Book Description
With more than 30 percent new material, the fourth edition of this classic is an indispensable resource for practicing landscape architecture professionals as well as students. The most comprehensive overview of landscape architecture available, this reference covers every aspect of planning, design, installation, implementation, and maintenance.
Landscape architects, architects, and everyone else involved with the shaping of our living environment will find in this colorful book a systematic approach to the creation of more usable, efficient, and attractive outdoor places. Simply put--it is the best one-volume course ever written on landscape planning and landscape design.
Customer Reviews:
great book.......2007-09-24
Simons is certainly an environmentalist, and I love that about him. This is the first text book I have enjoyed reading. He makes excellent points, though it isn't all totally workable. Generally a great book.
Great overview of landscape architecture.......2007-06-05
This is really THE seminal instroductory book to landscape architecture. It's not really specific enough to be a true reference book, but it covers such a vast range of topics that it would be unrealistic to expect it to be. Instead, Simonds did a fantastic job of summarizing an amazingly broad field one subject at a time. Still, it is not so broad that the reader will fail to see the trees through the forest. It does include a lot of very helpful illustrations and explanations about such topics as spatial relationships and how they create different environments (and subsequently a particular design might be appropriate or inappropriate depending on the circumstances). But that is just one small sample of the kind of valuable lessons this book is filled with. I often start with this book when I approach a subject that is new to me because it gets me on the right track. In that sense, it's not just for beginners. And the 4th edition contains much-needed updates of the outdated photographs that are in the 3rd edition.
Amazon.com
Working for the American university in Cairo in 1988, Kent Weeks embarked on an archeological dig into KV5, the sparsely explored fifth tomb in the Valley of the Kings, burial ground of Egypt's major Pharaohs. In 1995, he discovered the T-shaped burial complex of Ramses II's 50 sons--arguably the most significant discovery since Howard Carter unearthed King Tut's tomb in 1922. Weeks's account of this historic event is filled with a sense of awe and wonder. "[I]n my imagination," he writes, recalling a vision of the statue of Osiris, god of the afterlife, "I could see the ancient funerals that took place three thousand years ago. I could hear ancient priests chanting prayers and shaking tambourines ... I could smell incense and feel priestly robes brush my arm as the funeral procession moved slowly past. For an instant I felt transported back in time: it was 1275 BCE and this was ancient Thebes."
Weeks also points out what his discovery may tell us about the powerful, redhaired pharoah who ruled ancient Egypt for 67 years (1279-1212 BC), including the possibility that he was the pharaoh of Exodus. He elaborates upon his profession's risks, from excavations in narrow, debris-filled and claustraphobic surroundings to working under the gunfire of terrorist attacks. And he reminds us that his discovery by no means brings Egyptology to a conclusion: "Every generation of Egyptologists asks different questions of its data and data are a finite resource. We will leave parts of KV5 undug so that archeologists of the future, armed with new questions and new excavation techniques, can seek new answers to old questions and to others we haven't even dreamed of." --Eugene Holley Jr.
Book Description
Kent Weeks made international headlines when, seventy feet below the surface of Egypt's Valley of the Kings he found the largest and most complicated mausoleum yet discovered, the tomb of Ramesses II's sons. Now for the first time, Weeks shares up-to-the-minute details on the thrilling discovery and contemplates what the tomb, called KV5, will reveal as the excavation moves forward. Built in the age of Exodus, the tomb could potentially transform ancient and biblical history. Its lower levels, possibly containing mummies of Ramesses II's sons, may shed new light on many of the mysteries of the Old Testament, including the story of Moses and the flight of the Israelites from Egypt.
Weeks draws on his own diaries, as well as those of his wife and his foreman, to describe the excitement and risks that surround such a significant find. From floodwaters that threatened the opened tomb and the precarious craw spaces deep within it, to thieving tourists and scorpions, this adventure is not for the weak of heart. Photographs and sketches illustrate the crew's progress and the objects and decorations found in the tomb's chambers and hallways The result a true-life, impossibly thrilling Raiders of the Lost Arkwill entrance readers from beginning to end.
Customer Reviews:
Intresting Insight into the excavation process.......2005-06-11
I thought this book was well imformed. Though it is not exactly a step by step work on the tomb KV 5 itself, it does give insight into the difficulties and emotions that one goes through during an excavation. It also makes valid points about the lack of conservation that the Egyptian officials have been willing to do. The building of the Dam destroyed so much, and it is well known that many of the floods that destroy tombs in the Valley of the Kings could be stopped if the Egyptian officals would devote the money to it. This book is good for anyone who is intrested in Egyptology causally.
And a note:
There have been a couple of reviews that have been quite negative, and I think without basis. Given, it is bad that one of the mummies in a picture is mis-marked, but that could be the editors fault. And the review came from a 'student' of Egyptology, who also happens to be in high school, and his/her claims presurpose that they know much more than Weeks.
I am in college and actually major in Egyptology. I know that indescrepancies occur, and this is because of different theories and interpretations that come from the translations of heiroglyphics.
Read the book and judge for yourself how good this book is!
Fascinating History.......2004-02-06
Kent Weeks did not actually "discover" KV5. That was done by James Burton in the early part of the 19th century. Weeks more or less stumbled upon the entrance to the tomb while working on his Theban Mapping Project. However accidental, you have to give Dr. Weeks his due. The re-discovery of KV5 is perhaps one of the greatest events in Egyptology ever, definitely since the days of Howard Carter. This book is a gripping, detail-filled account of Weeks' excavation of some of the first chambers of the tomb. Yes, there is a lot of detail here about pottery fragments among the debris but Weeks makes it very clear that the debris in the tomb is just as important to learning about the ancient Egyptians as the tomb paintings. Maybe the discovery of KV5 was not flashy enough for some - no rooms filled with gold and riches. Dr. Weeks deserves a lot of credit for his dedicated , painstaking work on KV5 and in the Valley of the Kings in general. This book is perfect for all amateur Egyptologists or anyone interested in ancient history.
Weeks' excavation did more damage than good.......2003-04-08
It is amazing reading these reviews and realizing that people actually enjoyed this man's book. This was a botched excavation from the start. There was no real great discoveries in KV5, just more of the same stuff that we find in the Valley of the Kings (KV5 was discovered long before in the 18th century to boot). It is wise to remember this when Weeks' excavation damaged the tomb itself. He had his work-crews removed wet flood debris (dirt) from the tomb and then only put rocks at the doorway to allow "air to dry up the inside" for an entire season!
However, if you are familiar with John Romer's studies on the Valley of the Kings' geology, you would know that the limestone walls would have expanded with moisture and contracted when dried. Weeks' ignorance of this simple fact (he did know of Romer's report but called his study 'unmodern') allowed the tomb roof and walls to contract at an uncontrolled speed. The result was the walls cracked, lost paint and ultiamately the roof fell in an area.
The damage Weeks' excavation did was totally atrocious and it even continues to this day. Support conservation in the Valley of the Kings instead of destructive excavation and ecourage excavations in the Delta (where Egyptologies knowledge is lacking). In conclusion, don't buy this book.
A little muddled and superficial.......2002-05-01
Kent Weeks and his wife come across as enthusiastic, dedicated and eager to introduce the general public to the pleasures of Egyptology in this account of the first few years of his investigations at KV5. As can be seen from the biographical information he provides in this work he has devoted most of his life to investigating the Valley of the Kings. That is why it is a pity that this work comes across as jumbled and a little superficial. Accounts of the dig are interspersed so frequently with accounts of the lives of various pharaohs, of the problems the Weeks face from lackadaisical Egyptian officials, the eccentricity of the local laborers, and so on, that it is very difficult to keep track of what the team is finding in KV5 and its historical significance. (I would guess that this format was forced on Professor Weeks by a commercially minded publisher, presumably in the belief that the average layman reader is not willing to plod through several hundred pages of architectural accounts.)
Another problem with this work: although the discovery of KV5 is the most important discovery in the Valley of the Kings since the discovery of King Tut's tomb, the actual material found in the tomb is probably not particularly exciting for readers who are not dedicated Egyptologists. Most of the discoveries consist of minute brick and porcelain fragments which poor Mrs. Weeks is charged with cataloguing. For the layman Egyptologist I would recommend instead the classic by Howard Carter, The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamen, also available from Amazon.com This is a truly exciting account of the discovery of Tut's tomb which was packed with fantastic treasures.
One of the worst popular-science books I've ever read.......2001-07-05
This book easily qualifies as one of the worst popular-science books I've ever read. It is like "Indiana Jones" minus the Nazis and all the other fun stuff. The thing is that of course I didn't expect to get an action-packed book about mummies and hidden treasures. What I expected to get was a nice description of that "lost" tomb they found plus background information. And the book simply doesn't give enough of that. The "lost" tomb which supposedly was discovered by Mr Weeks had actually been discovered before already. So the book starts with some wrong information on the cover. And it doesn't really get any better than that. There are pages and pages of completely useless information but no explanation of the background. In particular, if you want to learn about Egypt's past you're more than well-advised to look elsewhere. Instead, here you'll find a dozen pages about how Mr Weeks had to deal with the press and similar stuff which is just not interesting at all. The few pages about Egypt's past are filled with narration-like stuff. I know it might be difficult to say a lot about ancient Egypt but if the level of a popular-science book is about that of a mediocre Hollywood movie something is wrong. I know reviews which don't give books four or five stars are pretty unpopular on Amazon but I give this book one star anyway. I'd give it zero if I could.
Amazon.com
Where was Jurassic Park filmed? How about Beetlejuice? What town was terrorized in The Birds? Where did Meg Ryan "fake it" in When Harry met Sally? Look no further! The author of the authoritative book on famous spots in Hollywood has cast his eyes across the U.S. for sets and sites of interest.
Although this is billed as a good way to visit the sites where hundreds of movies and T.V. series have been filmed, I actually found this more interesting as a resource to select videos which took place in certain locales: "Say, honey, let's watch a movie filmed in Charleston..." --a sad commentary on how sedentary my life has become that I'm traveling by VCR!
Book Description
Wilson’s Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove were three of the most important battles fought west of the Mississippi River during the Civil War. They influenced the course of the first half of the war in that region by shaping Union military efforts while significantly contributing to Confederate defeat. Wilson’s Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove, the first book to provide a detailed guide to these battlefields, takes the visitor step-by-step through the major sites of each engagement. With numerous maps and illustrations that enhance the authors’ descriptions of what happened at each stop, the book also includes analytical accounts explaining tactical problems associated with each battle as well as vignettes evoking for readers the personal experience of those who fought there.
An indispensable companion for the battlefield visitor, this guide offers not only touring information and driving tours of sites associated with the campaigns that led to the battles, but also a brief history of each battle and an overview of the larger strategy and tactics of the military action in which these battles figured.
Average customer rating:
- Amazing
- on the problem of emptiness
- moving - but not history
- Terrificly Somber
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On This Site
Joel Sternfeld
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions
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Similar Items:
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Joel Sternfeld: Sweet Earth
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Joel Sternfeld: American Prospects
ASIN: 0811814378 |
Amazon.com
Just outside Prague today there is a place of beauty and serenity where the village of Lidice once stood--before the Nazis slaughtered its inhabitants and razed it to the ground in 1942. Joel Sternfeld seeks out similar places stained by violence and haunted by tragedy in the American landscape in this provocative book that questions the problematic nature of photographic representation. The image of Rockaway Peninsula on Long Island, New York, is pretty enough to adorn a postcard; it also happens to be the site where 10 illegal Chinese immigrants drowned trying to reach the shore.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing.......2003-12-07
Words are not needed in this great photo essay in life of violence and tragedy in America. Ordinary places, amazing events. The corner where MADD's founded was killed by a drunk driver, Love Canal, Imperial Food Fire, the former Store where Emmett Tills whistled at a white woman and was brutally killed, Polly Klass, Magan Kanka, Yummy Sandifer, Waco, OK Fed Building. All memories that rose anew when I read the book. It sits on my desk at work as reminder that we should never forget these tragic events.
on the problem of emptiness.......2001-08-29
Joel Sternfeld's work as a conceptual photographer exhibits a degree of understanding of emptiness, of unspoken gaps, of silence. He is taking the pictures of the places where famous tragic events in America were taking place, some years after the fact. The photographs are creating a very strong sense of the "negative event" space, where something which is not told is infinitely more important that what was told. Also I highly recommend Joel Sternfeld 's most recent exhibition catalog "Stranger Passing", where he travels the roads of America, and takes pictures with his large-format camera. Although all his pictures include people in various situations (attending a party, selling coffee, hanging out in their own homes, vacationing, promenading, relaxing, observing, working), what he is really interested in, is the depiction of landscapes and soft outplay of the mid-afternoon light.
moving - but not history.......2000-04-16
Well the pictures are moving.
But the author/editor has the historical facts wrong. The Murrah Office building was not "the site of the largest terrorist attack in US history" - That was the Pan Am 103 attack at Lockerbie (not represented here) - It was an American airliner and killed more American civilians, 189 - that's American history and that - not Oklahoma City - is the "largest terrorist attack in US history".
Terrificly Somber.......1997-12-18
This book is both beautiful and moving
Sternfeld takes you to the sites of some of
humanity's worst moments, and presents
them literally in a new light. You might even
learn some history.
Book Description
This pioneering work focuses on excavations and discoveries at Little Rapids, a 19th-century Eastern Dakota planting village near present-day Minneapolis.
Book Description
Be careful where you walk, and don't forget your hard hat! Join Daniel as he visits a construction site and helps workers build a sidewalk. He even gets to help operate a huge backhoe. Cool! Charmed by his boundless enthusiasm, children will be eager to join Daniel and learn about the world from their own perspective. Each book closes with an activity that encourages young readers to create along with Daniel. Kids will be eager to join in the adventures of a little boy who gets to do so many different things. If Daniel can do it, so can they!
Average customer rating:
- Wonderful guide to the city
- Little Trivia Book
- Don't visit DC without this book!
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On This Spot: Pinpointing the Past in Washington, D.C.
Douglas E. Evelyn , and
Paul Dickson
Manufacturer: National Geographic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Old Washington, D.C. in Early Photographs, 1846-1932
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Washington, D.C., Past and Present
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Washington, D.C., Then and Now (Then & Now)
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Washington, DC: A Historic Walking Tour (Images of America)
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Capital Losses: A Cultural History of Washington's Destroyed Buildings
ASIN: 0792274997
Release Date: 1999-09-01 |
Book Description
Celebrating the gritty reality and color of the city, this lively guide locates the sites where important, or just fascinating, events took place, where figures from American history lived, worked, and died. Includes more than 125 photos from public and private collections.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful guide to the city.......2007-05-24
This book is wonderful. There are places pointed out in this book that are not pointed out anywhere else. If you are going or live in DC please buy this book and use it as you walk around.
Little Trivia Book.......2004-08-12
I LOVE THIS BOOK!! i love learning about the little trivia type things. And this one is full of them. Now I just want the same thing for other cities.
Don't visit DC without this book!.......2000-01-12
What a great book! It is refreshing to read a historical guide that doesn't take itself too seriously. On This Spot brings the sights and history to life for us transplated Washingtonians. While the book can be used as a walking tour guide, it can just as easily take you on a tour through history from your living room. Makes me feel like I am in Washington again!
Book Description
Leaders of the eZ publish community guide you through this complex and powerful PHP based content management system.
This book takes you through the process of designing and building content rich web sites and applications using eZ publish. Famed for its power and flexibility, eZ publish can be daunting on first approach. Moreover, it has advanced features that reward the investment in learning. This book exists to ease experienced PHP developers into thinking and developing the eZ publish way.
With hard-won experience of the practical difficulties faced by developers working with eZ publish, and technical approval from eZ systems (creators of eZ publish) this book is a distillation of the authors' expertise, and the perfect way to master the system.
eZ publish is a PHP-based, Open Source Content Management System and development framework. With over 950,000 downloads of the system to date, and now at version 3, eZ publish has evolved from a standard CMS to a framework for developing your own robust, PHP applications.
This book covers installing eZ publish, an outline of the basic concepts of eZ publish and the structure of an eZ publish site, content management with eZ publish, controlling your page output with eZ publish templates, the eZ publish core libraries, creating eZ publish extensions, creating new modules and datatypes, working with RSS import and export, deploying an eZ publish site, case studies of real eZ publish sites, optimizing your eZ publish installation.
Customer Reviews:
Good book: very technical.......2004-09-01
With this book, our intrepid micro-publisher has sought to lay out an understanding of the complex content management system eZ Publish (www.eZ.no). eZ Publish is a very powerful php based CMS solution, and really does meet the requirements of an Enterprise CMS solution.
However, it has not been a very well documented project despite great efforts by the developers, especially for the more complex functionality.
This book addresses many of the things that are left wanted by the documentation, such as the modification of core classes. However, it oddly combines them with basic information like how to set up the system -- information which was almost out of date before the book was released.
Sadly, the book fails to go deep enough to satiate the demand of our more technical users while also failing to provide enough introductory material for beginners. This lack of clear audience focus plagues the book and lessens it's utility for real world developer or beginners.
This book is absolutely worth the money, if you've got a little php under your belt and you're looking to really buckle down and start developing eZ Publish sites. But if you're a beginner, or you don't have a solid understanding of php, you'll probably find this book to be over your head past the first chapter.
This publisher is coming out with a revised version which I am sure will address many of these issues, as they are one of the best computer book publishers to hit the scene since WROX. The fourthcoming Plone book by the same publisher looks like a good title, and the OpenCMS book by Packt Publishers is very good.
Books:
- Last Days of Summer
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- Learning to See Creatively: Design, Color & Composition in Photography (Updated Edition)
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- Looking for Alaska
- Mapplethorpe: The Complete Flowers
- Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions
- Nikon Creative Lighting System Digital Field Guide
- Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season
- Origins: African Wisdom for Every Day (Offerings for Humanity)
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Site Analysis: Linking Program and Concept in Land Planning and Design
Site Planning - 3rd Edition
Landscape Graphics
Plan and Section Drawing (Landscape Architecture)
Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards
