1 comments about Inheritance: The Story of Knole and the Sackvilles.

1. [Review refers to U.K. edition]
   It is very old. The total number of rooms is somewhere very close to 365 (depends on your definition of room). There are 52 staircases (one for each week of the year) and within its grey ragstone walls, are the seven famed courtyards (one for each day of the week). As you might surmise, it's known as the "Calendar House." Completed in 1486, Knole in Kent in the United Kingdom epitomizes a British Stately Mansion.
   
   "Inheritance: The Story of Knole and the Sackvilles," by Robert Sackville-West is the storied history of the home, one of England's largest, and the 13 generations of Sackvilles who have inhabited the grand 15th-century building for more than four centuries.
   
   Vita Sackville-West, part of the Bloomsbury crowd and Virginia Woolf's great friend and lover, famously described her Sackville ancestors as "a race too prodigal, too amorous, too weak, too indolent and too melancholy; a rotten lot, and nearly all stark staring mad."
   
   Of Knole, she wrote "It has the deep inward gaiety of some very old woman who has always been beautiful, who has had many lovers and seen many generations come and go, smiled wisely over their sorrows and their joys, and leant an imperishable secret of tolerance and humour."
   
   Vita loved her childhood home but her gender prevented her from inheriting Knole when her father died. Instead, her uncle took over title and estate. Knole is now under the care and partial ownership of England's National Trust. The Sackvilles still call Knole home and have ownership of a sizable portion of the house and gardens.
   
   Charles Sackville, the 6th Earl of Dorset who occupied Knole in the late 1600s was certainly in the running for the most rowdy (randy, too) of Vita's rotten lot. Described as having twinkling eyes and a "podgy face," the Earl and a group of his drinking friends met for dinner on June 16, 1663 at the Cock Tavern in London's Covent Garden. Soon they were being served by "six naked women." Soon after that the women and Sackville along with two of his co-revelers proceeded to a balcony overlooking the street. All three of the men stripped naked and according to Samuel Pepys in his famous diary acted in "all the postures of lust and buggery that could be imagined."
   
   The lewd antics attracted a crowd and resulted in mayhem and broken shop windows. Charges of abuse of the "King's Peace" resulted in at least one fine of 2,000 marks, a substantial sum. By coincidence on the same day as the romp, lightning struck and heavily damaged the Sackville family mausoleum.
   
   The 6th Earl of Dorset is just one of the many Sackville portraits presented in the 440-year family history. Among those is lonely Lady Anne Clifford in the early 1600s, whose rake of a husband Richard Sackville, the 3rd Earl of Dorset, threatened to desert her and take custody of their daughter unless she signed over to him her family wealth. She didn't.
   
   The 3rd Duke of Dorset, John Frederick Sackville, is mentioned as a possible model for the Scarlett Pimpernel. There's the bachelor Lionel who in the 1860s fathered five children with his mistress, a Spanish dancer called Pepita. It was one of Lionel's illegitimate daughters, Victoria, who kept Knole in the family when she married her first cousin, another Sackville named Lionel. Victoria not only preserved the Sackville legacy, in 1902 she installed electric lighting.
   
   Today, upward of 80,000 visitors tred the halls in the public areas. Fifteen or so of the 365 rooms are currently open to visitors. The National Trust has plans to make many more of the rooms accessible to visitors. The author, who by right of male succession, holds title to the private areas lives with his wife and children in a suite of refurbished rooms along the building's south front. They have private access to one of the seven inner courtyards, the Pheasant Court. The Sackville family holds the lease on Knole for another 140 years.
   
   The book is titled "Inheritance" because it records a remarkable ancestry that has kept the home in the same family for more than four centuries. It's a thoroughly researched story with enough intrigue, heartbreak and goings-on for a lively full season of Masterpiece Theater. Knole is a grand building. Its walls enclose an incomparable history that in the telling becomes an extraordinary story. On a simpler plane it's a romp of a read.

2 comments about Historic Preservation: An Introduction to Its History, Principles, and Practice (Second Edition).

1. Libraries strong in architecture and historic preservation will find the second updated edition of HISTORIC PRESERVATION a winner. It traces what began as a grassroots movement and evolved into a 'green' architecture and sustainability movement today, using layman's language to trace the philosophy of preservation and introducing the ideas for students, preservationists and community leaders alike. College-level libraries will find it a winner.



2. 
   Anyone who seeks knowledge from a text book expects a structured course of solid detail. But sometimes the organization of a course can begin as a meandering stream only to become an untamable river. Given how broad historic preservation can be, thankfully the 2009 edition of Historic Preservation by Norman Tyler flows so simply in presentation and is a pleasure to swim through.
   
   Mr. Tyler's introduction to historic preservation is a quick review of the earliest motivations to preserve. Presenting the classically conflicted ideas of John Ruskin and Viollet le Duc prepares the reader to digest some of the more nonchalant approaches to preservation. Once surveyed, Tyler quickly turns to equipping us with all the content and contextual knowledge to recognize the depths of the built environment. A chronological explanation of the major architectural styles along with simple line illustrations helps to focus the reader's interest in a concise way. This historic architectural reference is integrated directly into the ethical basis of why and the legal backbone of how preservation legislation has evolved. Thus, the important emphasis on an asset's significance and integrity is well examined and driven home
   
   Once past the shallows of basic knowledge Mr. Tyler circles back to examine the intricate sees of historic individual and district designations. This expands into the reasoning behind municipal land use law and it's application. It is now time to load up on the tools and techniques of modern preservation. Simplifying the different approaches in rehabilitation, restoration conservation and reconstruction leads seamlessly to all of the fun parts of research and documentation of assets. The author's detail on basic building systems is masterful. Throughout these sections is a careful balance struck between such diverse areas as describing a Historic Structure Reports and addressing life / safety issues.
   
   But without an economically secure future how can a structure survive the rapids of change? Mr. Tyler's answer begins with a fresh look at Donovan Rypkema's landmark report on the benefits of preservation. Realistic considerations of a structure's financial viability lead into the surprisingly clear waters of easements, tax considerations, and financial analysis. Even the pro forma spread sheet example invites a try.
   
   Since a reader has come this far, the next step is advocacy, fundraising and assistance with local government and municipal planning integration. Preservation planning through Downtown Management, Master Plan review and zoning are explained in a general way so to invite a local conception. This 2009 edition also reflects an up to date, smart discussion on sustainability, greenability and active heritage tourism.
   
   Historic Preservation is one of the finest guides to the dynamic study of modern preservation. It should be considered for any course work or library collection on the subject.
   
   Billy Neumann author of Rutherford: A Brief History

2 comments about A Richer Heritage: Historic Preservation in the Twenty-First Century.

1. The book arrived just on time and it was as great as they describe it. I would choose this seller anytime.



2. This was a recommended book for my thesis class. I have not finished it yet, but it seems an appropriate book for those in their Master's program for Historic Preservation.

5 comments about Villa.

1. The book was recommended to me by a friend (designer/architect).
   
   Saladino created a beautiful sanctuary using his long life of experiences; education; a great awareness of his surroundings and a deep passion.
   
   But what is beauty and what is a sanctuary?
   
   My viewpoint on beauty is in part unlearned or conditioned and in part defined by culture and life experiences. Certainly, one may have a broader concept of beauty because he or she may have been exposed to various cultures and places. Or, can be more aware because he or she has a greater education and understanding of the laws and principles of design. (Saladino has had impressive life experiences and education)
   
   Having a greater sensitivity and a passion can also give one a deeper appreciation for beauty. According to Helen Keller, "The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart." (Saladino is very perceptive with sight, hearing, touch, smell... and even taste (has included some recipes in the book too!)
   
   Unquestionably, beauty is primitive and universal (As seen in Salidino's design --he borrows from the ancient world as well as having a contemporary edge.)
   
   Beauty is harmony. It is alive and can be seen with all the senses. It is in patterns, colors, and vibrations. (You can feel and see the harmony in Salidino's design with colors, etc. YET he juxtaposes porcelain with stone! Not boring at all.)
   
   Personally, when I see something beautiful, as I see the Saladino's home and gardens, I feel it to be graceful and comforting. A place where I feel free from the busy chaotic world ....a place which helps me go within myself is truly a SANCTUARY to me.



2. Reading this beautifully designed book is like taking a trip abroad. It details a loving restoration with the superb style for which the author is famous. A tour through this remarkable residence is exhilerating, enhanced by the book's lovely design and thoughtful text.



3. This is unquestionably the finest interior decorating book of 2009 and because it shows the process of renovating a run down Santa Barbara home of great potential, a great book on architectural preservation as well. It provides a thorough and easily understood commentary about the process of planning and executing the design of a gorgeous villa looking out on the sea, including line drawings on translucent sheets, much like blueprints, but primarily utilizing brilliant before and after photos, room by room.
   
   Is an entire book about a single home really reasonable? It was done fairly well by John Stefanidis and a little less well by Bunny Williams, but John Saladino has outdone them all. Just as you could always tell a room by David Mlinaric, Mario Butta, Renzo Mongiardino or David Hicks, Saladino has a signature design style, unlike other decorators such as Billy Baldwin, Sister Parrish or Mark Hampton who were consistent principally in their emphasis on comfort and classicism. Some might have differing opinions regarding this latter group, of course, but Saladino loves classic authenticity combined with modern functionality and certainly achieves an excellent balance here.
   
   Importantly, this project permitted Saladino to achieve the zenith of his own particular style of Mediterranean-influence classicism, in no small part due to not having to get client approval for any element of his masterpiece. I suspect his banker was the only one he had to answer to; this is the dream home for anyone seeking the Montecito lifestyle. And so much more tasteful than the vast majority of the McMansions completed pre-2008 in Greenwich or the Hamptons by guys selling bonds or exploiting Bolivian miners while their trophy wives argued over fabric swatches.
   
   The only reviewer on these pages who gave the book less than five stars complained about how in this age of digital photography, large format shots are no longer available. Excuse me? Razor sharp images with perfect color reproduction across the photo in a format 13 inches high by 26 inches wide are not up to snuff? I have never seen photography at this level in any book on interiors in forty-plus years of looking. You feel as if you are walking into the room or up the stairs or into the garden. Robert Stern's books come close, but it's all about the house, not the interiors, and too many of his residential projects are frankly boring.
   
   One hardly needs to add the twelfth five-star review of this book, but I offer it to be sure that no one with any interest in design will miss it. THE decorating book of this year . . . or any other year, for that matter.



4. I saw this book on a coffee table in one of my design magazines.
   I was so excited I imediately looked on Amazon and there it was,
   at a discounted price. Now it is at my home,on my coffee table.
   I have thoroughly enjoyed it...he uses muted colors that are so
   relaxing. His design is never overdone, always timeless. The
   DVD, included with the book, is well done also. I would love to
   visit..if he ever opens his house for a tour fundraiser..I would
   definately buy the ticket!



5. When the songwriter and singer Curtis Mayfield was at a low point in his career, he made sure he went to the movies every day. Why? "It's important to dream," he said.
   
   Wise man. The "reality" we're sold in the media can't possibly define the limits of our lives. To think so is to invite despair. So we look for beauty, for inspiration. But when we find it in museums, in music or in books, it doesn't always speak to us --- it's not immediate enough, we don't have the vocabulary to process it.
   
   A beautiful house? That we can understand. We may not get the subtleties of the architecture or the décor, but we all have walls, windows, floors and furniture --- comparisons are inevitable and immediate.
   
   If you're going to look at a home of a professional, you can't go wrong with John Saladino, America's most gifted architectural designer. (Not "interior" designer --- Saladino has a large, holistic sense of what a house can be, and that very much includes its site.) In 2001, he bought a 2,500-square-foot villa near Santa Barbara that was well on its way to ruin. Four years later, it is a treasure and then some --- it's simply one of the most beautiful houses in the world.
   
   And now it's the subject of a dream of a book.
   
   Villa is 13.5 inches square. It contains an informative and chatty commentary by Saladino, 256 photographs, plans and drawings, and a DVD that gives you a tour of the house and property. Let us hope that Saladino has a state-of-the-art security system, because every page and image is an invitation for you to break in --- not to take anything, just to experience what it's like to walk in beauty.
   
   "Reality is the enemy," Saladino writes, and so he created an environment that might look natural, but is really sculpted. (The project, he says, was "75% construction, 25% decoration".) Set on a hilltop overlooking the Pacific, he first had to shore up the land, so his creation wouldn't go sliding off its moorings in a landslide. Then he had to attack decades of unfortunate decorating choices.
   
   It took six men a year to sandblast the paint off the stone walls. Terra cotta tiles had to be hand-stained, so they wouldn't look like plastic flooring. Beams were hand-stripped. An amusing touch: Saladino asked the workmen to have a few beers before they started to sand the dining room walls --- he didn't want perfection.
   
   This was a giant construction product, with as many as 40 workers on site each day. The transformation took four years --- twice as long as Saladino had predicted --- and cost three times more than he'd budgeted. "I did make it to dry land," he writes, "but only by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin."
   
   Saladino's design truths can be applied to smaller houses --- and smaller budgets. Among them:
   
   "Every home should be a sanctuary: entering it you should immediately feel physically and emotionally protected."
   
   "The most important thing about color is that it cannot be isolated --- every color is only ever seen in juxtaposition with other ones."
   
   "Any fragments from the past, especially those that you can touch, connect you to the makers of those pieces, making you aware that we are threads in a great tapestry of time."
   
   "Make the largest piece of furniture in the room the same color as either the floor or the walls so its bulk doesn't intrude."
   
   This is not stuffy advice. But then the house, for all its beauty, is strikingly relaxed. And there are a few well-placed jokes. On a statue of Sir Francis Drake, arguably the first Englishman to see the California coast, he set a pair of dark sunglasses. And, to puncture any air of self-importance, he named the retreat Villa di Lemma.
   
   There is no dilemma, of course. In his California home, John Saladino solved every design and decorating problem. The only unhappiness he created is on your coffee table --- all your other books will be wildly jealous of "Villa".

4 comments about Keeping Time: The History and Theory of Preservation in America (Wiley Desktop Editions).

1. The chapters are a reasonable length. The text is well written and has a definate voice. If you are a student this is a nicer size to carry than an enourmous biology book. The only annoying aspect is the first page of every chapter has the text alligned to the right. I loose my place for a few sentences. This is very minor though.



2. Dr. Murtagh is probably the top expert in the field of Preservation and he has written this very readable book for all interested in the subject. He has received high honors for his work and is
   known worldwide as the authority.



3. An outstanding summary of historic preservation. This was a required text for the online course I took, but it is very readable for the average person. A must-read for those interested in old buildings and their relevance today.



4. Very good review of preservation in the United States. An easy read.

2 comments about Historic Preservation Technology: A Primer.

1. You're new, but one of your duties is to renovate or maintain a building that is old--perhaps one hundred or more years old. Of course you should engage professionals for the work, but where do you start and how do you evaluate what needs to be done and how well they do it? That's the position I found myself in last year. My new job here in the Midwest (I was born and bred in the Pacific Northwest, where truly old buildings are as rare as sunny days) includes custody of a 150-year-old historic home and renovation of an equally old one-room schoolhouse. While I have access to several preservation experts--many times offering conflicting opinions--I am the project manager. Since my experience has been entirely in new construction, Robert Young's book has been a lifesaver for me. This is no Preservation for Dummies--it's a truly informative volume that covers all aspects of historic preservation (process, materials, styles, systems) and offers "best practices" as well as bibliographies for further reading on each aspect. If you are new to preservation, need a refresher or just want an authoritative source for occasional reference, then buy this book.



2. Professor Young has created a comprehensive overview of the the process of preserving historic buildings, and an invaluable guide to the materials used, their decay processes and the methods used in their repair and maintenance. The bibliographies alone are worth the cost of this publication.

1 comments about Cultural Resource Laws and Practice (Heritage Resources Management).

1. Tom King's practical, down-to-earth compendium of advice on historic preservation and cultural resources law (as well as management -- not necessarily the same thing) should be a must-have for anyone in the cultural resources management biz or regulatory arena. Keep up the great work, Tom!

5 comments about Lost Plantations of the South.

1. For me, sadly this fell into the 2nd catagory. It is a subject that I am obsessed w/ since purchasing an 1886 farmhouse in the South but it was WAYYYYY too 'textbook' style for me. To each his own, this book got FANTASTIC reviews and "Under Live Oaks" didn't but "Under Live Oaks" was truly one of my ALL time favorites on the subject! You may take into account that I enjoy a good Jackie Collins!!!! LOL...not to be confused w/ a whiskey collins! If you are the serious sort....I HIGHLY recommend this book and if you enjoy alot more fluff I don't recommend it.:)



2. This is a great book for those who like the history of the Southern plantations.



3. Prepare to be shocked. This book and the lost houses it records are hauntingly beautiful. The effect of the presentation is both blissful and profoundly saddening.
   
   I usually avoid books like this because they upset me. I hate being shown what we could have had, with more care, more insight, more money, more intelligence. This book upsets me as well, but that's what it's intended to do.
   
   The quality of the work--the photography, graphics and writing--is top shelf. This is no haphazardly assembled set of archives: It's a beautifully rendered contemplation on the history and fate of stolen art.
   
   The book is intended for any interested reader, but its style is not casual. Neither a photo essay nor a "coffee table" book, the author gives the work intentional academic gravity that could put off a casual reader, but will make architectural historians rejoice.



4. As a fan of historical architecture I love reading about old houses. This was a very good book, with lots a facts about different plantations. My only complaint would have been a little less facts, and a little more human interest(about the people who lived there) and maybe more pictures of the homes. Every old home has a story, it just has to be told. :)



5. This book is a wonderful record of the once magnificent edifices that have been lost through the years. It is a great work to preserve at least what is known and remains of these architectural treasures. Clearly it is not definitive, nor was is likely intended to be. As a fellow architectural researcher, I know that it is difficult to obtain materials that are suitable for publication showing every single worthy structure. However, what is included here shows information and illustrations that have not been widely published heretofore. I love this book. It is beautifully designed and is a welcome addition to my library which is already chock a block with volumes on this subject.

No comments about Giving Preservation a History: Histories of Historic Preservation in the United States.

5 comments about Art of The Stonemason.

1. Finally a book that really tells you something and gives you instructions. Very happy with this one.



2. The book arrived in excellent condition. I have found the information within it to be very useful with things I already knew and great information on things I did not.



3. While a good review of proper stoneworking, I felt that the author put too much "art" into this book and not enough science. There are some very nice ideas for building with stone, but this is not a book I would recommend for someone just starting out.



4. How many other beautiful mediums are as long-lasting as stone. For man, it is as close as one may come to the eternal. This is a wonderful book by a master stonemason. The diaghrams and advice are helpful and wise. I recommend it to everyone who would ply their hands to work in stone no matter what level of expertise they already have.



5. I thought this book was really put together good. It has step by step and detailed instructions on how to build stone walls. If you are looking to do stone work I suggest buying this book.