Book Description
Although modern technologies and new materials have greatly decreased the number of structural failures in today's world, buildings still fall down. Two world-renowned structural engineers take us on an enlightening guided tour through the history of architectural and structural disasters, from ancient times to the present. B/W line drawings.
Customer Reviews:
EXCELLENT BOOK.......2007-04-06
THE BOOKS GIVES A LAYMAN A GENERAL IDEA ABOUT STRUCTURES, ELASTICITY, STRESS AND STRAIN WITHOUT TOO MUCH MATH. IT IS WELL WRITTEN AND THE CONCEPTS ARE CLEAR AND CONCISE. THE BOOK IS EASY TO READ AND VERY ENJOYABLE.
great book.......2006-05-22
I am not an architect or engineer, but I found this book really fascinating. The authors explain things so that those not in the field could understand, but sometimes get too technical. The illustrations were great, but there should have been more, and some color photos would have been nice.
One thing the authors did not point out, is that hindsight is 20/20. It is almost as though they believe they would never make any errors like those they describe (though some designs they discuss really do sound irresponsible), that buildings they designed would stand forever regardless of environmental factors like earthquakes, floods, etc.
Thrilling book.......2005-04-22
I'm a young Civil Engineer from Portugal. Some months ago I went to New York and I found this fantastic book. I've also bought the book "Why buildings stand up" which is, again, amazing. The descriptions are in such a simple way that even lay people can understand easily the functioning of structures.
It was a pleasure to read such interesting books.
A Good Book, but Outdated.......2004-10-09
I'm hopeful that the authors will produce a new edition of this book, with the forensic explanations of the collapse of the World Trade Center towers explained in detail.
It is, nonetheless, a worthy sequel to Prof. Salvadori's great work, "Why Buildings Stand Up." It's best to buy both and read them in sequence.
It's also fun to cross the New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia (as my son and I did last summer) and think about Galloping Gertie...
:)
Fun follow-up.......2004-06-11
If you have read the book 'Why Buildings stand up' you should definitely read this one, since it is much more interesting to know why certain buildings collapse, since this makes the news.
There are some chapters almost the same as the first book, but most chapters are case studies on bridges (the famous galloping Gertie in Washington State), explosions, structural failures etc. An extra chapter is added to explain the collapse of the the World Trade Center Towers after the September 11 Attacks in 2001. Also 5 Appendixes are added dealing with stress, loads and more engineering things, which can also be found on the PBS site on buildings.
Book Description
Who hasn't, at one time or other, kept a journal? The impulse to record our daily lives on paper is nothing if not universal. Still, only a few of us have the discipline to make it past the first few entries, and fewer still manage to create diaries whose insight and visual beauty can inspire anyone but their authors. Drawing from Life: The Journal as Art is an exploration of these exceptions books of obsessive wonder filled to their borders with drawings, sketches, watercolors, graphs, charts, lists, collages, portraits, and photographs.
Jennifer New takes readers on a spirited tour into the private worlds of journal keepers an architect, a traveler, a film director, an archeologist, a cancer patient, a songwriter, a quiltmaker, a gardener, an artist, a cyclist, and a scientist, to name just a few illustrating a broad range of journaling styles and techniques that in the end show how each of us can go about documenting our everyday lives. Excerpts from journals by such artists as Maira Kalman, Steven Holl, David Byrne, and Mike Figgis give us a peek at how creative souls observe, reflect, and explore.
For those who already keep a journal, Drawing from Life will be an inspiration. For those who have always wanted to or tried and failed it might just be the motivation needed to get past that first week.
Customer Reviews:
Reassuring for those who journal, inspiring for those who want to........2007-01-18
I am a visual artist and have always been fascinated with the concept of journaling. This book helped me understand that there's no wrong way to keep a journal (for those of you who tend to think your journal isn't as interesting as other peoples, or that you're "not doing it right", this book is a confidence booster). Journaling is often personal and it's easy to feel self conscious of ones journal while in a vacuum; going through this book and seeing the stories and examples of total strangers helped me not be so critical of myself. I very much enjoyed the examples of each persons journal, especially the handwritten ones; the image quality was so good you could read the entries clearly. It's fun looking through other peoples journals, but confusing if you don't have the person there to explain things...this book includes how the journal writer works, why they do it, and how it has benefited other aspects of their career and/or life.
I was impressed that the majority of the people featured in the book weren't career artists; some were naturalists, psychiatrists, mothers, and college students (to name a few). I liked that there was a wide spectrum of individuals featured in the book.
It also shows that there are a variety of ways to keep a journal and that it doesn't always have to be a "Dear Diary" kind of scenario. It was also interesting to see what people used for journals and how they incorporated other media such as collage, digital photography, etc. or how journaling led to other forms of creation.
As other reviewers have mentioned this is not a book of journaling techniques. However, I found it inspiring to see the different kinds of journals people keep and it's given me ideas of my own to run with.
Here's the point.......2006-08-09
To S. Agulia....
What's the point? Well, I think the point is that you are probably looking for a book on Scrapbooking which is something very different from this. So, go get your glitter-on elsewhere....
This book gave me a lot of perspective on my own book that I keep and I love that all of the styles were very diffferent and inspiring. Here's hoping that there is a Volume 2!
What's the point?.......2006-07-13
This book features photographs & a couple of sample pages from a select & varied group of people - some are artists, some are other professions. I thought the book would be an inspiration for journaling - I did not find it so. Many of the photo pages are unreadable and uninspiring. Felt it was a waste of time and money.
For Your Inspiration-no technique included but visually very pleasing.......2006-03-02
This book is a great glimpse into how people from different fields treat their journals. From putting them up on a pedestal to utilitarian jotting down of memos and thoughts.
If you are looking for techniques this book does not have them. If you are looking for inspiration-this book certainly has it. The dimensions of the book is also quite nice as is the weight of the papers within. Includes a great variety of contributors-now I just want to see the rest of their personal journals.
I received this as a gift for Christmas and I think I have looked at it every day since. I would recommend this for a gift for yourself or family and friends.
If you love love looking at journal arts this is a book worth putting in your rotation.
An exciting look at journals!.......2006-02-26
If you are looking for pretty, "Somerset Studio" style journals, you'll be disappointed by this book. However, this book opens the mind to the possibility of many more kinds of journals. A wide variety of journalers from all over the world are represented here. Fascinating stuff!
Book Description
Bestselling, easy reference text to Photoshop tools, menus and features. A must-have purchase for all Photoshop users: students, professionals and amateurs, giving an easily accessible visual guide to all those vital Photoshop terms. Using the same successful design formula with new color coding, the latest version features are covered. Ideal as a quick reference when the meaning of a term or specific word or visual reference is needed.
*Saves time when using Photoshop offering full coverage of all tools in an easy A-Z format
*The first of its kind, updated with all the latest CS version features
*Illustrated with fresh new full color images for easy guidance throughout
Customer Reviews:
Color pictures of the tutorials is key in this book!.......2006-02-25
Lets face it, when we deal with learning about Photoshop and all the different color palettes it offers, filters, effects, etc., one can only profit from color pictures; the entire book has color photos. This makes this book an excellent buy over other Photoshop tutorial books that show their photos in black/white.
RF
This is a great great GREAT reference guide........2005-12-11
I thought I knew it all till now!
I've been a Photoshop user for many many years. I would go so far as to call myself a guru of sorts. I've read plenty of tutorials and bought more than my fair share of books and manuals. So when it came time to review "Photoshop CS A to Z" I figured I would have a great tool for quick referencing menus and filters and such. Boy was I surprised to actually learn some stuff too!
When you first pick up "A to Z" you'll probably be a little let down. The cover to the book is just horrible looking. It is an ugly green with purple accents and an all around ugliness. The anti-aliasing of the cover lettering is jagged and bad, and just trying to think up something that isn't a slam on the cover art is impossible. The book looks awful. Now open it. ZING!!!!! The layout is great. There isn't a page in the entire book that isn't lit up with pictures and diagrams. You can tell from the first page that this is a great great GREAT reference guide.
The book, as implied by the title, is a reference guide to Photoshop CS. It says CS on the cover, but truly this will actually help users of Photoshop CS even down to Version 7. The book doesn't have chapters, but rather is broken into parts by "letter." So for the 1st chapter, "A", the first thing discussed is "Actions" and goes in depth explaining how actions work, what they do and tips on using them. The tips are awesome, and actually give pointers on how the pro's use actions and point you in the right direction of usage. After "Actions" is "Active Layer" then "Airbrush" and so on. This book touches on every aspect of Photoshop and even delves into resources and elements that are just slightly related to Photoshop (i.e. "Artifacts" in compression or even plugins related to Photoshop)
This guide is for every user of Photoshop. If you need to know what the "Posterization" is? Well, it is on page 126 and "it converts the images into a number of brightness levels between 2 and 255 to produce a graphic effet. 2 is too harsh, 255 too subtle. A good balance is between four and eight." Did you know that there is a "Patch tool"? I didn't and I use Photoshop every single day. In fact - this gem of a tool is buried under the "Healing Brush Tool" and I had never used it, but after I found it - wow, does it make my life a little bit easier. And to my astonishment, the "Patch tool" has been around since version 7 (kicks self in the butt).
This book is amazing. It belongs on every designers coffee table, and another copy right next to their computer. Let's face it, Photoshop isn't an easy little proggie that you can learn in a day. Photoshop is a massive program. It is over loaded to the extreme, and it keeps getting more and more loaded. People who use it everyday don't even know all of
its potential. I'm a testament to that. This book is a great resource for anyone serious about learning Photoshop. It really makes an overwhelming program like Photoshop a little
more usable.
If you liked this book, try the new version Photoshop CS2: A to Z, as well.
John Harbison
Member, D-MAG.org
Visuals for Us Right Brainers.......2004-07-20
If you're one of those people who learn things through visuals and pictures, and what Photoshop user isn't? It covers the new stuff in CS (PS v. 8). It's a virtual illustrated encyclopedia. Great page design. Just enough screen shots to make the OS X user happy (and some for Windoz too). Covers it all A to Z just as the cover specifies. I high recommend this.
Customer Reviews:
Stylish and intelligent stories.......2005-10-02
This is Art, beautiful and meaningful. The stories are told with all the dynamics of movies. So, every illustration is multilayered, only for those readers who want to use their intelligence at maximum level. Holiday in Budapest and F-16 follow the golden rules for those stories from the 1950s, and succeed, or even more, create new standards. 'Budapest' includes a message about politics and civil war, while 'F-16' is a thriller in the sky, but not the typical one! My recommendation: get this book, and enjoy it!
Publisher's trouble.......2005-04-12
The artwork and stories of Chaland is in itself of high value, and I do recommend his works, even this edition if none else is available. This edition is really not treated right by the publisher: There is confusion in the number of stories or where they start (I have read The Elephant Graveyard in different languages, and they are shorter). To me this collection has got four stories, and if not, a preface or some kind of explanation would have been helpful. The paper quality and the cuttings (format) leave some to desire. All in all, you end feeling that the publisher has taken too many shortcuts. There exists also a second volume of Chaland Anthology from DC, and a third is announced to be published later 2005.
Why I love comics.......2003-08-27
This anthology and its companion (vol. 2) are a real treat for any comics fan, but especially for those who revel in the greater intellectual and artistic maturity of the European tradition over the almost terminally adolescent American tradition, dominated as it still is by musclebound stuporheroes.
Chaland was a product of his tradition. "Was," because his life was cut short by a fatal car accident in the early '90s. The influence of Herge (the creator of Tintin) pervades Chaland's work, whether it be his main character's obvious resemblence to Tintin or the format of the storytelling--self-contained adventures featuring mysteries to be solved, exotic locations, and a good dose of humor. This is no accident; like Herge, Chaland was Belgian. But Chaland is anything but a pale imitator. His debt to his tradition is something he is well aware of and acknowledges, but joyfully and by choice; he is by no means weighed down or limited by this.
Chaland's stories are not for children. They are not particularly violent or sexual, but they tend to be more abstract with distinctly adult themes, and the 3 somewhat gritty main characters are apparently destitute and unemployed.
That said, the highly stylized artwork is beautiful to look at and masterful in its composition, point of view, and pacing. The storytelling is also very satisfying and surprisingly free-ranging in subject matter and approach. This first volume contains three stories, the second volume two more and some rare sketches and first drafts. As far as I know, this is all the work Chaland produced in this series, the "Freddy Lombard" series. Having read the two anthologies, I can only lament his untimely passing and state with unequivocal longing that I wish he had written more.
Customer Reviews:
Inspirational, touching, and worthwhile!.......2000-02-25
Michelle's story is one of courage and determination. Soccer fans in particular will be interested in what she has to say, but even those who don't appreciate the sport should be touched by what she's endured.
I especially enjoyed her teammates' input and the humorous stories about their time spent together. I'm a big fan of the Women's National Soccer Team in general and really appreciated these insights. Michelle also shares thoughtful remarks about family and team staff members who have inspired her to pursue her dreams despite her fight with CFS.
Sometimes you don't realize how good you have it until you hear what someone else has dealt with. This book is a very worthwhile read and may even help you to organize your own priorities!
A TRUELY INSPIRATIONAL BOOK FOR ANYONE.......1999-07-23
I am a young soccer player who suffers from CFS. After reading this book I became inspired to work even harder. It is a great read for any soccer player or anyone who suffers from CFS. A wonderful book! Thank you Michelle!
Great inspiration.......1999-02-05
For those who battle hard and never quit, Michelle's story is a great inspiration and story of hope, faith and perseverance. Great details about the Olympics and the US Women's Team as well.
Interesting and inspiring story of a world-class athlete........1998-03-06
This really was an inspiring book. For anyone who has had to deal with injuries, much less a chronic debillitaing illness, this book shows how to approach such situations with courage and humor. It also brings up the importance of letting others help you through crises, whether they be teammates, friends, doctors, psychologists, or the clergy. I especially liked the insights into other National soccer team members. And it was very interesting to read about specific National team games, games which I watched in person or on television. I had no idea the struggle Akers had just to continue playing, much less competing at a high level. I would recommend this book for any athlete, whether or not they are dealing with injuries or illness, and I would certainly recommend it for young girls to show them what it means to be a committed athlete.
Book Description
Although the Byzantine Empire was a continuation of the Roman Empire and faced similar military problems, its solutions were very different. In North Africa, for example, Rome's large army concentrated on securing main roads and urban centres. Byzantium's smaller army built more fortifications and took a defensive stance. The most striking characteristic of later Byzantine military thinking was, however, the theme or provincial army system, which owed nothing to ancient Roman tradition. With eight superb full colour plates by Angus McBride, and many other illustrations, David Nicolle examines the history of Romano-Byzantine armies from 4th-9th centuries.
Customer Reviews:
Good Pictures.......2007-04-01
Visually it is a good reference to the gear and costume of the late Roman army. Although there is nothing wrong with the text itself, this is way too little a book to cover the subject in detail.
Great illustrations.......2005-08-01
I did not buy this book for the text but for the illustrations of the change over of the Roman Empire Army to the Eastern Empire. For that alone it was worth the money!
Decent plates, lousy text.......2004-06-15
I purchased this book as a supplement to my research on early Byzantine arms and armor. I got it specifically for the color plates in the hopes that they would help me visualize some of the descriptions that I had read in the historical sources. The book was at least somewhat useful from this perspective. The plates are fanciful but well executed. The photos included of Byzantine-era representational art and still-extant fortifications were also a welcome addition.
The actual text of the book was very disappointing. The author seems to have a greater affinity for the Islamo-Arabic and Persian peoples who lived on the frontiers of the empire, and it shows through time and again in the writing. He ascribes practically every Byzantine military accoutrement, weapon, unit organization, and tactic to foreign influence. Perhaps most annoying of all was the short-shrift given to the height of Byzantine military power under the emperor Justinian I. The author races right past this epic period to focus on the Arab invasions and Byzantine dark ages of the 7th and 8th centuries. There is no coverage in the text of Byzantine siege craft and fortification--two areas where the empire excelled.
I think the publisher would have been better served to have an actual Byzantinist write the text rather than someone whose familiarity with the subject seems tangential at best.
Hail Byzantium.......2002-09-23
This volume covers the development of Byzantine military power from the fall of the Western Empire through the revival in the 9th century. Dark days these were, yet the Empire survived for several more centuries. The tactics of the army changed as political upheavals and foreign threats shaped failures and successes. By the 4th century, the professionalism of the Roman soldier had eroded. The heavy infantry legion had given way to small tripwire garrisons ( limitanei ) and the larger field armies ( comitatenses ). The emphasis shifted towards more heavy cavalry, and wholesale recruitment of barbarians
( foederati ), to deal with the more and more numerous incursions by the nomadic peoples moving into the Roman sphere. Though the western Empire fell, the eastern Byzantium held on.
The more mobile enemies in the East influenced Byzantine thinking. Heavier cavalry was fielded, along with a strong line of infantry and an ever increasing number of horse archers. The fifth and sixth centuries saw the reclamation of some territory in the Italian peninsula, as well as islands such as Crete. The fortunes of the empire waned again in the seventh century, with the rapid expansion of the Muslim powers. Byzantium now stood as a Christian bulwark against the Muslim threat. Its influence through trade continued a presence in the Mediterranean after the initial successes of the Muslim Arabs. The Byzantines switched to a system of local armies ( thema ) and central armies based around the capital ( tagmata ). Their presence waned in the West, as locals asserted their independence in the pursuit of their self defence. Military disasters forced the Byzantines to switch tactics again, and by the 9th century the empire was on a roll of counterattacks. They recruited from their neighbors and enemies, especially in terms of light cavalry and infantry. The cautious approach of shadowing enemy forces, and setting up feints and ambushes, foreshadowed the strategies of later Western Medieval armies. Though the Carolingians would rise to power in Western Europe and eventually overshadow the Greeks, to them is owed much in terms of military thinking. David Nicolle's treatment is thorough as always. This Men-at-Arms title is a good introduction into the war machine of Byzantium, a state in perpetually precarious positions. The color plates are beautiful, and the period illustrations good, though often too small to recognize details. As usual, Osprey has failed to deliver a decent map. Nevertheless, a worthwhile addition to the medieval warfare library. I am looking forward to the next two volumes covering Byzantium through the Crusades and final, disastrous fall of Constaninople in 1453.
Informative text harmonized with attractive illustrations........1999-01-20
I bought this one for the same reasons that I bought the title _Late Roman Infantryman_ which is also from Osprey military books, and one which I have also reviewed for Amazon.com. I do a lot of research on the historical origins of Arthurian myths, and books like these cover the right general areas of the world in roughly the right period (see also my review of Osprey's _Arthur and the Anglo-Saxon Wars_).
Osprey books offer a good ballance of text and illustrations to convey information to the reader in a way which is both efficient and entertaining. This is far preferable to books which have either too high a text-to-illustration ratio or too high an illustration-to-text ratio.
My only complaint about these books is that their photographs of period art are printed in black & white, so one often misses some of the spectacular color and detail found in ancient mosaics, frescos, or manuscript illuminations. Printing everything in color would, of course, make these books more expensive, but that might still be worth it depending on how you look at it. Each of these books does, however, feature a series of full color illustrations in the middle. These beautifully portray the appearance and activities of the troops under study.
Average customer rating:
- Good Historical approach to Cannibalism
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Hamatsa: The Enigma of Cannibalism on the Pacific Northwest Coast
Jim McDowell
Manufacturer: Ronsdale Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Native American
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Pacific Northwest
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Anthropology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0921870477 |
Customer Reviews:
Good Historical approach to Cannibalism.......2000-11-19
A good book, I've just recently read it for a class I'm taking in religious anthropology at the University of Ottawa. The book gives a good account of the historical European aproach to cannibalism on the West Coast. It is primarily concerned with the findings of ethnographer Franz Boas and it seeks to refute some of the claims made by Arens and his theories on the man-eating myth. The book details the Hamatsa ceremony and talks about the stigma surrounding cannibalism. The book is not an ethnography, but is more of a critical review of other ethnographic and historical accounts. At the end of the book, McDowell writes of how the ideas of the Hamatsa ceremony can serve our Western culture.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from American Review of Canadian Studies, published by Association for Canadian Studies in the United States on June 22, 1999. The length of the article is 1015 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Hamatsa: the enigma of cannibalism on the Pacific Northwest Coast.
Publication:
American Review of Canadian Studies (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 1999
Publisher: Association for Canadian Studies in the United States
Volume: 29
Issue: 2
Page: NA
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
|
Core Science 1: Key Concepts
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Science, Nature & How It Works
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Education
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Science & Technology
| Specific Skills
| Education
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0521588502 |
Book Description
Core Science is a new two-volume resource designed to meet the requirements of key stage 3 science. It offers a fully flexible approach to covering the key stage 3 curriculum. Topics for the first two years are included in Core Science 1. Each topic can be covered either in a single visit during the two years, or part of each topic could be covered in year 7 and completed in year 8. All the key ideas are then revisited and extended in Core Science 2, preparing pupils for assessment in year 9 and providing a firm base for study at key stage 4. Core Science is suitable for a wide range in ability. Each topic starts at a very accessible level, but the later spreads in each topic become progressively more demanding. Core Science 2 is more formally differentiated into Core material (for all abilities) and Core+ material, which is more challenging.
Books:
- A Master Course in Feng-Shui
- Architectural Graphic Standards for Residential Construction: The Architect's and Builder's Guide to Design, Planning, and Construction Details (Ramsey/Sleeper Architectural Graphic Standards Series)
- Architectural Graphic Standards, Tenth Edition (Book only)
- Bay Area Style: San Francisco Bay Region Houses 1893-2004
- Beginnings of Interior Environments, Ninth Edition
- Builder's Greywater Guide: Installation of Greywater Systems in New Construction & Remodeling; A Supplement to the Book "Create an Oasis With Greywater"
- Bungalow Bathrooms (Bungalow Basics)
- Bungalow Kitchens
- Bungalows: Design Ideas for Renovating, Remodeling, and Building New (Updating Classic America)
- Business Process Management With a Business Rules Approach: Implementing the Service Oriented Architecture
Books Index
Books Home
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Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down
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Building Construction Illustrated, 3rd Edition
