a book with the title Reel 'Horror', some of the stories were just plain boring. I thought the book was about actual deaths that took place during the filming of various movies. Only the first few movies were about mysterious or nasty deaths. The rest were just stories of production woes. Poltergeist did have deaths, but none occurring on set. Who cares about the production problems on Bette Davis' last film? It doesn't qualify as 'horror' in any way (although the director and producers probably disagree). The Jaws story wasn't terrifying at all. What was it doing in the book? And I couldn't get past the various typos throughout the book. There are at least 5 on every page. Some mistakes are too grievous to be overlooked. The author refers repeatedly to the director of Poltergeist as Tobe Cooper! (it's Hooper!!). Out of sheer curiosity, I looked up the cinematographer named on the Bette Davis story, and couldn't find his name in the database. His name is also not the name listed on the official credit of cinematographer who worked on the film. Hmmm...I simply had to check references after the Hooper incident! It makes me wonder about the credibility of the authors' references. While there may be an explanation for certain questions (perhaps the cinematographer quit halfway through production and was replaced?), I can't believe they mispelled a directors' name....Not very interesting. I'd try a different title than this for some real 'reel horror'.

Not all inclusive but this book has some interesting stories that I havent seen before. It's not the usual horror stuff that tries to talk about the themes or hidden meanings. This book is fun because it goes into the making of the movie. Some good coverage of Twilight Zone the movie, the Crow and the rare Bette Davis flick Wicked Stepmother. It also covers the usual making of big flicks like Exorcist, Jaws and Psycho, but it's the rare ones that make the book a treat. Small publisher so there's not a lot of money put into the printing. Quality is ok. Some nice pics, some typos, but overall an interesting read. I recommend if you like back story stuff around hollywood flicks.