5 comments about Underground Homes.

1. This book is fairly old (1978; revised in 1980), and slim (only 107 pages of text). But there aren't too many books that cover underground homes, and this is a fair overview.

   If you're just starting to think about building a house, and want to consider the underground or earth-sheltered option, this book makes a decent starting point. You'll need to search out other materials if the idea strikes your fancy, though.

   Chapter titles:
   ---------------
   Introduction
   Lot or Land
   Structure

   Waterproofing
   Insulation
   Interior
   Natural Light
   Heating and Cooling Systems
   Exterior
   Standard Roofs: A Compromise Solution
   Building Sequence
   Conclusion
   Reference Material
   Index




2. Interested.

   Trying to be as fair as possible. The book is interesting to say the least. I would use it as a guide if I were building /and I, my wife and I might just do that. We have just retired and our retirement home will be either underground or a log cabin. her and my choice respectively, so both of us are looking into the possibilities. I will use your book as a reference. I have obtained a copy from a friend and will see how the progression goes from there. I will stay in touch.




3. The layman who wants an easy introduction to planning and building an earth-sheltered home typically has plenty of construction guides to choose from, but UNDERGROUND HOMES differs from most in offering all the basics, from site choice and waterproofing and insulation choices to handling problems unique to subterranean homes, such as determining the local water table and handling heating and cooling systems for different climates. The basics are all covered in easy language and diagrams.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



4. This may be a little book in pages,but it is definitely worth it. There are step by step procedures to follow for building an underground / earth berm home.It covers the pitfalls of inappropriate drainage and also Earth-roof designs. There are new techniques now for Earth-roof designs that would be well deserved reading. With energy costs so exorbitant one would think this type of building would stage a comeback.



5. The book was shipped quickly and at a fare shipping cost. Book had a lot of good information. Be more than glad to do business with them again.

5 comments about Soak Wash Rinse Spin.

1. Soak Wash Rinse Spin's typesetting forces you to stop reading after too few pages. You really want to dig in but are quickly demoralized into putting it down.

   Sagmeister's, "Made you look" was studied in wonder over a 10 hour session immediately after opening the package. I had never heard of him and i was quickly converted into a believer, all other scheduled items became secondary. Long lines of sans serif tiny type are the only thing that stopped this book from having an impact of similar strength.

   An unrelated note, within one week, the binding cracked.

   One research misjudgement on my part was to assume the book was published very recently and included their newest projects (see tolleson.com) It was published in 2000 of course, some projects have glimmers of past trends.

   Nothing compares to the sheer visual firepower Tolleson blasts with both barrels. There is a beautiful logic flowing with every peice and you feel drawn into the scientific precision of the studio's creative process.

   A printer's eye glass would be a fun attachment to assist in reading this book, which despite it's flaws is a proud part of my collection.




2. I was a bit concerned about buying this book after reading complaints about type size, but after some debating I decided to just buy this book and decide for myself... and I'm glad that I did. Sure the type is small and a bit hard to read. But there are only significant ammounts of type on the first twenty pages. The majority of the remaining 268 pages contain mostly images. Some pages contain no type at all, other than page numbers.

   This one gets 5 well deserved stars. Forget the type complaints and pick up a copy of this valuable addition to any designer's book collection.




3. This compilation of tolleson design work is just amazing. the book features a lot of their best works and is very inspirational. definately worth buying, and its expensive, in fact, its really affordable, making it even more worthwhile ;)



4. it's a little expensive but it's worthy when i got it. very good book for graphic designer.



5. It's a very good book for design. A lot of nice design and layouts. The variety and originality of the work is awesome. The idea of layering give a vision of 3 dimensions into type treatment, which is very interesting.
   A book to get if you are a graphic designer.

1 comments about How to Draw Aquarium Animals (How to Draw (Dover)).

1. My kids love to use this book as a guideline for drawing sealife.

5 comments about Color Drawing: Design Drawing Skills and Techniques for Architects, Landscape Architects, and Interior Designers, 2nd Edition.

1. This is the standard for rendering in architecture and interior design as far as I am concerned. It will most definitely become a required textbook for my classes in visual presentation in the years to come. Doyle takes you step-by-step into the process of rendering with marker, color pencil, and pastels. But he doesn't just spoon feed you the recipe for each material rendering, he presents the basis for a process that allows you to render virtually any material not found in the book.



2. This is an excellent resouce for the study of rendering. After detailing the elements of color and design, it describes, step-by-step, how to achieve many finishes both interior and exterior. It is both instructive and informative.



3. It's really hard to say too many things about this book. Even older editions of Color Drawing are great, but this newest one goes above and beyond the call of duty. In an age when a lot of books get re-released as new editions with few substantive changes, Color Drawing breaks the mold by updating the techniques with current technology (i.e. Photoshop). It's great to see that the author and publisher realize that pure hand-drawing and rendering is quickly becoming a thing of the past and that the practitioners of today and tomorrow need to have excellent computer skills too. This book is full of very useful tips for combining Photoshop with hand drawings to create great effects. So even if you have an earlier edition, do yourself a favor and buy the new one anyway because you will learn a lot.



4. great book! Out of the dozens of hand rendering guides I looked at, this was by far the best and the easiest to learn from. It tells you what pencils, markers, and tools to buy to achieve certain effects, and gives you step-by-step rendering instructions for tons of different types of materials and lighting situations. I highly recommend this- in fact, it should be mandatory for interior design students!



5. I have a copy of the first edition of this book and am still mesmerized by it. When it first came out, everyone I knew at design school who bought it felt like the information and techniques had given them an out-of-body-experience and it quickly became THE book to own, learn from, and emulate. Anyone who buys this book and applies the material and techniques will become better at drawing, rendering, and creative presentation methods...it is a sure-fire way to achieve "star power" in your office and in front of your clients!

5 comments about Icon.

1. Words cannot describe the beauty and passion in Frazetta's work; This book is filled with amazing art, from the original sketches to the final product; Lots of personal photographs and insightful narratives help to make this a satisfying package, but the artwork alone makes this book a must have. From his early career doing comic books and movie posters, to the grand scale of his fantasy art, this is a book that is sure to excite any and all who have a shred of creativity within them. Totally inspiring book!!!



2. Frazetta is great and this book is swell... however (as one other reviewer also experienced) the cover came off my book after I had it for only one week! I couldn't believe it! To credit of the publisher they did send me a replacement. I think I will buy the sequel now. Too bad it's only available in hardcover, but at least that way the cover is much less likely to fall off. As for the third book, it seems to be completely unavailable except to those who are willing to pay over a hundred dollars for it!



3. I read Edgar Rice Burroughs novels as a teen and will never forget the impact of the Frazetta covers. His heros, the settings and the creatures were so wild and vivid; plus I think he definitely set my ideals of feminine beauty for life. This collection is a must for anyone who wants a good biography of F.F. along with some great reproductions of his best work.



4. When people think of fantasy artwork, they might think first of those Conan and Edgar Rice Burroughs paperback covers, or a berserker warrior on horseback, corpses of foes beneath him and dripping weapon above him. People think of Frazetta first, whether or not they know it's him they're thinking of. He's also done recognizable work for Mad magazine, Little Annie Fanny for Playboy, posters for Peter Sellers movies, and lots more.
   
   Frazetta has done plenty of work in ink, especially for a range of comics, but his oil paintings are best known and most heavily represented here. It's easy to see how he became the inspiration for an entire generation of fantasy artists, and probably well into a second generation, too. No one captures the rippling sinews of barbarian warriors like Frazetta does, or beasts, half-men, dungeons, jungles, and every other fantasy-scape that he's rendered. Above all, no one comes close to the lush, rounded figures of his female characters. They can be warriors and wizards in their own right, or eldritch spirits, or even savable maidens. Some, as in "Moon's Rapture" or the standing figure in "Rogue Roman", show a rich and womanly figure at rest, but somehow promising as much raw physical power as any man.
   
   I recommend this collection to anyone passionate about illustration or fantasy art. Any one of his paintings can be an entire course of study for a budding artist. They can also be seen as powerful narratives in imagery, or as a jumping-off point for dreams of far-away worlds and heroic adventures.
   
   -- wiredweird



5. The ilustrations in this book portray you to another book that perfectly capture the original paints.

5 comments about A Commands Guide For Solidworks 2008 (Solidworks).

1. For the past two years, I've been using SolidWorks either in college or at work. SolidWorks is a fantastic, uncomplicated 3D CAD package with a familiar Windows user interface. At work, we just updated from 2006 to 2008; and 2008 provides a lot of new features, menus, and toolbars. In other words; there are a lot of new cool tools.
   
   This is a great book which provides a core overview of the new 2008 SolidWorks User Interface with over 200 embedded short model tutorials on the enclosed CD. Use the models to learn and apply many of the existing and new features; both for 2D and 3D sketches, and 3D features. The book provides a strong insight and overview of drawings, and assemblies; both top-down and bottom-up. For each feature, the full PropertyManager is displayed to identify the available options. I like the way the PropertyManager is illustrated as the options are discussed. This makes if very easy for the user to relate the words/options to the actual illustrated PropertyManager. I used the book today, to help me create and calculate the flow area for a vent in a sheet metal box.
   
   I also like the way the authors provide the initial and final models. I've used numerous models; "Edit Feature tool in the FeatureManager" to help me apply the feature tools to my everyday functions.
   
   This is not the first book which I purchased from these authors, and it will surely not be the last. Keep up the good work.



2. I purchased this book because of its title and its many good reviews. If you are very new to 3D cad or Solidworks, this is a pretty good book. However, if you are looking for a concise command reference, this book is not for you.



3. These authors are great. I've used them in college and now I use them in industry. This is a great reference book with over 200 models on an incorporated book CD.
   
   I cracked open the book, inserted the CD and as I worked through the problems, I become more and more impressed with it. SolidWorks 2008 has a very different look from 2007. There are many neat tools and features; namely - Pop-up Context toolbars, DimXpert, MotionStudy, Instant3D and TolAnalysis to name a few.
   
   There are some weaknesses in this book, but ones that you can work around. To have all of the answers, they would need to write a 3000 page book. The index, in particular, I found to be pretty expansive - I used it to find answers to more than one problem where I was fairly clueless. Tons of illustrations and clearly written. Keep up the good work.



4. These authors know their stuff. It is easy to read and follow. As a new user, I can really appreciate a well written reference book. The book has a getting started section and then brakes into logical feature and sketch tool sections. The short tutorials lets you apply the tools to ensure that you understand their functionality. There are over 200 short tutorials with final models to help you learn 95% of what SolidWorks has to offer. There are full screen shots of most propertymanagers and dialog boxes which is a big help when trying to understand the various options.
   
   It provides extensive coverage of the document properties and system options section with system defaults. This is helpful when sharing a system. This is the most borrowed book in my department. Thank you ..



5. I've been combining my retraining in 3D modeling and learning SolidWorks specifics with the help of two SolidWorks books; Engineering Design with SolidWorks and A Commands Guide for SolidWorks. Both books deploy a step-by-step illustrated instruction approach.
   
   I'm rather new to 3D. I found the two books to be extremely useful and easy to follow. In a previous life, I was an AutoCad VAR, although that is going back quite a few years. Part of my learning process has been unlearning some of my AutoCad approaches. This takes time, but is well worth it. SolidWorks is a great software package.
   
   The Commands Guide for SolidWorks is excellent when it comes to short, quick, and informative tutorials, to quickly learn a subject topic or to understand a feature or tool. The CD is very helpful with both the initial and final models. The layout of the book provides a logically flow to learn. I took the time to write this review and will write a review for the Engineering Design with SolidWorks book, because I strongly believe that these books can help a new user and are the best books on the market today. I contacted the author for a question, which was trivial, but he responded to me in less than a day. WOW!

5 comments about John Constantine, Hellblazer: Dangerous Habits.

1. i have been a fan of the dc vertigo series for a while. i finally came around to reading this book after watching the movie. while being similar in many ways, the differences make this comic and the movie entertaining in similar and different ways. the comic is a little more indepth while the movie is faster paced. the other main difference is the movie takes place in america and the book takes place in england, so be prepared for brittish cussing instead of american.
   
   off the subject of the movie vs comic, this is extremely well written. l haven't read the first hellblazer graphic novel original sins yet, so i can't say about the continuing storyline. he is the antihero that intentionally pisses off everyone including his friends. also i liked the way he kept his soul, but i don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't already read this book. awesome read for anyone who had a taste of the dc vertigo collection and likes it.



2. Garth Ennis, John Constantine, Hellblazer: Dangerous Habits (Vertigo, 1994)
   
   It is entirely likely that anyone reading this review doesn't need me to say a thing about it. You already know who John Constantine is (even those of you who don't follow comics, thanks to the recent Keanu Reeves vehicle). You probably even know what issue numbers are contained in this book, which was the beginning of Garth Ennis' stint as the primary writer, and what happens in them. On the off chance, however, that someone who's not into comics stumbles across this review, I'll go ahead and say "get this."
   
   Chain-smoking, hard-drinking John Constantine, rake, magician, and all-around bad guy, has just found out he has terminal lung cancer. He's going to die. He has few to turn to for help; most of his friends are dead, and both friends and adversaries still alive are loath to help him for various reasons of their own. Thus, Constantine has to come up with a typically brilliant, diabolical plan in order to get himself out of an inextricable mess.
   
   Granted, this is a regular day in the life of the Hellblazer, but Ennis, the man behind the great Preacher, brings a style and energy to Constantine's character that's undeniable and attractive. He's a bit less comfortable with some of the minor characters from older issues, as if he's still getting used to being thrust into their skins, but as this story arc is highly centered around Constantine and a new character, that doesn't play as important a part as one might at first think. (The Snob, especially, is... well, downright boring here.) Ennis' writing is as witty and wiseacre as ever, and, well, it's simply a load of fun. If you're not familiar with Constantine, you may want to hunt down Original Sins before this, but this is one you'll definitely want to go on to. *** ½



3. Garth Ennis is one of the most consistently entertaining writers in comics today, and one of the most challenging. DANGEROUS HABITS is the beginning of that. Obviously his great work has continued through his run on HELLBLAZER to his unbelivably innovative and instantly addictive series PREACHER, to his challenging work on WAR STORIES and his hilariously over-the-top reboot of THE PUNISHER. In regard to DANGEROUS HABITS, although he is missing his best artistic sidekick, Steve Dillon, that does not prevent this run of HELLBLAZER from being the best I've ever read, with one of the greatest plot twists in comic history. It's simply brilliant.



4. Garth Ennis decides to take the decidedly low-rent, if dangerous John Constantine even lower. Smoking a lot really is bad for you, even if you are a magician of sorts.
   
   Constantine here finds out he has lung cancer, and it is going to get him. For him, being dead is most definitely not something he is looking forward to, as it is likely to hurt for a long, long time.



5. No.
   
   Granted, there are differences in the stories. (Mild differences.) And, the book is better than the movie. (Mildly better.) But, if you've seen the film you are bound to find yourself asking, 'Why am I reading this?'
   
   Ultimately, Hellblazer is a horror story: The excitement in reading the work is the subversion of normal expectations (real world setting... but, with daemons and magic), the creation of tension (cancer, a life of regrets... but, with daemons and magic), and, most particularly, with the reveal / resolution of the tension.
   
   In any Hellblazer tale the normal world goes sideways, bad things happen, and, impossibly, Constantine makes it out alive. And that makes for good reading. As long as you don't already know the reveal. Which, if you've seen the movie, you do.
   
   So this isn't so much a negative review as it is a warning that if you've seen the film you are better off buying a different issue of Hellblazer.

No comments about Graphics for Engineers with AutoCAD 2002 (6th Edition).

5 comments about Colored Pencil for the Serious Beginner: Basic Lessons in Becoming a Good Artist (Serious Beginner).

1. If you can only have one book on colored pencil, let it be this one. I had to buy another one when my professor saw it. It is another book that I read with pen and highlighter in hand. I couldn't just read it I had to study it.



2. I think this may be a fine book for more advanced artists. There was little help for true beginners,even"serious " ones. There was much philosophy and opionion, but little practical help.



3. How did this artist ever get this published? The artwork in this book is so amateurish I did not even want to read what he/she had to say. I don't want my pieces to look like theirs. It looked like junior high artwork. The proportions of animals were totally incorrect, color wasn't eye catching, pieces looked like crayon drawings. This must be self published. I returned the book I didn't even care that I lost my shipping costs, I would never look at it or read it again.



4. When she says serious... in the last few pages she tells you about becoming a full time artist, pros and cons kind of thing and options. She gives suggestions of places you can look into to show your work, but does not tell you how, just where to go. She does however say to go to the library to find out more or the internet. I guess most people don't know that, to me it is obvious. But hey, now you know and you didn't have to buy the book!
   
   The artwork in the book sucks. It lacks depth and looks flat. Sure there is color, but it all seems to have the same pressure to it. Some may be better than others, buy my eyes don't want to look at it long. So, a tip that I know in becoming a serious artist is that if you actually want people to buy your work, you will want to create something that captures the attention of the viewer and keeps them there. The more they look at your work or the longer, the more likely they will buy it. The only one in there that looked pretty cool was the monopoly picture.
   
   It's odd, she shows some basic examples of creating the illusion of 3D using tonal values from light to dark as well as discussing form, volume and space... but does not fully carry it through in her own work.
   
   I just think if your going to learn from an artist, you would want to learn from someone who can give a good example. Why not learn it the right way the first time? There are too many other books that could do it better for ya. Check out books by Ann Kullberg, Janie Gildow, Gary Greene, Vera Curnow, or even Bernard Poulin. These artists have books for beginners and advanced, check them out and find the level best for you. They are better examples to follow. And if you want to start selling find a book strickly for that. Though Ann Kullberg, in "colored pencil portraits step-by-step has a section where she explains how she sells her portraits.



5. "Colored Pencil for the Serious Beginner," though not everything you are going to need, will probably be indispensible for your first steps in serious colored pencil drawing. Bet Borgeson gives the basics you have to have in color theory, composition, and how to keep your inspiration flowing. She also talks about the ins and outs of how to sell your wares and actually establish a career in the arts. So there is alot of good here.
   
   I didn't find all that I wanted, though, to tell the truth. In addition to the composition and mood and so forth of a piece, I was hoping for some more prosaic advice on how to do things like make an apple look like an apple instead of a tomato, or a blueberry look like a blueberry instead of a grape. "Colored Pencil for the Serious Beginner" was frustratingly short on topics like this, or what colors to belnd together to get flesh tones, or what colors to use to make convincing shadows, and so forth.
   
   So you won't find everything in this book, but what book will give you everything anyway? In summary, it's pretty good for what it's intended for, and if you're a beginner, you're probably going to need it. Four stars.

5 comments about Bloom County Babylon: Five Years of Basic Naughtiness (Bloom County).

1. Buyer beware: the editorial review states that this book contains eighty full-color pages, but it doesn't. It contains eighty pages that obviously were at one time or another in color, but which are now a messy conglomeration of grays and whites, much like something you'd expect to see coming out of a low-grade fax machine.

   Many years ago, I read another copy of this book that did, in fact, contain eighty full-color pages, so I know the pages were in color at some point. However, the only colors on the book I received from Amazon.com are on the front and back covers.




2. This book is an overview of the first five years of the strip, ranging from the early strips in which the focus is mostly on Milo, through the introductions of Binkley, Bobbi, Cutter John, Opus, Oliver Wendell Jones, Steve Dallas, and finally, Bill The Cat. Personally, I've always had a preference for the early, pre-Bill The Cat strips; I could deal with the silliness inherent in Opus and Oliver's anthropomorphic computer, but Bill just seemed one step over the line. But I know that he's very popular, and he's here, too. There are a few strips here that were reprinted from the previous three collections, but most of this material is NOT reprints. Of course, much of the humor will be completely incomprehensible to anyone who wasn't politically aware during the '80s, but I suspect that even for such a (hopefully) young person, there's plenty here to enjoy.



3. Bloom County is on my short list of all-time favorite comics. The original form, before short-lived "Outland" or the current "Opus", is long gone, though. Picking up this book was a wonderful piece of nostlagia.
   
   The series peaked some time in the early 80s, and "Babylon" offers a sample of that time. I had forgotten how topical it was, full of references to then-current supermodels, presidents, movies, and sitcoms. Despite that, much of the humor has aged well. Milo's anxiety closet, for example, never needs to end. Various bogey-men (and -women) will reside there for their times, and move on. The anxiety will always be there, however, no matter how silly it looks to everyone else.
   
   Even a book this size can't capture every strip in the five years (82-6) that it covers. That means that some of my favorite characters, like winsome Pistachio, barely even had cameo appearances. I'll take what I can get, though, and this is a pleasant sample.
   
   If you ever liked any strip comic, you liked Bloom County or will like it. Maybe the 80s were before your time, but the characters will still look right up to date. Enjoy!
   
   //wiredweird



4. Despite what the item description says, there are no color pages in this cheap reprinting. The pages are printed only in black and white, and are printed in very poor quality. What a shame, because the book itself is fantastic. I have an original printing of this book and love it. I ordered this reprint as a gift and had to return it because of the poor print quality. I wish I had noticed the other reviews about this problem (listed below) before I wasted my time and money!



5. Thankfully we can still get his books of Bloom County and Outland and of course, his current iteration, Opus.
   
   I have always loved Berkely's quirky look at life, politics, love and what not through the eyes of Milo, Opus, Cutter John and others throughout the years and when I bought this book, I would read 2-3 pages, often before turning out the light at night and would find myself laughing at much of the strips. That's how good they are, even now some 20 years later and I recall reading many of then when they were running in the papers. While some of the strips show their age a little, the strip is as still timeless now as when they were originally conceaved. That's a rare feat in my book.
   
   While it's by no means all of his Bloom County strips, it's a good collection of some of the best and that alone is worth it.