Blair Books

Very well written and gives a plethera of details and information on how to be successful at calling in predators. My success went up several fold after reading and following Mr Blairs recommendations, he obviously has a lot of experience and the ability to relate those to the reader well, along with his wry mirth. The book contains information on coyotes, bobcats, cougar, bear, and some of the smaller predators. A must read book for the varmint hunter or anyone who would like to call in predators just for watching. Highly recommend this book.

I thought this book was great. Randy's father is a famous movie producer. He comes to Acorn Falls because his next shoot is there, and he promises to hang out with Randy. But he blows her off, makes promises he can't keep, and bonds with her friends more than he does with her! But in the end it turned out all right. Go on and read it to find out how daddy dear fixed everything up.

I bought this book new with my babysitting money in 1970, when I was 13, and read all 600 pages by flashlight under the covers, staying up until 3AM because I couldn't put it down. Now, 36 years later, I've dusted it off and am reading it again. I was moved to find out that the handwritten sign on the wall, "The once and future king', which was seen in the movie "Bobby", was mentioned in this book.

OK episodic history of Raleigh, mostly from the archives of the Raleigh News & Observer (N & O) newspaper. No attempt to make the narrative flow, but some interesting pictures and verbal histories from people who were there.

In ReCalling Early Canada: Reading the Political in Literary and Cultural Production, twelve scholars perform and critique acts of "recall", their subjects ranging from 19th century fiction to 20th century acts of parliament. In so doing, the writers strike familiar chords in Canadian literature criticism--feminism, postcolonialism, nationalism--on unfamiliar texts--the work of West Coast artist Frederick Alexcee and B.C. photograph archives, to name but two.
Indeed, the unfamiliarity of many of the texts discussed (except to a few Canlit scholars and trivia buffs) constitutes much of the collection's value. And if, as a student of Canadian literature, names such as Napoleon Bourassa, William Kirby, and Letitia Mactavish Hargrave (three of the writers discussed) do not ring a bell, those of Benedict Anderson, Ann McClintock, Terry Goldie, Michel Foucault, and Northrop Frye (who serve as critical touchstones in the volume) probably will. A nodding acquaintance with these usual suspects of litcrit will serve you well as you delve into this recollection of early Canada--as an English BA I was able to follow, more or less, the various arguments, and only occasionally found myself dizzied by the cross-currents of critical jargon. Unfortunately, I found that my zeal for further reading was sometimes frustrated by inadequate cross-referencing between the articles and the bibliography: some citations are hard to identify, others appear to be missing. Nonetheless, with primary texts as little-studied as many of those taken up here, any article can be a goldmine. Moreover, the volume's appeal extends beyond specific research interests.
The collection follows a few key themes--gender, race, and the canon spring quickly to mind--and the editors have created a text in which diverse scholars cross and combine fruitfully. For instance, Jennifer Blair's article on 19th century nun's tales and Kate Higginson's critique of Theresa Gowanlock's and Theresa Delaney's captivity narratives examine similar discourses of femininity and their production and circulation in 19th century Canadian society. Perhaps because I've read neither primary text, I found the two articles more illuminating in combination than separately, and I found this experience repeated throughout the volume. Pairs of articles often complete each other: Andrea Cabajsky makes a lengthy and eloquent argument for greater comparative study of French and English Canadian literature; R. D. Stacey's chapter, which immediately follows, executes just such a comparison of 19th century historical fiction. The articles in ReCalling Early Canada were developed for and at a 2003 conference of the same name; the thematic coherence and complementarity of the collection recreate the "stimulating intellectual companionship" of that event (Blair et al., xiv).
Finally, I appreciated this collection's concern for contemporary acts of recall. To a greater or lesser extent, each chapter sheds light not just on literary and cultural production in "early Canada," but the ways in which that literary and cultural production, and early Canada itself, are framed in more recent acts of recall. The collection not only draws attention to little-known, little-studied aspects of Canada's literary and cultural history, but urges the reader toward a more critical appraisal of Canadian history-making.

My interest in the topic of workplace theft began, unexpectedly, after a recent outbreak of crime in my office. As a federal employee, I had always considered myself immune to the disruptive impact of workplace theft. That naivete ended when I became seperated with some objects of high sentimental value. Confused and distraught, I looked for some answer to this violation and began to research the available literature. Neil Snyder's book was the first one I discovered, and his writing proved to be especially supportive and helpful. His chapters explained the risks, the statistics, and essentially lifts the wool from over your eyes to reveal that the successful workplace is a defensive workplace. I have since formed a watchgroup and a worplace preparedness commission to help institute Snyder's and others teachings about this very important topic. A must read for anyone concerned with their safety while on the job.

This is a nice guide to ideas for you and your partner, or you alone, or you and friends to do things around Tennessee. We have used this to check out a few of the sites around the area together, but since my other half is not always so "romantic," I can always venture out on my own or I can grab a friend or relative to explore with me.

These are nice little spots that are tucked away that you may have driven passed in Tennessee that you never realized, or maybe you saw a sign for it, and wondered what it was all about. This is a nice guide that will help you explore a little bit more about the area.

I expected this to be a typical "Christian" book, with references to Bible verses and characters. What I found instead was an entertaining compilation of true stories, told without tidy morals at the end. Once I got over my preconceived notion, and stopped searching for summaries, I found exactly what the title promised: Sage Advice: stories from seasoned youth workers.
I especially appreciate the authors' candor. Even the most gifted person, with the best intentions, has occasional regrets and missteps; and the authors admit those.
I noticed a printer's error and a couple of grammatical errors (eg. bare/bear), but the book was written in a lively style. The title and cover art are clever.
Any person - parent, teacher, mentor - who deals with young people can find positive guidance and reassurance in this book.

Although I don't know that I could define "serious golfer" off hand, you might fit in that category if:

You have ever played at the National Golf Links of America
Want to know how the USGA came to be
Wonder what golf was like in the late 19th century in the US
Dream of building your own course, but have no clue what "good design" is

Personally, I fit into the last slot. Most of us play rounds or look at yardage books and try to figure out why one course is on the top 100 of every magazine, and another never seems to see the light of day in print. For people like this, we need books on golf architecture. This book contains, arguably, one of the most concise takes on the subject.

It would be misleading to say that architecture is the only matter covered. Actually, it only accounts for about a quarter of the volume in total. The rest is the personal narrative of Macdonald as the pioneer of golf in America, and as one of the founders of the USGA. It also discusses early tournaments in the US, which may be of interest to history buffs. Much of this is probably required knowledge to have any sort of intelligent discussion on golf history, and is worth a quick read at the least.

Given that Macdonald was involved with the USGA for the decades after its inception, he also was there to witness the begining of problems that still plague the game today. Namely, the question of equipment, particularly ball, regulation, and amateur status rules. A person wondering what the current USGA is doing might be interested to know what they did in the past, if anything to gain a little perspective on how times have changed. Incidentally, Macdonald himself was dead against allowing the "bane of professionalism" and the "self-driven manufacturers" from infecting the game of golf. Conversely, he was against equipment regulation for the most part, even the ball, although he does suggest making a requirement for balls to float in water to allow more possibilities for play and to keep lost balls to a minimum.

The appendix contains reference material such as a sample of the earliest rules of golf, and those used by the R & A in the mid 19th century.

The only thing I would have liked to see in the book, as it is a reprint, was more detail regarding the layout of the National. That is, diagrams and drawings of the routing and holes. Photographs can only say so much, and while we have a routing diagram for the Mid-ocean Club, we have none for the National, even though it got its own chapter. It is a course that most likely needs to be experienced to be understood by any measure, but any additional clues as to the design would help us understand Macdonald's efforts that much better.

In the preface to this book the author writes that he was first intrigued with this kind of book during his childhood as he read books by a trio of well-known authors of this type of book. Among the books he mentioned was a book by Nancy Roberts that also led to my fascination with ghost stories. I immediately knew that I had found a kindred spirit, pun intended.

There are a few flaws that I found in this book but the obvious respect the author holds for his subject matter more than make up for any shortcomings. There are very few recent accounts by witnesses to be found in this book and those accounts always add greatly to this type book. There are also a few stories that have nothing at all to do with ghosts and that always gets under my skin. Much to the author's credit however, it is very clear that he has an open mind on the subject of ghosts and is not writing a simple collection of what he views as pure folklore. That kind of condescending attitude can ruin the best of ghost books and it is not present here at all.

Daniel Barefoot takes his readers on a spiritual journey all along North Carolina's coast, an area where supernatural events are to be found in abundance. He has done an excellent job of avoiding ghost stories that have been told and retold in numerous other books and only the story of, "Aunt Nora" was familiar to me. Considering the many North Carolina ghost books in my collection that in itself was quite a feat for this author. Also, Barefoot tells his readers how to reach some of the sites he writes about, especially if the reader will be likely to see something that is mentioned in the story. On a recent trip to coastal North Carolina I passed very close to some of the points mentioned and I really wish I had read this book before my trip.

Barefoot's writing style is very pleasing and it takes no time to breeze through this book. At the end you will find yourself wanting more and I'm happy to say that there is more to be had. This is only volume one in a series of three volumes that cover every county in North Carolina. Maybe I'll get the other two volumes for Christmas.

Read this book on a cool windy October evening like I did and you will almost be able to hear the Tar River banshee as she wails outside your window. You might even catch a glimpse of Whit Stallings as he checks to make sure you are not after his treasure.