5 comments about Victorian House Designs in Authentic Full Color: 75 Plates from the "Scientific American -- Architects and Builders Edition," 1885-1894.

1. We ordered this book to give us ideas for building our own house in the grand old Victorian style. There are not instructions in this book, but it offers good illustrations, as well as floor plans for most of the houses pictured. Because the drawings are clear, they give a good idea of how some of the building was done, so it's possible to replicate them. We found it very helpful. The book is not technical, so it's entertaining for the average person to look at. The pictures are charming and enjoyable to browse through. The houses pictured are real, working houses that were built years ago. Through the floor plans, you also get an idea of the Victorian lifestyle. It really is a wonderful book to add to your library. It is a soft cover book



2. If you are looking for explicit instructions on how to build a Victorian House this may not be the book for you, BUT, if you LOVE Victorian houses as much as I do, this is definitely the book for you!

   This wonderful book features page after page, in FULL COLOR excellent, detailed drawings of these marvelous, period residences! And includes the floor plan of the houses.

   Frankly I found the book a pure delight! Many of the houses are featured in a natural setting with a lawn and trees,

   I would have preferred people not to be featured in the pictures, but that is just a personal preference..

   The small figures are well done and are dressed in period clothing.

   I greatly enjoyed this book. It is the kind of picture book that I will be looking at over and over.




3. Here is an amazing collection of victorial architectural buildings from the 1800s taken mostly from the New York Tri-State area. The full color three dimensional views given by these plates allow one to experience a sense of the real thing as it had been. The floor plans with scale dimensions can even help to wonders to the memory in understanding these magnificent works. It is also quite detailed and useful for someone who may even wish to reproduce any of these buildings! Even if you don't have any intention of reproducing an entire victorian building, there are certain styles that you can copy for your own home or farmhouse etc. This book gets my full recommendation.



4. "Victorian House Designs in Authentic Full Color," edited by Blanche Cirker, is a visually delightful tribute to a memorable era in home architecture. This volume reprints plates from "Scientific American--Architects and Builders Edition," originally appearing from 1885 to 1894.

   The book contains floor plans and elevations of both stand-alone houses and connected homes. If you love the fanciful vocabulary of Victorian architecture, you will find all of your favorite features on display here: eyebrow dormers, circular towers, covered piazzas, cantilevered balconies, complex roof lines, clustered fireplaces, Palladian windows, and much, much more.

   The only drawback to the book is that some house elevations are not accompanied by floor plans; a few others are only accompanied by the plan of a single floor. But overall, this is a richly detailed celebration of some truly beautiful homes. If you are a student of Victorian home architecture, this book is a must-have.




5. A delightful little book givint the reader great insight into Victorian architecture. Providing beutiful vision usingoriginal terminology that gives one the authentic flavor. Using Parlor instead of living room. Showing a sewing room and other such features. Peticularly interesting in the provision and in some others lack of provision of plumbing. Some have bathrooms and some don't.
   
   An excellant book for the lover of architecture or of the Victorian period.
   
   However, there is one awful drawback. And it is most dreadful. Some houses are not accompanied with floor plans. Examples being the beutiful house on page four. The Farragut clubhouse on page thirteen. The moderate cottage on page thirty one and the houses following to page thirty eight. While others have only one or two floors plans provided.
   
   This could use a sequal to correct this defect and provide additional buildings for reader's enjoyment.

5 comments about The Complete Guide to Chair Caning: Restoring Cane, Rush, Splint, Wicker & Rattan Furniture.

1. Pictures illustrate techniques words can't explain, while the clear directions will have you rushing or caning a chair in no time.



2. This is a good book for anyone starting out in chair restoration. Instructions are clear and there are many good illustrations.It gives good basic instructions but no variations in pattern.All in all, it is an excellant starter book.



3. The instructions for weaving a cane seat were much better than the instructions for replacing a rush seat. For the caning section, he could have included some tips for what to do when strands break and better advice for avoiding out-of-whack patterns. Also, the directions for weaving the binder cane were not very clear. For the rush seat instructions, beware the instructions in the beginning where you are told to measure your chair to determine how much of the corners must be filled in in order to "square off" the chair. After you determine the measurements for the chair you are working with you are instructed to "mark off one inch." Don't do it! Mark off the measurement for your chair, not the example chair the author uses.



4. This book is well written and explained the process and history of chair caning very well.



5. I bought this item as a gift for my son-in-law. He liked the detail of the illustrations and seemed pleased overall with the book.

1 comments about Adobe: Build It Yourself, Revised Edition.

1. Full of good basic information. You quickly realize that unless you are a builder, you will not be able to build it yourself but that you will at least have some knowledge to help you make decisions about the process, and to oversee and talk with your builder intelligently. Very few pictures, no house plans. Does include basic information to help you draw your own plan.

3 comments about The Boy Mechanic Makes Toys: 159 Games, Toys, Tricks, and Other Amusements (So Many Projects, Not Enough Time!).

1. With "games, toys and tricks" in the title I thought this would be a nice simple book to share with my 11 year old son. Little did I realize that you have to know how to read blueprints and have an engineering degree to make any of the toys in this book. It was way too advanced for me and I would guess that it is only suitable for people with advanced carpentry experience who want to make things for their children. Not make it with them.



2. As another reviewer implied, it helps if you're an engineer. The original descriptions were written in a day when other raw materials were available, so modern-day substitutes have to be made in many cases. You have to fill in the last level of detail on most projects, but there are so many ideas and enough detail to save lots of time compared to designing from scratch. My 9-year-old has wanted me to help him on these things more than I have had time for (one project completed in about two months since we bought the book). Some projects will simply not be feasible, such as the roller coaster down from a tree that shoot you into a lake, unless you live in a rural area and make sure you don't tell your wife or your homeowners insurance company ;-). Some project ideas are fun to just read about and know that some kids got to make them, and we can imagine the fun they had and speculate on the accidents they may also have had!



3. I love this book! I originally had The Boy Mechanic: 200 Classic Things to Build and ordered this book along with it. Both are great. I agree with the other reviewers that this is not a book that a preteen will be able to navigate on their own - almost all of the projects require supplies and tools that aren't sitting around most houses. I've found about a dozen projects in each book though, like the water telescope, canoe awning, hammock, spring propelled toy boat . . . that can probably be made by preteens. I'm going to try out some of the projects this spring and see if I can put together kits that could be used in our camp craft center. There are also some projects that I'd like to make for the camp (if I can figure them out :-) ) and just have around camp for the kids to fool around with - the push cycle, water bicycle, catamaran raft, trolley coaster, circular swing and log raft.
   For my purposes, this is a great book. It's also fascinating to realize how resourceful people were in the early 1900's, and to see what boys (and their dads) were making.

2 comments about Billy Baldwin Decorates.

1. Billy Baldwin Decorates is more than a how-to decorating book, although it is a very good one. Baldwin mingled with the wealthy and famous, yet while he name drops, he does it in a matter of fact way rather than a "I'm so cool I can name drop" way. He talks about and shows the work he did for Cole Porter, for instance. Yet despite the name dropping, he was also realistic about mixing luxury and practical living. If you like white walls, spare furniture, and "great rooms", this book is not for you. If you want to decorate a room to be comfortable yet stylish, then it is. Baldwin shows photos of rooms he designed. While some seem period 1960's, and were, others hold up very well. Baldwin also championed using small space effectively. He was very adept at dividing rooms into zones, even small ones, and uses his own one room apartment in Manhattan as an example. Rather than the less-is-more of recent small space design, Baldwin was adept at making rooms so comfortable that the small size didn't matter. He also wasn't ashamed of using inexpensive materials if he felt they seved the purpose well. In many ways, this book, while dated at times, has more to recommend it than recent books on the subject.



2. See my review for the 1972 edition with Forward by Cleveland Amory. This book is a Must-Have for everyone interested in residential design.

1 comments about Construction Equipment Management.

1. This text starts of with some accounting techniques that are very important. The book then goes into some simple calculations of spoil piles and conversion factors of spoil. The machines takes the last two-thirds of this book. While not getting into great detail about the machinery, it covers how to calculate how much to charge per cubic yard of mterial to use or machine hour. At the end of all chapters in this text there are several questions to answer to help you get right calculations. There are several examples in the chapter demonstrating how to fiigure the problems. The book covers graders, dozers, scrapers, cranes, lifting equipment, concrete, asphalt, loaders and dump trucks. If you are looking for great detail of machines this is not the book you are looking for. I felt that the machines could of had more detail to them but this is an overall very good buy. I recommend to all.

No comments about IdeaWise Garages: Inspiration & Information for Do-It-Yourselfers.

5 comments about The Art of Wood Inlay.

1. This is a "how to" book on inlay probably best suited to those learning the art. The first 20 pages cover what you need to know to get started. He starts with a discussion of the workspace, safety, woods to use for inlay material, wood grain and how to use it for effect, tools both power and hand, tool sharpening, and patterns--including how to make full sized patterns from those provided in the book. He then goes into the steps required for basic inlay, techniques for making constructs such as a leaf, how to prepare inlay pieces, and finishes with how to repair inlay.
   
   The author then takes you step by step through 24 projects. Each project starts with a materials list, the inlay pattern, instructions on how to make the base item (the finished product less inlay) and finally extensive, detailed instructions on making the inlay. The inlay directions cover grain orientation and the order for performing the inlay.
   
   As an inlay wannabe, I found the book very interesting and quite useful. It has inspired me to try inlay on my next small box project. I give it a 5-star rating!



2. A good, common sense way to learn how to use different types of woods and other materials for inlay projects. Inlay is a true art form different from intarsia and marquetry and should be approached as such. I thought the author explained the different techniques such as matching wood grain by dying and scorching very well and gives the reader enough confidence to experiment.



3. I'm new to the art of inlay, and this book ended up being just what I needed to get started. I really enjoyed the excellent photos of finished products.



4. I have found a lot of needed skills for learning to inlay wood. This book is easy to read, and understand. Good book for someone wanting to learn this art.



5. This book has some nice patterns and pictures and for that, I give it 2 stars. But for technique on even the basics of how to inlay, I would have given it a 0.

3 comments about For Packrats Only: How to Clean Up, Clear Out, and Dejunk Your Life Forever.

1. This book is my ticket to the orderly and uncluttered life that has been eluding me. It's not only effective, but also well-organized, besides being entertaining to read, because of the way the author presents his material. I have bought an additional copy as a gift (for someone who asked to have it!), and I know she will be happy with it, too.



2. I love this book!! It really makes you want to jump in and start decluttering. It is funny and he knows how to relate to the reader.
   
   I try to reread this book before every spring cleaning!



3. I love Don's books, particularly the decluttering books. I believe he coined that phrase, or should have. It's a joy to read, the examples of other peoples' excess make you shudder. And if these books aren't enough encouragement to get up off your duff and change your environment for the better (and cleaner) I don't know what is. Highly recommended.
   I think he's written four or five declutter books (I have them all) but I'd love to see him write another one. Five stars.

5 comments about Wonderful Ways to Love a Child.

1. Ms Ford. will stress the same point over and over again from very different angles. If you want your raise your kid as a responsible, caring, inquiring, loving and lovable adult, you shall not use fear, cohersion and guilt as the tools of your education. Chances are that you will fail in a big way.

   Rembember that children are independt beings who need your support and guidance, not your control. Be open to what they came to teach you and both will benefit in ways which no words can precisely define, since they will take you to the world of the spirit.

   The author makes sure that every parent who reads this book mustr a clear understanding that feeling love is not enough you MUST express it.




2. Can you combine love and wisdom and deep insight while writing in a simple, inspiring style? Judy Ford has written "Wonderful Ways to Love a Child" in such a direct way that you feel warmed by her words at the same time you are inspired by them. I am so grateful that this book was written.

   Jay Schlechter, PhD Author of Intimate Friends: An Antidote to Loneliness.




3. Many years ago when my children were in pre-school I bought your book.
   When the kids were toddlers and I was tired and feeling swamped and

   cranky, it helped remind me what was important and what was not. My
   kids are in 8th, 6th and 4th grade now and life is busy and fun. I
   pulled your book off of the shelf to find a quote for a friend and found
   myself re-reading many of the stories. Your book centers me and sort of
   re-sets my attitude toward parenting. Your stories are concise and
   insightful; I appreciate your sense of family and fun. Just wanted to
   say thanks for the times when your book has helped me.




4. I wish I had read this 'gift' book before I spent so much money on all the other parenting books that I have bought. These little stories/anecdotes/lessons are very helpful reminders in aiding me to be a mindful, caring parent in this world full of distractions. I have just purchased this for all my mommy friends as a Mother's Day gift. I plan to keep this on my bedside table to read a new chapter everynight to remind me to provide loving, attentive companionship to my daughter. The stories are short and well written - even my husband with his very short attention span finds them wonderful.



5. Wonderful Ways to Love a Child
   I wish I had this book when my children were growing up. I bought this for my daughter when she had her first daughter. It is a great reference manual with good suggestions for any parent on ways to guide your child as he or she grows up to be a well-balance, loving, child, - adult, and at the same time develop a close relationship with them.