No comments about Architecture for Sport.

No comments about New Public Spaces.

1 comments about The Country Builder's Assistant: The First American Architectural Handbook.

1. Few modern architects my find interest in this instructional pamphlet however it does contain myriad amounts of information on traditional, early American building standards. In truth is the application of such orders has meaning and should be understood, especially as the move back to cities prompts us to re-evaluate classical american architecture. The reproduction of the plates isn't terrific.

No comments about The ASHRAE GreenGuide, Second Edition (The ASHRAE Green Guide Series).

No comments about Urban Transformation in China (The Chinese Economy Series).

1 comments about Ryokan: Japan's Finest Spas and Inns.

1. The book is introducing 36 Ryokans throughout Japan.
   
   13 for Tokyos area
   6 for Kyoto, Nara and Kansai
   7 for central Japan
   4 for northern Japan
   6 for southern Japan
   
   One of the particularly well done features of the book are the exceptionally well written texts and a very sensitive introduction about the "Ryokan and Onsen Etiquette".
   
   This 3 page introduction alone lists up cases which probably make up more than 80% of common pitfalls when "guests" are lacking the cultural background.
   
   Years back I have been in those or similar situations myself and would have wished to have had such a quick rundown of what to do and what to better avoid.
   
   
   A few things that could be improved on the book.
   
   1) Some pictures have homepage or newspaper like quality.
   (low resolution picture zoomed up to a full page)
   2) The introduced Ryokans should be numbered throughout the book as it was done on the map in the front.
   3) More seasonal information should be included. Blossom of certain trees and flowers, festivals etc.
   4) Perhaps a smaller sized edition would accommodate better for some of the lower quality pictures and would help making the book more portable.
   
   
   Summary:
   
   With each single well crafted textual descriptions of the Ryokans you get invaluable sensitive introductions to Japans cultural background.
   
   If you are going to Japan for business you will want to consider the book an investment into an cultural introduction.
   
   The other above mentioned points are no deal breakers in an way, but are actually devalueing an another wise excellent book.
   
   The book is highly recommended !!

1 comments about Feast Your Eyes: The Unexpected Beauty of Vegetable Gardens.

1. I was a little disappointed in this book. It is primarily a history of some famous gardens which have been covered more completely elsewhere. The photos are for the most part very old and not as clear as they should be, and there were not enough of them. There are a couple of interesting topics such as an outline of the use of victory gardens during WWI & II, and a small section on Aztec gardens created in a marsh. Otherwise not worth it. I was looking for something more like 'Creative Vegetable Gardening' by Joy Larkom - but this was not it.

2 comments about New Supermarket Design.

1. A good book, phothos in store are very nice, but is a mix of conventional and innovative supermarkets, the information is so precise...
   If you want to have a good time looking nice designs is perfect, but is not for architecture-looking.



2. The photographs present an adequate survey of what has been done and help the reader form a feeling of the stores. However, approaching the design issues from the customer's viewpoint could have provided an analysis in addition to the survey of the projects covered. Provision of measurements ( width of aisles, height of interior space, carpark space, size of departments, etc) would have provided better insights for professionals. Basic information on technology used, such as labelling, check out systems etc. could have been useful too.

5 comments about Construction Principles, Materials, and Methods.

1. This book is an excellent resource for those entering the Architecture profession. It is exhaustive and has information I couldn't find easily elsewhere.



2. This book is a great desk reference for any materials needed in construction. I am a student and find myself going back to this book semester after semester. Great Book.



3. It is certainly THE BIBLE for construction. Boy, I sweated it! But, if you can get through it, it is certainly worth the efford.



4. As the other reviews stated this book is in depth. If you are a building professional than you should already know the fundementals and require a reference that is the basis of your field. This book is too exausting for school, but as soon as you move to the office you should use it as the starting point for your details, CD's and specs. I used this book to study for the ARE and it has also come in handy when questions arise on the construction site with contractors. I have always felt that, as Architects, we have enough books all about subjects that we hire consultants for ie. Structures, MEP but we are the ones who need to be the experts about our handicraft: Construction.



5. Certainly THE bible in the construction industry. The problem is the depth to which this book delves in discussing rather dry, mundane topics. I guess if someone needs to know just about anything in construction, it's here, but be forewarned that there is an IMMENSE amount of information that must be waded through in order to find a specific piece of information. Often used as a textbook in Constructing 101 since it is so exhaustive in its scope (we spent an entire semester on only 1 chapter!). Also makes good reading for insomniacs.

5 comments about Reinventing the Wheel.

1. Fun book, brilliantly layed out, but would have liked to see the backsides. And really, the photographers were so lazy much of the time to not get the info disks in register with the die-cuts. I presume this was the author's collection or from like-minded collectors and/or conservators. This flouting of attention to detail is conspicuously disconjugate to the demanding esthete of this type of person. Enjoyable none the less. Despite my pleasure, in reference to my conclusion, I reject a reverse: I object; no obverse. Julian Mason, Beaufort SC



2. bought the book for the pictures and the paragraph about each one. haven't read most of the text and don't particularly care to.
   
   a shoulder surfer actually thought some of the wheels were real, the reproductions are that good.
   
   4 out of 5 because I didn't read/rate the text.



3. Jessica Helfland appears caught here between her inner love of collecting trivia, and her academic role: and while the graphics put on display her remarkable collection of wheels and volvelles her text unfortunately veers toward academic pontificating of the worst order as she uses her collection in an attempt to ruminate on how we see life, and how linearity as in the design and format of books (left-to-right, one page after another) is confining compared to the multidimensional viewpoint afforded by circles. Helfand's writing is rigidly locked into the very paradigm she criticises, and in the end her more human Foreword is by far the most interesting text in this handsome hard back volume.
   
   Handsome? Graphically, this is an outstanding book - well-designed, beautifully typeset, graphics gorgeously reproducing the collection of wheels, even the paper seems especially chosen - but I found Helfand's logic and her weak arguments quite frustrating. It reads like the first draft of a thesis - before the student's overseeing Professor has had a real go at the author. ("Come on - you've made a leap in logic here!")
   
   So this is one book where the pictures can do all the talking. The text and the often redundant captions (they describe what we can already see, thank you) is frankly superfluous.



4. interesting trivia and great for a collector of wheels but I was looking more for a visual mapping type of collection. Nice book for nostalgia seekers.



5. This book is an excellent research on the subjet with very good examples. Interesting for designers.