5 comments about Piranesi: The Complete Etchings (Klotz).

1. This is just a warning to those of you purchasing the in-print $11 version of this book, which Amazon carelessly has listed as the same as the out-of-print paperback version. The in-print version is NOT the complete etchings, and the only reason the reviews here suggest that it is is because Amazon has, as I have already said, linked the two editions, which are totally different. The in-print version is HIGHLY abridged, and is less than half as long as the older version. I was hoping the images were simply smaller, but this is indeed NOT the case. This edition has less than half the number of images as the older edition.



2. A startlingly inexpensive volume even at cover price, and a fine overview of the architectural visions of this singular illustrator. The size of the pages don't allow for the fullest, most detailed reproductions of the etchings, but for what is possible the quality is very good.



3. This book may have all of Piranesi's work, but the pictures are ridiculously small. I returned it the day it came in the mail.



4. Despite the minimal written information, translated from Italian into both English and German, this very generous book does indeed live up to its title of The Complete Etchings. Giovanni Battista Piranesi lived and worked in the mid 18th century, dreaming of architecturally recreating Ancient Rome. Thwarted from his grandiose dreams by practical matters of living, he found a viable outlet for communicating at least his visions by means of making some of the finest etchings the printing world has known. Concepts he could not translate into edifices became grand, eloquent and very personal prints which even today influence artists and stage designers, so atmospheric and rich are the renderings. Piranesi thought on the grand scale, and these many etchings demonstrate how his sense of space, of dark interiors with penetrating shafts of light, of temples, of prisons and prisoners, and even details of architectural elements of decor could become fine art. Though the amount of information about the man as written here is minimal, I doubt that there was much more to this man's biography, so absorbed he was with markings on copper plates. But the lack of biographical data is more than compensated for in the accompanying information on the pages with each etching. This is a fine addition to the libraries of artists, printmakers, architects, and yes, Dreamers! Well worth the price.



5. This book contains all the output of Piranesi, which is what accounts for its thickness. The display is almost purely visual, with only the most minimal of text. The illustrations are clear but fairly small for the most part. I use the book all the time in identifying Piranesis, and I suppose that any serious collector will want to own it. But for any further purpose it's not useful. The index, unfortunately, is totally inadequate and hard to use. The source of this problem (and it is a major one) is that the book is aiming for a readership that also includes Italian, French, and German readers, which means that text has to be minimal.

1 comments about Rapid Prototyping of Digital Systems: Quartus® II Edition.

1. This book is completely built around the Labs and has very little understanding of the mechanics. Do not use as anything other than suplimental learning because you will never learn a thing about how a DFF really works or how to build an adder from the gates. If you already understand that, it does work well to guide you through some very intensive designs including programming VGA. DE2 and UP3 board supported for this book. (I used DE2).

4 comments about New Bamboo: Bamboo architecture and design.

1. This book is full of great ideas for building with bamboo, the photos are spectacular. We got it to help us with design ideas for a tree house we are building on our resort in India. It really helps me when communicating with our Indian architects to be able to point to pictures of certain techniques I found in this book.
   
   Michael Skowronski
   Author of Unforgettable: A Love and Spiritual Growth Story



2. The picture on the front cover says it all - this book might be useful if you are designing or making large Bamboo structures but it gives no advice about using Bamboo to make a real house to live in.
   
   It's not a "How to" book - I can't recommend it.



3. The book is beautiful, well documented and presents a marvellous insight about the great work of Simon Velez and his colleague Marcelo Villegas.

   It is though a mystery that the book simply decides to neglect mentioning the ZERI Foundation and its protagonist Gunter Pauli who prefered to go broke over the initiative, then to drop the ball half way.

   Thanks to his determination the full scientific tests on bamboo could be undertaken, the building permit could be obtained for a first time ever in an industrialzed country, and the 6.4 million visitors could admire the masterpiece created by Simon Velez.

   One would have expected that an othewise professional publisher like Villegas Editores, who is well aware of the origins of the great building in Hanover would have put reality in balance. After all without this large investment this masterpiece would never have materialized.

   It is hoped that the book will quickly sell out, become a great success which it deserves and then this minor error could be corrected.




4. During the International Bamboo Festival at Fairchild Tropical Gardens in Miami, I had the pleasure of personally meeting Marcelo Villegas. He is truly "el miestro", a master carpenter, who builds some of the most exciting and innovative bamboo buildings in the world. He is soft-spoken, humble, and refers to himself as a simple carpenter, not master.

   The book is a great reference for photographs of his most recent exciting work. Bamboo is a natural building material which has some very interesting properties. It is as strong as steel by weight and has incredible strength under tension.

   Villegas has a deep understanding for the special type of bamboo he used, Guadua Angustifolia, which is native to his Colombia. He treats each project organically and executes them flawlessly.

   He helped build the largest bamboo structure in the world which was tested by German Engineers for the WORLD EXPO in Hannover in 2000. The structure was so strong, according to him, that is surpassed german building codes (the toughest in the world).

   This is a MUST buy bamboo book, one you won't regret buying.

No comments about Engineering Graphics with AutoCAD(R) 2006.

2 comments about 650 Home Plans: From Cottages to Mansions.

1. It is nice the way the houses are broken down into sections of square footage, but the vast majority have gabled roofs. I think they could have been a little more expansive for 650 designs. Gables just take up a lot of unnecessary roof real estate (in my opinion) and add cost that I would rather apply to interior things that I will see or use. Very tired of the gabled cottage, gabled Victorian, gabled mansion...



2. What I like best about this book is the way it's organized in sections based on size (area in square feet,) from the smallest houses to the largest. It has some really interesting and unique plans as well as many more everyday ones.

No comments about AutoCAD(R) 2005: A Building Approach, Book 3: From Concept to Application.

No comments about Rapid Prototyping of Digital Systems: SOPC Edition.

No comments about The Maintenance Management Framework: Models and Methods for Complex Systems Maintenance (Springer Series in Reliability Engineering).

5 comments about Hip Hotels: France.

1. i think the person who wrote the review from united arab emirates has nothing better to do than to criticize people get a job for heavens sake jesus christ superstar anichak bidoon tufaal



2. What a waste of money!!!! I was sooo exited about receiving this book, and especially because the reviews were so good. But a complete dissapointment. Hardly any pictures. Each hotel has a page or two briefly describing it, with artsy pictures which i hate, cause you only see a close of a stupid door handle, or a side of a table. IT MAKES ME INSANE WHEN PICTURES ARE LIKE THAT. PUT THE WHOLE PICTURE IN FOR HEAVENS SAKE! So if you think this book will show you complete pictures of hotel rooms, and lobbys your mistaken. Dont bother!



3. Mr. Ypma is a gifted photographer and a careful writer - a rare combination. Great selection of hotels. It is the perfect coffee table version of cool new online services such as the great "tablethotels.com"



4. Hi. We got the Valentine's Day [money]round trip air fare to Brussels on SAS and were looking for a place to stay in the Champagne region of France. We used this book to find Les Champs des Oiseaux in Troyes, France. Since we were traveling with a 2 year old, I wrote the hotel in advance to find a room where we wouldn't disturb other guests if Luke had jet lag and wanted to play at 2 am. They identified this suite for us (only [money] per night), and it was perfect. We stayed 4 nights and didn't want to leave.



5. This book is one of the most beautifully photographed I've seen in years. Not only did it inspire me to stay in the Villa Gallici when I was in France over the Christmas holidays, but I have spent hours poring over the gorgeous pictures, finding inspiration for the decor of my new house.

   One great drawback of the book is that it doesn't include a map of France at the front or back, showing where the hotels are located. (My boyfriend is French, and even he didn't know some of the towns where the hotels are situated.)

1 comments about Introduction to AutoCAD 2008: 2D and 3D Design.

1. I think this is a good and helpful product. Essential for anyone trying to learn AutoCAD with no previous experience.