1 comments about Passive Solar House Basics.

1. This book is 25 years old and the info is very basic (2 stars) and dated. It was originally published in 1977 as "Homegrown Sundwellings" and has not been updated (except for the cover and the title)....

1 comments about Idea of Building: Thought and Action in the Design and Production of Buildings.

1. Steven Groak was someone who liked to challenge conventional wisdom. He was commissioned to write this book by the Building Center Trust (London UK) on their 60th anniversary. I worked with Steven as his publisher on this book and it was clear to me from the start that he tried to maximise "the punch" for the limited number of pages we were working to.
   It's difficult to review this book since he covers so many topics, adds his own observations/experiences and highlights the work of the Architects that he felt excelled on the matter in question.
   I'm sure if he were still alive today I'd be chasing him for a second edition. This is an important book that I continue to recommend to students of Buildings and Architecture.

1 comments about On-Chip Inductance in High Speed Integrated Circuits.

1. I read the book cover to cover. It seems that authors collected their ideas presented in their IEEE papers and made them into a book. It does not cover extraction of inductance. It assuems that we know the parasetic inductance values. All of the analysis is compared to a prop. tool at IBM that a third party can not access to assess the merit of analysis. The ideas introduced in one chapter and visited over and over again in later chapters. However, if you can spare the money for the price of this book, it a nice book to have for inductance related collection and as a formula reference.

No comments about Architextiles (Architectural Design).

No comments about Why is construction so backward.

2 comments about Athens: Scenes from a Capital City.

1. Athens:Scenes from a Capitol City is not only artistically composed but the contents are presented in a way that serve both tourist and scholar. Old hands in Greece will be delighted by the verbal and pictorial information, while travelers can rely on it for accurate backround.
   
   Brenda L. Marder



2. John Cleave understands Athens, and he knows how to present his enhanced photographs in a clear and artistic fashion. The work of Mr Cleave and Didier Millet Publishers in Singapore helps to produce a truly quality book which one will not only want to have on the coffee table, but to read, as well. Worth every penny, and especially when his royalties go to The American Farm School in Greece, an extremely worthy hundred year old institution.

No comments about AutoCAD 2000 Assessment Exam Prep Manual.

No comments about Designing with Solar Power: A Source Book for Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV).

2 comments about Graphic Design on the Desktop: A Guide for the Non-Designer, 2nd Edition.

1. I just went through the book, the most important part i liked is its language which is very welcoming for a beginner. I know lots of graphic softwares very well, but unware of some basic designing fundamentals. This book showed me the way. Though the samples in the book is few and not very interesting but has lots of basic information written in compact form so that a beginner can refer back any time. The book is broken down into basic topics a designer should know and its related subtopics. I liked its exercises at end of each chapter. May not be interesting to a person who is already a professional, but its a very handy book for anybody who want to become a designer with limited knowledge about it. I think one should go through it before trying out very hi-end designing books.



2. This book was required reading for a publication class taughtby Toor. In general, the book is extremely simple, even simplistic,and gives the reader only a cursory glance at desktop publishing, suggesting many obvious cliches and "tried and true" design solutions rather than training the reader's visual sense. Some of the design examples are crude and amateurish. Ironically, the book is poorly designed as well, making liberal use of overused default graphics software "effects" and muddy, low-resolution graphics. Very disappointing... I would suggest this book only to non-designers who do want to really learn anything about design, but are only looking for some easy answers.

1 comments about The Cape Cod House.

1. Photographs in this book are mostly black and white images from the Library of Congress Historic American Building Survey (HABS). Although it's a nice selection, these photographs were taken in the 1930's and are available online through the Library of Congess website. There are some contemporary houses and some color photographs. Plans are few and displayed in small images. Text is informative. Overall, expected much more.