Commercials Books

I bought this book for my 95 year-old mother-in-law for Chistmas this year. We told her to open it as soon as it was delivered to her so she could get in the Christmas spirit. She told me she is enjoying this book so much! She especially likes the stories of Christmas in other countries and the beautiful illustrations. One of these pictures reminded her of a postcard send to her when she was young. This brought back some fond memories for her. Maybe she'll let me borrow it now!

Wallowing in happy Christmas memories has caused me to start buying books of this nature. Although several times the narrative has been similar in various books, this one stands out not only for the concise text, but the beautiful graphics and selection of images. The country by country detail of traditions was really nice.

I put my little heap of Christmas books beside me, fix a cup of hot cocoa, crank up the air conditioning, and sink happily into a winter wonderland of Christmas in August!

Some day I should like very much to visit Jerusalem. Until I do, I'll probably wear this book out.

This is a history of Christendom's holiest shrine, the church built over what was believed to be the site of Jesus' burial and resurrection. This book contains the church's complete history along with some of the most spectacular photography of the church, its various communities, and its ceremonies that I've ever seen.

Pricey, but I've never seen a better one. If you don't think you'll ever make a Jerusalem pilgramage, click on "Add to Shopping Cart" right now.

Every Christian with a sense of the sacred and also historical sense--and that should be every Christian--would benefit from this book. It is even better than I expected. The photos are as beautiful and moving as advertised. Especially good are the essays showing the continuity of understanding about the historicity of the site of Christ's tomb. The text also explains the various positions of the Christian churches with possession or rights within the Sepulchre/Resurrection complex. The book also does not shy from the embarrassing fact that ancient divisions within orthodox Christianity continue to this day. How wonderful it would be if these divisions could be put aside, especially in light of the current cultural and religious onslaught against Christians. I recommend that the book be ordered through Daedalus books (beware--Daedalus the book catalog, not the kinky publisher) because Daedalus has it in stock at a much reduced price.

This was a wonderful book. Lovely and full of style and grace. The shoes were dazzling and wonderful. Some that i wouldn't mind being displayed in my house.

Shoes are more than scraps of fabric and leather to keep your feet off the ground. Contrary to what all the "Practical Pattys" in the world will tell you, shoes set the mood for an outfit, reveal the wearer's spirit and personality. And shoes can even be ART, as shown in this book. My personal favorite is the "glass slipper" made of broken pop bottles welded together. Not something you want to dance until midnight in!

Le Corbusier has a dream for Paris, and it is a really interesting and unusual one. He creates a model for the cities, and his model has been living for almost a century. Although, you may reject to see it built, put aside living in it, it is a complete (well, almost complete) model. In this book, Le Corbusier presents his model city in detail from streets to building codes. He not only talks about the physical structure, but also the life style it would create. The mass of the city scares you, but you admire how he defends his vision, which is strong and bold, just like the book itself.

As an architecture student interested in the "art" of city planning, I found this book fascinating! Gives Le Corbusier's "radical" views and ideas plenty of substantive support. It is not only a book of design theory, but a book of urban history. Even if you're not too fond of Corbusier's work, this is a must-read for anyone interested in architecture!

Michael Southworth and Tridib Banerjee, former students of Kevin Lynch at MIT's School of Urban Studies and Planning, have organized a brilliant collection of most of Lynch's works. Here we can find his seminal ideas pointed out trough his researches in the field of environmental perception, as well as his urban design projects. The book still presents a good biography of Lynch and serves as a very interesting complement to the books that this fundamental author wrote. It is an extremely important work both to architectural and urban design students as well as to professionals and researches.

This is THE BOOK for anyone -not exclusively urban planners- who wants to understand not only the physical form of the city, but how its citizens interact with the urban landscape. Through his experience and observation, Lynch reminds us that the most important component of a city -the reason why they are built- are its inhabitants.

The best book of its type I have ever read. By the way, is the author also an actor who appeared in the cult movie Leon The Pig Farmer?

I thought it was an interesting insight into the world of aviation and not too difficult for a lay person to appreciate. I think one of the authors, Paul Simpkin, is also a comedy writer - and ex-Cambridge graduate. Obviously multi-talented.

This book is one of the best guides to international civil litigation, which has become a complex area of law in Europe with the involvement of different sets of rules for jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. While being perfectly capable of serving practioners as a quick reference, this book manages at the same time to be analytical and insightful.

This is fast becoming the definitive guide to the English private international law rules regarding civil jurisdiction and the recognition of foreign judgments. No lawyer wishing to understand the complexities of this area of English law should do without it. The treatment of the rules which apply perforce the Brussels and Lugano Conventions is especially lucid. Briggs is a masterful academic (and practising) lawyer.

Whether you are a seasoned airliner aficionado like a casual or curious observer, or myself this small book contains a treasure trove of facts and anecdotes on airliners ranging from the 14-seat De Havilland Heron to the mighty Boeing 747-100/-200. Mr. Singfield accommodates nearly everyone's definition of a classic airliner; his criteria for inclusion are that the type must be out of production with at least one preserved survivor (air show circuit queen or museum piece) somewhere in the world. Sadly, this precludes inclusion of such fascinating types as Handley-Page HP-42 Heracles, and De Havilland DH-91 Albatross, the latter in my mind being one of the most beautiful aircraft ever built. At least the author explains this up front in the introduction. Similarly, we also no not get to see most of the wonderful old Clippers, such as the Martin M130, Sikorsky S-42, or Boeing 314 Clipper, but newly restored Vought-Sikorsky VS-44A is present in all its glory.

Mr. Singfield includes the venerable classics such as the DC-3, Lockheed Constellation, De Havilland DH-106 Comet, and Boeing 707, but the book's greatest strength lies in its inclusion of less well-known types, particulary old Soviet types that are only recently accessible to Western observers. This book helped me finally distinguish between the Ilyushin Il-12 and Il-14 and the Antonov An-8, An-10, and An-12. The author also points out how the Antonov An-8's design predated the mighty Lockheed Hercules. And speaking of old Soviet airliners, page 138 has a wonderful and highly historic 1956 picture of Tupolev Tu-104A CCCP-L5445 visiting Idlewild airport in 1956, the first production airliner to visit New York City (Boeings Dash-80 did make a visit earlier), predating BOAC's first London to New York Comet flight by some two years!

"I'm sure you will find ... other [airliners] that qualify for inclusion by age, scarcity, or interest," writes the author. Indeed I did: the McDonnell-Douglas DC-8 series -60 and -70, oldies but goodies widely praised for their durability and excellent economics. The 737-100 and -200 are included but not the 727 series, which enjoyed one of the longest production runs of any airliner until eclipsed by the 737 and A320 series. The early model 747s are there, but the DC-10 and Lockheed L1011 are not, though the latter two are rapidly disappearing from mainstream service. However, much to his credit, Mr. Singfield did include the Concorde, which with its recent (2003) retirement has become a cult symbol even among persons with no further interest in airliners.

All in all, this book has a lot to offer, and even a jaded aviation enthusiast who thinks he or she has seen it all will learn something new from this interesting book.

You can never get bored of this great book: for more than 3 months I kept it around with me everywhere, and if I had 5 minutes, I just opened it up randomly and forgot about the outside world. Not that much of technical specifications (just the basics), but lots of history and superb photographs (3 photos for each model!) about commercial airplanes of yesterday and day before yesterday, including legendary and less known makes and models. Each entry has information about production and about present availability of the model, whether airworthy or just a museum piece. The book is very rich in Russian-built aircraft, including models you may have never heard of. If you are an aviation fan, wherever you open this book, you will find something interesting to read and see. If you are not a specialist, going through this book, you may formulate a shocking idea about how the industry reached to where it is now. An excellent gift item to your son before he believes that travelling is Jumbo Jet or maximum an Airbus and an excellent gift item to your father to help him recall some possible personal experiences that he had already forgotten from the near past. Tom Singfields excellent work is a must for everybody, having the slightest interest for technical history of commercial aviation!

maud lavin deals with a complex subject in a manner that can be understood by the layperson as well as the academic. kudos to her for reminding us of an important subject that has to be continually examined. and kudos, too, for approaching it with a fresh perpective.

What is the nature of creative compromise? What and who gets compromised by whom? In this fascinating new book, Maud Lavin may focus these questions on the practice of graphic designers, but she also opens them up, in a larger way, to questions of cultural and commercial identity. Her awareness of these larger questions makes her one of the preeminent (and one of the only ) critical thinkers to write about graphic design. For Lavin, graphic design is one mode of engagement in a complex dialogue between commerce and creativity. But she is equally comfortable, here, discussing other modes of (often technological) engagement.

The book is a group of connected essays which can be read independently or as a whole. Its intended audience is broad and Lavin's writing style is clear enough to engage those unfamiliar with graphic design even while being sophisticated and intelligent enough to engage the professional designer, design historian, or art historian.

I find her essay on Kurt Schwitters and the Circle of New Advertising Designers in 1920's and 1930's Europe to be the finest which I've read on the topic. I also find her collection of interviews with women graphic designers to be particularly interesting and enjoyable. What these two essays have in common is their engagement with questions of creativity and compromise - a complex and underestimated dialectic in graphic design and one which Lavin makes uniquely evident. In bringing that evidence to bear on different forms of creativity (and different forms of compromise) - be it on the internet or in the visual politics of the abortion debate - Lavin is pushing the boundaries of both design and cultural criticism.

For that it deserves a lasting spot on my bookshelf.

I am an elementary school counselor. This is an excellent book to share with children who are (grieving) missing a parent because of divorce, deployment, or death. Wonderful pictures and text. A peaceful, gentle read.

IF YOU LISTEN...wow, that title get's attention. I have so much to share with/teach my child and this book's title is perfect to whisper to her and get her in the mood to LISTEN. "How do you know if someone far away is loving you?" a little girl asked her mother. Truth is, we all ask ourselves this with so many family/friends over the miles. The mother answers in a way that is very interesting and beautiful with simple, yet great descriptive writing that pulls the reader into the pictures and beyond..."You have to stop when you're lonely and listen," said her mother....If you listen hard you'll feel someone far away sending love to you." After listening to her mother's examples, the little girl sits outside under a clear blue sky. "One bird circled and circled overhead. She watched until he flew away." There is so much more I'd like to say but get this book and share it with your child and encourage them to become listeners. Listening is something that we never "graduate" from. It is a continuous learning experience and more importantly, a gift of love and respect to the speaker.
Soar!