5 comments about Civil Engineering: FE Exam Preparation (Fe Exam Preparation).

1. Feels like a slapped together attempt to make some money. No survey review. Most of the reviews are very confusing. The hydrology review is just a couple questions with manning's and Hazen equations. The review questions don't have real explained solutions. Don't waste time with this book, find something else.



2. It discusses in detail obvious stuff, and then references you to textbooks for more advanced topics. So it is more of a basic reference for the things you practice everyday, than a way to help you remember the topics you did during your undergrad degree



3. This book is okay. It's not very in-depth. I would pay the extra money and get a more thorough study guide.



4. Talk about a big disappointment.I was expecting a book that would really help me prepare for the civil discipline specific portion of the EIT exam. Unfortunately this book only skims the top of major topics and does not go into any sort of detail whatsoever.It's not a complete book, i think it miss more than 50% of the course. My suggestion would be to leave this book alone and study from reference text books.



5. I got this book last week and I've only worked through the second chapter but I've already found 4 mistakes. Grammatical mistakes I can handle but what I've come across are technical mistakes, units - poorly photocopied diagrams, mislabeled examples, that I cannot handle. If you're the publisher or one of the contributors reading this review you should be ashamed of yourself. Save your money, stick to Michael R. Lindeburg.

1 comments about Compact Houses (Compact).

1. The picture are wonderful, but I am someone who like to know the technical details. I want to see detailed floor plans and have verbose descriptions. So this is not the book for you if you are like me, but it is still a nice inspirational piece.

No comments about Beijing: The New City.

1 comments about Gothic Architecture (The Yale University Press Pelican History of Art).

1. This book is an extremely extensive coverage of Gothic Architecture throughout Europe. The quality and coverage of the work is unsurpassed. However, it only covers the architectural elements of Gothic Cathedrals and does not cover aspects such as stained glass windows, wood carvings and sculptural art within Gothic Cathedrals. If you are looking for a general work on various aspects of Gothic Art, this is not it.

No comments about The Passive Solar Primer: Sustainable Architecture.

No comments about The Invention of Chic: Therese Bonney and Paris Moderne.

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.

3 comments about Creating Cards with Scrapbook Embellishments.

1. This book was a real disappointment to me. I own and like several of this author's other books, but I plan to resell this one. Most of the cards used photos, which I am just not interested in. I don't think the designs are pretty, either. Even the cards without photos weren't to my taste. Might be OK for a beginner, although I'm not sure there would be enough directions for a first-time project.



2. I was also disappointed with the quality and contents of this book. The pictures, samples and description not up to the usual standard of this author. Although a nice book to look at, I have not been inspired to rush right in and make any of the cards discussed. Pity ....



3. The book was ultimately a disappointment. It might be of use to a beginner, but for anyone beyond that, it will be uninspiring...sorry!

2 comments about Winfield House.

1. 
   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.



2. 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.

1 comments about Architectures of Time: Toward a Theory of the Event in Modernist Culture.

1. Kwinter's analysis is extraordinary. His method is fairly eclectic, however, as some would issue this as a detraction, he compensates by having a wonderful writing style and a copious amount of mastery of the concepts that he addresses. I have read several treatises on architecture from 'philosophers'(i.e., Foucault, the Sitiuationists, et al.), but what is novel here is a designer explaining the epistemological frame of reference in the edifice, or engendering from it. Furthermore, it is completely amazing to think of the ostensibly disparate entities of Futurist architecture, quantum mechanics and relativity and Kafka as all burgeoning within the same epochal stuctures. I did find it odd that the author did not address Lefevbre's space/time tomes and rhythmanalysis. Kwinter is worth reading, and I think this book will be written about for years to come.