Book Description
American Synagogues is the first book to explore the exceptional architecture of modern American synagogues in the twentieth century, and this intriguing book relates the fascinating history of the Jewish people in America and how it is expressed in twentieth-century synagogue design.
The book features all new photography of synagogues in many styles from a dozen states, many never before published in any form. The synagogues were designed by European masters, the best-known modern American architects, and by important contemporary architects including Frank Lloyd Wright, Philip Johnson, and Minoru Yamasaki.
Customer Reviews:
SYNAGOGUE.......2006-04-18
This is a wonderful book, full of perfectly realized images and interesting text. For whatever reason synogogues in the U.S. often are designed in quite daring styles. It is intriguing to observe how each congregation says a bit about themselves in the building style they chose for their synagogue. I expecially like the spectacular Temple Emanuel in New York City, it is simple breathtaking, though I liked something about all of these buildings. I highly recommend this book; for someone not that familiar with the Jewish faith or synagogues in general it is quite enlightening.
Enlightening.......2006-01-11
I am architecture student doing my thesis project on the development of a synagogue. I knew little about Judaism and having few Jewish people in my community, I have only visited one synagogue in my life. This book was even more than I hoped for, in that it allowed me to view, for the first time, some of the beautiful architecture that celebrates this wonderful religion. The many pictures work well with the descriptive text and allow many to truly experience a setting that I would not normally have to the opportunity to do.
Another key thing that makes this a five star rating is that you get this book for almost half its original price.
Amazon.com
Aromatherapy remains tremendously popular, and candles are of course natural components of this practice. Rhondda Cleary discusses the basics of essential oils and perfumed candles, including brief guidelines on what scents enhance what mood. But this is really not so much a book about fragrance (which it addresses almost glancingly) as it is about general candle making and decorating with candles, which it covers quite well. Cleary explains exactly how to make a molded candle and many variations thereof (striped, mosaic, ice, embedded, floating), as well as dipped and beeswax candles. The second portion of the book offers suggestions for using candles in the home and garden: for everyday decorating, holiday celebrations, table arrangements, and so on. Although the step-by-step instructions and photographs are adequate, they are not outstanding; where the book really shines is in its approach to making candles part of our daily lives and in encouraging us not simply to make candles but to use them. --Amy Handy
Book Description
The only thing more romantic and mood enhancing than a flickering candle is a candle with the heavenly scent of essential oils. Craft your own, which will beautifully combine color, shape, and fragrance. In addition to instructions for melting, molding, and dyeing the wax, an aromatherapy guide will help you choose the right scent for that special ambience.
Customer Reviews:
Great for beginners or experts.......2000-07-23
This book explains most of the terminology involved in candle-making, as well as explanations of different techniques and step-by-step instructions for getting started. Each style of candle described includes a list of equipment needed and great photographs of the finished product. There is a detailed description for each style of candle and hints on how to overcome more difficult steps. Each style of candle is followed up with the exact making process, including notes on the author's personal experiences and failings (and how to avoid repeating them.) This has been a very enjoyable book. It was also my first candle-making book.
Book Description
Both as intimate design accents and as gentle aromatherapy for any room in the home, candles can enhance every decor. Scented Candles offers a wide range of projects grouped by scent families and season, with simple methods for creating everything from a simple wax glass candle to a colorful centerpiece with three wicks. The author's guide to choosing and combining scents helps candlemakers set the mood in the tub or at the dinner table. Featuring 200 color photos, Scented Candles provides a guide to choosing the right scent - floral, citrus, spicy, or woody-for any occasion or location.
Average customer rating:
- superb black and white pictorial history
- Medicine's Great Journey
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Medicine's Great Journey: One Hundred Years of Healing
Rick Smolan ,
Richard Flaste , and
Robert Coles
Manufacturer: Bulfinch Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
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Basic Science
| Medicine
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| Anatomy
| Biochemistry
| Embryology
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| Genetics
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ASIN: 0821219871 |
Customer Reviews:
superb black and white pictorial history.......2004-03-03
this quite magnificent volume touches upon various aspects of principally american medical history. i am rather interested in this topic for professional reasons and found the layout and previously unseen photos extremely useful. the topics such as: war medicine; a day in the life of a country doctor; heroes in medicine and so on give the book a very human touch. recommended reading if only for the great photos.
Medicine's Great Journey.......2001-03-18
This is an extremely informative book, packed with high-quality photographs. The text is geared toward the layperson; it is not a technical book. It is historically accurate and an enjoyable read for anyone interested in the history of medicine.
Average customer rating:
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Silent City on a Hill: Picturesque Landscapes of Memory And Boston's Mount Auburn Cemetery
Blanche M. G. Linden
Manufacturer: University of Massachusetts Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1558495711 |
Book Description
Winner of the Historic Preservation Book Award Winner of an ASLA Merit Award Originally published in 1989, this book offers an insightful inquiry into the in- tellectual and cultural origins of Mount Auburn Cemetery, the first landscape in the United States to be designed in the picturesque style. Inspired by developments in England and France, and founded in 1831, Mount Auburn became the prototype for the "rural cemetery" movement and was an important precursor of many of America's public parks, beginning with New York City's Central Park.
This new edition has been completely redesigned in a larger format, with new photographs and a new epilogue that carries the story forward into the twentieth century.
Average customer rating:
- A True Postmodernist Sci-Fi Novel
- Among the most dystopian of futures...
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The Silent City
Elisabeth Vonarburg
Manufacturer: Tesseract Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Contemporary
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ASIN: 0888782772
Release Date: 2002-11-27 |
Book Description
In a future Europe, where technology has been driven underground and the Earth's population has been tribalized by nuclear war and political conflict, a young woman named Elisa is born into the Silent City, a final stronghold of science and knowledge, in which self-perpetuating technology maintains the handful of human survivors with rejuvenation treatments and cybernetics. Unwittingly, Elisa holds the key to the genetic changes which have the potential to preserve the human species. But first she must overcome the resistance of the city's elite, and discover her unique gift for changing herself and the world around her. But time is running out. The human race is threatened by a virus that prevents the conception of male babies - and women bear the blame. Elisa must determine her future ... and the future of humanity.
Customer Reviews:
A True Postmodernist Sci-Fi Novel.......2007-08-21
The plot line exists to support the ruminations of the story's main character, Elisa. It is through her thoughts that we learn about the City--a semi-autonomous, self-referencing (but not truly self-aware) entity in which the last few humans live...along with their simulacra, their false selves. Each real human eventually dies, despite rejuvenation treatments. Death is one of the themes of this novel, as are freedom and illusion.
The main moral of the story is "you shouldn't decide for others." Whether that is always possible or even always desirable, is of course up to the reader to decide. The author, however, makes it clear that no Project or Great Design should ever be imposed--however benevolently and nonviolently--upon others. Again, whether this is realistic is among the many questions that float through the story's pages.
The story is well-enough written, and interesting for being different from most other sci-fi novels. The protagonist is sympathetic but not perfect...and she knows this. This novel can serve as a kind of reference point for questions, including self-questioning one's own values and motives.
This book would please Foucault and the other biggies of postmodernism, I'm sure; how strong a novel it makes remains for you to decide.
Among the most dystopian of futures..........2000-04-04
Vornarburg paints a bleak picture of the future where humanity is divided into those who have locked themselves in the City and those who crudely survive outside it. Humanity is dying on both sides of the City walls. An aging scientist in the City creates a young girl with very special powers to rejuvenate humanity. But is she the salvation of the city or of the barbarians outside...
Vornarburg creates a very dark mood without the fancy glitz of high tech. (Think Neuromancer without the fancy cyberspace cowboys jacking in and out. The mood feels more like PKDick than WGibson.) This book is more an intense drama and almost devoid of any real action. Nevertheless, the concepts are very intriguing.
Average customer rating:
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Silent Cities: the Evolution of the American Cemetery
Kenneth Jackson
Manufacturer: Princeton Architectural Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
History
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ASIN: 0910413223 |
Amazon.com
As telling about a society as skyscrapers and domestic architecture, yet rarely as discussed, are cemeteries, the architecture for the dead. Cemeteries not only reflect religious and cultural attitudes toward death, they also strikingly mirror the social structures of the living. This paperback volume examines, in text and color photos by acclaimed photographer Camilo José Vergara, the development of the American cemetery. Over 300 cemeteries are documented, including country and church graveyards, ethnic cemeteries, potter's fields, the famous Père-Lachaise in Paris, and Arlington National in Washington. Silent Cities offers a compelling examination of an often overlooked facet of architecture.
Average customer rating:
- An Excellent Story
- An Excellent Story
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City of the Silent
Michael Priestley
Manufacturer: Writers Club Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary
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ASIN: 0595122515 |
Book Description
Early one morning in November on the first day of hunting season, the receding fog reveals a mysterious stranger dressed in a black cloak sitting on the wall in the center of Troyville, Vermont. The stranger does not speak or move, but his presence destroys the tranquility of the town and its idiosyncratic residents, including the beautiful Helene, who appears in the fantasies of every man in town. Simmering just below the surface of daily life in Troyville is the heat of long-ago passion and distorted memory, unleashed by the stranger: a centaur appears in the forest . . . the town finally uncovers the truth about who fathered Sarah Dixby’s child . . . a meeting of the townspeople erupts in a brawl over what to do with the stranger . . . a gunshot shatters the silence of the night.
Customer Reviews:
An Excellent Story.......2001-01-31
A captivating story full of rich characters. I enjoyed how the author explored the social dynamics of this small New England Town when it is disrupted by a stranger. The writing was excellent and the plot kept me wondering what will happen to the characters, the town, next.
An Excellent Story.......2001-01-31
A captivating story full of rich characters. I enjoyed how the author explored the social dynamics of this small New England Town when it is disrupted by a stranger. The writing was excellent and the plot kept me wondering what will happen to the characters, the town, next.
Average customer rating:
- A Great Read, Worthy of Your TIme & Bucks.....
- Well written prose outlining the debate on critical moral issues
- Trying to Define a Common Ground
- An Olive Branch for the Culture War?
- A Journey Worth Taking
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Disarming the Culture War: How the Silent Majority Can Break the Stalemate
Bruce Wilson
Manufacturer: iUniverse, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 059537932X |
Book Description
The two most recent presidential elections exposed a deep and expanding polarization of the American public. Unfortunately, the two major political parties aren't helping to resolve this conflict. In fact, they created the conflict and are perpetuating it. There is no serious debate within the political parties on the four moral issues that are the basis of this Culture War. They have been transformed into articles of faith. Committed Democrats will be for abortion, gun control, separation of church and state and gay marriage. Their Republican counterparts will be against all of them. Disarming the Culture War makes the case that a majority of Americans are not satisfied with the positions the political parties offer on these issues. A “silent majority” of Americans are against abortion and gay marriage but are in favor of gun control and the separation of church and state. This Culture War is a divisive stalemate with serious long-term consequences, and citizens who have been silent for far too long have an obligation to speak up now. Disarming the Culture War brings a new dimension to the public dialogue—a dialogue that is necessary if we are to find our way beyond this Culture War.
Customer Reviews:
A Great Read, Worthy of Your TIme & Bucks............2006-04-19
I found "Disarming the Culture War: How the Silent Majority Can Break the Stalemate" to be a great read, worthy of my time and the modest bucks to purchase. Wilson has provided interesting and unique insights about the strident voices on both sides in the blue vs. red culture war, and those he views as the American core that has been relatively silent. I enjoyed Wilson's weaving of his take on history and the data both "sides" often use to advocate their respective positions on some of today's most controversial sociological, political and cultural issues. Consequently, I found myself to be reflective about my own "absolute" positions, and impressed with Wilson's pragmatic, bottom-line logic and reasoning.
Get it, and Enjoy!
Luchus Smith
Pasadena CA
Well written prose outlining the debate on critical moral issues.......2006-03-07
Bruce Wilson has authored a book that tackles four key "moral value" areas that form the foundation for the current political divide in this country. While much has been written on all of these subjects, he does a good job of defining the issue as he sees it, and using factual evidence to support his case.
First, my criticisms of the book are as follows: I would have liked to see more succinct and detailed footnotes and sources listed, either as footnotes, or endnotes. The evidence he uses is well defined, and within the commentary is quite detailed, however, given the sensitivity of the subject matter one has to literally overwhelm with facts to even get the evidence a passing nod of credibility.
On the positive side he has written a book that at least attempts to acknowledge that many of these issues are passionately held from different perspectives. He writes in a manner that is logical and well grounded in objective data. Further he really nails the fact that this "debate" is largely a media and political creation. In recent elections, when one of these issues was taken to a public vote the result showed little polarity at all and was decidedly one sided. He points out the obvious fact that many judges have begun to legislate law - which is outside their authority.
The four areas that comprise the majority of the discussion include; abortion, gun control, gay marriage and the Separation of Church and State. I will not address the abortion issue here, as in my opinion until the discussion of the issue begins to actually include physical and logical reality and not just irrelevant catch phrases like "choice", it is simply propaganda. He of course outlines all the documented evidence about when life begins, but this is just restating the obvious.
In terms of gun control, he holds the view that we ought to control the use of handguns and other weapons in this country. I agreed with his prose, in particular that the NRA's claim that automatic weapons are somehow necessary for recreational or personal defense is a sham. The amount of violence in our country is very disturbing indeed. This is an issue where I am, like the author, in complete disagreement with the Conservative view. The level of violence in our country and the way violence is glorified is simply appalling. He takes the approach that we can have much better gun control, without destroying the 2nd Amendment. Well done.
The other highlight was the factual and detailed analysis of what the "separation" really means. This is a great dialog and one that people on both sides of the issue should read. What makes our country great is that we have freedom of speech, and ironically those using the "separation" language these days are essentially attempting to censor certain points of view they disagree with. Allowing a fringe group of people to dictate for everyone else what can and cannot be said, is simply the worst kind of censorship. Bruce argues very articulately against the intolerance of some groups like the ACLU, and uses the original meaning the founders of this country had in mind when the principles were first presented.
Overall, this is a very good discussion and commentary on some important key issues for our country.
Trying to Define a Common Ground.......2006-02-27
Mr. Wilson starts by saying that the Democrats have gotten so far left wing and the Republicans so far right wing that neither truly represents the general populace. He's right in this.
He then picks four issues worth discussing in an attempt to find a common ground: abortion, gun control, separation of church and state, and gay marriage. Abortion is the first issue he discusses and this takes almost half the book. He includes an excellent discussion of what polls of the country say, which is that most people are opposed to abortion. And I believe this is true. The trouble comes in how you ask the question:
Do you believe abortion should be used as a standard form of birth control -- will get you an overwhelming NO response.
Do you believe that abortion decisions should be made by the Federal Government or by a woman in discussion with her doctor -- will get you something entirely different.
Do you believe a woman desiring to end an unwanted pregnancy should be forced by the Government to go to a back alley butcher with a rusty coat hanger....
Gun control is kind of a dead issue right now. All the public flack on the Gore/Bush election was on Florida (my Democratic friends are still sure that George's brother stole the election.) But from a gun control standpoint the critical state was Tennessee. Gore was from Tennessee and he didn't carry his home state. Almost everyone agrees that his stand on gun control was the reason. If Gore had carried Tennessee he would have been president regardless of the outcome in Florida. No one is going to ignore this in the next elections. The only pro-gun control candidates will be in the darkest of the blue states.
Separation of Church and State -- well we see around the world what happens when the state and the church combine. Right now the obvious places to use as examples are in the muslim world. But let's not forget the Crusades and that Galileo was given a life sentence for saying that Jupiter had moons.
Gay Marriage -- You'd better define marriage first. If I (male) work for a company that has family health insurance should my life-mate (lets call it) get insurance if she is a female but not if he is a male.
Mr. Wilson does a good job of raising the issues and establishes his own point of view somewhere in the middle. It's a pretty good analysis of how the political system works. But I don't see my die hard conservative or liberal friends willing to go that far into the middle.
An Olive Branch for the Culture War?.......2006-02-07
Wilson here attempts to offer an olive branch of sorts to both sides of the culture war that is currently raging in America. He identifies four key issues around which the current ideological battle is being fought: abortion, gun control, separation of church and state, and gay marriage. He asserts that the "silent majority" in America has a position on these issues that is not reflected by the platforms of either the Republican or the Democratic Party. He maintains the silent majority in the country is opposed to abortion, supportive of gun control, opposed to school prayer, and opposed to gay marriage.
Wilson defines these four issues well, but does not address the role that absolute truth, or the lack of it, plays in the culture war. How can there be any moral authority claimed on abortion, gun control, separation of church and state, and gay marriage, if a large portion of the population claims no absolute moral authority exists?
This book doesn't provide a path to peace for the culture war, but it does promote a way to think outside the strong partisan battle lines that have been drawn in the last decade. While it may help to break the stalemate, it does little to diffuse the long-term conflict.
A Journey Worth Taking.......2006-01-22
Disarming the Culture War is a timely book focused on four major moral issues facing our nation: abortion, gun control, separation of church and state and gay marriage. The book is thought provoking and eye opening as the author reviews polls, statistics and viewpoints I had not previously known or considered. Wilson takes the reader down a path of facing the facts on abortion, gun control, separation of church and state and gay marriage.
The author's views do not align with the Republicans or the Democrats. His conclusions are part Republican (against abortion and gay marriage), part Democrat (in favor of gun control) and part not aligned with either party (balancing church and state issues). If you are intrigued by having the status quo challenged, you will enjoy the journey. I did not always agree with the conclusions the author reached, but I did find value in having my positions challenged.
Take the journey. It is well worth it.
Book Description
"Life in a fishbowl" - that's what small-town parsonage life was like in Midwest America 60 years ago. Surrounded by loving parents, siblings, relatives, and some interesting small town characters, Kurtz exercises keen observation and memory to bring these homespun stories to life. This book will bring Christmas joy to any reader's world.
Customer Reviews:
Amusing and heartwarming romp!.......2005-10-21
Do you know a PK (preacher's kid, that is?). Kurtz, in his memoir of being a PK, tells that he was far from perfect, i.e., he was a normal kid.
Years ago it was common practice that the preacher and his family live in the church-owned parsonage (never owning their own home, just moving from parsonage to parsonage).
Father, the preacher was busy serving his congregation, preparing sermons and tending the ill and dying. Mother was busy worrying about "what the members will think about ___," forcing the family to be on display all the time. Hey, I grew up in that time and I remember how members would talk about the preacher's wife clothing, their car, how the kids acted--as if we all were their supervisors. Whew, that must have been hard for the family members.
Mom ruled the house but relied on Dad for a firm word of discipline. Their supper table (evening meal) stories took me back to a time when everyone was at this meal--no sports practices or games, no lessons, no time classes, just family-first priority.
Amusing and heartwarming romp through this family's life at Christmas time, where everything evolved around this special season.
Armchair Interviews says that with a reminiscing sense of humor, Kurt brings nostalgia to your heart and mind. It is an ideal gift for someone who grew up when the author did, early 50s and shared the situations. It's also a good reminder to all of us of family togetherness, another way grandparents can share their growing-up life with their grandkids.
Product Description
Hardcover with Dj, tight and clean, remains of name sticker on forepage
Average customer rating:
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SILENT CITIES
Unknown
Manufacturer: ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SFMPCI |
Books:
- Architect's Essentials of Cost Management (The Architect's Essentials of Professional Practice)
- Architecture and Disjunction
- Architecture, Ceremonial, and Power: The Topkapi Palace in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries (Architectural History Foundation Book)
- Best Addresses: A Century of Washington's Distinguished Apartment Houses
- Best Designed Modular Houses
- Building Technology: Mechanical and Electrical Systems, 2nd Edition
- Building Type Basics for Elementary and Secondary Schools
- Charlotte Perriand: A Life of Creation
- Charlotte Perriand: A Life of Creation
- Chateaux of the Loire Valley
Books Index
Books Home
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- Just Imagine
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- House Beautiful Small Spaces
- Colloquial Japanese With Important Construction and Grammar Notes
- Seed to Seed: The Secret Life of Plants
Synagogue Architecture In America
Synagogues of Europe: Architecture, History, Meaning (Dover Books on Architecture)
The Synagogue
Neil Folberg: And I Shall Dwell Among Them
Synagogues Without Jews
