No comments about The Illustrated AutoCAD 2008 Quick Reference (Illustrated AutoCAD Quick Reference).

No comments about The Best of Cutler Anderson Architects.

5 comments about Storybook Style: America's Whimsical Homes of the Twenties.

1. This book offered plenty of ideas in my restoration and planning process of my tudor home. Great buy for the $$$



2. Having grown up in Southern California in the 50 and 60's I fell in love with the storybook house and my grand aspiration was to at least live in one if not own one.
   My dream almost came true because in the 60's many Orange County houses were built with storybook features; diamond pane windows, shake roofs, cat slides - they weren't as wonderful as the masonary models, but, still fun. Unfortunately, these house were updated with asbestos shingle roofs, the windows were removed for double pane. The character was diminished, but not completely lost. You can still see these houses in Anaheim in the neighborhoods surrounding Disneyland. What a perfect setting for a fairytale style.
   And I recommend this book as a nostalgic look back and a real joy to read.



3. I received this as a Christmas gift and promptly took it to Christmas dinner that night... the entire family enjoyed flipping through the book (and were eager to buy their own copies). Beautiful pictures of unique and gorgeous homes, with some neat historical/factual information to boot. My favorite homestyle. The pictures gave me great ideas for my own cottage home.



4. A BEAUTIFUL LOOK AT WHIMSICAL HOMES FOR THE YOUNG AT HEART - THE BEST I'VE SEEN ON THE SUBJECT -



5. I happened upon this book on Amazon last year - shortly after purchasing my very first home - a little storybook cottage. I've always adored this style of home but never knew what to call them. I was so happy to find this book and see someone had come up with a name for these enchanting homes. This book has brought me hours of enjoyment. I read it cover to cover immediately but I look through it over and over again. It has been such a help in giving me inspiration and information for the restoration of my little storybook home. I cannot sing enough praises for this book - my only complaint - I want another volume. If a Storybook Style 2 were to be published - I would buy it the very day it came out!!!!
   
   This book is both informative and beautiful. It's a must for any storybook owner and anyone that is interested in architectural styles or anyone wishing to create their own storybook home.

5 comments about Oracle E-Business Suite Manufacturing & Supply Chain Management.

1. While Gerald & Co's book may look like a good introduction to Oracle's manufacturing & supply chain management modules, it will make little sense to those who have never used the system or don't have access to it. Because I had three years of hands-on experience with Oracle's E-Business Suite, the book is useful and I'm giving it a 3-star rating.
   
   Things that Gerald & Co. could have done better: more illustrations of what they write about. There are many "bells and whistles" in the software, but the book doesn't have enough "screen shots" to show you where they're located on an Oracle "form." I'm not satisfied with the case study, which they have placed in chapter 22. There are no screen shots there either.
   
   Gerald & Co. are assuming you can navigate and know a lot of the Oracle lingo. If you are new to this, don't expect to learn it from this book. The audiences for the book are intermediate and advanced users.
   
   One could also regard this as a reference book. Use it to answer problems you encounter while using the product or better understand what's going on. In this context, I'd rate it 3 stars, too.



2. This book is for users of Oracle Manufacturing and has the end-user in mind Definately not for the the technical minded, site specific Installs and for those who are used to Technical Reference manuals



3. The tentative date of receipt is 27th Jan 2006 but to i haven't received the book as of today.
   
   Pls send same asap
   
   Arul



4. I was part of the Oracle implementation team at our company, and I have found this book to be a useful tool for myself in the year since implementation as we continue to explore new functionalities. It is also a useful tool for the application users to learn how Oracle works. In fact, I not only purchased this book for myself, but I have purchased copies for several other people in the company. I refer to it all the time.



5. This book is very useful for the beginners as well those who want to brush up their knowledge on oracle applications release 11i.
   
   Mostly it covers all Manufacturing & Distribution modules. Financial modules are not covered in this book. I was planning to buy a book and searching for it and finally ended up in buying a very useful book.
   
   Main drawback is not much of screen captures displayed. So if you want to better understand you have to read it by sitting in front of applications screen and switching the forms as you read.
   
   Overall the book is worth having it.

5 comments about Sketching and Rendering of Interior Spaces.

1. As an architect, this book it's been so helpful to me to visualize my ideas, and allow me to express what I see, feel and want to show to other using drawings.



2. I really like this book because it's not that "technical" and it's filled with practical advice for producing graphics! One of the only complaints that I have is that the materials suggested are a bit out-of-date (e.g. marker colors) but that is really it. I'd suggest this book for anyone looking to make fantastic graphics in a short amount of time.



3. The quality of the renderings in this book are horrible, if I had things like this in my portfolio or submited work like this, I would get nowhere very fast. Some look as if he put markers through a paper shredder and let them just drip randomly on the paper, then smeared it around a bit. All of the Case Studies are of things he (the author) has done, so there is absolutly no diversity in this book. Try some of the more expensive alternatives, you get what you pay for I assume.



4. I found this text very frustrating. There is no instruction in technique beyond some simple perspective lessons. If you want to know how to accurately render different materials you will have to find another book. You can tell there are many more steps he uses to achieve his renderings, possibly even the use of other materials or media with his markers, but there is no information about it in his book. It is the text our professor uses for our Intro to Color Rendering class and I think there has to be something better than this!



5. An excellent reference text for both the student of design and professional. Beautifully illustrated with step-by- step instructions explaining the mediums and techniques in their use to acheive maximum results!
   Ira S. Friedman
   College Instructor,Interior Design/Graphic Techniques/Drafting

5 comments about Sun, Wind & Light: Architectural Design Strategies, 2nd Edition.

1. This is one of the best books I've seen that address building architectural design considerations that affect heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting. It presents tidbits from real designs, focuses on maximizing the effects of the local climate on the building toward the objective of a comfortable and usable living/working space, and addresses supplemental systems as well. This information presumes a level of knowledge relating to some of these concepts that I don't currently have, making it a pretty hard read in many places. However, the book digs pretty deep into each area, providing enough information to get a good start on a building design. The fusion of engineering and creativity is my favorite feature of this book. It provides insight into creative building designs while also presenting the more quantitative factors necessary to size and evaluate a design for intended use.



2. I thought the book itself was really interesting although a little confusing. Especially when I actually had to use it for class assignments!



3. Although I normally read books in twos and threes on the same topic to gain varied perspectives, this is the first time I am writing a single review encompassing two books. They mesh together so well that I cannot imagine studying this subject without having BOTH in hand.
   
   The two books are Sun, Wind & Light: Architectural Design Strategies, 2nd Edition and The HOK Guidebook to Sustainable Design.
   
   Start with the introduction in the Guidebook, which is blessed with a Foreword from Paul Hawken and see especially page 13 where the cost benefits are shown, with 48% energy savings for Gold, 30% for Silver, and 28% for Certified. See also the illustration on page 15 that I have reproduced in the image I am loading for both books: the old decision model was Cost at the top, with Schedule and Quality anchoring the triangle. the new decision model still has cost at the top, but Schedule and Human Health, Safety, & Comfort are on corners of this new pentagon, and the bottom is achored by Quality and Ecology, or what Paul Hawken would call in his books, "true cost" to the Earth and Humanitas.
   
   NOW shift to the Contents and the Detailed Contents of Sun, Wind, & Light. As one reviewer notes, this is a course book. I did not recognize it as such, I saw it as one of the most gifted complete collection of factors to learn and apply that I have ever seen for ANY topic of study. The content and organization of this book is nothing short of Nobel-level "wow." Finish going through this book.
   
   NOW go back to the first 218 pages of the Handbook, and study the checklists and varied helpful boxes and explanations. The rest of the book (217-459) is case studies of specific buildings, each a few pages, that can be left for last.
   
   At this point, I went into the Glossaries and Bibliographies of both books. Each is distinct, neither supplants the other. They must be taken together. I read Glossaries, and Indices, as content, and use them as a form of "second look" (in extremely complex books, this is actually where I start).
   
   NOW go back to the Case Studies in the Handbook, and read each from the point of view of what "take away" lessons are there for your own building.
   
   Reading these two books was a real treat. Outside my office kitchen is a deck with an 11 point system for attracting birds from bluebirds and bluejays to cardinals, gold finches, two kinds of woodpecker, and a flicker as well as the more common birds. I believe in diversity, and I believe that if we don't get our act together and start living up to the ideals of Natural Capitalism (see other recommended books below), our world will go sterile and dark before out great-grandchilden can share in the beauty of this planet. These two books are part of the solution, and I am in serious awe of those who made them available to all of us, and at reasonable prices to boot. Well done!!!
   
   Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming
   Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution
   The Ecology of Commerce
   Ecological Economics: Principles And Applications
   For the Common Good: Redirecting the Economy toward Community, the Environment, and a Sustainable Future
   The Soul of Capitalism: Opening Paths to a Moral Economy
   Capitalism 3.0: A Guide to Reclaiming the Commons (Bk Currents)
   The Philosophy of Sustainable Design



4. So instead of getting a manual on how to design a building to maximize sun, wind, and light, what I got was a lengthy math book on how to quantitatively analyze the sun, light and wind in existing conditions.... There are some nuggets of good info but I don't see myself getting very much out of the book in general.



5. These guys need a third author (or good editor) who knows how to present ideas clearly, directly and in an intuivive manner. This information is dense enough without unnecessarily dense language which makes the material more difficult to use.

3 comments about Pamphlet Architecture 21: Situation Normal (Pamphlet Architecture).

1. The selected projects are presented with concise explanations and always that just-right drawing that conveys an idea effectively. Definitely worth owning.



2. While the pencil provides a compelling graphic for the authors, their method of representation is not the point (I think they've moved on to renderings at this stage, anyway). LTL discusses the advantages of TACTICS over STRATEGIES. Strategies rely heavily on an overall structure, while tactics are much more agile and fluid. Although definitely not the only architects to promote a situationist method, LTL offers a way of thinking in a way that is succinct, and they make their point without too much embellishment. They instead use this framework to present past (conceptual) projects. A good example of letting the work talk as much as the text, itself.



3. situation normal is a fine example or what can be done in architecture with a tool that is becoming somewhat of a lost art, the pencil. the authors use the pencil exclusively in their design process, and Situation Normal is a fine resource for architectral students and architects, whom it is very important to, to understand the power of the pencil. the pamphlet is by no means wordy, but it does contain a strong body of designs and projects by the author, that demonstrate how the pencil can holds its own in a profession where the pen and especially the computer have become the norm.

No comments about Web 2.0 Patterns: What entrepreneurs and information architects need to know.

2 comments about Typographic Systems of Design.

1. There are many typography and design books out there - but this book is rare in that it actually SHOWS whats its talking about. After all we are in a visual field, how much sense does it make to not get a grasp on how this stuff actually looks. As a graphic design student, this is really the only book my teacher assigned that i actually care at all about.



2. This book examines interesting ideas about alternative type layout and design. It is missing an introductory chapter that examines the traditional grid system and offers guidelines about how to break the rules, but for experienced designers this book offers a solid argument on breaking the grid, backed up with good historical references on how the grid has been broken in the past. It would be nice if Elam had addressed the reasons behind why designers are looking for alternative ways to work with type. This is strictly a reference book, with little or no discussion on the conceptual ideas behind breaking the grid. Tons of interesting illustrations and historic layouts back up the samples, also a nice touch, the tissue overlays that "map" out the different strategies. Overall, a good book for your typographic library and an excellent student reference.

3 comments about AutoCAD: Professional Tips and Techniques.

1. It is not surprising, considering the fact that Lynn Allen is the Technical Evangelist for Autodesk and that she meets with thousands of AutoCAD users every year, that once again her book is packed to the ceiling with fantastic tips, insights, tricks and strategies for putting AutoCAD in high gear. The book offers invaluable information in bite-sized morsels which can easily and gradually be implemented into any AutoCAD-based process to simplify and streamline it. Lynn also maintains an equally beneficial blog at [..] if you want a sampling of the kind of material conveniently compiled in this book. Highly recommended for anyone seeking "AutoCAD PowerUser" proficiency.



2. I have been using AutoCAD since 1992, after the first couple years of using AutoCAD, I stopped learning new tricks and learning better ways of using AutoCAD because I was able to do my job with the set of AutoCAD skills I have. This book helps me brush up my CAD skills and taught me many new tricks to be more efficient. It was never too late to teach an old dog new tricks!



3. This book is fantastic!! It really allows a power user more options and tips and tricks. Every tip ends up saving time and makes CAD more fun to use. Lynn keep up the great work.