Libraries and Museums Books

okay, I'll take pity on some poor person out there and tell them what on earth this book is about!
Ben Pollock lives near the museum of natural history in New York. He spends almost all his free time there because he lives nearby and wants to be a wild-life photographer. But then, mysterious things start happening in the Museum. On of the feather exhibits was destroyed, and the information desk was ransacked, and some "funny bananas" have been found. Ben plays detective, and along with Carmen, once a suspect of his, now a friend, he trys to find out what's going on. I can't really remember the ending to well, it was ages ago that I read it, and most of this review has come off of a litle review on the front cover of my copy. I can recall I thought it was stupid, but then, I was probably a little above the age group it was intended for. I can't really give you much of an opnion, except that if you think an early reader you know might like it, I am sure there are better books out there.

This is a catalog of the Huntington art collections (like what you might find at an auction house). It is NOT a coffee table book, with beautiful pictures of the grounds or the art. In fact, the only color picture is the cover. It is NOT a history book, with lots of background about the Huntingtons and their collection. It is NOT an art book, with descriptions, analysis and interpretations of the art. It is just--a catalog. Ho hum.

If people want to write books about beautiful places, they should put at least one colored picture in it. The only color was on the cover. If I had known there were no colored pictures inside the book, I never would have purchased it.

this book introduces a nice and a big photos for the most popular museums around the world, if you are searching for a data to make a research or something like that, it won't be helpful, but it covers all drawings and photos for the museums listed besides a brief description....

In the book Susan Pearce presents many topics concerning collecting, museums and the cultural context that forced the outcome of museums. But the chapters lack in my opinion a coherent form that synthesizes the abundant themes in a central thesis. The book is a collection of thoughts and interpretations - sometimes more or less complex, sometimes very banal. What made me angry, were too many pictures and self-made diagrams with very little theoretical outcome in their explanation. My be this book had to be been written, to show everyone that this kind of cultural philosophy is not of much value. Therefore I recommend the impressive book of Didier Maleuvre: Museum Memories. It is much more concentrated and has a complexity that Susan Pearce never reaches.

This item is only 8 pages, unbound and is a copy of the inventory of jewels owned by Queen Marie Antoinette AND the Princess de Lamballe dated 21 August 1795. The extract consists of photos of the pages of jewellery listings in their original French and a few lines of introduction giving some idea of the value of the listings involved.

However, it does not give an English translation of the jewel listing and aside from what you can get out of it yourself provides no real additional information on the jewels owned by Marie- Antoinette.

If you are a history buff you enjoys reading primary evidence this is for you - but at $10 you are paying a lot for only a few pages.

Don't purchase this book. It is a new binding/publishing of obsolete unable-to-be-used information. I went to the Old Stone Fort Museum in Schoharie, NY with this book in hand, after having picked out what I wanted to see. The curator there told me that this information was either obsolete or was in reference to artifacts that probably could not be located. Cornell Univ Library should be more careful when they republish an original document by checking first to validate its relevance. This was a waste of money and I even spent money on express mailing so I could get it before my trip.

Although the books is correct in it's title, "Copper and it's alloys" leading you to believe it's mostly about pure copper items,,,,it's all about brass. The title should have been "Metalwork in America - Brass" Photos are black & white sepia toned. The book is physically well made and on good paper.

I've ready a LOT of presidential books over the last 30 years, but I have never been more excited about a book when purchasing it or more disappointed after reading it. The simple fact that I'm taking the initiative to review it speaks volumes. I guess I should have taken the time to sift through the book a little more before purchasing. I'm not going to say that the book is poorly written, but I will say that Mr. Smith's style and mine are polar opposites. The writing was extremely awkward and difficult to understand at times. Some references were poorly placed (IE: a 1970's John Connally quote in the chapter about Hayes' library). It has some decent photos in it, and SOME good information about how the individual libraries came to be, but the majority of the information you could simply find on the internet. Each chapter's text deals a LOT with the presidencies themselves and the individuals who held the office, rather than the libraries. The story of each library is seemingly briefly mentioned, in addition to directions to each library and hours of operation, etc. Again, if you're looking for information on the libraries, you're better off just referencing the internet. Each of them has a website and will probably be a better resource for you than this book will. No offense to the author, but I just simply did not like or enjoy this book.