2 comments about Black & White Photography (Black and White Photography).

1. This book has alot of great information in it. This book is great for beginning and even advance photographiers in that there is so much infomation. Also is a great reference guide if you were to forget some techinque or what filter to use. I really enjoyed this book, learned some new things. I feel that every photographier should have this book.



2. I am in a first semester photography class and this is the textbook. The book has an easy reading style, covers subject in detail, and is very attactively presented, nearly every second page is a full page black and white photo. This is one textbook I will keep. It is beautifully illustrated. As a novice photographer the short coming of the book for me is that there is no information on how the pictures were taken, film used, f-stop etc. I found the glossary and index very helpful.

5 comments about Horse Handling & Grooming: A Step-By-Step Photographic Guide to Mastering over 100 Horsekeeping Skills (Horsekeeping Skills Library).

1. I needed a book for students getting to know horses for the first time.
   This book provided the information they needed in quick and easy slices.
   This laid the ground work for more intensive sessions which they will receive later on in their veterinary and general animal care courses.
   I am very pleased with this book.
   
   
   G.Stratton, SGU.



2. This book is good for folks who have a basic knowledge of horses but want a little further advice. People who haven't had lessons or are just starting to work with horses for the most part will get confused easily. I got this book for a friend and while there is plenty of useful information tha main things we were looking for were hoof care. The most useful information I found was the section on tying the horse and approaching the horse. This book is helpful but definately not a complete source. We actually got Horses for Dummies and THAT book had ALOT of helpful information... including information on what you should consider BEFORE you become a horse owner.



3. I bought this book because I thought it would be just as good as another in this series "Getting the most from Riding Lessons". I was really looking for specifics on grooming with highly detailed photos and step by step highly detailed instructions and tips. This book has some of this.
   
   There's a good section on catching, tying, and handling the horse. There is some basic safety information omitted.
   The hoof care is completely lacking. There is only information on how to lift and support your horses feet. This should be a VERY detailed section of the book considering how important it is to a horse.
   Daily grooming info is only OK.
   Washing section is acceptable to good.
   Clipping section is good but doesnt cover special clipping patterns.
   Mane and tail care and braiding is good.
   No leg wrap information is included.
   No transport of horse information is included.
   
   This all said - it's really hard to find a great grooming book.



4. This book matches exactly what the title says it is providing the beginner with the basics of handling and grooming on a horse that is use to both (in my mind set it pretains to a very gentle well trained horse that is use to a lot of handling, like someone else stated a sound horse).
   The pictures and text appear to be complete on how to do things right and it's my kind of book, no long winded, wasted or unneeded words to make a bigger book thus wasting my time or book shelf space.
   It does just cover the basics on how to do it (not with a horse that is unruley) and on handling you will quickly out-grow the book. It does contain more information on grooming than it does handling so if you are new at that it should be very helpful.



5. I condsider myself a beginner. This book is very simplistic.
   I learned most of these things in the first month of taking lessons. If you have a minimal amount of knowledge, this book would be a waste. Don't waste your time or money. I wish I hadn't.

5 comments about 100 Photographs That Changed the World.

1. Everyone should have this book,,,I bought it for my grandfather for
   Christmas..The large print was a plus. He could not stop thanking me.



2. I found this book really interesting and the fact that it has the full photos but also has a blurb about each of them makes it more interesting than some of the National Geographic books which only have the photos.
   
   Some of the images will be well known to all generations who pick up the book, and some I found myself learning about for the first time. One particular photo which stood out for me was one in Jackson, Mississippi where a crowd of white citizens are abusing and taunting a black girl who is sitting at the counter of a cafe. The pain in her face is amazing and it is interesting to think how far we have come from 1963 when that photo was taken.
   
   There is of course the Tiananmen Square and the fall of Iraq, but there are also photos of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the first ever moving picture.
   
   Overall the book is a great keepsake if nothing else, but I'd recommend it as a coffee table book because a lot of the photos will definitely get people talking.



3. A good general book of famous photography. The pictures are, of course, famous, but not of the highest quality. A nice book to sit and browse through.



4. 100 Photographs that changed the world can only be described as an intimate and emotional view of our world over the last century. The book was created by Time magazine, many of the photos coming straight from their covers. Many of the pictures are published elsewhere and have no doubt been seen by many people, but having them put together in this fashion is amazing. Complete with date and description, you find yourself having a little history lesson without even knowing it. Every page is readable and interesting, it will definitely keep your attention.
   
   There are pictures from "The Arts", "Science and Nature", "Society", and "War and Peace". Beginning with the first photo ever taken and moving on to amazing things like the ex-ray that allowed to discovery of the double helix in our DNA. There are also many controversial issues such as lynching in the south, and young black students being sprayed by a fire hose; showing just how horrible slavery and racism really has been in America. There are pictures of the many starving children from other countries with their tiny arms and legs and huge bellies created from the horrible conditions that they live in every day. There is no question that many of these photos are hard to look at, but they force you to face the reality of our unjust world. They document some of the many mistakes we have made in the last 100 years and all that we have learned from them. It also includes groundbreaking photos such as the first picture taken of a baby inside of a mothers womb, the very first photo of the earth from the surface of the moon, and JFK's assassination. They are undeniably breath taking, heart breaking, and thought provoking. Even if all of these pictures did not actually change the world. They definitely changed the way we view the world. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, there are simply not enough words to describe the power and emotion contained in these photographs.
   
   This book is simply a must have for any library. Young or old, it is a book that you will undoubtedly pull from the shelf many times. Definitely the kind of book that parents should look at with their children to help them learn about history. I'm sure the pictures will provoke questions and curiosity from both sides, and it is a great way to learn together. It is the kind of book that you can pass on through generations of your family and it will be just as valuable to them as it is to us. We are so lucky to have to opportunity to be able to document our lives with pictures, which has only been possible for about the last hundred years. We need to take advantage of such a wonderful opportunity. Don't pass up the chance to own a book that is this powerful.



5. As a keen buyer of photo books I could not miss the opportunity of possessing this collection of immortal shots. I already had many of them in other books, but at such a budget price I simply could not resist the temptation! It was also the occasion to get to know the names of some professionals that made the type of photos that you look at and say "Wow! I saw this 100000 times and it is a pleasure again... but... any clue about the author?". Good starting book for people naive of photo history, avoid buying it if you already have a good collection of photo books and are not afraid of navigating them to find out that immortal shot.

5 comments about The Art of EVE.

1. The book is valuable for what it holds... very nice pictures and art scatches of EVE online game. I guess i was disapointed because i thought the book would have more information about the game itself but it is purely an "art" book... that's pretty much it...



2. This product for the die hards is a great addition along with the new novel. Alot of background and BEAUTIFUL images.



3. The mailman finally delivered the book this afternoon, and I am absolutely satisfied with it`s content! The artwork is great, and I was very happy to see pictures and information about the very beginning of the game, and even about it`s future. I think every EVE Online player will appreciate this book. It offers a little bit of everything, I fully agree with "selderane" on this one.
   
   Besides having great content, the art is printed on high quality paper, and the book itself even comes with a plastic sort of casing around it. I expected the total package to be good, but it exceeded my expectations. Besides that, the book has a pretty neat pricetag here on Amazon, compared to other resellers!
   
   Go order, now! ;-)



4. My husband asked for this book for Christmas, and I'm very happy that I bought it for him. He really enjoys playing EVE, and he really seemed to enjoy this book. I'm not a gamer, but even I thought the pictures were cool.



5. I can't believe I'm going to be the first one to review this product. It surprises me some "EVE Online" fan hasn't already hopped on this yet.
   
   Yes, that's right; I'm not an "EVE Online" fan. I tried two trial subscriptions and it just didn't do anything for me. I found the interface clunky and not intuitive at all and the setting felt very, very lonely. It's supposed to be an MMO, right? Where is everyone? I guess looking at ships that act as a player's avatar as opposed to something more... bipedal might contribute to this.
   
   But, this isn't supposed to be a review of the game. It's supposed to be a review of "The Art of EVE." I wanted to preface my review by making it clear I'm not some fanboy fawning over anything and everything that has to do with the object of my affections. I have some serious problems with the game and its fundamental gameplay. That said, it's a very pretty game. One might even use the word `gorgeous.'
   
   That is why I purchased this book. Well, that and I'm a sucker for art books in general, video game art books in particular (I'm looking at you "World of Warcraft" and "Guild Wars" art books...).
   
   I was a bit worried about the $50 price tag but upon securing it's release from my local comic book shop (yes, I didn't buy it from Amazon) I see that the price is well worth it.
   
   The book comes protected in a nice metallic grey plastic sleeve featuring its name in bold black letters. The book cover itself, covered in an off white semi-see-through thin papery/plastic-like dust jacket featuring the title of the book again in black lettering (except that the word "EVE" is cutout to reveal the book underneath), features a cloudy ethereal scene of dirty blues and grays punctuated by a single light source refracted behind the clouds to illuminate it all. The title of the book is again repeated on the cover in clear glossy text that is all but invisible unless held at a particular angle.
   
   The book is divided into five sections and inside you'll find everything from developer interviews and insights into their process to early concept sketches, completed paintings and models, and looks into the artistic direction they're going to take the game in the future.
   
   There's isn't a single thing I could think of adding to make this book better. I may have removed the pages dedicated to tile art (only two) and some interface screenshots but that's simply personal taste and fans may really like that stuff. I would have filled those pages with more beautiful ship designs, which are already abundant, but it is interesting to see the variety of icons present within the game - something most people, fans or otherwise, would probably overlook.
   
   Let's quickly talk about the ships if we could. They are simply remarkable. All the work put into making each of the game's four factions visually unique from one another is plain to see on the page and that's where it should be. I think any fan of sci-fi ship design would find little if anything to complain about when it comes to the buffet of choices offered in this volume.
   
   The Titans in particular are breathtaking. The one featured on pages 94 and 95 is my favorite. I'd say it was Amarr if I had to guess.
   
   Part Five of the book has me most excited about the game itself. I'm a fan of first-person shooters and I'd like to hope "EVE Online" is moving in a direction that may offer something to me: Ground combat. Having fleshed out space the developers are looking to flesh out the character scale game. Both on space stations and planet side (a game I'm fond of BTW - "Planetside"). If "EVE Online" wants to be a fully function universe (not just a setting) this is a realm of gameplay it should enthusiastically embrace. I think "Battlefield 2142" (and even the aforementioned "Planetside") gives the developers of "EVE Online" some good examples of where sci-fi ground combat can go. This section of the book shows us concept designs of ground- and planet-based vehicles as well as building interiors where it's clear characters are supposed to interact.
   
   So, I think I've made it clear that I'm very happy with this book and I cannot stress enough it's not just for fans of the game. If you like sci-fi art, or just plain `ole good art in general, this is a solid buy.
   
   Leave it open on your coffee table sometime and see who gets attracted to it. It's beautiful and anyone will a pair of functioning eyes will want to check it out.

5 comments about Professional Model Portfolios: A Step-by-Step Guide for Photographers.

1. I wanted to start shooting models but I didn't know where to begin. This book was just what I needed. It covered all the information I needed to start shooting model. I give it 4 stars b/c it needs to be updated.



2. Most of the things covered in this book are already known to photographers that have worked in the field, but for photographers starting in shooting models, this guide gives them a good start in the field.
   
   Even though the book is titled 'A Step-by-Step Guide for Photographers', the information in here is even more valuable for models. Info on height classifications, measurements, posing, etc. I'd say all new models, and those that want to be models, this is a 'must have' book.



3. This was a fantastic book. So much information. Every model and photographer should read this.



4. This really helps with up and coming models who need a bit of direction.
   I share this book with every new model I use.
   Brings ideas to both of us.
   It helps the models understand thier side of the business also.



5. It's very pro, a little out of fashion, it's a 2004 book, so that's normal I guess. If you don't work in the USA market, it is a good guide about how to work.

1 comments about The Places We Live.

1. Each shanty is unfolded in panoptic four-page form (each page a wall of the room); the magic of the layout is in the incongruous edges of the sub-images, which collectively force the reader to interpolate and extrapolate the space between an artificially objective environment. The effect is furthered by the many dead-pan poses of the inhabitants, no doubt dressed their best, whose proud prose accompanies the visuals and forces the reader to think long and hard about the kind of empathy he should award.

No comments about Araki Gold.

1 comments about Barn: Preservation & Adaptation The Evolution of a Vernacular Icon.

1. Excellent book, if the other book, Barns: Living in Converted and Reinvented Spaces is the ying, then this book is the yang. A good inspirational design book if you're interested in reusing an old barn for modern day use and staying within the original design. The text is interesting and informative with the accompanying photos following along with the text. The pictures are overall excellent, sharp, clear, in detail and professionally done, with very very few exceptions. Some buildings are shown with structural drawings that help visualize the internal timber frame or stone structure with the accompanying photogaphs. The authors seems to be a die hard traditionalist, very critical and at times mildly insulting to designers that chose to remodel the old barns in the modern way and deviating from what the original builders did. But at times understanding that the modern style is a better fate than total destruction of a old old structure.

2 comments about Classical Thought (History of Western Philosophy Series).

1. To be honest, I don't quite know what to do with this book. It is somewhat puzzling to me. It isn't a bad book, but it is a peculiar book indeed. It is the first book in a series on the history of western philosophy, but as it's title Classical Thought suggests, there's more here than just philosophy in a strict sense. And there's nothing wrong with that. However, Irwin leaves out some very important stuff in Greek philosophy, and I wonder whether it was worth sacrificing it to be able to broaden the scope of the book. Was it even a necessary sacrifice?
   
   In the 2nd chapter Irwin deals with Homer, Hesiod and the background, one might say, of Greek thought. As Irwin explains in the 1st chapter (the introduction), the starting point is not completely arbitrary. Homer, after all, had a profound influence on all subsequent Greek thought and even philosophy. On the other hand, Irwin leaves out such prominent figures in Early Greek philosophy as Parmenides (who is mentioned only once in the book, during the discussion of St. Augustin), but instead we get to read about the historian Herodotus. Of course, it is perfectly admissible to include Herodotus in a book on classical thought, but I have doubts about doing it at the expense of Parmenides. Irwin has also omitted most of scepticism, as he himself points out in the introduction. Sextus Empiricus and Pyrrhon (thus written in the book) are each only mentioned once in an endnote. Moreover, Empedocles is not mentioned at all. Is it not peculiar that in a book on classical thought, published in a series on the history of western philosophy, the philosopher Empedocles is nowhere mentioned, but the emperor Nero is mentioned three times? Plato's later thought is not discussed nor is there any discussion of ancient logic in the book.
   
   In my oppinion, this book would have benefited greatly if Irwin had added about 25 pages to it; ten or so on the presocratics, ten or so on the sceptics and maybe five on Plato's later thought. I don't know why the editor of the series should refuse to do so. This book is only 288 pages long, whereas Copenhaver and Schmitt's book on Renaissance philosophy (in the same series) is 464 pages long. But even so, I cannot help feel that this is perhaps not the right book to cover antiquity in a series on the history of western philosophy. Perhaps it should have been a book more on hardcore philosophy.
   
   Having said that, I do admit that this book is lucidly written and inviting. It is easy to read and may be of much use to someone wanting quickly to familiarize himself with ancient thought. But as a first introduction to ancient philosophy proper or for a more thorough discussion of any topic in ancient philosophy (whether Irwin discusses it or not) I would have to recommend another book, e.g. Classical Philosophy by Christopher Shield, The Blackwell Guide to Ancient Philosophy or The Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman Philosophy.



2. This book is one in a series of small paperbacks printed by Oxford University Press as part of a history of Western Philosophy. This volume (#1)is a survey of classical philosophy beginning with Homer and Hesiod, covering Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle and continuing to St. Augustine. The aim of this book and this series is to offer an introduction to the main philosophical issues and thinkers of this period. I would recommend it as a good start to someone who was completely unfamiliar with the philosophy of this period. For someone who is looking for more information, this book would not be worth buying. If you were looking for more depth than Copleston's History of Philosophy would be better. Another choice might be the Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman Philosophy. Other than this complaint, I would say that the chapters are clearly written and that the concepts which are discussed are explained in a way that the average reader would be able to understand. Not a bad book to begin with at all!

5 comments about Twilight: Photographs by Gregory Crewdson.

1. The book is fantastic! However to my horror it was packed very badly and the book arrived scratched and a damaged. Amazon expects me to pay for all shipping costs to get a refund of the book value only. Since I live in Australia the return shipping would surpass the value of the books sent. I emailed Amazon with this issue 2 weeks ago and NO REPLY!
   
   
   DO NOT BUY FINE ART BOOKS FROM AMAZON!!



2. I love this book, its so inspiring. The title "twilight" is a time of the day when things seem real but at the same time they dont. The thing I love is that the illustrations look like photographs in a way, which is the piont their trying to make.



3. These photos are 'quiet' but intriguing. The lightings in these photos are amazing. Sometimes it is hard to believe that these are photos and not drawings.
   
   I personally like photos/movies shot under low budget -- and these settings were certainly not cheap -- but if you don't mind that, this is good book to have.



4. While Gregory Crewdson may be the most overhyped, overpaid photography around today, he is also a master of this type of color, creative, fictive scene. This work is deliberate, deep, and strange, and includes a good essay by Rick Moody. It is a modern masterwork, for sure, and while Crewdson's retrospective book "1985-2005" is average at best, this cohesive body of work is well worth the price.



5. 
   I can't believe another reviewer called this book contrived and insincere. That is absolutely ridiculous. This collection of work is quite sincerely attached to feelings of strangeness and otherness in everyday life. If you think those feelings are shallow and relegated to teenagers (and I find it very insulting that someone spoke of teens that way), then it's a sad, sad world.
   
   It is mysterious and strange and wonderful. Everyone can appreciate that.