No comments about Sydney Style: Exteriors, Interiors, Details (Icons).

4 comments about Great Moments in Architecture.

1. This is an excellent book for lazy afternoons devoted to daydreaming. Every illustration is a wonderful "what if...?" scenario depicting an architectural acievement gone awry. Macaulay also has a particular love for dreaming up very peculiar applications of vinyl siding- that part does get a little tedious, but this book is definitely worth a look. When I first looked at this book several years ago, I was too young to get many of the jokes, but I just pulled it out again today- what a great surprise!



2. I came upon this book in my search for history of architecture in general. Though I expected something entirely different, I was immediately caught in the book's charm. The illustrations are clever and their sarcasm unbeatable. A book to look at, time and time again.



3. I always find the author's work entertaining and informative. True, while Great Moments in Architecture is not as factual as some of his works, the sketches are beguiling, and the humor strikes a particularly concordant note with individuals involved in architectural careers.

   Buy it and get a good chuckle out of it!




4. I waited with great expectation for "Great Moments in Architecture" to arrive, hoping it would be in the style of the other highly successful books by David MacCaulay on Pyramids, ships, etc. These other books provide something for all ages: detailed drawings on how things work for children and sophisticated studies of engineering and architecture for adults. Unfortunately, Great Moments is a satirical look at great objects of aechitecture. The cover shows L'Arc de Triumph upside down and called Arc de Defeat. The remainder of the book only gets worse. The problem is the work is totally confusing for children who are trying to learn the true nature of the world while being boringly crude for adults. However, I suppose if you would like an expensive and not funny Architectural Far Side, maybe this would provide some brief enjoyment

No comments about Bruno Taut: Master of Colorful Architecture in Berlin (Urban Planning & Construction).

No comments about Color - Communication in Architectural Space.

3 comments about Best of Wildlife Art 2.

1. I bought this along with "Wildlife Art: 60 Contemporary Masters & Their Work". Both books are great, but"Best of Wildlife Art 2" is a must have. The captions under the art tells you what the medium the artist is using. "Wildlife Art: 60 Contemporary Masters & Their Work" doesn't alway tell you and you have to guess at it. I also like the art in "Best of Wildlife Art 2" better.



2. beautiful dynamic pictures you can see why the artists are tops in their feild. Many different mediums showen if your'e an animal art lover this book is great.



3. Part 2 brings us more of the same brilliant wildlife paintings as those featured in Part 1. For my money, this second version has the winning edge because it is richer in African wildlife subjects (I am an African artist!), with some incredible work that captures the essence of the animal in a host of creative ways.

   Like the first volume, there are a couple of paintings that are ghastly, but they are in the minority. Paintings are grouped into chapters, with similar headings to the first volume: viz. "Develop a unique design concept", "Convey a particular mood", Grab your viewer with tension", "Bedazzle your subject with light", "Express an animal's character", "Take a different viewpoint", Capture a moment in time with action", " Embellish your painting with colour", "Depict an expressive pose or behaviour", and "Feature the habitat or environment". The reader thus has a critical departure-point from which to view the works. The effect of this is a heightened involvement with some of the best wildlife paintings in the world.

   If you can afford both books, add them both to your collection. If you have to make a choice, I would recommend this one. Even with a few lemons, it's still great.

3 comments about Heidegger's Hut.

1. This book is really nice small book, well written, illustrations throughout the book, etc. As some of the finer details concern a.o. the colours of the hut, the colours (?) of Heidegger's thinking and his direct environment, it should have been done in full colour. This book gave me some brilliant insights and saves me a lot of time. I'm now sure I will never read anything from Heidegger, sorry Martin.



2. If you have an interest in Heidegger, this is a clever little monogram on the place where Heidegger wrote or was inspired throughout the course of his career. The funny thing is, it is such a meager, crappy little hut that I guess he had no choice but to think profoundly. As architecture - well, it's laughably German: bare essentials, hardly comfortable, no cross ventilation, no indoor plumbing. And somehow that last factor takes the wind, so to speak, out of all that hermeneutics. Nothing like imagining Martin bent over a log to de-mythologize one of humanity's greatest thinkers.
   The hut is still in the hands of his family, so it is not really a tourist site, but there is enough interest for the local government to signpost it and then ask everyone to respect the family's privacy. The black and white photos are collected from a series done in the sixties, and the author notes that they are somewhat staged. That's alright. It gives you the impression of how close the quarters were. Spartan is far too luxurious a concept. Nonetheless, this is where Martin came to follow those paths that led to the clearings wherein he began to consider how to uncover what had been appropriated. And all that is to say, that for its barren uncomfortableness, it is all the more remarkable that it was in such a setting that such piety was contemplated.
   In short, the hut had precious little to do with it, I suppose. The landscape must be spectacular. Considering who came to visit him here, it is all the more remarkable. The place must have reeked. My estimation and admiration for both Elfride Heidegger and Hannah Arendt has increased exponentially. If you have had any experience travelling with Germans over the summer, you'll know what I'm talking about.
   Against this setting is also a consideration of the more suburban digs Martin and his brood occupied in Freiburg. It seems more comfortable and while I gather Marty wasn't as keen on it, at least there was running water. The two settings compose an almost Monty Python pastiche of the life of Martin Heidegger - a bit like the Sartre sketch Cleese and Idle did: "OW, 'e's in his room sulkin again - all what about I dunno".
   Much is made about Heidegger's brief flirtation with the Nazis, and his banishment to Todtnauberg (mostly self imposed, mind you), and as an ardent student of his work, I think it's time for a reality check: one, he gave up the Nazi post within a year, and in fact five years before Kristallnacht (ever wonder why? Of course not, it would force you to admit and forgive), and two, Hannah forgave him for being pissed at Jewish students who were annoying him and stating incredibly stupid propoaganda policies. And if she could forgive him, that's good enough for me.
   Besides, look who is ghetto-izing and annhilating a minority now - as Victor Hugo would have it, those who refuse to learn from history.....
   In any case, yer not likely, mate, to find hidden swastikas and egyptian icons writ backwards and cryptic messages stating "Paul is the walrus" anywhere around. This was a simple, really basic, unattractive hut in a beautiful setting that Martin found ideal for his enterprises. Hardly sacred space, but sacred enough for him.
   The book is a quick read, but file it definitely under the cult of personality studies that seek vicarious approximation to glory in fetishizing the most insignificant details that have nothing to do with the heart of being, Being, Martin.



3. It discusses the hut from an architectural perspective, situating it in valley & comparing it to his city home.
   
   It gives a good sense of what it would be like to have used it in the way Heidegger did, without overreaching into architectural determinism.

5 comments about Capturing Soft Realism in Colored Pencil.

1. I subscribe to Ann's newsletter, and have purchased just about all her informational material she offers,and the good news is, Ms. Kullbert has plans to self-publish this title later this year or in 2009. That means we won't have to pay the outrageous prices this book is being offered at. We are artists, and "starving" maybe not, however, I prefer to purchase art materials with my extra bucks. Also, she offers a companion CD to this book with video clips on technique and printable line drawings from which to practice. Third, my fellow artists, she is just about finished her 3rd book...so watch for it!!!



2. This is a wonderful guide to rendering all the little details that can make a colored pencil painting special. There's a CD (available separately) of short movies of the author working on the projects in this book, and the CD and book together are an unbeatable combination. It's almost as good as private lessons from a master artist. I learned a great deal from this book.



3. It is not only a pretty book but very interesting and helpful.



4. This book is beautiful, full of great step by step information, color recipe information, and tips for beginners to advanced. A keeper!



5. I really like a lot of her techniques. They are easy to follow and very basic. Her books are good starting books. I have found others to show more techniques too that are great. It's just good to have a variety, since many artists have varying approaches. I basically will go with colored pencil artists whose work is excellent. I will not buy a book by an artist who does crappy art work, even if the techniques are great according to other readers. To me if the techniques are great, so would be the artwork.

4 comments about Ruskin's Venice: The Stones Revisited.

1. A beautiful book, but it is principally a very short compendium of the Ruskin book assorted with awesome pictures!



2. I am a yearly visitor to Venice and an amateur of Venetian history. I have tried to read the original Ruskin several times and always got bogged down in it. This book does a lovely job highlighting Ruskin's voluminous work with wonderfully detailed photography. I was in Venice 2 weeks ago and having read this book greatly enhanced my appreciation of the architectural details of many buildings. Highly recommended for anyone desiring to take the time to study the exquisite fine points of this jewel of a city.



3. I read an original copy (circa 1890), a three volume set with beautiful, color stone lithographs and (of course) no editorial abridgment. It became a gift to a friend wanting to learn about architecture as the best possible starting point. I cannot condone abridgment of this work. Particularly as Ruskin's illustrations really clarify his presentation.
   
   But if one is willing to overlook unnecessary editorial wiseacreing, this book is obviously a classic. It is a marvelous experience to be able to look at a building, any building, when driving or walking down a street, and know the history, name, and significance of each of its facets and adornments.
   
   Unless you happen to live in an area with considerable architectural variety, you will find your newly acquired skills only serve to confirm your opinion that we live in an age of totally bland and meaningless construction.
   
   I cannot recommend this book (at least in its original) highly enough.



4. This is a deeply inspiring photographic account of Ruskin's commitment to Venice. It serves as a remarkable and revelatory companion to Ruskin's THE STONES OF VENICE and, to any one who cares about this city, it is an entirely necessary book. It is difficult to imagine how it might have been done better.

No comments about Family History 101: A Beginner's Guide to Finding Your Ancestors.

No comments about Geo-Space Urban Design.