4 comments about Silver Age Sci-Fi Companion.

1. The space adventures and worlds envisioned by a classic DC Comics series edited by Julius Schwartz and written by Gardner Fox and John Broome is revealed in SILVER AGE SCI-FI COMPANION, a consider of the series stories of Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space which includes reviews of complete series and behind-the-scenes insights on writers and artists alike. Any Silver Age comics collector, library catering to them, or science fiction fan will relish the plot synopses and insights.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. All of the comic history-related books TwoMorrows Publishing puts out are worthwhile, but this is the best one yet. Author Mike W. Barr really goes the extra mile here and it shows. Not just a dry recitation of facts, Barr weaves together interesting factoids and makes connections where you least expect it. Wonderfully illustrated with vintage art, there are plot synopses of the biggies like Adam Strange and the Atomic Knights but also obscure DC sci-fi creations like the Faceless Creatures (!) and Super-Chief. More fun than a visit to the Space Museum. Go out of your way to get this one. A+.



3. The Silver Age Sci-Fi Companion is up to the standards of most TwoMorrows fare - expert coverage with interviews of the living comic book creators who were there when this stuff was all created. A lot of these comics were before my time so it was a great exposure to concepts that I had never known of (such as Space Museum or the Atomic Knights). There's even a look at which books were reprinted and when. This book provided me with days of reading enjoyment.



4. If you ever wondered where the inspiration came for these superheros and a bit of comic history, buy this book.

5 comments about Interior Design (3rd Edition).

1. I was asked to buy this book for class and did not want to spend the money at first. Now that I bought it I am very happy. It has alot of important and useful info.



2. very nice book, a bit big and awkward for a textbook, but overall nice, quick delivery too. Great experience, recommend amazon for all my purchases! :)



3. This book is one of the prerequesite books required to the students for my Intro To Design class. Pile is very informative, but sometimes over my head in his descriptions. We use this book along with Ching and I find Ching to be in much simpler wording. The pictures are beautiful in Pile....inspiring. A big investment ($80.00) for the serious design student....and worth it, in my opinion.



4. This is one of several of Mr. Pile's books that are on my bookshelf. He is my interior design Guru. He has guided me through many an interior student minefield and brought me out unscathed and with a good grade. Again, good quality binding, paper, presentation, crystal clear text, great colour photography, and tons of information. Whatever I needed to find, it was right there. What more can I say?



5. It is really a marvelous creation. Pile has put together the most basics of interior design and put it into a exciting format for an introduction to interior design survey course. All the in the pictures in the book are beautifully put together and the book contains continuous harmony with each page you turn.

1 comments about Erte's Seven Deadly Sins and Other Great Graphics in Full Color.

1. This is a picture book featuring Erte's gorgeous designs in full colour glory. There is very little text, so if you desire biographical information, look elsewhere (I found some great info about Erte the man online).
   
   As an amateur costume designer and maker, this book is amazingly inspirational and stirs the passions of creativity.

1 comments about Monet (Famous Artists).

1. These books are excellent for elementary students. They are easy to read and easy to follow. They are filled with lots of examples of the artists work and ideas for kids to try. They incorporate the history of art during each artists life and who influenced them.
   
   The books in this series are: Cezanne, Leonardo Da Vinci, Matisse, Michelangelo, Miro, Monet, Picasso, and Van Gogh.
   
   I have Monet & Miro and have read both. I just purchased four more.

1 comments about Grading Techniques for Fashion Design Second Edition.

1. This book is not only an introduction to the amateur covering basic grading techniques on simple garments. It is a complete guide to grading women's clothes covering every possible style for the misses and junior size garments. Additional information on grading women and menswear size garments is also included.

   I am not an expert on the field of grading and this is why this book by J. Price and B. Zamkoff (who teach in the FIT) has proved to be of great help to me, as it is full of simple step by step instructions combined with many many clear diagrams. This is definitely a very practical book.

   The book comprises: Part1: A STUDY OF GRADING, including, types of grade, grading machines, computer grading, a guide to good grading, using the grading charts, grading chart etc. Part 2: GRADING BASIC DESIGNS, including, from bodice, back bodice with shoulder darts, back bodice with neck dart, torso, straight skirt, pants, set-in sleeve, collars, men's wear shirt Part 3: GRADING INTERMEDIATE DESIGNS, including, shawl collar, chemise dress, bodice and yoke, bodice and midriff, front princess bodice, back princess bodice, six gore skirt, circle skirt, sarong skirt, skirt with variations Part 4: GRADING ADVANCED DESIGNS, including, front kimono sleeves, back kimono sleeves, kimono raglan sleeve, square armhole, front gusset sleeve, back gusset sleeve, set-in raglan sleeve, princess bodice and sleeve-in-one, dropped shoulder sleeve, big shirt dolman sleeve Part 5: GRADING CREATIVE DESIGNS, including, halter bodice, assymetrical bodice, bustier, cowl neckline bodice, semi-fitted jumper, batwing sleeve with surplice bodice and peplum Part 6: ADDITIONAL DESIGNS FOR GRADING, including, from bodice with shoulder and waistline dart, armhole princess line bodice, front bodice with multiple darts or pleat, two-piece sleeve, puff sleeve, house gusset, shirtwaist sleeve with french cuff bishop sleeve with cuff bell sleeve with facing, shirt pocket, notch collar, cape, flared sleeve, cap sleeve, hood, skirt with circular flounce and shaped waistband, flared dress, culottes.

4 comments about The Luminous Ground: The Nature of Order, Book 4.

1. This book is a free, original expression of nonduality, or non-separation, which is to say nothing is separate from existence. If you love art, architecture, color, light, inner light, incorporation of the tears and sadness of "the cares of the world," living a natural and open life, this book will show you how that love meets up with the truth of your existence.
   
   How can you "feel" non-separation or nonduality? By knowing that you exist. This is your sense of "I" that Alexander speaks of throughout this book. Or call it "I Am." Since everyone can know that they exist, their most fundamental nature is this "I" or "I Am." Valuing that you exist, valuing this "I" brings a sense of unity with all people, their creations, their appreciations, their failures, sadness and tears. It brings a sense of union with humanity.
   
   This feeling of existence is the crux of this book. It's not just feeling existence, but valuing existence. It almost sounds silly: "valuing existence." Such valuing leads to wonder that never ends and all works being done as a gift of existence to existence, or to God. It makes you focus on existence so that you create something that communicates multiple layers of meaning, the totality of existence, in a building or an artwork.
   
   Religion, art, physics, quantum theory, and mostly the "I," the true you, come together in this unusual, delightful, beautiful to hold and read, art book full of vibrant color photographs, pictures, and illustrations.
   
   If there is another edition or another volume, perhaps some of the more direct teachings of nonduality can be included. For example, the words of the great Indian sage Ramana Maharshi turn one toward a disposition most favorable for the understanding, absorbing, and integrating of Alexander's confessions about art and existence: "Existence or Consciousness is the only reality. If you enquire 'Who am I?' the mind will return to its source (or where it issued from). The thought which arose will also submerge. As you practice like this more and more, the power of the mind to remain as its source is increased."
   
   Jerry Katz
   One: Essential Writings on Nonduality



2. Alexander's Pattern Language series was/is a great accomplishment. It made the mysteries of good architectural design accessible to everyone. It attempted to liberate home- and town-building from the arrogant priesthood of professional architects and exposed the bankrupt values behind so much of contemporary building. It offered a deeply human alternative much more in tune with the way we really live.
   
   Not surprisingly it did very little to change professional practices. Even the few architects who are sympathetic to his viewpoint largely dismiss his ideas and methods as economically impractical, except for wealthy clients who can afford the time and money needed to build a home with such individual attention to every idiosyncratic detail. The one area Alexander has had a major influence on is computer program design -- there economic factors are not a constraint and his notions about recursive patterns and sequences have been taken seriously and had a lasting effect.
   
   Having made hardly a dent in his chosen profession, Alexander now appears to have turned his attention elsewhere - to the future and to his own posterity. In The Nature of Order, and especially in the final Book 4, he babbles on and on about his Holy Grail - an "astounding" new world view that will supposedly revolutionize civilization (and vindicate Alexander as a Prophet crying in the modern Wilderness), in which Science and Art, object and subject, ornament and function, beauty and practicality will at last be seen as One Living Whole, inextricably bound together in mystical union like the interwoven threads of the Turkish prayer rugs he is so enamored of. Then and only then will buildings express the True Self and Blaze with Spirit and Inner Light and Centers and Beings and "I-stuff", blah, blah, blah.
   
   The art history illustrations are lovely (by comparison, most of Alexander's own paintings and drawings look rather second-rate), but the half-baked metaphysical ramblings, dressed up as pseudo-science, are very tedious, overly intellectual, and hardly new. The 2500-year-old Buddhist canon and many other spiritual traditions, like Sufism, Taoism, the Hindu Upanishads or Native American and Aboriginal religious cosmologies, have all expressed this vision far more eloquently and effectively. Alexander gives these venerable traditions barely a nod of acknowledgment, except as visual evidence supporting his own vague and untestable theories - since they make no claims to Scientific Truth, as Alexander does relentlessly, he just ignores or co-opts their immense contributions.
   
   Give Alexander credit for his emphasis on personal feeling, but educating our feeling to make ever more accurate side-by-side discriminations between "degrees of life" can take us only so far as an aesthetic method. Being an artist is more a matter of life-long discipline and *practice* - above all, learning how to cultivate the right state of mind - natural and open, free from fixed concepts, beyond even the most refined intellectual judgments of good and bad, beautiful and ugly. It's not something to rattle on about for page after repetitive page, it's something to do - to discover how to do through doing, through direct experience. In my own work, books like John Daido Loori's Zen and Creativity and Chogyam Trungpa's Dharma Art, or Suzuki Roshi's Not Always So have been much more helpful and to the point.



3. I'm not an architect, though I do paint a bit and presume to teach. A friend from Ohio undertook one of Alexander's architectural courses, 20 years ago, and posted me notes on Alexander's colour theory. I've used them ever since. But the articulation of this guru's understanding of the experience world & how we process it & make art in and for it, has become keener, more subtle & concise over the years. This is a very, very profound teaching without any messianic overdrive. Indeed, its the patience and humility of Alexander's process of discovering essential rules & roles for making art, that are most profound and the enduring feature of his presentation. And the book's own look exemplifies his quest for the beautiful.I'm not so taken with the reproductions of his own painting, however. I can't quibble with the twentieth century masters he reproduces as evidence for enduring beauty. A fabulous book!



4. *** Original review: May 20, 2004 ***
   
   Those who know me know that I am not prone to making either quick judgements or vacuous statements, so my friends (at least) will know that both the title of this mini-review and the few words that follow are far from whimsical: Alexander's Nature of Order, and in particular this fourth volume which I have recently received and simply cannot put down, are in my humble opinion, destined to rank as one of this *world's* great literary/philosophical achievements. What Alexander has produced is nothing short of a brilliant vision for the transcendent reality that lies beneath and beyond conventional categories. I write this as a Ph.D. physicist, with two graduate-level mathematical physics texts under my belt (both on complex systems), and semi-pro photographer with 30 years of experience of trying to capture "beauty" in nature. Alexander's work has provided a tentative -- but oh so deep -- glimpse of an answer to my own philosophical struggles as scientist and artist: physics and art are but two sides of a vastly richer coin, and are merely pointers to an infinitely rich *life* that pervades this universe; indeed, the life that *is* this universe. Every human being who has ever sincerely pondered the question "Why?" when looking up at the sky, while admiring a pretty flower, or looking into a mirror, can do no better than to curl up by a fireplace with a hot cup of tea, open up volume four of this incredible set of books and start using the musings lovingly offered here to look within for answers. Truly a remarkable achievement. I have never met Christopher Alexander, but can honestly say that I have been deeply touched by this preternaturally wise soul.
   
   ***** Musings added Sep 1, 2005 *******
   
   Having now read the entire opus (I-IV), and currently on my 3rd reading of volume I, I am fully convinced that Alexander's Nature of Order is an absolutely stunning achievement of the highest caliber. I also concur with a quote that appears on the inner flap of the books, to the effect that while very few (if any) philosophical/conceptual works (and their authors) are likely to be remembered 500 years hence, there is a strong possibility that Alexander's Opus WILL be remembered as a precursor to what our present day (only partially overlapping fields of) "science" & "art" will have evolved to in 500 years (a unified, wholistic body of "Sci-Art" in which the schism between objective & subjective / inner & outer no longer exists).
   
   What Alexander presents in these books is a tentative first stab at a magnificent new CONCEPT; not a mathematical or physical theory (though rudiments of what might go into a more formal description are also discussed). Although many of Alexander's ideas are quite subtle and require thoughtful reflection to fully comprehend and integrate into (ironically) a whole (new worldview), the basic thesis is original and profound: EVERYTHING that exists contains "life", and the degree (lesser or greater) to which life is manifest in "X" can be *objectively* determined by probing one's *subjective* (inner) world. Nature is seen, in this view, simply as the totality of life, continually unfolding; and beauty (as generated by local life-forms such as humans), as a resonance between outwardly objective forms and (the very deepest) subjective inner feelings.
   
   Western science's longstanding divide between "what's out there in the world" and "what is in here, in our hearts and souls" is exchanged for a new worldview in which our understanding of the cosmos is predicated on an active unity between objectivity and subjectivity; between dispassionate form and intensely personal beauty; between "eye" and "I"; between the deepest inner feeling and continually unfolding outer life. If this sounds radical (and perhaps even a bit strange), that is because it IS radical; Alexander is proposing a sweeping idea that is both revolutionary and (only in hindsight, after having read his extraordinary Opus) obvious! For it really cannot be any other way! Every thinking -- no, every FEELING -- creature who wants to know our cosmos and his/her unique role in it needs to read these books. They are truly remarkable! The next great strides in art and science will be made (simultaneously) when, one day, an EINSTein-Alexander appears and uses the ideas expressed in these books to develop (using a mathematics not yet created) a rigorous new theory of "Sci-Art-Beauty-Life". These are ostensibly books on "architecture"; but they far -- FAR -- transcend that field; they speak, collectively, about everything that exists.

5 comments about Costume: 1066 to the Present, Third Edition.

1. This sort of book might have been very helpful if you could rely on the pictures. It gives relatively many drawings for each period (though too few if you want to focus on one exact date), but I could never find out where the pictures came from, what were they based on, as I found so many obvious mistakes and fantasy elements that for a serious costumer, this would be an absolutely terrible and useless book. Besides, the pictures are not very well drawn, the illustrator wasn't as skilled as another painter of untrustworthy costumes, A.Racinet.
   
   This could be only help for people who want to have a general "overview" of the fashion history and its changes through decades, but I must add that the dresses depicted aren't always very typical for the period, which can spoil the general impression.



2. I got this book several years ago when I only had a minor interest in costumer design, now it's my career and I still find it useful. Peacock's illustrations are clear but relatively simple and great for a period overview and for sketching and silhouette references.
   
   The only thing I think this book is lacking is descriptive text and breakdown of the class of the people represented. This can't be your only research but should definitely be in the collection of anyone with even the slightest interest in costume and fashion history



3. Have used this book many times as a resource when making costurmes for the Renaissance Fair as well as for the local Model A Ford club. Clear, easy to interpret pictures and excellent captions.



4. Peacock puts together a book that focuses itself on British fashion of the royalty from 1066 through 2005. Pages are filled with designs that the royalty as well as the wealthy would have worn during this time period. They say a picture is worth 1000 words, and this book contains over 1000 pictures to demonstrate the changes in fashion over the years.
   
   The book has very little text in it. Each page is filled with 8 different designs, typically 4 are male fashion designs, and 4 are for women. What I do like about these designs is that each one has notes about trim, how garmets were fastened, hair styles, and information regarding proper head dress is also given. I feel if you are trying to recreate one of these designs this book would be helpful in getting the small details correct.
   
   While short on words, this book has many sketches, and much information is contained on each sketch. There is very little text, or any form of long dry reading here. You may even wished he spent more time going over the design changes in text. I feel this book does an excellent job of giving someone a feel for what clothing looked like in the time periods covered in this book.



5. I don't own the book, just saw it in a bookstore and flipped through it. The book contains sketches of male and female costume drawn in good detail, but definitely incorporates fantasy elements. For example, according to the sketches all female garments through 1400 have sleeves extending past the hand. I also did not notice any nationalities mentioned with the drawings. Like I said though, it was a flip through in a book store, and I'm not an expert. I just thought since there were no reviews yet, I'd give people an idea of what to expect.

3 comments about Needlepoint Trade Secrets: Great Tips about Organizing, Stitching, Threads, and Materials.

1. Perry is a gifted teacher and designer and writes an entertaining and educational on-line column, but this book is a waste of money unless you're a beginning needlepointer.
   
   Anyone who has been needlepointing for more than a few months can pick up these tips from fellow stitchers, from their local needlepoint shop and in classes.
   
   And anyone with an ounce of sense can figure out an organizing system that is more efficient and less expensive.
   
   Perry should stick to what she does best!



2. I have been waiting for months for this second edition to come out, having missed out on the first printing. If you are a needlepointer you will love reading this book! It is fun and easy to read and packed full of great ideas. Keep your highlighter handy!



3. In her introduction to Needlepoint Trade Secrets, Janet Perry states, "...even though I've been stitching for over 30 years, I still discover ways to make my stitching better, learn a new stitch, or rediscover something from times past." On her website, www.napaneedlepoint.com, Janet bills herself first and foremost as a teacher. She wrote the original edition of Needlepoint Trade Secrets in the interest of sharing her discoveries.
   
   And does she ever! She offers fantastic tips on everything from where to find design ideas (your favorite lifestyle magazine is a great place to start!), to color choices (a good color wheel is invaluable), to how to finish your completed canvas easily and inexpensively.
   
   As a 30-plus-year stitcher myself, I must admit that the most daunting question I face with a completed canvas is, "OK, now what do I do with this?" Most stitchers will tell you that their UFO pile is as large as it is, due to the expense of finishing. Janet's terrific suggestions include everything from how to beat the high cost of custom framing, to innovative uses for those gorgeous belt canvases.
   
   Although there is a lot in Needlepoint Trade Secrets, her breezy style makes this 119-page book an easy read. Its short, bullet-filled chapters make this a fast read. The revised edition's small size (the original book was 8-1/2 by 11) makes it ideal to keep in your stitching bag.
   
   Do those ever-changing airline rules make you unsure whether or not you'll be able to stitch on a plane? No problem! With Needlepoint Trade Secrets at hand, you can read about our favorite obsession when you're 50,000 feet up. Be sure to have a pen and plenty of Post-Its handy! You'll need them to mark your favorite tips for easy future reference.
   
   Michelle Hufford, Owner
   Come to the Point!
   [...]

5 comments about Drawing: Figures in Action (HT191).

1. ...And it's not doing Andrew Loomis *any* justice...
   While I respect Walter Foster & their attempts to keep Loomis' name alive... This 32-page collection is just not very good! It's a slim & tall collection consisting of selected pictures from his classic & best-selling Figure Drawing For All It's Worth. If I were to judge his classic based on this 32-page collection, I'd probably decide not to get it. Thankfully, I decided to get his Figure Drawing For All It's Worth anyway, and I'm very happy I did. The pictures in Drawing: Figures In Action (HT191) have very little in the way of "how-to". It's pretty much just a picture book, with little bits & pieces of barely-helpful instruction. Basic proportions are covered, but we can find this info anywhere. These pictures aren't even as well reproduced here as they are in the original classic. And no ball/sphere-based construction for heads here!
   
   Try Loomis' Drawing: The Head (HT197) by the editors of Walter Foster instead. I actually *LOVE* that collection!...



2. Although the back cover purports that this book will "teach you the basics of drawing the figure in action and beyond!", it does nothing of the kind. There is no instruction. There are no steps. What you get is a collection of very good examples. Thus its essentially useless to the beginner. Its also very slim and awkardly over-sized.



3. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is because it is so short. Someone really needs to get the full-length versions back in print. :)



4. 1. The tables are great. It's Loomis, after all.
   2. The tables are all snitched from "Figure drawing for all it's worth", and stripped of most text. The material constitutes hardly one fifth of the complete "Figure drawing...". This is the reason for low rating: it's strange that the publisher chose to rip pages out of a book instead of reissuing the complete work, which would be much more useful than this.



5. Being an illustrator, and creative director myself, I have viewed plenty of "how to" books on the art of drawing the human figure. Loomis' piece stands out with a classic illustration style, and philisophical, almost reverent, text. This book solidifies the flow of realistic human movement through basic structure, not clinical analyzation.

1 comments about Decorative Wrought Ironwork Projects for Beginners (Dover Craft Books).

1. This ia a book that you have once you have the basics , and you can start to develop your creative skills.