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.

2 comments about People Places: Design Guidlines for Urban Open Space, 2nd Edition.

1. The book is excellent, but the extra $15 I paid to view the book online before it arrived was not worth the money. (only chapter titles and brief excerpts came up, or nothing at all would come up... disappointing)



2. I read this book as part of a research project I was doing about the design of college campuses. I found it to be extremely helpful in my project and I plan on refering to it in the future; I am pursuing a Master's of Landscape Architecture. What I liked about this book is two-fold:

   1. Each chapter is a self-contained guide to designing a plaza, park, campus, or playground with people in mind. This important to me becuase I try to focus my designs around the people who will be using them. Each chapter gives useful design tips and helps about the given topic.

   2. This book was academic while remaining readable. The authors refer to studies relevent to the topic at hand, but do not become bogged down in theoretical nonsense.

   I recommend buying it to anyone who would like a well-organized general design reference book. I would not recommend it to anyone who needs in depth information on any specific topic covered in the book. Check it out from the library if that is your intent.

No comments about Dream Homes the Carolinas (Dream Homes).

2 comments about Towards a New Museum: Expanded Edition.

1. This book is ok if you want a coffee-table type, once-over- lightly look at some new museums. If you want the kind of serious consideration or analysis that seems promised by the contents/chapter titles, look elsewhere. A waste of $ for my purposes.



2. Victoria Newhouse's book on recent museum design is fascinating--I have been to many of the projects she includes (there are lots and lots of them), and her descriptions and analyses of them never fail to strike me as remarkably insightful. I don't always agree with her comments or her selection of projects (Frank Stella should stick to painting), but as a whole the book is both a wide-ranging compendium of current designs for the visual arts, and an informed treatise with a strong point of view. Far from being an advocate of universal space, Newhouse keeps returning to her central theme: how well does a particular design serve its particular contents? In answering that question, she displays an unusual comprehension of sophisticated issues in both the architectural and artistic arenas. Newhouse has visited much and looked hard; she has also apparently done a lot of research, talked to many of the clients, architects, and curators, and gives one not only the obvious facts but often the inside story. Then she calls it as she sees it, cogently summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of each project's suitability as a container for art. This is required reading for anyone seriously interested in or involved with problems of museum and gallery design.

5 comments about Be Your Own House Contractor: Save 25% without Lifting a Hammer.

1. Heads Up! The book has been updated. The 5th edition just released in April of 2006 has been fully updated and includes Carl Heldmann's new Web site, where readers can get loan information, daily updates on interest rates, and cost estimate worksheets for planning and tracking building expenses. Other new features include new chapters on renovating and restoring an older house and a Spanish glossary of common building terms.



2. Very little to work with here. Covers everything, but with little detail. For instance, there are only six pages in the book on sub-contractors. Search a little more and you can find a different resource that will be much more detail oriented.



3. I read the book since I am building a house soon. The book gave very little useful information. I have been doing my homework on building a home and consider myself above average home building knowledge, but nothing I have learned came from this book. I took the book on vacation this summer to read at the beach and I finished it in a day. If you have some type of home building knowledge, you do not need this book. I can NOT think of ANYTHING positive to say. I wish I had another book to read at the beach. WASTE OF TIME.



4. The author of the book dwells on materials and methods that are commonly used only in the southeastern part of the country, where he is from. (He actually recommends heat pumps, which are not a very good bet in the colder parts of the country, he also has very little to say about basements, and seems to discourage them as well). I read the whole book, and I do not feel well prepared to be my own contractor. The author never discusses issues like panelized and modular homes, and that could be a way to simplify construction and save money.



5. The fellow who "knocks" this book doesn't know what he is talking about. The fact is...when you add up all of the fluff in the construction of a home, and if you have reasonable intelligence and if you plan well, before you break ground, you can in fact save 25%-30% on the cost of a new home.And, that does not include the 5-6% for the realtor and the 2-3% for the mortgage broker, etc. If you purchase a component system, chances are you will pay far too much for the home, despite the claims to the contrary. I have been involved in the construction of over 3000 homes in the past 4 years. This is truly the best kept secret in America for the person who wants to do a bit of work, for a very big pay day, down the road. That being said...it ain't for the dummy who wants to make decisions as he or she goes along , once the project is underway. Make your plans...do your homework and let 'er rip.

   Real estate has always hidden a multitude of sins, due to leverage and inflation. Wouldn't you rather start with an extra 25% in your pocket, right out of the gate?

5 comments about The Bridges of New York.

1. I really enjoyed this book but it does get a bit heavy into the local politics at times. It was written in 1977 but the age doesn't affect it too much.



2. I just loved this book. I have been in my "New York mode" for quite some time, just living in the great city vicariously! Wish I could move back there, but can't afford it! A beautiful book, I highly recommend it. Beautiful pictures of the bridges and their history. A lovely look at New York's treasures.



3. The photos and subject coverage are first rate, the writing style is workmanlike and effective, so if you are interested in bridge architecture and New York City history, this book is a must-have. I would have liked a bit less coverage of how the brisges constructions were finanaced, and more on the actual building process. Nevertheles, I really enjoyed this book.



4. Don't let the title fool you, this is not an engineering book. Rather, it is a pleasant history of the construction and importance of many of New York City's most important bridges. As everyone already knows, New York City is world-famous for its many impressive skyscrapers, but without its equally impressive bridges the city as we know it today could not exist. The narrative is detailed enough to give the reader a solid base of information about each span, but you don't need an engineering degree to understand this material. And all the added photos and illustrations help even more. If you are interested in what makes New York such a vibrant city you have to learn about its bridges as well as its buildings. This book is a wonderful way to do that.



5. This is a reissue by Dover of a classic history and exhibit book. Covers all the major bridges in the New York City area. For both the casually interested and the specialist, the author has mined volumes of engineering periodicals and original records to cover not only the well known crossings such as the Brooklyn, TriBorough and George Washington bridges but also the lesser known aqueduct bridges over the Harlem River between the Bronx and Manhattan, and the railroad bridges; structures not usually featured in postcards and tour books because they do not present spectacular and soaring vistas against the sky. Yet still worthy of admiration for their engineering features.
   Worthy addition to the collection of a pontist.

5 comments about American House Styles: A Concise Guide.

1. I had higher expectations for this book when I bought it. I was looking for a book that covered in depth the different design details used in the different styles of homes. The coverage is rather shallow.



2. Great book to sort out the various styles in american architectural houses. The history of each house is given well and concise. The language is appropriate and the illustrations are excellant.



3. This is a great way to study the different elevations/styles that can be applied to the same basic floorplan. Also a quick reference for the many Architectural styles of the U.S.



4. This fascinating book is a quick introduction to the evolution of house styles across the history of the United States. Each chapter has a short introduction to the era in American history, and then launches into a description of the house styles, complete with excellent sketches of a typical house and floor plan of that style. I found this to be a fun and educational read. I enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it.



5. In the beginning of this book the author points out that a culture is reflected in its buildings. Then he goes on to identify the events that caused the various styles--the War of 1812 that stopped our imitation of English architecture, the change to stud framing and the effects of industrialization that mark the Victorian era, the nationalistic spirit of the 1876 Centennial that spawned the revival in Colonial archictecture at the end of the 19th century, etc.--in such a professional style of writing you'd never suspect he was also an architect. A history professor maybe. All of which explains the subject better than the usual bare chronological sequence.
   
   What helps in a book like this are the odd bits of information casually thrown out that show mastery of the subject.
   Colonial homes were never white; Greek Revival were never anything but. A particular cornice is usually done incorrectly, compared to the true Classical version.
   
   He also make the sensible point that you can only compare styles within limits, that at some point you're really discussing altogether different building types, as in ranches, bungalows, and certainly octagon houses. And early on he boasts he can design a modern four bedroom house in any style. Then he proceeds to do it, providing a front elevation and a repeating ground floor plan (front: LR, center hall, DR. rear: family room, kitchen, mud room) with added porch, tower, fireplace, chimney, as needed. Not so much to explain the architectural features, I think, but to give the prospective homebuilder something that actually could be built today.
   
   Where most authors stop around WWII, he continues up to the present. His next-to-last chapter shows the recent builder's styles which will be familiar to anyone who's driven through any of those "Vinyl Village" developments with the Olde English names: the Townes, Pointes, Glenns, and Harbours. Here he doesn't hesitate to criticize the tastless examples, and continues his tirade into last chapter, where he argues against the Post-Modern assault on tradition in favor of a return to order and careful design.

3 comments about Engineering with the Spreadsheet: Structural Engineering Templates Using Excel.

1. I was heartbroken when I saw this book for sale. Why? Because I wanted to write this book. Twenty minutes after I received and opened the book I realized that the opportunity is still out there. If an LED flashlight is considered an advanced and high-tech tool for light, think of this book as a flaming, wooden torch. In fact, the book itself would be most useful in starting a fire.
   
   Seriously, this book would only be useful for engineers over the age of ~40. If you're still new to spreadsheets it may be helpful. If you've been in college in the last ten years this book is a worthless waste of paper and ink.



2. This book is ok for engineers who are not yet familiar with excel, but one would be better of with a excel manual and a structures text book. This book pretty much gives you the basics of how to set up a spreadsheet but, with a little time spent playing around with excel someone could figure them out on there own. The provided spreadsheet, although well thought out and planed, are nothing special and don't provide the proper detail to be used in a design office. The author does not go into any of the uses or advantages of macros and other automated features of excel which allow for greater variability in the use of spread sheets. I would recommend this book for engineers have no experience with excel and want a quick crash course in the basic features of the program, reminding them not to expect too much from it.



3. The book (the spreadsheets) illustrates nicely that Excel works for a structural engineer, but thats about it.
   It starts explaining Excel from scratch focusing on features that might be important for the engineer and applying examples common to an engineer, which makes it a good reference book for beginners. Afterwards, most of the book presents examples of calculations applying the functions learned in the earlier chapters of the book. There are examples from biaxial concrete column design to storage tank design.
   The entire book was written using Excel and the accompanying CD includes all spreadsheets, giving the user the opportunity to revise formulas and offering a couple of handy spreadsheets.
   However, the emphasis of the book lies on presenting a lot of examples elaborated by the author for some projects (mainly storage tanks). It leaves the impression that the book serves mostly to present those specific sheets and the authors work.
   The layout of the sheets is awkward and the book itself proves that creating a book in Excel itself is not the best idea since the formatting of pages is a little bit difficult.
   The examples are elaborated based on various codes, where the author expresses repetitively his nonconformism with LRFD. This aversion to LRFD leads to my personal favorite statement, which seems to be a little bit misplaced in a book about spreadsheets for civil engineers:
   "And is Europe laughing at us because we still use old fashioned methods? Let them laugh. The way we do things has created a nation powerful enough to provide a defense umbrella and relative stability to Europe that has lasted 60+ years. Many Europeans can take a five week vacation because of our resourcefulness."
   Personally, I would prefer to use an Excel manual and a good book on structural engineering.

1 comments about Performing Architecture: Opera Houses, Theatres and Concert Halls for the Twenty-first Century.

1. All the new halls and cultural spaces intended for public performance. Text is informal but pictures talk for themselves. This is not a technical text but rather an artistical aproach to expose the beauty of a very specialized field .