This book is one of the best reference books an architect will ever use. It contains the necessary information for the beginning and advanced architect. Inside the 568 pages in this book one will find from the most basic to the highly complex architectural graphics. The book provides reference for the various arcchitectural plans such as the floor plan, elevation and perspective drawings. No other reference material can surpass the amount of information provided in this excellent book.

The texts published by Dr. Ray originated in the diggins of the Egypt Exploration Society at Saqqarah between 1965-72 and rank amongst the most important ones discovered as yet. There are 7 ostraka in demotic, recording a long petition addressed to Ptolemy VI (c. 181-145 B.C.) by a priest called Hor: these documents provide valuable insights in the history of the period and the invasion of Antiochus IV and the intervention of Rome in the affair. There are even texts on dreams and the administration (or chaotic management) of the cult to the ibises of Thoth. The research of the material, the comments and the data are masterly presented to the reader. Top Ten!

While I usually stick to the more "mainstream" erotic books like "Playtime", I have a weakness for less subtle erotica. This has to be of his better books. While slightly contrived, it is pure escapism. TWO THUMBS UP!!

Rotund merchant ships. Sleek warships. Humble fishing boats and sturdy lighters. Pleasure craft and gondolas. The harbor of Medieval and Renaissance Venice thronged with watercraft. Ships and boats were unquestionably vital to the Venetian Maritime Republic, and her ships were of extreme importance historically. Venice, settled in the fifth century in the lagoons of the Adriatic Sea, was always a maritime nation. Three factors gave Venice advantages over other medieval trading city-states: the city's location, governmental policies, and the skills of her inhabitants. Nearly the entire population of Venice was involved in maritime trade in one way or another. Venice became a key trading agent between the European and Mediterranean world market and her citizens made a fortune. Many details as to the nature of their watercraft, however, have yet to be well understood. Three forms of evidence potentially fill in the void: archaeological remains of ships or boats, written documents concerning vessels, and artistic representations of watercraft. Remains of Venetian ships and boats are scant, and written records, rarely complete in their information. Excavations in the region have revealed only a few small boats, two merchant ships, and a galley, yet this limited sample of the ships and boats of Venice offers the base on which to build. A more accurate understanding of Venetian maritime history is achieved only through integrating all forms of evidence.

Pictorial documents constitute a unique corpus of data, invaluable information for anyone studying the history of ships and boats, yet these documents are rarely adequately studied. I had the pleasure of living and working in Venice with the goal of discovering and documenting maritime art from the region. Maritime themes prevail in the culture and legends important to the area. Ships and boats abound in Venetian mosaics, frescoes, paintings, sculptures, manuscript illuminations, technical treatises and graffiti. For example, the relics of St. Mark (who became patron saint and symbol of Venice) were "pirated" away from Alexandria, hidden from the Muslim customs officials in a basket of pork on board the ship. This story was frequently depicted in Venetian art, and these images show us what Venetians conceptualized when they thought of "a merchant ship". This book, with 158 illustrations, is full of interesting and beautiful maritime art, and offers intriguing details to ponder. The book appeals at one level to the layman interested in archaeology, ship history and art history, but has the substance (index, bibliography), detail and depth to satisfy the researcher.

Art Glass Nouveau was written by a husband and wife team, Lee and Ray Glover. They have photographed museum quality glass art from the late 1800's - 1930. This is the time period art lovers call Art Nouveau - or the new art.

The pictures are breathtakingly gorgeous, in full color. The text is outstanding in that it not only gives information about the artist (included are the most famous) but tells some of the details of how the glass was formed.

After reading this beautiful book I feel much more knowledgeable about how these treasures were created, yet no less in awe of their creator. I wonder how and from what heavenly body these artists came from.

If antique dealors knew of this book, they would certainly be clawing to get at it! Too bad it is out of print! Actually it has been brought back once already, in 1975.

It is a delight to view, it is abundant in information, and is well written.

Imaginative and serious is how I would describe this man's art, two words which rarely dance with each other in the realm of science fiction art these days.

This isn't the usual science fiction art you see; it is more based on the realistically possible than the utterly impossible (exceptions being a few paintings for Star Trek and such), lying somewhere in between the strange imagery of Wayne Barlowe and the illustrations of space shuttles and planets from your childhood school textbooks.

This includes various murals for NASA, science conventions, Disney's EPCOT, and even a church. Also included are some of his concept sketches and cover art for Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: Space Odyssey. While his art isn't as detailed as that of, for example, Frank Frazetta's or Richard Corben's--some of McCall's paintings seem almost possible to file under "impressionism"--he proves more imagination and dedication to the genre than either of the other two forementioned talents combined.

What I like most about Robert McCall's science fiction art is, as stated earlier, it being closer to what's actually possible, while still retaining the imaginative aspects. It only makes me eager for a future which will probably come decades after my generation becomes as old as our parents, one we will never live but our children might. Another plus is the introductory paragraphs by Ray Bradbury, basically interesting musings and anecdotes about Robert McCall and science/science fiction in general.

Excuse me while I go to the moon...

A little over a hundred pages of information will appeal to kids in grades 5-6, offering a fine survey of artificial satellites and their current uses. Color photos pepper a history of satellite discoveries and research uses.

This book will change your outlook on authentic christianity. made me re-evaluate where i am in my own life

Why bother with the CD when the book is such a pleasure to use?

The BOOK rates SIX STARS. The CD rates NO STARS. Get the book for half or a third the price of the CD. It's worth it.

The cd contains many raster scans of tables from the book and links to commentary that you can find elsewhere in greater detail. The links to industry aren't anything special, considering you can find them many other places for free. The interface is clunky, and hard to read. Access to the data is read-only off the CD rather than allowing you to load it and access it from the hard drive. The vector CAD drawings are simplified and generic - suitable for instruction, but certainly not for real work. You won't save any time trying to use them for anything but reference, so why bother? This CD is worth 1% of its list price and should just come with the book at no cost. Don't be taken in by the hype.

The figures of this book are very useful for details in professional drawings. On the other hand, it gives simple ideas to solve common problems on construction.