Editorial Review

From its first issue in 1939, Read more

Reviews (4)

A Compilation of Glamour Do's and Don'ts
This book is filled with current information about dressing and style.It's useful because it shows the reader, using many photos, the do's and don'ts of dressing well--and not so well.It's hard to believe some of those don'ts!
Will be helpful for many
Check it out.It is packed with a good advice

I am keeping it for myself!!!!
My girlfriend loves fashion magazines and clothing.For her birthday I decided to get her this book.I got it in the mail today and cannot put the book down.The book is basically the title.Every girl should have this as their fashion bible.. It shows you what is in style, and how to wear clothing to flatter your specific body type..I am ordering one for myself.It is a wonderful gift for any girl that loves clothes!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Beauty & Grooming - General    2. Fashion    3. Fashion & Grooming    4. Health & Fitness    5. Health/Fitness    6. Personal & Practical Guides    7. Fashion design    8. Health & Fitness / Beauty & Grooming    9. Personal appearance & beauty care   

Reviews (5)

Comming from an art school dropout
Most graffiti artists are of the same school of thought, that being; advertisements are everywhere - Shepard Fairey the OBEY guy, everywhere you look there’s someone visually shoving something down your throat and usually they want money for it.So why is it illegal to put some of your own art up just as much as they do?This is true and valid opinion for someone to have, but not when its coming from a guy who just sprayed his tag name on the side of the highway in 8 foot indiscernible lettering - that is what gives graffiti a bad name.In my opinion it should be against the law to sign your name on a train or a building - no matter how big it is or how many colors you used or how fast you had to run when the watchmen saw.It just misses the point of having a public exchange of ideas.
Art Crime Extraordinaire!
No artist comes close to the emotional impact he makes in this work. Brilliant-Brilliant-Brilliant.
one of my favorite artists
Banksy is an amazing artist, a lot of conceptual as well as visually appealing works. I knew that he is like a god father of stencil graffiti, but i never thought good he is with installations.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    4. Criticism    5. Exhibition Catalogs    6. Popular Culture - Counter Culture    7. Popular Culture - General    8. Art / General    9. Individual artists    10. Painting & paintings    11. Social Science / Popular Culture   

Reviews (4)

A Must Own Book for Serious Residential Do-It-Yourselfers
This book is an excellent reference book for use in designing, planning, and building a new house or remodeling an existing one. Whenever I plan on doing something on the house, I double check with this reference before finishing my designs and plans. It's a must own book for serious do-it-yourselfers.
Readers' Digest Version of AGS
Although these editions change little, this review is based upon AGS 10th Ed. & AGSRC 2003.
One volume encyclopedia
Experienced readers will benefit from its brief summaries and drawings covering the broadest range of topics imaginable. Some economizing is evident in the paper and printing quality, some of the drawings look 50 years old, but there is lots of reference information, like span tables, solar position data, etc. Probably not the last word on every topic, but still worth consulting. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architectural Drawing    2. Architecture    3. Building    4. Construction - General    5. Design & Drafting    6. Details    7. Drawings    8. Reference    9. Residential Construction    10. Standards    11. Architectural structure & design    12. Architecture / Reference    13. Building construction & materials    14. Residential buildings, domestic buildings   

Reviews (5)

Wonderful !!!
Not only the content is insightful, but the design of this book is just wonderful. It is a good source of international drawing's world and a good coffee table book. Get it now!

poor quality images
I am disappointed with the quality of the images.They are the quality of an ink jet printer set at draft quality.Most of the images are so faded it is difficult to see at all.I have returned this book, which is something I do once every 1000 books I order, and it is the first art book I have ever returned in my life.

obsessed drafter
Beautifully bound and a pleasure to hold...what a book is all about vs the digital stuff.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Fine Arts (Specific Aspects)    4. History - General    5. History Of Fine Arts    6. Techniques - Drawing    7. Art / Drawing    8. Drawing & drawings    9. History of art & design styles: from c 1900 -   

Reviews (9)

Hyper-glorified and shallow
If you're tempted to buy this hugely expensive book (for an over-sized, unwieldy paperback printed on medium-quality paper), think again.
excellent primer on design
We used this as a textbook in an "interdisciplinary approach" course at a photography school.The organization of the book and the illustrations are excellent.Much of the information seemed familiar to us all, but we found the book to be an excellent reminder and good focus for discussion.It helped us with our critiquing of each others' work in a variety of media (sculpture, drawing, painting, collage, photography and writing).

An absolute classic for anyone working in the visual arts.
Back in college, two decades ago, one of my art professors required this book for every single one of his classes. He even offered to personally repay students who could not afford to keep their copy, if they promised not to sell it back to the bookstore. He told us that the best thing we could do for our careers in art was to keep this book. He was right. I've had my 2nd edition copy for twenty years, and no other book I've seen discusses visual theory so simply, logically and completely. The text is clear and straightforward and the examples are perfect, but it is Lauer's ability to organize a very complex subject into very specific, clearly-understood categories that makes this book remarkable. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Design    4. Design - General    5. Architectural structure & design    6. Art / General   

Reviews (3)

Not Good Introductory Textbook Material
This is a required book for an introductory lighting class I'm taking.Since we are solely relying on this book and it isn't supplemented with lecture material, I find that, without familiarity with lighting terminology and concepts, it is very difficult to understand -- very cryptic with the seemingly overused language of the field.While the author may be very knowledgeable, I feel the book is not very well written and the target audience is, perhaps, not intended to be, essentially, the layman.I don't find the organization of ideas and concepts to be clearly laid out or communicated well and, as they unfold, and I come to understand what the author is trying to say,wonder why it was made so difficult -- is that all he means, geesh and why didn't he tell me that earlier.It would be easier to understand the general concept of things first, even in plain English perhaps, and then go on to a more technical description to learn the language of the field and get the details.Just seems to make simple things very complicated, especially with the language, flow of ideas, and phrasing.
Great teacher
While I was studying Interior Design at Parsons a number of years ago, I had Gary Gordon as a Lighting Design Instructor.He was by far one the best teachers that I had.He is very knowledgeable and has the unique ability to easily communicate the many aspects of both design and lighting. I highly recommend any publication he has authored.

Very good book for novices.
The book begins with an inspirational and somewhat simplistic insight into lighting design.Simply as a study of lighting contrasts.While this is a very important aspect of LD,it is by far one of many concepts a professional must use.The book refers to many technical aspects of lighting without giving any "meat" or more in depth information,which I would have enjoyed.If you are new to LD or are an architect or engineer who has little experience with lighting,it is a very good lauching point.If you are technically knowledgable about lighting and want some inspiration,read chapter 1 and the last chapter on Design for concepts ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architectural Detail    2. Architectural Lighting    3. Architecture    4. Electric lighting    5. Engineering - Mechanical    6. Interior Design - General    7. Interior Design - Lighting    8. Lighting, Architectural and de    9. Lighting, Architectural and decorative    10. Architecture / Interior Design    11. Interior design   

Reviews (1)

The best coffee table book ever !!!
Recently I have found myself drawn to graphics of all kinds. Being a huge fan of Tashen books and seeing this book on their website I decided to order it. Now at $200.00 this was quite a big purchase but this book is incredible. The color plates are beautiful and the information about the designs is very complete as well as interesting. This is a huge book! I think it must weigh in the neighborhood of 10 lbs. It is not a book to take to the beach for alittle read. However, it is a book to get inspired by and it will inspire you no matter what your art medium is. This is a book that I will tresure for years to come and I am sure if you decide to invest in this book you will not be disapointed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Decoration & Ornament    4. Design - Decorative    5. General    6. Reference    7. Art styles not limited by date   

Reviews (41)

Excellent photography / digital camera instruction
I have purchased this book twice, it is an introduction to digital photography, particularly for the fixed lense Nikon SLR cameras (such as the 8700) and SLR digital cameras.If you have a simple point and click camera you will get some benefit from the book but not as much.
Great for beginner
Bought this book to go along with Digital Rebel XT purchase. The book has not disappointed. Explains everything there is from aperture, exposure, shutter speed etc in great detail yet easy to understand. Recommend it to beginner, intermediate & expert alike

Latest edition excellent
Digital photography is a fast-moving target, and this book manages to keep abreast of the latest changes with valuable information that's vital for anyone doing digital photography.It explains all the key concepts clearly and completely, with lots of advice on getting the best photographs with any type of digital camera.I would have liked additional coverage of digital SLRs, but I have found that elsewhere, and still prefer Complete Digital Photography's treatment of the broader topics. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - General    3. Computer Graphics - Image Processing    4. Computers    5. Digital cameras    6. Digital techniques    7. Graphic Arts - General    8. Handbooks, manuals, etc    9. Image processing    10. Photography    11. Techniques - Digital    12. Techniques - General    13. Art / Graphic Arts    14. Special kinds of photography   

Reviews (3)

A Spell Binding Read
I got my hands on a copy of this book last night, and found it addictive. I noticed the raves from presidents of NPPA, ASMP, and APA on the back cover, and was impressed. Reading it last night, the book met, if not exceeded, the expections set by such prestigious reviewers. It was very real world, with tons of examples of contracts, negotiation tactics (as the author negotiated assignments and stock sales you see the back and forth via emails), and advice on how to avoid the many pitfalls we face as photographers today. I am putting to use many of his suggestions and recommendations starting tommorrow! A definite MUST HAVE book!

A must Read
This should be the book that every photographer should keep on his desk for guidence for all there photographic business.

Looking Forward to an Excellent Book
I have been attending John Harrington's seminars in a variety of locations for the past 4 years. John's knowledge of the photography industry is second to none. In his seminars, John shares what used to be considered "trade secrets" by most other photographers. He captures what he's learned in nearly two decades of successful business and willingly shares it with photographers who can immediately apply to their own businesses what they've just learned.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Career/Job    3. Careers    4. Careers - General    5. Careers / Job Opportunities    6. Photography    7. Business & Economics / Careers    8. Photography & Photographs   

Reviews (27)

Great Reference Resource
Since the design of every day things impacts the quality of our lives, most people have a strong interest in things that are designed well, but just how do you arrive at a well designed thing?This book offers an extensive typology of design principles gathered from a wide variety of fields (ergonomics, human factors, psychology etc.) that have relevance for any design discipline, from web usability to product design for manufactured goods.If you do not have a design background, but work with designers, you may find some of these insights very useful for collaboration on design decision making scenarios.Some of the principles, such as the 80/20 rule or the pareto principle were pretty obvious but others were less so, making the book an interesting exploration of some old and new concepts from a cross-disciplinary perspective.After reading through these 100 design principles, you will arrive at a fairly good understanding of the factors that influence our preference towards one design over another.Of course, the all important "context" is missing from these generalizations, however, you can easily read through them and draw your own conclusions on how they relate to your particular design problem.
Applies to more than graphic design
This book is a tremendous book. While I think the target audince of this book are graphic artists it is useful for any industry or occupation. As an IT professional, the techniques offered in this book helped me design better interfaces for software systems.
Efficient, Concise, Well written
Every designer should own this book. It codifies an abundance of principles about usable design into a very useful reference. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Design    4. Design - General    5. Dictionaries    6. Graphic Arts - General    7. Industrial / Commercial Art & Design    8. Reference works   

Editorial Review

Scottish artist Andy Goldsworthy uses a seemingly infinite array of purely natural materials, from snow and ice to leaves, stone, and twigs in the creation of his one-of-a-kind sculptures. Unlike such artists as Christo and Michael Hiezer, whose works leave definite marks on the landscape, Goldsworthy's approach is to interrupt, shape, or in some other way temporarily alter or work with nature to produce his fragile, mutable pieces. To create "Broken Icicle," for example, Goldsworthy was only able to work on the sculpture in the early morning, when temperatures were below freezing. As with most of his works, ultimately, the materials used to create this piece returned to their natural state, leaving no trace of the artwork's existence save for the stunning photos in this book. ... Read more

Reviews (35)

Renew your sense of wonder
Andy Goldworthy clearly has an astonishing way of interpreting the world around him. I've grown so weary of photography books filled to capacity with picture postcard scenic overlooks and color-saturated closeups of bees on flower petals. Goldworthy embeds himself in the natural world; all the while remaining in touch with his surroundings, he visually articulates a wonderfully unique re-interpretation that is at once both fresh and startling. As a visual arts educator, I find this book to be a superb exemplar and asset for introducing students to ways of creatively thinking outside the box. For me personally, I can go back time and again to re-examine Goldworthy's concepts, designs, and images and always find something new to admire. Beautifully reproduced, bound and printed, one word sums this book up: Wow.

fantastic resume of the all quality of Goldsworthy
A fantastic review of the large capacities of a great built in nature. We havet not the time to be anoyed reading this book. So impressed that I buy another one to offer to someone special.

He is so smart
Modern artists are often attacked because on the basis of "I could have thought of that."And true, you might say that about any given page in this book.Yet it's unbelievable that one man thought of all of them.Look at the photos in this book, and you'll see art everywhere the next time you walk outside.I could cover a wall with every page that is worth framing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1900-1999 (20th century)    2. 1956-    3. Art    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Art, Modern    6. Catalogs    7. Goldsworthy, Andy,    8. Individual Artist    9. Individual Sculptors And Their Work    10. Nature (Aesthetics)    11. Art / History / American    12. Goldsworthy, Andy    13. Individual artists   

Reviews (4)

Art was Boring.
Until I got this book for Fine art appreciation, I didnt think much about art. Now I cant hardly put it down, which is good considering that I have to read the whole thing for class. I cant think of a better way to present the material.

very pleased
I was under stress to get this book asap for my summer semester class, I explained this to the seller and she ups'd to me and took on the expense herself. EXTREMELY GENEROUS!!! definately a great seller my highest recommendations

Next Best Thing
If Jantzen's view of art history seems lifeless and distant, Henry Sayre has something to say to you. It's the best survey I've seen in terms of making art accessible and demonstrating a continuing tradition. The CD-ROM is an excellent bonus, especially for readers who have never seen an artist at work. Ever wonder how a print is made? There's a demonstration. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. General    4. History - General    5. Art / General    6. The Arts: General Issues   

Reviews (54)

A must for Wicked lovers
I read the book and saw the Broadway Play recently, so I was dying to get my hands on the Grimmerie.I was not disappointed.The photos are fabulous and all the information is even better.If you want to know all the behind-the-scene tricks of the play, more about the characters in the play, and how it was adapted from the book, then you definately need this book.My favorite part is the script in the back of the book.As a teacher, I plan on using the story along with the music to teach my kids about personal strength, friendship, and the consequences of bullying.I LOVE this book!

The Grimmerie - Wicked (The Musical)
The Grimmerie is a must have for all Wicked fans. It is a GREAT collectible. This is a deal of a price! This was being sold for twice the amount at the shows. Buy it NOW.....you will be happy you did.

Wicked Fun!
Being a rather HUGE fan of Wicked, I have been anxious to purchase the grimmerie for some time. I have never seen the musical, however I listen to the CD religiously and have watched the play [...]. Today I finally got the book at 2.30, it is now 8.15, and I have read through it twice. The Grimmerie includes how the writers were able to write the script, the set designers, the wig and costume directors, as well as a chapter about the various cast members on playing their characters (it has the original cast, as well as members from the national tour and the cast that took over on Broadway).
Read more

Subjects:  1. Librettos    2. Musicals    3. Performing Arts    4. Performing Arts/Dance    5. Play Production    6. Schwartz, Stephen.    7. Theater    8. Theater - Broadway & Musical Revue    9. Theater - Stagecraft    10. Wicked    11. Musical theatre    12. New York    13. Performing Arts / Broadway & Musical Revue   

Reviews (9)

Great Textbook!
I just started my summer class a few weeks ago, and I definitely agree with the instructor that it's a truly great textbook! It's not as pricey as I initially thought it was going to be and it has a ton of art information. The CD and timeline are kind of useless, but I would still use them to study for exams or quizzes. If you want to learn about art in SOOO many ways, get this book because it's a treat!

chosen paintings shown several times
I got this book for a class, and besides just using it for tests, I haven't opened it much. Most of the paintings in the first few chapters are also the same paintings in the last few chapters, though, and I thought it would have more variations. However, the info in each section is concise, easy to read, and the whole book is a great introduction for the beginner to the study of art.

Great Book for the begining Artist or Art lover
I found it to be detailed enough to learn about art without boring me. It was actually for a class I'm taking by found I read more chapters than required because it was a great overview on many diffent subjects from art to architecture ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. General    4. Reference    5. Art / General    6. History Of Art / Art & Design Styles   

Reviews (4)

No Spark in this book...
After watching one of their performances, I wanted to read this book to find out more about Cirque du Soleil but this book left me frustrated.
How much of The Spark is contrived?
I picked up this book at my library and as I read through it, found myself excited and inspired - at first.Then doubts began to creep in.Why was the narrator addressed as Frank (this was supposedly a first-person account by a sports agent named Frank Castle) when, on the book's coverit says "Created by Lyn Heward and written by John U. Bacon"?According to the inside-back cover of the dust jacket, Heward is "the former President and COO of Cirque du Soleil's Creative Content Division and is currently acting as executive producer for a variety of special projects."Bacon, is (same dust jacket inside-back cover) a veteran journalist and public speaker who's "won numerous writing awards and is the author of three books."Apparently this is his experience.But because this book chooses to give him a phony name, from here on in "Frank Castle" will be in quotation marks for your protection.
Great for managers in any type of business

Read more

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Business Life - Inspirational    3. Circus    4. Creative ability    5. Creativity    6. Imagination    7. Leadership    8. Personal Growth - Success    9. Self-Help    10. Business & Economics / General    11. Business & Management   

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. General    3. Individual Architect    4. Individual architects    5. USA   

Reviews (5)

Then and Now
The photographs in this book are good shots - clear, and larger than I had expected. It is very interesting to see how the historical city of Boston was, and how it has changed over the years, most times for the better, though sometimes for the worse.Perhaps I would get more out of this if I knew more about Boston. Unless you are already familiar with this city, then "Boston Then and Now" gives you the feeling of peeping through the windows of a house that's up for rent, rather than being taken on a guided tour. A map certainly would have been helpful, and how about an entire page of background information rather than a footnote? Just an idea, in case someone decides to revise it someday. Nice book. Worth buying.

SNOBS
"Boston Then And Now" was reviewed by Charles Higgensworth III.I do hope there won't be a number 4 Higgensworth.This man should drop the attitude.Then people may like him almost as much as this book.What a jerk!

A good backstop to any trip to Boston's sites
We purchased this book in Boston and found almost all of the sites we saw in town in this book.In this book, the older, up to 150-year old photo of the original structures on the current site, or older pictures than offered a juxtaposition of the surrounding landscape of buildings present in the past and now around selected sites.Read more

Subjects:  1. Boston (Mass.)    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History - U.S.    5. Photoessays & Documentaries    6. Pictorial works    7. Pictorials    8. Subjects & Themes - Travel - U.S./New England    9. Travel    10. United States - State & Local - General    11. Places & peoples: general interest    12. Travel & holiday guides    13. Sale Books   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (75)

Deke - PhotoShop - McClelland
I am sure there are other books that might be easier to follow and that might offer more than this one for learning all of what PhotoShop has to offer, but I just have not found them yet. Light to read with easy step by step instructions for the beginner as well as the accomplished image processor.
One-on-One -- it's not just another Photoshop book
Deke McClelland knows his subject very well and presents it in a clear and orderly way so new learning rests on a solid foundation. The format works: read the lesson, watch the DVD-ROM video lesson, do the exercises, take the quiz at the end of the chapter. Each lesson is designed to be understandable by those without much Photoshop experience and still include a few techniques that even experienced users probably don't know. And he does it all with good humor. Work files and video lessons are all included on the DVD-ROM in the book, which is bound so it lies open and flat on the desk without any hassle.
The perfect jumpstart for Photoshop newbies
This was the jumpstart I needed to learning photoshop.This is not so much a tutorial as it is a get-up and start-using photoshop one-on-one session, exactly as the title suggests.So instead of learning the interface in text-book procedural fashion, it's kind of like apprenticing for the author Deke (who also wrote the photoshop bible book).BTW, the author is notably an Master at photoshop, as is apparent when he tells you "nobody uses this command, you can do that function with this new command here".There's a lot to be distracted in photoshop, hundreds and hundreds of different functions, and it turns out that many of these functions are obsolete and only left-in to satisfy old users, so having Deke point these things out is fantastic.Eg, unsharpen mask, obsolete.smart sharpen, da-shizzle.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Adobe Photoshop    2. Cinematography & Videography    3. Computer Books: Operating Systems    4. Computer Graphics - Design    5. Computer Graphics - Photoshop    6. Computer graphics    7. Computers    8. Computers - Desktop Publishing    9. Computers - Other Applications    10. Interactive & Multimedia    11. Operating Systems - Macintosh    12. Adobe Photoshop CS2, digital photography, Deke McClelland, photography    13. Computer programs    14. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design    15. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    16. Computers / Desktop Publishing    17. Digital techniques    18. Image processing    19. Photoshop   

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Building    3. Construction - General    4. Handbooks, manuals, etc    5. Methods & Materials    6. Professional Practice    7. Standards    8. Architecture / Professional Practice    9. Civil Engineering, Surveying & Building    10. Management & management techniques   

Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - Private    3. Motivational & Inspirational    4. Popular Culture - General    5. Self-Help    6. Self-Help / Motivational