5 comments about Sunset Garden Pools: Fountains & Waterfalls.

1. For one who wants to install their first, and likely only garden pool, this book is great. We installed a pond with a flexable liner, not the rigid type and we needed to know such things as what depth, why we needed to step the depth, type of materials, essentially all the things to do it ourselves. This book was very helpful in that regards. After four years, we are still happy we installed our pond.



2. THIS BOOK IS A GREAT GUIDE AND HELP IN HELPING YOU DESIGN,CONSTRUCT AND ENJOY A WATERFALL OR FOUNTAIN. IF I COULD INCLUDE THE PICTURES OF THE ONE I BUILT USING THIS BOOK AS A GUIDE I WOULD. YOU WONT REGRET THE PURCAHSE OF THIS GUIDE.



3. Its a very good source for creating innovation in gardening



4. For the low cost of the book I'd recommend it to any beginner or experienced person looking for ideas and inspiration on their next project.



5. Although this book is not as comprehensive as some of the other texts on water gardens, it has a wonderful assortment of pictures (which is always nice for "ideas"). The price was low-end and I think what is contained is reasonable for this smaller book.

1 comments about Contemporary Houses.

1. Excellent hardcover & paper, great photo quality & printing, impressive finishing details. All the text is in 4 different languages, the plan details are welcomed anytime and combined with the pictures provide an excellent in mind view of the actual house being pictured.
   Looking forward for more books from this publisher/author.

2 comments about The American Airport.

1. For those who love airports and airplanes, this is a wonderful book to have. Simple, well-written, but unpretentious, it is loaded with lots of good period photographs and illustrations that cover the historical development of airports and the growth and transformations of the passenger airline industry in the United States. It would have been great if it were not limited to airports in this country, but had also included the develoment of airports all over the world. My suggestion to the author is to try just that: a second book devoted to international airports around the world and the development of the international airline system, particularly in Europe and Latin America, and, of course, including some of the exciting and ultra modern airports built in recent years accross the globe, especially in the Middle East and Asia. I'll be first in line to buy such a book! If you are an airport and airline enthusiast like me, I am sure you will very much enjoy The American Airport.



2. From the first days of aviation--biplanes using dirt fields for landing and takeoff--to the modern state-of-the-art airports like the new one built in Denver--this book takes you on a historical and pictoral journey across the history of the American airport.

   To most travelers, all airports are alike other than the variety of restaurants and shops contained within; most people never stop to look at the amazing architectural details of many of today's American airports. From the art deco style of Regan National's updated terminals to the Native-American inspired "tents" of Denver International to LAX's futuristic Theme Building, this book gives a great overview of the distinctive styles and the functionality of our airports today.

2 comments about The City of Collective Memory: Its Historical Imagery and Architectural Entertainments.

1. this is an excellent text. in my opinion indebted to historical analysis. the author gives great examples of cases and interrelations that city building has had during the years. from the neoclasical revival of greece under Othon's kingdom to the work of rossi. very influenced by the work of Benjamin and the "dialectics of seeing" the text is thought provoking, and that is in a critical way of how we experience the urban environment today. However, and again in my opinion, it is within the conclusion that the text fails to provide some answers to its proposed considerations on contemporary technology.



2. The book is heavily indebted to French literary work of the 1960s...and this tends to overload its language in the direction of ponderousness...and a certain detachment from English....polysyllability was made for it...and a curiosity is that it was set up in Cochin and proofread apparently by a tone-deaf spellcheck program...so that 'bear' becomes 'bare,' and 'monastery' is transmuted into 'monestery...etc. It points to the enormous gap between academese and ordinary speech...which is a pity, because the book is nonetheless worth reading...and takes in a broad swathe of thought about the visible aspects of city and the ways in which this is transmuted and thinned-out in modern and post-modern decades. The distinction between 'memory' (i.e. a living tradition of sense and sensibility about space and its demarcations) and 'history' (a dead sense of record and mechanical or miscellaneous assembly) is grounded in the thought of Walter Benjamin...and rooted in the perceptual moralities of John Ruskin and Patrick Geddes. The book would only have been more useful had its polysyllables been (literally) translated into a prose that ebwhite or jamesthurber would have approved.

5 comments about Building Big.

1. This book is outstanding! It's informative, yet easy to read. I have used it as the textbook for my high school engineering class for two years, and the students love it!



2. I bought this book for my 6 year old son who is an avid builder. I knew that the text would be above his head, so I read the book before giving it to him so I could summarize the paragraphs for him. He asks to look at this book every night and loves it. This is not a picture book as it has a lot of text, but the pictures are well done, and he has gained some basic building concepts that he uses with his Legos and blocks. He likes to look at the book about how they build a structure (he is really fascinated by the Hoover dam and Petronas Towers) and they we look online at the completed pictures. It's a great book for older children (or if you want to take the time with a younger child to explain it) and I recommend it.



3. I gave this book as a gift to someone who loves and understands architecture. He found it most interesting. It contains many facts that are not generally know about large, historical structures.



4. David Macaulay takes the reader on a tour of some of the really big civil engineering structures of our time. Building Big has sections on Bridges, Tunnels, Dams, Domes, and Skyscrapers. Each part of the book describes the design and construction of from four to ten outstanding examples of the structure highlighted. The examples in each category are described in chronological order with some going back to the time of ancient Rome. The drawings that accompany the text are excellent at focusing on the details and techniques described. The integration of text and graphics is wonderful. In each case, Macaulay describes the design objectives, the interplay between the structure and the environment, and the engineering solutions used to bring the structures into being. This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in structural engineering and design. I have not seen the related PBS video series, but I can say that the book stands on its own very well. Highly recommended.



5. Macaulay fans are going to be amazed and impressed by this, his best book yet. It's a companion to the PBS series that's better than the films! A must see and better yet, must buy.

4 comments about Modern Retro: Living With Mid-Century Modern Style.

1. I've recently become obsessed with mid-century modern. I've been reading a lot of magazines and blogs, but it seems that they're mostly about advertising to a rich audience. They make it seem like it's as easy as gathering up $10,000 and going to your local mid-century modern store. This book does mention specific pieces and designers but also talks a lot about the philosophy behind this style of design. It makes it possible to walk into a local thrift store or garage sale and spot the pieces that will work. Brilliant!



2. Since I already have a few 50-60's modern pieces in my home, I purchased this book to give me a better idea of what other items were out there. The designs have great style, but seem totally achievable. Using this book as a guide and source of inspiration you could decorate your home in a comfortable yet stylish manner. Some of the pieces they show are pricey, while others are probably inexpensive flea market finds. The author gives you enough information that you could go out into the flea markets and antique/second hand shops and make some sound purchase. It is a shame the book is less than 200 pages. I would have loved to see more.



3. This book is amazing. It teaches you to create a contemporary looking home, without the outrageous costs of designer furnishings. It tells you what to look for at thrift stores, and how to use what you already have. I would highly reccommend this book to anyone even just a little bit interested in design! It's truly great.



4. For a book on home furnishings, this book certainly contains enough good pictures to get you inspired. It is also well researched and written and actually covers quite a lot of ground inspite of its rather small size at 144 pages. In fact, this book is so good, I only wish there was a bigger version of it, with even more wonderful examples of lovely interiors filled with retro furniture. This book covers interior styles from the Art Deco period to the 1970s. It does mention a little of the famous designers such as Noguchi, Eames, Nelson, etc., but its primary purpose is to teach you about how to achieve the modern retro look, with discussions on living rooms, kitchens, work rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, furniture, lighting and accessories. What I find particularly useful is the list of retailers specializing in original pieces of furniture, a list of retailers and manufacturers of modern re-issues, and a list of architects and designers whose work had been featured in the book. Be warned though, that the list consists mostly of companies in the United Kingdom. This book is definitely a good buy for enthusiasts of retro furniture.

1 comments about Wirtz Gardens, The.

1. This book comes in 2 volumes, with both over 100 pages each. High quality bound and exclusive paper makes this book a pleasant reading experience. It is worth the price - at its current price I personally consider it even underpriced ($ 168.00). Every page shows high quality impressive photographs of the Wirtz gardens. The text, without dominating the presence of the photographs, is highly descriptive about the plants with their common and latin names, the spirits of the featured landscape designs, and the rationales and philosophies behind each featured design. The Wirtz Gardens are an example of Art while tying classical designs and natural elements of the environment together. This book features a very eclectic approach to landscaping with mysterious and calm beauty. I highly recommend this piece of art for anyone considering to hire a landscape architect or for someone who is looking for inspiration. Even for simple reading pleasure, this book is a treat.

No comments about Interior Planning and Design: Project Programs, Plans, Charettes.

1 comments about Farmhouse: Classic Homesteads Of North America.

1. Good book, nicely written & put together. Easily read for enjoyment.
   Not a book for learning technique, layouts, or building methods.

1 comments about 500 Ideas for Small Spaces (Evergreen S07).

1. I'd give this book 2.5 stars.
   
   I was a little disappointed by this book, although this doesn't necessarily mean it's a crappy book.
   It had to do with the style of the apartments, which is very modern and quite minimalistic, and I just discovered it was way too modern for me.
   Everything seemed to be done by designers, and I just wished the pictures would show other styles, besides hypermodern, as well.
   The book is divided in handy chapters like: floors, dividing and unifying elements, furniture and lighting, amongst others, and subdivided in even smaller chapters (the chapter on floors for example, is divided in: carpets, wood, tiles etc.), which I find a good thing. In those chapters you can find photos and ideas accordingly.
   Unfortunately, this book has 500 one liner ideas and little else (only a mini introduction of a few sentences starting each chapter), and those ideas aren't direclty linked to the photographs.
   For example, you see pictures of different lamps in the lighting section, and then there are ideas like:
   265. A wooden bookcase can be lit by strings of spotlights set on each shelf.
   266. Apart from general lighting, a bathroom needs wall lamps above the mirror and next to the shower.
   But are there any specific pictures to demonstrate these tips? Usually not, and if there are, you have to figure it out yourself.
   
   In short:
   Pros: beautiful book, especially for that price, with lots of color photographs, good chapter division, and lots of ideas, which are quite useful
   Cons: only hypermodern, designer style and the 500 ideas don't have a direct relationship to the photos, which makes it annoying to read