5 comments about 365 Ways to Save the Earth.

1. This is a compact hardback book with some incredible photographs of various places and things in our natural world. It does have some good tips for helping the environment although these suggestions are basically repeated towards the middle of the book. The book is worth it for the pictures alone.



2. The pictures are all beautiful! The ways they have to help the Earth are well organized and very practical!



3. Good photos and points made, but #1: Recycle?
   
   Yes, yes, that's why not ONE page of this book is made from post-consumer material (i.e., the paper stock that this book uses isn't even recycled, despite recycling being the first point made in the book!)
   
   SO, #1: don't buy this book, get it from a library instead.



4. I have ordered this book as a gift for numerous friends and family members. It is a beautiful and thought-provoking introduction to environmentally-friendly behaviors in a time when most Americans aren't thinking about the problems we have created in our environment.



5. I bought 5 copies as gifts for Christmas.
   
   I gave it to some friends, to my grandmother. The whole family was looking at the beautiful pictures. I had my uncle reading the daily inspiring messages.
   
   "It brings me peace when I read this book, a day at a time" my grandmother said.
   
   Highly recommended! I even kept a copy for myself.

No comments about Napa Valley: Photographs Celebrating The Pride Of America's Wine Country (Mighty Marvelous Little Books).

4 comments about Tutankhamun's Tomb: The Thrill of Discovery: Photographs by Harry Burton (Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications).

1. Excellent book of an amazing exhibit. If you missed it, get this book. If you saw it, get this book to remind you of how magnificent these photographs really are.



2. This is a superb book. The original black & white photographs taken in the tomb by a master photographer are wonderful. I just wish there had been more.



3. everything from the size of this book to the image on its dust jacket is lovely. the book says that harry burton, the man who visually documented the clearance/excavation of kv 62, took some 1,400 images of the tomb's 5,400 objects; the book contains but 78 of these images. there is no substantive exploration of how the man worked but it's a coffee table book, not a bio. the images are vivid and give context and meaning to the find, and mr. burton's photos of the artifacts, particularly those of the metalwork, capture with brilliant clarity the unparalleled craftsmanship, skill, and design sensibility of the ancient egyptian artisans of the 18th dynasty; as his legacy shows, mr. burton surely related to them now and then.



4. If you thought you'd seen everything there was to see about the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, you were wrong! This amazing book is an invaluable addition to the Tut library. I picked up a copy of the book while visiting the Metropolitan Museum, and I can't recommend this book highly enough. The original excavation photos are beautiful and truly give you a sense of what it must have been like to witness the discovery of the tomb. From photos of the landscape in the Valley of the Kings (setting the geographic scene), to photos of the excavators working on the tomb through to object photos, the entire story of the discovery of the tomb is illustrated. Despite their age, the photos are vivid and gorgeous and bring the discovery to life. The accompanying text is kept to a minimum -- narrating the story nicely, but allowing the photos and objects to speak for themselves. (Longer photo captions at the end of the book accompany thumbnail photos, giving more detailed information about each photography.) This book will make a welcome addition to the library of anyone who loves ancient Egypt, a beautiful coffee table book, a nice backdrop or preparation for the King Tut show that's touring, or a lovely gift for anyone interested in Egypt or archaeology.

2 comments about Paris Vertical.

1. This oversized book is full of beautiful black and white photos of the City of Light, with closeups of building details as well as glimpses of everyday life. The interesting aspect of the book is the crop, which, of course, is vertically oriented as opposed to horizontally oriented, so it's a different framing method. The pictures are juxtoposed against quotes about Paris. Really a nice package, but I think it's a bit overpriced -- it's great size for a coffee table display book, but if you're going to put it on a bookshelf, you may want to consider the smaller version, which has the same number of photos but in a more petite format for eighty dollars less.



2. Paris Vertical showcases the black-and-white photography of Horst Hamann as he presents a unique pictorial tribute to one of Europe's most famous and beautiful cities. Hamann exhibits an artist's eye through the lens of a camera with new angles and perspectives offering a fresh approach to classic architecture and familiar locales. Enthusiastically recommended for students of photography and a seminal addition to academic collections of master photographers, Paris Vertical documents an original approach to viewing familiar pieces of sculpture and architectural details with a quite literal emphasis on eye-level, vertical framing. Indeed, Paris Vertical could well serve as a template for similar photography sessions with other cities of distinction and beauty.

No comments about Honolulu Then and Now (Then & Now Thunder Bay).

5 comments about Placing Shadows, Third Edition: Lighting Techniques for Video Production.

1. Reviewer Joel (CA United States) is 100% correct: This book's description and all of the other reviews are completely misleading. The book is thin on content at this price range and doesn't even truly cover the subject of "Placing Shadows", and, other then building off of a foundation of the standard 3 point lighting system, it doesn't provide any techniques to do anything with shadows at all.
   
   What it does provide is a good easily understood explanation of color and the measurable aspect of temperature along with definitions of the various existing light bulbs, their properties and color temperatures. But if you are at the stage where you're looking to buy a book to help you with using shadows then you should already know everything this book has to offer on this subject. And if not this isn't the book to get it from.
   
   This book is not what I thought it would be as I was expecting some advanced knowledge on creatively using lights to create shadows that would enhance my productions. What I got was a rehash of the basics of illuminating a subject, with illumination as the key word.
   
   If you want to learn lighting for video go get one of the lesser costing setup books that have page after page of diagrams of different sets and the various positions of where the lights should go.
   
   This is not the book to help you learn about using shadow techniques to enhance your production as it is more a book about light bulbs and their color temperatures.
   
   Oh, yeah, the second edition's cover is completely different and looks like a cheeply produced self published paperback book.
   
   Now I have only one question: Where do I get a refund?



2. Placing Shadows in an appropriate title for this book. Shadows are the 3rd dimension of lighting ignored by many video professionals. The book explains in depth, the spectrums and characteristics of different types of light. Most books don't go into these explanations except 400 level college video classes. By doing so, it gives a basis to go on to discussing the many assorted manufactures lights and their practical use. Not just hypothetical lighting situations, but actual sets, from office settings to exercise videos. Also acknowledging, every set is completely different and must be lit by what is necessary to create the look you need.
   Additionally this book, described how to set up your monitor by using different color bars and using waveform monitors and vector scopes, something that many college graduates were never taught how to do, like ME! If a student learns and retains everything in this book you will be ahead of all you peers and will understand what is being done on a set when they're in the real world of video.



3. I have a background in photography so using tungsten lighting is not new to me. I thought this book would have more technique then I was led to believe.

   It does have some great info on how a light bulb is created and the various parts but is not very fulfilling. this book is not what I thought it would be like and
   the reviews from others are misleading.

   It goes over various lighting setups, any photography book covers this and skims over ratios. It explains color meters in short detail but it would be great to have more "meat" to hang on to then the author's bad grammar and old sayings. He suggests that you learn by doing. enough about his experiences, show me something I don't know how to do!

   If you want to learn lighting for video, this is not the book to buy. If you want to learn about light bulbs and color tempatures of tungsten lights then this book delivers.

   I give it a 2 stars because it does have some merit but not in the area of lighting technique. For a really thin book, its not worth the price even if you get a discount.




4. I belive this book can be very helpful for people who want to make films, either as a guide to create a nice looking product or as a general idea of how ligth works for the image, this book is a great begeaning in every cinematographer's career.



5. As a beginning Videographer I found this book a great introduction to the many different lights and techniques used in obtaining good video. The book is also very current on what is available today. I feel it could have been a little more in-depth, but for the price and length I found it well worth buying and reading. The authors write in a very "readable" style that educates you but doesn't bore you. Highly recommended.

4 comments about Baseball as America : Seeing Ourselves Through Our National Game.

1. "Baseball as America: Seeing Ourselves Through Our National Game" was the companion volume the landmark traveling exhibition from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. As its thesis this book takes Jacques Barzun's declaration "Who ever wants to know the heart and mind of American had better learn baseball." Within these 320 pages you will find yourself exploring every aspect of the American pastime lavishly illustrated and even long time baseball fans will be surprised at how much they will read and see that is new to them.

   After an introduction by Jules Tygiel, which features a 1860 Currier and Ives lithograph showing Lincoln and his opponents for the presidency describing their platforms in baseball terms, "Baseball as America" is divided into seven units: Our National Spirit, Ideals and Injustices, Rooting for the Team, Enterprise and Opportunity, Sharing a Common Culture, Invention and Ingenuity, and Weaving Myths. Within these pages you will find Robert K. Adair explaining the science of the curve ball invented by Candy Cummings but first explained by a 23 year old Isaac Newton and Paul Simon explaining to Joe DiMaggio his use of Joltin' Joe's name as an emblematic icon in the song "Mrs. Robinson." There is Dan Shaughnessy's "Obituary of Elizabeth Dooley" the legendary Boston Red Sox fan and Buck O'Neil explaining how the Chicago Cubs traded away future Hall of Famer Lou Brock because the team already had three black outfielders. Then there are the letters Curt Flood and Bowie Kuhn exchanged when the outfielder refused to be traded from the Cardinals to the Phillies. You might remember Flood's letter from Ken Burns' documentary "Baseball," but here we have Kuhn's response.

   Of course Ernest L. Thayer's ballad of the republic "Casey at the Bat" will be found here, along with a Charles Schulz "Peanuts" cartoon of Charlie Brown praying to catch a baseball, Bob Newhart's "Nobody Will Every Play Baseball" routine, and excerpts from W.P. Kinsella's "Shoeless Joe." There are photographs of the famous Honus Wagner T206 1909 baseball card, Eddie Gaedel's 1/8 St. Louis Browns jersey, Shoeless Joe Jackson's shoes, Lou Gehrig on the cover of a program from the American baseball tour of Japan in 1931, "Babe Ruth Underwear," and the patent and model for F.W. Thayer's 1878 catcher's mask. Then there is the poster of the elephants playing baseball for the Barnum & Bailey Circus.

   Then there is the juxtaposition of words and images: Joe Raposos's lyrics to the Frank Sinatra song "There Used to Be a Ballpark" with a photograph of the demolition of the Polo Grounds. There is an excerpt from Bernard Malamud's "The Natural" with the cowbell Hilda Chester used at Ebbets Field and a photograph of Andre Dawson's final visit to Wrigley Field. A photo of Satchel Paige of the Kansas City Monarchs warming up at Yankee Stadium and Ted Williams' 1966 induction speech at the Hall of Fame where he surprised the crowd with his call to honor the stars of the Negro Leagues. A letter from Fiorello LaGuardia in 1945 about a committee formed to end segregation in baseball opposite a pair of photographs showing black kids and white kids clutching Walter Johnson board games and waiting to meet their favorite baseball star.

   The back of the book includes a list of the selections from the collection broken down into baseballs (handmade ball made by Babe Ruth at school), baseball cards (1952 Topps Mickey Mantle), bats (George Brett's "pine tar" bat), books, booklets, and periodicals (comic book "Roy Campanella Baseball Hero"), broadsides, handbills, and posters (handbill urging integration of the New York Yankees), caps (Hideo Nomos no-hitter cap), cartoons ("Base Ball as Viewed by a Muffin" from 1867), communications equipment (Red Barber's first microphone), decorative art (theater lobby card for "The Jackie Robinson Story"), fan art and fine art ("Tom Seaver" by Andy Warhol), games and toys ("darktown battery" cast iron mechanical bank from 1888), gloves and mitts (Yogi Berra's mitt from Don Larsen's perfect World Series game), jerseys and uniforms (1976 Chicago White Sox Bermuda shorts), jewelry (charm bracelet made from championship jewelry given by Lou Gehrig to his wife), letters and documents (All-Star ballot filled out by Casel Stengel), medical-related items (ethyl chloride numbing spray), merchandise (Reggie Bar wrapper), miscellaneous equipment (prototype JUGS Speed Gun), programs and scorecards (program for first Colored World Series), sheet music and records (1908 Edison Wax cylinder record of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and magic lantern slide), shoes (worn by Ty Cobb), souvenirs (1961 button, "I'm for Maris--60 in '61), stadium equipment/artifacts (turnstile from the Polo Grounds), tickets and season passes (ticket to Lou Gehrig Day), and trophies and awards (Cy Young Award given to Sandy Koufax).

   So you can get a very good idea of what you missed out from the traveling exhibit. Of course this is a fraction of what was on the tour and while less than half of what is included on these six pages makes its way into "Baseball as America" just looking over the list can be fun. The tour, of course, is long over, but if you have never been to Cooperstown, or if it has been a while since you have been to the Baseball Hall of Fame, then be forewarned because this book will make you want to go and visit all of the baseball treasures on display.




2. This book is an excellent companion piece to the Baseball as American travelling exhibit (www.....org). The pictures included (like any National Geographic piece) are first rate. The included stories are from a diverse group, from sportswriters to former players. However, that's where the book takes a bad turn. The articles are inconsistent in style and quality, and for anyone who enjoys baseball, it's painful to read. This book is required for anyone who loves the game, but I wouldn't recommend it to casual fans.



3. From the eye catching cover to the inspired essays and beautiful photographs inside, this book is a delight. All that was missing was the hot dog and beer. A great gift for fellow baseball fanatics! Go White Sox!



4. Book is very nicely presented with many great illustrations, pictures, and excerpts from notable authors. Great book for the casual or diehard baseball fan. This book covers the terrific exhibit now showing at New York City's Museum of American History. Check it out. It's very worthwhile.

3 comments about Motherland.

1. Motherland is a fascinating insight into Russian life and people. As someone who has never been to Russia, I was particularly impressed with Roberts' accessible and open style, which allowed me to experience the surprising diversity and beauty of Russia from the comfort of home. I know that Roberts and his wife spent a year traveling across this enormous territory and their knowledge, sympathy and regard for the country really shines through. The photographs are sensitive but unsentimental, honest but never critical. For me, Roberts' Motherland opened a door onto another world; I haven't seen a better photographic representation of contemporary Russia.



2. This a beautiful and evocative book. The photographer really got all over the country and he really caught the essence of the Russian people. Every image is stunning and tells a story.
   
   It's got a permanent (and prominent) place on my coffee table!



3. A friend sent me a copy of "Motherland" as a gift, knowing that I had spent eight years in Russia prior to returning to a more predictable, "normal" (boring) suburban American life two years ago. I have not been back to Russia, since, though my wife is Russian, and two of our children were born there. As time passes, memories of the Russia I became a part of begin to fade; images of the people I met and places I visited begin to blur. But what time and a failing memory have taken away, Simon Roberts' "Motherland" has helped to restore.
   
   Russia is not as tragic or desparate as the nightly news would have us believe, and much of what Roberts in his travels with his wife has managed to capture is the softer, more human side of the country that would simply never make the editor's cut. While some of his photographs do capture the desparation of a country in painful, often violent transition, he also uncovers the hope and dignity of the people they encountered on their journey. The honesty he is able to coax from his subjects and onto the page is very unusual. What passes for ordinary or every-day in Russia is what for me in many ways is the real Russia, and Roberts manages masterly to capture the true essence of the country, with all its warts and beauty.
   
   Roberts and his wife spent a year traveling throughout the vast country, riding trains, mixing with locals, and going to places that ordinary tourists - or even those of us who spent most of our time in the expatriate ghetto of Moscow - would never dream of venturing. In the process, they seem to have come away with an intimate understanding - and empathy - for the people and places that make up "the other" 99% of the country. Roberts' photographs seem to be taken from the inside looking out, not the other way around. In the process, he has, for me, captured in this book the essence of what is so often referred to as the "Russian soul." It's what I miss the most.

2 comments about New Chairs: Innovations in Design, Technology, and Materials.

1. I really love this book. Lots of process pictures-- prelim sketches, actual shots of steps in production, ad layouts, mock ups, etc. Also there are variety of designers and lots of innovative materials used. Especially like the chair made of drinking straws and the potty chair. I would also recommend Dish: International Design for the Home.



2. NEW CHAIRS: INNOVATIONS IN DESIGN, TECHNOLOGY AND MATERIALS is for any interior design library: it gathers over sixty of the most intriguing recent chairs created by designers around the world, pairing color photos with insights on new concepts, materials, and interpretations of structure, form and function. From inflatable and illuminated to hard, stacking chairs, NEW CHAIRS covers a range of options and provides interior designs with plenty of insights: perfect for contemporary interior design holdings!

5 comments about Babel: A Film by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Photo Books).

1. The story told by the extraordinary collection of photos is destined to be classic. The images are fit for any Magnum or National Geographic publication. It is certainly one of my favourite photography books, even after a year.



2. Wonderful book, great price and great shipping time. Book is worth a lot more than the selling price.



3. Powerful first class photography around a film that was equallly well shot and deeply moving. Even if you don't care for the celebrity angle (Brad and Cate), these are strong images in and of themselves. Classic B&W in Morocco, psychedelic color in Japan.



4. If like me, you were dazzled by the diverse imagery of director Alejandro González Iñárritu's most recent film, "Babel", you will likely take particular interest in this handsome coffee-table book that compiles an impressive gallery of stills within the context of his recollections of the filming. Four superb photographers - Mary Ellen Mark, Patrick Bard, Graciela Iturbide, and Miguel Rio Branco - are responsible for the vital, often seductive photos presented here, both production stills and behind-the-scenes shots. The combination gives a sense of the deep cultural immersion and the bold visual palette in capturing the lives in three distinct locales - Morocco, Tijuana and Tokyo. The result is comparable in quality to any National Geographic photography retrospective.
   
   Iñárritu's perceptive writing effectively reflects off the images to paint the broad political and emotional landscape of the film, while coming back to the common ground of people who are unable to communicate in some finite way but somehow find a bond with one other. What is most striking is how the film's story seems to mirror much of what went on with the real people during the production. There are illuminating essays by novelist and poet Eliseo Alberto and Gonzalez Iñárritu included in the introduction. As he has already proven with his first two films, "Amores Perros" and "21 Grams", Iñárritu shows an intractable grasp of loss and grief in familiar settings. That he is able to address the same themes and make them resonate even more on a global plain in "Babel" is quite astonishing. Fortunately, this book is a powerful testament to his talent as an imagemaker.



5. When a motion picture of such impact as Alejandro González Iñárritu's BABEL is released, then books such as this fine one become additive to the experience. The four stories that are so integrated into the whole become a bit more individually understandable with the time it takes to perruse this photography book. Together with cogent remarks about both the technical aspects of making this film as well as anecdotal comments about the locations, the cast and the crew that add to the pleasure are some stunning photographs both form the film and extra images.
   
   Still photographers Mary Ellen Mark, Patrick Bard, Graciela Iturbide, and Miguel Rio Branco add scenes from the film as well as images of the sets and creation of the film that make the experience live again. Yet as with the impact of the movie, the lasting impact of this addendum to the experience dwells in the mind after the covers are closed. BABEL is n important film: this book heightens the experience for those who have seen the movie and assists those who have yet to experience it. Grady Harp, November 06