2 comments about The Serif Fairy: Explorations in the Word of Letters.

1. The Serif Fairy: Explorations in the World of Letters is a most unusual children's picturebook, featuring highly simplistic, two-color illustrations in which all creatures and things are represented by stylized letters and patterns assembled from letters. In this sparsely beauteous world, a little letter-fairy has lost her left wing. Her search to find her missing wing will take her from a great gate to a busy street to the shores of a placid lake. The text of The Serif Fairy is innocently charming, though complex enough to be ideal for young readers who are almost ready to move on to chapter books, yet the true appeal of The Serif Fairy lies in its ingeniously minimal, all-letter illustration style. Highly recommended.



2. THE SERIF FAIRY is a delight from every aspect. Though conceived as a children's book, it is also a teaching tool of the sort that makes learning fun while challenging both the adult reader and the child. Writer and graphic designer Rene Siegfried composed this fable in German (it is sensitively translated for us into English by Joel Mann) as a studio work for a course in communication design, the challenge being to create a readable and interesting story while introducing the child in each of us to concepts of the somewhat obtuse subject - typography!
   
   The Serif Fairy, 'a clever little letter-fairy', has lost her left 'magical' wing, disabling her ability to fly and to perform magic. She sets off in search of the lost wing, wandering through the Garamond Forest, the Zentenar Gate, the Futura City, and finally to Shelley Lake where, after falling into the water, she finds her lost wing and flies into the air, a revived magic fairy. Each of the images, from the construction of the fairy herself to the trees, buildings, bugs and animals she encounters are built from letters from the various typefaces (fonts) that we all know from the computer cascade of choices. Siegfried encourages the reader to find the various composed creatures and identify how they are created from letters by adding at the end of the brief book a concise but excellent description and illustration of each of the four typefaces used. Then on the inside back cover spread the designer shares each of the designed objects from car to crab with a simple lineup of the letters used in each composition.
   
   The design of the book is clean, elegant, and very intelligently presented. Some will ask whether the book will appeal to any child (or adult) not involved in the graphic design business. For this reader the answer is a resounding 'YES!'. Siegfried has managed to create an interesting tale while opening fresh lines of investigation for visual problem solving of the 'type' that fascinate children with inquisitive minds: problem solving in finding the inventive critters that fill the pages is enhanced by the reward of learning more about the new discoveries at book's end. This is a book that restores faith in the intelligence of readers - of any age. Another Mark Batty Publisher winner! Grady Harp, May 07

1 comments about Masterpieces of Japanese Prints: Ukiyo-e from the Victoria and Albert Museum.

1. Unexpected earnings from the Great Exhibition of 1851 (at the Crystal Palace in London) were used to establish the following year the Victoria and Albert Museum, the world's largest collection of applied art and design. In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry made his famous expedition to Japan, which had been isolated for 250 years, and set up trade agreements. Examples of Western technology (locomotive, telegraph, camera) were given to the Japanese, and Japanese artifacts to Westerners. Of particular impact were Japanese woodcuts of the 17th through 19th centuries, called ukiyo-e or images of "the floating world," tens of thousands of which ended up in museum collections throughout the world. Many (perhaps most) American and European artists and designers were influenced by the then-strange stylistic traits of these prints (crisp black outlines, bold flat areas of color, asymmetrical arrangements, and dramatic cropping), among them such people as Whistler, Manet, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin, Aubrey Beardsley, and Frank Lloyd Wright. "All my work," wrote Vincent van Gogh to his brother, "is in a way founded on Japanese art." This stunning volume is a full-color treasury of 130 of those woodcuts (introduced and annotated by scholars) from the many now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. (Copyright © by Roy R. Behrens from Ballast Quarterly Review, Vol. 14 No. 3, Spring 1999.)

3 comments about The Charm of Charms.

1. The Charm of Charms
   Beautiful, beautiful book. Perfect for the lover of charm bracelets.



2. This book is filled with interesting information and beautiful photographs. It's perfect as a coffee table book as you'll want to look at it again and again.



3. This is simply a jewel of a book.
   
   For any of us with wistful memories of our mother's magical charm bracelets (and the romantic stories associated with each tiny carved golden object) the lovely CHARM OF CHARMS brings it all back.
   
   The stories are fascinating, the jewelers the best, and the history indispensable for those of us currently addicted to charms (and you'll find some of the best in these pages).
   
   The beautiful people, the stunning photographs, and the luscious color make this a PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT. They ship overnight!

5 comments about ActionScript for Flash MX: The Definitive Guide, Second Edition.

1. I received this book in three days, which was a fast delivery. I am still working on this book, but I must say I like this book.



2. This book looks pretty good and the first chapter was very promising. However I must tell my experience so at least people don't waste time and get frustrated like I did.
   
   The very first example of the book, the Multiple-Choice Quiz will NOT run on latest Flash CS3. It turns out that Flash CS3 (ActionScript3) decided to kill backwards compatibility and throw away the onRelease method for its buttons. So you get a bunch of compile errors. I managed to find out by myself that with AS3 you must use addEventListener to handle clicks to SimpleButton.
   
   Anyways, the line:
   
   totalOutput_txt.text = "Your final score is: " + totalCorrect + "/2.";
   
   Is not compiling either with the error:
   
   1120: Access of undefined property totalOutput_txt.
   
   The totalOutput_txt is being created by "reflection" with the line:
   
   createTextField("totalOutput_txt", 1, 150, 200, 200, 20);
   
   But it looks like Flash CS3 does not like this. Again, another compatibility problem with CS3...
   
   There goes my first star out. Now comes my second start out:
   
   This book assumes that you DO KNOW how to play with FLASH, how to play with the timeline, etc. It does make a good effort to guide you through the steps to create the movie frames, etc, but I felt that I needed a flash designer near me to explain me what was going on.
   
   Anyway, I was looking for a book like: Flash + AS for Java Programmers, but I guess I am asking too much. If anyone has a recommendation for me, please reply in this comment!



3. This book proved to be valuable for looking up new ways of implementing Action Script into my Flash projects. There were many examples of action script that can easily be found in the books index.



4. Was going through my books looking to get some space on the shelf for new ones and had this in my hand ready to go but for some reason couldn't do it. I hadn't done Flash/Flex (Flesh? Flax?) in a couple of years (moved mostly to C#) then recently I got a chance to do the quirky & kludgey beast of computing again with Flash8 and This Old Book Still Had The Goods.
   
   If you don't own it, buy it. If you are thinking it's past its prime... buy it anyway :)
   
   Oh, gotta say this: if you're thinking of buying into FMS... buy Wowza instead - it's more flexible and it's not priced as arrogantly as the ancient "Adobe" server.



5. Hands down, the best ActionScript book in my library. Good for building a solid understanding of AS, but definitely not for someone looking for a few quick tricks, effects or tutorials.
   
   A good book for coders, but designers will probably want something far less intense.

3 comments about Fashion Now 2.

1. This book is a good one but I expected more. I purchased it thinking it would have info about fashion lines and such yet all it has is the history of the desginers and in size 1 font. You have to strain your eyes read it. But still it was very informational (is that a word?) and I did learn a few more designers names.



2. I knew about fahion books published by Taschen during a Fashion Course I took last Summer in Italy. I got this one and another titled Fashion History and let me tell you that they offer really great books considering their price, quality, photos and the information presented about the topic.
   This book contains a summary of the biographies and work of the most renowed Fashion Designers and the emerging talent on the Fashion Industry. I suggest to keep it not only as a reference book but also as a guide for further research.



3. this is one of the best fashion books out there. a breif discription of all the best designers in the industry. a good reference to keep.

5 comments about Icons Of Fashion: The 20th Century (Prestel's Icons).

1. Icons of Fashion: The 20th Century is a very edgy and sophisticated book. It takes on a unique approach about the icons of the 20th century. The content of this book is not in chronological order but rather in theme and designer ranging from the 1900s to 2000.
   
   To details of the pictures to the interesting facts of the earliest designers made me want to read more about the book. Reading about the designers, on the side of the book, there is a timeline about their life and businesses, which was really helpful, considering I had to write an assignment about the different designers and I could just refer back to the timeline.
   
   I loved how the book gave pictures dating back to the 1900s to today. It was really interesting to see how fashion goes in a circle. For example, the belt around the waist, that just came into fashion two years ago. Also the design, the little black dress.
   
   This book is very helpful and I suggest it to anyone who is interested in the fashion Industry becuase it was interesting, colorful and very educational.



2. The history of the 20th century can be revealed through its fashion trends, and Gerda Buxbaum Icons Of Fashion: The 20th Century proves this with an overview of fashion trends and revolutions. Yes, there are the icons of fashion to testify to these changes: Chanel, Karan and others - but also fine photos capturing styles ranging from body stockings to military and cocktail dress; all contained in an excellent overview blending visuals with a running commentary on fashion's influence.



3. The history of the 20th century can be revealed through its fashion trends, and Gerda Buxbaum Icons Of Fashion: The 20th Century proves this with an overview of fashion trends and revolutions. Yes, there are the icons of fashion to testify to these changes: Chanel, Karan and others - but also fine photos capturing styles ranging from body stockings to military and cocktail dress; all contained in an excellent overview blending visuals with a running commentary on fashion's influence.



4. The history of the 20th century can be revealed through its fashion trends, and Gerda Buxbaum Icons Of Fashion: The 20th Century proves this with an overview of fashion trends and revolutions. Yes, there are the icons of fashion to testify to these changes: Chanel, Karan and others - but also fine photos capturing styles ranging from body stockings to military and cocktail dress; all contained in an excellent overview blending visuals with a running commentary on fashion's influence.



5. I have only just begun this book (20 pages in), and I am enthralled. So many fashion books are written chronologically, so this book, arranged by theme and designer, is an interesting change. The pictures are gorgeous, many of them are in color, and every other page contains an essay on various topics. The topics range from an influence on fashion, a particular designer, themes in collections, or a period of history. Included are also short timelines of the careers of designers from the last century. This book covers a wide range of topics, and gives the reader a comprehensive look at the past century in fashion. I would not recommend this book for someone who wants a chronological look at the development of fashion trends, because the articles skip from the thirties to the Victorian era to the twenties. It is interesting, colorful, and even educational.

No comments about The Urban Cookbook.

5 comments about Book Design (abrams studio).

1. All you need to know when designing a book can be found in this one!
   Higly recomended!!! A lot of theory. A lot of visual examples.



2. I was looking for an instructional book, and don't know what this book is about.



3. Although more for professional designers then I expected, I learned what I needed from this thorough book. I wanted enough information to lay out and understand design of my own books and found clear details and principles. However, this book has complete data for readers seeking far more than I was. A valuable future reference, I think.
   Geni J. White



4. When I opened this book and saw how slick and enticing it was, I was afraid that it might be just about the graphics side of book design. I wanted a technical book that provided a thorough coverage of the subject. I was not disappointed, however. This book gives a great treatment with clear, beautiful drawings that cover every subject from the aesthetics of page layout to mechanics of printing.
   
   If you want to really understand book design then I highly recommend this wonderful book. Every page is delightful and yet full of important information.



5. While there are many, many design books and references available that contain most of the information in this book, this is the first time I've found such a good synthesis of content in one place. The order and organization of the book is extremely well thought out and logical, and the writing is excellent. I'm so happy to have found this book-- as a designer it's a wonderful reference, reinforcement, and source for learning. Definitely recommended.

5 comments about Art of the Boot.

1. This book is a boot lovers dream come true! The quality of photography is excellent and the historical discussion brings the art of bootmaking to life. There are so many styles of boots represented here as well as bootmakers past and present from all over the United States. The art of the boot is a love affair that covers the world and this book gives ample voice and photographic interpretation to that subject.



2. Big rich photo detail (that many baby-boomers will appreciate.) The cowoby boots in this book are the closest you'll ever find to life-size.
   
   Tyler Beard asked America's finest bootmakers to send him their most spectacular boots...and they did, many remarkable pairs were made especially for this book. These new and vintage cowboy boots range from wowzie-zowie to "museum-quality." No pair could be counted as plain, or the least bit ordinary.
   
   This book is a must for every collector. Tyler gives an unmatched, detailed history of cowboy boots and portrays the life and lore of America's top bootmakers. (A few who have since retired or passed on.) This book is one of my favorites.



3. Cowboy boots aren't just your functional black or brown work boot; but can be works of art in themselves: just take a look at Tyler Beard's ART OF THE BOOT for evidence! In 1992 THE COWBOY BOOT BOOK was published to celebrate this fact; since then the number of boot-makers around the country has nearly doubled. ART OF THE BOOT combines Jim Arndt's lovely color photos throughout with in-depth surveys of the companies and bootmakers involved. Highly recommended for any with an interest in cowboy culture or boots.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



4. This book is worth more than it's monetary cost. Simply by the historical content so hard to find. I enjoyed reading it. The pictures are great and the fine examples are totally mindblowing. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning of "boots".



5. Howdy, For all of you boot fanatics around the world, Jim and I will be serving up a new helping of bodacious beauties in the form of "photographed boots" in an upcoming book, which will complete our boot trilogy. Start hollerin' and stompin' and callin' 1-800-748-5439 to demand what is rightfully yours!!!! The book will be published by Gibbs-Smith Books in 2005.

5 comments about Origins: The Art of John Jude Palencar.

1. Images in this book are frame worthy. Form and light in his work are the reasons for viewing art.



2. This book is well worth the cover price of $27.00. Nearly every page is filled with large color plates of very high quality. If you want a high quality collection of Palencar's work this book delivers. Many of the color plates also have smaller versions of the pencil study for the work next to them. This is a great book for artists and art lovers. Palencar has extraordinary talent in drawing, painting and composition.Some of the book is devoted to some bazaar and creative fantasy work, but what I like most are his extraordinary figurative paintings. This is one book that can be judged by it's cover. If you like the cover then you'll find much inside to like.



3. This is a fabulous collection of work, I have never come across this artist before and am thrilled to dicover him. Do not make the mistake of thinking of Mr Palencar as a Fantasy artist, although there are some fantasy elements in some of his work, he is an Aritist period. His work has an exceptionally strong figurative element and calls to mind the work of Odd Nerdrum.
   
   The other great thing about this book, is the inclusion of many of the preliminary drawing the Artist has produced for each of the final works, this is a great aid to anyone who has also embarked apon the path of learning to paint and draw. I have no hesitation in recommending this book



4. I enjoyed Palencar's surrealistic cover art for years without knowing his name. I think the first may have been for Connie Willis (both her collections of short fiction). I remember stopping and studying the cover and thinking, "Wow, this is really, really something." I saw more work, recognizably "that artist's" work, on other covers--Octavia Butler novels, Charles de Lint books. Oh, "The Onion Girl", that's another one that made me pick up the book. He makes you do that-- stop, look. He makes you stare. He does things to your insides with this amazing unreal reality he presents.
   
   Look at the cover of FOUR AND TWENTY BLACKBIRDS? I remember being stopped cold in the bookstore for that one. "What does this mean?" It's eerily beautiful. Startling. It's something special.
   
   And he is that. Really, really something special. There is a moodiness, a sort of solitude and mysticism, that you can feel in the artwork. I've gotten this same feeling enjoying the work of Remedios Varo--though without the consistent weight of Varo's symbolism, I gather-- that dazzling surrealist obsessed with alchemy. Palencar seems to be interested in the isolation of the humans in his worlds of wonder or terror. (The Lovecraft cover art paintings are very difficult to behold. Chilling, nauseating, as they should be.) (Then again, I could be totally wrong. This is, after all, just my impression, and I am neither an artist nor an art historian. I'm merely someone who loves SF novels and enjoys SF art.)
   
   So, after years of enjoying cover art by JJP, I was delighted to discover that this book was out there. I have it, I've perused it, I sigh over it, and it will sit next to my other books on SF art, including my Richard Powers one. I'll be enjoying it for years.
   
   What's inside? Well, open it and get to a fabulous two-page title page spread with a robed angel, all soft pale colors and that gorgeous face. (Palencar does faces with marvelous skill. Beautiful, dreamy, thoughtful, inward-looking, trance-y, aesthetically superb faces. And hands and feet, too. I love studying his painted feet and faces. He makes them beautiful.) ORIGINS: The art of John Jude Palencar. Turn the page for another two-page spread with the copyright info. A brunette woman with an exquisite upper back, bared by the robe that's fallen off her shoulders. Slim-fingered hands reaching out to the left, up to the right, strands meticulously painted at her nape. Again, pale colors, greys and whites,and the browns of the woman. That texture that you associate with Palencar--a graininess, like wood or granite or some other natural object with a FEEL to it. Turn one more page and you get to the painting used in ELDEST by CHristopher Paolini, and it is Paolini who pens the foreword, which he ends with, "Welcome, then, to this collection of one man's visions. You may find them thought provoking, you may find them awe-inspiring, but if nothing else, I hope you find them memorable."
   
   I think they are memorable.
   
   Turn the page again and you find the painting "Angelica", painted for the Sharon Shinn novel of that title. A brunette, eyes closed, face turned up, seemingly in prayer, a subtle moon to the right, unattached wings flying off to the left, and a dawn (or maybe dusk) palette of pale lavenders/grays/charcoal, and the soft and pale wings. Note the fingers and that exquisite bone structure. Opposite this painting is "Burning the Midnight Oil" : A biography of the artist, complete with photos.
   
   After several pages of insight into the life and work of the man, the great stuff parades for you: sketches, fully realized works, titles. Page after page of the subtly painted, gorgeously executed, profoundly pleasurable art. Don't expect commentary. This is the only thing lacking in the book, although some may say it's not needed. Me, I love when works are commented on by the artist. What does it mean to him? Why that object? Why these colors?
   
   But sans commentary, you still have paintings that speak well for themselves of wonder and the fictional or theatrical works they relate to.
   
   Palencar just got nominated for a Hugo award for his art. I, for one, hope he wins. These paintings say he's already a winner, just by having this grand talent.
   
   Buy ORIGINS and just abandon yourselves to his art. It's not a bad way to spend a few hours. Not bad at all.
   [...]



5. John Jude Palencar's art is beautiful and horrifying. Contradictory descriptions perhaps, but thoroughly fitting. Origins: The Art of John Jude Palencar, is the first collection of the artist's work. Palencar's work has been seen on hundreds of book covers as well as in the pages of magazines such as TIME, National Geographic, and Smithsonian. Even if you didn't know him by name, you've probably seen his work, and been mesmerized, just as I was.
   
   The first Palencar cover I recall seeing was for the cover of the H.P. Lovecraft collection "Dreams of Terror and Death" back in 1995. This cover is included in the book and never has a title had a more fitting cover painting than Palencar's disturbing images of death and madness. He would also provide the covers for other Lovecraft collections: "The Road to Madness", "Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos", and "Shadows over Innsmouth." All of these covers capture the essence of Lovecraft's work superbly. These are some of the most disturbing Lovecraft images ever seen!
   
   What is striking about Palencar's work is the strong feelings of isolation they convey, although not necessarily loneliness. A perfect example is the two-page spread of his painting "The Forest House" for the Marion Zimmer Bradley book of the same name. This painting depicts a Celtic woman, wandering in the moonlight of the foggy moorland with a Stonehenge-like ring of stones in the background.
   
   Palencar has also tried his hand at the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, producing covers for each of the books of the trilogy for the Houghton Mifflin published editions. The most striking is his cover for "The Two Towers" showing one of the hobbits riding on top of Treebeard the Ent. The face of Treebeard was based on a photo of Tolkien himself.
   
   One of the most simple, but effective pieces is Palencar's "Macbeth" depicting a horned, and skull-headed figure wearing a spiked crown with several small men impaled on the spikes. It's a gorgeous piece...
   
   In all, the book features some 200 illustration in the 128 pages. Thank the good people at Underwood books for giving Palencar fans a long-overdue collection of his work.
   
   Reviewed by Tim Janson