5 comments about In the Company of Stone: The Art of the Stone Wall.

1. Dan Snows stonework may be some of the best in the world. Of all the stonework I have seen over the years his stands of as the best of the best.
   This book illustrates much of Dans work demonstrating what is possible.
   Most of this work is dry laid stone which is an art in itself. For those who like work utilizing mortar I recommend Lew Frenches book. Buy this book if you love to view stonework that makes you say " WOW!"



2. Over a decade ago, Dan Snow repaired the hundred-year-old dry stone walls that wander across our property in Vermont. The tumbled stone had been evocative, but the symmetry of the reassembled walls has been an irresistible delight. I do not know Snow--he worked while we were away--but I have thanked him a million times for his art. In this book, he has somehow captured with words the sensory pleasure of organizing and reorganizing stones. The art of walling, as evidenced by Peter Mauss's photographs, and the skill of walling, as described by Snow, are compulsively fascinating, an adventure for the armchair dreamer.
   The text and illustrations blend carefully, and the color photographs sparkle. The reproduction of the black and white photographs varies in quality, alas. This is a charming book. An excellent companion book is Gordon Hayward's "Stone in the Garden."



3. If you love stones and stone work you'll appreciate the pictures but a book just can't manage to "show" the art involved in working with stone



4. This is not a "how-to" book - it's better than that. It's a "why" book. The author expresses in his understated manner the "why's" of working with stone and for anyone who feels about stone the way he does (and I do)it is a delight to read - and look at. This book is absolutely inspirational and a joy.



5. Being a native resident of Vermont this book is very precious to me. I lived on a dairy farm with dry stone walls that were very plain. Dan Snow made the process into an art form as well as for practical use. The back of the book gives locations of some of his work here in VT and NH and I look forward to seeing some of it next summer. This book is one that should sit on a coffee table to be picked up and scanned by your guests rather than sitting on a bookcase shelf. The book is not only about the work of Dan Snow but a showcase of the photos by Peter Mauss, in color as well as black & white. It is a book you will treasure.

4 comments about Love Letters, Lost.

1. The beauty of this book, beyond the romantic nostalgia inspired by vintage photographs and handwritten letters, is that it is a collection created from discarded or "lost" memorabilia. The images and letters were once, we can reasonably believe, very important to the anonymous beholder before they were set adrift in estate sales, flea markets, and junk stores. The author performs a service of social research and cultural reclamation by taking these things in, preserving them, and creating an outlet for them to be rediscovered by other people. I highly recommend this book for anyone at all interested in being part of that process or anyone who is moved by the sentimentality of others.



2. So I received this book as a gift, and so I can't hate it too much. I did not know that I could collect a bunch of nostalgia, throw it all in a messy anthology with some random pictures of old couples and make some money. Maybe I should try it. I wouldn't consider these 'love letters' per say, because most of them are just from ordinary people chronicling their mundane lives to someone who will listen. When you buy this book you turn into that someone.
   
   Lesson is that nothing's changed over the years. There's no magic in this collection, just a bunch of hodge podge. Cute though. Some are a bit witty, some whiny, most just plain BORING. A sweet little novelty, nothing great.



3. I like looking at old pictures and old letters, but I thought when I bought the book that I would actually be looking in the history of someone's life with pictures to go with it but that was not the case. It is just a random bunch of pictures and a random bunch of letters put together in a book. The pictures aren't necessarily the pictures of the people who wrote the letters, so you know nothing of the authors, no explanation of the times they lived in or the place they lived in or anything. In other words, no story behind it whatsoever. Just a disappointing collection.



4. Another beautiful contribution by this author. Love letters to make you weep, smile, laugh and imagine . . . or remember . . . how it feels to love and be loved.

No comments about Biddle's Young Carpenter's Assistant.

No comments about Networked Cultures.

No comments about Transportation Decision Making: Principles of Project Evaluation and Programming.

1 comments about Furniture Design.

1. This book was a big help on understanding the design history of things we all use, everyday. Well laid out and easy to follow, this book is an excellent guide for anyone more curious about what furniture really is; art.

No comments about The Dynamics of Architectural Form.

No comments about New Tent Architecture.

5 comments about The Provencal House: Architecture and Interiors.

1. Wow, what a gorgeous book. We look at it again and again for indoor and outdoor inspiration. You will be completely delighted by this book which captures golden light!



2. Pure and simple, for most of us PROVENÇAL HOUSE is a coffee table book filled with exquisite detail found in several dozen homes in the south of France. Author, Joanna Thornycroft, has classified the structures Andreas Von Einsiedel photographed into `Town', `Manor' or `Country' houses. Short on text and long on photos, the premise of this publication seems to be a picure is worth a thousand words. Beginning with houses in the French Rivera and ending with Le Murier in hameau das Auvis, the author takes you on a trip through the land painted by Van Gogh and Pagnol.
   
   Some of the homes are "simple" cottages, others the more ornate domains of the landed gentry or super-rich movie star. My favorite shots were taken in gardens, and show flowers, pots and rustic gates across cobblestone walkways that lead to the lane or another room of the garden. Small details such as a decorative window latch covered with several centuries of paint, delft-like kitchen tiles, and a rooster weather vane, remind me of the land of the Cathars-those God-fearing people who lived in this land that once harbored them as heretics who may or may not have been far from God but who must have understood how blessed life can be when the sun shines.
   
   Architects may get some ideas from the recessed windows, the red tiled roofs, the stucco blue walls, and the marble bathroom fixtures, but the fabric-lined antique china cabinets, and nifty little accent touches in the various rooms depicted so lovingly make this book a must for interior designers and others seeking the "look" of Provence.



3. I can be critical of design and house books after seeing so many, so it's a relief to finally be able to give a book five stars. The photographs are authentic and detail everything from interior to exterior, including gardens. The essence of French provincal style is captured and distilled here. The writing is clever and concise, although you'll hardly notice it because the pictures are so brilliant. This is an essential book if you're trying to capture the French provencal look in house design or interior design. This book gives you an authentic source reference.



4. I'm an architect with the task of designing a "French" style home. This is one of several books I ordered to use as references. The appeal of this book for me is that it includes exterior architecture, interior design/decor, & gardens/landscapes. It is extensively illustrated with color photos & captions (my kind of book...). I can't critique the text because I have not yet had time to read it. But I can't get enough of the pictures!



5. I picked this book up from the table of new releases at a local bookstore, sat in a chair, and didn't move except to turn the pages for the next 90 minutes. In more than 200 color photographs, The Provencal House explores the beauty of 16 Provencal homes - interior and exterior details, uses of color playing off the landscape, curves and arches and doorways. It's a beautiful celebration of an architectural way of life rooted in the land and its traditions.

1 comments about The Virtual Window: From Alberti to Microsoft.

1. The movie screen, the TV screen, and the computer screen have become part of our everyday experience - substitutes for the architectural window that frames a view, and for the frame around a painting. But only in the last two decades have multiple screens become familiar. Typically film and TV both display a single frame on a single screen, despite other possibilities. What does it mean to "frame" an idea or experience using the new digital technologies? How does it change our "perspective"? Anne Friedberg takes up these issues with extraordinary theoretical sophistication and an impressive knowledge of history.