(This review is supposed to be for "Giotto : The Arena Chapel Frescoes" by Giuseppe Basile, not a book about the Vikings. I don't know why it got put under this book and not under the Giotto book- sorry!)

I'm so sad to see this book out of print, and feel so lucky to have a copy.

After majoring in Art History in college, I have a *lot* of "coffee table" art books. They are all beautiful- my favorites being the ones with more plates and less text because I knew after I read them I would be able to treasure them always. This book is my most glorious treasure for that period of my life- just gorgeous. It is comprised of almost completely all full page plates, with a very very small introduction.

The plates are all printed on very high quality, thick paper. Many fold out. The detail is amazing- you can see the texture of the paint in every print. The blues seem to come alive, and the gold in the plates literally sparkles.

I can't possibly do this book justice by my review. I am actually sitting here, trying to find ways to describe it and it's proving impossible.

I'm not a big fan of Italian art (post-impressionism is my thing), and was not required to purchase this book for school, but I found myself lusting after it. When I went to the now defunct Oxford Books in Atlanta, I used to run to the art section and sit for hours, just thumbing through it.

If you even have a small amount of respect for Giotto, you must purchase this book. The price is definitely steep, and I sort of struggled with the idea of paying for a non-necessary book for months before my family bought it for me as a surprise, but I can't tell you how very worth it this book is.

This is a glorious book for both its visuals and its reference material. Filled with color plates from earlier centuries and black and white schematics of almost every constellation you can think of. I found this book inspiring as an artist, and extremely helpful in sourcing some of the many myths and naming devices for the stars. I was fascinated, as was my 9 year old nephew.

Manara at his best...I personally think that he wrote this one when everybody started to classify him as a cheap porn artist who knows only how to portrait a pair of breasts. Bergman is the character which Moebius always wanted to create : an adventourer seeking the 'great adventure' throughout the world, meeting all kinds of characters and involving into various bizzare and interesting situations...and the best part, his adventure actually never ends !

A must buy for every Manara fan

This book is very short and tells a story that kids could understand regarding the painter and the royal court he painted for. Each picture has a short story as well as a descriptive explanation of what items are in the picture. This would be a great way to teach kids that items are and still have it be fun because the faces are so silly. I highly recommend this book.

The hefty price tag of this history may keep it from all but the most specialized Catholic library collections, but it continues the coverage of Vatican II begun in previous volumes, with this covering the mature council, second period and intersession from September 1963-1964 - a period in which the Vatican II began to assume its character. From the debate of collegiality to the Council's completion of the first two documents, chapters cover its revision of major texts and its political involvements. Recommended for college-level students of Catholic history.

The Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series is just wonderful; it's like a "Cliff Note" of the opera, and extremely informative and educational. I particularly like the size; these guides are not cumbersome and fit right into my shirt pocket. The ladies will find sufficient room in their pocketbooks.

The story narrative with the music examples is excellent. I prefer it to a libretto; indeed, it's a much easier way to follow the essence of the story. The essay is magnificent; very well written, not pedantic, and extremely insightful and comprehensible. I congratulate Burton Fisher for a job very well done and Amazon for making these handy, information-laden booklets available. The Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series is a wonderful contribution to opera education and opera appreciation.

My tip: acquire the entire collection because you will be in easy reach of superbly presented opera guides consisting of story analysis, principal characters in the opera, story narrative with music highlights, background, analysis, and commentary.

Heinz Dinter, Ph.D.

...but it's a great book. Psyconoir with culture, cold blooded slow hearted carachters that sink in their own lifes. Read it, even if you ignore who he is.

This book was published in Italywith a different cover picture and title ("Abitare", i.e. living). The author's purpose was to prove that interior design cannot and must not be divorced from other art forms, whether it is cinema, music, fashion or fine arts.
In his capacity as designer of a vast number of products, many of which were forerunners of much later works, Giuseppe Raimondi was in the position to analyse how interior designers like himself are influenced by the world they live in.
The book contains a number of descriptions of his own works, but also of the works of famous colleagues like Rodolfo Bonetto, Sotsass, Starck, Marcello Gandini, and others.
Carla De Benedetti's color photographs admirably illustrate many of these works.
It is a pity that the book could not be updated with another decade as a result of Giuseppe Raimondi's premature death in 1997.

The Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series is just wonderful; it's like a "Cliff Note" of the opera, and extremely informative and educational. I particularly like the size; these guides are not cumbersome and fit right into my shirt pocket. The ladies will find sufficient room in their pocketbooks.

The story narrative with the music examples is excellent. I prefer it to a libretto; indeed, it's a much easier way to follow the essence of the story. The essay is magnificent; very well written, not pedantic, and extremely insightful and comprehensible. I congratulate Burton Fisher for a job very well done and Amazon for making these handy, information-laden booklets available. The Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series is a wonderful contribution to opera education and opera appreciation.

My tip: acquire the entire collection because you will be in easy reach of superbly presented opera guides consisting of story analysis, principal characters in the opera, story narrative with music highlights, background, analysis, and commentary.

Heinz Dinter, Ph.D.

In the waning days of WWI Giuseppe Ricciotti felt the urge to write a book about the life of Christ. Decades later he finally did. This book stands out from every of life of Christ becuase the author was not only talented but extremely serious about history. Ricciotti explains how Israel was structured, how Herod and the Romans ran it and the hierachy of the Israelite politcal and religious powers. He never makes the mistake of putting words in Jesus's mouth that aren't biblical and he never tries to force the life of Christ into modern clothes. This book will make history lovers happy, archaeologists will enjoy it and anyone who looks at wonder at that One Solitary Life will love it. Sadly, this valubale book is out of print and you may have to track it down at a used book store but it's worth the effort. I read my copy one or twice a year.