5 comments about The Vision of Frank Lloyd Wright.

1. I recently went to NYC and decided to visit the Guggenheim Museum. Upon arriving from the subway, I had the unfortunate experience of seeing the entire Museum enclosed in scaffolding. However, I went in anyway and on the way out stopped by the gift shop and looked thru the FLW collection of books and discovered this book for less than $14. I thought the book was mispriced. How could such a beautiful book be so inexpensive in NYC? I had to have it.
   
   This book is great for architects or non-architects. It goes thru his entire career without the winded explanations of each of his works. Each surviving work is photographed in color and identified by its original owner with a short highlight of what Wright accomplished. I enjoyed reading this book.
   My greatest surprise was finding out that part of the Imperial Hotel was reconstructed else ware in Japan before it was demolished. Heinz took "color" photographs of it!



2. Several photos are reversed in the paperback edition sold here. Very sloppy if you asked me (but it is cheap.) Otherwise some nice photos.



3. Many rave reviews of books by Mr. Heinz seem to be "ringers", perhaps written by the publisher or Mr. Heinz himself. How can you tell a "ringer"? Just by clicking on the reviewers name (like "Dave Anderson" below) and discover that the only review he has written in seven years is for Mr. Heinz's book! Coincidence? Another favorite is to plant one from "a reader". Be wise, people!



4. Just got this book - actually the 2002 B&N edition but seems about identical to the edition here. Marvelous photos - considerably better quality than those in Heinz' far more expensive book with all the Wright building locations in detail. Yes, wish EVERY Wright building were here, but close. Have found a few errors in index, etc. but pretty darned good. I'd like to have seen that auto showroom in Manhattan, for example. Well, Heinz doesn't claim to have included everything in this one. Some sort of listing by nation and then state, at least, would have been helpful. Yes, some buildings are referred to with no photo, and then at least one, the Rosenbaum house in Alabama, is in the "Decorative Arts" section but not the main color section (as far as I've found so far).
   One silly error: Anderton Court Shops, p. 340 is surely in reverse, as is so clear with the shops' signs backwards! Wonder how that got by.... Will have to check if that Fallingwater photo was corrected for this edition.
   All in all a marvelous book with exquisite photos and very well written with stimulating text (for this sort of book - not aiming at the true FLW scholar but just fine for the serious afficianado, which I sure am!).
   Incidentally, the first house I ever lived in was on the street in Rochester where the Boynton house is situated - so I have a slightly personal connection with the genius, I've always felt. Great photos of the house here but I'm not so happy the exterior one shows the rear (and doesn't identify it as such, either).
   Ken Goldberg, Cleveland, OH



5. Contrary to what some of the previous reviewers have stated, this book is not a complete reference to all of FLW's buildings, at least not pictorially complete. Instead, the most complete one-volume reference on FLW is Storrer's _The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion_.
   That having been said, this is an excellent addition to the Storrer book because all of the pictures are in color, many of them very large and covering an entire page, whereas the Storrer book only has black and white.
   For the price, this is an excellent buy, in my opinion, and it was even better when I bought it severeal months ago because at that time Amazon was bundling it for only about $16 with the Storrer book.
   For those people who can't spend the almost $80 for the Storrer book, this is a good deal.

3 comments about Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World.

1. I bought this book because I have always appreciated the beauty of mosaics and I want to install some in my house someday. This book provides a thorough (but not tedious) explanation of the history of, and original purposes for, mosaics. The pictures and explanations provide a good understanding of the art form (although many pictures in black and white may frustrate some readers). However, if you couldn't care less about the history of mosaic art, and you are only interested in making some cute mosaic items to give as gifts or to decorate small surfaces in your home yourself with your own original designs, you may be happier with one of the more basic mosaic design books available on Amazon. If you have an appreciation for art history, however, this book will not disapoint.



2. I purchased this book to gain color references for the mosaics.....unfortunately, the majority of this book contains black and white plates. If you are planning on using this book as a reference for color, forget it.



3. The new book by Katherine Dunbabin is a welcome addition to the already excellent catalogue of Cambridge Press. Ms. Dunbabin once more proves her value as a historian by showing that the study of Art in ancient times goes beyond aesthetics and the sphere of nobles and palaces. Her work on Section II "Technique and Production" brings to life the craftsmen and workshops that made the mosaics, but also the social relationships involved in the creation of all forms of Art. Another strong point of the book is the quality of the images depicted in it, both the photo reproductions and the graphic drawings of the mosaics are astounding. The variety of subjects shown in the mosaics allow the modern reader to have a pretty good idea of the ambiance and way of life of the times. It is also interesting that at the end of each chapter Ms. Dunbabin indicates a list of related bibliography with recent works. I can only be sorry that her own classical work "The Mosaics of Roman North Africa" is out of print. This pioneer work should be reprinted.

2 comments about Open: New Designs for Public Space.

1. I haven't read this book, except for some excerpts. However, I've read a number of pieces on how marvelous Roppongi Hills is. The people who write these pieces don't have much first-hand experience. I live beside Roppongi Hills. They've built a massive outdoor speaker system right across the street from some existing housing. That's turned a whole neighborhood into a noise pollution hellhole.

   Take these puff pieces with a grain of salt.




2. OPEN: new designs for public space proves that public space has a rich and exciting future. With inspiring projects from six continents, this attractive volume casts a wide net that includes both traditional forms of public spaces (plazas and squares) and exciting hybrids, such as temporary installations that can transform unused spaces into inviting community resources. The essays and interviews also present architects and designers acting as facilitators as much as form makers. In addition to architects, landscape architects and planners, the volume is enriched by contributions from artists, graphic and industrial designers as well as critics and thinkers.

No comments about Country Living.

No comments about Façades: Principles of Construction.

No comments about The Art & Architecture of the Aztec & Maya: An illustrated encyclopedia of the buildings, sculptures and art of the peoples of Mesoamerica, with over 220 ... of ancient Mexico and central America.

5 comments about American Diner Then and Now.

1. What I like best is the Pictures of all those Stainless Steel Diners from The 40,s & 50,s.
   
   Also what I like about this Book is their listing of at least
   MOST of the Diner Builders from the past & present.
   
   For I plan to very soon put up a Diner like that at my own
   Home City & it gave me some tips & pointers on what a Diner should be & not to be.



2. As the author of this book, I beg to differ with the reviewer who said there are no menus reproduced. In fact, five typical menus are illustrated, dating from the "dog wagons" of the 1890s to the "blue plate specials" featured in the 1950s and '60s.
   
   This is not meant to be a cookbook or recipe source for diner food, but it does list hundreds of diners and their addresses where the reader can go and sample the real thing.
   
   This is a history of diners that traces their development from horse-drawn lunch wagons to the neon-trimmed, stainless steel diners of today.



3. Not a single menu photo or recipe graces the pages of this book. So little food info is included, in fact, that this book is just a dry recitation about the diner structures themselves, and the occasional interesting tidbit about the people who owned them. This leaves you hungry to know about the food they served. After all, the food is what diners were all about. If you want a diner history WITH menus and recipes, this is not the book for you.



4. This is actually the third edition of this work. In 1979, Gutman took the plunge with the simply titled "American Diner" published in hardback by Harper & Row. Done in collaboration with Elliott Kaufman and David Slovic, it was shorter and more loosely organized than the later edition, but a nice and welcome diner book at a time when there still weren't many such books around. In 1993 Gutman came out with "American Diner, Then and Now" which sported revised and substantially enlarged text and better-integrated photos (the Kaufman photo portfolios had also been dropped). This revamped '93 version was a high-water mark for diner books, a now numerous field. With it's perfect balance between individual diner stories ("dinerlore"), photos, and history, and great attention to detail which bespeaks a real love of the subject, this has been an unofficial bible for diner afficionados for the last 7 years.

   Now here is the 2000 edition, published in paperback by Johns Hopkins (apparently Barry Levinson's hometown has more interest in diners than the folks at Harper). This is basically just a reprint of the 1993 edition, with a different cover, a new introduction, and a few names added to the diner index at the end. While on the one hand it's great that this modern classic is available again (it had been out of print for several years) I had hoped that there would be some new material in it. To be sure, this book still teaches you how to tell a Paramount from a Mountain View, or a Fodero from a Worcester Lunch Car, and makes a fine gift (Christmas or otherwise) for someone who doesn't have the '93 edition. Nevertheless, at the risk of sounding like an ingrate, I would have to say I slightly prefer the '93 edition, mainly because the cover photo, an interior shot of a restored Worcester Lunch Car, with all that luscious wood, is more attractive than the rather bland shot of Ford's Diner that graces the cover of the 2000 edition. But make no mistake, if you don't have any diner books and are looking for a good one, this is THE one to get----and if you've already got five other diner books, you should still get this, as it has the clearest explication of American diner history you're ever likely to read.




5. Gutman did it again - his updated study of Diners is the cornerstone of any roadside fan's book collection. If you only have room for one book on Diners, THIS IS THE BOOK. Lots of great pictures and stories from the early lunch wagons to the new super diners.

4 comments about Gaining Ground: A History of Landmaking in Boston.

1. If one lives and Boston and was curious about what the city looked like 100, 200, 300, or 400 years ago this is the book for you. I discovered that somewhere between 1837 and 1851 the street I lived in was filled and went from being underwater to land.
   An incredibly well-researched history of how people altered the landscape of Boston.



2. Disclaimer: I was very fortunate to take the Harvard University class tought by the author, which uses this book as the class text.
   
   This book is a spectacular work of research and writing. The author truly shows her passion for the subject.
   The text presents a unique view of Boston history, with stunning detail and even intrigue. The historical and original maps are without equal, and the photographs and illustrations are superb selections.
   Pardon the cliché, but truly I found myself unable to put this book down!
   
   Her recent book Walking Tours of Boston's Made Land is also a must-have for anyone who wants to get close-up and personal with Boston history.



3. This is a wonderful book about how Boston changed in the last 200+ years. It is very readable, but I especially enjoyed the pictures and maps. It is an excellent book for anyone interested in the subject.



4. Seasholes must have combed every archive and walked every inch of Boston to produce this monumental book. Not only is it exhaustive, but it is entertaining as well. Although this is a handsome book it is not a cooffe table enterprise. This is a book you will want to take with you as you walk the streets of Boston. This book is destined to become dog eared and underlined. It is simply a must for anyone interested in the history of this great city.

3 comments about Philip Guston (Modern Masters Series, Vol. 11).

1. Written by a leading art critic, this study of Guston's life and work is at the same time comprehensive and easy to read. From his figurative beginnings and his murals in the 1930's and 1940's, to his abstract expressionnist period of the 1950's and 1960's and his controversial return to figurative art with cartoon-like characters influenced by H.Crumb's comics in the 1970's, this book covers the entire career of one of America's most influencial artists. The many illustrations add to the value of this book as being, in my opinion, the best available on Philip Guston.



2. Given most art criticism, which focuses on theory with polysyllabic intensity, this book is a perfect, easy to read intro to the artist and one that makes his work more accessible. Don't fear to immerse yourself in this fine, brief bio and its color pics!



3. Philip Guston's long career had three distinctive phases. As a young man, he took up painting with the WPA artist program and made left-leaning, social-realist murals and canvases in many places around the country. By the late 1940's, he had moved on to abstraction, producing shimmering, painterly works that were somewhere between the dynamism of Jackson Pollock and the stillness of Mark Rothko. In the last ten years of his life, influenced by the restlessness of the 60's, he painted Robert Crumb-like cartoonish images that hinted at even darker comic nightmares than Crumb ever imagined (and, more occasionally, the uplifting power of love and idealism). This last phase may have been the best of all. Storr's great book is an excellent exegesis of all three of these hard-to-follow transitions, by an artist that simply did not make analysis easy. The mostly full-color illustrations complement the text almost perfectly.

5 comments about House of Worship: Sacred Spaces in America.

1. What can you say? Nice pictures of churches but no theme to choice except maybe political correctness of sect or geography.
   
   Certainly, there was no real 'great architects' theme-- no theology, no style guiding the choices. Browning sort of went "well, these are nice...." The end product, like most coffee table books, is a thousand miles wide and a centimeter deep, and mixes English and Metric, to boot.
   
   Definitely not worth the price, even if the photography is excellent.
   
   How to improve: A seriously revised edition with a back-page of better information about each church or synagogue, some organizational theme (try Maine to California? 1600-2000, etc.), and some glaring omissions (St. John's Episcopal in Queens, a classic Orthodox Church from Alaska, a Franciscan mission from New Mexico? The churches of Columbus, Indiana) rectified would be a good start.
   
   Wait and hope--pray. For now, put your money in the collection plate instead, I'd suggest.



2. A beautiful book of photographs of churches, temples, etc. I was surprised at how wide-ranging the subject places are. I bought this as a Christmas gift for my son and his wife; I am please I have time to read it thru before I send it on. As usual it arrived in good time and perfect condition. Thank you. Kathryn Russell.



3. The photographs are plentiful and show a wide variety of religions and of worship spaces. Many are interior, in fact the book emphasizes the insides of the churches with good architectural critiques. I would have appreciated a "walk through" coverage in the photographs. For example, the grounds approaching the entry, the narthex or lobby areas, the seating and then the altars. However, the close up views of features like stained glass and woodwork aree exceptional.



4. I ordered this as a gift for my sisters birthday and one for myself. The pictures and the stories about the churches history are amazing. My sister loved it as I did! Great purchase!!!!



5. My 82 year old father has been a Methodist minister for 57 years. I purchased this book for him for Father's Day. What I loved is how it shows the differences in places of worship in stunningly beautiful photography, but also shows what my Dad always told us.....the building we worship in is a tribute to God with which we thank Him for our abilities to create.......the people and what they do are the real Church. The building can burn down, but the people will be the one true church. My Dad taught me that there is no one true religion that God created ALL of us equally and this book just shows our different interpretations of tributes to God.