5 comments about GIANT Encyclopedia of Arts & Craft Activities: Over 500 Art and Craft Activities Created by Teachers for Teachers (GIANT Encyclopedia).

1. This product is fairly orgainzed and clear about the materials and step by step procedures for the activities. The only thing is that I wish there was more organization with the age groups in each cateogory. Besides that, it is a great purchase!



2. I bought this book for my daughter, who has two small boys. They love arts and crafts and this book has plenty of great ideas. Well organized and plenty of variety. Directions are simple and illustrations are heplpful. She loves it.



3. A very interesting book. Full of simple ideas which are not only fun for the children but also helps to be more creative and discover more about the world around them.



4. What a great book. As a new to homeschooling, and new to America mum, I find this book gives me not just varied & interesting craft projects for my 5yr old daughter but also suggests reading books that blend well with the chosen craft.
   For those that are not the best at artistic & creative thinking this book is a must.



5. This book is full of great craft ideas. My favorite is the materials and activity indexes at the end. Say you have some extra paper towel rolls you want to make a craft with, just look it up, turn to the pages listed and there are several ideas of how to use them in a fun and creative way with your child. This book has inspired me to try some new things - it's bringing out the artist in my child and I. Each craft project has a list of supplies you'll need, steps to make it, and activities you can do with it. Music, movement, dramatic play, math, language, etc. are included with craft ideas. The author also lists related books you can read along with your project to make it a real learning experience. This book is so much fun! It's not just for teachers; it's a must for parents who want to do arts and crafts with their kids.

5 comments about Magic Eye: A New Way of Looking at the World.

1. I really love these books. I am fascinated by the technique used to get the 3-d affect. I have everyone out.



2. Images with an embedded three-dimensional image fascinate me. For a long time, I was unable to discern the interior image, but when I was finally able to do so, I was hooked. This collection of 22 images kept me busy for several hours as I went stared at each page until the image appeared. When you look at these pages from a distance, the colors appear to be ordered, but not structured. It is only when you look at it the right way that the true image appears. If you enjoy figures with embedded three-dimensional images, then this is a book that you will appreciate.



3. Yep, the first time those seemingly random sqiggles of color in Magic Eye leap into formation and you're staring down at an object under all that chaotic visual mess...it's a magic moment for sure. These books are a lot of fun and worth the effort it takes to get the knack of how to do it. It took me a few tries before I saw anything here, so if at first you don't succeed, stay with it because it's worth it.



4. If humans were truly telepathic, there would be little need to explore the ruminations of impressions that identify and create the discourse that produces harmony, vision, and processes that enable man to live together. What we think we see in another's actions is often unrelated to their actual thinking, and hence, the value of interaction is of great importance to humans. By having multiple options of movement, to be influenced by impressions, experiences, and by learning means that the quality and quantity of interactions always carries different meanings to different people, being measured or scrutinized by subjective means as they always are. Therefore, contextual science is inherent in achieving progress, the slow laborious process of acquiring common ground of meaning, objective, and resolution in any interaction, however brief. Since that requires a good bit of reading people's behavior, and processing intent, from the perspective of the "other" external to oneself, conjecture and breath of conjecture provides ample opportunity for success or mistake. The chipping away process of illusions to reach the depth of meaning and significance is a large part of what makes the content of human life. As if the graph existed that placed everyone upon a spectrum of spacial plots, some would be expected to be closer than others, which may or may not reflect the ideal, but may be more related to any given point in time, and attention.



5. This visual manipulation is sort of fun to engage in with youngsters who seem to have more enthusiasim for this 3-D -eye-foolery. When I read this book with my children years ago I didn't seem to have the patience to sit and stare at a bunch of randomly placed dots and come up with the correct image. I used to look at these things and start hallucinating and concocting images that were NOT there! If I waited long enough a younger, brighter mind would correct me and show me the real image. It got to be more fun than the book to see what I thought I saw. I swear sometimes I just never saw what I was supposed to see. Luckily they give you the "answers" on another page so you can cheat and look for what is supposed to just jump out at you. Maybe my eye was untrainable? This book is sort of fun for a break in activities with children but watch out for the dots before your eyes, you just might see them after the pages are removed from your vision. Fun at a certain level(and frustrating) but there are many more entertaining books out there.

5 comments about Foundations of Interior Design.

1. If you wish to pursue a successful career as an interior designer, or you are keen to develop your interest in this field, my advice to you is to buy this book. Buy it, read it, and make it your good friend! Whatever your background, this course will encourage your individual creativity and help you to explore and further your own design ideas.
   I am a student in The Metropolitan Institute of Interior Design, a career changer with English as a second language. I have read some interior design educational books before, but none of them gave me as much knowledge, nor inspired me to approach the subject with as much enthusiasm and passion as this book by Susan Slotkis.



2. This is the best reference in the designing industry. Should be in every designers library.



3. This is a great reference book on interior design! It covers all the subjects of an interior design that a degree program would cover: design theory, color theory, history of design, business practices etc...(it's also a great source for the interior design vocabulary!)
   I am an interior design student and this is the first place I go to when I need to research some aspect related to the design field.
   
   And I just know it - it'll be my much used resource when I am out of school and working in the field.



4. "Foundations of Interior Design" is an instrumental key for designers, design students and design enthusiasts all the same. This must-have handbook explores the profession from the inside-out, giving a vast overview of interior design as a whole yet delving into just the right amount of significant detail. Slotkis' style perfectly simplifies even the most intricate of information while providing plenty of helpful visuals along the way. Its title certainly rings true, for the "foundation" Slotkis lays for interior design is by far a solid one.



5. This well written, comprehensive, book on design has been an inspiration to me. I thoroughly enjoy referring to it again and again. I would recommend this book to anyone who is considering the design field, or who enjoys design simply for the pleasure of it!

5 comments about The New Artist's Manual: The Complete Guide to Painting and Drawing Materials and Techniques.

1. This is a great book for beginning artists. It takes you through all the steps of painting using very logical and well thought out methods.



2. This book is excellent if you want to learn everything about painitng. It does not really cover drawing technique, be forewarned. This is his best book, do not buy "art class" or the "artist's color manual" if you chose to buy this book. Basically, he's complied both books into one.
   
   This book really does cover all materials:
   -paper and it's practical uses in concerns to specific mediums
   -brushes and their practical uses in concerns to mediums
   -Mediums: oil, gouche, egg tempra, watercolor, acrylic, chroma, pastels, charcol, conte crayon, ink (both traditional and modern), etc...
   -Mixing media [not to be confused w/color mediums]: linseed oil, turpentine, acrylic mediums (matte, gel, etc.), watercolor mediums, etc...
   
   It does have the same sections in "Art Class" like "where do I start?" etc. It takes you through starting from still life up to portraiture and beyond in this book. It has an additional area of subject matter which is about imagined subject matter.
   
   Overall, it's an excellent reference book, contains good advice on how to go about starting a new medium, and allows for creativity in using mediums by explaining how they work, advantages & disadvantages, starter pallet colors, and permanance.
   
   I would have given it 5 stars if it hadn't claimed to be a drawing technique book...you need a foundation in drawing before attempting this book.



3. This book covers just about everything, but is more informative on mediums other than oil painting. But it does give helpful tips that I had used previously, without realizing it was a standard technique used by fellow artists, but now I see why I've used them! For somebody that wants to do everything from the ground up, including making their own oil paint, then this is the book to own! Provides more instructional guidance than most other books I've seen/bought. Better artist's examples and more professional results with more advanced instructions than most other publications.



4. If you're an artist seeking the basics of how to set up a studio and use professional methods in a range of media, THE NEW ARTIST'S MANUAL: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO PAINTING AND DRAWING MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES is for you. There are so many new materials on the market today that there's an ever-present need for a comprehensive coverage of them: THE NEW ARTIST'S MANUAL provides such depth in surveying paper and paint choices, pros and cons of controlling output under different conditions, experimenting with materials and textures, and much more. An outstanding guide aspiring artists will want to look it - and it's packed with color examples on every page.



5. This is truly a useful and helpful book in explaining not just techniques, but materials: their pros, cons, and inherent challenges in use. But the binding should be much better. Chronicle Books has a history of putting out decent books with cheap and/or non-durable binding, which does not hold up well with repeated use. The spine cracks easily and then you have to be careful from then on to make certain that sections don't become loose. This is not good for a book designed for repeated reference and study. I would have given the book five stars, but for this serious flaw that Chronicle Books has.

5 comments about Visual Grammar (Design Briefs).

1. I stumbled on this book at the local library and found it a very fascinating read. I've been involved in graphic production for years and can push the objects around on the comp, but never really knew the basics and foundation of visual language.
   
   This is a great primer to learn the basic concepts that lead one to want to learn the syntax and the structure of the visual nouns learned.
   
   This is something I will purchase and pore over until I learn the concepts.



2. Wow. Thats just it for this book. Seriously, someone wanted a publication and farted this thing out. I mean, it gives you the vocab of the elements...thats it. Im a college design teacher and this book would be great for a middle-school art/design class.
   
   If you want simplistic...this may be for you.



3. This book certainly takes the simplicity route. It is ruthlessly straightforward in regards to expressing it's information, in a layout that is without a doubt concise and efficient. The nadir? It also unfortunately reads like stereo instructions and the knowledge it tries to impart is thoroughly basic at best. Simple shapes and the like may be the building blocks of structure, but without any really tangible information to be gleaned we are left with an attractive skeleton. Yes there are some bits of wisdom in this book as well as some fetching Adobe Illustrator rendered graphics, but by and large we're just left with more white space than a snowstorm. I really do think people should form their own opinions about reference materials however, maybe you could learn a great deal from this work. Buy it, try it, but I honestly can't envision the need for this volume in light of so many other exemplary works on the subject.



4. Everything was excellent except the quality of the binding on the book. it isn't bad enough for me to want to return it but it is something to mention.



5. The standard for visual literacy was set by Dondis A. Dondis in 1973 with "A Primer of Visual Literacy". However, it was (is) a heavy read. Christian Leborg's "Visual Grammar" gives us a more visual approach to the subject. His thesis is that we cannot understand the visual images that assault our eyes unless we share a common understanding of the symbols involved. Leborg enlightens us with a symplified but nonetheless complex view of symbols that are abstract, concrete, active, and relative. It's an interesting exploration using only basic geometric shapes. This is a "must have" book for those who teach design and a desirable book for students. All you need to know is that it is published by Princeton Architectural Press. Princeton publishes some of the most important books on design. Their positive discrimination is evident in all of their publications.

5 comments about A Guide to Graphic Print Production.

1. Absolutely every chapter has at least 10 misspellings or grammatical errors in it. It is quite funny how in the first chapter they stress how important it is to proof copy before it goes to the printer. Maybe the authors or the publisher need to read the book themselves. It is a very dry book and each chapter covers the main points with in the first few pages then repeats the topics over and over again through out the rest of the chapter. I would not recommend this book unless the person does not mind being distracted by misspelling, grammatical errors, and repetition.



2. This book has a ton of great information, and has been very helpful. But I have to agree that it is filled with typos, which makes them look bad. BUT the HUGE problem with this book it the text is too freaking small. These
   idiot 's should have known this being graphic designers/printers, it is SO hard to read. They made the text at about a 9 or 10 point. And no, I am not farsighted, or really old and can't see, I am a young graphic designer, but find it VERY hard to read this text.
   
   Because of this I wouldn't reccommend this book, find a different book that knows how to spell, and knows not to make the reading text a 9 point



3. I teach first & second year multimedia and design at a community college. Following are my thoughts on this book.
   
   Pros:
   Summaries- The sidebar summaries and callouts are truly excellent. Often, there are accompanying illustrations that are "worth a thousand words".
   
   Depth of information- Overall, there is a *lot* of information here. No punches are pulled when it's presented, either. As far as I can tell, the information is accurate.
   
   Images- The illustrations and photos used are of excellent quality. There are images of magnified printed pages from different printing process that are crystal clear.
   
   Cons:
   Typos- There is at least one typo per page, often combined with a grammatical error as well. 99% of the time you can figure out what it means with little to no trouble.
   
   European Conventions used inconsistently- Most of the time, the authors used North American conventions...except when they don't. It's a great idea to give info on both North American *and* European conventions (A4 vs. 8.5" x 11" paper, pixels per inch vs. centimeters per inch), but the authors do not always clearly delineate which convention is used.
   
   
   Overall, this book reads like a detailed technical manual. It is *not* a design manual with splashy sidebars about finding inspiration. It is *not* for the novice designer. The publisher needs to get it proofed a time or three. Despite its shortcomings, I use it in the course of building lectures for my class constantly. The only other book I've seen get this in-depth is the Int'l Paper Pocket Pal.
   
   This review is for the second edition of the book.



4. Yes ok , this book may be full of useful information for graphic designers or students of graphic design but the thing that really miffed me is that I spent $80 on this book and come to read it and find that virtually every page has AT LEAST one typo or obvious gramatical error in it. As a student of graphic design (who really cant afford an $80 book) this really bugs me that so much emphasis is put on spell checking your work over and over to make sure there are no mistakes and then you buy a book all about graphic design and it's jam packed with typo's! How unproffessional is that?! And that is why I only give it one star. If you can get past the typo's and the gramatical errors that make the difficult subject matter even more difficult to digest then go ahead and get the book cos it will be worth it - but if so little effort was put into spell checking the book - it makes me wonder about the accuracy and the validity of the information contained.



5. The book arrived timely and in good condition. Got my money's worth. Reliable seller.

1 comments about Making It New: The Art and Style of Sara and Gerald Murphy.

1. For those interested in 20th century literature and art, the Murphys are always a fascinating subject. Their influence was far-reaching if not obvious and their lives were filled with amazing challenges. Money helped Sarah and Gerald enter into the circles of their interests but did not save them from grief and loss. Apparently it did not spoil their enthusisam for life nor their creative ideas.
   This book is especially invaluable if you are looking for depictions of Gerald Murphy's paintings. It provides plates which can be studied for evidence of his place as a bona fide artist of considerable talent. The photographs of the Murphys and their many celebrity friends are also charming.
   This is a great addition to a contemporary library.

5 comments about Postmodernism For Beginners.

1. but that's not the books fault. read the long review written by one of the other commentators. postmodernism is hard to define and this comic-book style book helps you wade through the dark waters of the theories and theorists surrounding postmodernism.



2. So many introductions to postmodernism are boring, or even unreadable simply because they are written by people who cannot write. These "writers" simply parrot the same pomobabble that so many postmodern thinkers indulge in--as if they were all members of some wierd cult. Powell--who CAN actually write--frys them for this, but then goes on to present excellent overviews of several important writers. One would not expect to find such depth in a comic book. The summary of Baudrillard's work, for instance, is often more insightful than those found in much weightier and intentionally serious volumes. Powell, explains the evoultion of Baudrillard's thoughts from its Marxist roots. Powell is especially good when it comes to the enigmatic Derrida, and his 'deconstruction.' Although Postmodernism for Beginners does not tackle Derrida's major works--as does Powell's Derrida for Beginners--it does make Derrida less mercurial, so that readers can then go on to read Derrida's works forewarned and forearmed. Powell really brings postmodernism to light, however, in his presentation of postmodern artifacts: Madonna, Bladerunner, cyberpunk, etc. Joe Lee's illustrations often present subtle asides to Powell's Proustian prose. All-in-all, one of the best I've read in the For-Beginners series.



3. This book is a good introduction to the introductions of various postmodern thinkers, and is as good only as far as that can go. My major problem, like the Nietzsche reader below, was a mis/nonrepresentation of the subject brought on by the ultimate brevity of the complete work. Foucault, for instance, is given a paragraph or two of treatment and then is immediately dismissed by a nonsensical (possibly just unexplained) assumption that because power/sexuality are everywhere they are also nowhere, and therefore Foucault's works are essentially meaningless in the postmodern landscape. And yet, that critique ultimately becomes a meaningless one as gender, race, sexual orientation and other cultural constructs could be subjected to the same analysis, but this wouldn't change the fact that these are all very powerful ways to separate and systematically oppress people in our culture.

   For instance, Q: the critique holds that since sexuality is everywhere it is nowhere. But what kind of sexuality is everywhere? A: Heterosexual relations holding the constructed feminine gender subordinate to the constructed masculine gender; mostly what we call "white," rarely "interracial"; and mostly in the context of pre-marital (read committed) relationships. This form is everywhere and nowhere--pervasive but invisible. But what does this then do? As Foucault himself might say, this dynamic impresses itself onto the lives of everyone not within this hetero conception--it turns them into society's perverts; it touches their lives and bodies in the most intimate ways.

   Of course, my comments here could be seen as a (feminist) critique of postmodernism itself, but my intent is only to show how difficult it is to handle such a large concept or thinker within a few lines. So this is not so much a failing of the book per se, but a failing of any introduction of this length to introduce such a gigantic concept as "Postmodernism." If you are really interested in the subject, I would recommend either reading the original thinkers or reading books (like Foucault's Power/Knowledge) which contain interviews and overviews of the thinker's major works. This gives you a much better feel for the subject than a 100 page cartoon is, simply, able to do.




4. The back cover of this books say: "If you are like most people, you're not sure what Postmodernism is. And if this were like most books on the subject, it probably wouldn't tell you." I think this is like most books on the subject. You leave this book still unsure of what Postmodernism is. I suppose Postmodernism is too complex a subject to really get a grasp on in such a short format. The book takes a lot of different divergences, and in the end you know little more than what you started with. It is a good book to help you figure out what to read and look into for an explanation of Postmodernism. I'd say it is more of a guide as to where to go to learn about Postmodernism than an explanation of Postmodernism. It does get interesting at the end when it discusses Postmodern Artifacts (including cyberpunk, Madonna, and MTV). I'd say go ahead and pick it up. It won't teach you what Postmodernism is, but it'll give you an idea of where to go.



5. This is the first book on Postmodernism I've ever finished. It gives you not only Lyotard, Baudrillard, Foucault and Derrida, but also Blade Runner, Buddha, and Madonna. Always lucid and engaging, it meets you where you are by never presuming you have a background in the subject. Other books on Postmodernism begin by gleefully flooding you in terms such as "aborescence," "diegetic," "interpellation," and "simulacra." By the third page your head aches and you throw the book aside - if you're still awake. You might give up, concluding that Postmodernism is a kind of navel-gazing for college professors with too much time on their hands.

   But Powell borrows Postmodernism from the ivory tower and makes it fun. Written in a lively "Q & A" dialogue style, Powell's book allows you to see, feel and think about our world the way the Postmodernist theorists have written about it. Talking about everything from T.S. Eliot to Beavis and Butt-Head, from college catalogues to MTV, Powell shows how almost everything in front of us evinces the postmodern condition.

   Postmodernism is also easy to understand, the way Powell places it in historical context. He casts it as a way to understand the breakdown of the grandiose cultural schemes envisioned by the thinkers of the 18th and 19th centuries. God and Reason were going to conquer the world and make it safe for ... God and Reason. This did not happen. Instead, the last fifty years have brought us closer to minicultures and multicultures. This cultural flux has been spread by modern freeways, air travel, bookstore chains, movies, and MTV. Powell takes you through the reactions by thinkers such as Jean-Francois Lyotard, Fredric Jameson, Jean Baudrillard, Charles Jencks, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, and David Harvey. He discusses art, architecture, the printed word, spirituality, TV and the Internet. With kindly democratic spirit, Powell sees Postmodernism as against the marginalization of anyone, and as embracing of the diversity of the world we live in.

   Joe Lee's funny and irreverent illustrations carry forth Powell's well written presentation. The artwork includes cartoon characters, crusty philosophers, classical artwork, and the odd schematic diagram. Reading this book is like a friendly fireside chat with a well-informed friend. I immediately went off to look for Powell's DERRIDA FOR BEGINNERS.

   ...

5 comments about Notes on the Synthesis of Form (Harvard Paperbacks).

1. Certainly, this book has produced a great impact on various fields related to design and architecture. The author tells us about the most amazing process in human life -- the conscious process of creating things. He has a good mathematical background and is very practical in his hypotheses.
   
   I bought this book because I heard that his theories led to the concepts of design patterns in programming. As a software developer I think that every modern program is a design problem even if it is a pure server-side software. You have to take into account a huge amount of factors and analyze lots of third party components before you come to a relatively optimal solution. Talking in Christopher's terms, the software is a form which we have to synthesize. And his ideas are still actual after more than 40 years.
   
   If you are a real software developer, you'll certainly be delighted in reading this book. It may even change your life.



2. A deep and nuanced analysis of patterns in design failures and successes - the author clearly has astounding comprehension of the modern design situation. I found the "unselfconscious design" vs "selfconscious design" analysis fascinating (although to be politically correct it should be something like "self designer" and "delegated designer" instead). The determination and use of (relatively) independent sub-systems to prune the overall design space is profound.
   
   Part 2 (chapter 6, page 73) is a highly structured "program" for design. I found this section of the book much less compelling, and I'm not sure how it necessarily falls out from Part 1. For me, Alexander's biggest insight is that a good design process involves iterative periods of change and stasis - specifically, designing by modifying single (or small numbers of) factors individually and allowing the design to reach "equilibrium" before making additional changes. From this standpoint, designing a whole village at the beginning (as is started in appendix I) may not ever be a good design approach - even with Alexander's "program"



3. Tip: Start by reading Appendix I. It is an example of the technique that the author spends the whole book explaining. In fact, Appendix I may be all you need to get the gist of the technique.



4. Alexanders 'Notes' anticipates the paths that major sciences would take decades after its publication.
   
   This is no mean feat for a work of science but here youre dealing with a book on architecture- or better, on what architecture could and ought to be.
   
   readers with scientific interests will notice Alexander inventing- from purely architectural phenomena - such models as
   fitness landscapes, adaptation measures according to 'gene' frequency, evolutionarily stable strategies.
   
   The general system of analysis in the book serves as one of the best guides for understanding cellular automata and the startegy of isolating variables anticipates the justly famous work of Dawkins on selfish genes.
   
   Alexander had almost nothing to work with in the early sixties apart from some pioneering formulations in early AI and a very acute insight into the paradoxes of optimisation strategies.
   
   His foresight is best witnessed by reading the footnotes to the book which are in themselves an uncanny selection of what would come to dominate epistemology, evolution and modelling decades later.
   
   People teaching history and philosophy of science should prescribe this book as the pre-eminent case study 'consilience'
   
   On the strength of this one book, Alexander joins C S Pierce, Boole, Babbage and Minsky as one of the greatest pathfinders in the recent history of knowledge-- too bad that architecture as a discipline hardly rose to his challenge and is now drowning in couture (and more credit to the software makers who have kept this unmined treasure in print).



5. Design is a difficult process that is often associated more with art than science. With principles of style, concerns about how design works.
   
   While many wring their hands about this, Alexander breaks the problem down, organizes it and then provides a framework for design that is relatively design neutral. That is a feat in deed.
   
   By thinking about how one structures a problem space and the bias that creates -- Alexander give the practioner a powerful tool for setting up the design process and scope. He then goes on to discuss the design process and he makes important distinctions between concious and unconcious design.
   
   Notes on Synthesis and Form are the foundation for Alexander's work on design patterns. This is the must read book before spending time on these other works.
   
   For the practioner, this book provides a powerful and applicable framework for addressing problems in multiple disciplines.

5 comments about Best of Norman Rockwell.

1. Ive bought a few Rockwell books recently and must say this has the best color reproduction of any I have recieved so far. I must add that different shades of printing reveal different details of the pictures but this one contains my favorite balance. It also includes many works we may not have seen due to the family ties of the author. I only wish it was a bigger collection. Fantastic.I will have to visit the Rockwell museum in Stockbridge sometime.



2. I've enjoyed the artistry of Norman Rockwell since I was a kid and he remains my favorite artist of all time. As a Christmas present, I was given THE BEST OF NORMAN ROCKWELL. The book is a collection of 100 different paintings and about 50 different sketches and studies selected by one of Rockwell's children, Thomas. Some of these sketches are from the Rockwell family's personal collection and have never been seen by the public before the publication of this book. The first section of the book contains the sketches. The rest of the book is divided into five sections delineating paintings by the decades they were published: 1910-1920, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and the 1950s and 1960s are together. Some favorite public paintings such as "Triple Self Portrait", "Freedom of Speech", "Freedom of Worship", "Saying Grace", and "The Problem We All Live With" are found here, but there are also many illustrations in the book that I have never seen before.
   
   This book makes a great gift for any person who admires the art of Norman Rockwell. Also, since the book is mostly pictures, it also is a great tool to use to introduce children to visual arts and try to teach them an appreciation for the field. Finally, reading the book cover I learned something I never knew before: Thomas Rockwell, the "editor" of the book and Norman's son, is a young adult author most well known for writing the book HOW TO EAT FRIED WORMS.



3. Norma Rockwell es uno de los grandes desconocidos artistas fuera de Estados Unidos. Sus cientos de ilustraciones para publicaciones norteamericanas son también un retrato de la vida cotidiana de aquel entonces, pero con un toque artístico muy personal. A través de este libro podemos disfrutar de una recopilación de algunos de sus trabajos más conocidos. Una obra imprescindible.



4. I recently received a copy of this book and found the quality of the prints very poor indeed. Printed in China, they are grainy, at times out of focus and with limited colors on some at least. A few plates are convincing but not many. This a book reminiscent of the art books printed in the sixties and seventies with analogue printing technology. Given the quantum leaps in digital printing techniques during the last ten years, this is just unforgivable. Disappointed that Tom Rockwell let this pass as a book on his father's wonderful work.



5. For many years the art world shunned the 'illustrations' of artist Norman Rockwell, suggesting that his work was commercial and created for the sole purpose of public consumption. But the tables have turned. Rockwell's prodigious output (primarily for the covers of now defunct Saturday Evening Post Magazine) chronicled a time in America in the pre and post World War II tenor and captured the spirit of the country's citizens in humor, nostalgia, celebration and insight in a manner that in many ways held the country together.
   
   Rockwell's many paintings are generously sampled in Rockwell's son's fine book, sharing over 150 works by one of the finest draughtsman and commentators before the public. Now museums clamor for his works and touring shows reveal that Norman Rockwell was indeed a truly fine craftsman and poet. His paintings show life as we would have our memories believe it could be, was, or remembered. Many of the included works are now American icons, but it is the sharing of the less well-known works that makes this volume special.
   
   This is a fine monograph of an under appreciated artist whose time has come. It is a joy to read and share, and mixed with the nostalgia is the reassuring knowledge that times CAN change - a message we all need at present. Recommended. Grady Harp, December 05