2 comments about Alvar Aalto, 1898-1976: Paradise for the Man in the Street (Taschen Basic Architecture).

1. When they call this book "basic," they mean it. There is nothing deep or philosophical contained within these pages. Instead, this is an overview of the main works that Aalto produced during his career. Projects range from his Savoy vases to entire buildings. This is a good starting point for anyone who is interested in learning more about Aalto's work and nice to have as a basic reference. For the price, this little book can't be beat!



2. I love Aalto's work, but this book was just dry.
   I give it 3.5 only because it's meant to be an inexpensive introduction to Aalto's work, and it is inexpensive..but the writing is just dry. You really get nothing from the articles about the buildings..but it is a nice intro to the architect's life and it does showcase a few of his best works...albeit in a dry manner..
   
   If you aren't really interested in his work, this is perfect for you.
   But if you want a decent look into some of his buildings and materials and philosophy, then your going to have to splurge a little
   
   B-

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.

No comments about Grand Avenues: The Story of Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the French Visionary Who Designed Washington, D.C. (Vintage).

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.

2 comments about Alden B. Dow: Midwestern Modern.

1. This is a beautifully done book reviewing the life and work of Alden B. Dow, a prairie school architect based in Midland, Michigan. I grew up in Midland, so I'm very familiar with his excellent work. It is nice to see it all in beautiful pictures.



2. I wasn't familiar with this architect until my boyfriend "discovered" him. He does fantastic, contemporary work and this book really showed a great deal of his architectural gems in color. Excellent book.

1 comments about Pamphlet Architecture 25.

1. About time! This is a great way to introduce to students that architecture can be something much much more.

3 comments about Syria: A Historical And Architectural Guide.

1. Judging a book by its cover is usually a dangerous practice. However, Ball and his publisher have created a book that is as attractive within as without. From the standpoint of layout, the most striking feature is that the colorful plates are complemented by text pages of approximately the same weight. This feature avoids the awkwardness often found in softbound texts interspersed with photographic sections.
   The glossary is adequate, if not thorough, allowing for armchair reading by dilletantes in most cases. However, one will occasionally confront within a definition presented an unfamiliar word not elsewhere defined.
   The only other awkwardness encountered in the American edition were the occasional British usages and grammatical anomalies. "Colour" and "spoilt" do not grate on the ear nearly as readily as "awoken." But the presence of "vividest" and "have begin" makes the reader wonder about either the book editor's thoroughness or familiarity with elements of grammar and composition.
   In sum, I found Ball's work a thorough and colorful introduction to the topic with only the occasional flaw.



2. This book is compact in size but filled with descriptions and information. It contains nearly 100 colored photographs and numerous charts and diagrams. It starts out giving a concise historical background of the region then divides Syria into geographical areas. The author has devoted most of his description to the chapters on Damascus, Aleppo and Palmyra but no part of Syria is left untouched. I was particularly fascinated by his account of the Stylite priest St. Simeon. The only thing lacking, in my opinion, is a glossary of the many arabic terms in the book which the average western traveller would not be familiar with. Every summer I travel to Damascus and before I go I always re-read parts of this book to refresh myself with the rich history of Syria.



3. Great information on the chaotic history and exciting past of the "cradle of civilization" Recommend it for all.

No comments about South Carolina's Plantations & Historic Homes.

No comments about Mendelsohn (Taschen Basic Architecture).

5 comments about The Country Houses of David Adler.

1. Though I must say, that I agree that this book could have used some color plates, it in my opinion does not distract from the fact that this is a wonderful book on a fine architect. I personally love the archieval black and white plates, they are so vivid and the Adler homes are quite old, so it somehow seem to fit. This book covers in detail Adler's best country homes, his work was just amazing and the attention to detail in his homes ranks with Horace Trumbaur and McKim, Mead, and White as the best of this age. Chicago is most blessed with his homes, but the Crane Estate, in the Boston suburbs is, in my opinion, his most interesting home and this book does a fine job of covering it. If you have any interest in great American residental architecture, or Mr. Adler's work itself, then I can't imagine you being disappointed in this book.



2. oh i wanted to LOVE this book-- it is FINE--but not amazing-- a bit too "textbook"--



3. I really love David Adler. I was thrilled to find out that this book was in the making. But when I finally got my hands on it I was furious to find that there were no color plates in the entire book. All photographs are archival. The Richard Crane mansion in Ipswich is a tremendous house, and I appreciate the old view from the beach, but how does that compare to the view now that all of the landscape has come to maturation. Not including color plates and more contemporary shots was a cruel tease to play.



4. growing up in Lake Forest, IL...I, too saw these beautiful country estates -- but never knew the common theme was David Adler. Such a wealth of information and history that I have to thank Mr. Salny for. We are talking an era of architecture that included not only the design of a building, but also the design of the gardens, the interiors, etc. A fabulous book -- beautiful and inspiring in so many ways!



5. Useful and informative, but Norton was a bit slap-dash in its production. The "newly-drawn plans" were disappointing and nowhere near the standard in architectural publishing; whoever was responsible shouldn't have been.