5 comments about Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn: The Connected Farm Buildings of New England -- 20th Anniversary Edition.

1. The author gives the "how and why the connected farm emerged in the mid-to-late 19th century and the story these buildings tell about the common New England farm and the people who made them."
   Hubka has written extensively about traditional American buildings and architectural design methods and teaches at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
   I love the old pictures like the one showing a family and horses in front of a Saco house and barn.
   "According to Hubka, the primary reason for connected farms was agrarian reform, which was spurred in the 1840s and '50s by competition from new, larger farms in the Midwest. Connected buildings allowed New Englanders to take on home-based industry, such as candle- and cheese-making, while continuing to farm and still have everything centralized. Fashion also played a part: Connected farms became the latest thing, and keeping up with the neighbors was important even then." (This Old House)
   "An important pioneering effort. The book commemorates both an unique indigenous architectural expression and a way of life that has become extinct . . . The style is economic and clear and Hubka's affection for architecture binds the buildings to their people and their times." -- Maine Sunday Times



2. Very imformative. The images of the older New England homes are very interesting and useful.



3. Lets get this straight, this is NOT a coffee table book - if you want lots of colour pictures of old farms and barns - look elsewhere. What it is though, is a well written, brilliantly researched and documented assessment of a largely by-gone way of life in rural New England. Look - I'm even British and I loved (OK - I do have an interest in New England and architecture)
   
   If you are vaguely interested in old rural life, agriculture, history and social history, or vernacular architecture (or any combination of these) - buy it you won't be disappointed.



4. If you have ever wandered around Maine, you will have noticed a unique form of farm architecture. But ask most people why 19th century Maine farmers made such a concerted effort to physically connect the structures on their farms and the answer is "they needed a way to get to the barn through the winter snow." Trust me, I have gone around and asked current dwellers of Maine farmsteads. Thomas Hubka carefully points out that if that were so, we'd see similar connected farm architecture in parts of the nation where winters were even more inclimate and snowier. Yet Maine farm architecture remains almost totally enigmatic. Hubka's diligent field work reveals that forces were at work in mid-19th century Maine that conspired against the rural farmer: industrial competition for hand-manufactured goods produced at home for cash suppliment, a labor drain to other more prosperous farming regions, and unyielding land. The brilliance of Hubka's work is that he evokes how, despite all this, Maine farmers strove to adapt by creating resilliant islands of industry with the structure of their homes that defiantly sheltered year-round dooryard work efforts from wind and snow, but also change abroad. This book is also a perfect source of pithy detail and illustration regarding 17th century cape-style house architecture which, it turns out, is still ubiquitous in New England. Highly recommended, a stiking work.



5. There's a type of farm layout that you see in New England that you don't see elsewhere in the US. This book is a study of that type of farm, its whys and wherefores, and how it fit into people's lives -- or better, how their lives fit into it.

   This book is written very clearly, with numerous graceful diagrams of floor plans, layouts, and photos of representative farms. The author has a deep sympathy for the ordinary farmers and their taxing occupation, as can be seen in the choice of photos (farmhouse buried in snow, barn on fire, farm family sitting in a front yard still dominated by those granite cobbles you expect to be piled into fences). Diagrams tell the demographic story of why these farms were created, why they belong to northern New England; how they were achieved and how people spent their lives in them.

   For me, the magic comes in because I fell in love with one of these farms, and its sunny Lincoln-era dooryard. It has a subtle rightness because of its orientation, its site on a knoll, and a certain flexibility of layout. But even if you don't have such a reference point, I think you will be impressed at the perceptiveness of the work, if you can muster any interest at all in the topic.

   p.s. I checked on the Web to see if the author is still flourishing. His current project seems to be the wooden synogogues of tiny eastern european towns. Sounds neat...

5 comments about The Architecture of William Lawrence Bottomley.

1. This book, as with all Acanthus books is simply beautiful. I don't know any other publisher that puts more thought into their product, down to the ever present bookmarking ribbon. William Bottomley's work is given its just due in this well thought out and produced book. Frankly, I was not all that familiar with his work, so this book was a real eye opener for me. He producted everything from chic townhomes to spectacular mansions, and he was a master of many styles. As with all Acanthus Press books, this comes highly recommended, and it does not disappoint; well done indeed.



2. Plain and simply a beautiful book. If you have any interest in traditional residential architecture than buy this.



3. This is a marvelous book that will give hours and hours of visual pleasure and reading pleasure. It is very informative with personal information and professional information with many photos, many original black and whites. Susan Hume-Frazer has done an oustanding job. Thank you!



4. "The Architecture of William Lawrence Bottomley" is the latest addition to a fine series of books on architecture and design by The Acanthus Press. As with the other books in their series on architects, this volume presents the best of Bottomley's output with indepth discussions of 34 examples of his work, from a church to a city hall as well as his extraordinary residential commissions which inludes townhouses, River House in New York City and a variety of magnificent homes. The book provides a wealth of floorplans, some site plans and period photographs (mostly in black and white) of the various projects. Also included is a fine biography of Bottomley which discusses his family life and his professional career, and a catalog of commissions. This book is a must for anyone interested in Bottomley and/or fine traditional,(mostly) residential architecture. This hard-cover volume, as all volumes in the Acanthus Press catalogue, is beautifully envisioned and produced. Many congratulations to the Acanthus Press and author Susan Hume Frazer!



5. Though I have not finished reading this book, I am enjoying it. I have been looking forward to this since I first heard of it's publication. I am interested in Bottomley's work, but the original monograph by Mr. Weeks is now selling for $200-$300, which is not an affordable price.
   As an architectural designer, I enjoy the book for the "pictures", however, I find the introduction and narrative of the projects to be just as interesting.

1 comments about Architecture in China.

1. The overall view of the book is considered to be an excellence book.
   There are a few projects that need to have drawing documentation and in my preferences drawings could be bigger but they are readable.
   The photographs in this book are excellent representation of the essence of the projects under the study cases. Perhaps the narratives could include deeper conclusions of the architect's ideas-to explain the arrival of their conclusions.
   I would really appreciate if all drawings were black w/ grey scale.

5 comments about The Alhambra (Wonders of the World).

1. Page one, paragraph one has two glaring errors. First, there are indeed figurative paintings in the Alhambra. They are painted on leather decorating the ceilings of the recesses in the Hall of Kings. Second, Columbus did not present his plan to cross the Atlantic to Ferdinand and Isabella at the Alhambra but at Santa Fe, their encampment several miles outside of Granada.
   I didn't bother to read further. This book promised to be worthless.



2. The book gives a good overview of the history of Alhambra palace and Islamic Spain. Some minor translation problems as the author try to root some of the names of the various rooms in the palace to its Arabic origin. Nonetheless, the book is well written, and is an excellent source for beginners on the Alhambra palace.



3. The good: debunks some of the myths, gives a good background to some of the names and how the appearance was radically altered by perceptions of what people thought (and what they wanted to think) represented Moorish architecture.
   
   The bad: He spends so much time explaining why this or that is not true that we almost learn about the Alhambra by what it is not. He never really gets has a together, narrative history here, which makes it difficult to get a 'grasp' on the place by just reading this book alone.
   
   Also He unfairly criticizes Irving's Tales of The Alhambra (apparently Washington Irving was at once dull, but too imaginative, prejudiced against Moors but sympathetic to Bobadil, cheering for the Spanish yet anti-Catholic - and yes Irwin contradicts himself on the same page!) while (strangely) praising movies like the 7th Voyage of Sindbad (which was filmed there). Shows a lack of understanding or depth about Orientalist Art, which doesn't stop him from talking about it.
   
   The guide he suggested to buy, available at the site and in Granada, is far better- (unfortunately not available in the US) its published by Ediciones Edilux, called "in focus' in English and available online if you google it.



4. Visiting the Alhambra is a once in a lifetime, must do event. See it first from the plaza adjacent to the little church of St. Nicholas across the valley. And when you do finally go in to the Alhambra, bring this guide.
   
   It's the sort of guide one might have had when visiting this place two hundred years ago--more Baedeker than Lonely Planet. It emphasizes the wonder of the place rather than entrance prices and opening times. Written in a narrative style that plays up the history of this magnificent palace, it is a joy to read both before and during one's visit. In fact, a careful reading of the book prior to visiting the Alhambra is bound to enhance the visit tremendously (as, after all, the Alhambra is so popular you'll be limited to a 15 to 30-minute window to make your entrance into the most stunning part of the complex, the Nasrid palace.) For that reason you'll want to know ahead of time what you'll be looking at, because once you're inside the rooms and courtyards go by in a blur--a gorgeous procession of delicate columns and sparkling fountains. If you're trying to read your guidebook for the first time in the midst of it all, you'll miss most of it. Once you are inside, you're much better off just using the book for a quick consultation as you enter each new room, gallery, or alcove.
   
   Irwin's 'Alhambra' tells you what you really need to know about this place (one of Europe's most magnificent palaces) including the unfortunate fact that much of what you will see (or are seeing) has been recreated; the presumed use of each area of the palace is at best an educated guess (and at worst, a shot in the dark). Even some of the carved inscriptions are misleading (assuming you can read medieval Arabic). As Irwin notes: "...Contreras, who knew no Arabic, rearranged them [the inscriptions] in such a way that it is no longer possible to make sense of them" (p. 47, hardbound). Regardless, there is beauty in this truth, and this book has it in spades. Your standard tourist guidebook will not confront you with such sincerity (although you'll need it for the basics mentioned above: entrance prices, opening times, etc., as Irwin is not concerned with those).
   
   The hardbound version of Irwin's 'The Alhambra' makes a great keepsake to remind you of your visit, and you can put it on your shelf next to the copy of Washington Irvings' 'Tales of the Alhambra' you picked up in the gift shop. Bottom line--if you are going to visit the Alhambra, do it right: bring this book, and read it ahead of time.



5. This little book is packed with the author's detailed opinions about the history of this marvel. It's good reading to prepare one for a visit, but it left me wondering if the legends that the author debunks may not be a prophecy of what tomorrow's scholars may think of this work.

5 comments about Hearst Castle: The Biography of a Country House.

1. I enjoyed this book, and the details of his life relating to the building of this wonderful American treasure. I wish there had been more photos showing the details of the fine art and antiques collected from Europe early in this past century. Also it would have been worthwhile to show much more and better photos of the architectural elements of stone moulding, stucco detail, doors, tiles, ceilings, floor designs and iron work.



2. I actually bought this for a gift for my neighbor,she had been looking for it for a while and she was very excited and said the pictures inside were fantastic.



3. Hearst castle is just an amazing tribute to one man's enormous ego. I am glad that it is preserved as a set piece for Hearst, for that is what he intended all along. This book captures the signifigance of the estate, the images are well concieved, though not as crisp as expected, and the text is informative. This certainly is not the definitive book on Hearst Castle, but it is well worth the purchace none the less. If you have any interest in Hearst Castle, or gilded age extravagance in general, then i cant imagine you being disappointed in this book.



4. Fantastic book exceptional pictures and loaded with written details. Usually in a book like this you get one or the other here you get both! A must read and viewed book,a bit spendy but worth every cent!



5. A first rate account of the building of "La Cuesta Encantada" with new information I have not found in other Hearst Castle books or by taking the castle tours many, many times since I was a little girl. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Can't wait to visit the castle again with this new knowledge.

5 comments about Santa Barbara Style.

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



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



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



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



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

No comments about Jean Prouve.

5 comments about Frank Lloyd Wright Mid-Century Modern.

1. Comprehensive photos of the interiors and exteriors of Wright's homes.
   One is able to see the materials used, arrangement of furniture and colors he chose. Just what I was looking for. Beautiful book.



2. I approached this book with some trepidation, as I suspected there would be much duplication of the material presented in "Frank Lloyd Wright: The Houses". As approximately 60% of the houses presented here were given to us in the earlier title, these suspicions proved to be correct, yet I am giving this book 4 stars. Why?
   
   This time, unlike what was done in "FLW: Prairie Houses", there has been some effort made to present different views of the repeated houses. However, be advised that there is reuse of the identical photos in many cases. What redeems this book are the seldom published houses that are presented. To those very familiar with Wright the names Buehler, Hughes, Neils, Pearce, Brown, Berger, et al will ring a bell, but may not bring a clear image to mind. Now the images are provided and great images they are. Often full page views of this wonderful architecture.These photos will draw you into serene spaces that are at one with nature. Almost 50 years after his death the artistry of this man still amazes. So, pick up a copy, settle into a comfy chair and prepare to be amazed.



3. Wow what great photographs and the essay's are great too. What really put me off - infact it angered me, the incorrect name used not once but twice for Harold Price - it is listed as Herbert. I just cannot believe that through all the proof readings and all the eyes writing this book that this attrosity was not found. Bad publishing. Other wise the information and photos are great - just wish there was alittle more care put into the proof reading.



4. Very comprehensive with new photos not shown before. As new owner of the Dorothy Turkel House in Detroit I was pleasantly suprised with 6 pages on our house. There is so much interest in Mr Wrights houses i cant believe it. Very timely.



5. The description:
   
   "With lavish, new, previously unpublished color photographs and detailed plans"
   
   is not quite accurate. And while there are some new photographs, there are no detailed plans of any kind. And most of the photographs are really no different in content than can be found in some other books. In additon, there is practically no technical information in any of the photo captions.
   
   It would been nice to have other houses covered in this book that have not appeared in countless other books. Many of the subjects here have been beat to death.

5 comments about The Bungalow: America's Arts and Crafts Home.

1. Great source of inspiration for anyone who is considering doing any sort of architectural project, either interior or exterior, with and Arts and Crafts feeling.



2. I give this book three stars for the beautiful pictures, but I'm disappointed and am going to turn around and sell it. The introductory chapter on the arts & crafts movement and what exactly is considered a bungalow are quite good. It was the misleading title and the narrow focus of the rest of the book I was disappointed with. A more accurate title for this book would be "The Bungalow: Central California's Arts & Crafts Home"
   
   I just bought a 1915 craftsman-style home in superb condition, in an area filled with bungalows and arts & crafts homes. I wanted a book to show me what sort of house elements, furnishings and fixtures were authentic to the time it was built. It was clear from the Amazon listing for this book (table of contents : "The Craftsman style: variations on the classic bungalow" and "Related arts and crafts homes") that this book didn't limit itself narrowly to bungalows either.
   
   Unfortunately, the book turned out to be extremely narrow and provincial in a way I never expected from either the table of contents or the Amazon reader reviews. This is not really a book about "America's Arts & Crafts Home." Over three-quarters of the pictures are from either the San Francisco Bay area or the Los Angeles area. There is not a single contemporary picture taken outside of California.
   
   197 pictures total in the book
   
   San Francisco Bay area: 90 pictures
   . San Francisco
   . Oakland
   . Berkeley
   . San Jose
   . Alameda
   . Marin County
   . San Leandro
   . Piedmont
   . etc..
   
   Los Angeles area: 64 pictures
   . Pasadena (30)
   . Altadena
   . Los Angeles
   . Flintridge
   . Alhambra
   . etc.
   
   San Diego: 10 pictures
   
   inland California: 16 pictures
   . Mariposa
   . Sacramento
   . Modesto
   . Chico
   
   1905-1927 drawings and plans and drawings from other parts of U.S.: 8 pictures
   . Morgan Woodwork Company, Oshkosh Wisconsin (3)
   . "The Home", Chicago Illinois (3)
   . Brown, Stickley (2)
   
   Contemporary pictures of bungalows and arts & crafts homes outside California: ZERO.
   
   In very small print at the end of the acknowledgements the author writes "The search goes on to find candidates for a bungalow book with a national scope. Please send snapshots and information about worthy bungalows in your area to Douglas Keister, 5826 Fremont Street, Oakland California 94608."
   
   The title and book description is misleading and if the author wanted to find candidates outside California he obviously didn't try very hard.
   
   - A disappointed reviewer from Morgan/Stickley Bros./ Frank Lloyd Wright country



3. I found The Bungalow; America's Arts & Crafts Home by Paul Duchscherer & Douglas Keister to be extremely helpful with my remodel. I tagged pages with the ideas that I wanted to convey to my designer and architect. The pictures are beautiful and really assisted in developing the plans and overall look in the remodel of my bungalow style house. Very inspiring.



4. This is a great book with wonderful color photographs! Check out his other two books in the series, as well as photographer Douglas Keisters's "Bungalows on CD-ROM".



5. This an outstanding book for anyone interested in the familiar and well loved style of architecture known as the bungalow. All color photos show the gamut of this genre ranging from basic to elaborate. Both interior and exterior shots detail this rich archetictural art form. An inspiration to anyone interested in maintaining, restoring or recreating one of America's favorite homestyles.

5 comments about Empire State Building: The Making of a Landmark.

1. Well, they didn't, but it's a classic anyway.
   
   This is a terrific book for anyone who wants to learn how great projects are visualized, actualized, and pressed through extremely challenging environmental circumstances. It's a source of inspiration for the dreamers and the practical alike.
   
   If you want to read about architecture and engineering, you get only a small dose here. It's more about the capitalization, visioning and building. But that story is magnetic and wonderful.
   
   Only thing they left out: that it was to this (then half-empty) building that Annhaeuser-Busch delivered the "first" case of legal beer to Al Smith at the end of Prohibition. Smith, the "wet" and the eternal optimist, exemplifies what this building was conceived to be: a vibrant and living testimony to the human spirit.
   
   So, it stands to reason that it survives now as New York's essential symbol.



2. This book is a must read for anyone interested in not only the Empire State Building, but in New York City history of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Who would think that a building completed in 1931 at 1250 feet high would still be the tallest building in NYC in 2007 (of course, we can't forget the tragic loss of the taller WTC Towers). This book covers the quick construction of the ESB, but also covers the politics and history behind the building's location (the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel used to be at the corner of 5th Ave and 34th Street) and the people involved. This is an interesting book about an exciting time where anything seemed possible in one of the world's greatest cities.



3. From the outset, the Empire State Building seemed to have had everything going against it. Although conceived during the 1920s boom years, most of the construction went on during the earliest years of the Depression, thereby putting the idea of high occupancy in the severest doubt. Its location wasn't ideal either. It was three miles north of the Wall Street district and a mile south of the center of the midtown business center. And it was ten blocks south of Grand Central Station and three avenues east of old Pennsylvania Station. The idea of mooring dirigibles was quickly scrapped after failed attempts. And sure enough, although the Empire State Building did get built, the tenants did not come. King Kong did, but he didn't pay rent.

   John Tauranac describes all this and more in his exhaustive book, THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING: THE MAKING OF A LANDMARK. Written in an engaging style, Tauranac's book is as elegant and interesting as the subject itself, while his wit is as colorful as the characters surrounding the Empire State Building's creation. The book covers the idea for the building, Raskob's and Smith's supervision, the monumental task of the construction workers, and, most importantly, the survival of the building to become THE emblem of America's cultural and economic reach while become THE identifying symbol of New York City. The generous amount of photographs add to the understanding and enjoyment of the book. Highly recommended.




4. This is an excellent work that details the history of the Empire State Building. I was a bit surprised to find how much the author managed to pack into my paperback. Everything from skyscraper height restrictions to land leases and modern restructuring of ownership for tax purposes (and all the "interesting" stuff in between). If you buy this book and you're not from New York, do yourself a favor and get a map of the area. So you can follow along in the early chapters.



5. I bought this book shortly after a trip to NYC in 2000, and found it to be an excellent history of one of the Big Apple's architectural jewels, the Empire State Building. It is full of intrigue, history, great anecdotes and one-of-a-kind photographs. If you're a visitor to Manhattan or a local resident, you owe it to yourself to read this book.