No comments about Sunken Plantations: The Santee Cooper Project.

2 comments about Dream Apartments.

1. Isn't the phrase "dream apartments" an oxymoron? I don't care how nicely they are done or what their views may be, an apartment is an apartment is an apartment. Thank goodness in our part of the world people can live in real homes where they can walk right outside their own doors into the natural environment.



2. a beautiful book chock full of new and interesting ideas for apartment dwellers. Alot of cool serene photographs to get you in the mood to redecorate.

2 comments about Frederick County, Virginia: History Through Architecture.

1. This book is a fairly comprehensive look at the many old and historic structures in Fredrick County, Virginia. The main thrust of the book is to examine how the different waves of immigrants, new building technologies, and external events (such as the War between the States) have changed the construction and style of both public and private buildings in this region.

   There is also an extensive catalog section (with photographs) giving a short history of specific buildings not otherwise mentioned elsewhere in the book.

   "History Through Architecture" is grounded in a scholarly survey of historic buildings conducted in the late 1980s, and is much more than a look at the homes of the locally rich and famous. Ms. Kalbian's writing style is quite readable and although I find it more of a reference book than literature, I read it through cover to cover.




2. Well written, with extensive illustrations. This work chronicles building types from the oldest structures to the latest "I don't know what I'm building", cul-de-sac clogging, atrium stretching, doctor-lawyer-indian cheif McMansions and archituctural vomitus that Ms. Kalbian kindly refers to as neo-eclectic. Read this book so Joist Hite doesn't have to spin so fast.

No comments about The New International House.

3 comments about The Forbidden City (Images of Asia).

1. I had hoped to be reading about the Forbidden City-its origins, its designers, its layout, the function of the buildings and structures, the treasures it contained,the catastrophes it survived and so forth.

   I was disappointed to find that only the first chapter was of some relevance to the Forbidden City. The rest of the chapters were devoted to the famous "inhabitants", the officers ranking system, concubines, eunuchs, the foreign priests and so forth.

   The books saving grace is the breath-taking photography. But then some of the pictures I felt were rather irrelevant to the Forbidden City ie Yong Zheng's concubines, Kang Xi's various potraits.

   In conclusion, this is a good book for browsing through the pictures, but not for the serious historian.




2. If you are a fan of Chinese history or art, this is the book for you. I enjoyed this book because of the magnificent pictures, and ancient Chinese paintings depicted in it. Not only are the pictures interesting, but so is the text. It tells of......I guess you'll have to see for yourself! Great buy, all though I was afraid at first that I payed too much, after I recieved it those fears were put to rest.



3. If you want a coffee table book, then buy it. The photographs by Hu Chui are stunning, and the reproductions of Chinese scrolls and paintings are excellent.

   However, the information about the Forbidden City is at the breakfast mush level - easy to digest but of little value. The information is superficial, and often inaccurate. Knowledgeable students of the Forbidden City will groan, and wince. It perpetuates blunders such as referring to the East Glory Gate as the East 'Flowery Gate,' and the Chinese advisor on eunuchs knows little about the subject. The book talks about emperors as if they all had the same personality and all did the same things.

   Enjoy the pictures, but take the text with milk and sugar.

No comments about Ackermann Und Partner: Buildings and Projects 1978-1998 (Critical Perspectives).

1 comments about Modern Urban Housing in China (Architecture).

1. 'Modern Urban Housing' is a thorough history of housing in China, although there is a definite bias towards what ocurred in Shanghai and northern China. Except for editing and the conclusion by P. Rowe, this book was written entirely by mainland academics, so there is 'precise' statistic after statistic that ends up overloading the reader rather than helping to clarify and provide context. It also bogs the reading down and is not mitigated by their review of of China's contemporaneous political events wherein thay are seemingly writing so as not to offend the party overseers (although this is my own bias speaking). Since this is for westerners, this book would have been helped by a more active collaboration with a westerner from the beginning.
   
   However, there is little else out there in English for people who would like to learn about this subject and the illustrations/photos are plentiful enough and serve to illuminate the writing.

No comments about The Good Place Guide: Urban Design in Britain and Ireland.

No comments about American Architecture 1607-1976.

No comments about Foreign Affairs:New Embassy Build (Internationale Architekturwettbewerbe Fur Die Hauptstadt Ber).