Book Description

It's an age-old question that has stumped the great minds of history; What is the meaning in life?In his hilarious and uplifting style, best-selling author Bradley Trevor Greive (BTG) finally provides the answer:Figure out what you love and do it.Illustrated with playful photographs of animals, BTG's insightful prose again hits his target straight on.He muses about why we're here and our greater purpose in the grand scheme of things.His informal style provides a refreshing counterpoint to what has always been one of life's big debates.For example, when it comes to discovering your passion, BTG writes, "First, no one else will tell you about it - it's just like walking around all day with a sign on your back that says KICK ME."The Meaning Of Life is a witty, thought-provoking book that makes an ideal gift for anyone who's seeking their true purpose - and wants to laugh along the way. ... Read more

Reviews (29)

Great Photos, Witty and Inspirational Book!
I read this book while I was searching for answers to an unfulfilling legal career and it helped to motivate me to leave a firm that I hated and open my own practice with 2 friends. You can read this book in fifteen minutes, but the ideas will stay with you. Generally, each page contains a sentence or two dealing with a progression of thought about the meaning of life and finding your calling. Each page also contains a humorous animal photograph that illustrates the point of the text on that page. In a way, a book about philosophy that is short and to the point like this one can be more useful than a lengthy, more developed presentation.

Can I rate more than 5 stars?
This book is for anyone and everyone. The author sets the readers expectations in the intro, that this book does NOT provide answers - it is a book about questions. When I picked this book up at [local store], I found myself so overjoyed I read the entire book in the store. With useful wisdom applying to all areas of life, the book does not stress an answer or religeon or method, though it agrees with the loving happiness you will find stressed in any society or religion. Nothing metaphysical - this book is simple and may have a different meaning for each reader.
The most brilliant author since Aesop.

This book should be called 'hurbur durrr'
(...) Who has the nuts to give a book a title like 'The Meaning of Life' and then fill the contents with 'cute' anecdotes and fuzzy animals. Listen guy, you're a moron. You and the John Edwards' of this world need to be castrated for pushing these lies on the weakminded of the world. For all of you that rated this book 5 stars, try applying it to someone outside your insignificant universe of experience. You think a happy squirrel asking a torture victim if he's pursuing what he really loves is going to make him reach some kind of epiphany? What about all the starving children who die before they reach 10? I submit you read up on the full range of human experience next time deusche.

What A Crappy Book
I'm thankful that I was able to get this book at the library and didn't spend $15.00 buying it. I own The Blue Day Book by the same author and I think it's fantastic and it cheers me up right away. He should have stopped with that book. It claims to be a witty, thought-provoking book that makes an ideal gift for anyone who's seeking their true purpose and wants to laugh along the way. The only thing this book has going for it is the amazing animal pictures. It did have one thought that I really liked: "Some people say that life is all about acquiring knowledge. If that's true, then why do smart people dress so badly?"

Not worth the money
This tiny tome is full of cute animal photographs and trite phrases about following your career dream. Definitely not worth the money. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

textbook
This is a text book. It does not cover any area of building fully. There is a review section and review questions at the end of each chapter. If your looking for a text book I'm sure it's OK. I need a how to book and this was not it.

The Definitive Work on Residential Construction
This book shows anyone the technical aspects of home construction in very clear terms. The formulas are excellent for figuring the costs of a project. The format is very simple to learn and the tests at the end of each chapter summarize the material well.

Good for students, but....
The previous editions of this book contained a lot of reference information and illustrations for both novice and experienced home carpenter. This edition has changed the emphasis to students primarily, with larger type but less specific reference material such as hanging doors, special framing problems, etc. Disappointing.

Carpentry And Building Construction (hardcover)
This is *the* book, wheither you are a novice or a master carpenter! It contains plenty of helpful and informative charts, diagrams, pictures and examples - how to calculate materials and costs, board feet, compares different materials and specifies the applications. It starts from the basics of hand tools and power tools with clear instructions their use, maintenance, and even some repair. You're guided from planning and preparing the building site all the way to completion of construction. I didn't see where anything was left out. My father was a building contractor for 56 years. This book is like having his knowledge at my fingertips!

Labor & Material Formulas
This is a very good reference book for the person planning or building their own home. Some estimated labor hours might be a little high but the formulas are still a very good starting point. ... Read more

Book Description

" The entire story of furniture is presented as it never has been before.Written with great verve and in a highly accessible style, The History of Furniture conveys a vast knowledge of history and design with stunning intellectual clarity.In surveying the development of furniture from antiquity to the present day, John Morley focuses on the Western traditions, but he includes the outside influences of China and Japan, India, Egypt, and Africa.His bravura analysis reveals connections between pieces of furniture, such as the direct line from antiquity to a neoclassical French commode, a Biedermeier dressing table, and a twentieth-century bois clair cocktail cabinet.

The story is shaped by a conflict between "classical" and "anti-classical," order and fantasy, and includes the wild extravagances of exotic styles.We see how the simple challenge of making a chair to sit on could generate a huge variety of forms, depending not only on changing fashion in interiors, as well as motifs, ornaments, and ideas from the worlds of politics, religion, architecture, and the fine arts.Works by famous designers-Boulle, Chippendale, Riesener, Makintosh, Eames-appear clearly in the context of the stylish ideals of their times, and nearly 700 illustrations are closely integrated into the text.

The result is not only an essential reference tool for everyone concerned with collecting, selling, or studying furniture and the decorative arts but also a tour de force of scholarship that will enthrall anyone with the least interest in the traditions of Western culture." ... Read more

Book Description

Digital Character Design and Painting is really two books in one: it teaches the fundamentals of character design, and the skills, tools, and techniques needed to master digital painting. Character design is all about ideas and how to put those ideas together to create a look and feel for a character. It’s about creating a character that elicits a specific emotion from viewers—fear, joy, anger, sadness, etc. Character design does not have a standard creation process, but there are basic principles that can be followed. Digital Character Design and Painting explores these principles and teaches conventional artists how to enhance their skills to bridge the gap between traditional and digital art. All of the fundamentals of character design, from artistic design issues and character development to physical details of the character are explored.

Unlike character design, digital painting is not so much about ideas as it is about the combination of method, technique, and artistic theory. It is about making something that will be viewed in two dimensions imitate three dimensions. Using a variety of practical Painter 7 tutorials, artists learn how to apply traditional painting techniques with digital tools. Details on sketching, color theory, lighting, and texturing are also covered, along with specific techniques for painting trees and foliage, eyes, faces, hair, clothing, and fur.

Using these practical techniques and procedures, artists can learn how to create and beautifully illustrate their own life-like or fantasy characters for games, movies, or other commercial productions.

On the CD!

* Sketches, paper textures, brushes, and texture files to use with the tutorials presented in the book and to customize for your own projects

* QuickTime movies illustrating some of the painting techniques and other clips that support general painting ideas

* Shareware versions of programs available from Mediachance Software and Ransen Software

* Demo version of Painter 7 from Procreate(All of the material in the book Painter 8 compatible.)

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0, Windows ME, or Windows XP. IBM Compatible PC, Pentium 200 or higher, 64 MB RAM, 24-bit 800 x 600 Display, 2X CD-ROM Drive, Mouse or Tablet. Mac OS 8.6 or higher, Power Macintosh ® G3 or higher, 64MB RAM, 128MB RAM for Mac OS X, 24-bit (800 x 600) color display (1024 x 768 for Mac OS X), Mouse or tablet. Users also need QuickTime 6 to view the movie clips included, and Painter 7 or equivalent program to perform the steps in the tutorials. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

One of the best books I own
Don Seegmiller is definitely a master in Digital Character Creation and his book is brilliant. He takes you step by step through the art of creating characters, using color and textures to give your characters a superb look. This book provides a practical way to learn how to create digital characters from scratch in a way that I have never seen before. It's good for beginner and advanced users. This book rocks!

FOR DIGITAL AND STUDIO ARTISTS BOTH
Once I bought Don Seegmiller's book, DIGITAL CHARACTER DESIGN AND PAINTING I've spent hours, no, days, with pencil and computer delving into this book. And my education has increased considerably. I've read many how-to art books and few have left any visible mark on both my studio and computer creations. Don's
book is like a ... of art - everything is there. First, the beginning section is priceless in creating a character. Don's suggestions and questions give details to my amorphous mind-picture. A writer could learn from this section as well.

And then there is the section on basic art principles which is simply, yet expansively, written. Now I understand that mystery called value. Throughout this book also is the challenge to respect your art and creativity.

Now comes the tutorials using Corel's Painter. I've had Painter
for years and loved it - but it was a secretive and distant lover. The tutorials demonstrate so many possibilities and, if anyone calls themselves an artist, they must make art, - the making with these tutorials are fun.

Don's art is wonderful - a rare combination of beauty and humor. His art is topnotch!

Buy the book and work it thoroughly, it'll be well worth the time and mental energy!!!

Inspirational, instructional, just dynamite
Not only is this book excellent because of what you will learn from a master, but the physical book itself is of the highest quality, which of course is very important because you will no doubt turn to it repeatedly for guidance and inspiration. A beautifuly crafted book. The cd is most helpful. Enjoy!

Open Letter of Appreciation
Dear Mr. Seegmiller:

I've long been an admirer of your fantastic creations. You kinda became who I wanted to grow up to be ;-), so when I found you had published a book, I ran to get a copy.

Just wanted to let you know that this is the first of hundreds of art books in my library that is everything I'd hoped, and much more. I've had some
art training (mostly with folks who were better artists than teachers) and have learned a lot from books, as well as lots of drawing and painting on my own. I've participated in numerous exhibitions and group shows. Never have I had the pleasure of "sitting" in the company of such a fine, generous, exacting and specific educator, who is also one of my most admired artists.

The quicktime movies, so unselfishly revealing of your methods and creative processes, would have been worth twice the cost of the book. I'm studying them on a frame-by-frame basis, and gaining so much insight into what was heretofore theory alone. A weekend seminar could easily be developed from any one of these.

So thanks mightily from a very enthusiastic student at a distance.

Regards,
Bob Goldberg

www.bobbogoldberg.com

Art Appreciation for Wannabe Professionals
This one reads like a crash course in digital character painting as interpreted by a fine artist of obvious expertise. It uses Corel Painter 7 as the base tool and is aimed at intermediate users (says so on the back). The best things about this book are (a) an effective balance between fantasy and reality, image- and tutorial-wise, (b) all-color (four-color) pages, so you know 'exactly' what color you're supposed to pick and what shade you're required to get, and (c) QuickTime movies on the accompanying CD that show the author deftly turn a b&w sketch into a finished piece. (Neat). This book is more about ideas than trickery, techniques rather than formulae - so don't expect too much hand-holding or quick fix tips. It lays a good foundation early on and builds upon it - though I'd recommend being comfortable at least with some basic sketching as most tutorials begin with a pre-made pencil drawing and proceed thenceforth into painting. In the end, this book stands head-and-shoulders above the rest primarily due to its inspiration and reusability value for artists (both digital and fine). It's natural to feel a little overawed by the author's seemingly effortless mastery of the subject, but if you're in the market for a solid, articulate tome with real-world skills and advice, trust this one to deliver (and deliver quite well), for it does just that. ... Read more

Book Description

The photographs by Annie Leibovitz in Women, taken especially for the book, encompass a broad spectrum of subjects: a rap artist, an astronaut, two Supreme Court justices, farmers, coal miners, movie stars, showgirls, rodeo riders, socialites, reporters, dancers, a maid, a general, a surgeon, the First Lady of the United States, the secretary of state, a senator, rock stars, prostitutes, teachers, singers, athletes, poets, writers, painters, musicians, theater directors, political activists, performance artists, and businesswomen. "Each of these pictures must stand on its own," Susan Sontag writes in the essay that accompanies the portraits. "But the ensemble says, So this what women are now -- as different, as varied, as heroic, as forlorn, as conventional, as unconventional as this."

... Read more

Reviews (42)

I'm not Thomas, I'm his daughter, he used my computer to ord
er from Amazon and Now His Name is Stuck on My Account

So much for a title.

Annie Leibovitz's book requires no words. Sorry, Susan, I didn't read your text. The best way to enjoy Annie's photos is to set aside your search for a defining message about women. There isn't one. Women are varied creatures just like the rest of humanity and nature.

Don't you just love looking at them? Don't wish you could get a closer look? Don't you wish the interesting one's would stand in just the right light so you could get a better look? Didn't you always think Hillary C. was beautiful, but you didn't know why?

Thank you Annie Leibovitz for taking the interesting women and standing them in a beautiful light and binding them in a huge book so we can stand and stare as long as we want.

Enough said.

Image as Everywoman
Fiction is my preference when writing book reviews, because I love the complexity of words, stories, and the vagaries of human nature with its endless permutations. But when I received Leibovitz's astonishing compilation of photographs as a gift, I thought I might attempt an impression of page after page of females, as seen through the professional eye of one of the most important photographers of our generation.

Who has not gazed in awe at Leibovitz's unusual perspective, the beautiful made even more so? But I want real women with wrinkles and dirt under their fingernails, the kind of women overlooked in the rush to worship human perfection. I want to see if there is a balance, not just the too thin, too gorgeous, too self-indulgent. In that regard, I believe Women contains a preponderance of well-groomed elegance, albeit impressive, for instance a breathtaking portrait of Gwyneth Paltrow and her mother, Blythe Danner. This particular image contrasts a young woman in the blush of her feminine power with the graceful progression of years that adds to a woman's complex attraction. To be sure, there are folios of celebrities, socialites, all those who live in the rarified strata of entitlement.

While not as numerous, the presentation of real women like me, those who inhabit my world, are so powerful as to diminish the bland compositions of society's darlings. The studies of abused women jump off the pages, eyes glazed, the immediacy of domestic violence tattooing their faces, staring into a future devoid of hope; a remarkably insightful photograph of Ellen DeGeneris, virtually unrecognizable under a layer of cracked white greasepaint; two pre-adolescent girls in the back of a pickup truck, displaying a row of leggy blonde Barbie's, with Ken in a faux high school letter jacket, his plastic Prom Queen sporting a crown atop hair that cascades down the length of her body; three young Latino women glare accusingly at the lens, displaying gang colors with pride, ambiguously dangerous; the lines of age score lived-in faces, eyes shadowed by years of struggle, etched finally by the exhaustion of daily survival. For me, these pictures contain the essence of womanhood, untainted by ubiquitous vanities.

In all, Leibovitz "sees" these women, their strengths, frailties and vulnerabilities. This series of images is a walk through the multi-hued, textured world of women, esoteric, generous, often brutally honest and unflinching. Luan Gaines/2004.

A moving and exceptional book
This is definately my favorite book, and one I enjoy giving to special women friends. Annie Leibowitz has managed to capture the full spectrum of women, from the subdued and simple to the succesful and sophisticated. It is a moving book and a celebration to women's individuality and uniqueness. I warmly recommend it.

Just a name
Although the idea of this book is worthwhile, I am amazed to find so many of the images out of focus. She is supposed to be a fine photographer, but maybe it is this title that has allowed her to feel okay with displaying such poor examples of portraits. It seems she rushed through the work just to get the book published as I don't sense that she put too much heart into the work.

Very Enlightening
I loved the book "Women," this book not only gave information on what all these amazing women do for a living, but it showed the pictures of them at work. A lovely tribute to WOMEN all over the world! ... Read more

Book Description

The organization of letters on a blank sheet -- or screen -- is the most basic challenge facing anyone who practices design. What type of font to use? How big? How should those letters, words, and paragraphs be aligned, spaced, ordered, shaped, and otherwise manipulated? In this groundbreaking new primer, leading design educator and historian Ellen Lupton provides clear and concise guidance for anyone learning or brushing up on their typographic skills.Thinking with Type is divided into three sections: letter, text, and grid. Each section begins with an easy-to-grasp essay that reviews historical, technological, and theoretical concepts, and is then followed by a set of practical exercises that bring the material covered to life. Sections conclude with examples of work by leading practitioners that demonstrate creative possibilities (along with some classic no-no's to avoid). ... Read more

Book Description

The new, updated edition of the successful book on interior design
Interior Design Visual Presentation, Second Edition is fully revised to include the latest material on CAD, digital portfolios, resume preparation, and Web page design. It remains the only comprehensive guide to address the visual design and presentation needs of the interior designer, with coverage of design graphics, models, and presentation techniques in one complete volume.
Approaches to the planning, layout, and design of interior spaces are presented through highly visual, step-by-step instructions, supplemented with more than forty pages of full-color illustrations, exercises at the end of each chapter, and dozens of new projects. With the serious designer in mind, it includes a diverse range of sample work, from student designers as well as well-known design firms such as Ellerbee and Beckett Architects and MS Architects.
Maureen Mitton is Assistant Professor in the department of Art and Design at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Great Book!
This book has a bit of everything I was looking for. techniques, lots of color renderings to review, shadowing techniques, etc. I am currently an interior design student and am using the book to help me with my color rendering and presentation techniques. In fact, my instructor reviewed the book and has requested the book be the textbook for the presentations class in our department next semester. This is the best book I've located so far.

Excellent Resource!
This book is great for everything visual! It is also the only book I've come across with detailed information about presentation boards. This is excellent for IND students!

Great resource for ID students
I just received this book and I wished I had had it for my first in-class presentation. I gives the reader "fresh" ideas and helpful information on organizing your boards. I would recommend this book to any Interior Design student.

using it in 3D studio class
just the book for beginning intr design students to use thru out their schooling. it covers everything they need to do all the presentations for thier courses. from drawing to models and most useful those sample boards. it tells you what tools to buy (with photos to help) and as basic as how to cut foam core. it has color step by step examples for color rendering. all in the same book is such a good value to the students

FANTASTIC ! Illustrations, Instructions, Explanations, Color
This book has all the needs and requirements on visual presentations and how to resolve fears,concerns, doubts and so on. It's the first book I have seen that covers many if not all aspects of Interior Design. It's a great book and I have been recommending it to all my fellow students. This book is informative, educational, and a good book to have in your reference library. I have been looking and looking for a book like this one for many years. Someone has finally gone and done it properly. You will not regreat buying this book. ... Read more

Book Description

The interior construction of a building includes everything inside of the structural shell from interior partitions and floor systems to wall covering and carpeting. With over 3000 illustrations, this book is the most complete and authoritative professional reference on interior construction available and is the definitive interior design reference that the industry has been waiting for ... Read more

Reviews (8)

A good handbook for interior details!
The day I received the Interior Graphic Standards, I used some of the details in the book for a project I was working on. This book provides information, including construction details, which are very useful to the practicing architect and interior designer.

Most Comprehensive and Remarkable Book for the Industry
This book is a remarkable achievement, from cover to cover! A must buy for anyone in the industry (or anyone interested in the industry)!!!

I have been a practicing Interior Designer for eighteen years and
I have yet to see anything as comprehensive and remarkable as this book! Even the Architectural Graphic Standards book pales by comparison!

There is a section on Wood Veneers and Flooring with (12) pages of beatiful and informative color plates! There is even a Color Theory (color plate) section that is very useful!

There is so much useful information and reference in this book, that any Designer or Architect should have it close by and keep a watchful eye on it, so that colleagues do not borrow it indefinitely!!

Comprehensive and Detailed
Interior Graphic Standards is a comprehensive reference tool which covers all aspects of commercial interiors projects. The information is presented in a clear, concise manner, and is organized for easy reference. The book focuses on interior architecture as well as interior design, providing detailed information for programming/schematic design through construction phases.

The construction details and associated text provide credible options for the integration of construction and finish materials into interior spaces. The notes and sidebar comments add valuable information to the images and tables.

IGS covers many topics not typically included in interiors reference books. Issues of life safety, detailed interior construction, specialty construction, and basic MEP systems are clearly described. The description and graphics describing interior materials testing are very informative, as are the sections on doors and hardware.

This book is appropriate for entry-level or seasoned professionals, and is valuable for architects as well as interior designers!

Accessible and Attractive Resource
IGS is an impressive source of information that is so comprehensive, it is mind-boggling. The graphics are topnotch: well-labeled and executed in a superior fashion. The reader is nearly drawn through the text on visuals alone. I have found myself spending hours looking through topics that aren't even apropos to what I am looking for at the moment. Equally impressive is the text. The captions and subheadings help the reader locate information easily, and the writing is succinct, precise, and informative. It is prose that informs clearly and without excess verbiage--an absolute pleasure to read. Even the layperson can access information without being overwhelmed: terms are defined simply, but the explanations following address codification considerations that every architect needs to know. IGS provides both guidance and inspiration. Truthfully, I even like the cover; a reference book that looks as good as a coffee table display book is a rare commodity. I highly recomend McGowan and Kruse's latest collaboration.

IGS is a valuable design tool.
Although I operate a small design office, I strive to create new details using common materials for each project. But before a new detail can emerge, I've realized its easier to reference past uses/details and create a new detail from a standard application. Since I do not have an extensive library of details, one book, Interior Graphic Standards (IGS) has become a valuable design tool in my office.

In short, IGS offers an extensive amount of information in one volume. Its like one stop shopping without leaving the office.
Data is cleanly organized. Simple drawings describe connections, patterns and standard measurements. And technical drawings help clarify more complex details. But most impressive is the beauty of the line drawings. The art of drafting has not been lost in the computer generated pictures.

I encourage all Contractors, Designers and Artists to reference this book, whether you intend to design a table, a house or a museum. ... Read more

Book Description

Promising health, wealth, and happiness, feng shui offers endless appeal -- at least in concept. Unfortunately, feng shui's seemingly complicated methods are often difficult to learn and apply in a meaningful way. Fortunately, Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life is written in plain and simple English for the modern Western reader. Revealing the ancient Chinese secrets that are as useful and necessary today as they have been for centuries, Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life communicates how to:

* MEET "THE ONE"
* FIND A DREAM JOB
* EARN BETTER GRADES IN SCHOOL
* ENJOY A BETTER SEX LIFE ... Read more

Reviews (77)

It Really Works
While visiting my son and his family, I was really into reading this book. My son showed an interest so I bought them one as a gift. He started using it right away. He moved items around in his office and another space in his home and received two important phone calls, that will change his prosperity!

Karen's humorous approach makes this book really easy to read and follow. She removes a lot of the mystic that is sometimes associated with Feng Shui. I highly recommend it to anyone that is just becoming acquainted with Feng Shui!

Feng Shui for the Unsuspecting Westerner
This book is a brief and enjoyable introduction to the basic concepts of Feng Shui. Ms. Carter's writing style immediately sets the Western reader at ease with her use of tongue in cheek humor and continuous references to American pop culture and idioms.

Enjoyability aside, this text assists the novice with some simple applications of feng shui, with a focus on Intent, Practicality and Personalization of each cure. She makes age old Chinese concepts less "foreign" and encourages the creative practice of the art -- integrated and customized for each person's beliefs and lifestyle. Having read many books on the subject, this is one of the few I feel comfortable recommending both to friends (due to the light nature) and to relatives (due to the avoidance of Eastern spiritual influence).

simple, fun, fast and inspiring
Whether you're an advocate of feng shui or not, this is a fun book that provides ample inspiration and ideas to reorganize and redecorate your home or office. I use this book and gave copies to my kids. If you need a quick jump-start when your surroundings are ho-hum or disorganized with clutter, this is the best book that you can read to get unstuck. Don't trust the library to have it when you need it on a rainy, gotta-clean-this-messy-apartment kind of day; get your own copy. You'll refer to it often and, if it works for you as it has for my friends and family, it'll pay for itself in one use.

gottalottagotta
I started moving furniture around and got one dollar and seventy three sents from underneath.
I got my boyfriend's love by cleaning the toilet AND the shower while singing "fu manchu fu manchu".
I got my naybors' respect by doing kungfu in the parking lot and getting the apartment complex on television.
I got happiness all along by being the sucker I've always been.

In a nutshell.....it works!
People are used to my wacky stories about my family, but my new favorite wacky stories are about Feng Shui.

I read this book with much skepticism....but thought, "Hey, it can't hurt, right?" A few years ago, a Feng Shui practicing friend of mine asked me if I closed the toilet lid when I flushed...I said, "Sometimes, but not always...." and she replied, "You're FLUSHING away your wealth!" I had a good laugh, but decided to try it. I began religiously to put the toilet seat down...and got an unexpected check in the mail from the IRS that year. Let me just say that has never happened before or since.

I decided to bone up on Feng Shui and did a Bagua map of my home and saw that my wealth area was my back bedroom which was in maxed out disarray due to a flooding problem which had recently been fixed. I took a week off from work and totally remodeled the room....even put new furniture in....and my husband got a nice raise! I know, it sounds crazy... but I think, in part, having an orderly home free of clutter destresses you and helps you become more peaceful and therefore more productive and happy.

This was a great book. I can't comment on the love part as I've been married forever (but still love him), but I'm sure it can't hurt to try either! I highly recommend this book, if for no other reason, to get your home decluttered and more organized. ... Read more

Amazon.com

If you have a passion for art, room for 34 fat volumes on the subject, and $9,000 to spend, then Grove's Dictionary of Art is for you. This enormous compendium contains just about everything anyone would ever want to know about art, artists, art critics, art collectors, or anything else connected to the world of art. What's more, this dictionary strives to be global in its point of view--almost half the content covers non-Western subjects, and contributors hail from 120 countries. With so many different sources and such a vast array of subjects represented, it's not surprising that the writing varies from the merely competent to the sublime. Obviously, a 32,600-page dictionary that costs more than a three-week European vacation for two is not for everybody, but it sure would look great on the shelf next to Grove's 20-volume Dictionary of Music and Musicians; you might keep it in mind the next time you're shopping for the art lover who has everything (that is, if you buy it on layaway). ... Read more

Book Description

Amazon.com

Renowned Southern California architectural photographer Julius Shulman began exploring Malibu in 1929. Nearly 80 years later, he is still bringing back pictures of paradise—except that the pristine landscape is now a backdrop for luxury homes. In Malibu: A Century of Living by the Sea, more than 300 lush vintage and new photographs by Shulman and his collaborator Juergen Nogai capture the look and feel of a private Shangri-La. While many of the homes were designed by architects with local and international reputations--including James Moore, Frank Gehry and Richard Meier--the book also conveys the quirky flavor of do-it-yourself designs that hark back to the beach town's beginnings. A brief historical section describes how a Massachusetts millionaire's $10-per-acre land purchase was transformed into the Malibu Film Colony. Beginning in 1924, 30-foot-wide oceanfront lots were rented to Hollywood stars, who built modest weekend hideaways. Once ownership restrictions were lifted, the style parade began. In 1948, Modernist architect Welton Becket designed a flat-roofed beach house for his family with broad expanses of glass facing the ocean and a deep roof overhang to protect against the dazzling sun. Twenty years later, John Lautner worked his magic on a narrow lot by designing a towering curved concrete shell—like a surf rider's wave—enclosing the floor-to-ceiling glass facade of Stevens House. Before land costs became prohibitive, artists and musicians often designed their own homes in eclectic, personal styles that incorporated local crafts, or even an oak tree growing in the living room. Local architects developed inventive ways of handling difficult sites, the constant threat of fire and the requirements of the California Coastal Commission. And the super-rich built their palaces, ranging from a crenellated monstrosity called The Castle Kashan to an 7,000-square-foot modular compound designed by Bart Prince. Invitingly packaged, except for the hard-to-read gray type, Malibu is above all a showcase for Shulman's signature manipulation of sunlight and shadow to reveal architectural form. —-Cathy Curtis ... Read more

Book Description

The best-selling author of Idea Index and Layout Index returns with an all-new title! Color Index provides more than one thousand color combinations and formulas--guaranteed to help graphic artists solve design dilemmas and create effective images for both print and the Web.

From progressive colors to natural tones, Color Index makes choosing hues for any job easier! Designers will start working with color in exciting new ways and create original, eye-catching designs that pop off the page. It's all the inspiration they need to explore and experiment with color as never before!

Just like the other clever little design books in this series, Color Index is portable, packed with inspiration, and neatly packaged in a colorful, sturdy vinyl jacket. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Indeed a great book!
This book has just the right size and cover, it makes a statement that less is more, just by looking at the size...inside you find so many triggers for your imagination and it is very true that you can not help but smile when you read it! However I do not have any other color book to compare with, but I can say allready that this is the only one that I need.

I think his initiative to have cut out masks (1 black, 1 white) at the end, used to separate the colors is really excellent as well!

Except for showing RGB, CMYK and HEX values it has a great little example on how to use colored backgrounds that complement a photo or illustration. At least I find it very useful to be reminded of that every now and then!

For it is well-known that engaging the reader, student in the process of learning is indeed the best way to keep focus on what is going on - shows the authors insight in psychology as well.
In addition to saying the book's size is great I have to say that the prize is great too..

Fantastic reference book for color combinations
While I reserve the 5 stars for only the most amazing of books, 4 is a top notch rating! I would give a 4.5, but there are no half points. This book has a great binding with a vinyl cover and will last years on your desktop next to your dictionary and thesaurus. It's a mini-format which I like for reference manuals.

The author presents the color schemes well and they will help any designer. This would be a 5 star book if not for the fact that you can't lookup combinations by color code. I wanted to "add" to a website based on the primary color(s) and the only way to find this color in use was to sort through the pages to see if I could find it. And it would have been nice to have a mini-CD with this book, but that might be asking a bit much considering the price.

Great color combos for all!
This is a wonderful book to keep as a reference for any type of graphic design project. The small, but extremely useful, book size allows you to keep the book handy on your desk at all times. Whether you use the book for color inspiration or to pull color combinations (up to 4 colors) from, it's a great tool. The color listings are in CMYK and RGB including a small section of Browser Safe colors in the back of the book.

Not a Professional, but Helped a Lot
Although not a professional, this guide helped me with understanding color how to deal with printers in that medium. Thanks!

Look at the pictures, but don't read the copy
This book provides a designer with a fabulous resource for generating color schemes/combinations quickly and easily. In that respect, it inspires.

However, the author provides recipes (CMYK and RGB values) "checked for accuracy", never stating on what media those values may be valid. He then excuses himself by saying that "the potential for error exists". The implication that a set of CMYK values is in any way "accurate" beyond the inks and papers used for this particular publication is so, eh, mid-1990s. A true, but technically more challenging statement of the color values should have been made with device independent Lab values. Then anyone with Adobe Photoshop, for example, could reproduce the samples on his or her own media. This is, in fact, what Pantone does.

And aspiring web designers beware! The author clearly has little but old and second-hand knowledge of the facts of color on the web. He describes the anachronistic "browser safe" colors as if most computer users still had old 8-bit (256 color) monitors, and as if there was ever color consistency across them. In those bad old days we fought dithering (the "speckles") in solid fills by choosing from amongst the 216 colors Macs and PC monitors had in common.

Those days, except for some dusty intranets here and there, are gone. deceased. expired. However, neither then nor now could we count on consistency on our viewers' monitors--unless we can strongarm our audience into calibrating and profiling them.

These particular rants aside (the writer sighs benignly), the color examples are truly wonderful, useful, and inspiring.

In short, fabulous for samples, but not for accuracy of data. ... Read more

Book Description

During the golden age of American theater on Broadway, the names of stars such as Katharine Hepburn, Marlon Brando, and Ethel Merman were writ large on theater marquees. Playwrights such as Eugene O'Neill, Thornton Wilder, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller offered a new play every season.

Photographer Eileen Darby came onto the theater scene in 1939 and eschewed the stiff portraits and fixed tableaux that were in vogue. Her style of photographing not only onstage but also backstage and during rehearsals allowed an intimate look at the creative process of theater.Darby photographed more than six hundred shows during her career, and her portfolio has become the definitive photographic record of theatrical history.STARS ON STAGE is the culmination of Darby’s career in the theater’s golden age and includes dozens of previously unseen pictures of stars such as Lucille Ball, Montgomery Clift, Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, and Gregory Peck.As well as the people who created the shows, including Rodgers and Hammerstein, George Abbott, irving Berlin, and Anita Loos.With an overview of the theatrical period by John Lahr and a biographical portrait of Darby and her work by Mary Henderson, STARS ON STAGE is one of the most dynamic books on this most fascinating period of American culture. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Pharahonic women....
I have read this book and I think it is one of the greatest piece of literature...it explain everything you need to know about women in those time...it's completed very well illustrated and the price compensate the product..it's worth it...it's great! ... Read more

Book Description

History of Modern Art has long been recognized as the authoritative, encyclopedic history of painting, photography, sculpture, and architecture from the mid-19th century, when modern art emerged, to the present day. Revising author Marla F. Prather's contributions to the new Fourth Edition include:

More biographical information about each artist.

An entirely new chapter on Cubism.

A lively sense of social and historical context.

Coverageof work in nontraditional mediums, such as video, installation, and performance art.

More than 30% new illustrations and text and nearly twice the number of color illustrations as in previous editions.

A culturallydiverse selection of artists and a much broader selection of works by women.

Chronological reorganization ofthe text, an updated bibliography, and a complete index.

Marla F. Prather is curator of 20th-century art at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

The late H. H. Arnason was a noted art historian and museum administrator. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Best book on its subject..
"History of Modern Art" is, in my opinion, the very best general overview of modern art (i.e., the last 125-150 years or so) published to this date.

Although it is intended to be a textbook, the format and writing make the tome sufficient as a great general reference and a very good read. The illustrations are excellent, although I wish there were more color reproductions.

Anyone who enjoys fine art should have this book in their personal library.

Get yourself a BIG dictionary.
I just completed a 20th century art course here in Southern California with this book as the chosen textbook. I would consider it at the medium to advanced level. It was much cheaper on Amazon than the college bookstore or the museum store! Like the title of this review suggests, the authors were pre-occupied with their knowlege of uncommon words in the English Language. I would never encourage the "Dumbing down of America" but the word usage in this book is to the point of distraction. The new Oxford Essential Business and Office Dictionary makes it a point in it's forward to point out that usage like this is superfluous. Er, I mean needless. The reproduction is outstanding and the physical structure is very good. I have every intention of making this book part of my permanent collection. And yes, agreeing with the other reviewers above, it is heavy. But hey, with a few extra sit-ups and one or two extra laps and you'll be just fine.
Mike

How to read modern art
Since first published in 1968, this book has widely used as textbook. As a text, artwork could be explained in various ways. Gombrich¡¯s ¡®Story of Art¡¯, for example, focuses on the interaction between the visual art and its time. Since the book deals with the entire time span of Western visual art, that kind of approach would be better suited to inform readers what and how was the artwork in those times. So distant from our time is it that it¡¯s hard to understand the meaning of the work without referring historical context of the work. All the text presume its reader (or audience). And reader or audience reads the text according to the established convention of the time. The conventions to read the work were so different from ours. But when it comes to the contemporary art, things are more complicated. Robert Hughes¡¯ ¡®The Shock of the New¡¯ follows the line of the contextual explanation. Hughes paints not detailed picture of modernism but overall characterization from bird¡¯s eye view. Thus he didn¡¯t touch all the works canonized. It¡¯s more adequate to make a consistent impression of modernism. However, this book was intended to inform the reader the encyclopedic knowledge on Western visual art from the 19th century to postmodernism. Moreover, the coverage of the book is not restricted to the painting but includes sculpture, architecture, and photography. With that kind of coverage and time span dealt with, one can¡¯t benefit from time¡¯s filtering out like Gombrich¡¯s. to be a coherent text as a history, the author cannot but take the view that ¡®artwork tells itself¡¯. The accounts of this book is focused on teaching the reader how to listen to the voice of artwork. With in-depth analysis of distinguished works one by one, you could learn how to listen. But you can ask: to get such an eye, should I swim through heap of paper (yep it¡¯s bulky) and thousands of pictures? As for art, you can take pleasure with art as much as you know classics. Therefore, the encyclopedic approach of this book is reasonable. And that, it¡¯s not boring at all to follow through explaining artworks one by one. Like other arts, visual art has its convention to interpret text which varies from age to age. One should learn how to read it. This book is a good guidebook to practice and learn how to read artwork. With closing the last page, you could overview the history of visual art since the 19th century and enjoy viewing artwork. And that, you could boast your good taste to your friends ;)

A very informative, but ponderous tome
I like the previous review that said this was a metric ton of a book. Yes, it is -- I carried it around for a semester when I was taking a 20th century art class. Lots of color plates and tons of black and white illustrations, and it is printed on very high quality paper (which is why it's so heavy.) It provides a good, reasonably readable survey of what was going on in art from just before the modernist movement up to almost the present day. If you want to acquaint yourself with a broad survey of modern art including all the media, this would be a good one to consider.

Enjoyable and Necessary Tool
I encountered this text in my recent 20th Cent. Art course and found it extremely helpful. It's wonderfully readable and provides the student with lots of color illustrations to make late-night study sessions more bearable. Its mass is threatening, but in relation to its subject matter it successfully encompasses the most important aspects of modern art, and its various components. ... Read more

Book Description

For over 50 years, Richard Avedon (b. 1923) has captured the creative genius of our time with dazzling insight and incomparable style. Spanning the artist's entire career, from the late 1940s through his most recent work, Richard Avedon Portraits offers a superb selection of his photographic portraits.

With uncompromising directness, Avedon portrayed his subjects against a white background, with no extraneous details to distract from the essential specificity of face, gaze, dress, and gesture. This challenging innovation, coupled with the artist's intense interest in his subjects and mastery of his craft, resulted in mesmerizing portraits-among them Truman Capote, Willem de Kooning, Samuel Beckett, Francis Bacon, and Marilyn Monroe, as well as the uncelebrated Americans of his project, "In the American West"-that rival the greatest works in the portrait tradition.

Richard Avedon Portraits is published to accompany a major exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. With its innovative accordion-style design and superb reproductions, the book is a virtual stand-alone mini-exhibition in its own right. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Marriage of Book and Exhibit
Richard Avedon wears several hats. As an artist creating innovative commercial images; He is behind the most dynamic magazine pages of the day,... He is witness of the greatest generation to social and political fact; He tells stories of icons and common men. He places them alike: actors, writers, poets, politicians and artists. The poet who recites through his lens.
Published to accompany a major Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition, Richard Avedon Portraits celebrates His lifetime of achievements and almost does justice to the work.

The Book as Art
RICHARD AVEDON PORTRAITS is a stunning work, not only because of the usual expected glory of his photographs, but because of the genuinely artistic concept behind this catalogue for a Museum Exhibition. Slipcased, the book opens as an accordian with single and diptych/triptych photographs viewable by placing the unscrolled book on a tabletop or bookshelf. Not that there are any new moments here: this is a collection of some of Avedon's famous faces and bodies, curated for a specific purpose. But to view Andy Warhol together with his co-creators of his photos and films standing on one page clothed and on another nude intensifies the manner in which Avedon's manner of capturing the star's works so well. We are treated to a full face of Francis Bacon and in the next panel a partial view of his entire body. All manner of odd characters inhabit these deliciously synchronous pages. The back side of this tableaux discusses Avedon, his influences and appropriations from painting and other art forms, and does what it sets out to do - make the pieces of the tableaux relevant in the history of the time in which they were photographed. This is a clever and rewarding book and the book itself becomes art. ... Read more

Book Description

Bombs are as old as hatred itself. But it was the twentieth century--one hundred years of incredible scientific progress and terrible war--that brought forth the Big One, the Bomb, humanity's most powerful and destructive invention. In The Bomb: A Life, Gerard DeGroot tells the story of this once unimaginable weapon that--at least since 8:16 a.m. on August 6, 1945--has haunted our dreams and threatened our existence.

The Bomb has killed hundreds of thousands outright, condemned many more to lingering deaths, and made vast tracts of land unfit for life. For decades it dominated the psyches of millions, becoming a touchstone of popular culture, celebrated or decried in mass political movements, films, songs, and books. DeGroot traces the life of the Bomb from its birth in turn-of-the-century physics labs of Europe to a childhood in the New Mexico desert of the 1940s, from adolescence and early adulthood in Nagasaki and Bikini, Australia and Kazakhstan to maturity in test sites and missile silos around the globe. His book portrays the Bomb's short but significant existence in all its scope, providing us with a portrait of the times and the people--from Oppenheimer to Sakharov, Stalin to Reagan--whose legacy still shapes our world.

Book Description

The Fastest way to Straighten out the Learning Curve on Specialized Design Projects Building Type Basics books provide architects with the essentials they need to jump-start the design of a variety of specialized facilities. In each volume, leading national figures in the field address the key questions that shape the early phases of a project commission. The answers to these questions provide instant information in a convenient, easy-to-use format. The result is an excellent, hands-on reference that puts critical information at your fingertips. Building Type Basics for Healthcare Facilities provides the essential information needed to initiate designs for acute care hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, and specialty centers. Filled with project photographs, diagrams, floor plans, sections, and details, it combines an overview of the needs and concerns of healthcare industry clients with the nuts-and-bolts design guidelines that will start any project off on the right track and keep it there through completion. ... Read more