No comments about Execution by Hunger.

1 comments about The Dome of the Rock.

1. CAUTION: There are 3 different books with the same title by the same authors, but with different re-write contents in different years. All discuss the "Dome of the Rock" or the "Al-Haram al-Sharif" hilltop in Jerusalem. [Atop this rock is where Jews believe their now-destroyed Second Temple was located; where Christians await the building of the Third Temple to enhance the return of Jesus; and is from where the Muslim Prophet Mohammad ascended into Heaven to talk with Allah before returning upon his flying-horse al-Buraq to Medina.] #1 (Sept. 1996): "The Dome of the Rock" by Said Nuseibeh AND Oleg Grabar. [Nuseibeh was the photographer, translator and writer, with co-author Grabar adding valuable commentary regarding the architecture of the dome.] It is the large "coffee table" size: 9.6"x12", hardback with 175 pages; Rizzoli publisher; {ISBN-10: 08-47819426} $60 new, $35 used. This book provides countless photographs of every ornately tiled wall and crook-and-cranny niche within this octagon-shaped building, and is the first one that I have seen that translates the extensive Arabic inscriptions contained inside the dome. How should Christians view this inscription in the Dome: "So believe in God and all the messengers, And stop talking about a Trinity. Cease in your own best interests! Verily God is the God of unity. Lord Almighty! That God would beget a child? Either in the Heavens or on the Earth?" (p.107) [Muslims don't believe in the concept of the Christian "Holy Trinity"; and maintain that while Jesus was actually a MUSLIM prophet, he was not the "son" of God and therefore not divine.] Also, this is the only book I've found that has a very detailed bird's-eye view of the top of the entire Haram al-Sharif complex, and depicts where about 65 different shrines, stairs, gates, and domes are located. #2 (Jan. 1997): "Le Dome du Rocher" by Said Nuseibeh and Oleg Grabar; hardback same as #1 but in French. #3 (Oct. 2006): "The Dome of the Rock" by only Oleg Grabar. It is medium-size: 6"x8", hardback with 234 pages; specialty Belknop Press of Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Mass.; printed in Canada; {ISBN-10: 0-674-02313-7} $25 new; $13 used. This is NOT a smaller reprint of #1; it is a totally different re-write! It has perhaps only 5% of the photographs contained in #1, but does provide several new site maps along with new analysis. #4 (Aug. 1985): "Dome of the Rock" (in 'Wonders of Man' series) by Jerry Landay; 160 pgs; Newsweek Books {ISBN-10: 0882250183 or 088225019-1}. As related items you should review: (a) "Secrets of Jerusalem's Temple Mount" by Leen Ritmeyer {ISBN-10:188-031-752-4}; a study of the architectural history of the building of various temples atop the Temple Mount; and (b) "The End of Days" by Gershom Gorenberg {ISBN-10: 0-684-87179-3}; an analysis of the religious and political struggles between Jews, Christians and Muslims for control of the Temple Mount to accelerate the much-anticipated coming of the calamitous hells-a-poppin "End of Times."

1 comments about Veneklasen Brick: A Family, a Company, and a Unique Nineteenth-Century Dutch Architectural Movement in Michigan.

1. As a non-Dutch person who grew up in Michigan and now a world famous comedian living in Los Angeles, I think very little about architecture. In fact, I think very little about anything that doesn't involve me. But on a friend's recommendation, I picked up a copy of Veneklasen Brick. And what can I say? I loved it!
   
   Mr. Douma clearly knows his way around Michigan. Anyone who grew up there will love the references to Lake Macatawa or the humble beginnings of Holland (the city in Michigan, silly!) History buffs will cheer at the in depth analysis of the tumultuous lives of these settlers. And comedians, such as myself, will love the long funny Dutch words.
   
   A+ Mr. Douma. Sequel anytime soon? Cuz I know a guy...

2 comments about The Green Man.

1. I recently saw green men, on a trip to England, and thought I would learn a little about them and possibly try my hand at chip carving. The Green Man, by Kathleen Basford, was consice, well written, gave history, and many picture plates of dated works. A treasure!



2. This books holds a reputation as one of the seminal publications in modern Green Man research, and rightly so. There is little copy in the book save a few pages in the beginning outlining the myth as understood at the time of publication, but where it speaks most loudly is in the photographs. Beautiful black and white pictures from all over Europe capture the broad variety of ways that the Green Man has been depicted through the centuries.
   
   Green Man fans must own this book!

3 comments about Houses of the World.

1. This book is Awesome! So many beautiful homes, I don't know if it makes me happy to see it all, or depressed that I'm not a billionaire! Oh, Well, we can't have it all, but having this book can make you feel like you do.
   Keep it in your living room for your friends and guests to see, they will spend hours w/their noses in it. 1,000 pages of delicious architecture. Highly recommend.



2. This book offers a wide range of home styles from around the globe in almost 1000 pages (999 to be exact). With more pictures than text this is definitely eye candy for anyone who loves residential architecture. A+



3. I just bought this book on my vacation to Quebec City, my version is in french. I think this book is amazing, lots of great pictures of some spectacular houses with a small write up for each. Great book for the price. A must have for any one who loves houses and architecture.

No comments about Architect's Pocket Book, Third Edition (Architect's Pocket Book) (Architect's Pocket Book).

1 comments about Coptic Monasteries: Egypt's Monastic Art and Architecture.

1. Gawdat came to my college this summer and taught about Coptic Art History using this book. The course was just wonderful and Gawdat is a great teacher. The book is very well written, and readable even for someone like me who knows almost nothing about Coptic monasteries and art. The book makes you want to learn more, and there are plenty of references for exploring topics further. The book provides more up to date information than many sources, including information not found in the Coptic Encyclopedia (from 1991). The text is highly readable, but not dumbed down. The book is short, but informative, and has some good color photos of the art and architecture from each monastery. Also included are groundplans and maps. The information is relevant for any scholar of medieval and/or Coptic art history, and is useful also for visitors travelling to Egypt. You'll definitely want to visit at least one of these monasteries in addition to the pyramids if you go to Egypt. All in all, a good book for people new to Coptic art and great for those who are scholars as well. The text is written in an art historical style. I highly recommend this book for students of art history, especially if you are at all interested in the beginnings of monasticism and medieval art history.

2 comments about Architecture in Detail: Colors (Architecture in Detail).

1. Unfortunatelly I have never received this book.
   What has happened with the shipment?
   My address is:
   FASTWEB, Ana Paula Calle
   Via Paolo Veronese 252
   10148, Torino
   Italy



2. The third volume in the "Architecture in Detail" series, Colors: Architecture in Detail explores the work of top architects and interior designers working today. Especially focusing on the form/color duality, Colors is filled cover to cover with beautiful photographs illustrating rooms and exteriors based around the impact of various colors: white, black, red, blue, yellow, brown, gray, green, and polychrome. Paragraph highlights draw attention to specific details, but the majority of Colors focuses squarely upon the almost dreamlike images themselves. A truly captivating volume simply to page through.

2 comments about Object to Be Destroyed: The Work of Gordon Matta-Clark.

1. This book is about all there is on this guy. Kudos to Pamela Lee for sticking her neck out and getting a book out on him. It's WAY overdue. At times the analogies and stuff are a bit tiring... though maybe I mowed through it in too much of one sitting.

   This guy cut up buildings and would jack parts of them up with foundation jacks for chrissakes. Damien Hirst on steriods 20 years early.




2. Gordon Matta-Clark is one of those artists largely understood lightly, if at all, partially because of the lack of coverage of his work in most of art history. Lee's book goes a long way toward building a scholarship of G.M-C's work, especially in terms of its conceptual and analytical underpinnings.

   When seen in conjunction with P.S. 1's retrospective of his drawings in 1998, and the recent republication of the only big monograph, G.M-C seems poised to be included in newer histories of art, which does a great service to everyone.

   I read a good chunk of this book flying from JFK to SFO, and I found it to be well-written, cogent, and compelling as a document of G.M-C's work. I came away inspired. Hopefully his films will be the next portion of his oeuvre to be rereleased.

3 comments about Accommodating the Lively Arts: An Architect's View (Career Development Series).

1. Martin Bloom's Accommodating The Lively Arts provides a technical guide to the design and renovation of theater spaces, from location and shape through fundamentals of theater design. Any involved in theater will find this an important consideration on organizing and building spaces.



2. By no means a glossy record of dramatically realized theater designs, it is rather a gentle manifesto of theater design principles. The author, a practicing designer of theaters, cultural centers, and exhibition structures, says that spaces for live performances should consider three fundamental elements: focus, platform and frame. It all makes perfect sense. The author has added some helpful little sketches, and there is an introduction by Chris Marowitz.



3. I picked up this book expecting to read a fairly technical account of how to design and build "better" theaters because I happened to know that it is by an architect who has spent much of his professional life designing theaters and performance spaces. What I discovered is not a "how to" book (although all architects might well profit from its many insights into how architecture should "accommodate" the intended functions and users of a structure.) No, this turns out to be a book by an individual who has spent much of his life involved with theatrical productions on various levels and is here passing on his compressed wisdom about the very essence of what makes for a satisfying and significant visit to the theater. It is not a history of theaters as structures, although it does weave its insights around the historical development of performance spaces, from the earliest Greek threshing floors to contemporary theaters-in-the-round (and there are drawings to help us see the essential elements). It is not particularly concerned with individual buildings by architects, whether well-known or otherwise. It is, rather, about how the elements of physical spaces affect our experience of theatrical productions--serious drama, light comedy, musicals, whatever. On one level, we are all aware of this--whether the seats are too cramped, how the sight lines are obstructed, yes, and whether the ladies room is inadequate. But Martin Bloom has thought much longer and harder and deeper about al these matters, and you end up feeling he has revealed something essential about the point where architecture, theaters, drama, and life intersect.