The New Kayak Shop: More Elegant Wooden Kayaks Anyone Can Build

Book Description

From coast to coast, home boatbuilders have turned to Chris Kulczycki for everything they needed to know about making their own kayaks from high-grade marine plywood and epoxy. In The Kayak Shop, a long-time popular standard, Kulczycki provided explicit directions and plans for building three sea kayaks: a high-performance single, an expedition single, and a touring double. The New Kayak Shop details three new Kulczycki designs that are more elegant and even more suitable for today’s paddlers. The building instructions are also updated, with new sections on paint and varnish, seat construction, power tools, computer programs for amateur designers, and tips on building multi-chine and round-bottom boats. The New Kayak Shop offers the best, most refined designs and building methods in a single, accessible volume.

Customer Reviews:

kayak shop.......2007-01-15

This is a good book. Clear conceptions are presented. Good ideas and techicnics. building plans are a little limiteds and you will need some skill to make it usefull, but this is a book to people who has some skill. So the middle point is that books makes directions in sale building plans, may be this is the better idea to a kayak homemade. Plans could be more clear and you don't need to use a lent to read this font numbers or break your mind thinking how do somethings. To avoid this you will need to buy authors building plans.

Very good book for those who want to learn the stitch&glue method and have no background .......2007-01-10

The Kayak plans are detailed enough. No need to order the plans separately.

I think that if you don't have any background in stitch&glue it is a good start with.

I have found the book very useful.

Good Book that will help yo build a Beautiful Wooden Kayak.......2003-10-23

This book is a complete presentation of what you will beed to do to build a stich and glue kayak, beginning to end. The designs in the boat are suitable for beginner and intermediate paddlers. People with even modest amounts of woodworking aptuitude will be able to build boats from this book if you can make the time and money committments, in my experience begin at 100 hours and $500. Tool requirements are modest, mostly hand tools, and are discussed in the book.

I built another of Chris K's designs using plans supplied by Chesapeake Light Craft after reading this book. Note that you can get a great deal of additional information from additional sources. The Builder's Forum on Cheaspeake Light Craft's website - www.clcboats.com - contains a wealth of info about building these boats. Please note that CLC is the company that Chris K founded - he has since sold the company, and the current management continues to introduce additional designs. A very large community of CLC builder/owners provide feedback on building issues continuously. Another source - I found it helpful to purchase the full size plans for the particular design I wanted from CLC, which was not included in this book. More on designs below. For $75, you can get the plans and a detailed manual for the design you want. (Note that if you buy plans from CLC, you are entitled to their very good technical support via telephone and email). I found the plans useful, but you can build straight from this book. The boatbuilding forum on www.kayakforum.com also serves a large community of kayakbuilders that are quite ready to answer questions.

Kayaks are like sneakers - they come in particular sizes to fit the paddler, and are designed for particular uses. There are plans for three designs in this book, but do be aware that CLC also has about 20 other kayak designs of various sizes and purposes in their line-up, so don't limit your options by sticking to the plans in the book if it is not going to be the best boat for you. That said, the three designs in the book are as follows: The Severn, a 14 foot, very light kayak for calm water use; the Chesapeake 16, a touring kayak that is probably CLC's most versatile design; and the West River 180, a faster, narrower, and less stable boat better suited for kayakers with some experience. Regarding the Severn, it is harder to build than other CLC designs. If you are interested in a flatwater boat, CLC's current Mill Creek 13 is more versatile and much more stable, is easier to build, and has a large cockpit opening. It is a great boat for beginners and fishermen. If you want a small decked kayak, their 14 foot Chesapeak design is a better choice. I do not think that the Severn ever developed much of a following. Plans for this boat are no longer published by CLC.

The Chesapeake 16 is a good all around touring kayak, and has a lot of storage room. Be aware that is it a large volume boat and is sutiable for heading out loaded with camping gear. It works as an unloaded day boat, but not as well as lower volume kayaks. Plans for this boat continue to be sold by CLC, and many of these have been built to date.

The West River 180 is a fast narrow, tippier boat that can cover a lot of ground quickly. It is, conversly, hard to turn. It is also one of the sleekest looking stitch and glue kayaks. CLC recently retired this design, replaceing it with the updated WR 18, which reportedly offers handling improvements.

CLC holds free demos where you can try out their various boats. These are regularly scheduled in Annapolis, Maryland, and are occassionaly held in various other parts of the country seasonally - check their website for details. If you can't get to a demo, check out the CLC Owner's Club at the website to find a builder near you for the design you are interested - many folks would let you see or try the CLC boat they built themselves.

Finally, if you are new to kayaking and kayak building, it is relatively easy to learn to build and paddle these boats. It is much harder to develop good judgement as to safety in various wind and water conditions. If you are new to this sport, please develop safe practices and judgement by taking lessons, joining a kayking club, and/or reading books dealing with the subject. "Sea Kayaker: Deep Trouble", available right here on Amazon, analyzes a number of sea kayaking accidents, including many fatalities. Amazon sells other good kayaking books as well. If you don't think that kayaking can be dangerous, or that it won't happen to you, you are in over your head, are at risk for mishaps, and owe it to yourself to get educated about how not to become a statistic. This is a great sport that is safe when practiced prudently, however, unfortunately, people die each and every year by being ignorant of the hazards.

Happy building and paddling.

Steve C

Great book with only one gripe..........2003-01-30

My one gripe is that the plans included with the book are close to useless. They're on tiny paper, and need to be severely enlarged before they can be used.

Other than that, this book is an excellent look at what goes into building a stitch and glue kayak. I've built a boat designed by this author, using only plans purchased through the resources listed in the book, and spent many hours on Long Island Sound, the Connecticut River, and the Texas Gulf Coast enjoying slipping silently through the water.

The time estimates are correct, even for someone who is only moderately familiar with wood-working. His materials lists are complete, and the recommendations made are worth paying attention to. In my building, I went contrary to a couple of the book's reccommendations; in hindsight, I would have followed the book much more closely.

A valuable read for the novice boat builder........2001-09-10

I'm planning to build one of Chesapeake Light Craft's Mill Creek kayaks this winter. I've been reading the CLC forums, the many customer web sites and the back issues of Wooden Boat magazine with articles on building CLC boats, but the most helpful read so far has been this book.

There is a lot to learn about boat building, from techniques to vocabulary. This book will help you build a knowledge base to take on the project of building your own kayak.

Book Description

Taken from the highly acclaimed Oxford Ibsen, this collection of Ibsen's plays includes A Doll's House, Ghosts, Hedda Gabler, and The Master Builder.

Customer Reviews:

Masterful Ibsen.......2007-07-27

Rather predictably, the first play offered here is "A Doll's House", the most famous of Ibsen's works. Strangely enough, this ended up NOT being my favorite of the four plays provided in this small collection, but I'll get to that in a moment. Next we have "Ghosts", "Hedda Gabler", and finally "The Master Builder".

"A Doll's House", 86 pages long, is also provided here with the alternate German ending. The ending was deemed so scandalous that Ibsen was forced to write up another ending, in which things go slightly differently. "A Doll's House", a play about a woman who rather does the unthinkable (in that time, at least) to help her husband and then once again to herself, is remarkably interesting. Ibsen plays are generally extremely fun to analyze, simply because there's always something there. Nobody would read dull plays, after all. The alternate ending provided is actually the most interesting part of all. It shows us what the impact of this play was on society at the time that it came out. Perhaps we find these things somewhat more "normal" (though they're actually not, and are still considered rather scandalous) and acceptable, so this ending really reminds us of WHY this play was so impressive and WHY Ibsen was such a strange character for his time. An intriguing play, though not my favorite.

No, that falls to "Ghosts". A play that once again touches on difficult subjects that are most intriguing, "Ghosts" chilled me from beginning to end. It was a more interesting play, overall, because it seemed to me more human. That's not to say that "A Doll's House" wasn't human (it definitely is), but there was something about "Ghosts" that touched me more than the other plays. At 73-pages and with fewer characters, "Ghosts" is an easier play to really read, and certainly an enjoyable one.

"Hedda Gabler" changes things a bit. The plot suddenly becomes a bit more interesting with a touch more mystery and intrigue. There are moments that positively creeped me out ("I'm burning your child") and moments where I just shivered. The ending is a bit more intense than in the previous plays, though less surprising. The play felt very different from "Ghosts" or "A Doll's House", though it was still clearly an Ibsen "morbid but interesting" play.

For me, "The Master Builder" is the odd play out. It's the one that, a. Bored me the most, b. Seemed to take the longest (though only barely longer than "A Doll's House, at 88 pages, and shorter than the 97-paged long "Hedda Gabler"), and c. Seemed the least realistic. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the ending wouldn't seem to work on stage. I felt like at some point Ibsen kind of forgot that he was writing a play and mentioned things that wouldn't really work (unless they have a complex blue screen, but those didn't exist in his time...). There are ways around it, certainly, and it's a minor flaw, but I found that "The Master Building" just didn't have that spark that the other plays seemed to have. No, it's not a BAD play, but it's not my favorite among these either.

While there are many options out there for buying Ibsen plays, this one is certainly a good buy. While the Signet edition also gives us four plays for a few dollars cheaper, instead of the incredible "Ghosts", we get the reasonable "The Wild Duck". For those few dollars, I'd opt for "Ghosts". Also, the book type itself is better in this edition as opposed to the Signet Classics one.

Highly recommended to anyone interesting in a good play to analyze and enjoy. Enjoy!

old but still good.......2007-01-10

it was an older book, but it was in good shape. good plays too.

A translation to beat all others.......2001-06-21

James McFarlane's and Jens Arup's translations of Ibsen have long been classics and are arguably the best. Although they were published in England almost forty years ago, they still sound remarkably fresh and will be in print for many years to come.

In "A Doll's House" (1879), Ibsen casts us into the world of Nora Helmer, a young Norwegian housewife and Nordic Madame Bovary. Highlighting the restricted position of women in male-dominated society, the play sparked such an uproar in Scandinavia when it appeared that "many a social invitation during that winter bore the words: 'You are requested not to mention Ibsen's Doll's House!'" In fact, Hedwig Niemann-Raabe, the actress who was to play Nora on tour in Germany, was so appalled at the ending of this play -- at this female "monster" -- that she demanded Ibsen write an alternative one in German, which he did (a "barbaric outrage", in his words). McFarlane has appended this German-language ending (and a translation in English).

Based on the theme, "The sins of the fathers shall be visited on the children," "Ghosts" (1881) is one of Ibsen's most riveting plays. Like "A Doll's House", it, too, was denounced on its début ("crapulous stuff", "an open drain", one London reviewer called it -- certainly a Victorian exaggeration). As in most of his plays, Ibsen probes the hypocrisies of patriarchal society, which he deems to be rotten at its core, and stultifying provincial life ("Doesn't the sun ever shine here?"). Typically, he also casts women in a favorable light.

"A Doll's House" and "Ghosts" established Ibsen's reputation as one of the finest playwrights in Europe, but his next two plays -- "Hedda Gabler" (1890) and "The Master Builder" (1892) -- gave him undisputed international fame. As McFarlane points out, the 1890s "were the years when the publication of a new Ibsen play sent profound cultural reverberations throughout Europe and the world." "Hedda Gabler" marks Ibsen's shift away from highly controversial dramas primarily concerned with social and sexual injustice to "domestic" plays that addressed the struggle of individuals to control each other, people who "want to control the world, but cannot control [themselves]." "Hedda Gabler" is a thoroughly electrifying drama about a married woman's devouring sense of decay and confinement. "The Master Builder", which Ibsen coupled with "Hedda Gabler", is his riveting look into sexual potency and the domination of youth by age.

These plays are not as dark and dirty as they might seem. Whatever reviewers may have said about them when they came out and whatever gloomy stuff psychiatrists have written about them since, if you're at all familiar with prime-time television, they won't offend you -- in fact, you probably wont even lift an eyebrow. Still, I found myself glued to them for hours and I've read them before. Find a copy for your shelf!

Four classic plays from Ibsen.......1996-10-31

Actually, I've only read two of these plays before but I did
want to list the names of the four included in this volume:

A Doll's House;
Ghosts;
Hedda Gabler;
The Master Builder.

Masterful social drama (to sound like a back-of-the-book blurb).
Seriously though, Ibsen's plays are wonderful.

Average customer rating:

All the Stops: The Glorious Pipe Organ and Its American Masters

organ awareness

PULLS OUT ALL THE STOPS

Surveying both master organ builders and players alike

Excellent Book!

All the Stops: The Glorious Pipe Organ and Its American Masters
Craig R. Whitney
Manufacturer: PublicAffairs
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Instruments & Performers | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Piano | Instruments & Performers | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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Organ-Stops and Their Artistic Registration

The Wanamaker Legacy

Art of Organ Building (Volume 1 of 2)

Organ Fireworks, Vol. 11

Virgil Fox (The Dish), Special Edition (Book/CD/DVD)

ASIN: 1586481738
Release Date: 2003-04-01

Book Description

A distinguished New York Times editor explires the history of the pipe organ in America in a book that will intrigue and delight anyone interested in classical music and popular culture.

For centuries, pipe organs stood at the summit of musical and technological achievement, admired as the most complex and intricate mechanisms the human race had yet devised. In All The Stops, New York Times journalist Craig Whitney journeys through the history of the American pipe organ and brings to life the curious characters who have devoted their lives to its music.

From the mid-19th to the mid-20th century, organ music was wildly popular in America. Organ builders in New York and New England could hardly fill the huge demand for both concert hall and home organs. Master organbuilders found ingenious ways of using electricity to make them sound like orchestras. Organ players developed cult followings and bitter rivalries. One movement arose to restore to American organs the clarity and precision that baroque organs had in centuries past, while another took electronic organs to the rock concert halls, where younger listeners could be found. But while organbuilders and organists were fighting with each other, popular audiences lost interest in the organ.

Today, organs are beginning to make a comeback in concert halls and churches across America. Craig Whitney brings the story to life and up to date in a humorous, engaging book about the instruments and vivid personalities that inspired his lifelong passion: the great art of the majestic pipe organ.

Customer Reviews:

All the Stops: The Glorious Pipe Organ and Its American Masters.......2006-03-22

What a excellent book about the pipe organ and some of the major artists that played the instument in America. It is highly informative about the lives of E. Power Biggs and Virgil Fox, two very prominent organists in developing interest in the pipe organ in America. It is a "must-read" book for anyone who enjoys the "king of instruments"!

organ awareness.......2006-03-15

All the Stops is a pretty concise overview of the hitsory of the pipe organ in North America. There's lots of information but it's not written in a text book way.

PULLS OUT ALL THE STOPS.......2005-05-18

The pipe organ - "the King of Instruments" -- has long been worshiped by Bach lovers but underappreciated by other classical music fans. At music conservatories, organists have been outsiders joined by a common passion. All that may be changing thanks to a pipe organ renaissance underway in this country and swell of interest generated by this book. Organist and New York Times writer and editor Craig Whitney clearly knows how to tell a good story. Rather than turn out a muddled and boring history with every name, place and date, he tracks the competing ideas and conflicting personalities of America's top organ builders (Edward Skinner, Donald Harrison, Charles Fisk) and its two most influential performers ("purist" Powerful Biggs and "showman" Virgil Fox). It's a dramatic story of clashing egos, cultural shifts, economic realities and esthetic choices. As a Bach organist, I long wished for this book but thought it a "pipe dream." Bravo, Craig Whitney.

Surveying both master organ builders and players alike.......2005-03-11

For centuries pipe organs were the most complex mechanisms the human race had devised, but only a handful of books have surveyed its history. In All The Stops: The Glorious Pipe Organ And Its American Masters, Craig Whitney, NY Times Journalist and editor, focuses on the history of the American pipe organ and its fans, surveying both master organ builders and players alike. An excellent history is revealed in a specialty item which will appeal beyond the classical crowd.

Excellent Book!.......2004-01-19

I received this book as a Christmas present this past year. It didn't take me long to read it from cover to cover! Whitney provides a great history of the pipe organ from E.M. Skinner's era up through today, including two very informational biographies of both E. Power Biggs and Virgil Fox, the organ showmen of the 20th century.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone even remotely interested in the pipe organ. Whitney has a very easy writing style to read, often incorporating definitions of the organ terms he uses as he goes along. He also includes a glossary of other terms at the end for further clarification. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

And just as an end note, I believe that those who review books online (such as Bob Myers, July 14 2003, below) should remember that this is a chance to voice OPINIONS. Nobody can judge an opinion, such as his statement that this book is "boring." But it would be much more accurate for him to state that this book is, in HIS opinion, boring... rather than possibly giving someone who would very much enjoy this book the wrong idea before they even read it.

Average customer rating:

A review by a decendant

Leon Battista Alberti: Master Builder of the Italian Renaissance
Anthony Grafton
Manufacturer: Hill and Wang
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Artists, Architects & Photographers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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Cardano's Cosmos: The Worlds and Works of a Renaissance Astrologer

Bring Out Your Dead: The Past as Revelation

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What was History?: The Art of History in Early Modern Europe

ASIN: 0809097524

Book Description

A lucid biographical study of a key figure of European culture

Leon Battista Alberti (1404-72) was one of the most original, creative, and exciting figures of the Italian Renaissance. He wrote the first modern treatise on painting, the first modern manual of classical architecture, and a powerful set of "dialogues" about the princely families that dominated his home city of Florence. He rediscovered the forgotten aesthetics of classical architecture and described, in incomparably vivid terms, the artistic revolution in Florence that began what we now call the Renaissance. But Alberti was more than a mere chronicler--he practiced what he preached. He made spectacular advances in the art of painting and in engineering, and as an architect he was responsible for some of the most exciting buildings in Italy. Yet in spite of his central importance, work on Alberti has for the most part been confined to scholarly monographs. Here, one of our greatest Renaissance scholars offers the general book that Alberti has so long deserved. This is a compelling portrait of a mysterious, original, and highly unusual intellectual, and a colorful tableau of the cities and courts in which he lived and worked.

Customer Reviews:

A review by a decendant.......2001-01-08

My surname is Alberti (52 years old), I am a direct decendant of Leon Battista Alberti (1404-72). It was a very personal experience to read Mr. Graftons book. How often in this fast paced world do we forget our roots and our heritage. Since my father is still living there are 4 generations of Alberti's all residing in the United States. I appreciated Mr. Graftons style of brining to life the man behind the ledgend. Thank you Mr. Grafton, you have added much to the completion of the history of my family and ancestory.

Contractor's Exam Book: How to Pass the Examination for Master Builder and General Contractor

Average customer rating:

It's a book for dummies!
right start

Contractor's Exam Book: How to Pass the Examination for Master Builder and General Contractor
John Gladstone , George Perpich , and Sandra Perpich
Manufacturer: Pal Pubns/Mediatek
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Buildings & Construction | Home Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1933345292

Product Description

The purpose of this Fifth Edition of the Contractor's Exam Book: How to Pass the Examination For Master Builder & General Contractor is to help candidates successfully prepare for and pass the examination for Certified General, Builder, and Residential Contractor.

Customer Reviews:

It's a book for dummies!.......2005-06-23

This book should be titled, "Contractor's Exam for Dummies"! The author wastes a lot of resources on teaching you how to use the calculator, and do simple math.

It states that it is a generic contractor's exam book, but it is farthest from the truth. The authors are all Floridaians; hence, everything they write is around Florida and its exams.

Very disappointed in this book - waste of money - unless you are looking for a Florida examination help.

right start.......2000-08-10

This book is a right start on obtaining ideas and a foundation to proceed for further studies and progress in the practice of General Constractor's Test.

Trammell Crow, Master Builder: The Story of Americas Largest Real Estate Empire

Average customer rating:

I walked away with key concepts that will stay with me!

Trammell Crow, Master Builder: The Story of Americas Largest Real Estate Empire
Robert Sobel
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Production & Operations | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0471613266

Book Description

Brings alive the story of Trammell Crow--the visionary real estate developer whose brilliant career served to shape the future of the field. Follows Crow from his origins as a small-time real estate dealer to his transformation into a corporate symbol. Discusses the bold methods that Crow used to build the most influential real estate company in America. Includes an examination of how Crow's risky strategy of making all principals partners in his firm and offering equity interest to deal managers paid off with spectacular profits. A lively account of Crow's mission to break all the rules and become the greatest builder of our age.

Customer Reviews:

I walked away with key concepts that will stay with me!.......2005-05-22

Trammell Crow

Trammell Crow; Master Builder, The Story of Americas Largest Real Estate Empire by Robert Sobel

The book brings you through Trammell's life from his early years doing odd jobs such as, plucking chickens for 15 cents an hour in the early 1930's to his eventual start in real estate at the age of 33. By 1975 Crow was involved in 604 partnerships and 132 corporations.

The most memorable concept that Crow embraced was making almost every key employee a partner in his deals. I believe this kept him going though the tough times because partners as opposed to employees will go the extra mile in a squeeze. And Crow went through some tough times! He was loaded with dirt, (land) during a downturn and as you can imagine, dirt does not generate cash flow. So, as so many real estate giants do, he ran into cash flow problems during a downturn. The book walks you through his remarkable restructuring and how everyone involved with him pulled together and unified to get through the cash crunch.

It's a tremendously insightful concept that our company, Delking has embraced, by making key employees partners in deals. We hope this will increase longevity and keep them focused and exhilarated as it did for Trammell Crow.

I enjoyed the ability to peer into the life of a truly charged real estate operator and was able to walk away with some key concepts that will stay with me for life.

By Kevin Kingston, author of, "A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate"

http://www.bloglines.com/blog/KevinKingston

Master Builders: A Guide to Famous American Architects (Building Watchers Series)

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Master Builders: A Guide to Famous American Architects (Building Watchers Series)
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Reference | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0471144029

Book Description

"The Architect Builds Visible History." Vincent Scully Which architect designed the pedestal for the Statue of Liberty? Who put a Chippendale pediment atop a skyscraper and quickly created a landmark of contemporary architecture? Who was the only American architect to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for bravery during the Civil War? Which architect designed a castle in California for William Randolph Hearst? Master Builders answers these and scores of other questions about more than 100 architects and builders who have left indelible marks on American architecture. This unique guide puts faces with America's most well-known and loved buildings—from the U.S. Capitol and Washington Monument through the first skyscrapers and landmarks of the Post-Modern movement. "Why should you want to know more about these architects?" asks Roger K. Lewis in his introduction. "The reason is simple. You are undeniably connected to the built environment that you inhabit, use, see and respond to. You affect building design, and building design affects you." Can you pair these master builders with their works? Frank Lloyd Wright U.S. Capitol Skidmore, Owings and Merrill Central Park Adler and Sullivan University of Virginia Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Glass House William Thornton Home Insurance Building Orson Squire Fowler Fallingwater H. H. Richardson CBS Building Frederick Law Olmsted San Simeon James Renwick Seagram Building Robert Mills Trinity Church, Boston I. M. Pei Salk Institute Julia Morgan Sears Tower Eero Saarinen Smithsonian "Castle" Cass Gilbert John E. Kennedy Library McKim, Mead and White U.S. Supreme Court Louis I. Kahn Chicago Stock Exchange Thomas Jefferson Octagonal Houses Philip Johnson Pennsylvania Station William Le Baron Jenney Washington Monument

Railroad Tycoon, II: Master Strategies for Empire Builders

Average customer rating:

Up Style, Down
Essential reading if you own RailRoad Tycoon II

Railroad Tycoon, II: Master Strategies for Empire Builders
Gathering of Developers
Manufacturer: Gathering of Developers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Video Games | Games & Strategy Guides | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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Railroad Tycoon 2

ASIN: 1892817004

Customer Reviews:

Up Style, Down.......2001-09-19

Well it is a very good game and should be updated to build any where in sandbox mode and blah bla blah blah

Essential reading if you own RailRoad Tycoon II.......2000-05-06

Railroad Tycoon II is extremely flexible. At one level you can play it as an exciting multi-user game with robbers robbing trains, trains blowing apart and ruthless AI opponents. At another level you can read through the book and understand much more about how the game was built and its capabilities. You can control the speed of play, I use the slowest speed and even then I find it too fast when running over 300 trains in the UK at the same time. For me using the book, RailRoad Tycoon II Official strategy guide and the game together meant learning about the map editor so I could customise other people's maps and make my favourite map of England much more accurate to play. The game itself becomes much more interesting as you deal with more levels of complexity. You can even eliminate the AI opponents and robbers. Introduce new events and generally create your own world.

The game shows its North American roots. My background being English is very different, nowhere in England is more than 50 miles from the sea. Fishing and ports are much more important. My personal wish list would be to add different types of ports and a fish cargo to the game.

Book Description

This Book/DVD kit meets the growing demand from Lego Mindstorms fans for additional projects that can be built from their existing Lego Mindstorms kits. Over 40 new projects will appeal to that dedicated segment of the Lego audience that are committed to the RIS 1.x and 2.x standards.

The book contains seven complete "Master" projects that illustrate how great design, planning, mechanical engineering skills, and programming can create stunning and award winning projects.

The DVD contains instruction for over 40 projects in Adobe PDF form, a full suite of Lego software tools, and RCX/NQC code files.

The projects range from the simple to the sophisticate, and are perfect for self-learning.

* Complete new set of projects for the RIS 1.x and 2.x

* This Book and DVD package delivers a complete kit, perfect for team projects as well as those individual building

* packed full with award winning designs that will inspire any Mindstorms fan

Customer Reviews:

This is not a NEW book!.......2007-01-15

The publisher's blurb suggests that this is a book containing a number of NEW projects but it is really an EXACT reprint of "LEGO Mindstorm Masterpieces: Building and Programming Advanced Robots" with an updated cd. Although the cd includes PDFs of a few other books it does not include the cds shipped with those books so you are better off buying the books themselves, and the chances are that if you are looking to buy this book, you already have those other books. Similarly, the cd includes some software for drawing LEGO diagrams, etc. but offers no information on how to use these programs effectively so you could just as easily download the software and find guidance on using it on the internet. Unfortunately, the software that is provided does not include any of the programming tools or alternative firmware installs available to enhance your robot's behaviour. Overall, if you do not already own a copy of "LEGO Mindstorm Masterpieces" then this book is worth the money, but if you do, consider yourself warned.

The Master Builders: Le Corbusier, Mies Van Der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright (The Norton Library)

Average customer rating:

R. Hunsaker review of: The Master Builders: Le Corbusier, Mies Van Der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright
The author plays favorites.
Touches the 3 masters topically
Excellent review of three amazing lives.
An excellent book to start

The Master Builders: Le Corbusier, Mies Van Der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright (The Norton Library)
Peter Blake
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0393315045

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R. Hunsaker review of: The Master Builders: Le Corbusier, Mies Van Der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright .......2007-01-16

For those interested in the development of American architecture, this is an excellent source. It spans the works of the 3 great architects who laid down the guiding principles for modern architecture in the United States and shows the evolution of each. Many of their beautiful works are pictured and described by the author, a former architecture school dean. The principles involved and aesthetic qualities are elaborated. It gives an appreciation of how many current architectural styles evolved and also comments briefly on some of the failings of today. It also traces the interplay between artistic movements - Art Noveau, Cubism, Impressionism, de Stijl - and architecture.

The book is well written, highly literary and frequently humorous. It is enjoyable and educational for anyone with an interest in contemporary architecture and the artistic geniuses who created it as it came about in the United States thru the 20th century.

The author plays favorites........2004-07-20

This book seeks to profile three architects of worldwide influence, each of whom has profoundly influenced the built environment we experience today. It provides rich glimpses into the architectural environment of the early 20th century, and tells a compelling tale of three architects who each shook off the vine-covered frippery of art nouveau in their own way. It's a good book, but upon re-reading it last year, the author's clear bias towards (almost hero-worship of) Le Corbusier came through much more strongly than when I was a neophyte in college. The book paints Mies Van der Rohe as a cold German technocrat with a talent only for efficiency; Frank Lloyd Wright as a pure iconoclast and egomaniac whose vision was so ideosyncratic that it had only limited influence; and Le Corbusier as a genre-defying revolutionary hero who singlehandedly rescued and reinvented architecture as art. In my opinion, at least, each of these judgments are almost entirely wrong. Even if you kind of agree with Blake's pantheon, the hagiography of Corbu gets a bit embarrasing in places. A great book for the history and context, but I would certainly hope that this book wouldn't be the last thing you read about any of these men.

Touches the 3 masters topically.......2002-08-23

Maybe the only book that attempts to compare (rather...state) the big 3. However I think that it degenerates to being a history book that just states facts that are already available in any monograph on each. There is less commentary and more facts. I guess it is a biggeners book to understand who these men were and what projects they did in their lifetime. The only good thing is that this seems to be the only place where you can read about them as a kind of a time-line.....realizing how each one affected the other.

I wish there was a more discussion and comparison/differentiation of the kind of space that these 3 were talking about and a more indepth analysis of their ideologies. Guess we have to wait for someone else to take that risky venture.

Excellent review of three amazing lives........2002-01-24

This book provides the reader not only with deep insight into these three great pillars of the 20th century, but also helps one understand their influence on art as well. One can see the bridge between their buildings and artists like Braque, Rothko, and those associated with De Stijl. I think it is a fine book for those who may not be familiar with these three men. It is highly readable and recommended!

An excellent book to start.......2001-07-20

This book by Peter Blake is very good if you are just beginning to know about these three iconic architects. It has everything someone who is not an architect could need to know who Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright were. If you want to go deep into the career of these architects, study their lives and works, this is a first step, and a very good one, but only that.

It is well written, entertaining and true. As a teacher, I would recommend it to architecture students as mandatory reading, best if read in the second or third year of their college years.

Even as it is a basic book, I have it on my night table.

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