Design Books

Fantastic architecture and pictures.
I needed it for my new house as inspiration, and my architect has Luutner as one of his favourites.

Lauther has been able to utillize unbuildable sites to create rooms with beautiful views.

In the few months since I purchased this beautifully illustrated and impecabbly written monograph, John Lautner seems to have become Hollywood's favorite posthumous architect. This month's Vanity Fair features a screenwriter and his wife showcasing their restored Lautner masterwork while virtually every fashion spread in the same issue has one emaciated model or another posing, pouting and preening against a Lautner structure. This wonderful book travels Lautner's career arc from Wright disciple employing the tools and traits of the Master to the emergence of his own distinctive blend of wood, steel, concrete and location that, ultimately, bears little resemblance to his roots at Taliesin. As the text makes clear, Lautner shared Wright's prickly self-absorption and relentless self-philosophizing. However, as the book wanders from one beautifully executed commission to the next, you end up endorsing his sense of self. Like the best of Wright, each structure seems to organically emerge from its site to envelop the owners in a beautifully scaled and very human dwelling. A worthy tribute to John Lautner's artistry and vision.

it is amazing to see how the designs of the mid 1900's seem so contemporary even to the present day. this book captures the designs via beautiful photography and commentary.
even the layman will be amazed to find that many of the buildings have been used in the media for many years. whether in movies or magazines they have been associated with the most contemporary designs of our time.
highlights this architects mastery of a typical material palette of concrete, wood, and steel.

This book is really beautiful, the pictures are of great value. If the architecture can be said as to be a little "out of fashion" (I mean architecture of the fifties), it is anyway wonderful and inspiring to see such beautiful house. there is a lot of wonderful pictures of all the major houses build by lautner during his career. the only things that can be missed in this book is that there is no drawings but anyway, I really believe it's a good book.

I used my brother's standard art history textbook for the fall semester of my Art History survey course. I didn't like it anymore than he did. It's dry and scholarly, weighs a ton, and costs about $140--if you buy it new. For around $20 on Amazon, I purchased a new Art History for Dummies book for the spring semester, which has most of the same information (plus quite a few extra things, that in some cases, my prof didn't know). Art History for Dummies is great--easy, fun to read and very inspiring. I really enjoy reading it. There are not many textbooks I can say that about! Despite its title, Art History for Dummies puts me ahead of most of my classmates who are struggling to make sense of the required text by Stokstad. For less money, I'm learning a lot more than I would have with the textbook. The chapters on Neoclassicism and Romanticism, for example, had a lot of really useful information that my other book lacks, which helped me enormously on the essay section of the test. We had to interpret David's THE OATH OF THE HORATII and DEATH OF MARAT as Neoclassical works and Delacroix's THE TRAGEDY OF SARDANAPALUS and Caspar David Friedrich's THE WANDERER ABOVE THE MISTS as typical Romantic paintings. All these masterpieces are examined in depth in Art History for Dummies. I aced the two tests we've had this semester. Last semester, using the required text (Stokstad), I barely managed a C.

I even took the dummies book with me to the two art museums we were required to visit. It really opened up the paintings and sculpture for me. I understood art like I never have before and had the best art-museum experience I've ever had.

The color art reproductions in the book are fantastic. (Some of the b&w are very good, other's are too dark or too small.) At first I wished there were more pics. Then I discovered that the book has an appendix with Websites of all the art that's discussed but not shown. I just type in the Web address on my laptop, and voila, there's the painting. These are really super Web sites, and I can make the pics as big as I need to (much larger than you find in any book) and zoom in on details. Plus, with most of the Web sites, you don't just get one or two works by the artist like you do in a textbook; they give you a whole chronology of paintings or sculptures. You can see ten or twenty (and in some cases over a hundred) paintings by each artist! You gain a much better feel for the artist's style and how it progressed throughout his or her career. If you're writing an essay on a painter, that's the way to do it. It helped me anyway. Once I started using the appendix, I really came to like it. (Make sure your browser saves the addresses you type in; because you use a lot of them more than once.)

What i really liked about Art History For Dummies is the fact that you do not have to start at page one and read it in order. You can skip around and read it. It is a very informative book that is a real joy to read. The art work alone in the book is beautiful. You can look at beautiful art and have fun learning about it. HIGHLY RECOMMENED! Hats off to the author.

This books helps one learn about Art History in a compact, easy reading, fun way. I gave a copy to one of my friends who read the entire book to her children while they moved. The children loved it! As with other Dummies books all the information you need is at hand!

I'm not an art major but I recently signed up for an art history class ("Modernism"), which I thought would be an easy elective. Unfortunately, the professor expects us to memorize a lot of facts and I found that the overpriced textbook for the class (Gardner's Art Through the Ages) was not very helpful in sorting out all the different artists, works, and styles that I had to learn about. I didn't want to drop the class and mess up my GPA, so I decided to see if there was a "dummies" book on the topic. I've used other "dummies" books before, and I've always found them to be well organized, informative, and entertaining. I was pleased to discover that this is also the case with Art History for Dummies, by Jesse Bryant Wilder. Wilder brings the subject to life with descriptions that are both thorough and easy to understand. In addition, he explains the motives of the artists in creating their most famous works, which is something my professor thinks is really important. One thing that I found particularly helpful is Wilder's way of explaining the various "isms" that we are studying. For example, he compares Cubism to cracking an egg and then reassembling its fragments on a flat surface: "you can see all sides of the egg at once, and yet it's hard to recognize the egg" (p. 303). Expressionism is compared to bashing in a classical "gilded box" (like a Gainsborough portrait of a placid aristocrat) so we can see the emotional struggles going on inside the box (inside the person) (p. 296). These kinds of analogies make the different movements of the Modernist period more understandable and memorable than the descriptions in Gardner's. Of course, Art History for Dummies covers much more than just the Modernist period and I've already started reading through other sections of the book, not for class but because the topics are so interesting to read about. The book includes clearly labeled headings as well as lots of photos, illustrations, anecdotes, and definitions of technical terms. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about art history and have an enjoyable reading experience at the same time.

I learned more about Art History just reading the Introduction than I have ever known before! I have a big Art History book from my daughter's college class and it was way too complicated and thorough for someone trying to learn without a professor on hand. I would highly recommend this book.

Beautifully illustrated, delightful and extremely informative. This book is a marvelous supplement to the typical art history text books.

This is a challenging work.

He realizes 5 standpoints. He writes "What is historically called art in China, by whom and when?". Really, I feel it rather reflect unconscious attitude of 20th century collectors and scholars.

Art in the Tomb /Art at Court/Art in the Temple/Art in the life of the Elite /Art in the Market-Place

Following recent searching environment of artifacts; lifetime of painters, art-market, patrons, etc., as "Painter's Practice" by J.cahill, Mr. Clunas searched relations of arts-makers and the society. This approach is interesting and very suggestive. It may be the first try among such cheap and popular books about "Arts in China". For such character, I feel it should not be an elementary textbook.

Calligraphy was more focused than M. Sullivan's book"The Arts of China" in the chapter "Art in the life of the Elite". Short columns explain words and technical terms vividly. It is worth to buy it only for them. Bibliographical essays(231-237 p.) are very useful. Plates and figures are all fine. There is few inadequate item. Fig 83 and 87 shows as we appreciate in museums, i.e. shows its handscroll format. I think the author make effort to show surrounding textile of paintings and the format in some figs.

As an avocat d'diable, I notice some. The gong of Fig. 49 is not 8th century. Dragons and a beast should be genuine 8th century items. The gong is regarded 12-13th century Japanese artifact. The item of Fig. 82 may not be a representative work by Tang-Yin.

Both C. Clunas and Michael Sullivan edited catalogues of Sir Alain Barlow Collection(now in Sussex College). (ref. The Barlow Collection of Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Jades: an Introduction, The University of Sussex, 1997/Nov.) Sullivan did in 1963 and 1974. Clunas did in 1997. They might have share common intellectual environment according Oriental Ceramic Society, England.

While not the easiest to read, Clunas's book is currently the best short modest-sized introduction to art in China. The title "Art in China" (not "Chinese Art") is intentional, for Clunas is one of the rare Occidental authors on this subject who transcend the limitations of their background and succeed in communicating some of the subtlety and complexity of the subject, so remote from Western tastes, but no less beautiful and profound.

For example, he points out that while Western art has concentrated on painting, calligraphy is the most esteemed art form in China. Furthermore, from its earliest beginnings, Chinese aesthetics has placed little emphasis on illusionism and perspective, even regarding these as juvenile and distracting from artistic self-expression. (In this respect, the Chinese anticipated "modern art theory" by centuries.) The very term "Chinese Art", he maintains, is a Western invention, since the art work in China was, until recently, never divorced from its political, religious or decorative functions. (That is to say, it was not "museum art" isolated from its context and consciously regarded as art.) Because of these characteristics, art in China has been little appreciated in the West.

Clunas's probing book should be read slowly-- and re-read. The illuminating text gives a relatively sophisticated and sympathetic account of art in China, unlike many books, which are simply naive, provincial and as full of trivial dates and abstractions as they are lacking in insight. The representative works, drawn from all periods of Chinese history--including modern times--are superb and well chosen, and the pictures are excellent, considering the book's modest size. I especially enjoy the full-page color reproduction of Guo Xi's masterpiece "Early Spring" which equals, if not surpasses, the finest landscape paintings of the Dutch golden age (of course, not in illusionist technique, but in sheer expressive and evocative power as it unveils a mysterious fantastic landscape reflecting an interior, as much as an exterior, reality).

My only complaint is that there is only one book on "Art in China" in the Oxford History of Art series, while there are at least 30 on Western art in the same series. One book covers Western art for a 25-year span (1920-45), but 5,000 years of high art in China--in painting, jade, ceramics, lacquer, porcelain, calligraphy and sculpture--gets only a single volume! Talk about provincialism! Certainly, this is no fault of Dr. Clunas, whose work seems all the more commendable in the midst of the naive insularity and ethnocentrism with which it has unfortunately been grouped.

I like the author's approach to writing an introduction to the arts of China. Instead of trying to touch at least all of the major artists/works from all of the major periods (which in the case of China would mean touching very many things in a very cursory way), the author focuses on the context for which works were produced. Some of them were meant to be "art" from the start, some were not. This offers ample opportunities to examine how some works influenced other later in history. Overall, I think the ideas presented are some of the most gripping I have found in Chinese art history books. The book includes recent discoveries and scholarship and uses Pinyin romanization (two great features - not all recently-published books do).

In researching information regarding Sung Dynasty scrolls and artists, I found this book to be a most generous indeed. The author provides clear, precise information without the clutter of person guesses. He provides a wonderful assortment of pictures and resources. Clear, clean photographs of artifacts providing the reader with primary documentation .This is a MUST for anyone studying the Arts and Artists of early China. Thank you Craig Clunas!

This book is excellent! I teach AP Art History and bought this book as a companion to the text used in my classroom. The textbook mentions topics breifly and gives little information. This book allowed me to explain the weighing of the heart.
The Art of Ancient Egypt is not an over complicated book. It is written so that everyone can enjoy Egyptian art, not just the scholarly few. I treasure this book and have recommended it to my students.

I have nothing substantial to add to the preceding laudatory reviews, but I was so impressed and pleased with my purchase that I felt obliged to say so. The book is beautifully produced with superb color pictures, added to which the illustrations are not the same old/same old that have appeared over and over again. The text is intelligently written and interesting, steering a steady course well between the levels of pop introduction and scholarly tome.

It would be among the best purchases for anyone with more than a passing interest in the subject.

The service was excellent. The book was despatched the day I placed my order and arrived the next day. The price was right and the condition of the book was as described or better and the feedback from the supplier was friendly and useful.
I shall certainly buy here again.

Jim Ashton

I bought this book as a text book for a college class. Not only did I learn so much about the art of this amazing ancient society, I learned about their culture that spanned for thousands of years. This book will definitely give you a deep understanding on Egyptian art.

Clearly and thoroughly explained, this book provides an accurate description of Egyptian art from the Early Dynastic Period to the Ptolemaic Period. The author demonstrates the importance and place of art in Ancient Egypt. Beautiful illustrations from tomb paintings, sculptures, coffins, and many objects accompany the text. A definite must for both students and professionals.

Jeff Smith is one of the greatest comic artists of our times, and it is inevitable that with the end of his epic series Bone, that we would have a one volume art collection of that series. If you're a fan of Bone, you won't be disappointed. Seeing the Bone covers and other color work in a larger size brings them to life. The artwork is amazing. The only reason that I give this four stars instead of five is that a lot of the work in this volume has been printed before, so if you've been following the series from the beginning, you probably already have 90% of the art that is included. This is not necessarily a bad thing since the images are printed in a larger format in this volume, but it would have been nice to see more sketchbook material. Another thing that dropped the rating is that there is hardly any text included other than a few captions. I appreciate that as much space as possible was kept for art, but it would have been nice to read about about the creation process, the origin and development of the Bone story, or Jeff Smith's philosophy on comics. Regardless of these minor quibbles, this is an excellent collection, and would make a wonderful gift to fans of Bone.

Bone was a real surprise, many years ago. B&W art was uncommon and the story was magnetic, pulling you into a world where cartoon characters wondered about with humans. From the very first issues thev reader was presented with plots and beasts that seemed like many other universes we know, but with a charm that was totally magic.
This book presents us with some marvelous art, sketches and behind the scenes info on how these stories came to be, form and style wise.
If you like to know a bit how Jeff works and structures ideas and styles and how the wonderful mix of Bone was born just don't miss this book.
There's a few extras as well... but I won't spoil you the surprise.

My son became "addicted" to the Bone series about a year and a half ago. I've never been a fan of comics but when my non-reader decided these books were what he wanted to read I was on a quest. He started by reading the color re-releases of the first few books and when Old Man's Cave had not come out yet I bought him the all-in-one book with 1000+ pages. My non-reader finished it in a short amount of time and was left with wanting more. When I came across "The Art of Bone" I was thrilled. It talked about how Jeff Smith created the characters when he was 9 years old. My son turned 9 last month so I got it for his birthday. As he was going to bed and talking about the day (which included 9 friends and The Reptile Guy) he said his favorite part was receiving "The Art of Bone"! THAT made MY day! It is a beautiful book and is very informative. I would recommend it highly to anyone interested in this series, beautiful comic book art or looking for inspiration.

(from an extended article, copyright 2007 Michael F. Hopkins)

For those who have come to treasure the Sequential masterpiece known
as BONE, this coffee-table volume will be an extra-special treat. For those who have never heard of the phenomenal epic which established storyteller Jeff Smith as a prime mover in the fields of Comics and Children's Literature, THE ART OF BONE will serve as an eye-popping introduction to one of the finest authors in any field.
The latest hardcover project from Dark Horse Comics, THE ART OF
BONE is a feast of information. Detailing why and how Smith became
a cartoonist, the book showcases his interest from schooldays to professional practice decades later.

Rich in Smith's probing, versatile illustrations, the volume
pinpoints the essential and unique balancing act which the
Sequential author must play between narrative and visualizing.
In an era where too many throw all their logs on one fire,
showboating without focus or meaning, the success of a skillful talespinner with much to say and share with all is as refreshing
as it is encouraging.
A stirring, insightful whimsy worthy of Walt Kelly (Pogo) and
Charles Schulz (Peanuts) is complemented by reflective pathos and
intense character interplay that Will Eisner (Sundiata, The Spirit)
could take great pride in.
In Jeff Smith's aesthetic, a tale can cross all boundaries, whether through animated cunning or larger-than-life Fantasy, and bring its points effectively home.

Whether lost in the wilderness, or deep in the throes of a life-shaping
quest, the imperative of journey informs the heart Smith's work. THE
ART OF BONE is a delightful look into the way of that path, and how much fun using one's head can be.
Very uplifting, in fact, for the heart and soul.

Give it a read.
Give it several.

Jeff Smith truly has lived the American Dream...he found one thing he liked to do and he's done it for his entire life. OK, that may be simplifying things a bit. But even as a child, Smith knew he wanted to be a cartoonist. In fact, inside this fantastic book you'll get to see one of the very first Bone comics, drawn by Smith when he was just ten years old. The characters had yet to be refined in terms of their look and personalities, but the spirit is still there. Bone is really one of the great comics and one of the great comics success stories of the modern era. A wacky and wise-cracking strip that is one part Walt Kelly, one part J.R.R. Tolkien, and the rest all Smith. Smith took a chance on his creations, and self-published them. While most self-publishers fail quite quickly, Smith proved that talent rises to the top. Bone soon became a cult-hit on the part of Cerebus the Aardvark.

This volume from Dark Horse Books is chock full of 200 pages of rare Jeff Smith Bone art. Some of it unpublished, some of it pencil versions, alternate covers, etc. You get a little bit of everything in this book: Finished panel pages, completed, full color covers, unfinished panel sequences, rare sketches, pencil versions of completed covers, often side-by-side with the finished product, and so much more. The editors are along to provide captions to the art at the bottom of the page, often noting Smith's influences such as the valley scene from Bone #1 and its comparison to a similar scene from one of Joe Kubert's Tarzan pages. Not that it is a copy of the Kubert scene, but rather how smith uses perspective in the scene, dwarfing the characters by the sheer expanse of the area that Bone is looking over.

The book also reprints perhaps the seminal page in Bone's history. Bone is being chased by two of the fearsome Rat creatures that are ever after him. He leaps to a tiny branch thinking he is safe as the two large predators could not possibly fit on the same branch, and would be stupid to try. When they are both on the branch, Bone screams the immortal words, "Stupid, Stupid Rat Creatures!" This phrase has even been included in Random House's Cyberspeak dictionary.

The book introduces the reader to all of the main characters including Fone Bone (the star), scheming Phoney Bone, dim-witted Smiley Bone, Thorn (bone's human love interest), Gran'ma Ben, and Lucius who runs the local tavern. With heroes you need villains and we can't leave them out...they include The Lord of the Locusts, The Hooded One, and Kingdok, who rules the Rat Creatures.

Bone is so rich in its story and scope that it really humbles comics that have been put out by the "larger companies". Even if you haven't read the comics you're sure to be dazzled by the art in this book. Smith is without a doubt one of the best cartoonists and best storytellers of the past twenty years. And if you are a Bone fan then the book will provide a lot of interesting anecdotes to many of the stories that you've enjoyed over the years. The good thing is that even though the series ended in 2004, Scholastic Books is reprinting the series in collected editions and in full color. This book gets my highest possible rating. Get it...NOW!


REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON

In the thousands of books devoted to the German National Socialist movenment and rule, this one holds some very important clues to two questions that have gnawed at us like relentless dogs since the close of this tragic story. The first question is how did the Nazi movement gain such an allegiance among the German people who seemed as civilized and educated and cultured as any in Europe and the second question is what was really the goal of the National Socialist German Workers Party. Why can we even think a book on art can answer these questions ? If this were some text rich academic dissertation then that would be a hard sell. But the author, Peter Adam, has used the visual media extremely well, working off the blackground of a BBC documentary. The hundreds of black and white and color illustrations tell us a great deal especially when combined with extensive contemporaneous quotations, primarily from the Germans who promoted and controlled art in the Third Reich.

This book helps us address the question of how mentioned above in a number of ways. By covering painting, sculpture and architecture in one text we begin to see the outlines of the alternate reality the National Socialist movement tried to construct on top of the German nation and state. Other aspects of this alternate reality such as the imagery of Zepplins, Mercedes and Auto-Union race cars, swift new ocean liners, and proud new battleships are not covered in this book but fit together in a way that was uniquely intentional. Every proud imperialist nation state of the 19th and 20th centuries had some sort of imperial style seen in display in the capitals and colonial outposts of its empire. Normally these characteristics developed over a considerable period of time. But Art in the Third Reich makes it very clear that in a few short years, from 1933 to 1940, there was an intensive and directed effort to completely control the visual content of life on a scale and with a commitment that was more totalitarian than even the efforts to do the same in the early years of the Soviet Union. This was absolutely part and parcel of the entire approach to social control in the new state that the Nazi movement was constructing.

The key to the new visual art of the National Socialist movement is made clear in this book. It was not the creation of a new and unique style of art. It was rather the selection of certain tendencies and sytles as mandatory and all others as forbidden. Naturalistic and representational painting that illustrated a certain ideal view of life was all that was allowed. Some of this work was "good" work from an artistic point of view, and some of it was not. But all of it served a purpose and that is why it was allowed. The quotations from the leaders of this effort make that entirely clear. The sculpture chosen was initially no more than conventionally monumental but crossed over into the collosal and the un-natural depiction of force and proud brutality combined with duty driven nudity. The architecture started off in conventional enough neo-Classical style and then became incredibly grandiose and even grotesque. There is good coverage of the pioneering multimedia efforts of Speer and Reifenstahl. The good news here is that you can look at this work in this book and draw these conclusions for yourself.

This brings us to the second question I mentioned above. What was the purpose of all this? The words of Mein Kampf have been buried beneath the natural redaction that occours because of our knowledge of the historical outcome of the National Socialist process. In these works of art the truth of the purpose can perhaps strike us more directly. I think a great virtue of this book is that it does so strike us or at least it struck me. From looking at the images it seems that the purpose of the National Socialist movement was in essence to create a society of clones. I say, in essence, since the scientific process was unknown at the time. But the uniformity of image, the positive rejection of diversity and individuality, the endless repitition of themes, lead to the conclusion that the Nazi leaders actually wanted a population of folk who looked and thought alike. The theme of Ein Folk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer was not an idle throw away line as the idea of Oneness was truly the soul of National Socialism. This was the purpose, this was the goal. The New Order was only for some. The art was to show us who those some were.

In the end the National Socialist movement cannot be finally judged by its actions, awful as they were. The 20th century was a time of willfull death and destruction without precedent in history and the Nazis and the German people were not the only perpetrators or victims. An overall judgement has to take in account the goal of the movement. If you read this book and study it carefully, I think you will see what the goal was and your own sense of moral purpose in the universe will have to guide you to your conclusion about it.

Both in responce to popular revulsion against modern 'art' and following in the footsteps of the Soviet Union to manipulate the arts to a political purpose nazi Germany launched its massive arts program covered in this unique and most insightful book.

For those interested in this subject this unique book is a must read. Especially since no other books on the subject are on the market and a number of websites have been forced to shut down.

For thos interested this book covers the nazi arts program. Some of the art created by artists Adolf Zeigler and Ernst Liebermann and various others is actually quite good but these people would have succeeded without this program. Much however is quite bad like politically correct art today, often the work of mediocre artists.

If anything, this book proves that Government and Politics should not be supporting the arts as they do not inspire beutiful things but rubbish.

This is a remarkable book; 300+ pages of wonderful art - much of it censored today (hidden away in DOD archives in Washington DC).

Some of the art is clearly the propaganda of a powerful government. And some (the chapter of "Degenrate Art") is the propaganda of modern American elites. But most of this artwork is truely fine - and of a type no longer allowed to be seen anywhere.

In our modern age - where art is subsidized by the government and reflects the taste of elites - this kind of art is priceless for this is the art of the people. I was touched to tears by the loving caress of working folk and farmers in the painting of Adolph Wissel, Leopold Schmutzler, and Fritz Mackensen.

Also remarkable is the celebration of the human body as nature in ways that are simply not seen in Judeo-Christian societies like modern America - particularly in the sculpture of Arno Breker and Fritz Klimsch. So also the nod to non-Judeo-Christian spirituality that simply could not exist in a modern European society.

The author - Peter Adams - makes the required politically correct, anti-German statements - without which this book could not have been published and would never be sold. Ignore the text - look at the art.

Unlike the propagandistic "Degenerate Art" exhibit of a decade ago, this art will not be traveling to a museum near you. For that reason you MUST get this book. It is pricey - but it is priceless.

ART OF THE THIRD REICH is a fascinating book for several reasons:

1. First, it addresses a subject (painting, sculpture, and architecture of Nazi Germany) that has yet to be objectively explored by scholars (just try finding anything else about it, much less a volume of this quality). The Nazi era still provokes such an emotional response that it has yet to be seen in any kind of historical perspective. However, as time marches on, studies such as this one will become more common, as students of history attempt to understand the perplexing Nazi phenomenon.

2. Art was arguably more important in Nazi Germany than in any other regime in history. In fact, some scholars have argued that the entire social structure was based on the pursuit of an aesthetic ideal (see the film "The Architecture of Doom" for a presentation of this thesis). In other words, rather than Nazi-approved art being a reflection of the culture, the culture sprang from the artistic ideals of its founders. Much of the events of 1933-45 can be seen to fit this paradigm, and this book provides valuable insight into how those events were orchestrated.

3. No regime in history has used propaganda as extensively as Nazi Germany. All aspects of media, art, cinema, and popular culture were channeled toward advancement of the government's objectives, to a degree never seen before. Hence, this book provides a window into the period that will be useful for anyone wishing to understand how images can be manipulated...something that occurs all around us every day.

4. Finally, there is a great deal of magnificent art in this book, which can be appreciated as a distinct phenomenon from the regime that created or condoned it...just as works such as "Alexander Nevsky" are hailed despite their obvious origin as Soviet propaganda. While it is true that totalitarian government-sanctioned art often dips into mediocrity, that is certainly not always the case here. The art of this era deserves to be viewed in the context of the larger evolution of art in the twentieth century, regardless of the political/social "baggage" associated with it.

The reviewer immediately below has raised a very troubling but quite accurate issue in relation to National Socialist art: much of it - particularly the sculpture - is quite beautiful by the standards of classical/Renaissance aesthetics. Can we separate the appeal of some of this material from the political regime which operated the factories of death? I think that we can and we must. Adam's book opens the door onto a forbidden chapter of art history, but one with startling implications for modernism. This book is the only basic, english-language survey of its subject. Sadly, much of the art Adam discusses was destroyed or remains inaccessible. I have had the great priviledge to have seen some of the works reproduced in this book on travels to Germany, and it possesses an undeniable power. My only criticism of this book is Adam's decision to treat the art of 1930's Germany as an anomaly in the history of 20th century art - ignoring the fact that these artists were enormously popular in their day, and neglecting to offer a comparison with the distorted visions of Weimar art. No historical phenomenon is without context. Perhaps the rejection of modernism characteristic of this period is not solely the result of a society descending into barbarism, but is indicative of some flaw in modernist culture. If you buy this book, you will be able to judge for yourself.

Was a very informative book on quilts, but was puzzeled by the caption on page 56 of the quilt titled Hank Williams. I don't believe the idea of the artist intended for it to be catagorized in pop art. Maybe a quote from the artist would be appropriate or a way to contact the artist about her view. Did the artists in the book have to sign a release for use of their quilts?

I'm a weekend quilter - and love working with rich color. This is not only a coffee-table beautiful book but it inspires creative ideas far beyond normal quilting. You don't have to be a quilter to enjoy - the art is wonderful. And if you do quilt, this will inspire you to all sorts of radically new ideas.

From the moment I set eyes on this book I knew I had to have it. The quilts are totally incredible. The skill of these quiltmakers & the detail they obtain is astonishing. They are true artists. It is a great value.

The abstract quilts combine color, pattern & shape so beautifully it takes your breath away. Surface techniques such as dyeing, painting, applique & embroidery make these quilts remarkable works of art.

Some of my favorite quilts include a nude pregnant woman & two quilts depicting Noah & his ark. I enjoyed a few scenes with vases & another made as a memorial to the artist's parents. I also fell in love with the many landscape quilts.

The text is fascinating, discussing the history behind quiltmaking & the techniques used to make these beautiful quilts. The captions are great, explaining the methods used to make the quilt as well as the artist inspiration.

Robert Shaw draws upon his impressive expertise to celebrate the traditional bed quilt as a needlecraft art form that is a creative, emotional, example of "form following function". His insightful text traces the transformation of the quilt from bed cover to display piece, the quilter from homemaker to academically trained artist, the workshop from kitchen to studio, and the materials from simple to complex. The Art Quilt is superb survey of an art form grounded in tradition and, at the same time, committed to originality and innovation. The works of such superb contemporary quilters as Michael James, Yvonne Porcella, Julia Pfaff, Nancy Crow, and more than two hundred others, serve to illustrate the quilt as art -- and the art of the quilt. The Art Quilt is enhanced with 300 full-color reproductions and numerous insightful sidebars of important technical processes and leaders int he art quilt field. The Art Quilt is highly recommended reading for needlecraft students, quilters, collectors, and popular culture enthusiasts.

Beautiful color plates. If you are an artist or quilter who prefers to emphasize color and design, then this book is invaluable for ideas and inspiration. Highly recommend for your library.

In my opinion, there can never be too many books like this one by Michael J. Hammel. This project-based book has great examples of how the graphic designer can use the GIMP software to get the job done. Each tutorial in this book is an individual project, allowing the reader to pick which tutorials best meets his or her needs. But read them all. Each technique is not presented in a vacuum. Hammel discusses these techniques in a way that prepares the readers to reproduce the results in their own projects.

Besides being a project-based book, I also liked that Hammel did not waste the reader's time, and his own, discussing every detail about each panel, menu command and keyboard shortcut. Instead, he commits those pages to more information that you can really use. Don't get me wrong, he does give a short overview of the GIMP workspace in order to orient the novice to the software. But he does a good job of giving the readers only the information that they will need for the rest to the book.

So what does Hammel cover in this book? He writes each project-based tutorial from the point-of-view of the graphic designer. He begins with a short description of the design criteria for the project and ends each tutorial with suggestions for other projects where the reader might apply these techniques. He divides the book into six chapters and each chapter covers a different area of graphic design. Once he covers the basics, he moves on to techniques for the photographer, web designer, advertising designer and UI designer. Throughout each chapter, he discusses how type applies to the project and he also devotes a chapter to type effects.

For the photographer, he begins with some simple techniques for adding steam to a photo and creating a vignette. Then he covers more advanced techniques such as simulating depth of field. Have you ever wondered how graphic artists get type to look so good on top of any background? Hammel shows you how this is done, along with some other nice text effects. Also, he has one of the best techniques for converting a photo into a sketch that I have seen so far. His technique goes beyond the usual examples that you find in books and on the web.

Moving from photography to web design, Hammel states that "color is king" on the web today. Only just a few years ago, books were preaching just the opposite. But now with the better monitors, Hammel can share some of his techniques for creating mood, simulating 3D and reflections, and "popping" an image. He also has some great techniques for creating folds from texture and gradients and for creating the popular Toon style.

With the advent of widgets and other ways to create your own desktop applications, graphic designers are being asked to design user interfaces (GUI) for these applications. Hammel devotes the last section of his book to take you through the design process for creating a UI for a video player. He starts with the face plate and designs each part of the UI individually. However, these same techniques could be used to create environments for digital games and other design applications.

Hammel has been working with GIMP from its beginnings in 1996. He has authored and co-authored many GIMP related books and articles.

If you don't know what GIMP is, it's an alternative to Photoshop that allows you to do the same things (essentially) but is free.

I was impressed and surprised (in a good way) on the depth of tutorials in this book. I was really looking for something that would give me a good overview of using GIMP from the top, and was surprised at how many things you can do creatively that I hadn't even thought of. My only criticism is the paper used is flat and it would be nice to have something a little glossier for the images. The images are in color, which is nice though. I've used photoshop and now GIMP from probably a pretty basic level (I'm not a graphic artist) for album coverwork for compilation CD's for myself and friends, posters, and just playing around with abstract art to frame and hang on my own wall. I've been impressed with GIMP as an alternative to Photoshop and I think this book is a great companion to help me get the most out of it. If you've tried GIMP, which is free to download, and want to get more out of it, I would recommend this book.

The GIMP is an image editor whose power and easy use rivals the industry standard Photoshop - and is a popular free software item. While The Artist's Guide to GIMP Effects could've been explored in our Computer Shelf area, it's reviewed here to alert every artist working with computer images. It shows how to use the GIMP's powerful features to apply to ads, photos, and business pursuits, and comes from an author who has used GIMP since its first public release. From specialty photographic techniques available within the GIMP model to advanced web design features for special effects, no photo artist using the computer should be without THE ARTIST'S GUIDE TO GIMP EFFECTS - and any collection strong in Photoshop-type books needs it.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Should have purchased this book months ago. Not for the absolute beginner, but a must have for the advanced beg or int user who wants to learn more about using gimp.

GIMP, or the GNU Image Manipulation Program to give it its proper name, is a graphics-editing program broadly similar to Adobe Photoshop in terms of functionality. The GIMP is an open source program that can be freely downloaded and installed on most computers, including maps. But on the downside it doesn't come with a manual, so figuring out how to use GIMP can be tricky.

But 'The Artist's Guide to GIMP Effects' isn't simply a book explaining what all the different tools and features do. Michael Hammel pitches this book quite a bit higher than that, focusing instead on how to use GIMP to perform a variety of useful and common tasks. From trick photography to building graphics for web sites, Hammel leads the reader expertly through nicely illustrated tutorials. The end result is more than simply a better understanding of the program, but a richer appreciation of what the program can be used to do.

There are six chapters, the first of which introduces many of the basic concepts. Although there is some attention given to where the relevant tools are found and how to use them, the focus here is on what they do and why you need them. Fundamental to success with any graphics program is understanding how different tools work when applied together, and Hammel finishes off this chapter with a set of multi-function tutorials that underline this point.

The second chapter concentrates on manipulating photographs. These include softening images, adding motion effects, and creating reflections. In each case the process is taken step-by-step, with clear text and relevant screenshots. At this point it's also worth mentioning something about the layout of the book. No Starch has really done a good job here. The book is wider than it is tall, and each page holds two columns of text. The flexible binding lets the book stay open at any page. As a result, it's an easy book to use alongside the computer.

The next chapter is about creating artwork for web sites. These include things like tiles for web page backgrounds, buttons, tabs, and menu bars. The first tutorial in this batch is all about creating glossy, gel-like buttons of the type Macintosh users will be familiar with. One of the later tutorials looks at the ubiquitous rollover buttons, though from the perspective of creating the actual artwork required rather than the necessary JavaScript or CSS coding. That said, if you use a WYSIWYG web page layout program like Freeway, you probably won't need to manually any of that sort of code to your page anyway; all you need are the graphics.

Like all the other chapters, the web design chapter finishes with a collection of useful tips. Some of these should be required reading for any web designer, and it's great to see the author lay them out fair and square.

The fourth chapter is very unusual but actually makes a lot of sense. It's a chapter devoted to creating advertising. While no substitute for a degree in marketing, there's some great stuff here for anyone who needs to produce things like packaging and posters. Small businesses attracted to GIMP by its low cost will likely find this chapter worth the price of the book alone. On the other hand, some of the tutorials in this section are only incidentally useful for advertising purposes though, and could be just as relevant to anyone creating computer artwork. Again, there's a wrap-up section with a slew of useful tips and tricks.

Chapter five brings text into the mix. This chapter kicks off with some tutorials covering things like neon, metallic, and gel-like text, among other typographic effects.

The last chapter is specifically for software developers, and illustrates the ways in which GIMP can be used to design and prototype application interfaces. While a clever and potentially useful chapter, what was obviously missing from this section of the book was something on designing icons for programs. The book then rounds off with a detailed index.

For $45 this isn't a cheap book, especially when you consider that GIMP itself is free and comes with its own online guides and tutorials. The question is whether having things laid out clearly and logically in a nicely illustrated book justifies the cost. In the opinion of this reviewer at least, the answer is yes. For the GIMP user looking to go beyond simply cropping and resizing digital images, this book is highly recommended.

When I first started looking at Web Parts I couldn't quite grasp how they were different from other web technology. Darren was able to clearly describe how individual parts are created, and how to integrate them into a cohesive whole and helped me enormously in building modern websites.

This a very thorough and complete guide to ASP 2.0 Web Parts. After reading this book, I gained more knowledge than reading countless internet articles, numerous blogs and a few cumbersome books on subject. This book is a MUST Buy for anyone who needs to understand and/ or implement ASP 2.0 Web Parts. One added new value is the concepts outlined
in his book also work on ASP 3.5.

A must buy book if your working with webparts. Darren (The author) is also extremely helpful if you post web part related questions on his forum. The book is clear, concise and well organised. You will not be disapointed!

Ps. I have bought many many tech reference books from Amazon over the years. This is the first time I have ever posted a review. This book has been an invaluable reference for a large project I am currently working on.

Paul Hale (Domainscanners)

An all in one great introduction to web parts and even to some advanced techniques.

Web parts are a strong web UI element and this book has done a great job of talking about ALL the things that are necessary for proper web parts development.

This book introduces and explains a lot of concepts with Web Parts. This book SHOULD BE your starting point if you want to do any kind of web part development.

Key concepts:
- Web Part Connections
- Zones and how web parts behave inside them
- Tips & Tricks to get web parts to behave like they look in SharePoint
- Page Life cycle with web parts
- AJAX and web parts (little light on that topic)

I have done some basic web part development and read other articles on the web. This book by far brought a lot of concepts together and allows you to build a portal based on web parts.

This book is fascinating--it says it's a detective story, and it is, but with a twist--it's a detective story about people, and why they do what they do. It's a mystery where the writer tries to unravel how choices and fate and relationships and everything else all twist together to make and change lives, sometimes in sad ways. To me, it is the most interesting sort of mystery ever.

Which is why reading this book was such a total delight. It's like spending time with a really intelligent, engaging person dissecting events and following shreds of evidence, and there's this sense of loss when it's all over--you kind of want to stay engaged. A most excellent read!!

In the late 1960s the author's father and mother joined a countercultural enclave in New Mexico, where their marriage floundered and Anna's father committed suicide. Anna was five years old at the time. Twenty years later the discovery of some old photos sends her on a journey to learn more about her father: her reconstruction of her past is charted in ASSEMBLING MY FATHER: A MEMOIR and provides a moving personal history which will also inspire any conducting their own family history search.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I often randomly choose books to read, without reading reviews or recommendations. Sometimes that method backfires and I'm stuck with a stinker, but not in this case - I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. Perhaps it was the writing, perhaps it was the loss of my own father when I was very young (probably a combination of both) - this book touched me in a personal way that no other book has for some time.

Prior to reading "Assembling My Father" I was lucky enough to attend a writer's workshop with Anna Oliver in Boise, Idaho, and I must say she is an incredible woman. She is not only intelligent and insightful, but also extremely well read- all of which show up in her writing. In "Assembling My Father," she experiments with style and form, including extensive primary records such as pictures, news articles and writings from her father's journal which add to the overall theme of a "detective story." The inclusion of Anna's own tale of personal growth alongside her discoveries of her father's untimely demise create a depth of emotion and a unique poignancy. This is a must-read for anyone interested in writing memoir, especially family history, or for anyone who is interested in the counterculture of the 60's and 70's. I cannot reccommend it enough.

I can see I'm in the minority of reviewers of this book here. I had high hopes for this memoir that haven't panned out.

The story is simple on it's surface- a woman grows up in an off kilter family and realises as a young adult that she is adrift because she doesn't "know" her father. Of course, she can't because he committed suicide, but what she doesn't have are his stories. Slowly- and it felt slooow- she sets out to discover what she can about him.

She talks to whomever she can locate who knew him, including his childhood friends, and she gets what she can out of her mother who often refuses to talk about any part of her past. She collects what photographs she can- a task made more difficult because her father was usually the photographer. She reads his journal and tries to obtain copies of college work, including his undergraduate thesis and tapes of a "college bowl" contest which "put Rennsalaer Polytechnic Institute" on the map as a better school than people had previously thought.

She experiments with different formats in her writing- including some lists of things he would never know about her, and how she feels that he will always be a man who died at the age of 35.

Be forewarned though- it's not an easy book. It's boggy and uncomfortable. It very well may be intended to be that way- after all, the subject is a young father and the events leading up to his suicide. I kept returning to the photo montage in the front, contemplating this beautiful man and wondering what could have caused him to pull the trigger. of course, only he really knows, no matter what anyone else can say about him.

Here's my confession- I haven't finished it. At 2/3 through, I feel like I know what he did, but his daughter, like all of us, will never really know why. And he'll stay dead for her- sad as it is. If I do finish, I wonder if my feelings about the memoir will change.