No comments about Wildwood's Neon Nights & Motel Memories.

2 comments about The Investigation of Buildings: A Guide for Architects, Engineers, and Owners.

1. The author, Donald Friedman, is a structural engineer who is clearly very experienced in investigation of buildings, particularly their structural investigation. Because of his experience, the book is fairly authoritative and he imparts quite a bit of practical insight and wisdom.
   
   One significant limitation of the book is that not much information is provided regarding the various types of structural systems and details found in buildings, and there is likewise a lack of related graphics. As a result, this book may be difficult to follow for structural engineers who aren't familiar with the structural design of buildings.
   
   However, structural engineers with adequate background should find this book to be an excellent introduction to this area of practice, and the short length of the book is a virtue in this regard. Friedman doesn't aim to be comprehensive, but he describes the lay of the land and helps the reader get oriented. Architects may also find this book useful but, frankly, I think that structural investigation of buildings is best left to structural engineers ...



2. This book is very good for Engineers to review the status of different existing buildings.

5 comments about Chatsworth: The House.

1. An excellent read of one of the most wonderful houses in the United Kingdom.....anyone who is interested in the history of this great nation, or interested in architecture would find this book really great.



2. I think this a very nice book with a lot of gorgeous photos that can't be seen in any other book, but I could not give it 5 stars due to the poor, uneven lighting in some of the interior photos. Some rooms are lit by such harsh, extremely bright sunlight that it washes out some of the details in the foreground and then you can't see details in the background as well due to the harsh contrast.



3. This is a very high quality book containing beautiful photos and personable, informative, text. The enjoyment of the book is enhanced by the fun, witty writing style of the Duchess of Devonshire. While the book contains a great deal if historic information, there is an equal amount of fun and entertainment, as a balance. Having restored and lived in the property for more than 50 years, the author gives a first hand narrative of this amazing British Home.



4. An outstanding book on one of England's stateliest of Stately Homes written in a very entertaining down to earth way by the Duchess of Devonshire. The photographs are wonderful with a balance between showcasing the grandeur of the building and humanizing the place by also focusing on the people who live and work there.



5. the best house review - full of history fact and much humour
   photography is amazing

3 comments about New Solutions for House Museums: Ensuring the Long-Term Preservation of America's Historic Houses (American Association for State and Local History).

1. I expected a book of reference quality; sturdy binding, quality paper.
   The general quality is cut rate. Printed in China.
   This book arrived damaged, probably related to the quality of the binding.
   Will be returning.



2. I am interested in historic houses. This book serves as an excellent reference book as it details the current challenges facing those engaged in the house museum "business" and the solutions which are available to successfullly navigate these problems. Ms. Harris' writing style is very smooth and her scholarship is outstanding. The footnotes and bibliography provide and excellent source of information for those interested in pursuing this topic further. I recommend this book to anyone studying this field on the graduate school level as well as professionals in the house museum field.



3. This is an excellent book about the impending crisis in the preservation of house museums, evidenced by fewer visitors and the sale of Carter's Grove by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. The book offers several creative ways to adaptively reuse house museums while continuing to preserve them. Clearly and concisely written, the book offers everyone who loves house museums an opportunity to rethink how they will be used and preserved in the future.

5 comments about Stone Houses: Traditional Homes of Pennsylvania's Bucks County and Brandywine Valley.

1. Great for enjoying stone houses ! Lots of great pictures of exteriors and interiors .



2. While beautifully photographed it excludes many fine Bucks County homes and is rife with errors in the description of some of the areas in the Thompson - Neely House as well as misidentified antiques in other houses. As a historic guide at the Thompson-Neely House for 25 years as well as having lived there at various times, I know that the first addition consisted of two rooms on each floor not one as stated and in one photo a beautiful fireplace has been relocated to the second floor from the first.
   
   This is a fine decorative coffee table book but should never be used for any type of reference.



3. Stone Houses: Traditional Homes of Pennsylvania's Bucks County and Brandywine Valley. Authors: Margaret Bye Richie, Geoffrey Gross, Gregory Huber. 208 pages. 2005.
   
   I picked up this book from the library. At the library I thumbed through the book and was very impressed with the photography. I knew from previous readings that stone house construction was more common in the Keystone State than any other of the original colonies. Stone construction was used in the construction of Georgian designs which in other colonies were constructed of wood or brick. This extensive use of stone makes Pennsylvania somewhat unique.
   
   This book did little expand my knowledge on the how or the why of stone construction. Surprisingly only about 70 of the houses in this book are actually constructed of stone, others are built of brick. Not every building in this book is a house and several of these buildings were constructed in the 20th Century. Not exactly what I was looking for when I checked the book out of the library.
   
   While the book was not exactly what I hoped it would be I will say that the photographs are beautiful, especially the interiors. The accompanying text tends to focus on provenance and therefore who and when. The text provides little as to the why or the distinctive features. A good book as a pretty coffee table book.



4. I am probably a little biased, because I bought this book because my inlaws house is featured in it. However, it's a lovely addition to a collection for someone interested in historic (and scenic) older houses in this area.



5. This is a very pretty book and very well photographed. The choice of houses, however, left something to be desired and the writeups on the houses themselves were thin and more akin to a puffy decorator magazine than any kind of detailed study. The book also had utterly no floorplan sketches for any of the homes, which is really almost mandatory for an architecture book. Some of the houses selected were not of any particular merit nor were they even old. Most of the write-ups on the various houses had almost nothing to say about the architectural detail and history nor any kind of regional or sub-regional analysis. Some photos were selected obviously because they were "pretty" but had utterly nothing to do with Pennsylvania -- the New England chest on the back cover is a good example. It's a nice book to flip through but don't expect great depth.

No comments about Historic Preservation for Professionals.

No comments about Places That Count, Traditional Cultural Properties in Cultural Resource Management.

5 comments about Creole Houses: Traditional Homes of Old Louisiana.

1. I have really enjoyed this book. It is a beautifully photographed collection of homes in the creole style, and the images are mysterious and some are a little haunting. For those interested in this architectural style, I would also recommend the book on the homes of A. Hayes Towne for a glimpse at newer creole homes. Honestly, I have not read much of the text, so I can't comment on the quality of the information shared. The photographs are compelling enough for me to recommend the book.



2. For a devotee of creole architecture, like me, this is an absolute must have. The book is a wonderful production in total. The photography is beautiful and the text informative. Interestingly, several of these structures have not been widely published elsewhere. Anyone interested in historic architecture should get this without question.



3. This book is a great help for me. I like to build a house in Spain in this style.



4. I thought the book was supposed to be new, I may have got that wrong, but it was not new nor wrapped, but in pretty good shape.



5. A very nice book on a beautiful architectual style. These houses fit perfectly into the Southern Louisiana landscape, they were built for balmy humid climate of the region. I found the history of the people that built these homes very interesting, the text was imformative and the images nicely produced. If you are interested in this style i highly recomend the book on Hays Town, he was a modern master of the venacular.

5 comments about Louisiana Plantation Homes: A Return to Splendor.

1. The first thing potential readers will want to know is that this is an old publication dressed up with a new cover. The original book was published in 1986, and the latest "revised" edition is nothing of the sort.
   
   The product description states that the book has been updated to reflect the condition of these sites post Katrina, but there isn't one mention of the word "Katrina" in the entire typeset. It's as if the storm never happened. The text included with each entry is both out of date and most summary. There is little architectural or historical context. Also, the photographs are of 1980s film vintage, which means that although they express artistic quality, they reveal the limitations of color imaging technology of that time. Many of the photographs are grainy and discolored, which is just not acceptable considering the advertised quality and contents of the book.
   
   Buy it used. Otherwise, buy something newer.



2. A well done book on Louisiana's spectacular plantations. The state is blessed with the best of these old homes and this book captures the essense of these structures quite well. All of the famous plantations are given several images and the text though not indepth is revealing. This is not quite as good as Gleasons book on the same subject, but it is close and makes a great companion book to it. If you have any interest in these singular buildings then i highly recommend this book along with Gleasons.



3. This is a great book for anyone who is interested in plantation homes. It has over 80 wonderful photographs, and tells the story of each home shown. There are even two or three victorian style homes, built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Very interesting and informative. I would recommend this book to anyone, wether your buying it for the information or the photographs!



4. the book has lovely photos and briefly tells about each home. It would have been nice if there were more photos of the interior of homes. But the book has beautiful photography and is overall: GREAT!



5. This book is hands-down one of the most beautiful picture books on Louisiana's remaining plantation homes. While most are in exquisite condition, there are a very few which aren't. The short story of each plantation home is interesting and the photographs are gorgeous! It makes one want to go out, find a plantation home, buy it and restore it! The reader will be amazed at the wealth these planters accumulated, manifested in these awesome homes. Not all of the homes are huge antebelllum mansions, though. I personally found the Creole plantations wonderful examples of a simple albeit beautiful home. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves old homes, Southern architecture or photography in general.

5 comments about The California Missions: A Complete Pictorial History and Visitor's Guide (Sunset Pictorial).

1. This was a present for my daughter and she was very pleased with the quality of the book



2. A beautiful illiustration of Californias most spectactular monuments. As well as, 21 well written chapters describing each individual mission presently and historically. I have visited some of these missions within the last 5 years.
   For anyone who have never seen one of these 21 California Missions personally, this book will make it seem as if they are.



3. I used his book while traveling to the missions with my children. It is an excellent overview of all of the missions. It provided us with a good sense of the history of the missions, and gave a idea as to the extent of restoration and rebuilding that had occured at each mission. It also documents the highlights and special attractions of every mission.

   Each mission is presented individually, and maps show each mission as it was originally built. Many illustrations portray mission life. Period photos and other illustrations show each mission as time and the elements have affected them. The textures, building materials, techniques, and crafts used in the construction and reconstruction of the missions are presented via text, photos, and illustrations.

   There are many books that discuss various missions as separate entities. I bought many along the way. For the money, this book is the best at bringing them all together in one place and discussing the interdependence of the whole mission system. Used as either a mission travel guide or as a jumping off point, you won't be disappointed.




4. Although it's nicely written and photographed, NO book reissued these days as a historical outline or overview has ANY business referring to Native Californians as "simple" or "childlike" or the colors of their artwork as "barbaric."

   As for 90% of these "simple" people with a rich cultural and spiritual life having been wiped out through warfare, culture shock, deicide, and disease, the authors weigh in on the pro-mission anti-mission argument by resorting to this supposedly measured justification:

   "...the treatment of natives by the Spaniards, though open to criticism by modern standards of political morality, was certainly no worse than that practiced in other colonial empires of the time. Slavery was condoned by all the world empires until late in the 19th century...Basically, the conflict of Spaniard vs. Indian was that of two cultures widely separated in style but fated to collide, and the reduction of the weaker by the stronger was inevitable."

   To argue that one form of subjugation is "no worse" than another, or that it was an inevitable result of the meeting of two cultures, is a cynical--no, a despicable hypothesis; and until this racist book is rewritten to eradicate these irresponsible "reasons" for ruthless colonialism, I urge the potential reader not to buy it. You can find nice photos and good commentary in plenty of other books. Let this one wither on the vine just as the missions did before their later restoration.




5. I have visited missions across the country. And each has its attraction. Yet there is something more robust and alive about the California missions. This book attempts to bring it out to you in history, tales, and diagrams. This is a good book to carry as you visit the different missions.
   
   The only drawback is that the bulk of the pictures are Black and white. It looks like art more than a live place that people are in today. Some of the missions are hard to find but there is no excuse to missing the gardens in San Diego de Alcala. The first mission founded July 16, 1769, and has had many lives since.
   
   There are 25 chapters and a fact section. You can even find Mission Recipes like Puchero means "a boiled pot".