Here is a compact and useful guide; filled with detailed and original drawings; to help put a date to the variety of period buildings we see around us. It covers an immense range of structures and styles from 1500 to 1950. In addition; there is a glossary of architectural terms and a historical time chart. The book will prove an invaluable companion whether visiting grand houses open to the public or simply strolling around the streets of villages; towns and cities.
#2035959 in eBooks 2012-03-16 2012-03-16File Name: B007NXK3LS
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A book of beautiful photos. but I thought I was going to ...By CustomerA book of beautiful photos. but I thought I was going to be reading little excerpts about adventures as well.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I LIKE ITBy kevin schrammenI WOULD GET THIS BOOK FOR EVERYONE I KNOWTO QUICKEN ONES EYE AND PRECEPTIONI THINK IT HELPS IMPROVE MEMORYS ANDVISION QUALITY AND ITS JUST FUN AND GAMESWORDS OF AZ1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A work of art and a delight to the eyeBy Dennis LittrellThis is an absolutely beautiful book of photographs that have one thing in common: in each of them the Buddha in one guise or another appears. There is a certain playful irreverence in this colorful collection by photographer Jesse Kalisher that is entirely in keeping with the spirit of Zen Buddhism and especially in keeping with the famous Zen admonition that if you find the Buddha by the side of the road. give him a kick.Why? Because whatever Buddha you meet is not the real Buddha.Or is he?Kalisher wants us to decide for ourselves. So there is a photo of a "14K" gold-plated "happy" Buddha for sale in a shop in San Francisco next to a display for LifeSavers candies. Next there is a golden-sun rather serious (but not emaciated) Buddha atop an altar in a temple in Thailand overlooking saffron- and red-robed monks kneeling in worship.This juxtaposition of the sacred and the profane is a thread that weaves through the 84 photographs. There are photos of Buddha curios and emblems and even a Buddha used as a marker for a golf ball on a putting green. There are Buddhas tattooed on and sand Buddhas and plastic Buddhas on dashboards. reminding me of the Country and Western lyric. "I dont care if it rains or freezes/As long as Ive got my plastic Jesus." There are Buddhas in jewelry and there are cartoon Buddhas. Buddhas in restaurants and Barbie Doll Buddhas. Buddhas in parks and the great reclining Buddha at the Wat Pho temple in Bangkok. Thailand in his majesty. There is even (at least in Kalishers perception) a Ronald McDonald Buddha. which I found not entirely agreeable.Some of the photos display a story and some a vignette. In a workshop in Thailand a man squats in front of an industrial power drill. one arm pulling the drill on to the top of a metal statue of a seated Buddha--one of many by his side--while the other hand holds the Buddha steady. One wonders how long the man can squat. how many statues he does a day. how much he is paid. and one notes the cotton in his ear. In the backseat of a car in North Carolina three boys sit. the youngest in the center in his car seat looking neglected. the next oldest on the left playing a video game and the oldest on the right reading a book entitled. "Buddha in Your Backpack."There is a short Introduction by the artist in which he tells how he came to take the photos on his way back from a life crisis; and there is a Foreword by Jeff Greenwald (from Sri Lanka) who understands Buddhism and gives us a hint about what Kalisher is trying to accomplish with his photos of the multifaceted Buddhas. Incidentally. the "teaching" that Greenwald found in a fortune cookie: "We dance in a circle and suppose/The truth sits in the center. and knows" is actually a paraphrase of a little poem by Robert Frost which goes (exactly) like this:We dance round in a ring and suppose.But the Secret sits in the center and knows.My favorite photo in the book is the same as Jeff Greenwalds. that of the little girl with the hoola hoop. The girl is very pretty. very alive. and full of promise. Off to the side in the grass under a tree as the girls body sways in concentration sits a fat. delighted. laughing Buddha who knows what is real. what is wonderful. and what is to come.
