2 comments about Building Construction: Methods and Materials for the Fire Service (Brady Fire).

1. A very detailed and exhaustive text on building construction. This book goes a long way to bring all aspects into play so the firefighter can understand building construction very well.... I am still in the process of finishing the book but it appears to be very good.



2. Being a firefighter involves a pretty wide range of "Knowledges". Nobody could say that they know everything or else that they are self-confident 100% in each areas of "Knowledges". For my part, building construction was (and is still!) an area that I have to study hard. This book, is an excellent tool. Even if my primary spoken language is french (I sure have some basis in english...), I can say that I have improved my knowledge of building construction with the help of that great book!

3 comments about Bungalow Plans.

1. Enjoyed this book very much. There were plans of the houses with pictures and explanation of features. There were pictures also of the interiors which were lovely. I loved this book. Excellent!



2. I am studying plans for a new craftsman neighborhood that I am building in. This book is not very helpful. It has a few pictures that may help with some exterior design choices but that is all. There are only about 20 plans in this book and none are very good. The plans have no dimensions on them. There is no way to tell what the width or depth is. We have some tight lots so all the houses have to be less than 40' wide. Save your money and buy Craftsman Style.



3. Profusely illustrated with simple yet methodical diagrams and gorgeous color photography, Bungalow Plans by bungalow development experts Christian and Christen Gladu (owners of the Bungalow Company, Bend, Oregon) is an impressive collection of twenty-five bungalow plans from top-class designers. Bungalow Plans is an enthusiastically recommended, beautifully presented showcase of practical, efficient, and "people friendly" homes in this distinctive architectural style.

2 comments about Barns of Minnesota (Minnesota Byways).

1. This is a really great book if you want a little history and you care about the disappearing barns. I'm an old barn owner with little knowledge about what these things meant to my elders. I imagine my grandparents and their day to day lives when I read this story. It's an easy read.



2. We live in a Yankee Barn Home in Minnesota that is constructed from 150-100 year old timbers from old barns and industrial buildings from the east coast. As such, we are fascinated with the tradition and long standing barns across this great nation. BARNS of MINNESOTA captures the essence of the old barns in this great state of ours. We purchased this book along with the BACKROADS of MINENESOTA to be able to combine scenic backroad trips along with the opportunity to search out the old, wonderful barns. We highly recommend these two books as a great set for backroads scenic adventures that highlight some of the great barns of Minnesota! See you on the backroads!

No comments about Stone Sampler, Second Edition (with CD).

1 comments about Key Contemporary Buildings: Plans, Sections and Elevations (with CD-ROM).

1. Well worth adding to your Architectural library, a little more detail would be great
   though.
   Choice of buildings is really good too.

3 comments about Neoclassicism in the North: Swedish Furniture and Interiors 1770-1850.

1. A rich variety of houses, some grander than the others, but all well-to-do peoples dwellings. Some of the manors featured aren't very well known even in Sweden, but they certainly deserve their place here. The few I do miss are featured in "The Swedish Room" e.i. Lay-out-wise it is by now perhaps a little dated, but the auther knows his subject very well and the accompaning photos are mostly marvellous. When a Swede writes on Swedish interiors the result is accurate as this book shows.



2. This book is a treasure of neoclassicism in Sweden. It is supported by sensible (not gushy interior design talk) text and is logically sequenced.

   The pictures and additional material is excellent; although the lighting in some of the photographs is less than perfect.

   This is an inspirational reference for the topic.




3. This is another great book for Swedish decorative detail .A great asset in the decorative artist`s Library.A good source for Bolander`s beautiful wall murals. Great photography with excellent detail shots .A beautiful and knowledgable book. I am a decorative artist specializing in custom painted furniture for decorators and designers and have found this book to be a great resource and very helpful in my work.

5 comments about American Diner Then and Now.

1. What I like best is the Pictures of all those Stainless Steel Diners from The 40,s & 50,s.
   
   Also what I like about this Book is their listing of at least
   MOST of the Diner Builders from the past & present.
   
   For I plan to very soon put up a Diner like that at my own
   Home City & it gave me some tips & pointers on what a Diner should be & not to be.



2. As the author of this book, I beg to differ with the reviewer who said there are no menus reproduced. In fact, five typical menus are illustrated, dating from the "dog wagons" of the 1890s to the "blue plate specials" featured in the 1950s and '60s.
   
   This is not meant to be a cookbook or recipe source for diner food, but it does list hundreds of diners and their addresses where the reader can go and sample the real thing.
   
   This is a history of diners that traces their development from horse-drawn lunch wagons to the neon-trimmed, stainless steel diners of today.



3. Not a single menu photo or recipe graces the pages of this book. So little food info is included, in fact, that this book is just a dry recitation about the diner structures themselves, and the occasional interesting tidbit about the people who owned them. This leaves you hungry to know about the food they served. After all, the food is what diners were all about. If you want a diner history WITH menus and recipes, this is not the book for you.



4. This is actually the third edition of this work. In 1979, Gutman took the plunge with the simply titled "American Diner" published in hardback by Harper & Row. Done in collaboration with Elliott Kaufman and David Slovic, it was shorter and more loosely organized than the later edition, but a nice and welcome diner book at a time when there still weren't many such books around. In 1993 Gutman came out with "American Diner, Then and Now" which sported revised and substantially enlarged text and better-integrated photos (the Kaufman photo portfolios had also been dropped). This revamped '93 version was a high-water mark for diner books, a now numerous field. With it's perfect balance between individual diner stories ("dinerlore"), photos, and history, and great attention to detail which bespeaks a real love of the subject, this has been an unofficial bible for diner afficionados for the last 7 years.

   Now here is the 2000 edition, published in paperback by Johns Hopkins (apparently Barry Levinson's hometown has more interest in diners than the folks at Harper). This is basically just a reprint of the 1993 edition, with a different cover, a new introduction, and a few names added to the diner index at the end. While on the one hand it's great that this modern classic is available again (it had been out of print for several years) I had hoped that there would be some new material in it. To be sure, this book still teaches you how to tell a Paramount from a Mountain View, or a Fodero from a Worcester Lunch Car, and makes a fine gift (Christmas or otherwise) for someone who doesn't have the '93 edition. Nevertheless, at the risk of sounding like an ingrate, I would have to say I slightly prefer the '93 edition, mainly because the cover photo, an interior shot of a restored Worcester Lunch Car, with all that luscious wood, is more attractive than the rather bland shot of Ford's Diner that graces the cover of the 2000 edition. But make no mistake, if you don't have any diner books and are looking for a good one, this is THE one to get----and if you've already got five other diner books, you should still get this, as it has the clearest explication of American diner history you're ever likely to read.




5. Gutman did it again - his updated study of Diners is the cornerstone of any roadside fan's book collection. If you only have room for one book on Diners, THIS IS THE BOOK. Lots of great pictures and stories from the early lunch wagons to the new super diners.

1 comments about San Antonio's Monte Vista: Architecture and Society in a Gilded Age.

1. San Antonio is blessed with many intersting old neighborhoods, and Monte Vista being one of the most intriging. This book is well crafted, the text is enlightening and well researched and the images crisp. I have toured this neighborhood and can honestly say this book really captures the essense of it. This book is a must for anyone interested in the history of historic neighborhoods or just historic San Antonio in general, you wont be disappointed.

3 comments about Timberframe Plan Book.

1. Don't buy this book!
   Unless you want a lessons in terrible architecture and how NOT to build a timber frame.
   The pictures are also the worst quality I have ever seen in a book. Waste of my money.



2. I found this book a waste of time. Looking for actual timber frame plans, instead I found a bunch of pictures in no particular order or organization. May make a makeshift coffee table book for people to read while you think big thoughts in your completed timber frame home, but it sure won't help you design one.



3. As the editor of LivingHome, I have to say that this new book is a real winner. With the popularity of timberframe homes, many of the best companies put out beautiful brochures (some even charging for them), and some have Web sites, but the photos on the Web don't do justice to the soaring spaces and gorgeous interiors of these type of homes. The authors of this book have gathered some of the best photos from some of the best companies. Plus there is good actionable information and resources for those of us who say that some day we are going to build one these beauties, no matter what.

5 comments about The Vanderbilts and the Gilded Age: Architectural Aspirations, 1879-1901.

1. I've had this book since it came out and still consider it to be peerless in capturing all that the Vanderbilt heirs attempted to build as monuments to themselves. It is a great read and the amount of research invested to unearth so many top-notch photos is amazing. I'm dismayed at the original remarks from the library reviewer who panned it!
   
   You'll never see more insightful photos as to what happened to Elm Court in Lenox, MA - the largest shingle-style manor house ever built - or even the wealth of historical photos for Shelburne Farm. The latter produced their own smaller hardcover book which pales in comparison to what "Architectural Aspirations" captures in the one chapter devoted to the estate. As an aside, Elm Court rose again with heirs to the family have restored it between 2000 and 2006.
   
   Picking up even a used copy to add to ones collection is something I strongly recommend.



2. We have a great group on Biltmore if you are interested. At Yahoo, search yahoo groups for biltmoreestate, and join the great unoffocial history.



3. I loved this book. If you are looking for a book that shows you sites deep inside the long lost mansions of 5th avenue, then this is your book. Read it from cover to cover or just skim through the pages over and over again. These photos tell a million stories, from the caen stone interiors to the triple mansions' immense proportions and details to the lives of the architects themselves. This is a great book!



4. If that Library Journal reviewer read more than just the Introduction, which contains a couple of typos, he'd have realized this book tells more about the Vanderbilts and their world than any other book on the subject. Obviously, he didn't. It's a great read.



5. This book is a great look at the stories of all the houses the Vanderbilts purchased or created with their spetacular wealth- and also some of the fascinating stories of the eccentric family members behind the houses. The book is filled with rare photographs and stories of all the Vanderbilt castles.

   I found the book to be very entertaining- a must have if you're interested in the Vanderbilt family or the Gilded Age in general.