2 comments about Early Art and Architecture of Africa (Oxford History of Art).

1. This book is a very well rounded and well written review of the art and architecture of Africa. It is very eye opening about the artistic abilities of these ancient people. It even goes beyond what we know about their construction. You find that awe-inspiring palaces were not confined to Egypt and the rest of North Africa, but advanced societies had flourished apart from the rest of the world. I really don't want to give away any of the details, but you won't regret the purchase of this book.



2. book was in good condition well packed

5 comments about Secrets of French Design.

1. I'm looking to inform myself with French culture and design techniques. Betty's books are a glimpse into French life and its various regions. This book deals primarily with design tastes throughout Provence, Paris, etc. An easy read.



2. This book is strictly a representation of a Texan's uneducated and "nouveau riche" view of the basic elements of French design rather than a true representation of French design and the many centuries of refinement that are reflected in myriad French design elements. This book -- and, for that matter, the whole series of Ms. Phillip's "design" books -- relies on the gullibility of the nouveau rich masses to whom they apparently represent the quintessence of "good taste." Better to look to some of Linda Dannenberg and Guy Bouchet's handsome photographic imagery of the "real thing" if you're searching for some true insights into what elements are integral to the often understated but always correct esthetics of French design.



3. Photos of over decorated sterile rooms. Source list is only decorators. Not helpful to the average person who does his/her own designing. Much better books available with the "real secrets".



4. Great coffee table book; A quick read for decorators who are new to French design.



5. I didn't care for the book. Not enough pictures. More for the advanced decorator who wants the fine details in writing rather than pictures. I'm more of a 'visual' person rather than literal so I need pictures. You may find it 'just what you need". Not for me.

3 comments about La Tour de 300 M'Tres (Tour Eiffel).

1. I've been wanting to build model of Eiffel Tower for about 20 years. I've been drawing the main structure from bits and pieces I was able to collect over the years, and a lot of guess work. Then I came this book, and it was everything I've been looking for. It has all the dimensions and details you need to build an acurate model. It has details of the base of legs, the tower structure, original floor layouts and mechanical plans.
   This book is worth every penny, I wish I would of found it 20 years ago.



2. What can you say? You got all the original drawings, the explanations, and also the calculations.
   It is amazing the way they did things in the past.
   Also if you like history, the book is full of it.
   The book is a complete review of all the facts of the Eiffel Tower.
   You don't need to be an engineer to enjoy the book, but if you are, I bet you'll enjoy it even more.
   The pictures are excellent.



3. This is a wonderful reproduction of Gustav Eiffel's original design. Every detail of the Eiffel Tower is represented here. The book is HUGE, though, so make sure you have room for it.

1 comments about Designing the Good Life: Norman M. Giller and the Development of Miami Modernism.

1. 
   It is Norman M. Giller's vision that fundamentally influenced Floridian architecture during the decades that followed the end of World War II. His perspective came to be known as 'Miami Modernism' or 'MiMo' for short. Now in collaboration with Sarah Giller Nelson, Norman Giller has written a personal account of the architectural movement associated with himself and with Florida in "Designing the Good Life: Norman M. Giller & The Development Of Miami Modernism", a 176-page, nicely illustrated (76 color photos, 80 black-and-white photos), informed and informative story that will be read with interest by architectural students and professionals, as well as non-specialist general readers with an interest in Florida's architectural history and development. Enhanced with an appendix and an index, "Designing The Good Life" is an important and seminal addition to academic library American Architectural History reference collections.

1 comments about St. Peter's (Wonders of the World).

1. Mary Beard is a Professor of Classics at Cambridge University. She is the editor of The Wonders of the World which is "a small series of books that will focus on some of the world's most famous sites or monuments." Several books have already been published, including Beard's THE PARTHENON, Beard's and Keith Hopkins' THE COLOSSUM and Cathy Gere's THE TOMB OF AGAMEMNON. Keith Miller's first book is a worthy addition to the series.
   
   Like the other books in the series, this book reveals the architectural and cultural implications of its subject. It is aimed not at specialists but at the general inquisitive reader ("the intelligent ignorant," as Beard often refers to herself).
   
   Keith Miller starts his book in the 1st century CE at the Hippodrome of Nero, one of two places where the Apostle Peter may have been crucified. It continues 250 years later with the conversion of Emperor Constantine in the fourth century, and his building of the first Christian basilica, commonly known as Old St Peter's. Miller enlivens the step-by-step creation of the present-day basilica with some of the functions the building has performed: for example, the imposing of woolen pallia on newly consecrated metropolitan archbishops and the coronations of Charlemagne and other emperors.
   
   In 1506 Pope Julius II had the fourth-century building mostly demolished. Miller carefully describes the complicated development of the new basilica. He describes how Donato Bramante's plan was superseded by Peruzzi (after Bramante's death in 1514), then the contributions of Sangallo, Michelangelo and Raphael. He explains Bernini's colonnades, baldacchino and statuary throughout the building. He provides an in-depth look at the underground grottoes and the necropolis.
   
   I thought Miller was particularly good on the question of precisely where St Peter is supposed to be buried and whether his tomb is actually here. He reviews Pius XII's 1950 confirmation, and the later discovery that there were bones of at least four different people, one a woman. Miller provides a balanced view of the debate, including some irrefutable evidence that someone of great significance was buried on the site. He carefully analyzes the necropolis, with drawings and a chronology.
   
   Miller's background is in art history, and he is excellent at describing the works of art still in the basilica or have been moved from the building. He is good at delineating architectural perspectives, magnitude and dynamics.
   
   I would have preferred footnotes and a better bibliography; Miller does acknowledge a few texts including James Lees-Milne's ST. PETER'S published in 1967, as well as "various texts" by Gottfried Semper. Despite these nits, this book is readable and well researched.

2 comments about Antiques in Italian Interiors Volume 1.

1. Absolutely stunning photographs. A gorgeous compilation of flawless homes.



2. This has to be one of the most beautiful collection of photographs compiled under one binding.
   Absolutly worth adding to any serious library. Get lost within its lush images.

3 comments about Private Newport: At Home and In the Garden.

1. .
   This is an exquisite look at Newport Rhode Island by Betty Barden Pardee, a contributing editor to Bon Appetit, who, with her husband is a year-around resident of Newport. Ms. Pardee takes the reader inside the mansions for a private look at the interiors and gardens of this community from a bygone era.
   
   Photographer Mick Hales, whose work has appeared in House and Garden, Vanity Fair, Architectural Digest, and Town and Country does an extraordinary job capturing the light, mood and character of Newport.
   
   Designers, decorative artists, and landscape designers will especially enjoy these pages.



2. I used to live in Newport and I recognize many of the houses in this book. You will not see these private interiors and gardens any other way. The photography and writing are excellent.



3. Private Newport features page after page of gorgeous homes--those that only we mere mortals can only dream about! The photography is spectacular and I love the way the exterior of the homes and their grounds are included, as well as the amazing interiors. This is a great gift for anyone who has visited Newport or who desires to. You won't see these homes on the mansion tour as they are privately owned and not open to the public.

5 comments about The Dalai Lama's Secret Temple: Tantric Wall Paintings from Tibet.

1. This book is a valuable asset to anyone desiring an illustrated view of tantic Buddhism. With gorgeous pictures of the walls of the Lukhang Palace, and plenty of supporting documentation, the reader can truly appreciate the spiritual value of this book.



2. a beautifully detailed book with amazing reproductions of these important paintings. highly recommended to anyone one interested in tibetan buddhism, art, tantra, or history.



3. A really beautiful book: pictures are magnificents, thanks to the anonymous ancient painter and to the modern photographer, with many pictures of the details of the paintings. But the book is worthy not only to see. The first chapter tells a short but interesting history of the temple and of the Dalai Lamas, and at the beginning of each of the three main sections (as there are three walls painted in the temple, corresponding to the three pillars of Dzogchen teaching: base, path and fruit) a short but careful explanation of the principles of Dzogchen, in connection with the painted teachings of the secret temple. I do loved this book, and reccomend it to anyone interested in Dzogchen and Tibetan culture and Buddhism.



4. In addition to being a meticulously executed illustrated art book, The Dalai Lama's Secret Temple: Tantric Wall Paintings from Tibet by Ian A. Baker, et al. guides the reader through some lesser known biographical details of Tibet's greatest Dalai Lamas and of the history of Tibetan Buddhist culture as a whole. The amazing drawings, many of which painted in an almost feverish surrealistic style, are accompanied by insights into the lore of the Dalai Lamas, with thoughtful excerpts from their writings. I am also much obliged as a book shopper to show my appreciation to the book's publisher, Thames & Hudson, for the excellent printing quality and overall layout and binding of this book, details which for me always work to enhance the message of a book and to demonstrate the seriousness and loving care with which the authors themselves have treated their creation.



5. The Dala Lama's Secret Temple is a wonderful and insightful look into one of the most spectacular temples in Lhasa. Having just visited the Lukhang, I had the pleasure to personally view the murals. Many of which are unique to Tibetan paintings. And still very preserved. Better than I could have photographed myself, this book presents each of the walls paintings in the highest quality plates. Descriptions of the historical significance of the temple mirror the detail works of the painting. A nice addition to a library of Tibetan Art and Buddhism.

No comments about Mendelsohn (Taschen Basic Architecture).

5 comments about Private Splendor: Great Families at Home.

1. I find this to be a beautifully photographed book, I have dupilcated one of the floral arrangements already. A great idea book.



2. This book is excellent! If you've ever wondered what it must be like to live in grandeur like the British nobility and some European Royal Families, then this is the book for you!
   
   Buy it today!



3. This is a fabulous book. I bought the book because of my connection and time spent at Harewood House in England. The photographs are so fantastic and the text very competent. Which in the case of Harewood is quite an accomplishment since the history is long and quite complicated. Alexis Gregory is to be congratulated on getting all the facts right. I know this home intimately and the photos show Harewood just as it is in all its glory.
   
   I was also fascinated with St. Emmeram Palace in which I have also spent much time. Again the images and the accompanying text are best examples of their craft.
   
   But the best part of the book was discovering other stately homes and palaces that I did not know about. It was exciting to get a look inside these private spaces. A more beautiful book will be hard to come by. I could not put it down. The only complaint with the whole book is that there was not more of it- more photos and more homes included!
   
   I am often disappointed by such photography/history books, but this is the exception to that rule.
   
   My highest compliments!



4. Beautiful objects, great architecture, photos show dark inhospitable living conditions of a time gone by. I would have liked more photos of living areas and brighter conditions



5. The author has arranged to enter some of the oldest, most ornate historical family residences in Europe -- homes we would not otherwise be able to see or tour, in many instances -- thereby providing an opportunity to see what generations have accumulated in these grand mansions. Unfortunately, the photographer is, like so many French photographers of interiors, incompetent.
   
   Virtually all of the images have deep shadows over much of the interior, allowing very little to be seen. We see this repeatedly in French publications focused on interiors, leading us to believe that perhaps French photographers have never learned how to use any supplemental lighting at all, certainly not effectively. This is usually essential in allowing one to actually look at the detail of the decor. Only Naudin and Bardlay, among French architectural photographers, are generally able to make the "available lighting only" approach work and when their work is paired with that of a Skrebneski (as in the Givenchy book), it pales by comparison. Why would the publishing house have accepted these photographs?
   
   A further, minor observation: in two of the homes, the owners are shown. Aside from Princess TNT, (and this is a bit nasty, but what the hell, these books are supposed to be fun to look at) showing the owners in these cases was not a wise editorial choice. When a Conde Nast publication shows a homeowner in an interior, you can be certain he (or far more often, she) will be highly photogenic. If, when showing a home, the resident duchess could, at best, be described as having an "unfortunate" visage, Slim Aarons could usually find a comely young housemaid going about her duties to include in the photos instead.
   
   Poor photography results in a waste of unusual access.