An artistic, historial look at rustic barns throughout the United States with a slightly different hand-painted message on each of them urging all within sight to see Rock City,"a ten-acre tract of massive stone formations overlooking Chattanooga, Tennessee and the North Georgia countryside". Mr. Jenkin's photography is truly inspiring, a delight to the eye. This book can easily transport the viewer to simplier times via a subtle palette of colors and lighting. Highly recommended.

This is the best coffee-table book for anyone who has ever driven through the South and experienced the "See Rock City" phenomenon! I have lived in Tennessee and Georgia and seen many fading Rock City Barns. With this book, I can show my children someday these beautiful, creative advertisements that are familiar to anyone from around here!

A beautiful, thoughtful, and sensitive documentary of a too rapidly disappearing part of Americana. Anyone who has ever seen a "See Rock City" barn will appreciate the photography and written details of this bygone era. This book should be in the reference section of every library in the USA.

This book presents Pierre Koenigs work very well. James Steele has written many great architecture books and this one is as good as his others. In the book is the most complete and extensive representation of Pierre Koenings work I have ever seen printed. The pictures are large, and very nice. It is a very good book with his work well documented and insightful articles written by James Steele and others.

Excellent book, I wanted to see more.

This book shares with the reader the highlights of Koenig's career with breathtaking shots of the case study houses, blue prints, and narration accompanying each. Truly, one of the most spectacular collections dedicated to this incredibly gifted, ground breaking architect.

I was given the opportunity to catalog Dr. Gentry's herbarium collection at the Desert Botanical Garden in 1987-88. I haven't seen the new edition mentioned here, but read the original work at the time I was cataloging his herbarium specimens. Through it, I was able to share his experience as an explorer in the spirit of John Wesley Powell, someone who knew that the American southwest is best delineated by watersheds, not along false lat/long lines. I met Dr. Gentry a couple of times, and remember the occasions well. Last time I saw him, when I was cataloging his collection, I overheard a conversation between him and a consultant for the Fort McDowell Indian Community. The consultant was asking about desert-adapted crop plants. Dr. Gentry went into great detail describing many desert plants suited to agriculture - tepary beans, jojoba, Lippia (Mexican oregano), agave, chiltepines, gum arabic, etc. I learned a lot just by eavesdropping. The consultant listened, but did not hear the words. He recommended that the Fort McDowell people plant cotton. Not because it was best suited to desert agriculture - far from that. They planted cotton because it needs vast quantities of water. They did not want the best desert-adapted crops. What they wanted, instead, was the best crop for wasting water, so that they could establish valid rights to the water. Worse, I watched them clear off vast acreages of mesquite forests to make room for the water-wasting cotton crop. The Hopi call this koyaanisqatsi. This book should help folks in southwestern north America realize that we have a bounteous resource, if we can only learn to use it.

Located in a transition zone between the Sonoran Desert and the tropics,this region is well known for its biodiversity, thanks to a 1942 study by botanist Howard Scott Gentry. Revision of his classic work began before his death in 1993. For researchers, this is a must-read book. It provides a clear overview of botanical studies of the Rio Mayo, a contemporary view of the vegatation, excerpts from the original text and an annotated list of plants.

beautiful, compelling...a great study of one of the most interesting rebel artists of our time. everyone should know who howard finster is!

Fans of the odd and eccentric will find Howard Finster's Paradise Garden fascinating and entertaining. The quality and selection of photographs of the garden is fantastic, and Finster's statments regarding the vision behind his creation are intriguing. This book is definitely worth examining for its unusual scope and content.

If you want to know more about Lord Norman Foster's contribution towards Germany, then, this book would be it. It tells you all you need to know about Reichstag, probably the most controversial building ever built in the history of Germany. Along the way, you get to learn more about Germany as a country. This book was well presented with high quality pictures abound, taken by several prominent photographers of all aspects & angles of Reichstag, pictures of Lord Foster's previous works (to understand his way of seeing things), pictures of Reichstag's past and present (to let us appreciate how far that building has gone through). Moreover, to enhance diversity & to understand Reichstag from many prespectives, Norman Foster invited several scholars to complement his own writings. The final result was simply spectacular. I wouldn't find this book academic. Rather, I found it highly entertaining & I came out of it a better knowledgeable person. Definitely a must-have for architecture enthusiast or if you want to have a cerebral hard bound book to display on top of your coffee table. Among the highlights of the book was reading about the competition stage, about Lord Foster pitching against other international superarchitects (such as Santiago Calatrava) and local architects from Germany, & of his reservation if Germany was sincere towards its invitation of international people other than Germans to participate or the whole thing was just for show; his emphasis of 4 points, ie. Parliament being intertwined with Reichstag's history, an understanding of the institution & its inner workings, economics in terms of meeting the budget in the restoration of Reichstag & the savings achieved through reduced running costs via technology advancement & clever planning, & lastly the emphasis on energy ecology by using sustainable environment friendly for sources of energy other than its reliance on fossil fuels- reinforcing Germany's image as the country that takes the lead in fostering better technology that would reduce the unfavourable impacts towards our fragile environment; a project all on its own for Lord Foster to design the eagle or better known as the "fat hen" that signified Germany; Lord Foster's involvement with avantgarde artists such as Jenny Holzers (American), Christian Boltanski (French), Gerhard Richter & Sigmar Polke (German) & many others -reminding readers that Reichstag is not merely acting as a Parliament but also as an important Art Gallery (3% of the construction cost of the building, already 1% higher than the norm); the evolving stage of deriving the iconic dome, which was deemed as a 'boiled egg' by some critics at one stage but eventually, being deemed as the icon that all Germans are proud with in the end; Lord Foster's invitation of Danish graphic artist, Per Arnoldi to look into colour coordination of the place; the intensity (at times, heartbreak) but effectiveness of constant dialogues with the Building Committees, the techniques used in the restoration process re the graffitis left behind by the Allies armies after WW2, Claude Engle (lighting consultant)'s invaluable contribution of the lighting design by channelling xenon lights towards the cone & thus, channelling them through all corners of German, symbolising the democracy at work & spreading thru all corners of the land, & so forth. The book also contained a proper Reichstag's chronology, end credits, postscripts to bombard us with even more information. Lord Foster stressed the significance of getting in touch with the past, to live the present, & anticipate the future with optimism, sensitivity towards the history of a building to come up with a building solution that is appropriate for its time rather than having to resort to brutal reconstruction, the necessity of having transparency & lightness interior in contrast with the solid mass exterior to show the passage of time & the changes made in terms of thinking. Highly recommended.

I recently spent a month in Europe. I was suprised after visiting Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, and London- that Berlin emerged as my favorite place.... that despite what I thought beforehand, I left my heart in Berlin, not Prague.

I only went to Berlin because I studied many historical events that took place there, and Berlin was the epicenter of The Cold War! West Berlin was THE capitalist showpiece and East Berlin was THE communist showpiece. United, Berlin will become (when all the construction has been completed) Europe's showpiece and greatest city- WITHOUT A DOUBT.

This book is the story of the awesome history of Berlin, a history that seems more embedded in tragedy than triumph. But, alas, Berlin has survived two devastating wars and the harsh reality of the WALL. Now, it is Berlin's turn. It's Berlin's turn to show the world what a magnificant place she was, is, and will become.

The Rebuilding of the Reichstag not only talks about the post-Wall renovations, but illustrates in great detail the history of the building, and thus the history of Berlin- you are taken on a journey of the history of a city and it's people....the people of Berlin who always seem to have to pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and begin again. In this book, the Reichstag shares with you what she has witnessed. You are there in 1945 witnessing the hollow shell of the war damaged Reichstag. You are there witnessing the division of the city as the Wall ran directly behind the building. You are there witnessing the divisions end as the wall comes tumbling down, and you are witness to the jubilation outside the Reichstag upon German unification.

After reading through this great book, I realized what a centerpiece to Berlin's history the Reichstag truly is. It's not just a parliament building- it's Berlin! The Reichstag speaks for Berlin's history. The fate of the Reichstag seems to run parallel to that of Berlin. What has happened to the Reichstag has happened to Berlin.

This book is full of awesome illustrations, from grand photos, to models, to architectural plans. Not only does it show the evolution of the Reichstag- it shows various plans for the building from the beginning and throughout its history. That is perhaps the most interesting part- the plans that people came up with. It's really too bad the "Big Roof" idea didn't pan out- because it would have been truly awe inspiring.

Even if you are only interested in architecture and have no interest in history- this book is still definitely for you.

That is why this book is so great.... I thought upon first seeing it, it would be pure architecture... it is pure architecture, but Foster has managed to capture something huge and so great. Foster has managed to capture Berlin.... a city on the verge of finally becoming.

Peter Goodchild's take on the events following the upheaval at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago masterfully mixes real life interviews with dramatic re-enactments from the courtroom. The actors portray the 60's "hippies" with passion and reverence. The interviewing of historians and participants provides intriguing details into the events. Truly a great blend of drama and reality.

Regardless of whether you are a great leader or are working to achieve successful leadership, this book provides great devotions. If you are searching for something on motivation then you look under the subject heading of motivation and see what stories are available. Each story is motivating, inspiring, and has modern day settings.

The stories are from some of the great leaders of today as well as some from the not so distant past. The devotions will assist any leader in determining a solution for an issue. Leadership Devotions are accompanied by scriptural references so you do not just read what someone else has said or done, but what God says about the same topic.

A great addition for any leader's library, "Leadership Devotions", should be on the shelf of all leaders. It doesn't matter whether you are a leader of many, few, or one, this book will stimulate you to become a great leader.

Having worked as a professional in this field and having known Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Daigger both, this book is the summation of a tremendous amount of practical experience by these two brilliant experts in the field as well as Dr. Richard's unique background. I carry it extensively throughout the world with me and it has never let me down yet!

This book is an interesting two-parter. The first is by the Vietnamese patriot Phan Boi Chau, writing from prison in 1914 for his efforts to overturn French rule and return the Vietnamese monarchy to the throne. Next, we read some pretty good poetry that Ho Chi Minh wrote while in jail in the early 40s for his revolutionary activities. This is a good way to become familiar with the history of the struggle for Vietnamese independence.

This book was written by people who spent their lives for something they loved. Their passion is evident from the in depth analysis and their personal contribution to many aspects of the presented theory.
This book is highly recommended to engineers and students, however it might not be very useful to people with limited engineering knowledge.
And a personal comment: If you are a Mechanical, of Aeronautical engineer fascinated by aerodynamics, David Sharp's section will surly challenge and intrigue you...