1 comments about Heavenly Soles: Extraordinary 20th Century Shoes.

1. Trasko defines the subject of her study as "... only the most influential creations, as well as particularly inventive and unusual footwear. The focus here is on high fashion, with relatively little attention to working-class or middle-class shoes, which deserve their own study." And the day that we see a glossy book about those shoes will be the revolution. The reader should be aware the "quite a few fetish models are depicted, for they are among the most awe-inspiring shoes of their era ... ." I don't criticize their inclusion, but adults might want to flip through and decide if they want to explain to little ones why some of the women are oddly dressed, or naked except for boots. The reader should also be aware that shoes are generally limited to English, French, Italian and American.
   
   As a woman who chooses her shoes almost entirely for comfort, this is about as close as I care to get to wearing most of them, but I must admit that they are sometimes gorgeous objects. It is frustrating that so little design effort is put into practical shoes: just because I like to be comfortable doesn't mean that I don't appreciate attractive stitching and clever color combinations. Trasko quotes shoe-designer Robert Vivier as saying that shoe design is "a sculptural problem in which the center is always a void." Generally speaking, I find that craft is better than art if one is going to actually use the thing. Trasko is quite aware of the tension here: as much as she loves high-fashion shoes, she is not blind to the foot problems that extreme styles cause, or the inhibiting effect such shoes have had one women. She celebrates the opportunity to switch among different styles.
   
   The book draws upon many sources: advertising, design drawings, and what appear to be museum shots. As a result, although most of the book is in color, some are in black-and-white if they were shot before color became common. The pictures are generally large enough to show the details. They are placed so that almost all of the detailing, types of heels, for example, and all the designs discussed are illustrated. The text is generally in chronological order with significant detail about changes in design, i.e., the stileto heel. In some cases, pictures of the clothing fashionable at the time is included. My one suggestion for improvement would be to have more pictures like this (publishers just love lengthening books!) Althea Mackenzie's Shoes and Slippers: From Snowshill, one of the World's Leading Collections of Costume and Accessories of the 18th and 19th Centuries did a effective job of this using very small pictures: not a lot of detail, but one gets some sense of the overall effect. I found the text relatively succinct and very clear. There is some discussion of major designers and manufacturers, as well as changes in methods of production.
   
   The book includes a table-of-contents, notes, a bibliography and an index. There is a mistake in the table of contents: the photographic credits are on page 131, not 128.
   
   Both beautiful and informative.

3 comments about Mask Arts of Mexico.

1. I found it revealing to see so many and varied kinds of masks all on the pages of one book. It alowed me to compare the masks with others from I have seen around the world. I am surprized at the simalarities.



2. I'm not sure why the other reviewer left only three stars (after praising the book). Anyhow, Ruth Lechuga's book will compliment any book on the genre. It is a superb overview of masks you will find from the various cultures within Mexico. The pictures are nice and crisp with excellent detail (nice photography).



3. Such a tremendous endevor could only be undertaken by Lechuga (Ms Lettuce), Sayer, and Lavender. I mean "Wow"! This book takes the mindbending and esoteric subject masks and extracts information on levels unseen in either science or the arts. Reading the book changed myself and my wife inexplicably.

No comments about Boston Terrier Collectibles (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1 comments about Uniforms of the United States Army, 1774-1889, in Full Color.

1. I bought this book a few years ago, and i would buy it today. the color plates are wonderful to look at, and the units depicted are varied. The only drawback is the lack of campaign uniforms in the latter half of the book.

1 comments about Ohio Is My Dwelling Place: Schoolgirl Embroideries, 1800-1850.

1. Better than I expected, the coloration and samplers pictured are truly remarkable. A lot of good basic Ohio history, with maps by county and description of how the state was divided. It is one of my favorite things, and I never get tired of picking it up and reading more about their simple lives.

5 comments about A Guide Book of United States Coins 2003: The Official Red Book (Guide Book of United States Coins).

1. While more pictures are always nice, this book gives me everything I was looking for, its well put together and its certainly a great price. I recently inherited a modest coin collection and this book has answered just about every question I had. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who is just getting into the coin collecting hobby.



2. As another reviewer pointed out, I to was dissapointed by the fact that the latest commerative coins were not included. At first, I thought since these are not very valuable they were excluded. Next, I thought these are the precise coins that new beginners would be looking for when they bought this book. But in conclusion, I think the real problem is timelyness. Each edition is just plain not too timely. That's a shame since time is both knowledge and the advantage one needs to stay on top of the market. This book is not meant to be a history book of the past. I hope the editors get the picture expressed here.



3. This work has been printed and re-printed for years. It is well
   organized. There is a fair concensus of coins represented.
   This book is a "must read" for coin buffs and persons
   seeking to establish a fair valuation for any collection.
   If you own a coin handbook, eventually it will have to be
   replaced in order to keep current with the most recent
   evaluations. Yeoman distinguishes between grades of coins,
   alphabetic abbreviations and the quantity minted.
   For instance, in the year 1909 alone, there are at least
   4 different coins. i.e. Lincoln Head, VDB, S and SVDB.
   Lastly, the author enunciates U.S. Coin Standards in terms
   of diameter, thickness, gross weight, grains and thousandths
   (fineness measurement). Purchase this book if you have a coin
   collection either large or small.



4. This book is good for what it includes, but there is a glaring and shocking omission! There is no info on proof sets, only on some individual coins. With the introduction of state quarter sets, annual proof sets have become a hot commodity, yet this book completely overlooks the entire category!



5. As I told in an other review regarding the blue book of US coins, I'm very intersted in the coins and their history; the red book is an exploitation in that world.

No comments about Landscape with Figures: A History of Art Dealing in the United States.

1 comments about Cappiello: The Posters of Leonetto Cappiello.

1. This book is simply amazing - it has such a great showing of Leonetto Cappiello's work and it is beautiful to look at. If you are interested in posters (or any art or design for that matter) you will love this book.

2 comments about Fishing Lure Collectibles: An Encyclopedia of the Early Years, 1840 to 1940.

1. Any collector interested in antique fishing lures and the history of fishing lure production will find all the answers in Fishing Lure Collectibles, a clear guide to a notoriously difficult collecting hobby focus. Two experts provide clear details in Fishing Lure Collectibles: An Encyclopedia of the Early Years, 1840 to 1940. Each manufacturer's items are surveyed along with history, individuals who purchased patent rights from companies, changes in bait quality and production standards, and more. Not to be missed.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. Another lure book, if you like fishing (or even better if you are an addict like me) you will find this book interesting. It will send you to sleep if you don't like fishing or the history associated with the ways and means of catching fish. Like other companion books, these are beautifully presented with nice photo's and informative text. Sorry I haven't done a book review since high school.

2 comments about Colonial and Early American Fashions (History of Fashion).

1. This book is great, not only for the detail of the dresses and costumes, but for the variety of outfits portrayed. I was expecting a lot of dresses, like you would see in Colonial Williamsburg, perhaps. Dress in the English style. But there are quite a few pictures of other colonial dress. There is a Scottish couple, Dutch fashions, and a drawing of Swiss immigrants. Very educational, as we tend to think only of English colonists during this time period.



2. This is an excellent panorama of costumes representing Colonial and Early American Fashions, including nobility, servant, officer, pirate and more. The detail is beautiful, and careful research is obvious here. Tom Tierney can do no wrong!
   
   For classroom use, homeschoolers, or adults fascinated with the everyday details of people's lives throughout history, I strongly recommend this book. Beautiful!