Industrial Books

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Industrial Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

Black Enterprise Titans of the B.E. 100s: Black CEOs Who Redefined and Conquered American Business

Published in Hardcover by Wiley (1999-04-12)

Author: Derek T. Dingle

List price: $45.00

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Average review score:

Black Excellence

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-28

This is an excellent read. I was appreciative of the profiles and will look forward to being included in the next issue! LOL!

"By the content of their character"

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-04-27

Titans should be required reading for African Americans that doubt the promise. In spite of our nation's ills, some of these individuals made millions in the 40's. Think about that! Given the current state of affairs (The Don Imus incident) it's clearly evident that race is still an extremely sensitive issue in this nation. Consider current racial disparities then consider the concept of dark-skinned African American male millionaires in the 40's. It's an unbelievable achievement! If they were able to do it and create dynasties for their families in their time, what's stopping present day African Americans from reaching their financial goals and dreams today? This book is yet another small piece of evidence that determination, dedication and delayed gratification are the true components of realizing a dream. It helps prove that good luck is created by hard work; more importantly, it ensures, through the cohesiveness of the family unit, that those characteristics be past on to the next generation creating traditions of success and a grounded since of identity; which is a quality noticeably missing from the present day African American male image repertoire . It's important to note the African American family unit, before the onslaught of the welfare referendum of the 60's, as a pinnacle source of support. I'm usually hesitant about grading generously but I think this book, brief though it may be, with it's little life snippets of successful African Americans lives, reinforces the ethos of hard work and just rewards based on merit. But not a form of merit preached to you by a skeptical public or more acceptable form forced upon you through legislative pity, but a personal merit earned through hard work and family pride.

Eleven inspiring African American business success stories

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2000-08-19

This is a book of African American business success stories. Until now, the eleven self-made black business leaders featured-The Titans of the Black Enterprise 100s-were virtually unknown, even to American business students. Yet, they run America's largest black-owned companies and have been the vanguard of an entrepreneurial revolution. Achieving success despite lack of capital, diminished access, and outright racism, they used inspiration and drive to seize opportunities and break barriers. They are black America's wealthiest and most powerful players, providing employment, training, and advancement for large numbers of African Americans.

They represent, in many ways, the economic evolution of post-war African Americans. The first step in the effort for black equality was driven largely by the Civil Rights Movement, which led to the social and legal reforms of the 1950s and 1960s. Next, the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which eliminated such barriers to political activity as the poll tax and illiteracy test, gave rise to the increase in black political strength with the election of blacks to Congress in the late 1960s and 1970s. Those events were followed by the propulsion of black economic power in which African Americans gained an opportunity to amass wealth and achieve the American Dream that had been elusive for so long. In the 1980s and 1990s, blacks, who gained access to the nation's leading universities and major corporations, leveraged their education and experience to acquire and finance new companies as well as develop enterprises through emerging technologies.

The eleven chapters of this book each tell the untold story of these titans and the contributions they and their companies have made to American industry and life. Their stories and ideas will instruct, inspire, illuminate and motivate the reader to build on their success. This book is a source of inspiration and motivation to the next generation of captains of industry of all races and both genders the world over.

Derek T. Dingle is an editor-at-large for Black Enterprise magazine. For more than a decade, he has covered the B.E. 100s, which profile the 100 largest black-owned businesses, and he recently served as writer for B.E. 100s Exclusive, a newsletter for CEOs of these companies. In addition to his role as the managing editor of BE several years ago, he served as president and CEO of Milestone Media, Inc., which was America's largest black-owned comic book company.

Eleven inspiring African American business success stories

Helpful Votes: 10 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 1999-09-26

This is a book of African American business success stories. Until now, the eleven self-made black business leaders featured-The Titans of the Black Enterprise 100s-were virtually unknown outside the United States, and even to American business students. Yet, they run America's largest black-owned companies and have been the vanguard of an entrepreneurial revolution. Achieving success despite lack of capital, diminished access, and outright racism, they used inspiration and drive to seize opportunities and break barriers. They are black America's wealthiest and most powerful players, providing employment, training, and advancement for large numbers of African Americans.

The eleven chapters of this book each tell the untold story of these titans and the contributions they and their companies have made to American industry and life.

Their stories and ideas will instruct, inspire, illuminate and motivate the reader to build on their success. This book is a source of inspiration and motivation to the next generation of captains of industry of all races and both genders the world over.

Reviewed by Azlan Adnan. Formerly Business Development Manager with KPMG, Azlan is currently managing partner of Azlan & Koh Knowledge and Professional Management Group, an education and management consulting practice based in Kota Kinabalu. He holds a Master's degree in International Business and Management.

Blazing The Trail: The Early History Of Spacecraft And Rocketry (General Publication) (General Publication) (Library of Flight Series)

Published in Hardcover by AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics & Ast (2004-07-30)

Author: Mike Gruntman

List price: $39.95

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Average review score:

Excellent technical and historical refence on space history

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-11-18

This book provides the most comprehensive and detailed account available of the trials, tribulations, failures, and successes in our efforts to access and use space. Often, the historical record has been biased by the competitive filter of the Cold War space race, but Dr. Gruntman provides an unbiased, accurate, and enlightening historical record. This is both a compelling read and useful reference for the space enthusiast, space engineer, and space scientist.

An Encyclopedic Effort in 503 Pages

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2004-11-25

Mike Gruntman, professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Southern California, has written what can only be characterized as an encyclopedic history of rocketry. It covers the period between rocketry's origins more than 1,000 years ago in Asia and the middle part of the twentieth century when the technology proliferated in the West for both peaceful and military purposes. As such, this work will probably become a favored textbook in courses relating to the evolution of the technology.

The book, in eighteen chronological chapters, takes the reader through a succession of ideas, experiments, and applications. Gruntman expends more than 100 pages before reaching the twentieth century, something unusual for most surveys with its emphasis on the earliest years of rocketry, and then proceeds to lay the groundwork for later developments by discussing "great pioneers" who paved way the toward spaceflight. These include the usual suspects--the Russian Konstantin Tsiolkovskiy, the German Hermann Oberth, and the American Robert Goddard--but Gruntman also adds the Frenchman Robert Esnault-Pelterie, members of various rocket societies, and others to his list.

The "first modern rocket," in Gruntman's narrative, was the German V-2 built by Wernher von Braun's rocket team during World War II. It is at this point that events compound, advances in technology proliferate, and moral dilemmas arise. Simply put, many of those working in rocket programs wanted to develop the technology necessary to move beyond Earth, but their technology was used for destructive rather than peaceful purposes. As a classic example, Gruntman points out that Wernher von Braun served Hitler's Germany by developing the first ballistic missile, was a major in the SS, and used the horrific concentration camp labor system of [...] Germany to build V-2s. But he foresaw the potential of human spaceflight while working as little more than an arms merchant who developed brutal weapons of mass destruction. Von Braun never expressed any hesitancy about the morality of using scientific and technical knowledge to kill as many people and destroy as much as possible. In the 1960s, as the United States was involved in a race with the Soviet Union to see who could land a human on the Moon first, humorist Tom Lehrer wrote a song about von Braun's pragmatic approach to serving whoever would let him build rockets regardless of their purpose. "Don't say that he's hypocritical, say rather that he's apolitical," Lehrer wrote. "`Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down? That's not my department,' says Wernher von Braun." Lehrer's biting satire captured well the ambivalence of von Braun's attitude on moral questions associated with the use of rocket technology.

Indeed, it was because they could be used as weapons carriers that rocket development received the government largesse necessary to reach space in the 1950s. Spurnik, the first space satellite, was launched on a Soviet ballistic missile, as was the first American satellite, Explorer 1. Moreover, it was because of the cold war that such programs as Apollo, which landed Americans on the Moon in 1969, received any funding whatsoever.

At the conclusion of the volume Mike Gruntman takes us on a whirlwind tour of developments worldwide and closes with an assessment of the 1,000+ years of rocketry.

There is much to praise in this volume. It provides for the first time a modern, comprehensive overview of the subject. It also offers the best discussions available about some of the key breakthroughs in early twentieth century rocketry. There are also numerous sidebars explaining the technology and discussing the individuals who made it fly.

But for all of the book's positive attributes, it is very much a history written for engineers. This is especially true because of the author's concern with the linear process of rocket technology to the very great exclusion of any social or cultural factors that might have influenced the engineers.

As only one example, Gruntman expends virtually no effort asking the question--why rocketry for spaceflight?--when other possibilities existed. We know that Robert Goddard explored many possibilities for access to space--shooting a capsule from a large cannon, atomic power, high altitude balloons to the edge of space, etc.--before deciding that rockets were the only practical means. There have been others who question the method of rocketry for reaching space since then, and such concepts as the space elevator are modern reconceptualizations of the problem. Unfortunately, Gruntman expends little effort in exploring alternative possibilities and conveying the richness of the subject by emphasizing the relentless march of progress he views in rocket technology.

Even so, this is a massively impressive work that will be of real use to a large community of scholars. It will find use for years to come. I applaud Mike Gruntman for undertaking this effort and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics for publishing it. "Blazing the Trail" offers an important consideration of the state of knowledge about this subject and will serve as a good starting point for further investigations.

Mike Gruntman "Blazing the Trail"

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2004-09-23

The most complete history and encyclopedia of rocketry!

Being an engineer by education and with strong interest in the
subject I was immediately attracted by the sub-title.

It is very well written (eg reads well) and impresses by both -
the breadth and the depth of coverage.

It is a must for any professional specialising in the area, an
excellent reference book to keep on your bookshelf and a
wonderful introduction in the history of the subject for teens.

Strongly recommended for anyone with interests in rocketry, spacecraft, austronautics.

Dr Vladas Leonas, Fellow of the IEAust
Sydney, NSW, Australia

Amazing book

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2004-11-28

I am a Russian physicist with experience of some years working in Soviet/Russian aerospace R&D. The book "Blazing the Trail" is amazing at least due to two advantages. The first one is that I have never seen such an excellent description of the early Soviet space and rocket history, including in the Russian literature, and the second is that the style of writing is so lush that creates an attractive movie of rocketry development. Complementarily, the text is highly factual and technically detailed. It is like a review article in a scientific journal without any BS, as Americans would say. Having the history of rockets and space in all-around-a-world space capable countries in one book makes it very, very useful and convenient.

Blood Passion: The Ludlow Massacre and Class War in the American West

Published in Hardcover by Rutgers University Press (2007-08-15)

Author: Scott Martelle

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Average review score:

Many Losers, Few Winners

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-05

There is a lot of empty space in Southern Colorado. This book masterfully fills in some of this space with beliefs, blood, ghosts, and little known Western history. A fine read, and thoughtfully written with insights and even handedness.

Objective and Insightful

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-28

A wonderful walk through the events and people involved in Colorado coal mining in the early 20th century. A refreshing perspective that looks at the culmination of actions and personalities.

Personally, another piece was clarified in my ancestral puzzle. My grandmother was born in the Berwind mine camp and with my immigrant Croatian greatgrandparents, resided in the Ludlow area during the books timeframe.

A look into labor relations in the western mining towns.

Helpful Votes: 10 out of 16 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-15

There is a lot to like about BLOOD PASSION: THE LUDLOW MASSACRE AND CLASS WARFARE IN THE AMERICAN WEST by Scott Martelle. Here you will find an intricate description of life in a "company" town. It's hard to imagine today, how less than a century ago, company towns were commonplace. These were towns founded around a single business entity, in this case, coal mining, whereby the company that owned the coal mines, in essence owned the town and its' inhabitants.

We study a society where it was a firing offense for an employee to purchase from anywhere other than a company owned store, where prices were set by the employer. They lived in company owned housing, in this case, tents. Their entire existence depended almost entirely on the provisions made by their employer. It's not a far stretch to say, these people existed largely as indentured servants.

Martelle gives an unbiased narrative of the events that spawned the Ludlow Massacre. There is plenty of blame to go around for the massacre that occurred in 1914, and Martelle spreads that blame rather evenly between the striking workers, the strikebreakers, the owners and the National Guardsmen that became embroiled in the southern Colorado mining labor problems.

Perhaps there will always remain a slight wedge between employers and employees, but hopefully never again the deep chasm that existed in the early industrialization of America.

The book is a very interesting read, though at times a bit dry and slow. Martelle is not the most colorful or flamboyant of writers, but does convey his message and story with a succinct style readers will appreciate. The book will appeal to varying audiences, from those studying labor problems in America to the study of the western states. You'll find a graphic description of life a century ago in an existence hardly imaginable today.

Strikers vs. owners = no winners

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-27

I knew nothing about the southern Colorado coal strikes and the Ludlow Massacre when I started Scott Martelle's new book, Blood Passion. By the time I finished it -- just two days after starting it -- I understood not only how, but why, the violent strike ended the way it did.
Martelle's prose style is dense with facts, yet elegant and easy. The writing is beautifully done, and the story itself is so compelling that it's easy to understand why he became preoccupied with it.
Each decision along the way, by owners and strikers, deepens the chasm between the two, until at last the line is not drawn but engraved in the sand and there can be no winners.
Whatever your interest in the book -- through the lens of labor history, or western studies, or the social strata of the times -- you will find much here that will resonate for a long time. Martelle, who weathered the nasty Detroit newspaper strike in the mid-90s and did not cross picket lines, gives neither strikers nor owners a bye in this book. (Full disclosure: I, too, weathered that strike by honoring the picket lines.)

Blueprint Reading for Welders

Published in Paperback by Delmar Learning (1973-02-01)

Author: Bennett

List price: $17.95

Average review score:

So far, so good!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-01

I needed to have this book for a welding class that revolved on learning to read welding blueprints. Just as the title is "to the point" of the purpose of my class, the content of this book is also "to the point". It begins with very short chapters (units) which refresh your memory on reading orthographic drawings. The book then begins to work its way up to the real "meat" of welding blueprints, which is quite easy to understand in this book. It's one of those textbooks that I will keep after the class is over; I won't be selling this book back.

Blueprint Reading For Welders

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-06

I have been welding for a few years and have forgotten things that this book helps me refresh. Everything I need to know about welding symbols is in one book.

Blueprint Reading for Welders

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-03-17

I am learning to weld and fabricate and I think that this book will- No, I know this book will help to advance my career in the welding and fabrication field. OUTSTANDING. I hope A.E. Bennett and Louis J. Siy decide to write more informative books/manuals. The approach is straght foward and very helpful. You will not be confused.

Gets right to the point

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2001-01-17

VERY GOOD BOOK, it will answer ALL your questions about welding blueprints. I am an engineer who wanted to learn how to make welding drawings. I have some background in welding, but none is needed for this book. I believe welders would like the book too, (like the title states) as the first sections of the book goes over engineering drawings and explains them simply and thoroughly. Lets hope the author/s of this book write some more books on other subjects, I am so tired of books that succeed in only confusing you.

Well worth the money.

Boards That Deliver: Advancing Corporate Governance From Compliance to Competitive Advantage

Published in Kindle Edition by Jossey-Bass (2005-02-03)

Author: Ram Charan

List price: $27.95

New price: $16.61

Average review score:

Insights on board development

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-25

A spate of high-profile corporate meltdowns ended the days of high-flying CEOs who also ran their companies' boards of directors. Instead, regulators, shareholders and the public now demand that corporate boards oversee CEOs and protect shareholder interests. Ram Charan lays out what your board can do to maximize its positive contributions and add value to the company. His writing is clear and to the point. This book is very helpful for board members who are trying to find their way in the post Sarbanes-Oxley world of corporate governance. Charan provides useful questionnaires to help you analyze the state of your company and its board on several crucial points. getAbstract recommends this book to board members, potential board members, and others who have an interest in modern boards and corporate governance.

Enlightened Corporate Governance

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2007-04-22

This is an excellent book. I highly suggest it for anyone who desires to understand some of the best practices in corporate governance. It is one of the best. The following link suggests another excellent book regarding contemporary corporate governance. [ASIN:0976901919 Compliance & Conviction: The Evolution of Enlightened Corporate Governance]]

Elevation

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2006-08-28

Ram Charan makes a complex topic easy to understand. This book can be "speed read" in 45 minutes and it doesn't make you feel dizzy. Ram Charan is a true thought leader and an inspiration.

Helpful guidance for boards that want to be more than rubber stamps for their CEO

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-28

This book is targeted for those of you who sit on boards, might yet sit on boards, or have an interest in how boards can and should function in the post Sarbanes-Oxley world. After the high profile implosions of several major firms and the revelations of executive criminality, board negligence, and accounting failures, the relevant parties have put pressure on firms to do a better job of functioning in the best interests of the owners of the firm; the shareholders. Among other steps, this included making the boards more independent of the CEO (who was too often also the Chair of the board) and the executive management of the firm.

Ram Charan explains how firms can `evolve' from being an old style Ceremonial Board to become a Liberated Board and then grow into an active and effective Progressive Board. He emphasizes that Progressive Boards have to emphasize the Group Dynamics of the board (how the team works together and how synergistically their talents combine), the Information Systems they use (relevant information they can get outside what is packaged for them by the CEO), and that the board focus on meaningful and relevant issues rather than getting distracted by the minutiae of board processes.

The author explains each of these three qualities in detail and deals with issues of CEO selection, management, and succession. He also talks about how the board should function when it has fully `evolved'. Charan also provides a few helpful questionnaires you can use to determine how your company is doing in certain key areas.

An interesting and helpful book for the target audience.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

Book of Buckskinning

Published in Paperback by Scurlock Pub Co (1983-06-01)

Author:

List price: $20.95

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Collectible price: $35.55

Average review score:

Book of Buckskinning

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-09-13

Excellent book for the mountain craft enthusiast. It has great guidelines for getting starteds in the Mountain Man clubs and many natural crafts projects.

Fascinating!

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2005-09-19

I admit that I bought this several years before amazon.com came into existence. That aside, this is a must for anyone who is interested in 'mountain man' recreations. It's all in here: the clothes, the guns, the accoutrements, the jewelry. There's even information on the food!

The gun information is wonderful (my favorite). It is a bit biased towards flintlocks, though, which is a bummer for those who are going for a later period impression and using a caplock.However, caplocks are discussed and the limited information provided is quite good.

The series is produced by the same guys who do MUZZLELOADING magazine and it sticks to their same high standards.

Note: buying the books individually gets exspensive, so try to save some money by buying them in sets.

Interesting and informative

Helpful Votes: 16 out of 18 total.
Review Date: 1998-01-22

This is the first book I've ever read on Buckskinning.
This book is a collection of magazine articles.
Each article is written by a participant and their
interest and committment in the hobby/sport/lifestyle
are obvious. The book has many pictures of people
and buckskinning events. Many drawings of the artifacts
are also included. I have attended buckskinning gatherings
in the past when they are open to the public at local historical
events. This book explains what is expected of the buckskinners
and their guests such as how to approach and enter a tipi, Which
anachronisms are acceptable and which are not. I really enjoyed
the article on putting up a tipi and tipi living.

Black Powder shoots are an integral part of the activities
both target practice and hunting. The basic methods of Knife and
Tommahawk throwing are taught(I bought me a hand forged,
guarenteed for life, tommahawk this summer.)

Crafts such as Blacksmything and beadwork are also covered.

Over all, the book is fun and interesting. Additional books
are in the series but I haven't read them yet.

Informative and a good place to start!

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2002-04-30

Historical re-enacting has been a part of my life for a very long time,and this book was one of the first guides I had. And it is still one of the best for the newcomer to the hobby, despite being first published 21 years ago. Basic clothing, tents and tipis, camp behavior, the crafts of 'buckskinning' are all here. One minor criticism from me is that this volume, more so than the others in the series, concentrates on the Western Fur trade era, to the exclusion of the eastern frontiersman, but to be fair, when this book was published most of the interest in re-enacting was leaning more toward the 'mountain man' rather than the 'long hunter'. Despite this, I highly recommend this book and all its companion volumes (8 total books...)for anyone interested in the wonderful hobby of historical re-enacting...

Branding in Asia: The Creation, Development, and Management of Asian Brands for the Global Market

Published in Paperback by Wiley (2001-08-10)

Author: Paul Temporal

List price: $29.95

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Average review score:

For Asian Companies with global aspirations.

Helpful Votes: 12 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 2000-05-05

Few Asian companies have been successful in developing international brands. It is now a sophisticated process that puts together and sustains a complex mixture of local and international attributes and values , something that is tangible.Its interesting how Temporal have chosen the different products ( over 20 )from leading Asian and Western brands to show good examples of how companies have used the fundamentals of branding to achieve global success. He has provided illustrative examples, techniques , exercises and invaluable advice for any company in Asia regardless of size that strives for more than being just another local household name.

a case study of international brands in asia

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2000-04-30

Asian market is unique with their traditional cultural. Brands should be though for leading in this area. This book must be read for the company who : - want to build a strong image - want a competitive advantage - struggle in asian market

FIRST BOOK TO SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS BRANDING IN ASIA

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2000-07-31

One of the ways to achieve sustainable growth in any market is a recognisable brand name. While many Western companies have successfully developed international brands, Asian companies have been slow to follow suit. How is it that Asia, a region that has such high brand appreciation, produces so few international brands of its own?

In this groundbreaking book, Asia's leading brand architect addresses this unusual situation, explains the fundamentals of branding and shows how companies can use them to achieve outstanding performance. Containing over 20 case studies of leading Asian and Western brands, this book is packed with illustrative examples, advice and exercises.

Branding in Asia is an invaluable book that is a must for anyone responsible for business growth in the 21st century.

Dr Paul Temporal is Asia's leading expert on brand creation, development and management, having lived in the region for over 14 years. He has worked with leading companies and governments, and is well known his results-oriented and hands-on approach. He is the author of Corporate Charisma.

exceeded my expectations wonderfully

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2000-06-08

My expectations were mainly about redressing the balance on geographical origins of brand case studies. Our literature suffers from being far too US centric. This imbalance is unfortunate for several reasons including: - living in the US for the last 2 years has taught me how atypical the US consumer is of any other I have met in 25 countries that I have worked - from the oldest brand models (which assumed brands were advertising led) to the newest ebrand models, there's huge share of voice reflecting the culture of corporate America and the case theories of its business schools. These powerful systems shouldn't be unquestioningly exported as being de facto paradigms for local organisational excellence or social value.

My expectations were exceeded because this book - unlike most on the brand which start with chapters on advertising and marketing communications - opens up from the very beginning on the leadership importance of branding. Here we are on pages 1-2: "Strong brands endure many challenges. This is becoming increasingly relevant in an era of unprecedented change, upheaval and uncertainty. This change is strategic, unlike the incremental change of more predictable times, and therefore requires a strategic response. Brand building is exactly such a response. If successful, it can be the strongest weapon in a company's armory and the best guarantee of corporate survival. The challenge that lies ahead is that of change management.

And by page 4, we're invited to join in a cataloguing of worldwide changes to marketing: -the breakdown of market boundaries -globalization and the development of global brands -increasing market fragmentation -product diversity and shorter life cycles -greater customer sophistication -digital business -economic instability and market volatility

So this book flies, and yet at the same time when you read it you will continually pick up useful advice whether your brain is looking for practical or academic stimulation. For example, the book closes with an appendix of very worthwhile brand exercises, and it resonates with case studies, 24 in all. Each case study ends with a summary of that brand's strengths.

This book will be good for you whether this is the first one you read on branding, or as in my case the twenty first, including two of my own. For example, I learnt a lot from Temporal's consistently strong advice on brand values and the way they shape corporate personality on its outside and inside.

Brandy, Balloons, & Lamps: Ami Argand, 1750-1803

Published in Hardcover by Southern Illinois University Press (1999-07-16)

Author: John J. Wolfe

List price: $59.95

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Average review score:

Light up the World

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-08-31

This is a beautiful book, lavishly produced on fine paper, with 46 colored plates and many black and white photos. This is the story of Ami Argand, inventor of the greatly improved oil lamp in 1780. Argand lived an interesting life, and knew some of the main characters in the industrial revolution, such as James Watt, Matthew Boulton, and the Montgolfier brothers. His story had been mostly forgotten, though, and Wolfe has done the world some good in bringing it back to life.

The lamp Argand patented was actually an important invention. It was no small thing to bring a much improved, cheaper source of light to the homes and shops of an industrializing West. The Argand lamp became the standard configuration until about 1850 when the kerosene lamp more or less replaced it. Many of them were real works of art, eagerly sought by collectors today. They were more or less on the edge of what could be mass produced at the time, and Argand experienced many trials and tribulations in bringing it to market. Even the renowned Boulton factories had trouble producing them.

This is a wonderful tale of the Industrial Revolution, and I much enjoyed it. Thank you Mr. Wolfe!

Great Research and a Compelling Read !

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2000-04-30

Tremendous book. Beautifully researched and filled with staggering illustrations. I bought it as a reference as I collect lamps. As a reference and piece of scholarship it ranks with the work of Florence Montgomery, John Bivens and Catherine Lynn. What was the most pleasant surprise is that it is beautifully and compellingly written. A truly fascinating story of a fascinating man who lived during a fascinating era. No serious collector of lighting or 18-19th century decorative object should be without this work. Any major decArts library would be remiss not to own it. At $59.95 it is probably underpriced.

If you enjoyed Longitude you will love this book.

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 1999-08-23

John Wolfe portrays the poignant story of a brilliant, gentle, and naive 18th century inventor, Ami Argand. Wolfe's exhaustive research rewards the reader with an intimate view into the life and thinking of Argand and other 18th century luminaries. This book engages your sense of histroy, science, intrigue, and lighting. I really enjoyed it.

The story of Ami Argand who spear-headed modern lighting

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 1999-08-07

An invention of an oil lamp has revolutionized the world. Finally, a lamp has been created that produced a good light without the annoying smoke that has plagued the social life of people over thousands of years. The value of the inventions is immediately recognized and the demand for the new lamp is overwhelming. A commercial opportunity of enormous proportion has emerged. Can a single person protect his invention and satisfy the demand for the new light against the competitive spirit of free market? It is the year 1784, the rumblings of the French Revolution, of the Napoleon wars, and of restructuring of the social systems are not yet heard. It is the time of technical innovations. The steam engine has already advanced manufacturing industry and the dream to conquer the air has just become a reality, the balloon of the Montgolfier brothers graces the sky. John J. Wolfe's book provides an initiate picture of Ami Argand, the Genevese citizen who perfected distilleries for Brandy, invented the two-air draft burner for oil lamps, and assisted the Montgolfiers in flying balloons. Its is a also the story of greed, deceit and unhappiness, and a story of an unfortunate hero and of successful villains. For the first time, an authoritative account is given for the life of Argand; a brilliant scientist who is immortalized by his invention, the Argand lamp, but also a person who sought recognition and wished to persevere in business. The combination of a spell binding story and never published pictures of early lighting promotes this book as a must for students of history, technology and lighting.

Bucket of Blood, The Ragman's War

Published in Paperback by iUniverse, Inc. (2003-12-18)

Author: R. S. Sukle

List price: $17.95

New price: $11.49
Used price: $11.49
Collectible price: $25.00

Average review score:

A Western Pennsylvania History Lesson

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-20

Having grown up in Russellton, Pa. - the setting of this book, I can vouch for the accuracy of the details. Everything from the location of various landmarks referred to on numerous occasions, down to some of the family names she mentions, they are all very real.
I was so moved by this book that I made it a point to go out of my way to visit some of these locations the next time I visited my home town. It sent chills up my spine to stand in the exact same spot as many of the characters did, now knowing their pain and suffering.
This book should be required reading for local highschool students so that they could better understand the history of their community.

History Illuminated

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-02-12

In Bucket of Blood, Sukle has written a fast-paced story of the turmoil and violence surrounding a 1927-1928 Miner's strike in Western Pennsylvania.In a well-written and entertaining fashion the story illuminates an important and nearly forgotten struggle in American history for Fair Wages and Fair Working Conditions. More importantly, Sukle illuminates the human heart and the strength of character shown by people in challenging conditions. The author's family history with the early union in the area gives this novel an authentic voice. I strongly recommend this book.

A True Work of Respect

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-03-25

I am amazed at how lucky we are to live in today's world. Bucket of Blood gave me an understanding of the hardships families had to face during the miner's strike in Pennsylvania. I could actually feel the cold and pain that the families felt and the anger expressed toward the Coal & Iron police. This was a part of history I now understand helped me realize how lucky I am to live in the world as it is today.

Ragman's War a masterpiece

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-02-13

: Bucket of Blood: Ragman's War illustrates survival strategies in a family and in a desolate coal-mining community hidden in the hills of Russellton, Pennsylvania, in 1927. Initiative saves lives as two brothers, sometimes four, link skills and ideas to keep strikers from freezing or starving when coal mine and railroad owners unite to evict them from their company houses and beat them as a method of control of the mines. S. R. Sukle, in vivid dialogue, a dramatic story line and ndiscerning description, has caught a time in the mines and on the surrounding farms which tested endurance. The hardiness of the immigrant valley denizens, family love, and the necessity for union organizing permeate the novel. Particularly touching is the German mother who rises first in the pre-dawn to heat the kitchen and brew the coffee before her sons set out each day to save their fellows. Both humorous and poignant is the father who bunks in the barn with the animals during a flu epidemic. IUniverse has published an insightful chronicle of an experience of our forefathers and mothers that we in our comfortable, 21st century lives, can scarcely imagine. Reading Bucket of Blood: Ragman's War will help us imagine the triumphing stock from which many Americans came.

Building Images: Seventy Years of Photography at Hedrich Blessing

Published in Hardcover by Chronicle Books (2000-09-01)

Author: Tony Hiss

List price: $75.00

New price: $20.12
Used price: $18.92

Average review score:

Inspiring Work from the Masters

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-01

If you have any desire to learn about how to photograph architecture or interior spaces, sometimes a picture is worth more than a thousand words. Sometimes they are the very best teaching aids you can use, far better than pages of technical writing, diagrams, measurements and angles. Look at the composition, the light and the color. Aside from just enjoying the beautiful photographs for what they are, you can learn a great deal from them, if that is your aim. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to know how to make compelling photographs of structures, interiors and designed spaces. You may need other books to master the technicalities of the craft if you're just beginning, but start here.

(Another great place to learn is from the work of Julius Shulman...)

Spacemen

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-24

If you, like me, have for years been looking at Julius Shulman photos of west coast architecture or Ezra Stoller's images from the east coast you tend to think they were the only ones taking great building photos so it was a wonderful surprise to come across this book of stunning photos.

Since Hedrich Blessing's start in 1929 they seem to have consistently produced great work. There several shots from the Thirties and Forties here that look just as fresh as yesterday. A list of nineteen company photographers on page eleven raises the question: how do they manage to take work that has a creative quality suggesting that there is only one company photographer? Tony Hiss in his intro essay quotes staffer Bob Harr "We're in competition with the world, but never with each other".

The book has one hundred and sixty beautiful photos split between interiors and exteriors and being client commissioned they all work hard to present their architectural best so fortunately there are no out-of-focus, angled or other trendy photo techniques at work.

I think this is a remarkable book of building photos and at the price some Amazon Marketplace Sellers are quoting it is an exceptional bargain.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

Simply beautiful

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2003-12-06

There are some bodies of work that simply stand out from others. Be it style, approach, purpose, or quality, there's something that clearly puts certain groups of work above the vast majority of others. This book is such a body of work.

The images presented are commercial photographs. They were taken over a span of 70 years by different photographers, all of them doing architectural photography as a professional venture for commercial purposes. All too often it seems that people automatically assume that if something is commercially produced, it simply cannot exist on the level of other things that have been produced for the purpose of art. And unfortunately, a lot of the photography and design we come in contact with on a daily basis just reinforces this notion. However, there are certain individuals who are capable of completing a commercial venture in such a beautiful, elegant, and truly artful manner that it becomes astoundingly clear that commercial work need not be anything short of fine art. In design, we have people like Viktor Schreckengost who have proven this. In photography, there are photographers like those at Hedrich-Blessing.

I do not mean to imply that these photographers are infallible or incapable of producing work that would simply fall into a pedestrian classification. However, given the photographs in this book, it is clear that they have been able to produce a large number of photographs that are both highly communicative and visually clear, concise, and overwhelmingly elegant. Few photographers have been able to approach architecture in such a way.

The book itself does a simply wonderful job presenting these photographs. The layout, editing, text, and photographs are nearly perfect. The introduction, written by Timothy Samuelson, is wonderfully done and does an excellent job of introducing the photographs that follow. The reproductions of the photographs are gorgeous. The order is very well thought-out and the periodic sections of text that identify the photographs contain individual paragraphs about some of the photographs that provide wonderful insight into the process, the photographers, etc.

I think just about anyone could get something out of this volume. Most of all, though, I think that it's something that would be most meaningful for photographers, designers, and architects. Or anyone with a strong sense for the visual, for that matter. I don't know how many times I've spent a coupel hours just slowly going over the photographs in this book. Every time I've done so, I've gotten something different out of the images. And almost always I feel refreshed and eager to get out there and work on making better images myself (I'm a photographer).

I cannot say enough good things about this book. But given that I'm sure you probably think I've already written too much, let me just say this much more - this is a significant volume, being beautiful throughout, more than worthy of the price, and sure remain a prized part of your collection for many, many years.

70 Years of Historic Beauty

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2000-10-09

What a beautiful collection of photographs! The images in this book are some of the most georgeous photographs of buildings that I have ever seen, beginning with that stunning shot of the Chicago Federal building on the cover. This is the kind of coffee table book that is very smart and invites attention. The images move though 70 years of different styles of architecture, but with a consistent focus on what is most important -- a detail, a beautiful shape, or a play of textures and color to create a mood that shows the strength of the architectural designs. This consistency is amazing considering how many photographers Hedrich Blessing has used -- 19 in all. The book features images that you rarely see elsewhere, like the 1930's panoramic shot of the Palmolive building with the spikes of lighting in the sky (and shows just how far back Hedrich Blessing goes)to the more abstracted photographs, like the design elements of a servant's hallway( something you might never notice as important or beautiful). The essay by Tony Hiss does makes good points about why Hedrich Blessing's work is important. The book wonderfully designed. I especially liked the way each photographer's work is referenced by their name next to the page number and the way that two photographs are paired together on the same page. The book reflects 70 years of history in ways that show how architectural photography started and the way the field has grown. This book could be broken down into different books on different subjects: retail/commercial design, tall buildings, residential interiors, etc., but overall, the book shows off Hedrich Blessing's art fabulously. A must for architectural and photographic enthusiasts!