By Subject Books

Unlike most "great web design examples" that can only be achieved by abusing Flash, this book also provides several examples of great looking web design that can be applied to almost any content management system. Although some of the websites portrayed will become outdated very quickly, I consider this book, for now, a "must see" for our interns and designers.

I agree with the reviewer who said most the content categories run a little thin. Each page is dedicated to one site with two screen captures from that site on the page. The largest section in this book by far is "design and illustration" which seems to focus on portfolio sites and comes in at 200 pages of examples. No other section has more than 40 pages and most have under 20. There are a ton of international sites in this book and not a single "major" web site. Which is good because that means the majority of the content in this book should be new to most readers. There is also very little text; there is no discussion of the designs, just large colorful screen captures and then credits at the bottom for the designer/agency and a url.

If you need inspiration for edgy or artistic sites, then this is a good resource. If you're looking for more corporate site design, you won't find much of that in here. Personally all my design falls in the later, but I do think this will be a good resource for when I decide to revamp my portfolio site or if I want to experiment with more non-standard design. Since all my work is corporate, I find the more whimsical and creative side of my brain has shut down a bit. And it did have a good selection of sites with a black/dark color scheme which is nice; that style tends to be a challenge for me so having this many examples is handy.

I gave this 3 stars instead of 4 because I would have liked to see a more balanced representation of web design styles.

I found this book in my local bookstore, cased in shrinkwrap, and debated whether to risk buying it without seeing the contents first. In the end, I took a chance and am glad that I did. As a beginning designer, I found several designs that gave me some ideas for my own site. Ironically, the biggest section in this book is devoted to graphic designers.

Web Design Index by Content 3 covers a wide spectrum of industries. However, I felt that the majority of the industry sections ran a little on the thin side. That said, the publisher of this book (Pepin Press) accepts submissions and recommendations at [...].

As a professional within the area, this is a terrific book, since it provides an insight to what is currently being done, all over the globe. The author doesn't just focus in one particular country, the focus is worldwide and strongly reflects what is done in web design these days. Highly recommended.

This is my second Web Index Book from this publisher and they have been great books for inspiration in my freelance work. Filled with great websites and large images to really see the detail and craftsmanship of each website. One cool thing was when I ordered this book and chose 3-5 day shipping I actually got it within 2 days which was a nice surprise. If you only need to get inspired this book is for you.

Elderfield's work has as much richness and texture as any novel or feature film that might take place in the same setting. It's all the more powerful because we know that it is an utterly nonfiction depiction of real people. There is ample evidence of the patience and trust that that were invested in capturing these gritty depictions of daily life. Not only can you see them, but you can almost taste, smell, hear and touch the elements of the subjects' daily lives. "Living Under South Street" is a thoughtful -- and thought-provoking -- triumph.

I have lived in South Philadelphia my entire life. There is good and bad in all of it's parts; however, you will not find any of the good in this book. The author and photographer have chosen to show South Philadelphia as a depressed, sad and dirty place to live. SHAME ON THEM.

Nowhere in this book is there one picture of a well-dressed family, a clean block, or happy people, only the dirty, bad and sad. This is not the true South Philadelphia (or section below South Street). South Philadelphia is filled with folks who have done well for themselves, raised and educated good families and keep their homes and neighborhoods clean.

Nowhere in this book is there one picture of the Queen Village area where 1000s of people live in nearly half million dollar homes.

This book is an embarrassment to the 1000s of us who choose to live in South Philadelphia. SHAME ON YOU.

I was lucky enough not to buy this book but to see someone else's copy. I suggested that they return their copy and get their money back. The author, photographer nor publisher should see a dime of our money.

I would suggest that the author and his photographer publish a second book "Clean Living Under South Street" for those of us who do not live like animals.

My wife and I are well educated, and earn substantial incomes. I am a VP for a fortune 100 company, my wife is a director at her company. We are born and raised in South Philadelphia and are raising and educating our children in this town. We are not represented in this book and you owe us an apology.

Jonathan Elderfield's "Living Under South Street" is a handsome and stirring testament to the power of one person with a small camera and a desire to capture life as he sees it being lived around him -- in this case, the vibrant street life of South Philly. Aside from what this camera shows (or doesn't show), I think it's important first to mention the lyrical quality of the images themselves. . . something you'll have to see for yourself instead of read about. The photos (and the quality of their reproduction and printing) are, in a word: Stunning.
If you're not familiar with the neighborhood, I recommend starting off with one of W.S. Piero's poems from the back of the book to give you some sense that South Philly is less a neighborhood in the sense of "geographical area within a city" than it is, pardon the cliche, a state of mind. Once you're ready, hit the photos themselves at a leisurely pace. If you know South Philly well, if you've only passed through, or (perhaps especially) if you've never been, what you see is an evocative portrait, building with image after image, of the good, bad, ugly, poignant, fun, exuberant, strange, fascinating, languid, lucid, mysterious, heartbreaking, and joyous way of life as it's lived by some of the inhabitants of one of the country's most notable neighborhoods.
And with all due respect to the reviewer from South Philly below (though I did think that the education befitting a Fortune 100 VP would have prevented him from describing people of the neighborhood living like "animals"), it does seem necessary to explain what Elderfield's book is not: It is not a real-estate catalog or buyer's guide, nor is it a chamber-of-commerce hi-how-are-ya-and-welcome-to-town. Undoubtedly there are parts of South Philly not covered in the book, which is why it's considered a photography book rather than an atlas or reference compendium. If you're looking for evidence of the upward mobility of the neighborhood's residents, perhaps a Who's Who compendium would fit the bill.
If, on the other hand, you're interested in the results of an artistic labor of love, the result of one person wandering South Philly's streets for months with the goal of capturing life as it's actually happening, with all its grandeur and heartbreak and all of those pensive, passive, frantic, and furtive moments in between, "Living Under South Street" is a beautiful and living testament.

The photos in this book are wonderful. This book is a celebration of the people who were photographed - they are alive and vital.
I"m sorry the previous reviewer missed the point. The book says nothing about the people who were not photographed; nor does it make any claim to be a thorough study of the area. It is what it is, and you don't have to know the area to appreciate the photos.

This one of those cases where you really CAN tell a book by its cover. A breath-taking painting by N.C.Wyeth sings out from this book's cover, and the rest of the book just carries on from there. Perhaps I am unusually aligned with the author/editor's tastes, but I found myself practically gasping with pleasure at every turn of a page. The spare, well-written text perfectly matches the tone of the book and in no way detracts or distracts from the generous panoply of reproductions. It's a small volume, but packs an aesthetic punch equal to any over-sized coffee table book!

The Paintings of Maine is a relatively small (8" x 9") publication of 128 pages, landscape in format. The text, which following the introduction is divided into five chapters, provides a few basic facts about the artists, but has little if anything beyond the obvious to say about their work. The book concludes with a List of Artists and a very short Selected Bibliography. There is no index to the text.

The real attraction of the book however is the pictures; reproduced entirely in full colour, and almost all of them filling the page, the larger ones coming in at 7" x 8", the landscape format of the book being taken full advantage of so that many of the images are as large as one finds in much bigger books. The quality of printing is very good, although the layout does feel a little cramped, mainly due to the text. There are about 112 artists represented, all but a very few by just the one picture; with familiar names such as George Bellows, Frederic Church, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, and the Wyeths alongside the less familiar. With paintings covering the period from around 1830 to 2005, not surprisingly there is a wide range of approach evident, from the extreme realist work of Alan Magee to the almost abstract of William Kienbusch, and much between.

It is an attractive little book if only for the range and amount of work shown; the text however might have been better omitted, it adds little to the work, and while text and associated pictures run roughly together, with no reference in the text as to where the pictures are, and no index to the text itself, the book can be somewhat frustrating.

PAINTINGS OF MAINE: A NEW COLLECTION must be defined as such because author Carl Little originally collaborated with Arnold Skolnick to provide the original volume back in 1991. Here Skolnick serves as picture editor on a new volume which visits Maine landscapes through art, gathering works from three generations of the Wyeth family as well as many other well-known American artists who painted Maine scenes. A lovely pick for any Maine fan.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This book (like the first edition) has really great paintings. I mean yes: the editors made really fine choices of art works to include and discuss. Absolutely wonderful. However - the PROBLEM is that they're all 6 inches by 4 inches. This (and the first book) really should have been done in a large format. For once, a coffeetable book-style would have been absolutely perfect. It would have been worth the extra money not only to see the images larger but also because many are rarely seen images and at last, worth seeing well. Yes - the selections are quite that good. But the miniscule format they chose to print it is disappointly teensy. Detail is lost. Is not for scholars or real art lovers; you emerge hungry with no options. I'd rather not see them at all.

After my first visit to the mountains of Colorado, I became fascinated by the legends of the women of the area. Leadville, Colorado is home to "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", of Titanic fame, and of the lesser known, but very interesting Baby Doe Tabor. Ms. Tabor was born in Wisconsin and travelled to Colorado with her first husband during the silver rush. After her husband abandoned her, she took her fate into her own hands -- in at brave and pretty respectable way for a lady of the era -- and what happens after that has become legend. Ms. Bancroft's book is an interesting, if subjective, portrayal of Baby Doe Tabor. Much of her material is taken from interviews obtained by a local woman who met with Baby Doe in her later years in Leadville, so the material may seem a bit biased. But, Baby Doe's take on the events of her life are fascinating. I will look into some of the books and places that are mentioned in the book to round out my understanding of this fascinating woman. I can't wait to travel back to Colorado and visit the sites of Baby Doe's life again.

This book leaves the reader yearning for more detail about some of the other real life characters such as HAW Tabor and his first wife, Augusta. The life of Baby Doe spanned an incredible point in Colorado history and left me searching for more history on the rise and fall of Leadville, Colorado. The book is not long on detail but it is an excellent starting point for further readings.

This is a short read, but so interesting! Baby Doe Tabor's life story is something right out of a soap opera. What an incredible life she had. I sat down and read it at one sitting - each page has so many fascinating historical and dramatic elements. I agree with the previous reviewer - this would make for a fantastic movie (there was an earlier rather fictionalized one mentioned in this book). Drama, romance, passion, revenge, murder...it's all here and all true!

The story involves love, adultery, incredible wealth, scandal- all in the beautiful Rockies. The book will have you hungry for more information about this fascinating woman. Her beauty took her from poverty in the dirty mining town of Leadville to Washington,DC where the President attended her scandalous and much talked about second wedding! She became one of the wealtheast women in the country spending sinful amounts of money.Great photos show her beauty.Would make a great movie. Drew Barrymore could play the part! There is a remarkable resemblence.The writing is unsophisticated but will keep your interest.

The book was okay. I have a print I bought from Al Rio's website, and I love his style. There were some great pictures in the book, but I didn't expect to see the nude pictures. For $10 though, I didn't lose much money. In hindsight, I would not buy the book again.

The front and back cover is colored, but all illustrations inside are black and white, like the majority of his work on his website. I have browsed Al Rio's entire picture archive on his website, and I would say roughly half of the images in the book are not posted on his website, so that was a nice bonus. A few of the pictures are somewhat explicit, so not for the younger viewer. A great buy in my opinion.

SQP presents the first volume of the art of Brazilian artist Al Rio who has worked for Marvel, DC, and Image among many others. Al Rio has a sensuous, powerful, and yet playful style and he can very from finely detailed pen & ink illustrations to slyly comical works where you have to pay attention to everything going on in the background. This volume presents a rather eclectic sampling of the artist's work from rough pencil sketches to finished pen & ink illustrations.

A major theme throughout the book is jungle women or cave women, some in the midst of battle with giant reptiles or apes, and some where they are simply lying demurely, frolicking with other jungle life. While modern, it reminds me of the great art on the 30's and 40's jungle pulps as Al Rio does a great job conveying the action and movements in his works. Besides the jungle themes, you'll find themes of horror, fantasy, bondage, angels, rockers, lesbians, and gun-blazing action. His Lara Croft pieces are particularly outstanding. Al Rio's art is very crisp with clean lines and amazing detail, particularly in his backdrops.

The back cover sports a beautiful nude medusa in full color, smiling as she holds a skull, while her serpents writhe about. In an outstanding piece called "Fuzzy Muffin" a lovely blonde seductress leans against her bed, holding a stuffed animal in a `strategic' location over her body. "Ice Cream Dream" is an almost Mad Magazine-like scene with two very buxom women walking their dogs while the cartoon like men gawk in the background at the pair of beauties. There are many pieces that harkens back to the classic pin-up days of the 40's and 50's such as the one depicting a sexy, topless artist, hard at work and thy shy, pony-tailed girl looking back over her right shoulder.

The collection features both nude and non-nudes in a truly mesmerizing collection of gorgeous women. Al Rio is an artist supremely talented and capable of working in any form or genre but his beautiful women are certainly the highlight of his work and a must have for anyone who is a fan of erotic or pin-up style art.

Once again not a beginner's book and I am, quite a few step by step demo's but very intricate, you have to be at the advanced stage of painting for this book.

A BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN BOOK BY JEAN SPICER SHOWING EXQUISITELY COLORFUL ILLUSTRATIONS. MAKES A WONDERFUL GIFT FOR THAT BUDDING ARTIST FRIEND OR RELATION. I BOUGHT THIS FOR A DEAR FRIEND WHO LOVES COLOR. SHE WAS MOST PLEASED AND BEGAN PAINTING SOME OF THE EXAMPLES IMMEDIATELY.

this is a great watercolor how-to book. great demos and fabulous paintings. what a fabulous addition to my colection. any watercolorist would love this book!

This book is incredible! Your personal library is vacant if you are a high-end fashion lover and this book is not in your collection. The photos are crisp and gorgeous. The book contains photos of celebrities past and present wearing Gucci, pictures of old Gucci boutiques, old ads....you name it, it's in here! There is also a section dedicated to every major type of bag Gucci came out with. Very informative and vital!

if you're looking for a book with a lot of history on Gucci, you will be disappointed. This is a nice coffee table book but not a great source for research.

I was absolutely amazed at the size of this book. It's huge! The pictures are wonderful. However, I wish that the personalities were named on the page of the photo instead of in a photo icon sized index in the rear of the book. Otherwise, a quite amazing journal on the history of Gucci.

this book shows a great deal of attention to the flubbs in hollywood, but in some cases, the information is too much. for instance, it is great to know where Patton was shot and where all of the equipment came from, but the essay lacks a clear thesis. for an academic text, i am disappointed.

How does Hollywood distort history?
Toplin, a history professor at the University of North Carolina, describes four of Hollywood's principal methods of treating (or mistreating) history: mixing fact with fiction, shaping evidence to deliver specific conclusions, suggesting messages for the present in stories about the past, and fabricating a documentary style to develop the "Great Man" perspective on the past.
The techniques are employed in works as varied as "Bonnie and Clyde", " Sergeant York", and Oliver (I-don't-have-to-tell-the-truth-I'm-an-artist) Stone's "JFK", but while Toplin (naturally) respects historical accuracy, he acknowledges the narrative and dramatic necessities which inevitably contaminate the historical reality. He also notes special interest pressures to have movies reflect particular interpretations, and the film-makers' responses to criticisms of their historical veracity. A worthwhile look at some of Hollywood's reconstructions of the past, and their connections to larger issues.

(The "score" rating is an ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score' books).

Historians are uniformly condemnatory of most feature films that seeking to depict history events. Almost never are they accurate in any serious manner, even if they costume the cast appropriately for the time and place. "Gods and Generals," "Titanic," and "The Patriot" suggest that even when attention to detail prevails it often yields a false impression of the past. This is particularly unnerving to most historians because of the power of the medium to shape popular conceptions of historical events. In "History by Hollywood" Robert Brent Toplin offers a detailed analysis of how film makers "tell the story of real people and actual events from American history" (p. 1). While allowing that film makers should be allowed "dramatic license," Toplin insists that they do so in a responsible manner that seeks to understand rather than reinvent the past.

Toplin uses eight case studies to demonstrate how film makers have dealt with American history since the 1940s. In terms of release, the earliest film Toplin discusses is "Sergeant York," made in 1941 and it receives his plaudits for historical accuracy while also drawing important lessons for the present. Likewise, "Patton" (1970) draws powerful lessons from the World War II experience of the charismatic and eccentric Army officer applicable to the Vietnam experience of the 1960s and early 1970s. Toplin finds that "All the President's Men" (1976) and "Norma Rae" (1979) also exhibit a high commitment to historical accuracy, despite some liberties taken, and serve well as means of educating the present about threats to democratic institutions or worker rights.

The remaining four films raise other issues. "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967) and "Missing" (1982) both take important liberties with the historical record to make points about the present and to indict the U.S. government for crimes real and imagined. At the same time Toplin finds those films useful entrée points for those engaged in historical investigation of weighty issues. Finally, Toplin analyzes "Mississippi Burning" (1988) and "JFK" (1991) and finds both fatally flawed as history. Both raised important points about the events they depict but left a false impression of them in the minds of viewers.

Robert Brent Toplin is more magnanimous in assessing these films than I would be. With the exception of "Patton" and "Norma Rae" I am less kind in my assessments of these eight films. In some instances, such as "All the President's Men" and "JFK," the films create an utterly false impression of what took place. In the case of "All the President's Men" only the two Washington Post writers, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, are seen as battling the forces of the administration, although several others such as Tip O'Neill and Judge John Sirica played key roles. "JFK," of course, promulgated a massive conspiracy of the military-industrial complex in the assassination of the president in 1963 when evidence is lacking supporting such an assertion.

This is an interesting and useful book in understanding the nature of Hollywood's depictions of American history. Enjoy!

THis is THE book for Big Breast lovers, which, in this modern age, is a relatively rare phenomenon.

Perhaps not quite what we expected. We (my girlfriend and I) are both interested in what roles the breast plays in sociology and in culture, and hoped this book would grant us some fresh perspectives.

There are very interesting and provocative (but I certainly wouldnt call them erotic by any means) images in this book, as well as some fascinating art. Some of it we really would love to have framed.

The images are suitable for anyone to look at, with only a few being tantalizing or vaguely... scintillating. It's the kind of book that is good to read sitting down with company and see how you and others react. Perfectly suitable for a bookshelf or coffeetable.

To use the words of Meema Spadola, breasts are symbols of sexuality, motherhood, and power. This book by Prose and Simic explores the spectrum of possibilities in this wide range of meanings. This is, though, photographic ART. Those who think that art should be readily pleasurable, appreciated, or liked may find themselves challenged by this format. If you feel that art should be challenging, you may find this book appealing. On viewing it one may be stimulated by novel and sometimes not necessarily pleasurable thoughts. This seems to contradict the implication in the title that there is something necessarily `titillating" here. (Certainly the concept seems to stretch more common notion what is exciting, nasty and fun). For that I would deduct two stars.

these are good translations of beautiful poetry. i don't know of a better modern poet than faiz. too bad it's out of print.

A good effort at translating Faiz, but seems bogged down too often in the literal translation of language as well as emotions. I've seen some translations of the same poems by others (Riz Rahim in The Guardian, UK) that seem to better capture the thought, emotion, and the lyrical quality of Faiz. Maybe the difference that a native Urdu speaker, perfectly at ease in English makes.

The first drafts of the translations in this collection were written by Faiz himself. It is no wonder then that the translations retain the starkness of the originals. This is no easy task while translating between languauges as disparate in grammar and emotion as Urdu and English. I think this book is far better than the collection of translations of Faiz by Agha Shahid Ali (The Rebel's Silhouette). Agha Shahid Ali tries to retain the poetic sense and form of Faiz's poetry, and sacrifices starkness and overall feel in the process. Naomi Lazard's translations do not retain poetic sense, meter nor verse - seeing Agha Shahid Ali's attempts to do so, one can conclude that to retain the structure of the original is to adorn the poetry too much, losing in the process the starkness and honesty that are Faiz's trademarks.