3 comments about Houses by the Sea: Mexico's Pacific Coast.

1. This is an excellent book. It has something for everyones taste. I highly recommend Villa Vista Magica. It is the one on the cover and is fantastic!



2. I went and visited at one of these houses. It was the most amazing place I had ever been. I recommend anyone to go there. It is heaven and the area is great not yet insanely americanized like Cancun. 5000 a night to rent these places check it out.



3. This book was enough to start me dreaming of retiring to Mexico--or maybe just taking a looong vacation there! The photographs are stunning--really incredible. I also enjoyed the writing style in the sections where they discuss the goals for each house and the owners and architects input toward the whole project.

5 comments about National Geographic Guide to Americas Great Houses (National Geographic Guide to America's Great Houses).

1. Good book! Lots of info and great colored photos. Anyone interested in American architecture and history will enjoy this book. It's helpful to read about a particular house before going to visit it, and it's fun to read about it again after you've seen it. Recommend. Booklady



2. If you need a guide of historic buildings that are not described in common books of architectural history, buy this book. It works as well as a guide as an introduction to american architectural history. If you are not already an historian this pocket sized book with it's short descriptions and representative pictures will probably greatly extend your interest in american architectural history.



3. I enjoyed reading this book, I found the text quite interesting and the pictures where vivid and well framed. The authors did a commendable job of choosing the houses for the book, many of the mansions are famous, many where not, but all had an interesting story. I was surprised to see how many homes where covered, considering that it is not a large book, you really do get a nice bang for you buck so to speak. If you are someone who just wants a quick synopsis on lots of great American houses then I don't think you will be disappointed in this book, just realize that many homes are covered and as such, not a lot of time can be spent on each home.



4. I am 10 years old and I got this book as a present from my parents. I am a big huge fan of old things and this was the perfect book for me. If you like historical things like huge houses and fancy dresses this is the book to get. It lists a ton of houses - over 150!! So far we have gone to the biltmore estate (INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!) and plan on going to the hearst castle and others. I highly recommend this book for great family trips. It also notes important things like websites, phone numbers,gift shops, etc. I love this book!



5. We bought this book and have toured three homes so far. We found the book invaluable! It gives fantastic descriptions and points out what grand houses we would like to most visit. At Marble House, we enjoyed the most f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s butter cookies! But Marci (with and 'i') and I are on the Atkins high protein diet and could only have three. We each had one and split the third. D.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s! Word of caution for those visiting the Biltmore house in Ashville, North Carolina...if you happen to drive a Range Rover and happen to have two Legnanos (hand-made Italian bicycles) on the roof rack (a $650 option on a Range Rover, I'll have you know!:o)), DON'T drive under the grape arbor! Marci was shaking so badly with anger that she dumped grape juice in her lap -- not funny. But within a few miles she was okay and we were able to laugh it off. I swear our premiums went up by $200. After a long trip, it was nice to get back to San Diego. "Elsa", our Range Rover managed to get about 17 miles to the gallon...not bad for a $60,000 SUV! We hope you enjoy this book as much as we do. We're looking forward to writing more reviews as we visit more houses!

1 comments about The Dome of the Rock.

1. CAUTION: There are 3 different books with the same title by the same authors, but with different re-write contents in different years. All discuss the "Dome of the Rock" or the "Al-Haram al-Sharif" hilltop in Jerusalem. [Atop this rock is where Jews believe their now-destroyed Second Temple was located; where Christians await the building of the Third Temple to enhance the return of Jesus; and is from where the Muslim Prophet Mohammad ascended into Heaven to talk with Allah before returning upon his flying-horse al-Buraq to Medina.] #1 (Sept. 1996): "The Dome of the Rock" by Said Nuseibeh AND Oleg Grabar. [Nuseibeh was the photographer, translator and writer, with co-author Grabar adding valuable commentary regarding the architecture of the dome.] It is the large "coffee table" size: 9.6"x12", hardback with 175 pages; Rizzoli publisher; {ISBN-10: 08-47819426} $60 new, $35 used. This book provides countless photographs of every ornately tiled wall and crook-and-cranny niche within this octagon-shaped building, and is the first one that I have seen that translates the extensive Arabic inscriptions contained inside the dome. How should Christians view this inscription in the Dome: "So believe in God and all the messengers, And stop talking about a Trinity. Cease in your own best interests! Verily God is the God of unity. Lord Almighty! That God would beget a child? Either in the Heavens or on the Earth?" (p.107) [Muslims don't believe in the concept of the Christian "Holy Trinity"; and maintain that while Jesus was actually a MUSLIM prophet, he was not the "son" of God and therefore not divine.] Also, this is the only book I've found that has a very detailed bird's-eye view of the top of the entire Haram al-Sharif complex, and depicts where about 65 different shrines, stairs, gates, and domes are located. #2 (Jan. 1997): "Le Dome du Rocher" by Said Nuseibeh and Oleg Grabar; hardback same as #1 but in French. #3 (Oct. 2006): "The Dome of the Rock" by only Oleg Grabar. It is medium-size: 6"x8", hardback with 234 pages; specialty Belknop Press of Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Mass.; printed in Canada; {ISBN-10: 0-674-02313-7} $25 new; $13 used. This is NOT a smaller reprint of #1; it is a totally different re-write! It has perhaps only 5% of the photographs contained in #1, but does provide several new site maps along with new analysis. #4 (Aug. 1985): "Dome of the Rock" (in 'Wonders of Man' series) by Jerry Landay; 160 pgs; Newsweek Books {ISBN-10: 0882250183 or 088225019-1}. As related items you should review: (a) "Secrets of Jerusalem's Temple Mount" by Leen Ritmeyer {ISBN-10:188-031-752-4}; a study of the architectural history of the building of various temples atop the Temple Mount; and (b) "The End of Days" by Gershom Gorenberg {ISBN-10: 0-684-87179-3}; an analysis of the religious and political struggles between Jews, Christians and Muslims for control of the Temple Mount to accelerate the much-anticipated coming of the calamitous hells-a-poppin "End of Times."

No comments about Doors of the World.

5 comments about England's Thousand Best Churches.

1. ....on the history and architecture of England's Best Churches.
   
   The main purpose of purchasing the book was to explore the architecture of these churches. The book is crammed with so many wonderful and descriptive pictures, it just makes the mind soar to new heights.
   
   The imagination and engineering that went into these classic buildings is nearly incomprehensible.
   
   If you love the beauty and the history of these majestic buildings, then this book is a must.



2. I lived in England for a couple of years and travel back with regularity. On every visit, I make time to visit some of these ancient churches so, to put it mildly, I'm very biased in favor of this subject. Almost nothing compares with going to a weather worn parish church and finding the font where your ancestor was baptized some four hundred years before still in use - an experience I had some years back. With this background in mind, I'll simply say that Mr. Jenkin's work here is monumental and I don't use that term lightly. There are of course church's noticeably absent and one wishes the author could have found a way to include some of England's cathedrals but that does not diminish his achievement. The English church is inextricably linked with English history and he has done them both a great justice by writing this book.



3. The historical background is good; very helpful as a travelogue. Author should have lessen his personal architectural taste. Splendid photos, specially the details. Good general information; but not so helpful for my purpose of getting ideas in designing small chapels.



4. This is a well-written and well-organized compendium of interesting churches throughout England. Useful for the those looking for the road less traveled (by other tourists.)



5. This is an absolutely fascinating book that is indespensable if you are touring around England and want to see some amazingly lovely off-the-beaten-track places.
   
   Mr. Jenkins has compiled a listing of one thousand churches throughout England that he feels are worth seeing. Each church is given a description, including a specific reason why it ranks among the top thousand. There is such a splendidly wide array of reasons: from architectural details, to unique contruction tecniques, to interesting historical context, that it never gets dull.
   
   My parents are taking the book quite seriously, and are trying to visit each of the churches (I think they are a quarter of the way through, and their copy of this book is alrady completely covered with marginalia!). I have visited several of the churches with them, and always find the experience enlightening and interesting. Each church truly is unique, and it is always fascinating to see how.
   
   Since the publication of the book, many of the churches that are on the list have taken an active interest in their own history. When my parents first started touring the churches, they were usually met by blank stares and a "why on earth do you care about our little church?" from the locals... but a few years later they find that frequently the whole community has rallied around the idea that they had an undiscovered treasure in their midst, and something to be quite proud of. For that reason alone, I think it's a great book.

2 comments about Turn-of-the-Century Doors, Windows and Decorative Millwork: The Mulliner Catalog of 1893.

1. This is a good reference to the time period. This is not a "how to" book but rather a period catalog expertly reproduced. This book is good for someone who is interested in creating a home with elements from the late Victorian era.



2. This is apparently a reprint of one of the really great old catalogs of Victorian Millwork! It has fabulous designs for window ornamentation, verandas, brackets, gable ends, fireplace mantels and most especially doors. Black & White sketches show an impressive variety of ideas.

5 comments about 10 X 10.

1. this is awesome! lots of examples with some comments of each single work and all colors. I wanna check next 10 x 10 series.



2. I paged through this book literally twice after removing it from its packaging before the binding entirely separated from the pages. The cover of mine is now completely off the book, the "glue" that Phaidon used having completely failed to keep it together. This isn't an isolated incident either; several of my friends in possession of the same book have had the exact same problems. Even the copy on special reserve in my school's architecture library is experiancing problems of this sort. Above and beyond the binding issues, the actual design of the pages is very poorly thought out. As a previous reviewer mentioned, the captions of the pictures are oriented vertically within pages so chock-full of pictures it is hard to discern what one is looking at or for. The book's final offense is the essays in the back, which are printed on orange paper with black lettering, making them almost impossible to read. This book, while the content may be ok, is so poorly thought out that it warrants a second thought before purchase.



3. Im an architecture student at the University of Florida and this book, including 10x10_2 are a must have. They help to see many different types/styles of Architecture and also help in learning Arch. photography and how to capture that perfect shot, along with how to compose images/drawings of projects for presentation purposes. The book definetly puts you in the mood to design, even after many sleepless nights in studio, working on projects. Its also a good convo. starter if sitting on a coffee table.



4. The book itself is great; full of inspiration for an architecture student like myself. Great glossy photos, short bits of writing for each architect, basically just what I was looking for. However. And this is a big However. The binding will literally become completely detached after looking at half a dozen pages. I just took the binding right off, cut off the front and back pages, and glued them to the adjacent pages, and its somewhat been working by being held together with the binding string. Seriously, come up with a better binding for this great book.



5. This book is an awesome tool for any architecture student, it provides an insight into what is possible if we push the boundaries of design.
   It has been a great resource for me and many of my peers during my architectural studies.
   Can't wait to pick up the new book 10x10-2
   I only hope it provides me with as much reading pleasure as the first.
   If you have a family member or friend about to start studying architecture or who has a keen interest in architecture, buying this book as a gift will most certainly whet their appetite for the field.

No comments about The Houses of Martha's Vineyard.

1 comments about The Eiffel Tower.

1. I love The Eiffel Tower. I'm amazed that iron can be so beautiful. This is a must have book for anyone that feels the way I do. No stone is left unturned in this book. I now know everything about the Eiffel Tower and love it even more. Beautiful photographs. Excellent information. I love this book.

No comments about USA: Modern Architectures in History (Reaktion Books - Modern Architectures in History).