This book chronicles the renovation/restoration that Martha Stewart completed on a historic New England farmhouse. It is very specific about many of the tasks that she completed, and gives some general how-to information (how to hire a contractor, create a landscape design, etc). I was disappointed because I was looking for ideas to restore and renovate my "new old house" and didn't really find much inspiration here. Much of the decorating revolved around painting murals and designs on the floor, which is something that I don't plan on doing. If you are planning a major renovation project to a large, historic home, this book might be a good starting place but I wouldn't rely on it for all of my information. Although it didn't really help me with my specific plans, it was an interesting, sometimes sketchy, read.

This book is to home improvement, what a Rolls Royce is to the automobile world. Everything is done in grand style, for instance, the fences in her gardens are all hand made. She uses genuine copperleaf to spruce up a flight of stairs that no one will ever see, due to location. This book is big, literally, bold, beautiful and luscious in every way, except practicality

If you were expecting to understand what the situationists were about, expect to still not understand. This book is almost worthless if not understanding how horrible post-situationists are. Very few of these are written for an understanding of what "situationism", if such a word exists, is. Instead, it offers several loosely related essays written by people who were influenced by Situationists. This would be the last book I would suggest for anyone to read to understand the Situationists.

I would definitely suggest Guy Debord and the Situationists International or the Situationist Anthology. Hell, I would even suggest fight club if you wanted a better understanding of what "situationism" is, because it'll probably do a better job than this.

The wooden, characteristic, language of the "left" is dominant here and it makes this book rather unfriendly to the average reader. Then again, the average reader will not read this book so i guess it's all good in the end.
However, for those that want to (re)discover situationism as a movemement there are better books out there.
This is a collection of essays from various figures explaining or criticising -or both- the birth and decline of situationism in the 60s. Many of the contributors assume that the reader already has some knowledge or familiarity with the topic or is even well acquainted with it so they take it from there making certain parts of the book hard to comprehend.
But if your patience prevails you will be awarded:
-You will be informed about the main ideas and concepts behind the "S.I's" (Situationists International). Mainly a movement which aimed to be a creative attack against the society of the spectacle and which succeeded for a certain period while finding its own demise mainly due to its eliticism.
-A couple of specific essays, namely, those that deal with music and the arts stand out as extraordinary and very important critiques on music and the arts in general. The part in particular about punk and the Sex Pistols happens to be the sharpest and possibly most original (and dead-on the spot)criticism i've read anywhere and i have read literally 1000s of articles and tens of books on music because of my profession.
- Other gems (for the uninitiated) include "psychogeography" which involves remapping a city according to the effect a city's buildings, streets, or quarters have on someone.
All in all not always an easy reading (ok, i'm understating here) but a highly interesting one nevertheless.
But if you want to know situationism then do not start from here. As i said above there are much more comprehensive sources and books on the subject.

While Stewart Home does show strong writing ability I feel that it was not utilized very well with this story. It is generally difficult to write sex scenes very well and he does not do it very well. The narrator has no mind of her own and after a couple of chapters in the books becomes annoying. I think that Mr. Home secretly has a desire to be a book reviewer rather than an author. You might find the book worth reading if it is your desire to be annoying and pretentious.

Nice images of interior design as presented and rendered by designers from around the world. Some of the interior work was a little over the top and therefore not suitable to everyday living.

Okay, I bought this book because I'm a punk and I thought that this would be highly entertaining to me...wrong. The only story I even like din here was the one by Poppy Z. Brite and it's a gothic story. The stories aren't bad at all they're just not what they say they are. xXx

I was sorta disappointed with this book. I expected more wide-angled shots, instead i get endless queues of close-ups. Monochrome Home makes a nice coffee-table book nevertheless, but if you're seeking pages and pages of pretty examples with varied shots..then forget this..browse on.

This is a nice little book, BUT I bought it mainly to be able to make the closet organizer on the front cover. IT WASN'T IN THE BOOK!!

How can a new book look this old? It's the same old sagey, seafoamy greens and pale yellows that Martha has pushed for, like, 20 years now. I like Martha, but I was assuming that her new book would be about new colors that are more on trend than this. I'm disappointed.

please, if you regularly buy martha stewart living magazines, DON'T bother buying this book. unless of course you want to see more of the same, but packaged altogether with nice binding and a deceptively original cover. it's not even actually "more" of the same, but actually "the same" -- this is a compilation of reproductions, old stuff that was published over the years. not too fresh, and particularly aggravating to someone who's a subscriber.

My husband and I are at the tail end of redecorating our house and this book came out just in time to help me plan the color scheme for our sunroom (I love the celadon color scheme). I only wish I'd had this book before decorating my other rooms. (I keep looking at my white ceilings now and wishing I'd painted them a color!) Anyone who loves the sophisticated understated monotone color schemes that are one of Martha's trademarks will find this "best of" book a useful addition to their decorating collection.

A family of three generations spends a week at a cabin that has been the scene of summer vacations for many years. This will be their last visit because the cabin is to be sold.

If you like a book without plot and a lot of emphasis on character this book is for you. It was interesting enough to finish because the author makes the characters seem realisitc, with strengths and weaknesses, but nobody is really any different at the end. It is so detailed that it is almost as if the author had videotaped a week in the lives of these people and then transcribed the action in all detail.

One objection I had was that the author never closed the bathroom door, so to speak. I don't think the graphic descriptions of bowel movements enhances the book.

It's not surprising that a book like this brings out bipolar reaction such as we've seen here: you either love it or you don't. Count me as one of the ones who love it -- for me, this was a page-turner. The depth that O'Nan reaches with each of these characters is remarkable, every one of them so finely constructed. He also nails the general discomfort of family vacations better than anyone.

I've read all of O'Nan's novels, and for me, this is his most accomplished work to date. It is a work that is unafraid to be uncompromising in its scope and its intent.

Stewart O'Nan has done here--successfully--what one of the members of the family he portrays longs to do as a photographic work: he captures the summer world of Lake Chautauqua, where time moves slowly and every change seems a betrayal of memory, rather than a step in progress. But this only the setting; the true stars of this drama are the family. O'Nan examines its web of relationships, politics and attitudes with an uncannily accurate eye. He assumes each character's point of view lovingly; he knows them all, young and old, male and female. And so do we, because we've been there ourselves--the recognition is half the fun of the reading. The detail, too, is marvelous: whose workbench, for example, has never been graced with a Chock-Full-O-Nuts can crammed with dead paintbrushes? Wish You Were Here reminds us what a flawed species we are, so eager to turn away from each other to search for that Something that must, by nature, elude us--the perfect light, the impossible love, the exquisite memory, the undiluted attention of our parents. There are no jarring plot twists, no car chases, no fights-to-the-death, no special effects--just fine writing, arresting characters, right-on dialogue (spoken and internal) and a week's crash course in what makes us bizarre creatures tick. Read; recognize; enjoy.

Other than proposing to be a knife price guide, this book has no information about knives, other than a very cursory overview, for someone who knows absolutely nothing about knives. The book fails miserably in its attempt to be an informative price guide. The concockted mathematical formula for determining a knife's value is devoid of reality. In the case of certain brands, such as "Case" and "Cattaraugus", the values are so far below real world values that the book is almost entertaining as a jest. Someone who wants to learn about knives and gain a feel for their values would best be served by getting a copy of Levine's 4th Edition. I wish I had read my own review before I purchased this book.

The strong suit of this book is the section recounting the histories of dozens of knife manufacturers, as well as the six appendixes, which give detailed identification information and price guidance for Buck Creek, Case, Cattaraugus, Robeson, Remington, Taylor, and Winchester.

But the stuff that is missing is annoying, especially in a book that calls itself a "standard guide," and is in its third edition. There is neither a glossary nor an index. The title itself is misleading: this book deals only with pocket knives, and less than exhaustively at that. I was surprised not to see information on modern innovations like the Tanto blade and the Walker lock. Important makers such as Keen Kutter, Leatherman and SOG are not mentioned. Then again, the authors also fail to mention Damascus steel, switchblades, gravity knives and butterfly knives. There is a windy essay on the desirability of bone as a handle material, but no advice how to tell bone from ivory, Delrin or other imitation materials. A chapter about knife shields (or escutions) promises to tell why they are important, but fails. In one spot the authors go on at length about counterfeit knives, and in another they discuss reproductions, but they fail to make the obvious connection between the two, or explain the difference. Very little information appears about watch fob knives or "gentleman's" knives. The authors rank Marbles pocket knives as a "top priority" collectible, but there is almost no specific information about them.

More annoying are the little errors and typos throughout the book. When I found Bakelite identified as a type of hard rubber, I almost threw the book across the room. This is such an obvious mistake that it leaves me wondering what more subtle inaccuracies are in the book. Finally, nobody has edited the text for clarity or consistency, leaving the reader to plow through repetitious paragraphs, some of which actually say nothing.

I would not recommend against buying this book, but it is a disappointment. Unfortunately, it is all too typical of the quality of material that we find in books about collectibles, and not only from this publisher. Collectibles books are expensive, and apparently profitable since there are so many. The buying public deserves better, and should demand it.

This was one of two knife collector books I purchased as a beginning collector/seller. I was glad to see a WR Case & Son, Buck Creek, Cattaraugus, Robeson, Remington, and Winchester pricing guides. Also, good commerative price guide and knife history as well.