2 comments about A House for Life: Bringing the Spirit of Frank Lloyd Wright into Your Home.

1. I learned a lot about John Rattenbury and found it very interesting.
   The houses he built are unbelievable



2. OK, interesting to some, but more of Rattenbury's live and influence from Wright. This is not a must buy. Find it in the library and have a read. Save your $$$.

1 comments about Getaway Plans: 250 Home Plans for Cottages, Bungalows & Capes.

1. Mostly enormous and overly elaborate houses, up to 3000 square feet, suitable for the suburbs. With very few exceptions, these are not vacation style plans.

4 comments about Land Development, Ninth Edition.

1. I think the reviewer from December 2000 may have been talking about "Be a Successful Residential Land Developer by R. Dodge Woodson" as other reviews of it say the same thing. I also find it hard to believe he could have come to this conclusion a mere 13 days after the book was published. Amazon should check into this as it seems to be giving Land Development, Ninth Edition a bad rap.



2. The industry's bible. Nine chapters cover everything you need to know about land development from initial market studies to site selection and analysis. New and innovative design ideas for streets, houses, and neighborhoods are included. Whether you're developing a whole neighborhood or just one site, you shouldn't be without this essential reference.



3. This is a great book. I do not know what the other reviewer was thinking. It gave all the information I needed to learn about land development. Easy and concise, perfect for all levels of contracting.



4. Being in the real estate development business, I thought this book would be interesting and that I might garner a new idea from it. I was terribly disappointed. The book lacks real world concrete examples and does not give enough information to allow a true understanding of the process of development. Perhaps the most annoying part of the book is the constant references to hire consultants for this study, consultants for this other study, etc. If you are going to hire people to do all the work, what is the point to bother learning anything for yourself? This book does not have the content to permit you to learn the development process. I would not recommend this book to anyone.

2 comments about There's a Bed in the Piano: The Inside Story of the American Home.

1. Sometimes suffering from a forced theory or analogy, the book is nevertheless strongly recommended. It contains many insights into the American mindset as seen through objects. The black and white illustrations are well-chosen for their ability to inform. The author's grasp of modern scholarship is impressive, and many other authors are cited. Throughout, the author keeps up her commitment to debunking myths by including what she has dubbed the "fawbit", a "fictional account without basis in truth" (x). An example of a fawbit from the room use chapter is the assertion that a small, downstairs room in an 18th century house was the "borning room". Kaye reminds us that scholarship has never turned up a period inventory that included a "borning room"; more likely, it was a sleeping chamber for a servant. Kaye moves easily through styles and time periods, providing remarkable examples and details while keeping the big picture in sight.



2. If you're interested in antiques, American furniture, or architecture, I'm sure this book is full of indispensable information. I'm not interested in any of them, and I loved the book.

   It's just plain fun! It reads like a collection of short stories. You can't wait to see what happens next in the evolution of the chest of drawers or the porch -- because you don't learn only about the chest or the porch, but about the people who designed and used them. And you learn answers to all those questions you've always wondered about and never known whom to ask.

   The pictures not only make it a great gift and perfect coffee table book, but tell you what something looks like exactly when you're trying to imagine it.

   Most of all, I learned a lot without it even hurting a little bit!

No comments about It's Hardly Sportin: Stadiums, Neighborhoods, and the New Chicago.

1 comments about The Woodland House.

1. Author Ben Law build a lovely home in the woods - one of the most sustainable and lovely in Britain - and here provides his experience on the whole process, completed under L28,000 with the help of volunteers and no crane, no waste, and no electricity from the grid. His home is an inspiration and was featured on the TV show 'Grand Designs': the book follows the step-by-step process of its construction with color photos all the way.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

1 comments about Changing Ideals in Modern Architecture 1750-1950.

1. Peter Collins is one of the more erudite architectural writers you will ever come across. This book was published in 1965, barely pre-dating the publication of Venturi's influential "Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture." Now that I've read both, if I had to recommend one, I would recommend Peter Collins. While Venturi attacks Modernism by simply saying "its not complicated enough, I like complex architecture (and therefore you should too)" Collins goes much, much more in-depth.
   
   The various ideas architects have desperately flung around since 1750 are all traced, dissected, and put into their social contexts. Rationalism, Romanticism, Ecclecticism, Historicism/Archeology, Classics versus Goths, the Moderns, the various analogies to other fields architects have attempted - it is all discussed. The book stops at 1950, but this does not detract from its relevance in 2004, as we can see that architects have continued to explore connections with other genres in order to create their various forms. It is important to realize what we're doing and if it has ever be done before - and - it all pretty much has been. Not to despair though, Collins keeps it an interesting read, if you do not chuckle at his wit every now and then, then your sense of humor is dead. It is important to read this critically, and I found myself only very occasionally disagreeing.
   
   One of my favorite chapters, which is almost a six-page long joke, is entitled "Architecture and Gastronomy." (and yet - it is not a joke!)
   
   The only criticism of the book is perhaps his less-intensive use of illustrations than he might have. Those that he does include however are well-chosen.
   
   A very closely related work to this is J. Mordaunt Crook's 1987 "The Dilemma of Style: Architectural Ideas from the Picturesque to the Post Modern." Crook makes a book that attempts to do essentially the same thing, but has a slightly diferent perspective. I mention it because I believe these two, Crook and Collins, should be read by any architect worth their salt.
   
   Kenneth Frampton writes a fairly interesting introduction to the 1998 edition, hopefully this book will continue to have stamina for future generations of architects.

1 comments about Architecture: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (The Yale University Press Pelican History of Art).

1. Unfortunately, this book doesn't hold up very well over time. Hitchcock's study of Modern Architecture is spotty and not very well organized. The most interesting chapters are those on 19th century architecture, which Hitchcock seems most comfortable with. However, the later chapters leave much to be desired. His understanding of Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural system is very weak. It is little more than a walk through some of his more famous buildings. He has a better understanding of the European modernists, but here too he presents them in a superficial way that leaves more questions than it does provide answers.

   Hitchcock and Philip Johnson have been credited for bringing the European Modern Movement to America with their exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in 1932. They dubbed it "The International Style," a name which has stuck but doesn't do justice to the many currents that ran through Modern Architecture at the time. Hitchcock tried to develop these ideas further in "Architecture: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries." He provides a wide array of sources, but very little that binds these ideas together. One can find much better overviews of Modern Architecture by Kenneth Frampton and William J.R. Curtis.

1 comments about 325 New Home Plans for 2007: Today's Top Home Designs Updated Classics for Today's Homeowner.

1. I had expected to see a walk through of home design color picture inside the book. But it just had one home in color (5 pages) and the rest of the 250 pages had just black and white exterior home designs and layout.
   
   I would suggest in your selection process for a internet buyer to give a brief of the book, not just by the looks of the cover. In fact the introduction states interior and exterior. Some of the previous books I purchased had a walk through of each home, I mean the interior of the sitting, bedroom, kithcen etc etc... Not really usefull after my purchase, this applies to two other books as well I bought along with this order, "Two-Story Homes" Second Edition and "Europeon Dream Homes" Second Edition.

2 comments about Sun Valley Architecture and Interiors.

1. "Sun Valley is an oasis between desert and lava of the Snake River Plain, an isolated haven and difficult place to reach from just about anywhere. It is wedged between surrounding peaks of Sawtooth, Smokey and Boulder Ranges with a high desert climate."
   
   For anyone living in Sun Valley, the history at the beginning of the book will be of interest. Then, if you have ever been skiing in Sun Valley, this has interesting historical pictures. Golfing and fishing are also of interest.
   
   In regards to the beautiful architecture in this book, you may notice the abundance of open space and walls of windows. Living inside, you feel a sense of communion with nature. Garden showers and retreat rooms are an essential. Modern log cabin styles contrast with the more traditional mystique of old-world adventure.
   
   The homes do not seem overly opulent on every page. There are some quaint pictures of decorating with quilts and small porches with aging chairs. The retreat style homes have a cozy country feel and there are even pictures of restored trailers.
   
   There is a gorgeous kitchen complete with rows of copper pots and a huge island. Fireplaces, libraries, lush gardens, modern art, fishing lodges and barns all mingle nicely together. The picture of the kitchen in the fishing lodge is amazing in detail. Now that is what I call a sink on page 205.
   
   ~The Rebecca Review



2. Sun Valley has long been a vacation area for the rich and famous. It is large enough that houses don't have to be next to each other, each home can have its own surroundings out of sight of the neighbors. Further, each home can be constructed to meet the desires and requirements of the individual builder. There is no standard architecture like you find in many communities. Here is an ultra modern concrete and glass structure, there is a 'log cabin' but not the simple one room cabin the pioneers might have had. Somewhere else there is a converted barn, here is a house decorated with oriental art, more common is a western Americana theme. There are some homes that are not too large, and there's one that's 19,000 square feet that houses a private art collection of some 650 pieces.
   
   All in all, a spectacular set of photographs beautifully printed that shows some of the best in the valley. My one complaint is that I would like to know who owns these homes. Pure curiosity I know, but I'm certainly curious.