3 comments about Design for Victory: World War II Poster on the American Home Front.

1. This beautifully designed small coffee table paperback is the perfect guide thru US WW2 patriotic industrial and gov't posters. Yes, sometimes one may have felt "Big Brother" is watching, since these artistic posters decorated the walls of factories, building sides, and seemingly near everywhere during the war years. The message invariably was "Be A Nurse", "Help the Troops", "Contribute to the effort", and most important "Don'T SHIRK ON THE JOB..MAKE EVERY MOMENT COUNT FOR THE BOYS OVERSEAS!" Of course similar posters were designed and displayed by all combatants, and their messages were all near identical. The postwar industrial posters are also noted, and they were definitely childish at worst, compared with the noble and heroic aspirations sought in the best of the War Posters!



2. "Are you doing all that you can?"

   That simple question, asked in a popular WWII, finger-pointing poster, captures the patriotic spirit that pervaded America.

   Posters, according to the authors, deserve credit as "the ideal agent for making war aims the personal mission of every citizen." Further, "Poster campaigns aimed not only to increase productivity in factories, but to enlarge people's views of their wartime responsibilities." Rockwell's enduring classic images, The Four Freedoms, illuminate this ideological trend.

   How did wartime posters inspire military recruits, help increase domestic production, and sell war bonds during WWII? What were the different strategies used by government agencies to promote American ideals, self sacrifice, and gas rationing to a scared and confused public? Which advertising methods and artistic techniques worked best? Why?

   This concise, colorful guide examines the power, poetry, and politics of American WWII posters in five thematic chapters. Delving beneath the surface of over 150 colorful posters, the authors showcase and analysis the zig-zag evolution of wartime posters.

   Personally, I found chapter three (Art, Advertising, and Audience) to be a fascinating summary of vigorous debate among message makers. How should the war effort be framed? Is it a struggle for truth and democracy against terror and fascism? Is it a battle for survival? Should the focus be on personal fears, national achievements, or heroic freedom fighting?

   George Gallup, later of pollster fame, urged posters be designed to appeal to "the lower third" of the population. Other analysts warned that the Office Of Facts and Figures early communication efforts were too abstract and contained too much information. "It would be wonderful indeed if the psychological war could be fought on an intellectual basis," warned two critics "if the American people who will win or lose this war were so educated and conditioned that we could bring them understanding on the terms we all prefer. But, through no fault of ours, they unfortunately are so educated. And in pitting the strategy of truth against the strategy of terror, we cannot stop to educate - we must win a war. We must state the truth in terms that will be understood by all levels of intelligence. Further, we must dramatize the truth." Powerful images soon replaced statistics in posters.

   The considerable efforts to coordinate wartime messages across departments also generated vigorous debate. Eventually, the newly formed Office of Wartime Information identified six basic propaganda themes for general information programs: The nature of the Enemy; the nature of our Allies; the need to work; the need to fight; the need to sacrifice; and Americans and our ideals.

   This visually appealing book also carefully examines the proliferation of wartime posters, full of patriotic messages, created by non-profit organizations, unions, and corporations. The last chapter, Postwar Aims and Private Aspirations, focuses on the impact of Sheldon-Claire company posters celebrating the middle class home, the traditional nuclear family, consumerism, and free enterprise. It also features a haunting gas mask poster produced and distributed by Kroger Grocery store chain.

   The epilogue, the weakest section by far, argues that the change in postwar workplace posters reflected a more condescending air toward workers, explicit anti-union messages, and the renewnal of industrial conflict between management and labor. This thin section seems both out-of-place and a disjointed conclusion.

   Design for Victory, despite this somewhat weak ending, should satisfy the curiousities of graphic designers, artists, historians, and scholars interested in advertising methods and persuasive communication.




3. Anyone intersted in the graphic stylism, the stark imagery, the sometimes disturbing and sometimes hilarious generalizations made in American Propaganda during World War Two should check out this book. It contains many posters that I've not seen in print before, but unfortunately leaves many others out. From an academic, historical perspective the documentation and historical explanations for the U.S. propaganda machine are too brief. Still, the poster reproductions are fantastic, mostly in color. I would also reccomend Anthony Rhodes "Propaganda: The Art of Persuasion" for a look at other countries' propaganda from the same time period.

1 comments about Wine & Design (Designpockets).

1. This is a small book, only slightly larger than a pocket book. While the book is full of pictures, the text is disappointing. All text is written in five different languages. In trying to meet the needs of so many, the book has fallen short in delving in the subject with any depth what so ever.

2 comments about Immaterial/Ultramaterial: Architecture, Design, and Materials (Millennium Matters).

1. Toshiko Mori has sadly fallen into the trap of confusing the practice of architecture with merely writing about it. This once-talented architect has now become a parody of herself, a self-important academic smugly satisfied with the sound of her own rhetoric. As for the book, it documents new materials and systems. But the presentation is dry, more in the form of an industrial catalog, and lacks any substantive commentary on architecture itself. And I can't help wondering how many trees might have been saved if Mori and her clique edited out the repetitive and cliched use of words like "challenging", "distorting", "alienating" etc. Architectura and materials evolve; the first use of them, however experimental, is not always good. Like Mori's work, it is stylish, but not classic. Faddish, but not timeless. Pass this one up before it becomes embarrassing to have it on your bookshelf.



2. some very interesting projects by Harvard Design School students. projects are critically approached, its not just eye candy. seem to be on the cutting edge of this kind of exploration. and some interesting interviews of practioners

1 comments about The New Boutique: Fashion And Design (Design New Titles).

1. impressive design projects from all over the world, well photographed. i've showed this book to a few industry ppl and they were really excited about it. i highly recommend it to anyone who works or interested in retail design and fashion. there's a lot to see and learn from it- for architerctures, interior designers, and stylists.

No comments about Spacecraft: Fleeting Architecture and Hideouts.

No comments about Introduction to AutoCAD 2008: A Modern Approach (Autodesk Design Institute Press).

1 comments about Writing Testbenches using SystemVerilog.

1. The book's title is a bit misleading. It does NOT teach you Systemverilog (for Verification) -- there is a separate book by Chris Spear ("Systemverilog for Verification") sold by the same publisher that focuses more on Systemverilog syntax and language features. This book is NOT a tutorial (i.e. beginner's guide) on how to write testbenches -- although it does go through the basic concepts, objectives, and challenges in writing maintainable/re-usable testbench environments, most of the textbook examples are too cryptic/advanced for an entry-level engineer.
   
   So then, what does this book focus on? Well, the book focuses on general guidelines to writing re-usuable, high-level testbenches. The author uses Systemverilog as the language to communicate his concepts, but as I said before, the book does NOT teach you Systemverilog. (To the author's credit, he is very upfront about that in foreward/intro section.)
   
   Who should read it:
   Experienced verification engineers with a basic understanding of Systemverilog (and why it's superior to Verilog), who want some ideas/examples of how to deploy Systemverilog's advanced features (like classes, structs, random vars) in a verification environment.
   
   What I liked:
   The use of classes to encapsulate bus-functional-models (BFMs), how to create and manage variations of a basic BFM (using extended/derived classes), etc. He also shows how to combine randomization with classes, to create random stimulus-sequences.
   
   What could have been improved:
   I was hoping the book would cover SVA (systemverilog assertions) in greater depth, but I guess there are other books for that. He also superficially mentions "configurations" -- that is a feature in Verilog-2001 and VHDL-93. The book should have covered that in more depth (even though it's not a new Systemverilog feature), as it pertains to testcase management and organization.
   
   What you should have:
   You need a good background and experience in ASIC/RTL-verification -- this book is not an introduction to testbench concepts, or the Systemverilog language! You need to know some Systemverilog language, so either have a different book (like Chris Spear's "Systemverilog for Verification"), or the official IEEE Systemverilog 1800-2005 LRM next to your side. Though not necessary, it's helpful to have a basic understanding about object-oriented programming, because the examples in the book use Systemverilog's classes (and inheritance) to illustrate a lot of points. Object-oriented concepts would otherwise be foreign to most engineers working in the hardware field.
   
   Ohter notes:
   The book makes numerous references to the VMM (Verilog Methodology Manual), which is a separate book by the same author. VMM is probably as close to a 'canned' (i.e. pre-built) testbench environment as you can get. If you run Synopsys VCS in your company, then VMM is worth investigatation. Unfortunately, I've heard it doesn't run well on competing simulators (Cadence, Mentor), as Systemverilog support is still in its infancy.

1 comments about Airport Design and Operation.

1. I am not pleased with this particular book for the following reasons:
   
   (a) It is expensive and not value for money compared with the other book (Airport Operations) I purchased at the same time for about 60% of the price of this book.
   
   (b) The quality of print is poor and it is just like making a photocopy of the original. The background of the table headings is not homogenous and appeared smudgy.
   
   (c) The content is not as good as the other book that I purchased and it contained less material. I expected it to be more than the other book.
   
   Regards
   
   Yeang Goh

4 comments about Structure as Architecture: A Source Book for Architects and Structural Engineers.

1. If architecture is viewed as ideas of establishing different relationships between people and space, then structure is the first step to achieve these relationship in reality. How do we appropriately use different structure elements in reality, what kind of architectural effects will them create? These questions are answered in Andrew W.Charleson's book 'Structure as architecture'. The book is divided into chapters such as function/exterior/interior of buildings,structural detailing, light and structures and so on, which are discussed from both theoretical and practical approach. With enormous amount of first hand photo illustrations, the book also gives a comprehensive visual case studies to the reader. It is enjoyable to read and I recommend this stunning book to all architectural, building science students as well as architects and engineers in practice.



2. Although Architecture and Engineering are really only different sides of the same coin, they are often treated in completely different ways. Certainly they are normally approached from different directions. Charleson's book addresses this lack of continuity, and reduces structural diagrams down to a simple level (good for architecture students) as well as opening up the ideas of light and air and structure to thoseof a more engineering bent... And from all accounts he's a pretty inspirational lecturer as well, with the students fizzing away with excitement.
   
   End result: if you are a student of Architecture or Engineering, then rush out and buy this book. Invaluable source of knowledge - guaranteed to help you through those exams...



3. As per name, this book provides an excellent reference to building structures that expresses its architectural ideas. The book is well written and provides examples from around the world! ^_^



4. I am a student studying architecture, and have found this book to be a very useful reference.
   
   The first time I used it, I was looking for specific examples of "expressive" architecture. In the index, I found a long list of qualities such as "grounded", "light", "dynamic" etc. with references to pages illustrating specific projects whose structure has those qualities. The clear, full colour photos really help you get the feel of the buildings.
   
   I don't know of any other book that I could have looked to for that purpose. Of course, the content is useful for numerous other reasons as well.

5 comments about Southwest Style : A Home-Lover's Guide to Architecture and Design.

1. Living in Ontario, Canada and designing an adobe like home is difficult and we need lots of inspirational books. This one is highly valued in our home during this design period and we recommend this book for anyone in our circumstances. We found it inspirational and useful to our architect who has little exposure to the southwestern style. But...we need more books just like this and find it difficult to buy a book on your site without you providing additional information about the book...for exmample...peeks inside at some of the photographs. That would be so useful. But don't hesitate to order this one; it is well worth the investment.



2. Given my passion for the southwest, I expected to love this book, but I didn't. Certainly I found the photos lovely, but somehow the overall package does not convey the excitement, spirituality, and drama of the region. In other words, the book is a little flat. And what I expected to be a good read turned out to be more of an encyclopedia style rundown of facts (in other words, boring). The book comes off as a cold report on what is in fact a fabulously exciting and inspiring region.



3. The pictures are pretty but the book is a boring read.



4. Extremely beautiful and informative. Finally a substantive look at the style of the southwest.



5. I do NOT find this book limiting; when searching for decorating style of the SW; there is so FEW out there, it is refreshing to find one that covers such a broad area of the SW. I LOVE THIS book...Normal decorating books have so LITTLE of this area and for those of us who LOVE IT, the book is wonderful. REFRESHING and NOT CUTESY! At present I live in the Midwest of America and it is so limiting to NEW ideas so often. Our local library had this book, and I was searching to see how many others were out there, not many... so I MAY end having to OWN this book.

   Thank you for carrying this as well as several others pertaining to this area of the USA.