1 comments about Enviromental Psychology for Design.

1. This was a required school text which I was very excited to buy, but I found the level of information was more general than I wanted. The author has certainly pooled together great amounts of research in each chapter (eg. children, elderly, commercial space) and admittedly gives plenty of references to delve further into, which I did. As an interior design senior with children and aging parents who has worked in corporate and retail spaces, the information provided seemed more in the common sense arena. Maybe it's just me.
   
   I also found the repetitive nature of the text a little tedious, and the core information could have been compressed considerably. The review sections and then further questions to ponder after each chapter struck me as more high school than senior level, or maybe the book is the culmination of powerpoint slide shows the author delivers in class?
   
   I'm sure readers will find it interesting but in the end I was disappointed at the value added versus book cost. Ouch.

5 comments about Louis I Kahn.

1. great graphic and textual documentation, you can get a great insight of kahn's work: ground-plans, sections, sketches, drawings, photographs, including good explanations. a must-have



2. The great value of this book is in the very comprehensive coverage of Kahn's work and in the excellent reproduction of many drawings and photos. Taking all this wealth of material into account, the book has an affordable price.



3. If you are to have just one book on Kahn, and anyone seriously interested in architecture ought to have at least one, this is the one.



4. great analysis and resource but redrawn CAD version of orgininal drawings somehow reduces clarity and meaning of 2D drawing set (line weight and landscape should be better redrawn)



5. This book on Kahn is essentially a "sequel" to McCarter's incredible book on Wright. McCarter traces the details of Kahn's projects and often uncovers little-known but important works. Like the book on Wright, this book focuses on the unfolding of Kahn's architectural philosphy through his career via a study of his built and unbuilt works. This discussion is immersed in the details of each project.
   
   An unfair review of McCarer's previous book overlooked the fact that the lush descriptions and details are essential to grasping the architectual ideas and philosophy. I doubt the reviewer had the patience to work through the entire book. Often you need to study a floor-plan, then return to McCarter's text, then study it again to really understand McCarter is telling you. Thus this book is interactive; you must engage it as thoroughly as it engages you.
   
   Yay, the floor plans are larger! My only criticism is that McCarter should have kept the layout the same as the Wright book. Pages lacking page numbers, references to photos far from the photos themselves, sideways text (???) on chapter headings, image subtitles far from the images themselves, and "backtracking" to give overviews of a project all create confusion. Therefore I disagree with the amazon reviewer, I find the content to be wonderful, but the layout poor, unlike Kahn's works.
   
   I see many mentions of Le Corbusier. Perhaps another project for McCarter? I would buy it in a second.

No comments about Mexican Style: Creative Ideas for Enhancing Your Space.

5 comments about Celebrating Home: Decorating for the Holidays and Seasons (Seasons of Cannon Falls).

1. From the moment I opened this book I knew I would love it! It's so full of beautiful inspiration and the writing is lovely. If you're expecting a book chalk full of projects and ideas, you won't find it here. This is more about the photography and how to integrate the Cannon Falls style into your home. I just love how it features different looks for each season and tells you why each look works. I could read and go through this book over and over again. LOVE IT!!



2. I was very disappointed with this book. There are only a handful of interesting pictures - no really new ideas - just lots of wasted shots on the photographer's part. Yes, the house is nice. But, unless you have this much space, rooms this large and this type of architecture, you'll not be able to use 75% of even these tired decorating suggestions.



3. I was so totally disgusted by the photography, the layouts and the
   story line! My Williams and Sonoma catalog came the same day and
   I am sad to say it was over the top better then this book! PATHETIC!



4. I thought about buying this book for months. I expected sophisticaed and unique projects which would excite me but did not find them. The projects are basic. Yes, the house is very beautiful and shows well. If you are interested in a decorating book this may be for you.



5. Inspiration abounds in this book~I love how it features the same rooms, accessorized differently for the seasons. That is my favorite way to decorate~
   Also, if you love old homes and restoration, this book provides inspiration for that as well. Wonderful! And the chandeliers, oohlala!

5 comments about The Ultimate Pool Maintenance Manual: Spas, Pools, Hot Tubs, Rockscapes and Other Water Features, 2nd Edition.

1. The Ultimate Pool Maintenance Manual: Spas, Pools, Hot Tubs, Rockscapes and Other Water Features, 2nd Edition is an in depth, easy to read guide for maintaining your pool. I have purchased a few different books on the subject and this is by far the best.



2. We bought a house with an inground pool 5 years ago. A bit of a surprise really. We had ZERO experience with pools, and knew only by rumor that we were buying something that required a LOT of care and maintenance. I hunted through bookstores for a guide I could learn from. I am a technical writer by profession, so I know a thing or two about how to present complex ideas to the innocent. Browsing through this volume I was impressed with the author's skill at getting ideas across (well structure informattion - here's the idea, heres' the basics, here's the gory details). I bought it on the strength of his organization and writing, not on the content (about which I knew zilch).
   
   It is still in regular use 5 years later. YES, it is technical. YES, it sometimes provides way too much information for the novice. But if you have a brain and you can handle some complexity, this book is BRILLIANT. I knew nothing, and in very short order I learned what I needed for basic care. This book is a bible for pool maintenance. Over the years I've learned (from experience guided by this book) how to strip a DE filter, how to repair my Polaris pool robot, and more about water chemistry than I ever thought possible. This past summer ('07) it guided us through a plaster refinishing (pool is ~30 years old) and taught me how to restart the pool.
   
   It IS written by a pool professional, FOR pool professionals, and even has advice on how to run a pool maintenance business (which is of zero interest to me). But if you can learn from a pro talking to other pros, this book is it.



3. This book is to swimming pools what the "Haynes" car maintenance manuals are to your car. It contains all the information required to maintain your pool, even though probably someone else is going to do it for you. If you own a pool, it is worth reading the book to understand what the service technician should and shouldn't be doing, and when the pool is in need of help. It can also help you save some money by doing the work yourself. The book is entirely about maintaining a pool, not owning one. It is written in a friendly, readable style, and you can simply keep it as a reference manual to know what to do when things go wrong. If you are considering installing a pool or spa, this book will show you what you are letting yourself in for. If there is one omission in the text it is that the author ignores electric pool cleaning robots, though they are probably the most effective way of keeping the pool clean.



4. This book was a wasste of time and money. The book focuses more on being a pool professional then the actual "how-to" a pool owner needs to work on their pool. It has more information on changing a light fixtures and on bilking wealthy Malibu folks out of cash then actual useful information.
   
   After reading this (useless!) book I went to my local library and reearched several books on the subject, there is a title called "What color is your pool?" That has lots of information for the first time pool owner. There may be other more technical guides our there, but this book has few drawings and illustrations, poor writing, and ultimately is lacking in adequate information.
   
   Trust me...SAVE YOUR MONEY!



5. This book is a helpful tool for any pool owner or someone interested in having a pool.

1 comments about Skyscrapers: Structure and Design.

1. Great insight into some of the world's most iconic skyscrapers. focused solely on modern structures of the past decade or so.

3 comments about Hamptons Havens: The Best of Hamptons Cottages and Gardens (Hamptons Cottages & Gardens).

1. A lovely book with interesting stories but I was after beach gardens and there are very few. The title is misleading as it is from the magazine by this name.



2. This is a beautiful book which is as entertaining to read as it is to gaze at the pictures! I would have appreciated it more had all the houses featured been in a similar style to the one on the cover. There is quite a large spectrum of different designs. I wished they had presented more photographs of each individual home, but overall there is plenty to feast your eyes on.



3. The book was purchased for an anniversary gift for my daughter who resides on one of the Hamptons. She liked the book and even was familiar with the owner of the garden on the cover.

5 comments about 500 Bungalows.

1. This book is wonderful if exterior bungalow photos are what you are looking for. As a remodeler who specializes in 1920's bungalows, I often need reference photos for ideas. This book is ideal for this purpose, or if you just want to dream about ideas for your own home. One small complaint is that we found some duplicate photos within the book. And I don't mean different views, for instance a front and a side elevation. That I understand. I mean the same house fifty pages later with a different title. Kinda weird in an otherwise beautiful and exhaustive collection of bungalow facades.



2. The photos are beautiful and they're all color, but...
   
   This book is a mere 6" by 4" which was a surprise. Plus, the great majority (probably 90%) of the photos are from California. A better title might be, "500 California Bungalows."
   
   The non-Californian photos are from Bellingham, WA, Lincoln, NE and Nashville, TN and a couple from St. Paul, MN. Those are the only other non-CA cities represented in this book.
   
   The book features several photos of kit homes from Pacific Ready-Cut Kit Homes of Los Angeles, but with nary a mention that these are indeed kit homes. For example, the houses on pages 248, 436 and 500 are gorgeous (and classic) examples of the 40,000 homes that Pacific Ready-Cut sold throughout California.
   
   Page 163 features what appears to be a Sears Ashmore, but it is also not mentioned as being a kit home. It's a fun book and as mentioned above, the photos are all crisp, clear and colorful. While it's long on photos, it's way short on text. Two very short pages in the front of the book answer the question, "What is a Bungalow?" and that is the full extent of the historical info.
   
   It's more a miniature coffee-table book, with its pretty, pretty bungalows, outfitted in a dazzling array of bright California colors.
   
   Rose Thornton
   co-author, California's Kit Homes



3. Very enjoyable sight experience of so many, many wonderful looking homes. This style was such an inviting one. Sit back with a cup of coffee, just flip pages and dream.



4. This book has a large variety of examples of bungalow homes. It's an excellent resource for getting ideas for design when doing remodeling, new design or even landscaping. The pictures are all of exteriors and there is no text, except for captions noting city and state of the home.



5. Wow... well I must say that I really feel "taken"!! Both Taunton Press and Keister have done excellent work in the past, so I did not think twice about purchasing the book... Unfortunately I did not pay attention to the SIZE! I fully expected this to be a picture book because that was how it was advertised. But I assumed it would be 8"x10" like similar Taunton publications. Did it do what it set out to do? Yes. It is a picture book about cottages. I did not expect the book to be 5" x 6" -- less than half the size of normal books. This is a "post card book". Buyer Beware-- This book is tiny!

No comments about Smart Guide: Garages & Carports (Smart Guide).

2 comments about Metapolis Dictionary of Advanced Architecture: City, Technology and Society in the Information Age.

1. This book has an interesting thrust behind it; to understand current ideas of urbanism and architecture theory, don't produce a timeless resource; instead, construct an index committed to the moment, that is destined to begin its obsolescence the second it's printed. It's best quality is its cluttered, jumbled design which floods you with imagery and conceptual points of departure.
   
   Sadly, it seems that 2/3rds of architecture education is deliberate obfuscation; people muddying their waters so as to appear deep. Like much of the worst theory, this operates from a "We're so clever, that what we're saying can't be summarized." viewpoint that complicates simple ideas. If you're not into theoretical hair-splitting you're in for a rough time.
   
   The books worst quality is it's fetishing of neologism. For complete annoyance you could look up these idiotic entries: 'benidorm' or 'mmm.' Other one-line entries for epic concepts that don't even offer fundamentals, are so broad as to be useless; look up 'colours!' (Say... that was useless!). No this isn't the book I'd turn to for a deep understanding of color but why include an entry at all?
   
   At it's worst this is a coy, academic in-joke that worships jargon, in an attempt to influence the lexicon. ('delynneate,' get it? Greg Lynn...). At it's best it's an exhilarating look at ideas that may have a shelf-life of decades or a few months, relievedly free of blob worshipping.



2. As an architecture student, I have found this book to be a valuable resource in terms of idea generation and development of design concepts. My professor, who practices architecture and makes use of the book on a professional level, recommended it to my classmates and I - I have used it ever since. Not only does it link terms with architectural concepts developed by well known and celebrated designers, it includes a number of interesting colour images. I highly recommend this to design students and professionals in any field, especially architecture. Happy reading!