Historic Books

I have this book, but it was published in 1990. In other words, I do not have the revised and updated version.

However, if this one is anything like the copy I have, it is wonderful. The full color pictures are lovely and are used to enhance the text.

Although this book doesn't tell the history of these states, it visits historic places within each state. Much of the history of these four states (NM, AZ, NV, UT) is told through the landscape and historic buildings of each state.

I have enjoyed every place that I have visited and my visits have only been enhanced by using this book as a resource in my travels.

this books contains a huge amount of objects that are familiar to us in our daily lives and rituals. These objects are a greater part of our lives than we may think, and this book tells us how these objects shape us. A great addition to my collection strongly reccomend it to students of the design fields or anyone interested in making.

Respect for the land isn't something new. It was a key part of early twentieth-century landscaping practice. What was done in the past and how American landscapes looked in the past still influence how today's designers and managers reach their landscaping decisions. All three points are behind a conference held in the Bronx in 1999.

Eight presentations from that conference are brought together, as individual chapters, in the book DESIGN WITH CULTURE. The chapters cover pioneering garden club projects in the south; Mt Vernon; landscape preservationists Arthur A Shurcluff and Thomas C Vint; landscape archaeologist Morley Jeffers Williams; Frederick Law Olmsted Jr; Californio cultural landscapes; and the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's the last that most interests me, as a Blue Ridge girl, and as a master gardener because of the subtitled "road to the modern preservation movement."

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a stunning 469 mile link between the Shenandoah and the Great Smoky Mountain national parks. It was begun in 1933, as part of President Franklin Roosevelt's ending the Depression by creating jobs and encouraging people with money to travel and buy locally along the way. The parkway was two-thirds done when work was stopped in 1942, with the United States being pulled into World War II. Most of the rest of the work was done by 1967. The remaining Grandfather Mountain part was finished in 1987.

Landscape architect Stanley W Abbott planned the parkway as a gracefully curving road. He also was behind the locally quarried stonework along the way, as well as the 19 recreational areas, the native plant and tree use, and the local color. Four highly successful examples of this last were the fixed-up log cabins - Puckett and Trail in Virginia, and Brinegar in North Carolina - as well as the Mabry Mill. All four brought tourists in droves, because of quality historical exhibits and local crafts and products.

However, three criticisms remain of the parkway. One, the picturesque was chosen over the authentic. For example, area farmers might have liked the split-rail fences built for them. But on their own, would they have grown picturesque buckwheat, fall covercrops, linen flax, and pumpkins? Or would they have kept limited grazing of dairy cattle and sheep? Two, the landscape was frozen in time. Area farmers grew picturesque crops by using picturesquely traditional methods, such as horse-drawn equipment. Three, the decisions weren't home grown. For example, Abbott was a Cornell graduate. His experiences were with Westchester county parkways in New York. One of the worse case scenarios from building this beautiful parkway centered on the Peaks of Otter. The peaks look the way they do today, because an entire people were forced to leave their homes.

These three points are behind the challenge to today's preservationists. How do we preserve landscapes and their communities while allowing for natural change? It's not just what the place looks like. It's also what the life - human and otherwise - wants from the place.

That concern is also at the heart of Virginia Tech's advanced master gardening program. One of the advanced areas of concern is land care use, particularly when people meet nature, in the wildland-urban interface. In other words, how do we keep nature as much as possible nature while also making sure that people and their homes and land will be safe from natural forces such as forest fire?

The heart of a great museum is its permanent collection, and The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is proud to claim one of the largest, most significant art collections in the nation. Since childhood, I've spent many a pleasant hour in the museum (mainly in the Ancient Art and Islamic Art wing surrounding the Rivera Court), and also collaborated with the DIA and Wayne State University on a computer/art project that became my Master's Thesis. This guidebook highlights over 700 of the more than 65,000 works of art from all areas of the DIA. It was written by the museum's curatorial staff and edited by Julia P. Henshaw, who is the DIA Director of Publications.

This beautifully-bound, well-organized, hardcover guide is illustrated with over 800 color images. It begins with directions on how to use the book, a historical time-line of how the museum came into being (lots of bequests from the Fords, Dodges, Firestones and other prominent Detroiters), and a colored layout of the museum building. Information on how to get to the DIA, where to park, classes and lectures, shops, tours, and volunteer opportunities is also included.

The main sections of this guide highlight the permanent collections. They are: "African, Oceanic, and New World Art;" "Ancient Art and Islamic Art;" "Asian Art;" "European Art;" "Graphic Arts;" "Twentieth-Century Art;" and "Film and Video."

Each section tells many well-illustrated stories. For instance, under "African, Oceanic, and New World Art" there is an article, "Men Who Dance as Women:"

"In initiation ceremonies female masks used in traditional African cultures are almost always worn by men who portray the important mythological role of females. Most of these male initiation societies are secret; women are strictly forbidden to handle or even see the wearers of these masks."

The introduction is followed by illustrations of masks from the Chokwe, Mende, and Makonde tribes with text illuminating the history, construction, and use of each mask.

All of the DIA's major works of art are included, from Rivera's "Detroit Industry" fresco cycle to the Matisse "Poppies" painting.

This book is not only a guide to a particular museum, it also can be read like an issue of the "Smithsonian" Magazine, where experts select and describe some of their favorite works of art. I've been to many museums both here and in Europe, and this DIA guide is one of the best I've ever had the opportunity to use.

The title says it all: A dictionary of the proverbs and proverbial phrases of the English language, relating to the sea and such associated subjects as fish, fishing: With notes, explanatory, historic, and etymologic by Frank Cowan. Yay!

Long out of print, this book has never been surpassed as "the complete Rivera." This volume illustrates Diego Rivera's life and work, from his early years at the Mexican Academy of San Carlos and studies in Spain; his subsequent eleven-year sojourn in Paris in the first part of this century; to his efforts to establish a truly national Mexican style in the murals for which he is most famous. Illustrations of Rivera's work are accompanied by essays by noted scholars who reevaluate his place in the history of modern art.

This book will let you dig all over the history of New Jersey without getting your hands dirty. Be careful, after you read it you'll want to dig New Jersey too!!!

About the Book :
The first edition of the Directory of Museums in India was published in the year 2000. This now is the 2nd edition. In this edition many new museums have been added. More information on each museum has been given, what changes have taken place in any particular museum has also been added.
The Directory of Museums in India was prepared with the objective of collecting at one place all the basic information on museums, the type of information on museums, the type of information normally required by any prospective visitor/tourist. For each museum in the country, it gives full address, telephone numbers, opening and closing time, closed days, entrance fee, the types of collections the museum has, and so on. Its also gives valuable information on the availability of guide services or holding of lectures or film shows. At the end, as guide to the visitor, the type of museums, whether it is archaeological, ethnological, art museum, or science museum, etc. is also indicated.
In the Appendices, names of cities where museum are located have been arranged alphabetically, mentioning in which State that particular city or town is located and the museums which are situated in that city. Each Museums has been given an identity number, and the identity numbers of those museums that are available in a particular city are mentioned against each city and therefore location of museums in that city is easy.
Another Appendix is a cross reference of the type of museums and where they are located.
Yet another Appendix gives information on the number of museums in each State, State-wise distribution of types of museums, Controlling Authority of each museum, and similar other information.
This is the only book of its type on Indian Museums where all the relevant data useful for visitors, tourists, museum persons, scholars, libraries and planners is available.

About the Author :
Mrs. Usha Agrawal, who is currently the Director of Museum Development Cell of INTACH Indian Council of Conservation Institutes, has a wide experience of dealing with museums. Recently, she conducted a detailed survey of museums in various states, a project supported by the India Foundation for the Arts and Sir Ratan Tata Trust. For this project, she visited personally a large number of museums and during these visits she collected invaluable information on museums and their working including the data which is presented in this Directory. Prior to her present assignment, she worked with the International Council of Museums as Research Officer at its Regional Office in New Delhi, and was collecting details on museums of India and its publication. She has prepared several bibliographies on various subjects related to museums. She has also worked on different conservations projects and has guided them.

Contents :
Preface to the Second Edition
Preface to the First Edition
Organization of Information
1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands
2. Andhra Pradesh
3. Arunachal Pradesh
4. Assam
5. Bihar
6. Chandigarh
7. Chhattisgarh
8. Delhi
9. Goa
10. Gujarat
11. Haryana
12. Himachal Pradesh
13. Jammu & Kashmir
14. Jharkhand
15. Karnataka
16. Kerala
17. Madhya Pradesh
18. Maharashtra
19. Manipur
20. Meghalaya
21. Mizoram
22. Nagaland
23. Orissa
24. Pondichery
25. Punjab
26. Rajasthan
27. Sikkim
28. Tamilnadu
29. Tripura
30. Uttar Pradesh
31. Uttaranchal
32. West Bengal
Appendix-A : Index of Cities
Appendix-B : Index of types of Museums
Appendix-C : Controlling Authorities of Museums
Appendix-D : Number of types of Museums
Appendix-E : Number of types of States

Rick Harris's book "Discover Arizona" is by far the "easiest" way to do just that. I first began using this book as a weekend "thrill" reference 9 years ago. My husband and I loved finding places off the beaten track. This book led us directly to some of the most exciting places Arizona has to offer. He is very clear in his directions, his caution signs, and even reminded us several times of the the specific laws of the land. No matter where we happened to be going in the state, we could plan in minutes, what special extras we could find, wether it be ghost towns, Indian ruins, or crystal beds. We would also know how long it would take us to get there, what time of year was best to visit, and what kind of vehicle was required if any. At one time I even wrote a letter to Rick Harris to get some additional information on one of his places called "Huens Ruins". He wrote me back a hand written letter with the same sense of humor and a hand drawn map giving me the additional information I requested. We have since purchased his second book and are continuing to explore Arizona in all of it's beauty and intrigue. We do however miss the large map of Arizona with the references showing each site and it's number as was on the back of the first issue. If you love to explore. If you love to find relics, and want to truly appreciate the incredible beauty of Arizona, buy this book, and some good hiking boots!-You'll be very glad you did both!

If you're a history buff, a parent who wants to plan interesting weekend excursions, or a "travelholic", this is an excellent resource. In particular, motorcyclists will find that this book provides excellent answers to questions like "where would I like to ride today?".

The book has state historical markers, points of interest, places of historical content and "fun things to do". It's hard to imagine anyone actually travelling to all these places; this book must have been a true labor of love.

Two issues. One, I wish the index were more comprehensive. It's sometimes difficult to find a particular item. Two, I wish the maps were a bit more detailed. It would've been nice to have a state map showing all the regions at the front of the book. On the other hand, you should *always* have a real map on any trip you take.

This book is truly wonderful and I highly recommend it for history buffs and travellers in California.