Town Books

What a wonderful book this is! Conlon's voice is real...her character are people, living, loving, despairing, and making the best of it all.

Every single one of them rings a bell and the honesty is refreshing and true. They are a group of real friends who know when to tell the truth and when to think over telling the truth. Everyone takes responsibility for who they are and they accept, support, and make allowances.

This is what it's all about.

Best novel I read since Charming Billy. Had trouble putting it down, it gripped me immediately and does s fine job of increasing conflict up to the very last chapter. Story told with letters and an occasional chapter devoted to a single character providing his/her background from childhood on. Well written, characters developed in full. Read the book from our library - it was published in Ireland - and purchased a copy to send to a daughter who will loan it to others. Wonderful story - or stories really.

She's done it again, and this time a "Creator gone Psycho" tells us exactly WHY He's going off the deep end. This book made me laugh, but, it also made me think---just WHAT is the "human race" doing to itself?????? If you want/need to laugh, and then think about our way of life, this book is for you.

Humorous, thought provoking look at modern day society. Would be great for eccumentical discussion groups, youth groups and Adult Sunday School groups. In spite of its title, it is a very secular book

was the hallmark of P.A.V. Ansah according to his editors. Not having lived through coup dictator times I deferr to their authority.

The world needs more journalists of Mr. Ansah's caliber particularly here in the USA. For example you can get more better news in satellite tv in Africa than you can from talking heads here. Totally shamefull.

Somebody should reprent Going To Town in the US or UK.

A very provocative and interesting assessment of the Ghanaian/African condition in the scope of global politics. The book is a collection of articles by P. A. V. Ansah (PAVA as he was known), and are grouped under the headings of Media, Politics, Society, and International. Critiques and tasty satires of policies and processes shaping life in Ghana, political struggles and life in general. Topics range from IMF policies and the African continent, Education in Ghana, and the 1992 presidential elections in Ghana. His wit and humor shine through his anecdotes and jokes, keeping the reader highly amused and yet well informed on subjects in question.

PAVA was a well-known Ghanaian newspaper columnist (The Ghanaian Chronicle) nicknamed the "Monday Morning Terror" until his death in 1993. Highly respected, he was known as a defender of democracy, human rights and freedom of the press, who demonstrated the power of the pen, with fiery, thought-provoking and pungent discussions of issues. Resilient and bold, he dared to proclaim the 'unspeakable' in an era of suppressed and oppressed press freedom. He was a Professor of French, taught journalism and communication, and was editor of The Legon Observer, and Wonsuom, a rural newspaper in Fanti.

As one who straddles the two worlds of practice and scholarship with great ease and comfort, I am struck by that rare work of craft which is at once profoundly thoughtful as well as clearly directed. Most serious scholars bend over backwards to embrace the myth of "objectivity", while most practitioners salivate over superficial "best practices". Kevin Lynch's masterpiece, Good City Form, avoids both traps while offering a template for judging the effectiveness of different types of urban form and providing a guide for successful urban design projects. His starting points, a masterful overview of models of urban form throughout history and a sensitive ode to humanist values, help establish a foundation for performance dimensions to measure "good city form": Vitality, Sense, Fit, Access, Control, Efficiency and Justice. I would highly recommend this book to reflective practitioners, scholars interested in the practice of urban design, and others simply interested in shaping the future of our cities. In addition, the book works well with two others as an excellent advanced introduction to the field of urban design: "The City Shaped: Urban Patterns and Meanings Through History" by Spiro Kostof, and "Urban Design Downtown: Poetics and Politics of Form" by Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris and Tridib Banerjee.

In the world of urban design, obsessed with spectacular novelty and superficial aesthetics, this ambitious and profound work of Kevin Lynch is refreshing, yet enduring. He suggests a theory of urban design based on fundamental human values and examines how such values lead to the notion of a "good city form". His performance dimensions (e.g. access, fit, vitality) are broad enough to be interpreted and re-interpreted for specific contexts and sites. And the appendix, which briefly summarizes other theories of city form, is a tour-de-force by itself. A masterpiece which deserves greater attention and consideration, especially by those under the illusion that urban design is more or less architecture writ large!

we got this book from a "book of the month club" and I have to say it is one of the house favorites. It is a book that everyone likes to read, it is my husband's first choice in bedtime books for the kids. It flows so nicely "goodnight came here and goodnight went there all over town". Please stock up on this book again!!!

We found a copy of this book at a thrift store and it immediately became the bedtime favorite of my 20 month old daughter. Better yet, it became MY favorite bedtime story. Unlike most typical bedtime fare, this book offers something special for children and adults alike. Eve Rice presents incredibly detailed drawings of New York City and its inhabitants as "Goodnight creeps over the rooftops slowly". Her illustrations depict the streets and neighborhoods as well as glimpses into the quiet nightime routines of the residents. Each drawing is rendered in black, white and gray with limited use of yellow to create the warm glow of lamps, streetlights and the moon. The accompanying text is simple, flowing and comforting. It creates a nice contrast to the complexity of the illustrations. With text comforting enough for a child and illustrations detailed enough to interest an adult, I don't mind a bit that my daughter begs for this book over and over!

I can start off this review by stating pretty much any book Alan Hess writes will find its way to my shelf. Googie Redux is an incredible update to the original which was a masterpiece in itself.

The new photographs and line drawings are a very nice touch along with the updated text. Mr. Hess has proven himself again as the leading authority on this genre of architecture.

The insight and presentation of the information is what this architecture truly deserves. To ignore this style and consider it a joke is something that will bite us back in years to come. By then most of these places will be torn down and we'll be left with only this book as a resource. But, oh what a resource it is!

Now, if only Mr. Hess could fly over to the East Coast and write a book about the architecture in the seaside community of Wildwood, New Jersey. Then the circle would be complete. Many of these motels were built around the same time as the West Coast structures and would make for a very interesting comparison. Same style and philosophies, but with different architects, locales, and climates. Very interesting indeed.

In summary the equation is simple...great author plus great architecture equals doubly great book!

Googie was fading by the time I came along, but even in the remote area of the Midwest that I grew up in, its influence was felt. As a child, I didn't know what those slanted roofs and skewered-ball sign spires were called or where they came from, but I found their spacey, cartoonish vibe appealing (if increasingly worn and ill-maintained as the 70s wore on). This book, "Googie Redux," puts "ultramodern roadside architecture" in historical context and tells the stories of the commercial architects who invented Googie, primarily in Southern California. There's also an excellent section on automotive design of the postwar era, the ideas which inspired it, and its relation to Googie architecture. Fans of Americana, architecture, capitalism, and pop culture in general will adore this thick compendium of intelligent analysis and, in many cases, superb photographs documenting the glorious heyday and painful decline of this once-dominant style. Though Googie was shunned by the architectural establishment in its time, it is now given its due in this beautiful book. Buy it, read it, and catch a glimpse of an era in which roadside architecture was more than just the series of bland, inoffensive, lookalike boxes dispensing burgers, burritos, and coffee that we must suffer today. This book will feed your postwar fantasies and break your heart when you realize how homogenized commercial architecture has become.

This book is just fantastic. I am so sad that it's out of print! Not only are the stories touching and absolutely honest, there are some laugh out loud funny parts. My daughter quotes lines from the book from memory just so we can crack up together! Highly, highly recommended. Get your hands on a copy any way you can!

Janetta, a city girl, is not certain that she will like visiting her grandfather in rural Georgia. She's never been in the country before and everything--including the mule--frightens her. Grandaddy, however, is a gentle man wise to feelings and needs of little girls. He soon puts her at ease by telling outrageous tall tales. Their relationship grows closer throughout a series of visits.

This is a remarkably sweet--but never cloying--book. The book is a reprint of three previously published books, but the stories flow together so well that it seems as though they were originally designed to be one book. The chapters are short enough and contain enough pictures to encourage beginning chapter book readers. The characters are engaging and the stories are funny and frequently touching.

It is a great book. It tells the stories of several planning projects that turn out to be dissaters. Hall clearly identifies the two main reasons for planning disasters: overestimation of demand and underestimation of cost. It provides both practical and theoretical background on those projects. Must be in your libarary.

It is a great book. It tells the stories of planning projects that turn out to be dissaters. It clearly identifies the two main reasons for planning disasters: overestimation of demand and underestimation of cost. It provides both practical and theoretical background on those projects. Must be in your libarary. K. Mert CUBUKCU PhD Candidate The Ohio State University City & Regional Planning Department

David Vokac's book, The Great Towns of Southern California, is a must, whether you use it as a destination guide or to consult it when you are passing nearby one of his "great towns." It is the perfect traveling companion.

When you are driving through So.California, rather than have an ordinary experience along the way, go the extra distance and spend a night and have a meal in a "great town." For example, drive a mere 10 miles off Highway 101 and visit Ojai, a charming little village in the Ventura/Santa Barbara area that also has appealing lodging and restaurants.

You don't have to settle for the mundane with this book!

I am a southern California native and can attest to the fact that there are nice "getaway" places just a few hours, at the most, from Los Angeles or San Diego. I myself have visited most of these towns and have fond memories of them. Mr. Vokac includes much pertinent information relating to climate, points of interest, restaurants and lodgings. He even tackles the subject of permanent residency in these towns, as a service to those contemplating retirement. An indispensable guide for those wanting to know the southern California behind the glitz.

This tiny tome is in actuality a parable of compassion vs. misery, a story of triumph of life and vitality over common desperation. It is an example of how good work that encompasses the light of the sun and the miracle of the seed supersedes the doldrums of disenfranchised lives. The recipients of the gardens thumb their noses at their personal misfortune and rise to find that beauty and joy are possible. The garden givers have brought them that possibility. It is a sound Emersonian lesson for children. And fun to read.

I read this book when I was a junior at Cornell College, no relation to the Univ, and Jackie Martin was the Prof. At first I did not like the set up of the book at first, yet when I thought about the wide range of readers this book apeals to I enjoyed it more. The side bars are interesting and would be use full in some cases to the adult -- i.e. teacher, or parent -- yet older children who find this book interesting will want to know more and find them most usefull. Also the basic story line will be interesting to younger children and I have used read it seveal times to the first grade children I tutor in Ohio. It is well written and is a perfect book to read when spring come around or for a group project dealing with spring.