Arts & Music Books > Architecture Arts & Music Books > by Title (First Letter)

Advantages: Wonderfully full and accessible, interesting
Disadvantages: -

Author Robert Scott had much the same the experience at Salisbury Cathedral as I had - a sense of awe and wonder, and a desire to learn more about it, not just as a place, or as an architectural wonder, or as a place of worship, or as a cultural icon. Scott wanted to get at the heart of the idea of the Gothic enterprise as a whole - a trained sociologist, Scott knew that the bigger picture is sometimes lost by too narrow a focus on particular details ...
...sense of wanting to understand the hearts and minds of the people involved. While the principal focus of Scott's travels started with Salisbury Cathedral (in full, the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Salisbury), Scott draws examples from the breadth of the Gothic cathedrals, churches and other buildings. There are literally thousands of such dotted across the European and European-influenced landscapes. Each building has its own unique ... Read review

Advantages: A fascinating study
Disadvantages: More pictures would be helpful

Perhaps it is because I come from the same background (Western Anglo-Catholic) as the approach from which Richard Kieckhefer comes in this text that I find such a resonance with what he has to say. 'Theology in Stone' looks at various aspects of church design, from the long tradition of church building in Christianity up to the present time. His text begins with four principle factors in basic church design, and then looks in some detail at three ...
...typical architectural concerns, but rather wrapped up in spiritual, theological, and aesthetic values. How does the space work? What is the central and centering focus? Is there an aesthetic impact compatible with the intention of the church? How do symbols function and resonate? There are no universal answers to these types of questions. As Kieckhefer states, 'Response to a church [is] conditioned by culture and by cultural interaction.' Response ... Read review

Advantages: hugely informative, overwhelming amounts of knowledge
Disadvantages: can be confusing at first, book is written in fragmented format

...the subject can change (by performing the change on you). Tricks Of The Mind is an incredibly enjoyable and informative education read and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the world of the human mind, beliefs and expectation, hypnosis and NLP, body language and psychic abilities. ... Read review

Advantages: Everything you could ever want to know
Disadvantages: Slightly upsetting in places

This is quite a significant book to me. I grew up listening to Thin Lizzy and being Irish, my whole family was totally in love with their music. Phil Lynott was such a complex character I felt I owed it to him to read this book, just to prove that there was more to him than just the drugs. I learnt so much about him and the band that at points I felt I knew them. It was strange to think that if only Phil had stopped the drugs, he'd still be here. ...
...gives us all the gory details of his life, it tells tales of Phils hilariously flirtatious character, his obsession with music and showed us what a loving father he was and how much he loved being a father. Last year I had the privelige of meeting his son and I felt like I knew everything about his father and he knew so little (he had only just found otu Phil was his father due to Phil giving him away because of his religion). It was amazing, it ... Read review

Advantages: really interesting book, very inspirational
Disadvantages: may not suit young children and specific to certain intrests

This book is very inspirational and after reading it fills your mind with ideas and creation. I bought this book not long ago and since i haven't put it down. I call it a book but to me its more like a gallery. Banksy expresses very political views by doing stencil art in some of the main cities of the u.k such as London and Liverpool. This book simply takes you on a journey through his work. The book documents his work in gallery's and current projects ... Read review