4 comments about Hex Signs: Pennsylvania Dutch Barn Symbols & Their Meaning.

1. Didn't have nearly as much information about the history and evolution of the Hex Sign as I expected. It also didn't have very many pictures as expected of these beautiful symbols and important piece of history. Good book but, could have definitely been more.



2. This little gudie is great if you are interested in the Pow Wow practice of Pennsylvania Dutch hexerei. Though these writers are interested in the cultural and commercial aspects of the barn hexes, they do offer an introductory discussion of the hex marks and a brief history of its appearance in teh New World. Totally worth your time to peruse and worth your money to have



3. The authors take a pragmatic approach to the subject of the many round decorations that have graced barns and homes of Pennsylvania for hundreds of years. Especially among Pennsylvanians of "Deutch" or German ancestry, the fancy round "hex signs" are a cultural identification as well a decoration for their barns. Perhaps these signs also have magickal meaning as a ward or protection. The term "hex" means a magic spell in German, and "hexen" means witch. The authors shy away somewhat from a serious inquiry into the magickal meanings and efficacy of protection hexes. They do offer a collection of good photos of many old and new signs, interviews with current painters and discussion of those available commercially.



4. "It is an excellent book on history of Pa.Dutch Hex Signs" Colorful and very informative!

5 comments about The Abrams Guide to American House Styles.

1. If you are just getting interested in the topic of house styles, this book is an excellent introduction. The color pictures are a great help versus black and white pictures or even sketches. If nothing else, this is a great starter book!



2. This book is a good guide to house identification as well as a pleasure to look it. The photographs are beautifully done, and in full color which I think is important for noticing details that help one identify a house. The text is helpful in explaining historical information, and there are quick reference charts for each house type that condense the major features of that type. Sometimes the distinction between early, middle, and late Georgian is hard determine, and I didn't find it very helpful there, but other than that it is a great guide and a nice coffee table book as well since the pics are so fabulous.



3. The color pictures are all new and the subjects very well chosen, and paging through this book is enjoyable. The concise text reviews the usual classifications in the usual ways, its academic tone partly redeemed by occasional wit.
   
   He renames Richardson Romanesque as Richardsonian, Federal as Late Georgian, and says Queen Anne originated from Arts and Crafts rather than medieval styles, although I think there's a little of each. Like most authors, he discusses the white flat-roofed Modern examples as though they were the next in line to follow the Tudors and Colonial Revivals, despite the fact that they never amounted to more than an insignificant fraction of houses built, then continues with the Post Modern and Deconstructivist styles, pure "magazine architecture", marking an era in which architects begin to serve a new and powerful patron of the arts, the media.
   
   But the countless postwar ranches and split-levels are never mentioned. Trying to keep it highbrow, I guess.
   
   He returns to ordinary houses at the very end, to jump on the mock-the-McMansions bandwagon, using as examples, ironically, some of the prettiest houses in the book.
   
   A few nits to pick:
   
   * Medieval homes had steep roofs because they used thatch, not due to the narrow London streets.
   
   * Le Corbusier's "machines for living" quote actually was intended to extoll creature comforts, not stark Modernism.
   
   * The Arts and Crafts post-and-beam masterpiece, the Gamble House, is ordinary stud construction where it doesn't show.
   
   * Beams are always horizontal, as are clapboards.
   
   * It was Louis Sullivan who said architecture was set back 50 years by a late 19th Century exhibition, not some academic.
   
   Still like the James C. Massey book, available used. But you may like this one for its pictures.



4. Despite the unfavorable comments in "A VERY POOR EFFORT," I decided to buy this book and try it for myself. I'm so glad I did. This reviewer seems to be confused about this book. Of all the books on the subject, this is the only one that's written by a Pulitzer-nominated architectural historian, comprised of all-color photos, inclusive of the late-20th and 21st cent styles, designed like an art book, and packaged in a compact/portable format for taking it on the road. These 5 features are completely NEW to this genre! The unhappy reviewer's other point of criticism (that there are too many trees on the property of some of the photographed houses) is simply absurd. How can a photographer remove trees and foliage from a house's property before photographing the house? These houses are important examples, not slouches. The book states clearly that each picture was taken from public property. Should the photographer have given each house a fresh coat of paint, too, before he photographed it? Such a criticism is illogical. For my dollar, this is the best book in the genre and thus should be given a fair evaluation. I'm glad I bought it. As a realtor, I need this kind of book, and this one's the easiest to use of all of them.



5. In the United States, there is a very rich history of producing field guides to American Domestic Architecture. So it was into this already crowded field that "The Abrams Guide to American House Styles" was published in 2004. In my opinion, if you are going to introduce a new book into an established field, you need to do something new.
   
   This Guide has two features that are unique. First, all of the photos are in color. This is the first Guide that I have seen that has done this. I really enjoyed seeing the photos of the earliest American homes. Second, unlike most field guides, this Guide continues to the current day. I thought that adding examples of McMansions was a very nice touch. Most other field guides stop somewhere around 1950.
   
   Field Guides can be divided into photo books and line drawing books. I prefer line drawing books because they help the reader concentrate on the architectural features that combine to make a style. I think photo books are less effective because they are too specific. Instead of concentrating on the stylistic details, the photos make the reader concentrate on a specific house. The other reason I do not like photo books is that photos are inherently distracting. Instead of concentrating on the architectural features, the eye is drawn to foilage, electrical poles, cars and people walking in front of the building.
   
   The Abrams' Guides does a good job of cutting out most of the distractions but where if fails miserably is in the trees around the house. A good 10-15% of the images are ruined by trees getting in the way of the photographer. Either they block the full image or their shadow obscure key details. I can accept a few trees around a house but to have so many photos ruined is unacceptable. It as though the editors did not have enough photos and they were forced to accept poor quality photos to fill out the book. If you want to see a field guide with beautiful color photographs of houses, see Robin Langley Sommer's "The American House".
   
   If your tastes run to photos, purchase "A Field Guide to American Houses" by Virginia McAlester. If you prefer line drawings like I do, check out, "The Visual Dictionary of American Architecture" or Lester Walker's "American Homes".
   
   Looking at old homes and determining their sytles is a great hobby. The Abram's Guide is a very poor introduction to this rewarding past time.

3 comments about New York 2000: Architecture and Urbanism from the Bicentennial to the Millennium (New York).

1. NewYork as I know and love it.This is an exceptional book,it explains why the city is like it is.Every outstanding architecture is well described and it is readable by everyone.



2. At 1300 pages this is quite comprehensive and exhaustively researched. NYC has had a real resurgence in skyscraper building in the last ten years or so and many good buildings have been built..like the Time Warner Bldg. the Bloomberg Tower, and the New York Times building..and so far it looks like the world trade center site is going to have some specacular buildings, frankly im still not sure about the Freedom Tower(please find a new name, lord)design but it's so much better than that untenable Libeskind designed, frankly I love the Norman Foster design but whatever, but I digress...as for this book it's fantastic and if you love NYC you will have to have this in you collection, really a complete, thorough book on current architecture in NYC, buy this book you wont be disappointed.



3. I bought this book as a gift for my boss who loves both NYC and architecture. He loved it! I looked through it before giving it to him and agree it is a great book. It's $100 in the book stores, so it is a good buy on Amazon for $63.00. Great for anyone who loves NYC.

5 comments about Chicago's Classical Architecture: The Legacy of the White City (IL) (Images of America).

1. this is the possibly the best Arcadia/Images of America book I've seen from the series. The selection and quality of the photography (mostly historic photos) is wonderful, and the captions tell a great story of Chicago. I find myself often thumbing through it over and over to look at the photos. Highly recommended!



2. This novel was not only informative as a historical referrence of Chicago's history, but I used it as a guidebook while plotting what sites to see in this wonderful City!



3. Impressive how David Stone was able to collect photos of the White City faster than Google could. The photographic research is apparent. Narrated neighborhood to neighborhood by someone who has obviously contemplated his native Chicago. This is one worthy history lesson.
   
   Also makes a complementary sidedish to The Devil In The White City. Here are the photos you were dying to see of the Fairgrounds while reading the murder mystery.



4. I grew up in Chicago but have been in San Francisco for 23 years now - this book had some great photos and descriptions that brought me back to the very streets I grew up on.
   
   Plus, after being somewhat obsessed with Devil in the White City, it was great to finally see some photos of what that actually looked like (photos that I thought were sadly lacking in the original book).
   
   The paperback format makes it easily consumable and very gift-worthy.



5. Hard work went into this book! Both the text and pictures were extremely thought out. Would like to see the author expand and put out more books on Chicago classical architecture as the city is loaded with great classical buildings. For the price the book makes a great gift item.

1 comments about Barn: Evolution and Adaption of a Vernacular Icon.

1. Excellent book, if the other book, Barns: Living in Converted and Reinvented Spaces is the ying, then this book is the yang. A good inspirational design book if you're interested in reusing an old barn for modern day use and staying within the original design. The text is interesting and informative with the accompanying photos following along with the text. The pictures are overall excellent, sharp, clear, in detail and professionally done, with very very few exceptions. Some buildings are shown with structural drawings that help visualize the internal timber frame or stone structure with the accompanying photogaphs. The authors seems to be a die hard traditionalist, very critical and at times mildly insulting to designers that chose to remodel the old barns in the modern way and deviating from what the original builders did. But at times understanding that the modern style is a better fate than total destruction of a old old structure.

2 comments about Living in Tuscany.

1. I bought this for my wife, after visiting Luca, in Tuscany! This book captures the memories! Excellent book!



2. A very beautiful and detailed book. A place to think about living out the golden years there. Becoming part of the local living.

2 comments about The British Stable (Studies in British Art).

1. This is an excellently historical perspective by the now late Giles Worsley. Photographs by William Curtis Rolf capture a grand epoch in British architecture that was dedicated to this noble animal.



2. I would have like to have seen photographs of the beautiful west front of the Chatsworth Stable. Also, some of the blueprints did not reproduce well. I think it would have been a more pleasing read if these were clearer. Instead of angles of the rooftops, it would have been nice to see the whole stable.

1 comments about Roberts' Illustrated Millwork Catalog: A Sourcebook of Turn-of-the-Century Architectural Woodwork (Dover Books on Architecture).

1. This book is a terrific graphical reference for victorian casework, gingerbread and related period architectural trim and ornament.

3 comments about Indian Art (Oxford History of Art).

1. I purchased this book for my own enjoyment and to supplement the required readings for my Asian Art class. It is a visual delight, inspiring, and highly informative as well.



2. This is a necessary corrective to previous, stale surveys of Indian art. It gives full attention to the whole range of art and architecture and also stresses the strong contribution of Islamic, tribal, and women's art. This is the standard volume at this time.



3. Although Partha Mitter has written a much better book "Much Maligned Monsters", this book is a total flop. It is hackneyed and bending backwards to be politically correct. For example, a major portion of the book is devoted to Islamic Art (712-1757), but the Islamic kings did not even get properly established in India for 400 years after the putative beginning of this period. Mitter's understanding of the earliest art is less then exemplary and his choices from the most recent period are idiosyncratic. I was greatly disappointed in this book.

5 comments about Vestiges of Grandeur: Plantations of Louisiana's River Road.

1. I searched for hours for a coffee table book for a Christmas gift for a close friend who lives in TN but is from New Orleans. She told me she stayed up all night looking at it. When I gave it to her, she pointed out everything from local businesses to personal landmarks. More importantly, the pictures reflected a pre-Katrina city. They captured sites that she remembered but that don't look that way anymore. I would recommend this book for anyone whose heart is in New Orleans.



2. This is a gorgeous book full of information and amazing photos of some of the most prominent plantations that are on River Road between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Some of the most amazing photos were from plantations that have all but been destroyed. I'd be really interested to see an updated version as some of these homes have been completely transformed since these photos were taken. Most noteably would be Houmas House and Laura which both in this book are nothing like their now restored selves. Regardless, this book is an excellent addition to anyone's plantation library or coffee table!



3. I was born and raised on the River Road. I have grown up and almost all of the wonders in this book. Nothing comes close to the accuracy and beauty captured in these photos. I would HIGHLY reccomend this book to anyone that would want to know or learn about the grand homes along the Mississippi and South Louisiana. This book is second to none in my rating. A MUST HAVE and a MUST OWN for EVERYONE!



4. This is a fantastic coffe table book. This book is all about the pictures, with interesting text to accompany each image. Pictures are loveley, colour and large. If you are considering buying a copy without the dustjacket- go for it, as the cover image is on the underneath as well.
   A great addition to any bookshelf or coffee table, my family have all had a look!



5. I am fascinated with New Orleans and the River Road area and it's history .This has to be one of the best publications about this subject. Sexton seems to capture so much of it's history in the pages of this book, more so than any other author has. The photography is also wonderful and straight forward. I recommend it to any one who wants to learn more about southern Louisiana plantations.