Boone Books

This is one of the best books to be written about strategy, playing in the sun, sizing up your opponents. Much of Paul's advice would be valid today. Tremendous help for players competing in tournament or team tennis. I have used much of his advice in coaching players for over 24 years.

Pascal Quignard's reconstruction of life and works of Roman novelist Albucius severely disturbs confidence in our "modernity" and our courage as spectators to 'all that is human." Its aggressive brief 'stories' and still more aggressive commentary on our expectations place even a mature reader back to some fearful beginning of experience. This is an uncommon book in form, and substance, by an uncommon and learned novelist and critic of present and past fictional norms.

The text covers the Slick et al criteria for Malingering and suggests that this be renamed "noncredible performance" since the former implies conscious effort which at this time is not quantifiable. However, they do admit, fortunately, that there is a significant qualitative difference between the malingerer and the patient with somatoform disorder discernable to medical professionals in the absence of testing protocols.

Within the confines of Neuropsychology I would not disagree.


The book covers:

1) Tests specifically targeting "non credible performance" forced choice measures and non forced choice measures with a nice collection of studies replete with sensitivity and specificity of each test. In addition there are entire sections of test comparisons and most importantly correlations which emphasize that one test, like the TOMM, is meaningless. Contrary to popular opinion the TOMM is NOT sensitive ( recall this measures the probabilistic truth of the implication: if patient is malingerer then the test is positive OR what is the same logical statement: If the test is negative then the patient is not a malinger. Hence the Mneumonic SNout - sensitive test rules out disease ). As is turns out the TOMM is not as specific as we would like it to be ( recall this measures the probabilistic truth of the implication: if patient is not malingering then the test is negative OR what is the same logical statement: If the test is positive then the patient is a malinger. Hence the Mneumonic SPin - specific test rules in disease ). In other words there is a non-zero false positive rate, albeit very very small. The authors contend that multiple minimally correlated ( at least 3 ) measures be administered increasing the specificity and sensitivity considerably. Not suprisingly, in poor effort NON simulator studies ( compensation seeking clients ) 30% of the individuals passed TOMM AND failed WMT ( Word Memory Test ). The failure was at a level worse than early confirmed Alzheimer patients and mentally retarded children lending strong support to the argument that passing the TOMM really means nothing. Yet perplexingly this is often the only formal validity test administered ( if there is one ) .
Non forced choice measures are discussed and offer the advantage of poor detection by the would be malingerer and hence less opportunity to pass validity testing yet simultaneous knowingly fail formal measures of cognitive functioning.

2) Other integrated measures which serve the dual purpose of formally measuring an ability and at the same time offering information about validity. Unfortunately most such measures are inferior to dedicated "non credible" performance testing. Eg- IQ, memory, executive function and sensorimotor tests.

3) Nice historical overview of MMPI 1 then 2 and then the addition of validity checks ( F family of imbedded scales looking at symptom exaggeration ) since it was recognized that the scales could be easily manipulated by respondents. The issue with F scales is that a negative result does not rule out malingering ( SNout- sensitivity issue ) and they have a bias towards psychotic symptoms not adequately capturing somatic symptoms. The authors then review the data of the Fake Bad Scale ( FBS ) pointing out it's use, limitations and interpretation and suggest that the MMP 2 with F scales be administered along with the FBS which increases sensitivity and specificity.

4) Several excellent chapters on cognitive effort testing in special populations ( mTBI, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Pain and Fatigue, Feigned Mental Retardation, Epilepsy etc

Overall a fantastic succinct overview of validity measures, uses, and error rates.

FYI the authors agree that Neuropsych testing in the absence of MULTIPLE measures of validity is suspect.

This was one of the best books I have ever read! Even though it was a little old it was great. I think I liked it even more because it was true and I had been to the places described and could follow it on the map. This was a great book that I would read over again and again!

This is one of the best books about the Aztecs I have seen. Despite its price it offers great and beautiful color photographs as well as very interesting and well written essays. You will not regret it!!!

I have no idea whether the movie, "Remember the Titans" was an accurate portrayal of the events depicted in it. Knowing what Hollywood likes to do to such stories, I have my doubts. However, if you want a real, unvarnished account of an African-American coach leading a southern high school football team through its first year of integration, this is the book for you.

Black Coach is a contemporaneous account of one such coach, Jerome Evans, and his efforts to build a unified team -- and by extension, a unified community -- at the newly integrated Walter Williams High School in Burlington, NC. The book, written in the early 70s, uses the language, images and points of view unique to that time period. This might make it dated in some ways, but also makes it a more reliable primary source.

The author is better known for writing, "A False Spring," which recounted his struggles as a minor league baseball player. This book has little in common with "False Spring" except for Jordan's densely-packed writing style -- you get more out his 200 pages than most writers' 300 -- and clear perceptions. By that I mean that he is able to take a complex subject and eliminate the peripheral, confusing elements and express the remainder in a manner that makes it appear completely natural.

This is the work of a skilled reporter who, even at the beginning of his career, has the rare ability to induce his subjects to reveal their most closely-held feelings.

"Blind Boone Piano Prodigy" is a triumphant biographical telling of the life story of one of the most accomplished, and most neglected, American composers and musicians. John William Boone, born during the final months of the American Civil War, and blind from the age of six months, was once a household name in the United States. Never rightfully acknowledged as the true Father of Ragtime, Boone nevertheless toured major cities in the United States and Canada as a concert pianist, wrote countless original compositions and arrangements in folk and classical style, and was most famous for his ability to accurately recreate any composition at the piano after only one hearing.

The task of placing this remarkable story in the hands of young readers would be daunting at best. For award-winning author Madge Harrah, it has obviously been a labour of love. She has been acquainted with the legend and lore of Boone since her college years, and she has remained involved in the legacy of his amazing life across the decades. This hardcover volume is her gift to children everywhere: the story of a youngster who could have allowed the stigma of his ethnicity and his disability to turn him into a bitter young man, but who instead chose to rise to new heights of achievement which were only being dreamed of in this young country for African-Americans in the years following the Civil War.

Harrah's writing style is engaging and moving; she is a natural storyteller and has a knack for placing the reader in the context of the story without the endless explications which often clutter historical books for young readers. From his early years of learning to cope with blindness whilst falling in love with music, through his exciting years as a touring concert pianist, Harrah weaves an exciting story which proves the old adage that truth is often stranger than fiction. There is no trace of pity in her writing, nor should there be; the motto of Boone's music company was "Merit, Not Sympathy, Wins."

An added bonus is the opening Author's Note and Postcript in which Harrah shares her personal story of discovering Boone through his last manager, Wayne B. Allen, and of her continuing fascination with this American music legend. Released in a beautiful edition by CarolRhoda Books, the volume is amply illustrated with photos, many of which were taken by the author's husband. Although "Blind Boone Piano Prodigy" is geared to young readers, it will be enjoyed by people of all ages. It is a terrific addition to the small but growing library of material newly available on John William 'Blind' Boone.

If you are thinking of a gift for someone that happens to be an Alumnus of Appalachian State, this is it! A great look into the past. Lots of pictures, lots of information. It offers up some geneology information, but not focused on it at all, a great read. No color pictures, what a drag.

I love to hunt elk, deer and antelope and wrote the book Colorado's Biggest Bucks and Bulls, so I found this book very helpful when including B&C big game from Colorado in my book listings and index. The field photographs are excellent and the design is clever. I am especially fond of the records listings because it helps me plan my future hunts.

The book is phenomenal. Anyone interested in trophy North American big game animals should deffinitely check out this book.