No comments about Landscape Design.

5 comments about I Am Rich Potosi: The Mountain That Eats Men.

1. I got the book months ago and often look at it. I was a student at ICP in New York and had the great fortune to have Stephen Ferry as an instructor. I found it a very important topic captured in a beautiful way. I can recommend his book to everyone, especially for those who have travelled in this area.



2. I thought Stephen Ferry's look at the miners in the context of the 500th year anniversary of the Spanish conquest was insightful. By looking at the effect the conquest had on this mountain's past and the current lives of the descendants as opposed to the usual anniversay scenes he summons a well balanced idea of cause and effect. He obviously has passion for this story and tenderness toward the conditions that yeild the people towards their daily work. Although this book is a general look at the people living there, the spirit of their sensiblity transcends with beautiful color and light in each photograph. The book is beutifully printed the quality is a superb 10.



3. Miners live in a world that almost defies description, except by the miners themselves. And the Potosi miners live in an exceptional world in itself, because the altitude of Potosi and the consequent thinning of the atmosphere at that height confer mining work, and even merely being there, with a permanent feeling of irreality in all your actions and thoughts. And that is what Stephen Ferry's images have captured in this outstanding book, the work of a real adventurer of the printed image. And Galeano's text is a fitting companion to such singular and excellent photographic work.



4. First off, I had the opportunity to sit in on 3 of Mr. Ferry's Photographic lectures on Latin America, with one of them dealing with Potosi. At first sight of these photos I thougth they were good, but after he explained the particulars behind each and every picture, the book comes to life. It is now one of my favorite photographic books of all time. Eduardo Galeano fills in the historical aspect of the book and Ferry satiates the contemporary features of Potosi, Bolivia. In response to an earlier review(the only really negative review of Ferr'y book) I respect the fact that you are a native born Bolivian, but if you look at Latin American History as a whole, there really in not much that is good about it. I am sure there are small subtle lifestyles that are interesting, but people want to read and learn about historical mishaps and atrocities, such as the the colonial raping of Potosi and the current poverty of the same region.



5. I'll try to make a constructive critique as a Bolivian born and raised in Potosi. As some of the books published in the US, this book portrays foreign life styles with an "american" mentality that is narrow in concept visualization as a whole. Yes, those pictures show a very harsh reality among "mineros" in Potosi. However, the pictures do not show, in any form, the subtle aspects of their lives that make them really unique and respectable. The photographer would have to live a reasonable time with them to really understand the situation and I'm sure he would take pictures with a different approach. By the way, I'm also a photographer.

2 comments about Pebble Mosaics: 25 Original Step-by-Step Projects for the Home and Garden.

1. Nice book with a variety of projects for those who have intermediate level experience doing mosaics.



2. This is a good source of pebble mosaic ideas. There is the occassional use of non-conventional substrates (old galvanized greenhouse trays) and "pebbles" (slices of slate), which I like because it adds a lot of interest and makes me think outside the box. Although I haven't made any of the projects, the authors seems to do a very good job of listing all the items needed, and they give clear, detailed directions.
   
   There are a few projects that mix pebbles with china and tiles, and those were my favorite (aside from the candle holder shown on the cover). I felt that there should be MORE of something, but I think that is because I love color, and these projects, for the most part, use a very natural selectional of pebbles. The book gives you exactly what it says it will.

5 comments about The Lost Border: The Landscape of the Iron Curtain.

1. This book is a must for those who have never seen the Border regions during the cold war. These pictures show the regions as they were then. The photographs in this book show these areas as beautiful, tranquil, quiet and foreboding, with the ever present eye of East German Guards peering at you from the border towers. Those fences and no mans land are gone now, and have since been replaced by reconstruction. These photographs are very rare and exclusive, taken throughout Berlin, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czeshoslovakia and Italy. It is a haunting reminder what communism was, especially for those who lived between the fences.



2. With photos taken in the mid 1980s the author takes us on a pictorial trip along the former Iron Curtain from the Baltic sea coast at Travemunde (West-East Germany) to the Adriatic sea coast at Trieste (Italy-Yugolsalvia [today Slovenia]); with a separate chapter on the Berlin Wall. They are superb photos full of (sad) atmosphere, poignancy and historical importance. Like another reader, I just wish there were more of them. The chapters with photos from the period following the collapse of the Soviet empire and thus its lengthy prison wall with the west are relevant too. The author doesn't provide any lengthy description of the physical nature of the fortifications, history of escape attempts, as well as the constrast in the lives of people on each side of the borders but that has been the subject of other books and there is no need to; the brief comments combined with the pictures are all you need to appreciate it.



3. The Lost Border by Brian Rose fulfills an historical need by photographing the Iron Curtain before it was relegated to the dustbin of history. The photos are are in color and fill the need of being historical rather than some modern black and white modern art form which would have defeated the whole purpose of the book. I have walked the Berlin Wall many times in the 60's & 70's to take photos and aggravate the guards and for me to see the rest of the Iron Curtain in this large format book was a pleasure. I compliment Mr Rose on his endeavor. These photos show the stark reality of the evil of communism in clear detail. The Lost Border is an asset to any library; home or otherwise.



4. I haven't seen anyone else put together a book like this, with shots from all along the Iron Curtain in the Cold War. My only disappointment was that there's not more of it - because the work in here is excellent, and I would have loved for it to not end so soon. Highly recommended for anyone who is interested in what the Soviets did to Eastern Europe until the fall of communism.



5. I grew up behind that border, lived in this grey cold world. The photographs brought back a lot of supressed memories. Looking through the book, I realized that these memories should be kept alive. Awesome and chilling at the same time. I would recommend this book to anyone....the era has passed but it was real. A lot of lives were lost at that border and many untold stories are buried with it. To me that book is a tribute to all who suffered in the name of freedom, I was just one of many.

5 comments about A Field Guide to Sprawl.

1. The numerous color aerial photos in this book do a wonderful job of putting US development patterns into a whole new perspective. This isn't intended to be the end all be all of commentary about sprawl. For that, there are plenty of other great books that emphasize analysis and critique rather than a visual approach (A Better Way to Live is an example of a terrific book in the former category). This book is a great introduction to the different kinds of sprawl and what they look like. Sure, Dolores Hayden puts a fairly cynical touch on what commentary there is, but when you see the pictures of how developers have ruined our open spaces, you'll understand why. In short, a great little book that achieves its purpose very well.



2. Small coffee-table format picture book. There is a 10-page introduction, which is excellent, then 51 vocabulary terms. Each vocab term is 2 pages - one page is an aerial example picture, the facing page is text describing the term. The terms are mostly pejorative (slang) and are critical of certain types of development. This is not "new" stuff many of these terms and criticisms go back to the 1940s. While some of the terms are obvious (strip malls, McMansions) much of it is not obvious and opens a whole new way of seeing why certain things are laid out the way they are. More so, it helps to predict how future development will happen based on current development patterns. This book is a layman's guide to development criticism. Should be required reading for all who live in a developing community.



3. The book arrived ahead of schedule and was in great condition



4. The book is very simple and somewhat boring. I looked through the thing in less than an hour and now it's stuck in the closet. It does have some good aerial photos, but only a few. I was hoping the book would be a coffee table book for people to look through when they are over but it's now in the closet for who knows how long. It looks too much like an encyclopedia than a coffee table book in my opinion. The text isn't very well thought out either. Believe me, I'm an Urban Planner and so I'm interested in this stuff and have read a lot about sprawl, but this book just doesn't do it for me.



5. I agree with both the positive and negative reviews: I loved the pictures (as did the positive reviews)- they definitely gave me a better feel for concepts like "pods" that I am used to seeing from ground level. But I also think that some of Hayden's language was unclear, needlessly polemical, or both. For example, she writes that ducks (buildings that serve as advertisements) "are always out of context and do little to unify neighborhoods." But what does it mean for a building to be "out of context"? How does a cheese shop "unify a neighborhood", whether it is ugly or pretty? Also, Hayden's points sometimes have little to do with sprawl- for example, she has an entry on "Export Garbage" but she does not explain why she thinks suburbs generate more garbage than cities.
   
   But on balance I liked this book, mainly because she spends only a paragraph or two on each concept, so even the text entries I would have written differently did not take up a lot of my time.

3 comments about Discovering the Vernacular Landscape.

1. the book arrived quiclky and I'm happy with it nevertheless it as some underlined sentences (used books are usually like this) but it's quite ok.



2. I was attracted by the title of this book; there's so much to be learned by observing the suburban or rural landscape, which most of us drive through without really noticing or reflecting upon it. Someday a wonderful book will be written on this topic, but this is not it. Instead, John Jackson presents us with a series of 'musings,' for lack of a better word, about the vernacular landscape. At times, the writing takes on a stream-of-consciousness quality that leans too heavily toward personal reflection. Topics include the grid-road network of the US midwest, placement of county courthouses within town plans, the history of the 'box house,' evolution of the Arts & Crafts style of architecture, and the author's experiences in the US Army in Europe during WWII. Intertwined among these topics are passages in which the author reflects upon the notion of 'landscape' and what it means to him.



3. This is a rather interesting book. The perspective it takes on history is unique. The basic premise is that you can learn a great deal about a society by the way they talk about and treat the land around them. I must admit, it made me look at my surroundings differently. It is a bit slow in places, and after a while I started to loose interest. However, overall I would say that this collection of essays is rather good. You should check it out if you have any interest in the field of landscape studies.

1 comments about 'scape: The International Magazine of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism (Scape).

1. This is a great journal for professionals, or the aspiring urban planners and landscape architects. It covers environmental design from an international perspective with extensive essays, interviews in a well though out academic manner; without the ubiquitous adverts. This periodical can be enjoyed by any one from professionals to backyard gardeners, just about anyone whom is devoted to environmental conservation and sustainability.
   A. Thomas

No comments about Social Formation and Symbolic Landscape.

No comments about Landscaping Principles and Practices.

2 comments about The Complete Kitchen Garden: The Art of Designing and Planting an Edible Garden.

1. I appreciated this book not only for its inspirational value, but also for the practical ideas in the form of lists, suggestions, and many ideas as well as beautiful pictures to illustrate and motivate. I have put many of these ideas into practice in my small lot, and the effect has been tremendous. Combined with practical knowledge and common sense, this book brings out the artist in all of us.



2. This book is ideal for the coffee table but, as an informative book, it doesn't make the cut. The photographs are beautiful but the writing style lacks the punch necessary for how-to books and the reading is made more difficult by the injection of examples of different "kitchen gardens" in the midst of the chapters. Also, the gardens discussed are not such as could be duplicated by the average gardener, who does not have several acres of land to turn into a landscaped masterpiece.