3 comments about Winfield House.

1. This book is just beautiful and the photos are absolutely perfect! I had the opportunity of seeing Windfield House first hand and I felt as though I was standing right there again!



2. 
   0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
   1.0 out of 5 stars Luxury and Politics, 29 May 2008
   By Collector "Collector" - See All My Reviews
   
   There is nothing inherently wrong with coffee table books on mansions and their decorative arts. In this case, however, there are extenuating circumstances. The husband of the author is the present U. S. Ambassador to Great Britain and the couple is living at Winfield House while willingly supporting the Bush administration and representing its policies to the world -- from this plum of an ambassadorial assignment. Given this historically failed administration (perhaps the worst in the history of the U.S.) which has perpetrated worldwide a massive degree of death, misery, and injustice (not to mention possible deception, corruption, and war crimes), a certain moral deafness accrues to the publication of this luxury book by the Ambassador and his wife. If their goal was to make a personal meritorious contribution to the world from their position of governmental privilege, I suggest an orphanage in Iraq or a donation to any Veterans Administration Hospital in the U.S. Given the political realities that surround the creation and publication of this book, it demonstrates the moral limits of the adulation of luxury and aesthetics. Mr. and Mrs. Tuttle are well intentioned I am sure. But their significant expenditure of time and money to create this book demonstrates their extreme removal from truly recognizing the larger human condition beyond the confines of their borrowed residence and life-style, received in payment for their powerful support of the Bush policies. From this point of view, and from this point in history, the creation of this book strikes me as morally unconscious and callow. Many people may disagree with me, but this is how I see it. As to the book, it is very well produced with good plates and color and text on the history of the house. The photographs are on the stiff side, and show the mixtures of period styles and mundane American contemporary that was the hallmark of the Los Angeles decorators, Ted Graber and William Haines, who worked on the house in the latter part of last century. The Tuttles have also added works of Modern and contemporary American art, which are always of high quality though not always of exceptional quality. The effect of their additions of works of art is in keeping with the conventional taste of upscale decorating today. Good examples, some attractive decorative arrangements of works of art within decor, but nothing unusually inspired or revealing, in terms of selection or juxtaposition.
   
   Please note this is a review that considers attributes of this book in many aspects. It should be retained, and not banned as an opinion.



3. Mrs. Maria Tuttle provided readers with a very special insight into the Winfield House. Having attended many receptions in the home, this book will always hold a special place in my heart. Mrs. Tuttle did an outstanding job of giving readers a personal view of life at the mansion. The photographs are breathtaking along with being quite beautiful. I especially like the pull-out pages to give readers a panoramic view of some of the most favorite rooms. There are over 175 photographs of the many intricate and artistic details of the home. Elegant table settings for various events show just how much the Ambassador's home is used throughout the year. Browsing through each page gives the reader a wonderful experience of actually being in the home. Most guests who come to Winfield House for various receptions never get to go upstairs and often wonder if the private quarters upstairs are just as splendid as the public rooms downstairs. This book will let readers go behind the scenes and explore the private rooms of the home. Also loved the photographs of the outside of the home and the wonderful gardens in various seasons. Loved seeing photos of the Queen at Winfield House in her younger days. The book is a must have. Thank you, Maria, for a very excellent job.

No comments about Club Design.

No comments about Beyond Bawa: Modern Masterworks of Monsoon Asia.

No comments about The Evolution of 20th Century Architecture: A Synoptic Account.

2 comments about The Big Book of Logos 3 (Big Book of Logos).

1. If you are a designer, you kind of have to buy all of these Logo books just to keep your brain current. It's a nice way of seeing a lot of logos in one place.



2. Just got my copy of Big Book of Logos 3 and I'm putting it to use already. I was just asked to design a logo and find this book a useful mind dump of 2,500 logos to get my brain cells working. My David Carter book collection has grown over the years and I find them a good place to start whenever I'm kicking off a new design project.

No comments about San Miguel's Mexican Interiors.

4 comments about Richard Neutra, 1892-1970: Survival Through Design (Taschen Basic Architecture).

1. I agree with all of the other reviewers in that this is a very high quality book in general. Very nice photos and high quality printing. But, there are NO floorplans or blueprints in this book. There are only tiny thumbnail size floorplan drawings of each home that have no details--they don't label the different rooms or show any built-in furniture or closet spaces. The kitchens are not notated nor are any kitchen cabinets shown. The drawings only show walls and windows and don't even show the standard architectural symbols for swinging doors. You are left to guess what rooms are bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms ect!
   
   So if you want to study a Neutra house by examining the floorplan or blueprint, you cannot do so with this book! How can you you have a book about an architect and exclude architectural drawings? This book is nothing but a small format coffee table book for people who are not interested in really studying what made Neutra homes unique and interesting.
   
   If you are interested in getting a book with drawings of Neutra homes, then this is NOT the book for you. The thumbnail drawings are virtually useless.
   
   I would not recommend this book.



2. For a very thin book, very informative, lots of photos, though most interior shots are black and white. Barbara Lamprecht provides insight into one of the pre-eminent Modernist visionaries whose work still captures the imagination today.



3. The German Publishing Company, Taschen has recently introduced a series of paperback monographs covering the lives and works of the Twentieth Century's greatest architects.
   
   The series follows a standardized format. The books are 96 pages long and begin with an introductory biographical chapter. The book then moves onto brief chapters highlighting the master architect's most iconic buildings. The book is very well written and his covered head to toe with beautiful photographs. The book is of the high quality that one generally associates with Taschen publishing.
   
   Richard Neutra, an Austrian immigrant helped introduce the United States to European "modernism". His early works shows the clear influence of Bauhuas. What made Neutra one of the great architects is that he took modernist ideas and gave them a uniquely American character. We are currently experiencing a mid century modern revival and Richard Neutra was one of creators of that style. This book is a wonderful introduction to the works of this great architect. Taschen hits another home run! A great value. Highly recommended.



4. I have written two research papers on Richard Neutra and therefore have read lots and lots of books about the architect and his evocative buildings. This book, while admittedly just a quick look at Neutra's major works, is well-written (even lyric at times), packed with information, and interesting. She discusses his background and influences, theories of biorealism and technology, and characteristic stylistic language. The quality of the photographs is excellent--they are crisp and clear and literally pop out of the page, alive with contrast and color. I bought this book on a whim thinking that it would be just "fun" compared to longer, more involved texts, but it has become my favorite!!

2 comments about Architectural Theory: From the Renaissance to the Present (Klotz).

1. I didn't find this book until the end of the semester, but it covers what we have been discussing in both architectural theory and history. I would recomend this for any architecture students who want a quick overview of prominent figures of architectural thought with illustrations that help to clearly convey their ideas. This book has many of the same pictures/drawings as are featured in much more expensive history books (like Spiro Kostof's "Settings and Rituals"). This book is only an overview, but will be a quite helpful addition to any student's library.



2. Although you can buy full editions of the more prominent works discussed in this volume and enjoy them in full (e. g. On the Art of Building, Towards a New Architecture), the real value of this work is in its illustrations. The bulk of the book consists of illustrations lifted from European architecture books from between 1500 and 1800, and these illustrations from now-obscure books are quite picturesque and excite the imagination. The selections of twentieth-century theory are also well done, providing us with similarly rich views of Classical Modernism, Metabolism, and other trends Aldo Rossi. While the text provides one with just a summary, the illustrations make this book an excellent value.

2 comments about Cabins of Minnesota (Minnesota Byways).

1. The pictures are like something out of a dream, or a very old memory, tantalizing glimpses that one wants to attend more closely. I studied the pictures, each one a little fantasy, and turned the page hoping to see more specifics, but instead found another dreamy fragment. The text is similarly meandering, taking a leisurely pace through the idyll of cabin life.
   
   I gave the book only 3 stars not because there's anything subpar about what's in it, but because what's in it only skimmed the surface of my interest in cabins. I wanted more technical information. I wanted floorplans or demographical statistics.



2. The beautiful scenery of a MN cabin on a MN lake!
   "Wow!"
   
   Breath taking!
   
   Mark Salinas, MN

4 comments about Kandinsky: Complete Writings On Art.

1. A densely translated book. A must have reference for any artist's library.



2. This book deserves a commanding coign of vantage on the shelf of any reader desiring a deeper understanding of the creative process. In extending its reach beyond the requisite inclusion of Kandinsky's On the Spiritual in Art and Point and Line to Plane, the work embraces nearly 900 pages of life-giving insight by the master and driving force of nonobjective art.
   
   To cast a light on any one Kandinsky commentary is to risk a plunge of the whole into shadow. We nevertheless salute in general the author's reflections on his fellow artists, for as Kandinsky finds characteristics to praise he provides a refreshing view of art's operating mechanisms. To select but a single example, in a charming commentary on the paintings of musician Arnold Schoenberg the author skewers the popular idea that an artist achieves full realization through a discovery of a "corresponding form" recognizable to all comers. In fact, it is the very discovery of what Kandinsky calls a "dying form" which is to the artist "fatal." As for the converse, the artist who produces an ever-changing series of works representing in their form the development of a more sensitive and robust inner soul discovers, ironically, his works condemned for a lack of stylistic conformance. And so, says Kandinsky, "the dead passes for the living, and vice versa." Schoenberg, the author assures us, is one of the living for in each of his disparate works "the inner desire of the artist speaks forth in a form appropriate to it."
   
   If Kandinsky's control of the linguistic levers fails to rise to a degree of calibration one imagines appropriate to the vital topic, and if the author very often satisfies himself with the bold proposition which arrests the reader and inspires a healthy suspicion as to a deliberate reduction of the author's encircling vision, his conclusions are fired by a robust soul attuned to the finest strands of the real, and it only remains to add that in terms of abstraction this work must to the archway of understanding provide a requisite keystone.



3. This book is as thorough of a collection of writings by an individual as you will ever find. Including every major treatise, essay, and book by Kandisky, it goes a few steps further with every Kandisky poem (English and German translations) and play. Moreover, the book includes innumerable pamphlets and the like from the earlier late-Expressionist exhibits; also incorporated are several corrspondances between Kandinsky and contemporaries, particularly atonal composer Arnold Schoenburg--illuminating how each other's theories were mutually related and held a reciprocal influence. A little known fact, Schoenburg himself was a non-objective painter--photos of his works are among these pages, as well! Before each section is a contextual introduction to that particular writing. And much much more.



4. An obligatory text for any visual, aural, or literary artist, and a necessity for any true understanding of the nature of artistic creation.