No comments about Pia Fries: Paintings 1990-2007.

No comments about The Rise and Fall of Art Needlework.

No comments about Alfred Ehrhardt: Iceland (Island).

2 comments about Pennsylvania Snacks: A Guide to Food Factory Tours.

1. I really enjoyed the book. The tour descriptions and company histories were accurate and entertaining. However, after going to 2 of the tours in one day, I noted that both tour availability entries in the book were inaccurate. Since companies change their tour availabilities, please call and check before you go. Overall, though, the book made for a lot of fun!



2. Pennsylvania Snacks" is a treasure . . . for parents, for grandparents, and for adults of all ages who enjoy offbeat activities.

   For an outing, if you take kids to the movies, and they may remember it for months. Take them to a pretzel factory and they'll remember it for years, or for a lifetime. Want to create really sweet memories . . . take your children, or your grandchildren . . . or whomever. . . to a candy factory. They are not likely to ever forget it.

   Sharon Hernes Silverman, a writer with many credits in travel publications, leads her readers by the hand, telling them where to find the food factories, and all about the tours, including previews. She is extremely thorough, and even takes the trouble to explain the manufacturing processes in clear terms that are bound to add greatly to what visitors will understand about what they see in the factories.

   This book is a passport to many very pleasant and interesting days.

No comments about Reading Drawings: An Introduction to Looking at Drawings.

No comments about Objects of Myth and Memory: American Indian Art at the Brooklyn Museum.

2 comments about Art of the Gold Rush.

1. I found this book to contain a dry discussion of art during this time period. For someone who claims to have the expertise of a true connaisseur of art of this time period, the analysis of the purpose of mirgrating artists seems to remain too general to derive any real meaning. In the future I would suggest that you include the purspose of these geographically migrating artists in the text if it is to be as informational as claimed.



2. The Art of the Gold Rush was written, I believe, as a companion to the art exhibit that toured the nation in commemoration of the Sesquicentennial of the gold discovery at Sutter's Mill.

   To scholars of California history, the reproduced paintings and text in the book are worth more than all the Gold dredged out of California's Motherlode. The images are stunning, depicting scenes of early California in the detailed, realistic style of the pre-impressionists. The paintings show us San Francisco as a bucolic village at the mouth of a beautiful bay. They also give us a clear, in-color idea of how the 49ers looked, what they wore, and how amazing a wilderness California was before it was logged and paved over.

   The text in the book is as riveting as the paintings it describes. The authors introduce each painting with a discussion of its historical context, a brief biography of the artist, and an analysis of the paitning's structure and use of color and symbolism. Even for someone who, like me, slept through art appreciation, the text is fascinating.

   In summary, if you are at all interested in California History, you will relish every page of this book.

1 comments about Russia! Catalogue Of The Exhibition.

1. This is a nice catalogue of a particular exhibition. It is not very useful to serious students of Russian art and focuses largely on the art that Russians have instead of what they have developed. Ok to have, worth the price, fits nicely under the table.

1 comments about Vitra.Eames.

1. This lovely hardbound edition makes a great addition to any Eames collection. The contents include a brief history of the designers along with examples of their furniture. Each piece is shown in different settings and positions. Wonderful diagrams show the breakdown of the materials. It is written in german, french and english.

1 comments about The Getty Villa (Getty Trust Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum).

1. At one level, this appears like a typical coffeetable art book. Large format, glossy pages and many detailed photos and illustrations. Certainly, you can treat it like that. Giving you several nice views of the Getty Villa over the last 30 years.
   
   But True and her co-authors also provide a detailed history of how the villa was built. From the artistic aspirations of Getty to the legacy he left after his death. If you have already visited the villa, especially before the recent changes, then the text furnishes a neat counterpoint to your experiences. It points out that the villa was severely underserved with parking spaces. A key reason for that annoying requirement that you ring ahead to reserve a space. Another aspect was that entering the villa was often confusing, as the villa lacked a grand entrance.
   
   To ameliorate these and other drawbacks is why the villa was shut for several years. Heavy and necessary upgrades. Plus, the new Getty Center was also being built elsewhere in Los Angeles.
   
   The book has a hilarious anecdote. In 1993, there was a meeting at the Villa, for architects to decide on changes. A presentation was given about the last days of Pompeii and Heculaneum, before they were covered by volcanic ash. The presentation was because the Villa was inspired by excavations at those places. After the meeting, the people went outside, and saw fine white ashes fall from the sky! Was this an omen from the gods? Was Los Angeles to be destroyed by a volcano? Turned out, the ashes were from bushfires around Los Angeles, that had been raging for several days.
   
   Seriously, though. If you are ever in Los Angeles, this book might inspire you to spend a leisurely afternoon at the Villa. It is really nice out there, by the Pacific.