2 comments about The Gothic Cathedral: The Architecture of the Great Church 1130-1530.

1. Christoper Wilson's "The Gothic Cathedral: The Architecture of the Great Church, 1130-1530" is a superb survey of cathedrals and large European churches constructed across four centuries, not only filled with an incisive text but also wonderfully illustrated with hundreds of diagrams and exquisite photographs. It is true that the photos are only black-and-white so the reader cannot wholly grasp the glory of stained glass windows, but the photographs nonetheless render the Gothic architectural features and details with great clarity. This combination of excellent text and superb illustrations makes Wilson's book ideal for either close, intensive study or simple joyful browsing. I cannot imagine that anyone who appreciates glorious Gothic architecture would not find Wilson's "The Gothic Cathedral" not only a valuable but also a necessary addition to his or her library.



2. How I ended up being the first to review this book is beyond me. I would've guessed that many a learned architectural scholar would've long since sung the praises of this wonderful book. I, however, am just a layman with a lifelong passion for Gothic cathedral architecture, which started in the Washington National Cathedral and became educated, at least partiallly, in this book.

   I consider Wilson's "The Gothic Cathedral", a 'must own' for anyone who has ever felt a yearning to know more about the soaring arches, brilliant glasswork, and impossibly high, vaulted ceilings of these magnificent medieval structures. This book, details the development of this unique form of architectural artistry; beginning with it's modest antecedents in Romanesque architecture and the groin-vaulted churches of Normandy and England and continuing through even the most elaborate and extravagant versions of late-Gothic throughout Europe. Mr. Wilson moves the reader, comfortably and comprehensibly through the chronological development of Gothic architecture, while neatly detailing the differences in coincidental development in several diverse geographic regions. Even I, with no formal architectural education, can now explain most of the finer points of Norman Romanesque, French High Gothic, and the Rayonnant styles of architecture, as well as explaining the odd metamorphisis of the English Decorated style into the very uniquely English, Perpendicular style.

   The text is brilliantly cross-referenced with the illustrations, diagrams and photographs, which are both descriptive and beautiful, despite being all black and white. Finally, the glossary, index, and bibliography are complete and very helpful. If you think you MIGHT like this book... you will. Buy it.

2 comments about New Color Schemes Made Easy (Better Homes & Gardens).

1. Clear, concise guide to choosing and co-ordinating colors in the home. Lots of helpful pointers, such as how to unify rooms in the home with the baseboard color. Often I flip through interior design books looking at the photos, but this one was interesting to read as well as look at.



2. I have purchased my first house and will soon be tackling the job of painting it. I bought this book to get ideas on how to paint without using neutral colors in every room. This book has opened my eyes to the various color schemes and how to use them. It has a painting wheel inside. It tells you how to use colors and even has a question/answer page in the very back. It gives you a lot of pictures with furnishings and talks about how to tie the color on the walls with the furnishings and vice versa. I really liked how the author explained what the colors draw out, for example, "Yellow. Happiness and good cheer circle the room when you invite yellow inside. Bright citrus and pistachio yellows wake you up while the softer tones of vanilla, cream, and honey warm you like sunshine. Yellow-greens add brightness, golds glow with richness. Whatever your pick--buttercup, mustard, bamboo, or lemon sherbert-- yellow is sure to improve your outlook on life." I had some ideas of how I wanted to paint my house and this book helped me to figure out if I was headed in a good direction. By allowing me to pick a trait I wanted to draw out, for example my living room I would like to draw on conversation, while the bedroom relaxation; this book helped guide me into the correct colors to draw on those attributes. The author speaks in a basic level so the average person can comprehend what they are saying at a basic level. I would recommend this book for beginners, but would also recommend purchasing another book to go with it that may give more ideas.

4 comments about The Art Deco House.

1. Thanks. The shipping is a little long, like usually with books coming from USA.
   To recommend
   Olivier



2. This book is full of beautiful pictures and is well written. However, I was expecting a book about the average art-deco home. This book featured only the more extravagant homes of the time. It did not help me decide how to furnish my modest 1930's home.



3. The opening sentence "One of the big issues that exercised the minds and consciences of architects and social commentators between the two world wars was the future of domestic architecture" sets the tone for the book that follows. It discusses all of Modernism in the Twenties and Thirties, not just Art Deco, including Rietveld-Schroder and Villa Savoy among the Deco houses. It gives the context of the famous "machines for living" quote, often used as a rallying cry of the anti-Modernists, but which actually only refers to the thermostatically-controlled central heating, hot and cold running water, and other conveniences that were new back then.

   The author talks about the personalities, events and the Jazz Age itself as much as the houses, explaining the style had none of the intellectual seriousness of the International Style, was usually very expensive, and was never big in Britain.

   It's a very substantive book, full of interesting pictures, from an extremely knowledgeable and charming author.




4. There are some glorious color photos in this book of Art Deco (or Moderne) houses. Twenty-nine are featured as well as places like Miami Beach, Los Angeles apartments and Napier, New Zealand. This last place is the Deco capital of the southern hemisphere and I think there should have been more photos than just the four shown.
   
   Each house starts on a spread (frequently with a photo of the architect) and Adrian Tinniswood explains in detail the thinking behind the design. He also writes additional essays on other aspects of Deco style. Unfortunately there are no plans to any of the houses, something I would have thought was fairly essential to a book of historical architecture. I've always wanted to see a plan of the amazing Butler House in Des Moines.
   
   A major disappointment for me was the bland layout. Each page has only one column which makes the photo sizes very inflexible, most pages end up with one photo and a lot of empty white space. Someone should have suggested using more photos (especially interiors) and creating some interesting side-bars.
   
   The twenty-nine houses featured are probably the best examples of the Art Deco style but have a look at two other books on the same subject, 'The Modern House Today' by Kenneth Powell, wonderful color photos of sixty-five still standing Moderne houses in England and 'Classic Modern Homes of the Thirties' by James and Katherine Ford, an inexpensive black and white reprint of a 1940 book featuring houses in America. Both these books have some floor plans.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

2 comments about Houses: The Illustrated Guide to Construction, Design and Systems.

1. Although this book covers almost all the subjects related to house design & construction, it seems to need more rework especially on the last sections (Chapter 8 and ahead). For instance in Chap. 10 (pages 305-315), it hardly describes the type of doors and windows, without providing any further information about recommended sizes and thickneses.



2. Excellent book for someone interested in any field related to real estate, architecture or construction. Very, very helpful in becoming familiar with zoning, land and construction of different types of homes. Lots of pictures and diagrams. Not just a bunch of reading.

4 comments about San Diego Then and Now.

1. When I received the book I ordered in Jan 2007 I was disappointed to find pages missing and holes in some pages. I complained to Bookarama but they never responded. I then complained to amazon and that got a response from Bookarama offering a refund. I returned the book in July 2007 and have not received any response from them. I guess I must complain to amazon again to see if they can get their dealer to provide a refund for a damaged book.



2. This is one of two San Diego photo books I purchased for my husbands birthday. Absolutly beautiful! The black and white photography really captures some of the details that are lost in color photos.



3. This book lacks color and detail. The real San Diego book was done by photographer George Ross Jezek. This is a knockoff of his ideas. Shame on you



4. It's facinating to see the way the city has changed, the author has some good history and trivia throughout the pages as well.
   
   If you are from San Diego or have ever lived here, this makes a great coffee table book.

No comments about 100 Victorian Architectural Designs for Houses and Other Buildings (Dover Pictorial Archives).

5 comments about Off The Grid: Modern Homes + Alternative Energy.

1. This book, "Off the Grid", and Lori Ryker's other book, "Off the Grid Homes", are just mildly interesting. I regret having ordered them both at the same time. Had I seen one, I would not have bothered with a second. In fact, had I seen one before before purchasing, I would not have purchased either. Kemp's book, "The Renewable Energy Handbook: A Guide to Rural Energy Independence, Off-grid And Sustainable Living", is what most people will find interesting and useful.



2. This is a tremendous book that provides great food-for-thought for those interested in both quality design and off- or nearly-off grid living. Even if some of the houses might be out of range as noted by one commenter, there are still boat-loads of ideas around every corner.
   
   Great photos, too!



3. My husband and I are looking into building an off-the-grid cabin, and Lori Ryker's book was really helpful for putting all the options in perspective. It is not a technical, in-depth how-to book; it is more of an overview of the different possibilities. The author, a working architect and a professor of architecture at Montana State University, looks at ten different homes that range from grid tied to completely independent for their energy needs. After reading Ryker's book we decided we could build a house that is entirely off the grid; in particular, I was inspired by the four entirely off the grid homes featured in the book, one of which was designed by the author. The homes were built for different environments and living situations--from a full-time 2620 square foot residence in a remote part of Australia, to a 620 square foot vacation cabin on an island in Minnesota, to a 2620 square foot vacation home that is open to the elements of the Texas Hill Country. Some of the energy solutions surveyed are relatively simple and inexpensive (collecting water in cisterns) and others are more high tech and expensive (solar electric panels). This book is a great starting place for someone who wants to see what the possibilities are.



4. Although I liked this book, it is not necessarily helpful. Most of the featured homes are much too expensive for your average middle income homeowners. I was looking for housing solutions for the Southeastern US and like almost every other publication out there, this book completely ignores our region. I suspect it is because our hot, muggy conditions are not as conducive to off the grid living as the other areas featured.



5. If you are looking for practical solutions for alternative energy sources this is not the book for you. This book is a "coffee table" book and provides no information on implementing alternative energy sources whatsoever.
   
   The author displays no knowledge of any scientific principles. I suspect that she has no such knowledge since she actually refers to the four elements (i.e. that asinine Aristotelean concept: earth, wind, fire, water) and comes across as "pointy-haired golf" type with a degree from Harvard (yawn...), and a die hard member of the parasitic class of life (i.e those people who don't know anything about the universe other than how to operate their iPods and order coffee at Starbucks). She comes across as if she has never connected a single electrical device other than her hair dryer in her lifetime. I don't think she could state a single equation in physics or electrical engineering if her life depended on it. The only information in this book really is her vague generalizations about Edison, Ford, and the history of the energy which consists of only a few sentances.
   
   This book is essentially a book full of pictures of houses. It does not even show photographs of the alternative energy sources used in the houses, just the houses themselves. If you have never heard of or seen a house before you may learn something from this book but otherwise you aren't going to get any knowledge out of it. If you have heard of a house before and would like to learn how houses can use alternative energy sources, I suggest you read "The Renewable Energy Hanbook."

No comments about The L.A. House.

No comments about Residential Development Handbook (Uli Development Handbook) (Development Handbook series).

5 comments about The Portland Cement Association's Guide to Concrete Homebuilding Systems.

1. I purchased this book in 1995. It was and still is the only book of it's kind. It provides data such as time, cost, quality for a wide range of concrete construction methods. Yes there have been changes since 1994 but actual very little. I have built 12 concrete homes including my personal home of 10 years, using serveral systems covered in this excelent book



2. This is as another reviewer stated, "Advertising." Completely unpractical from either an engineer or buildler's point of view. Steer clear.



3. As we may note upon reading this tome, it is written primarily for one who is articulate with the construction trade. However it is onomonopoetic in its scope. As you read you find yourself absorbing and understanding far more than seems possible. One gets it quickly and is allowed to dream of design possibilities. I love a good book. Learning at an exponential rate is exhilerating.



4. Remember, this book is almost TEN years old because it is based on research done in 1993 and published in '95. So there have been advances and experience that go well beyond this book. Dwell magazine has often tickled me with various new building techniques and I wanted to learn more about what might be appropriate for me and the Midwestern climate. This book will give you an overview of SOME of the styles (mortarless, poured-in-place, etc.), and also indicate what might be appropriate for your situation. I'm not a builder or an architect but I wanted to design my own house, so this book did help me to recognize and comprehend the different catagories of techniques. At the same time, this topic could really use an update that you won't find from the Portland Cement Association. My advice to people like me is to keep looking and seek out small-scale builders who will familiarize you with their technique that they know best. There are dozens, and the most difficult thing is getting a crew that doesn't have to be trained for a new technique but has already completed several homes using a proven method.

   This book, even though it is somewhat old will give you a good sense of what to expect from building codes and prices, but it's just not enough, and there are no pretty pictures.




5. This book is an Ugly Duckling for now. Hopefully in the future they will put out a new edition with lots of colour photo's to show us what a finished project can look like. It does seem to cover most systems for building concrete structures. It is written for contractors, but with a little work it could be just as well suited for the potential home owner.