4 comments about Key Houses of the Twentieth Century: Plans, Sections, and Elevations (Norton Book for Architects and Designers).

1. Few books offer you a chance to see how the building is laid out and organized. Great book, especially for architects and designers.



2. The so called CD of drawings is a joke. True, the drawings are in a real CAD format but they are really nothing more that worthless sketches. Buy the book for the information provide (however brief) on each structure but not for the CD.



3. I really enjoyed this book, especially because it has a Cd in the back cover with all the pdf files of pictures and dwg files of CAD drawings for the floor plans of each project.
   
   The only downside is that there is only 2 pictures per project, but on the other hand it does have all the main architects of the Twentieth Century.



4. This is a tremendous compendium of guess what--key houses. What's initially impressive are the author's editorial choices. The important, canonical, expected houses are here, (Farnsworth, Villa Savoye, Fallingwater, Aalto, Kahn, Gropius, Eames are represented), but there are many pleasant and welcome surprises, like the Wittgenstein house and the rotating Villa Girasole. Important choices you'd expect to be left out, like the Melnikov house or the Shodhan house, are included, so, along with the CD, which may have some flaws or limitations, nonetheless gives architecture students an amazing archive of case study material at their fingertips. Highly recommended.

3 comments about AutoCAD & AutoCAD LT All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)).

1. When you are first starting to use AutoCAD, you get to the point where you are looking at a basically bare screen with a whole bunch of control icons around the edges. What do you do then? Just simply getting the first line drawn is a confusing task.
   
   In this book the authors have applied the full range of the 'For Dummies' books style guidelines to produce a book that gets you working in AutoCAD just as fast as possible. It still takes them over fifty pages to get started drawing a picture, but that first fifty pages gives you a lot, an awful lot, of basic information. So often I find that computer books leave out this first fifty pages that explain just what it is that we are trying to do. Plow through it. It's material that you will need to know sooner or later, probably sooner, and it's really not that bad.
   
   As a simple summary about this book. I like the 'For Dummies' style, and if I were trying to get started in AutoCAD, it's where I would start.
   
   It's a big book, almost 800 pages, but a lot of details about Autocad are included. You'll be productive before you get down to the customizing and programming chapters.



2. This is the book I use for quick reference when the latest version of AutoCAD comes out. They always seem to change things around and the help in the program is poor at best. This book makes it easy to find the commands for the common stuff and I use the AutoCAD Bible for the more complicated commands.



3. This book provides lots of good information, but it is truly written for dummies. By that I mean that the book is really dummed down with very specific instructions on doing things like opening the program, saving a file, etc.
   
   There are lots of great tips scattered throughout the book. However, they will be difficult to find again without highlighting the book the first time you read it.
   
   The author seems to assume that the reader has experience in AutoCad. This assumption lends the book towards not providing exercises on how to use the program. Such exercises would have made the book much more useful.
   
   The bottom line: The AutoCad software is a big let down in the context sensitive help. A good instruction book is needed - but this is not it. If you can't find a better book, get this one. But, do the best you can to find a book that walks the reader through using the program with exercises.

1 comments about Valley Of The Far Side.

1. My English and my background to understand Larson's humor are not the best but anytime I grab one of his books from my self I crack with the old jokes I have read many times. Each time I find a new sense and a new kind of humor, and all depends on my animus and circunstances. If someday I don't crack with a single one, I'll know my illusion for the common things of life and my youth have come to an end. David

5 comments about Coffin: The Art Of Vampire Hunter D.

1. This book is HUGE, which it should be to show off the fantastic artwork. Loved it! All Vampire Hunter D fans should get it, just don't expect it to fit in your book shelf.. lol! Pay close attention to the dimensions in the item description. It also comes in a slip case to protect the book.



2. The art in this book is detailed, beautiful, and breathtaking... I was blown away by even the pictues which were only sketches.
   
   I recommend it highly to fans of Vampire Hunter D... as well as anyone who is an art fanatic or art book collector... or even just someone who loves Vampiric things in general.



3. I bought this book for my boyfriend, who is a huge fan of the series. I cannot speak from my own experience with it, but from his near fainting reaction upon receiving it, I would say it is definitely worth the money. From what he has said, the artwork is incredible. I would recommend it for any fan of the series or the art.



4. As for content and art this book is fabulous, but I was kind of expecting more prints. The layout they chose for the book is interesting and I don't really find it necessary other than for a wow factor. To me it really didn't add anything to the prints inside, but to be fair, it didn't necessarily take away either. This book defiantly features what I enjoy best about Amano's art.
   
   A good buy for Amano fans or any artist interested in graphic art and/or inking.



5. If your a Vampire Hunter D fan, I say get this book. Goes nicely to any collection in that series. tons of pages on art work done over the years from the artist. I say a must buy ^^

5 comments about Designed by Peter Saville.

1. I only wanted to write a review because this book looked lonely without a single customer review.

   You need this book if you want to understand where our design-obsessive culture originated. Even if you don't give a rat's ass, if you take any kind of enjoyment from visual and conceptual aesthetics, you still need this.

   It is great to flip through, the ultimate coffee table book. But suprisingly, there is just as much emphasis placed on text and context.

   Even more surprisingly, it is reasonably priced.

   Peter Saville has enormous talent and is unique in that he's not strictly a designer, not strictly an artist.




2. well, this book is... under review. see i havent made it past pg 1. n here i sit, wanting to learn french, n pondering how far ive made it into my new little read here. find myself staring at the cover, wondering what books are for, bah, brand new n pretty, so what. opened to words, creased the binding. no matter. a book is a book is a book... right? i have yet to form an opinion, this is my first review, im wondering if theres an option someplace in here where i can update my review after getting past page two. kinda doubt it, which means that ill push send on this, and that will be that.
   too much to early
   
   i hope it doesnt make me give it a star. if i have to give a star, before going a little more in depth... well, then ill give five. but let it be know, i havent yet made it past page two. guess ill have to learn a little ... i dunno what language it even is. gonna have to work a little to get through this one, my curiosity is dragging me, through all the distractions n walls around me, gives me a headache sometimes, but the language looks curious, the words. misplaced to my understanding... for the moment. translations in due
   
   anyhow, just so you know. left the five cause i had too, not that the book is interesting or anything, just letting you know.
   
   bah, it made me give stars. i guess whomever made this sight...
   didnt allow for under review. theres some decent material in the dvd as well. but thats not here, nor there, is it?
   
   theres about four tangents that i can think of off the top of my head right now... to many options to readers, means this is trash. or not, maybe a playground for some damn collage prof with a red fetish in language
   
   im pushing send, n probably waisting everybodies time, seeing how, this, isnt even technically a rating of anysort. this is only page one.



3. I am a huge fan of Peter Saville's work, and this book is everything I wanted it to be. It contains excellent reproductions of his album cover and other design work as well as interesting interviews with Saville and writings by others in the field. I read this book from cover to cover and it was never boring. Excellent for fans of Peter Saville as well as those just getting into his work.



4. I first became acquainted with Saville's work with the albums he did for Joy Division and New Order over twenty years ago, the work was fresh, dynamic, elegant and beautiful then and it's still fantastic. His work is always so effortless and cool, it just IS, it doesn't try too hard. Alot of work in my profession tries too hard to be "edgy" and after two years...it ain't. David Carson comes to mind. Saville is still to this day, one of the few living designers that really matter, who consistently puts out great work. Michael Vanderbyl being the other one. The dead ones being Otl Aicher and Josef Muller Brockmann. The only quibble I have is the format, it's too small, it should be something substantial like 15x15



5. I will repeat what other reviewers have said, yes, this is a great book, fabulous design (duh!), etc...this book has several essays on Peter's work as well as a very informative interview. This is, alone, a reason not to miss it. Saville has been the main person to translate music culture into visual, iconic form. He discusses what he describes as "Style Culture", his formative years, in great, facile, conversational form. Of course his work speaks for itself and through the music it helped communicate, but the texts actually provided insight into how does his work come about, the process & projects, the "phases", etc...Saville the bon vivant and Saville the designer are all one. Interesting to think about in the era of mega-mass corporatization of everything. He managed to remain a Flaneur of sorts, thanks to the Mancurian accident of birth, overall charm and flawless, uncompromising work.

4 comments about Verification Methodology Manual for SystemVerilog.

1. I got this book at work to learn about VMM and the use of it.
   It covers high level concepts and recommendations on developing a successful verification environment. It does not teach you the syntax or the basics of System Verilog. Beside teaching you these high level concepts, it covers in detail the use of the VMM base classes offered with Synopsys' VCS tools.
   The book has code example in each topic covered which will make it easier to understand.
   The topics covered include, but not limited to, Verification planning, assertions, testbench infrastructure, stimulus/response and coverage.
   If you are using VMM in your development, then this book is definitely the manual that goes with it.
   A must have for a successful verification engineer working with VMM. (6 out of 5 stars)



2. The book starts off fairly well through the first three chapters. Then all of a sudden it makes a huge leap and it becomes very difficult to follow. There are a lot of very advanced topics that require a lot of object oriented programming experience to understand. On my second reading I saw that even Janick says that he does not expect you to understand VMM on the first reading.
   
   A class based methodology is a complex topic and the VMM book does not do much to make it any easier. If you are a C++ (or something similar) guru, then you might enjoy this book. Otherwise, save your money and download the white papers from the web.



3. This is a very good book. However, as a newcomer to VMM, I initially got more out of "A Pragmatic Approach to VMM Adoption" by Cohen, Venkataramanan and Kumari. I use both books extensively. Since reading "A Pragmatic Approach", Bergeron's book is much more understandable and useful.



4. I consider this book to be a good VMM Reference.
   
   Please don't mistake this to be a complete SystemVerilog Bible. This is Verification Methodology Manual (VMM), and after reading this book, it's not a bad idea to think if this methodology is the right one for your project.
   
   This book outlines several "rules", "recommendations", "suggestions" and "alternatives" in using VMM for your project. I found these to be useful to a certain extent. Although the examples weren't quite informative. For starters I would also suggest reading general book on object oriented programming along with this book.
   
   
   ************* BUYING THIS BOOK? READ THIS: ***************
   
   Before you buy this book, check if you/your office has Synopsys VCS installed (Along with Documentation). If you happen to have complete VCS installed, you would get this book (pdf version) for FREE along with the VCS documentation. I came to know about this after buying this book. Any ways, it is good to have a hard copy.
   
   Also, I found it useful to have other SystemVerilog books along with this one. It makes life easy to understand a (new) language and (new) methodology.
   
   ************************
   

5 comments about The Far Side ®.

1. Maybe this book does not contain so many "hits" as others, but it is still a good old Gary Larson Classic. I am a huge fan of his work and I think it is worth buying and reading. Among other things to find out, what REALLY happened with Dorothy and co., when they enetered the yellow road.



2. This book presents the first lot of cartoons from the widely syndicated 'Far Side' strip. You will find hilarious cartoons, completely strange cartoons, rebellious cows, ducks, mugger bears, tales of cavemen, Scientist hijinks, all of which leave you gasping for air whilst you try to stop laughing. Recommended to anyone who enjoys the stupid facts of life. YAY!!



3. This is the very first collection of Larson's beloved Far Side cartoons. It's a small book, with just two of his early cartons per page, but they're good ones. All of them show Larson's inverted sense of reality. One shows a housewife on the phone, surrounded by fishbowls: "Well that's how it happened Sylvia ... I kissed this frog, he turns into a prince, we get married, and wham! ... I'm stuck at home with a bunch of pollywogs." Several others show an upset Santa Claus, his famous reindeer, and a mention of venison. Many show his fascination with improbable doings of wildlife. That earned him a place in the hearts of biologists everywhere, so much that a newly-discovered species was named in his honor.
   
   //wiredweird



4. The cartoons in this book are hysterical. Larson has a great sense of humor, albeit a little twisted. My favorite was the one where God is going the up escalator and the Devil is going down. The Devil has just smacked God in the face with a crème pie. Many of the cartoons are visual and textual puns on life and the universe. I laughed my way all through this book and strongly recommend it to anyone who needs to yuk up their life.



5. Just think of all these young whipper schnappers that missed the whole thing. The Far Side was a rarity in the lame world of modern newspaper comic strips. It was actually funny. I hate to say, laugh out loud, but that's what it made you do in just one panel, and you often laughed Very Hard. I think one of the factors in the demise of newspapers today, had to have been the day The Far Side retired. It's a freakin' TREASURE!!!

1 comments about Design for Assisted Living: Guidelines for Housing the Physically and Mentally Frail.

1. This is an amazing book because it includes design considerations that are European and American. Northern Europe has a definite view of the aging population that is very different than that of Americans. Much more focused on wellness, physical activity, landscape as part of healing, maximizing the aging process. This book also includes American facilities that are more focused on creating a HOME for elders. Wonderful photos too. Comment made that senior residences are designed for the daughters (those who make the decision) rather than for the residents. This gives you ideas on how to change that issue... for the positive. Very good resource book.

3 comments about 1-2-3 Draw Ocean Life (Levin, Freddie. 1-2-3 Draw.).

1. Having been introduced to the 1-2-3 books at our local library, I was excited to see the ocean life being released as the aquarium is one of our children's favorite places to visit. They love to draw the different types of sea creatures and the way that the illustrations are broken down, even very young children can create a fish that resembles the actual creature. I love all the 1-2-3 books and we use them regularly.



2. Through the use of basic shapes like circles, ovals and triangles, children can learn to draw a variety of creatures from the sea. You can start with easy sea shells and move on to the more complex shrimp and octopus.
   
   The Clown fish begins with a simple oval and the instructions take you through a instructional and visual journey. All the steps are sketched out making the drawings super fun and easy to copy. A pencil, eraser and colored pencils are all you need. You could also paint the final drawings.
   
   The pictures include a cute Sea Horse, Sea Turtles, Crab, Shrimp, Coral Reef Fish, Dolphins, Whales, Anemones and many more...
   
   1-2-3 Draw books are perfect for new artists learning about the basics of drawing and this book will provide hours of fun activities. Once you learn how to draw the sea creatures, you can then put them all in one picture with a coral reef.
   
   ~The Rebecca Review



3. Great product for kids that wish to learn to draw without expensive art lessons. My daughter, age 9 has several books and is creating a wonderful folder of art and bonus I can even draw and my talents are very limited.

5 comments about Architectural Acoustics (Applications of Modern Acoustics).

1. I have a copy of Long's Architectural Acoustics and have read a number of sections. The book is remarkably complete and Long has correctly embodied current literature. I recommend it for professionals and architects who have some mathematics. Leo Beranek



2. I just received my copy, and have yet to dive into. However it appears up to date (2006) in that it covers modelling and auralization concepts. The scope of the book is expanded compared to Eagan's excellent text. Take a look at the table of contents on line for an idea of the topics.
   
   It appears to be well written. The mathematics of sound are covered. This should be a standard reference text for a general knowledge of architectural acoustics.
   
   July 2007 - I use this book as one of my primary references. It has excellent breadth and detail.



3. In his preamble the author refers to the fact this book took him more than 10 years to write. Given the level of detail and the comprehensive nature of this book, this is not surprising.
   
   There may be better acoustical books available relating to specific niches of acoustics, such as Beranek and Barron's works on concert halls and there are certainly more simple introductions to the subject, such as Egan's book of the same name, but for anybody who doesn't mind grappling with some mathematical equations, this is definitely the best and most comprehensive book on this subject of the 15 or so that I possess.
   
   Like the author, I am also a practicing acoustical consultant and a lecturer in this subject. It's probably splitting hairs, but I suspect that my architecture students might not respond well to this book due to the fact that the illustrations are generally limited to fairly simple black and white drawings and the mathematical approach may intimidate some, but for other acoustical consultants and engineers interested in the field of building acoustics, I would definitely recommend this text.



4. The ultimate guide to architectural acoustics covering many topics in a single and nice priced book, It has everything covered and explained to a good level, my only complain is that only basic measurement techniques are explained. However it is a great complilation of knowledge in a single package.



5. Having read some architectural acoustics books, I can recommend this one as one of the best. It is an excellent resource. In fact, I should not have spent some of my money on some oldie books, which were cheap but not as good.
   
   This is an up to date book, and it is worth every penny you spend. If you are a student or someone interested in the topic architectural acoustics, it is a good resource but it has many formulas (sorry if you do not like physics).
   
   With it I have been able to specify to an architect who does not know hardly anything about acoustics how to correct his design for a contemporary church. I also recommend "Handbook for Sound Engineers" as a compliment to this book, for people that are trying to get the best of both worlds -- acoustics and audio. These are both good buys, and can help you very much. Remember that to be a good consultant you need to have a good library of books and this one would be an excellent part of your reference library.