No comments about Contemporary California Houses (Architecture 3s).

No comments about Fire Code Exam Study Guide.

1 comments about Wood Burners.

1. Daniel Mihalyo has conducted a thoughtful and loving study of wood burners. Anyone who has seen an abandoned wood burner rising hauntingly above the overgrowth will appreciate the variety of gorgeously composed photographs taken of the interior and exterior of the structures. If you have never seen a wood burner, this book takes you on a calm journey through time and space after which you will be both intrigued and satisfied. Eventually, wood burners will disappear; Mihalyo has captured their essence.

1 comments about The Early Domestic Architecture of Connecticut.

1. As a college art history major, an intern at a house museum, and having worked on the restoration of several early Connecticut homes, I've found this book indespensible and one of my most important resources. It's straight-forward, well-organized, and includes everything from building techniques to decorative hardware to the history behind styles. The detailed illustrations make it especially easy to understand. If there is one book a person interested in early American architecture should buy, it's this one.

1 comments about Tennessee's New Deal Landscape: A Guidebook.

1. President Franklin Roosevelt, confronted with the hardship of millions of unemployed Americans and radical political ideas blossoming around the world, put millions of unemployed Americans to work building bridges, roads, buildings and other elements of America's infrastructure. These fine work projects are seen across America and represent a hard period in American history, and a period of hope and achievement.

   I found this H-Net review of this book on the Internet.

   "Carroll Van West. Tennessee's New Deal Landscape: A Guidebook.
   Reviewed by Edward Salo, Geo-Marine, Inc.
   Published by H-Tennessee (September, 2002)

   "Creating a Modern Tennessee through the New Deal
   When most people think of the New Deal's impact on Tennessee, the concrete dams of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) are the image that comes to mind. However, like many states, Tennessee's public landscape was drastically affected in other ways by a variety of New Deal projects. In Tennessee's New Deal Landscape, Dr. Carroll Van West, project director for the Center for Historic Preservation, Middle Tennessee State University, examines over 250 of Tennessee's historic sites constructed during the New Deal and uses that information to catalogue how Depression-era federal government work changed the built environment of the state. West's book serves both as a heritage tourism guidebook and as a scholarly work. It also succeeds in illustrating how "New Deal agencies transformed the state's public landscape, leaving in their wake the infrastructure for the emergence of a modern--and different--Tennessee" (p. xii).

   "Students of Tennessee's cultural landscapes and historic preservation will be familiar with West's earlier scholarship. Because of his work at the Center for Historic Preservation, West has either written about or is familiar with most of the New Deal historic properties in the state. His previous book, Tennessee's Historic Landscapes, is the definitive study on the different historic landscapes across the state. West's new contribution focuses exclusively on the historic properties that were constructed during the New Deal era in Tennessee. He has mined both primary and secondary sources on Tennessee's New Deal experience, including TVA records, the WPA guidebook on Tennessee, cultural resource reports, and National Register of Historic Properties nominations to produce a similarly authoritative examination of the state during the 1930s.

   "In his first chapter, West presents a short thematic history of the New Deal, identifying the ten major New Deal agencies that worked in Tennessee. Unlike his previous book, which looked at the state's regions, he divides New Deal Landscapes into chapters based on the resource's property type. The next seven chapters include discussions of state offices and county courthouses; federal courthouses and post offices; community buildings and institutions; schools; housing; parks, memorials, and museums; and infrastructure. Each chapter contains a short narrative focusing on political, cultural, and social patterns that influenced the resources, as well as individual descriptions of other examples across the state, organized alphabetically by county. By not designating the properties as belonging to West, Middle, and East Tennessee, West makes his information accessible to those unfamiliar with Tennessee's traditional geographic divisions. A bibliographical essay also directs readers to important sources for further research.
   
   "West makes it clear in his preface that the book is not comprehensive. The examples he uses are fairly divided between the rural and urban sections of the state. Many of the properties discussed in the chapters are representative and are not the only examples in the state. The identification and description of New Deal property types, however, is one of the book's strengths, making it easier for local historians to examine Depression-era landscape and distinguish significant buildings.

   "The examples that West uses illustrate two interpretations of the New Deal in Tennessee: construction and destruction. Although many projects created new buildings, some, such as the TVA dams, also destroyed rural areas and displaced people from their traditional homes. Additionally, the construction of TVA lakes disrupted rural life, while also laying the groundwork for Tennessee's economic growth during World War II and the Cold War. This dichotomy shaped many Tennesseans' attitude toward the federal government both during and after the New Deal years.

   "Although the book's only problems are cosmetic in nature, a few changes would have helped the reader. First, all of the pictures in the book are modern, but many readers would appreciate historic views of some of the buildings. Additionally, sidebars with brief descriptions of architectural elements or styles (for example, WPA Moderne style) would have made the book more accessible to laymen. Also, with the growing interest in environmental history, West's discussion of the creation of state parks and soil conservation only begs for more study.

   "The study of New Deal landscape has bloomed during the 1990s. Many state historic preservation offices have developed New Deal theme studies to assist in placing 1930s properties on the National Register of Historic Places. Although these theme studies are helpful for historic preservation planning, they are not easily accessible to the public. Public historians should use West's book as an example on how better to communicate historic landscapes to the general public. The book takes "gray literature" and presents it in a manner that is useful. The framework that West has developed also lends itself to other possible historic themes, such as railroads, military, agriculture, industrial, and ethnic landscapes. This book should be read by public historians not only for the content but also for the methodology."

3 comments about 200 Farmhouse and Country Home Plans: Classic and Modern Farmhouses from 1,299 to 4,890 Square Feet (Blue Ribbon Designer Series).

1. I disagree with Cyndi about this book of plans... I believe MOST people will like a lot of the houses in it! I'm in the business, and have found that almost everybody I've shown it to has found 5 good homes in it. I think it has great plans in it for certain people, and everyone should give it a shot!



2. If you are looking to build a so-called farm house in suburbia, this is for you. If you are looking for ideas to build in a true rural area, and want to design with a sense of historic value, this book is not for you.



3. I was surprisingly impressed with this catalog of home plans---for once, you can see details on room sizes and dimensions! --I would recommend this to anyone interested in building a country home, but not sure what they want or like! Lots of ideas!

No comments about Museums and Art Galleries (Designing the World's Best).

No comments about Illinois Institute of Technology: Campus Guide (The Campus Guide).

1 comments about Architectural Materials for Construction.

1. i would lke to review the latest material

3 comments about Classical Architecture.

1. This work is the best overview of classical architecture that the reviewer is aware of. While most such works concentrate on the five orders, usually in traditional "parallel" format, this work shows all five orders, variations of each, and how each is used. The work shows the various other pieces making up the "kit of parts" of Classicism, and how they are used. In short, a one-book guide.



2. This is the best recent book I've seen on classical architecture. It doesn't get into every possible nuance, but is graphically very rich and clear... well worth the price.



3. This is a brilliant book. Derek Brentnall's illustrations are superb. What makes this book a joy is that it really opens a world for anyone who wants to know more about why so many of our banks, office buildings, schools and halls of government look the way they do. And it really gets detailed - not in an overwhelming or pedantic way - but in a fun, informative and artful style that calls out the venerable ghosts of our classical past for a festival of discovery.