1 comments about Piero Fornasetti: A Conversation between Philippe Starck and Barnaba Fornasetti (Memoire).

1. This book shows all the highlights and things I didn't know Fornasetti designed. Lots of photos of him. And the Phillipe Starch interview is great!

No comments about Tate Modern: The Handbook.

1 comments about Edna Boies Hopkins: Strong in Character, Colorful in Expression.

1. Edna Boies Hopkins was a part of the art colony in Provincetown, Massachusetts during the early part of the 20th Century. After traveling in Europe and Asia she was part of the group experimenting with innovations in woodblock printing, in her case, with stunning results. This books brings to life her work, done in many parts of the United States and adds mightily to the biographical information available which had not been examined in depth until now. Mr. Vasseur is to be commended for his superlative effort.
   
   Stephen Borkowski, Chairman, Provincetown Art Commission

No comments about Albrecht Durer: Watercolours and Drawings (Ablums).

5 comments about The President's House: A First Daughter Shares the History and Secrets of the World's Most Famous Home.

1. This book by the daughter of President Harry Truman offers a wonderfully insightful and fun-filled look at life inside the most famous home in the United States. Margaret Truman's membership in that exclusive club of former residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has given her the opportunity to extensively research the private historical documents and records pertaining to the White House, as well as unique access to others who have shared those living quarters over the years.
   
   Ms. Truman has a very engaging writing style that is entertaining, humorous and informative. The book is arranged topically into such sections as political history, social customs and events, the importance of the behind-the-scenes employees, the architecture and various pets who have inhabited the White House, just to name a few. Her discussions with many of the Presidents and members of their families, beginning in her memories of her own occupancy and extending through to the current administration, make these stories particularly interesting and full.
   
   She takes a fairly non-partisan and no-holds-barred look at the Presidency of many of these men, and gives a very frank assessment of how some of the issues in their lives and relationships impacted their terms of office. But, throughout the book, the White House itself remains the central character, and Margaret Truman's love for the building and its rich history comes through clearly on each page.
   
   PLEASE NOTE: I am reviewing the HARDBACK version of Mrs. Truman's book. The first time I ordered this book, I got the paperback version, which is an abridged and edited children's edition with very few photos. The hardback version is much more complete and has a lot of pictures!
   
   For people who have an interest in the White House, I would highly recommend this book.



2. I listened to the Audio CD version of this book.
   
   In terms of strong historical value, there is not a lot to this book. It really is pretty fluffy in its tone and approach. Margaret Truman is a credible source however and she does make it very entertaining to listen to.
   
   The organization is interesting. The language is conversational. You'll come away with better knowledge of the White House, its residence and our Nations History.



3. While Margaret Truman isn't on the same level as Ken Burns, Shelby Foote or other historians her books are a fun read. Who better to tell you about the White House than someone whose parents spent seven years in residence (although due to renovations it was not technically seven years - they spent some time at the Blair House).
   
   She crafts a nice balance between telling you little known stories about the former first families while sprinkling in her opinions; much like a chef would throw a dash of spice into a recipe. One of the most pleasant surprises is that she is bi-partisan in her narrative. If she is wry in her observations about some of the first families, it is based more on her observations of character rather than party loyalty. She speaks glowingly of some of the Republican inhabitants - most notably the Coolidges.
   
   I definitely recommend this book for those who love historical trivia. Plus much of the reading material (White House pets for example)can be shared with kids for those times that you'd like bedtime reading to be a little more stimulating than "Captain Underpants" or "The Day my Butt went Psycho"



4. Margaret Truman is, of course, the daughter of President Harry Truman and his wife Bess. She is the most prolific writing child of any American Chief Executiv. Margaret Truman has written several mysteries and histories about life in Washington which are written in a popular style easy to understand and enjoy.
   As Ms. Truman opens the door to our White House she lets us discover the fascinating men and women who have lived at 1600
   Pennyslvania Avenue. She discusses such various topics as:

   1. White House Weddings.
   2. Relations between the Presidents and the Media
   3. The Children of Presidents who have lived in the White House
   4. White House Presidential Pets
   5. The kooks and crazies who have tried (and in some cases been successful) in assasinating our chief executive.
   6. She describes the growth of the White House from its first occupancy by John and Abigal Adams in 1800. The history of the White House building, grounds, gardens and additions are discussed.
   7. How the routine of a White House day changed with every administration-when they awoke to what they liked for dinner!
   Ms. Truman has written in a charmingly simple style which is nevertheless based on her well done historical research. This is a book anyone regardless of age or party affiliation could enjoy.
   I recommend it highly!




5. Former First Daughter Margaret Truman offers the reader an entertaining, anecdotal account of life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Her focus is on the White House as a home, though its role as a seat of power is not neglected. As a result, you can expect to learn more here about the first wives, children, doormen, Secret Service agents, maids, gardeners, cooks and others who have lived and labored behind these famous walls..although the presidents themselves aren't entirely overlooked.
   
   The exterior the White House presents to the world has changed little in two centuries...but the interior has been undergoing an almost constant process of destruction and renewal. We learn about the 1814 torching of the president's house by invading British troops; the addition of greenhouses, which gave way to the west wing at the beginning of the 20th century; almost constant sprees of redecoration and reconfiguring of the public and family rooms, all of which culminated in the complete reconstruction of the White House during the Truman years.
   
   There are chapters about the rambunctious children, the unusual pets, the glamorous weddings, riotous inaugural balls and other historic events that have enlivened this historic mansion. You will get a sense of the behind-the-scenes preparation that goes into welcoming a visiting head of state or similar dignitary. There are two sections of illustrations, one in color, that further help the reader share in Truman's wonder and appreciation of this historic house.--William C. Hall

4 comments about Love and Loss: American Portrait and Mourning Miniatures.

1. I liked this book. Nice photos, good value. I can't say that I will go back and read it again, but it had decent information on the first read and great art.



2. Informative and well written with beautiful color photos of the miniatures. A book we'll treasure.



3. This is a wonderful book on American miniatures and mourning portraits. Ostensibly a catalogue of the Yale collection, it also gives a great history of miniatures in their cultural context, a discussion of miniature painters and processes, and a synopsis of the tradition of mourning items. Very well researched and well written. Beautiful pictures of miniatures, most at actual size, and many enlarged to reveal tiny details. This book is accessible to both scholars and the interested public.



4. I began my interest in miniature paintings several years ago, but found that long searches on the internet rarely produced any new information on this topic. Owning about 4 "worthwhile" books in my collection on the subject, I anxiously awaited Robin Jaffee Frank's book (which I became aware was "in the works" about 6 months before publication). I hoped that this book would be the frosting on the cake of knowledge I possessed on miniatures. I was delighted to find it is the cake itself. Miniature itself in size, it contains a whopping 358 pages packed with information and insights, along with plenty of full-size illustrations. It's presented in a format that can be easily followed, with many paintings also shown magnfied to enhance the concept being presented. You will want to take your time in reading and relishing this book, there's alot of information here. Well worth the wait.

1 comments about Bon: The Magic Word: The Indigenous Religion of Tibet.

1. Bon religion is a growing subject of study in the West, but contrary to what we find onTibetan Buddhism, still only a handful of people in the West can write well informed accounts of Bon. And the people who wrote the articles in this book are amongst those, the very few Western scholars in Bonpo studies, the best of the best (even if only because there's nobody else in the field!). But the real point of this book is its fantastic balance of artistic and scientific approaches, of scholarly rigourous while engagingly presented information, in an extensively and beautifully illustrated, carefully designed work about this fascinating subject: Bon.

No comments about Pamphlet Architecture 13: Edge of a City (Pamphlet Architecture).

No comments about Antonello da Messina: Sicily's Renaissance Master (Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications).

5 comments about The Houses of McKim, Mead & White.

1. I must confess I enjoyed this book, it may not be the burning bush, but the text was insightful and I thought the photos where nicely laid out. It is amazing to see the breathe of Mckim, Mead, and Whites work, they really where THE Gilded Age architects. Lord knows there where other great architects of the time, like Horace Trumbaur and Carrere and Hastings to name a few, but no firm had a better P.R. machine than this firm, namely Stanford White, it can be debated whether they where the best of the architects of the time, but nobody can debate their preeminence during the Gilded Age. Nice book, I recomended it.



2. This book has some nice photographs but adds nothing to already published scholarship on this topic. The author is not a professional architectural historian; he is a descendant of Stanford White. His text is gushy and uncritical, and makes only scant mention of the social and economic forces that contributed to the rise and decline of these grandiose houses.



3. The point of this review is to correct an error in Steven Goldstein's review of this book. McKim, Mead, & White were not involved in the construction of the Metropolitan Opera, as he states.

   This is a wonderful, ravishing book, although I suppose some readers might be disappointed that the author has limited himself to surviving examples of McKim, Mead, & White's work, with current photographs ... all of them gorgeous. Vintage photographs, where available, would have been a nice addition. For example, it would be interesting, if possible, to compare the Pulitzer mansion in New York as originally built with the current photos ... it has been divided into something like 9 condominiums!




4. Speaking as a practicing architect and longtime admirer of the works of Stanford White, I found this book was nonetheless a revelation. Gorgeously photographed, it shows a broader spectrum of the residential work of this illustrious firm. McKim Mead and White have a well-deserved reputation for grand public buildings (Penn Station, Madison Square Garden to name two that have sadly been demolished) but are less known for these spectacular houses built for the robber barons of the Gilded Age among whom Stanford White circulated. What is suprising is the facility with which they moved from lavish and elegantly detailed city houses to surprisingly unpretentious inviting summer homes on Long Island and elsewhere. If you love Beaux Arts architecture, skip this book at your peril.



5. This book combines rich visual appeal with a serious analysis of the residential work of McKim, Mead & White. The introduction is particularly valuable for its succinct survey of the firm's development and its discussion of the collaboration of the partners.