Vans Books

I love the Fansworth House but I've not been there yet. The book shows us full of images of the masterpiece and takes us into the house imaginarily. Black and white photos work very much and some Mies's drawings are also helpful to understand how the house was beyond the notions. It is still quite new and less is more, of course.
Yoko Lewis, Berkeley in Califorinia

a magnificient book about the last domestic project built by mies, where an extraordinary complexity of details results in a very simple home. truly the work of a lifetime achievement.

From Foreword:

"Thinking is our essence as human beings, Descartes famously proposed, but when thought is embodied it acquires modes and dimensions it would never have had in its pure state. Imagination, for example, is a bodily intrusion on thought, and feelings in particular are muddled modes of thinking - muddled by the peremptory and distracting demands of our incessantly needful physiological selves.

Susanne Langer's thesis is the exact inverse of this: for her, perhaps because we are never not embodied, feeling is our essence as human beings, and rational thought but one of its more perspicuous modes. The shift of feeling to center stage in our mental life must in her case be explained by the shifting of art to center stage in what she supposed was a philosophy of the human spirit more adequate than her predecessors - with the exception perhaps of Schopenhauer, whom she greatly resembles as a thinker - had though to give." - Arthur C. Danto

From Introduction:

"The central problem of the present essay is the nature and origin of the veritable gulf that divides human from animal mentality, in a perfectly continuous course of development of life on earth that has no breaks. For animals have mental functions, but only man has a mind, and a mental life. Some animals are intelligent, but only man can be intellectual. The thesis I am about to develop here is that the departure from the normal pattern of animal mentality is a vast and special evolution of feeling in the hominid stock. This deviation from the general balance of functions usually maintained in the complex advances of life is so rich and so intricately detailed that is affects every aspect of our existence, and adds up to the total qualitative difference which sets human nature apart from the rest of the animal kingdom as a mode of being that is typified by language, culture, morality, and consciousness of life and death. "
- Suzanne K. Langer

Langer's thoughts are like a jolt of espresso to the brain - but for me they have to be excavated from the density of her writing. Her thoughts are worth wading through, though. My primary interest so far are her chapters on art -- about the projection of feeling in art and on living form in art and nature "Every work of art has to seem organic and living to be expressive of feeling." Langer writes that it is a "quality of life" that is meant by "livingness" in art....there is in art the vital appearance as in living forms in nature which as the great morphologist D'Arcy Thompson observed - are almost all
records of growth, i.e. biological activity --yet the most convincing images of such forms have often resulted in art
where no natural model furnished the motif and the shape seems to have sprung directly from the symbolic intuition of the artist
irrationality and indefinability are the delight of artists
artists see things physiognomically. children also see things
physiognomically. to see things physiognomically is to see the inner character or quality revealed outwardly. to see inside.
Langer writes how the work of art seems to have its own inward being and this inward being is the body or organism out of which its realized elements seem to arise. that is why a good work of art presents itself as a matrix from which all its sensously given articulations are derived while others which do not
appear are nonetheless felt to lie somehow in limbo
the work seems unique when it is "alive"
such a figure has the living stillness of a plant Gradients of relative clarity, complexity, tempo, intensity of feeling, and
interest also permeate most of antimate nature as basic patterns of change and growth

((((((OOOHHHH - she's out there, man....I love it.....she's talking about
ALL art, whether painting, music, theatre, writing, dance, sculpture.....)

As a mineral dealer and collector, people often ask me to suggest a good book for people interested in Mineralogy. This is what I always suggest. It is one of the best books written on the subject and I highly suggest it for anyone that does not have a copy already.

If you are only going to own one mineralogy book, this needs to be it. A scholarly but well grounded text that refrains from the turf of PhD dissertations and instead expertly handles the critical material. As he has shown time and time again, Sinkankas knew his stuff and was a master at writing about it.

I discovered this book in architectural school, and was intrigued at the way Zevi clarified everything I was then dealing with in vague ways in architectural school. The invariables, or "anti-rules", as Zevi calls them, are each given seperate chapters in this book. Listing of Functions, Asymmetry and Dissonance, Antiperspective Three Dimensionality, Four-Dimensional Decomposition, Cantilever, Shell and Membrane Structures, Space-in Time and Reintegration of Building, City and Landscape are all ideas present to varying degrees in various buildings at various times in history. Zevi shows how they can be used in a more deliberate and integrated fashion, no matter what the budget or funtion of any given building. He illuminates how these ideas are present in the architecture of times historical and times more recent, and underscores the value of non-conformist buildings for the enrichment of society.
This book gave me a tremendous creative boost at just the right time in my life and it's influence continues in my work. Marvellously illustrated with three-dimensional drawings and with photos, it presents a summation of the thinking of a great and scholarly mind.

This book is by far one of the best books I have read in a while. It is simple and to the point and Zevi does not hold back. It is a little dated, but all of his seven principles are able to be directly applied to the current state of architecture. This should be a mandatory reading for all architecture students. His opinions of the tendencies within society to praise the priciples of Symmetry, proportion, and order, show how architecture has been plagued by standardization and repetitive forms throughout history. A great book for anyone who is troubled by the generality of architecture (with great exception to the current masters, no less)and would like to see the boundries broken.

The Amazon search engine shows "The Modern Recorder Player" by Walter van Hauwe to be out of print. The book SERIES is currently in print, published by SCHOTT, and is a classic of modern and baroque style recorder technique. I have ordered the 3 volumes of the series from another bookseller, and they are currently on their way to me by post.

Volume 1 covers basic technique such as playing position, the all important topic of breathing, articulation, tone production, and some aspects of original music practice.

Vol 2 continues these topics, with more consideration of baroque music.

Vol 3 is devoted to specifically modern recorder techniques for 20th century music.

These books are continually cited by other technique and method authors, and have been classics in the field since their first publication.

Too bad the Amazon search engine would rather show it as 'out of print' than admit they don't carry it. Obviously, users of the Amazon search engine who come up with an 'out of print' message should reconfirm this by other methods, and always remember that even "Books in Print" is merely an advertising medium, listing only those books which publishers pay to list. Smaller publishers and specialty publishers frequently don't list all their books there.

----------Followup--------
The book is no longer shown as out of print, but readers should still be wary of 'out of print' Amazon messages as I originally posted.

I got the series, and found it lives up to its reputation. There is plenty here to keep me busy for the rest of my musical life. The material is well written, well illustrated, and easy to understand. The technical advice is appropriate for anyone from beginner to professional level.

As the previous reviewer said, this series of three books is indeed not out of print. It is the most complete technical manual for serious recorder players. I use it with all of my pre-professional students, as do many teachers around the world.

Essential reading for everyone. I came to realize that deep down inside, we are all monomaniacal.
Please, Prof. van Zuylen, write more!

It's rare that a book written by a comp. lit. professor is so riveting, and even relevant to real life. "Monomania" has changed the way I understand other people, and reinforced my faith in the importance of literature.

This book is a great guide to the non-paved alternatives in beautiful Monterey. I like the aquarium and all, but...! The guide covers 17 routes which range in difficulty from warm up to real "sweaters". It would also help condition those not too familiar with trail running. The greatest part is that many of the runs are connectable, which gives you a great deal of variety (even though the author frequently uses them for laps). It's the only one of its kind - I highly recommend it and getting out there!

Monterey Trail Runner's Guide is an excellent and superbly presented "where to" book for anyone with interest in outdoor exercise and the picturesque Monterey Peninsula. Veteran runner Jeffrey Van Middlebook aptly describes seventeen gorgeous trail runs, all the better to encourage fellow runners to escape the noisy, smog-laden cities and experience nature while staying fit. Four Monterey Peninsula parks are highlighted: Point Lobos State Reserve, Jacks Peak County Park, Mission Trail Park, and the Garland Ranch Regional Preserve. With its locator map and general terrain descriptions for each park or reserve, and augmented with tips on weather and trail conditions, parking information, mileage, difficulty ratings, and directions to the trail head, the Monterrey Trail Runner's Guide is very highly recommended for outdoor running and jogging enthusiasts with endurance!

It is a must read! I was initially attracted to the graphics in the book, but after reading one the 3 volumes-Effects, which touches on the 2 types of effects: Orientable and Nonorientable, the book covers some of the projects and explains the underlying concepts behind the works. I would strongly recommend students of architecture to read up on the 3 Volumes because it is really useful in their studies as it helps them to conceptualise thinkings.

This breath-taking 3-volume book MOVE is briefly about how we can produce material effects through imagination by using new techniques. Ben van Berkel and his critical eyes Caroline Bos show us this with brief descriptions and variety of projects. They propose generative diagrams to analyze and translate current complex situation particularily in urban condition. To do this, they seem to stress on learning/accepting new techniques like computational skills. However they do not direct us to be mad about it. The most important thing is what we can think and find throughout the process of materialisation, not skills. I can say all the images in MOVE was really fascinating when it was first published and still is in a way. Right now what is in MOVE seems to be little bit old to some folks, but it still effective to those who have just seen the new way of design technique.

Oh my, stop reading and click on the order button! If you have children and want their musical horizons expanded, you must have "The Music Pack!"

The accompanying CD alone is worth the price. Listen: Josquin's "Kyrie" by the Hilliard Ensemble, Palestrina's "Kyrie" (so different) by King's College Choir, Monteverdi's "Su pastorelli" (a madrigal) by Taverner Consort and Players, Purcell's "When I am laid in earth" (one of my most favorite pieces of music) from his opera, Dido and Aeneas, performed by Mermaid Singers and Orchestra. Other well-represented composers are Handel, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Wagner, Chopin, Verdi, Brahms, Janacek, Mahler, Debussy, Stravinsky, and Alban Berg.(Wow, I just heard an excerpt from Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, which I have never before heard. The book lists the complete titles for those interested in complete pieces of music instead of just excepts or short pieces.)

Little Lars and Samantha will gain so much from this music pack (as well as Mom and Dad, or whoever are the caretakers). Just open the over-sized book and look at the basics of music: voice, musical notation, the piano keys with the C Major scale overlaid, how sounds looks. Pull this, take this out, open this, ratchet this, fun stuff to do to go with the narrative.

Next two pages reveal more excitement, this time of how instruments work, their reeds, how an organ works, harmonica, and so on. More activities! Two pages of piano development are next with a pop-up piano, three piano virtuosos. With the percussion pages you get pop-up drums, a take-out drum membrane with little attached beads as strikers.

Now the entire orchestra pops up, including a conductor. Must have him! History of the development and the opera are provided. Then the 20th century is laid out in a two-page spread of color illustrations of important figures, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Gilbert and Sullivan, Frank Sinatra, vinyl, cassettes, and CDs, George and Ira Gershwin, Bernstein, and music videos.

World music makes the scene with a pull-out illustrating where various music forms developed: reggae, salsa, disco, calypso, blues, flemenco, jazz, and rap. Finally, a wall chart 24 x 11 is a summation of the book, including the "twenty masterpieces" on the CD, the periods of music, and then the 20th cent. figures and music.

Accompanying the CD is a Commentary briefly explaining (stop, I'm listening to an excerpt from Beethoven's Eroica, ok, it's over) all twenty pieces. Last, there is a little booklet with many musical terms from accidental and analogue sound to yodeling and zarzuela (a Spanish comic opera in which lines are spoken instead of the usual recitative).

I cannot believe I have had this Music Pack for years and never opened it, but now I can put it to good use and let my great-nieces and nephew have it for the summer. Maybe they will be inspired to become musical!

This book is definitely one of the best books I have ever read.With its awesome 3-D pop-ups,this book is surely a book that everyone in your family would enjoy. Even if you are four year of age there are still things to do in this book! It has pop-up instruments that you can actually play! The book tells you about world music, and also comes with a CD full of classcal music.It includes timelines of various musical masters throughout the centuries.This book is packed with so much information that if you were to read it you would instantly become educated in how to use instruments and how music is created. I highly recommend this book to any music lover, or music teacher. I have been playing two instruments for about three years, and this book is just as fun as playing the real thing!

This book is very practical. I found the philosophy agreeable to mine, but also flexible to different values and personal experiences. For example it has many "tools" for examining your own experiences which lead to practical suggestions about how to change your methods. It helps you understand you plans for your parenting and to look at how you are and are not meeting your own expectations. It is applicable to ages from tiny infants to teenagers (a rare quality in a parenting book). I hope you try this book, I think you will find it helpful for yourself as well as your children and family.

Gives definite tools in which to clarify and establish one's own ideals and ways to apply them to our everyday living. Offers insights and gentle advice on child-rearing. Asks us to look into ourselves; to define what we want, and how we want to live our life, and what is important. This alone is bound to have a positive effect on raising our children. I think this book is compatible with any religion and gently accepts and respects one's own individuality, yet is able to wisely advise and provide ways to cope and look at things in a new perspective. Highly recommended...for men and women alike!