5 comments about Perfect Palettes for Painting Rooms: Plus Complete Decorating Guidelines.

1. This is a very nice book. It gives you ideas of shades and colors. It also gives various scheme options of how you would want to color each room.



2. I found the book to be helpful, but I would have liked more "color recipes". There were ideas for all types of rooms.



3. This book has good, clear photos and include the paint brand (Glidden, Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams) and color number. Always helpful when you are trying to match colors. Most of the rooms are very vibrant in color and the rooms are decorated in a mostly traditional style. Very nice book if you like vibrant colors, but my taste leans to a more subdued color palette.



4. I have looked at a lot of home decorating books for help with my paint colors. Many have lovely photographs, but not a one of them gives you the paint color numbers that you see on the walls of the photographed rooms, EXCEPT THIS ONE. I couldn't believe it. I was still nervous going into the paint phase, not knowing whether the colors would look as good on my walls as they do in the book. Well, let me tell you, they look even better! I am as pleased as punch. If you don't want to look through paint chips, try this book.



5. This book was a disappointment to me. Ms. Krims is certainly talented--but in a sort of loud and juvenile way, at least for my tastes. My wife said it best, after flipping through the book: This looks like what you do when you are in college, trying to disguise an ugly room. The book lacks subtlety. Her color palettes for the most part are too loud for my tastes--and I like color (I have a mango kitchen and apple green office). I agree with my wife: most of her color schemes would work best to disguise an ugly space or to distract the viewer from cheap furniture or some other bad feature in the room. I can't imagine using many of her color palettes in designing a room with great architectural features or a room that will be filled with beautiful furniture. Also, if you are looking for theory, this book has scant if any of it. This was not what I was looking for.

1 comments about Thomas Jefferson's Monticello: An Intimate Portrait.

1. Photographer Robert Lautman has taken and assembled a remarkable set of photographs depicting scenes which a visitor would see upon touring the wonder that is called Monticello. Near the beginning of this book are two architectural drawings showing the first floor room layouts. Numbers appear on these drawings and they indicate the approximate camera positions for each black and white photographic plate.This is an outstanding photo-tour of Jefferson's custom built mansion. I would have given it a 10 rating had it not been for a few little features and omissions which detracted from the work. The major distraction centered on an obviously retouched photograph showing the surrounding hills as seen from Monticello. The photographer, in an attempt to show what the view might have looked like for Jefferson, had to manipulate the photograph to remove or minimize modern distractions such as houses, roads and other man-made edifices. While the intent to recapture a lost vision is a good one the execution wanting. It would have been nice to see more than one photograph of the second floor rooms.

1 comments about Baseball and Softball Fields: Design, Construction, Renovation, and Maintenance.

1. I used this technical reference book for a course in Contracts and Procurement, in which I had to write detailed specifications for a baseball park. These specifications were part of a Request for Proposal to a fictitious group of general contractors.
   
   This book left no stone unturned, educating me on all aspects of building and maintaining a ball diamond. My professor, who had seen many similar papers before, was impressed and I received a perfect mark.
   
   I also interviewed a general contractor who was building 8 baseball fields, and found I was able to talk intelligently with him, and knew all the various terms and types of materials used in a baseball field, as a direct result of reading this book.
   
   I was impressed with the overall knowledge of the authors, starting with how to grade the park for maximum drainage and playability, fencing, types of turf required for various weather zones in North America, pest and weed prevention, layout, dimensions, equipment used for maintaining and marking the field -- there wasn't one thing I wanted to know that I couldn't find in this book.
   
   I recommend it very highly.

2 comments about Insulating Concrete Forms Construction Manual.

1. This book has some good design/engineering information but is both over priced and out of date. I recommend you check it out of your public library to look at it before buying it.



2. If you would like to take a serious look at this building technique, this book is not going to help you. There is not a single wall section drawn and at one point the authors feel it necessary to tell you that a 2x4 is actually only 3 1/2" wide.

   I had assumed that the authors were builders who had experimented with the systems and put together this "construction manual" with their recommendations. Not so. It is produced by the Portland Cement Association and appears to simply reprint trade show literature from various manufacturers.

2 comments about Construction Nightmares: Jobs from Hell and How to Avoid Them.

1. This book offers a collection of case studies of construction projects that have become troubled or failed. The causes and patterns of decision making become repeatative quickly.
   
   The premise of the book is that those with government granted certifications (architects, professional engineers, and lawyers) are the source of all wisdom and knowledge, and the solution to all problems. Those who build, but do not hold similar certifications, are portrayed as illiterate, lazy, bungling incompetents. Such cartoonish portrayal does not match reality, and clouds what otherwise would be more useful information.
   
   Also, the focus on professionals as the driving force for all building activity is an idea that has declined over the last 40 years. Significant portions of construction projects are now partially or completely designed by the installing vendor: roofing systems, curtain wall, elevators, fire protection sprinklers, fire alarms, HVAC, and telecommunications. To transfer design responsibility is to forfeit the ability to manage it.
   
   Further, most have realized that lawyers should have a diminished role in construction project dispute resolution. The model contracts of both the AGC, and the AIA choose mediation and arbitration before litigation as the preferred method of dispute resolution. Lawyers are necessary, but have a supporting role, and will be the last, not the first, resort.
   
   An analysis of these same cases that recognizes these new realities, and the resulting new management structures and project management decision making approaches would be more instructive. This approach could show that it is easier to avoid failure and make success the normal project outcome.
   
   Choosing Project Success - A Guide for Building Professionals



2. First let me perface my review by stating that I am not a Construction person; I am an IT person. I took an Advanced Project Management course at a local university, and this book was required reading. At first I could not understand why, but now I do. The simplistic portrayal of real world situations illustrated through construction stories provide a humurous insight into the most important part of business -- people. I strongly suggest that everyone read this. Its an easy read that is not only enjoyable and funny, but also a road guide for how to avoid problems in any form of business.

No comments about The Living Landscape, Second Edition: An Ecological Approach to Landscape Planning.

3 comments about Jeweler's Resource : A Reference of Gems, Metals, Formulas and Terminology for Jewelers (Revised Edition) (Jewelry Crafts) (Jewelry Crafts).

1. Whether you are a Professional Jeweler or a student this book has all the technical info you need...
   
   Alloys, Flux and Solders
   How long do you cut the band for a size 7 ring?
   
   Just loads of stuff!!! THE Jewelery Reference Book!



2. This is a must have for anyone at all interested in jewellery and its sidelines. The amount of information at hand is absolutely wonderful and does save a lot of precious time by having all the info so readily to hand.



3. Excellent content, a must have for the serious jeweler, student or craft person. Covers a multitude of areas not found in other books. This book should be at the top of anyones list that has an interest in making or designing jewelry.

1 comments about Getting a Job in Architecture and Design.

1. Some designers look for jobs and some get good ones, so any collection catering to job seekers and design or architecture pros needs Getting a Job in Architecture and Design, a survey of the special hunting techniques applicable to architects and design students alike. From basic industry job possibilities to researching companies and preparing resumes, Getting a Job in Architecture and Design provides industry-specific tips not available elsewhere.

No comments about Spectacular Homes of New England (Spectacular Homes).

No comments about Ancient Greece: Art, Architecture, and History (Getty Trust Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum).