No comments about Cool Hotels: Romantic Hideaways (Designpockets).

2 comments about Creative Time: The Book: 33 Years of Public Art in New York.

1. This book is an absolutely illuminating look into the history of Creative Time's impact on public art. Beautifully printed images accompany textual explorations into artists' projects with Creative Time over the past few decades. A must-have for anyone interested in the growth of art that is vital for the creation of a more enriching public realm.



2. If you like public art and if you like New York, buy this book. It's a fascinating history of an organization that has, for four decades, been at the forefront of this field. This book is beautifully done by Princeton Architectural Press and the several year effort by director Anne Pasternak and her staff is really quite amazing. The 300 plus projects they have sponsored are chronologically presented with beautiful color photography and interspersed with essays and interviews by some fascinating people. Also, this book is going to be a collector's item because each cover is a distinct numbered print generated by a machine recording the sights and sounds of NYC. You can either skim the surface by focusing on the projects alone, or you can delve deeper into the minds of the people who have created and presented these projects.

3 comments about The Ultimate Guide to Above-Ground Pools.

1. This book is exactly what its title claims it to be. It is everything you need to know about building and maintaining an above-ground pool. I "inherited" an old pool when buying an old house, and had no experience with pools before. With this book I was able to install a new filter, a new liner, and assess the viability for solar heat for my location. It also offers the basics of daily maintenance and startup and close-down for the seasons. Everything you could ever need to know is here, is easy to find, and logically and clearly presented. Even the total novice can make good use of this guide. Terry Tamminen is a real hero to this single mom who wanted to figure out how to offer the fun of an above ground pool for a seven-year-old boy--now ten, and fully enjoying the summer fun of the pool!



2. I had an ordinary fiberglass people for years and decided to build one using a vinyl liner in a deep navy blue. Our pool has a glass wall around and it's just gorgeous. So now with this book, we can see the care that goes into our pool is quite different than the concrete or fiberglass ones. The writer makes sure to use easy terminology and makes his directions as clear as the water you will get with this book. Great info.



3. I own all of Tamminen's excellent books on pools, spas, and hot tubs. I am not a pool professional, but I do like to build and install and maintain. Knowing how to fix and build things saves money, and this book in particular has made me the go-to guy in the neighborhood. This book has never let me down with any question I had. I recommend it to anyone with an above-ground pool (or someone with a lot of neighbors with them).

1 comments about Fundamentals of Turfgrass Management.

1. This introductory-level book provides the beginner with the basics of turfgrass management. Scientific names are as up-to-date as possible for the turfgrasses as well as pests that invade them. Diagrams / photos of grasses and grass pests could be more extensive, but the cost of the book would likely escalate beyond the nominal price of this volume, which makes it attractive for use as a text in an entry-level turfgrass course.

2 comments about Gardens, Landscape, and Vision in the Palaces of Islamic Spain.

1. I haven't read this,but the author's contention,contained in the editorial review,that the concept of paradise is a latter thought,is diammetrically opposed to the generally accepted idea that the islamic garden is a a descendant from the perisan chah-bagh,the four way divided,enclosed pleasure garden.
   Ancient Persia was to the arabic world what greece might have meant to the romans,a paradigm to be emulated.
   The word paradise,per se,comes from the persian paradeisos,meaning the royal enclosed hunting grounds.



2. I own the hardcover version of this book. This is a fascinating topic. The writing in this book is beautiful: rich, concise, informed.
   
   This book is serious scholarship, but much of it is accessible to the interested layperson. I highly recommend this book.

1 comments about Hindu Art and Architecture (World of Art).

1. Michell - the author of a text on this topic - has here provided a lovely picture book with careful commentary on this spectacular art. Prints are attractively reproduced and well chosen, and the writing is excellent. Highly recommended to anyone exploring the topic.

2 comments about Petrolia: The Landscape of America's First Oil Boom (Creating the North American Landscape).

1. PETROLIA recently was awarded the Giddens Prize as the best new writing on oil history, 1996-2000.



2. Never before have I read such an eloquent and informative journey through the oil boom of Pennsylvania. The photographic images that Dr. Black has chosen for his book are as captivating and clear as his text. An outstanding and brilliantly written book.

5 comments about Bauhaus (World of Art).

1. Frank Whitford provides an essential introduction to the Bauhaus in his book, titled simply--Bauhaus. Whitford follows the events of the school from a historical perspective starting with Walter Gropius' plan and motivation for the school, to its ultimate end in Dessau at the hand of the Nazis. Whitford also presents personal perspectives through the journal entries and personal letters of the staff and students of the Bauhaus. These personal accounts help create a connection between the historical and the personal, and track the change in mood within the school. Whitford's book spends very little time on the impact of the Bauhaus, which is an analysis beyond the scope of this book. Frank Whitford's book, Bauhaus should be of interest to any student of art, design or education.
   
   Copyright © 2007 Of My Own Design, Josh Crain. All Rights Reserved.



2. This a great tribute to perhaps the most influential design institute of the 20th Century.
   The story of it's development, philosophy, success and untimely end is perfectly chronicled here.
   The expert, novice and vaguely interested would find this book useful. It's a superb acaedemic source and an important catalogue. Bauhaus still influences design today and should also be regarded historicaly as yet another victim of the Nazi regime.



3. Frank Whitford's Bauhaus in the Thames & Hudson World of Art series provides a fine basic introduction to the 20th century's most important school of art. Whitford writes engagingly and informatively. He begins by sketching the prehistory of the school in the 19th century arts-and-crafts movement and then goes on to examine van der Velde and the Weimar Art School that served as the basis upon which Gropius established the school. Whitford deals with all the major figures in the fourteen-year history of the Bauhaus and he uses contemporary documents (journals, personal accounts, etc.) to tell the story. I rank this among the best books in the Thames & Hudson series. In fact, I assigned it as a required text in a course on the Bauhaus and the Weimar Republic. Incidentally, teachers might be interested to know that Whitford has also written and narrated a fine 60" film "Bauhaus: Face of the 20th Century" (available in the Films for the Humanities series.)



4. Great background to an institution which was about as rock'n'roll as they come. The soul put into the establishment, its teachings, its beliefs (collective and individual) and the commitment of those involved is staggering - its a shame that it really doesn't have an equivalent today, but that's todays politic and media for you. Consice account that was almost written as a historical novel - Christ, I even read the bibliography at the end !! Off to find more books about it all now. Oh, and listen to Blumfeld, International Jetset & Earl Brutus whilst reading this too.

   AJC 1999




5. Mister Whitford thoroughly chronicled the events that formed and shaped the Bauhaus - from the very beginning to the unfortunate end. A very good point of view - a must read for the Bauhaus enthusiast.

No comments about Toward a New Regionalism: Environmental Architecture in the Pacific Northwest.

5 comments about Chicago at the Turn of the Century in Photographs: 122 Historic Views from the Collections of the Chicago Historical Society.

1. This deserves 10 stars! A large format book with the finest photo's I have ever seen of Chicago's historical architecture. You will love it!



2. This book contains full page photos, many of which I had never seen before. The clarity of the photographs is comparable to the digital photos we are able to take now. Although the book consists mainly of photos of buildings (of course) there are many which include pedestrians, carriages, automobiles, signs, etc. I think this book would be interesting to anyone studying Chicago, the history of the time period, architecture, clothing or photography, or to anyone who simply loves old photographs. The only complaint I have is that some of the photos were not dated. Very good book!



3. Great look into the "City of Big Shoulders" at the turn of the century. Good aid to understanding of urban America at the beginning of the 20Th Century



4. I have been to Chicago many years since I lived in IL from 1933 to 1963. My mother's people came to Chicago in the 1830's.
   I found the early photos extremely interesting as I am a former teacher of both high school & college history. I reall liked this book as I had seen it before & could not locate another copy until I saw it on Amazon.
   Many Thanks for stocking this item.



5. I can't say enough about this collection. This book includes a number of photographs that I have not seen in any other book. The large format allows one to see a lot of detail as every photo gets a full page.