5 comments about Small Spaces, Beautiful Gardens.

1. Looking for ideas for some small gardens and outdoor spaces for some new homes I am building. This book offered very little support.



2. The title says it all. Amazing what you can do with such little space. Beautifully illustrated with before and after pictures, step by step explanations and level of complexity.



3. The author's non-traditional approach to garden design produces exceptional results. Before and after photos beautifully portray his amazing transformations. The author clearly describes the challenges he faced with each garden project, provides an illustration of his solution and then takes you step by step through the transformation process discussing the elements of design he used and how he applied them. I've read several books on landscape design and this is the first one that has truly helped me apply the principles and elements of design to my own garden spaces. My husband and I recently bought a new construction home and we are both excited to begin the transformation of our blank slate yard into a wonderful suburban retreat.



4. Standard spaces I might see set up at a garden show. Nothing spectacular.



5. esp for urban small gardens - he makes you think you can do it!

No comments about Architect and Engineer: A Study in Sibling Rivalry.

5 comments about Identifying American Architecture: A Pictorial Guide to Styles and Terms : 1600-1945.

1. This book is set up in a way that is simple to flip through and pinpoint details on buildings.



2. Excellent pictorial coverage of styles combined with clear definitions of criteria



3. While other "field guides" to American architecture provide more details or bigger/better photos than this one, a key part of what makes 'Identifying American Architecture' so good is what it DOESN'T tell you. That is, it focuses on naming basic (and often not-so-basic) architectural elements in a broad range of styles for you, without the encyclopedic details of each style's history and genealogy, which can be researched elsewhere.
   
   This pinpointed, in-the-moment approach is VERY helpful when you're walking around an area with a rich mix of architectural styles, as in Boston, Chicago, New York, Nashville, San Francisco, and other major cities established 150-300 years ago. In Boston, for example, you can easily find yourself looking at a 1790 Federal-style townhouse one minute, a Richardsonian church from the 1870s the next, and a Second Empire government building (circa 1890) a minute after that. With this easy-to-carry guide in hand, you can quickly identify the differences, point them out to friends, make notes, and move on.
   
   Likewise, this book is a good, easy access reference to have on hand when reading any book -- fiction or non-fiction -- featuring a lot of architectural description. Again, it doesn't have deep details, but there's enough to help you picture and/or understand scenes better. Students and writers also find it helpful in knowing their pilasters from their parapets when writing descriptions of historic buildings and neighborhoods.
   
   In addition to offering at least 4 examples of each architectural style, with the various elements all enumerated clearly, this book also features an alphabetical index of primary architectural elements that make up classic buildings. That's then topped off with a Pictorial Glossary of Terms, where many of the architectural elements that make up classic architecture are shown and denoted in just enough detail to be useful and clarifying.
   
   All in all, for a 128 page book, this one has A LOT of very useful information, presented in an even MORE useful and accessible format. Worth every nickel.



4. Well, it's not the worst field guide I ever saw but as a previous reviewer said, it has some serious flaws. Most notably, I struggled to focus on the wee tiny numbers that identify the architectural characteristics.
   
   Man, those are some small numbers. And sometimes they get so clustered together, you're not sure which number goes with which architectural feature.
   
   The long, thin layout of the graphics works against this book, too. The pictures of houses just don't fit well in this format.
   
   And (sadly), I agree that some of the photos are a little washed out. With all that said, I do believe you can learn something from every book and this book does contain a wealth of information.
   
   Rose
   author, The Houses That Sears Built
   and co-author, California's Kit Homes



5. I have been collecting field guides to American domestic archiecture for many years and beyond a doubt this is the very worst guide that I have come across. This guide has many strikes against it.
   
   First, it is too short to give the reader any real understanding of the different styles of American domestic architecture. Many styles are ignored and the styles that are covered are done so superficially. As an example, the section on the International Style of architecture only has two washed out black and white photographs. The few details that are explained are done so in the most superficial manner.
   
   Second, the quality of the printing is very poor. The quality of the paper and binding makes the book look like it was produced int he 1970's. Worst of all, the photographs used to show the different styles are washed out. A revolution in publishing has happened in the past twenty years and this publisher has missed out in the opportunity to produce a modern looking guide.
   
   Finally, there are some wonderful field guides in current production. Don't waste your money on this guide. Check out the guides produced by Lester Walker and Virginia McAlester. Those are the types of guides that can inspire the reader to learn more about history and American houses. Avoid this guide!

5 comments about Santa Barbara Style.

1. you just can't go wrong with these series of books, I have them all and they are outstanding



2. As an interior designer, several of my colleagues mentioned that this was the most requested style from their newer clients. I thought there would be more current interiors, referring to a new style. It was more of a historical chronicle of design in Santa Barbara, for exteriors and interiors. It is a nice book, but not exactly what I expected.



3. Im building a santa barbara style house and I was disappointed. Not a lot of details. Sure some pics of some SB mansions but not enough photos or details to actually do anything with this book. I guess if you are into SB history it might be OK, otherwise save yourself the $. You will be done browsing it in about 10 minutes and never use it again.



4. This is an amazing photo essay about the Spanish Architecture of Santa Barbara. I own several books like this and this is my favorite.Casa California: Spanish-Style Houses From Santa Barbara to San Clemente



5. Such a beautiful book, recommended by our architect and builder for obtaining ideas on building a real Spanish Colonial or Revival house. The landscape designs were fantastic as well. Another reader wanted to see "beach shacks" and was disappointed by this book. I lived in Santa Barbara for 6 years and I can tell you have never traveled there. No beach shacks in Santa Barbara. Try along the eastern seaboard coastline.

5 comments about The Colouring, Bronzing and Patination of Metals.

1. Very nicely done, but I concur with those who believe additional photos are a must. A CD-ROM with high resolution images to go with each of the authors' experiments would be a useful upgrade to an otherwise astonishing book.
   
   I do feel that this book flags the hazardous materials very well, in fact, included are recipes which are subsequently not recommended by the authors based on the total risk or risk/reward ratio. The authors do assume some basic intelligence on the part of the reader.
   
   There are in addition examples of some very effective patinations, as evidenced in the color plates, which are achieved with relatively benign chemicals and methods; these should appeal to those who are not willing or prepared to work with more hazardous materials. Know your limits.
   
   The techniques employed are described clearly. To cap it off, recipes which give consistently good results are highlighted by an asterisk, a very thoughtful feature to help navigate through the abundance of esoteric and useful formulae.
   
   Bravo!



2. More than pleased with this purchase. These guys put serious time and energy into relaying info about patination. They leave no questions unanswered, as well as, they give tons of formulas to create with. The amazon price is the best out there!



3. The best book there is regarding patination of metals.



4. This book is truely the "bible" on patinas. There must be at least 1000 recipes for coloring metal.



5. This book is encyclopeadic--there are at least a thousand recipes. But only about 1 in 4 has a color picture to show the results. I'm sorry, but color pictures are a must. The word descriptions simply don't suffice, especially when one is looking for a very partcular look.
   
   Contrary to what other reviewers have said, there are only sixteen pages of color photos in the book.
   
   A lot of the recipes should only be attempted by persons that are very safety conscious. Some recipes contain strong acids or strong oxidizers that must be stored and used correctly.
   
   The metals covered are: bronze, brass, copper, gilding metal (aka red brass 90% Cu, 10% Zn) yellow.

1 comments about CPM in Construction Management (Pro Engineering).

1. The original edition of this revised book dates from the early 1980's, so predates the use of personal computers for scheduling. The careful, methodical thinking that was essential when paper and pencil or mainframe computers were the only choices, is evident in the organization and subject matter of this book. Although currently popular PC scheduling software is addressed in this edition, the discipline of the underlying knowledge and methods are always evident. A welcome contrast to scheduling texts that want to "get to the good stuff", such as schedule acceleration, before building a firm foundation.
   
   The use of case studies from both construction and manufactoring were particluarly relavant. This is the most comprehensive and clear book on this subject I have found.
   
   Choosing Project Success - A Guide for Building Professionals

No comments about Planning and Installing Photovoltaic Systems: A Guide for Installers, Architects and Engineers (Planning and Installing Series).

3 comments about The Barefoot Architect.

1. This is the first English translation of The Barefoot Architect (TBA), which was originally written in Spanish in Mexico in 1982. Obviously written with a Third-World audience in mind, TBA nevertheless has a multitude of useful ideas that could be incorporated into North American buildings. At first glance this handbook's 697 pages are intimidating, but fear not - this tome is extremely user-friendly, as it employs only simple drawings and brief text to convey a wealth of handy ideas for laymen/owner builders and professional contractors alike. The only exception to that last statement is that TBA has a rather skimpy index.
   
   TBA starts off with a thoughtful design overview which shows how to situate your house, say, to take advantage of the prevailing winds, solar orientation, terrain, and vegetation on your building site. Subsequent chapters cover considerations and methods for building in deserts, jungles, and temperate zones. Granted, not many Norte Americanos will want to build their homes with bamboo, thatch or handmade adobe bricks, but there are plenty of examples of materials and construction techniques that I wouldn't hesitate to use where I live in Northwest Wyoming.
   
   The use of modern insulating, siding, and roofing materials that would be familiar and available to Americans is little discussed. Remember that the primary audience for this handbook resides not in North America/First World, but in the southern hemisphere, where most citizens don't have our economic wherewithal. I would not use a lot of TBA's suggestions in the building of my primary residence, but for outbuildings, walls, gardens, get-away cabins, etc., I would use this book in a heartbeat for my construction bible. Thoreau would have loved it. Perhaps in a post-peak oil world, TBA will become a must-have resource for those of us who have to live more simply and take advantage of the building materials close at hand. Most discussions in TBA readily stimulate one to think of practical uses for the natural resources that surround us all.



2. After my wife and I had finished writing The Straw Bale House and were beginning work in Mexico on a number of projects, we came across this book during our travels. We loved it so much we set out trying to find out where we could get more copies. The search took us to a bookstore in Mexico City where we bought several cases to bring back to the States. They were so popular with friends that we gave away/sold all of them in almost no time at all. It's just a marvelous little book with simple but very clear illustrations. Quite truthfully I'm totally amazed that Lloyd Khan the publisher came across this book and decided to print it in English. But then again, that's what makes Lloyd the entertaining publisher that he is.



3. I'm in the process of re-building the kitchen, bathroom, foundation and an addition to our home. Picking up this book to peruse made my imagination wander and provided tremendous insight into not only how to go about these significant changes but also provided new ways based upon sensible and older techniques. There are so many ideas, drawings and explanations that even if you thought you had everything at hand and knew just what you were going to do, this could very much make your work better. I very much recommend this thick and interesting book.

No comments about Buenos Aires Style: Exteriors, Interiors, Details (Icon (Taschen)).

2 comments about 100 Houses for 100 Architects (Special Edition).

1. This book is not as bad as the previous reviewer makes it out to be. It presents a wide selection of architects houses, from William Morris in the Nineteenth Century to Francine Houben at the end of the Twentieth. The documentation of every house is quite decent and gives a good understanding of the spaces, with a good textual explanation, and the photographs are of great quality. Some houses have probably rarely appeared in print, as for instance those of Fernando Tavora, Christian Norberg-Schulz, and Jose Antonio Coderch. Besides, the book gives a great idea about these architects' conception of the 'home', as for instance in Coderch's case, who conceived his house in a vernacular mode quite different from the architecture he is known for.



2. There's nothing terrible about the book. But it is so easily beat out by other architecture books (including others by Taschen publishing) that there's no reason to get this book or waste your time reading much about it.