2 comments about How to Wrap Five More Eggs: Traditional Japanese Packaging.

1. This is one of my all time favorite books. I wish I had a copy of it. It is about a tradional Japanese form of packaging different things, mostly food. The idea behind it is that when you present someone with a cake, say, and its nicely packaged they get the idea that you hope they enjoy the cake.
   The five eggs of the title are sort of stacked up and bound with straw woven in an ingenious way. The photographs are lovely and the descriptions of the various packages are informative as well as evocotive. I once had the chance to see
   How To Wrap Five Eggs at the Japan Society Library. Boy I wish I had that one too.



2. I got my hands on this book recently. Its a book which says most of the story through pictures. Its amazing to see how advanced Japanese ancient art is and how much we can learn about them.

3 comments about Wedding Invitations, Announcements, Place Cards, and More.

1. This book was certainly not what I expected. I'm always on the lookout for new ideas and creative invitation samples. This book fell short of my expectations because it had very few actual pieces featured. If you are looking for a beginner's calligraphy manual, and have lots of time to spend on your wedding placecards, this book would be a great resource for you. Unfortunately, I didn't find the inspiration I was looking for.



2. I recently purchased this item thinking I could get some great ideas for wedding stationery. I found that this book is strictly a calligraphy instruction manual. The title does not really reflect the contents of the book. If you are looking to learn calligraphy I will assume this book may be of great use to you. But if you are looking for some creative ideas for stationery this is not the book for you. There is no "and more" just calligraphy styles.



3. With this book -- and a lot of practice -- I was able to do the calligraphy for my daughter's wedding.
   The book includes a number of romantic alphabets in styles from Celtic to modern, forms for invitations, many examples of custom woprk, and step-by-step instructions for projects ranging from favors to menu cards to guest books. There are also suggestions for working with a professional calligrapher.
   This is a practical book for anyone planning a wedding.

1 comments about Floral Illustrations CD-ROM and Book (Dover Electronic Clip Art Series).

1. This book has a wide range of floral images for various projects. The CD is great; saves scanning time and frustration. Highly recommended.

5 comments about Fantastic Art.

1. This book is great value for money, loaded with page filling prints, great detail. Wide selection of the work of Luis Royo!!



2. High-gloss pages. Type of book you would put on a coffee table or in a bookcase as part of an art collection. Like 90% of Royo's work, you might not want to keep it out if you have children running around.



3. Luis Royo is my favorite artist at all. I've met him 13 years ago in the CIMOC covers with that beautiful and explosive women he paints and I think no one other can impress me like he did.
   This big HC book is a large review of his work from the last 20 years, with many zoomed images to show the techniques and the expression "his" women has.
   Among many european and spanish artists, he has a big name in this area.



4. I found this book to be beautifully produced. Yes,it is made up of images that have been published before, but presented in a different way. The text gives new perspective on the images, and the art is as breathtaking as ever. If you are only going to buy one Royo book, I'd reccommend buying this one. If you have his other books, while this one is well worth the price, I would say look through it first, if possible.



5. I'm probably the biggest fan of Luis Royo, and was very excited to see a best of book.
   Why am I disappointed with this book? Because almost all of the images here are zoomed and extremely cropped. the zoomed pics show more detail than avaialable in Royo's other books, but no way does this make up for the what's missing from the complete pieces. Its more of a highlights of Royo than a true best of.
   To add even more salt to the wound, this book contains alot of sketches of the final pieces, found in conceptions I & II.
   Those Should of been excluded since theres no way they could be considered "best of".
   If anyone is interested in buying this book I recommend you see it in person first. It's really a shame to see his art so edited and clipped. If not for the 2 or 3 new images found only in this book I would return it or sell it.
   If youre looking for a good collection of the best of Royo, for the same price as this book, you could get his 3 first books Women, Malefic, & Secrets.

2 comments about Pen and Mouse: Commercial Art and Digital Illustration.

1. This book is the tops. All of the artists in this book are great. The content is great as well, it gives a short bio and general information on each artist as well as a list of what they use to design. Great book, please buy it.



2. After reading a review in one of my favourite monthlys I rushed to purchase a well researched and produced piece of graphic literature. A beautiful composition ranging from traditional media(paints, crayons...) to 3dimensional pieces of computer based work. Well worth my hard earned cash.

4 comments about Structural Steel Drafting.

1. Amazon messed up the shipping address and Zip Code I never received the product.
   
   Instead of contacting me I got an automatic message they were refunding my money.



2. For experienced steel detailer. This book is not useful. But for a beginner, you can expect to learn your job in overall scale. It tells a little bit of everything, There is NO details in symbolic, how to start the first line of drawing, what are need to be put in the drawing and shop detailed.



3. I have been a Steel Detailer for 14 years. I found the book interesting and well thought out. The book is split into two sections. The first is for the Structural Design shop and the second for the Detailing shop.

   What the author covers, he covers in a thorough manner. I would like to have seen a section on horizontal and vertical bracing, which was not even mentioned in the book.

   Many of the authors example detail drawings left out some information which the shop might find helpful. For instance, stantard hole size for the drawing or the distance from the end of a clip angle to the end of the cut member. The author states that because there is an "industry standard" that this information does not have to be shown. He explains that 13/16 holes are the standard size, and so no notation is required on a drawing if 13/16 holes are used. It has been my experience that this information may be "industry standard," but the shops I have draw for all require it on the detail drawings.

   Trying to use this book to train a new detailer is a challenge. The drafting standard used to create the examples in the detailing section may be "industry standard," but it does not quite meet my standard. It is an OK book, but not perfect.




4. This is a well thought out, carefully organized and well documented introduction to structural steel drafting. I am in a related industry and bought the book to further acquaint myself with the subject. I feel that I certainly got my money's worth, and congratulate the author on his conscientious and thoughtful presentation.

No comments about Besler's Book of Flowers and Plants: 73 Full-Color Plates from Hortus Eystettensis, 1613 (Pictorial Archive Series).

5 comments about Pet Shop Boys Catalogue.

1. This is a must-have item. It is an incredible beautiful book. If you are a pethead, you must have it. But, if you will buy this item, you must have in mind that is a catalogue of items, pictures and comments, the name is literal, not a book as "PSB vs America" or "Literally".



2. With 14 reviews already written, I doubt I can say anything that hasn't already been said. But I will give a short review of my impression of Catalogue.
   
   This book is more like Pet Shop Boys history in pictures. While it's true this is a catalogue of all the album and CD covers. It is also the history of Pet Shop Boys in a brief chronology near the back of the book. It gives a time line of what they were doing on particular dates.
   
   There's also an interview from April 2006 with Neil and Chris by Chris Heath. It also includes a complete in depth discography of all their singles and albums they released.
   
   The silver cover of the book makes a great coffee table attraction. It's a must for any Pethead's collection. It's also a great reference book for new fans of the boys. For those who never subscribed to the fan club will enjoy looking at the various Christmas Cards and cover art of the fan club magazine Literally.
   
   I purchased multiple copies so I could have one on display and to thumb through and one is kept sealed. At this great price, who could resist?
   
   Pet Shop Boys Catalogue



3. El libro es excelente [casi una obra de arte] en el cual se repasa la historia gráfica del dúo a través de sus primeros 20 años de carrera. Un verdadero must para cualquier fan de los PSB.



4. You can easily forget that Chris and Neil, Pet Shop Boys have been making fantastic music together for close to 30 years now. This large volume is an authoritative visual representation of what the PSB have done throughout their career. If there is one problem (not really) it would be that since they Boys are still active, the book will be outdated nearly immediately following its publication.
   
   Its fun to see all the international releases, versions, one-off items that have come from their musical output, from singles to albums to videos to other books. Catalogue is comprehensive to say the least. And the photos are many, and all relatively great quality.
   
   This is a true gift to the real PSB fans. It is sort of like your own personal scrapbook if you've been following the Boys through the years or a wonderful collection to introduce newer fans to the career that Neil and Chris have enjoyed. Price seems more than reasonable for the quality of the book. The cover is stunning and makes a great conversation piece for your coffee table. It just sort of begs to be opened with its silvery cover image.
   
   Pet Shop Boys fans should be thrilled that such a volume exists and that the artists have seen fit to offer something of this scale. So many bands, defunct or ongoing seem to spurn their fans requests for such items. In this case, no matter what the intent of the artist--whether purely self indulgence or wanting to give back, the fans who purchase this book are the winners.
   
   Love this book. Love the Boys. And most importantly, Love the music they continue to release. Left to your own devices, you probably will buy this book.



5. This book is beautifully packed and chronicles the product of the pet shop boys for the first 20 years. It includes album/single covers, tours, costumes, videos, etc. It is worth every penny and a true companion for any psb fan!

5 comments about The Complete Reprint of Exotique: The First 36 Issues, 1951-1957 (Special Series).

1. This is, quite simply, an absolutely essential item for anyone interested in sexualized fashion. "Exotique", as one of the leading magazines of the 1950's New York underground fetish fashion scene (closely associated with BDSM - and it's remarkable how little the contours of BDSM fashion have changed over the last half-century) presented in each issue a bumper crop of images and stories having to do with eroticized fashion accessories such as stockings, high-heeled shoes, boots, long gloves, and corsets. The item at hand presents a reprint of the first 36 issues of Exotique, running from 1951 to 1959. Bettie Page fans take note; this three-volume set has many pictures of Bettie.



2. Great 3 volume boxed set! The artwork on the slipcover and bookcovers are great! Takes you back to the early fetish and pin-up days with the likes of Bettie Page, Tana Louise and more! Great fictional fetish stories as well! Recommend!



3. This is a very interesting collection. Flipping through the pages of the three hardbacks that make up EXOTIQUE I got a really good feel for a whole different side of 1950's women's fashion and lifestyle.

   The three volumes are filled with great B&W photos, comics, illustrations, cartoons, and advertisements. Interesting dated articles and reviews make up the text.

   If this sounds interesting, also see Taschen's BIZARRE collection by John Willie. Very much the same as EXOTIQUE, but with (I think) a kinkier slant on women's bondage fashions of the 1940's.

   The three volumes are hardcover and have unusual covers.




4. Benedikt Taschen is going boldly where no quality publisher has gone before. EXOTIQUE is a collection of the late Leonard Burtman's quirky, fetish journal of the 1950s. Burtman's imagery is a life spring of outrageous gams, tight-fitting boots, garters, stockings and take-command women. A must for the fetish collector. But not a trivial amount of cash to slap down on the table.



5. While Taschen is to be commended for returning these rarities to print, the quality of their production leaves much to be desired. The photos, especially, are not reproduced well with the chosen printing process, and the paper stock seems thin. This is surprising, considering that the sort of person who would buy this collection most likely wouldn't mind paying for a superior production. And given the price of the originals, there is lots of room to manoeuver. Hopefully they'll reprint the variety of ancilliary Exotique productions, such as the photo books, and upgrade the physcial quality.

5 comments about The Art of Star Wars, Episode IV - A New Hope.

1. I'm not obsessed with the Star Wars films, although I did enjoy them. But the great thing about this book (and the other "Art of Star Wars" books) is that you don't have to be a huge fan to appreciate the conceptual artwork. As an artist, I consider this book to be one of my favourite reference books. It shows much about what goes into the preparation of a film. This book IS rather fan-oriented, and lacks some critical information such as the sizes of sketches, and other technical information about the paintings and drawings which would have been helpful to aspiring artists & designers. However, it is never-the-less an almost daily source of inspiration for me as I do my own futuristic art.
   As for the script, I could take it or leave it. I've never read the whole thing, only bits here and there. What amuses me is how the script is subtly different from the movie. It's clear that although Lucas has a great mind for stories, his writing is only adequate. The script is rather awkward. If you want a good story, see the movies: the script doesn't do them justice. But for great behind-the-scenes production and concept artwork, see the book.
   I would also recommend getting the modern 1995 re-issue of the book, not the 1979 version, if durability is an issue, because mine, like so many others I see here, has fallen apart.



2. In 1979, Ballantine Books (then the sole licensed publisher of Star Wars novels and most tie-ins) published two versions of this book. One was a limited edition hardcover, which I have never seen, the other was one of those "trade paperback" editions (coffee table size but in softcover). What made this book a must-get was that it contained the entire fourth revised draft of the screenplay for A New Hope (it was the first time I had seen the Episode IV subtitle...even though I bought this book AFTER seeing The Empire Strikes Back). The screenplay I read included scenes that were later edited out of the final film (mainly scenes on Tatooine focusing a bit on Luke's life there and introducing Biggs Darklighter. Another deleted scene -- later restored for the Special Edition 20 years later -- introduced Jabba the Hutt...he would have been very different in look and demeanor from the final Jabba, but at least he was there. Some of these scenes appear both in the novelization (make that ALL) and in the Radio Drama.

   The other attractive thing of this book was the amazing artwork. It ranges from pre-production paintings, costume concepts, actual photos, storyboards, and poster art. It even has a section devoted to spinoff art and some cute fan art, mostly drawn by small children.

   The one flaw in the book is not content related but the choice of paper and binding. The pages are glossy, like those of a yearbook...but the glue that holds the pages to the binding was not strong enough to hold the pages together. I went through three copies of this book in the time it was in print...I only looked at the last one ONCE and the pages still came loose. Thus, out of 5 stars, I give this book 4.




3. Okay...I have owned several copies of this book. Never the hardcover, since that one is rare ... It is lovely to look at and the screenplay...the fourth draft, which has scenes that were cut in the first version and some adapted in the Special Edition, gives us more of the story as it would be presented in the novel and radio dramatization. It is a wonderful book to look at, ALTHOUGH my other copies had the weakness of falling apart even if one was careful when perusing it. Some problem with the binding, I imagine. It is worth getting, though.



4. I can't even to begin to express how delighted I am with this visit to George Lucas' galaxy, "far, far away". To see designs from the minds of these amazing creators, popular gadgets, gizmos and vehicles as they were conceptionalized, is a real treat and forever an inspiration of how the magic of film making and imagination can transport an audience.



5. This is a nice book for the addicted fans who are looking for more. Well, there is not much more than in the movie, but is nice to read the original script (expecially for those like me who are not from an anglophone country) and take a look at the pre-production sketches and to the matte paintings. I appreciated it very much, but if you aren't an addicted fans it's sufficient to search in the net to see the same pictures.