Nature and Space: Aalto and Le Corbusier

Book Description

This book is a unique comparative study of two of the greatest figures in modern architecture - Le Corbusier and Alvar Aalto. By assessing the historical, personal and intellectual influnces of their attitudes to nature and the creative direction of their work, this study offers a new understanding about the diversity at the heart of their modernism.
Through an analysis of the architects' own writing about their ideas and philosophies, a better understanding is gained of their ideas for urban living and by looking at their most widely known work, the authors analyse the architects' intentions to build nature into the heart of their architecture. The authors argue that there are many similarities between the attitudes towards nature held by Le Corbusier and Aalto, and that these similarities had an important place in the generation of their architecture.

Customer Reviews:

nature and obscuratism.......2003-10-05

This is a strange book. Two architects from the height of modernism, one a half generation older than the other other. First there's Le Corbusier, THE man responsibe more than any other for changing the direction of architecture in the 20th century. A visionary. An idealist. Uncompromising. Brutal. An individualist. And then we have his half-mentor, the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto - who has just a handful of buildings outside his own country and came to prominance for a hospital and a library design in his own country at the height of Modernism (the CIAM conferences), and was championed by its highly influential 'official historian' Sigfried Giedion. And what do these 2 have in common apart from the latter being influenced by the former? That is, Aalto follwed Le Corbusier but corrected his more zealous ideas, appropriating them for a more organic line of design. The 2 authors put it down to God and nature! What an audacious reductionism! Neither architect was religious. Le Corbusier may have originally been from the mountains of Switzerland, but reduced nature to numbers. Aalto was from a rural country -period. And what basis do the authors use to make their claims? Psychoanalysis! They had problems with their mothers and wives. Well what male creative mind didn't?

Sadly most books on Aalto are coffee-table jobs - and this one is certainly not one of those. And there is yet to be a book on Le Corbusier not written by one of his apologists - and this one is no different. Thankfully, at least, this book is a serious, brave effort to say something deep and meaningful about these 2 architects. But it gets bogged down in its highly questionable methodology.

Customer Reviews:

Every page of this book is fascinating.......2004-11-01

Whereas "Water Dance" took off from an experiment, "Pool Light" appears to be the result of a complete mastery of this unique form of photography which combines beautiful bodies with dazzling fluid effects. Every image in this book is a sight to behold, combining the beauty and grace of the human body with the imagination and emotion brought forth by an underwater stage.

Photographer Howard Schatz has advanced beyond "Water Dance" to perfect his art of underwater photography through a more effective use of the pool's characteristics to portray motion, suspend animation, and produce some of the most fantastic images of the human body. Every one of the 120+ photos is worth a long look. The bodies of the dancers, models and swimmers are not all there is to admire, but take a look at how Mr. Schatz uses the surface of the pool as a mirror or as a screen to either reflect or shield portions of the physique. Every aspect of each image seems to be perfectly in place, even air bubbles and ripples of the pool's surface, which add an interesting quality of depth and lighting.

As a nice complement to the images, there are several pages of commentary which describe the artists' (photographer, collaborators and models) inspiration and efforts, as well as some of what goes into making a book like this. For example, it's noted how Mr. Schatz prepares his "liquid studio" to be more tolerable to the subjects, such as using ozonated (not chlorinated) water, and matching the pool's pH balance to that of human tears so that models can keep their eyes open longer. Interesting reading indeed.

"Pool Light" is one of my favorite photography books of all time, and I would recommend it to anyone.

Sheer magic.......2003-03-10

A magic delight to any person with or even without sensibility.
A must see for photographers and artists. It is a source of inspiration for my paintings and sculptures.
The beauty of the human body as if we were still in Eden.
After this book I was hooked on all Schatz books.
Do not miss it.

Sets the benchmark.......2001-10-17

I have now bought three copies of this book, one for my house in London, one for my house in the country, and one which I cut up - so I could frame and hang my favourites. It IS that good: this is a truly-wonderful collection. Howard Schatz is a great photographer and in Pool Light he sets the benchmark.

Beautiful Book!.......2001-05-25

Absolutely beautifully photographed book. Schatz captures the God given beauty of the models under water with perfect taste. This is his best book by far. Yes far better than his most recent book Nude Body Nude.The dancers and models in this book appear to be much more natural and have a graceful beauty that almost makes you forget their nude; as opposed to the cliche "sexy" look that is typical of other models.

Unearthly.......2000-05-07

With production values like a Hollywood movie, this book still manages to be intimate, and at the same time, otherworldly and unattainable. More technically accomplished and more luxurious compared to "Water Dance" (although the latter is also a must-have), I can pour over this book time and again, and find another detail or expression to seduce me.

Something Rising (Light and Swift) : A Novel

Average customer rating:

Something's Rising and it has an off smell
I Loved This Novel
Felt Like Homework
Didn't quite hit the mark for me...
Not as good as I hoped it would be....

Something Rising (Light and Swift) : A Novel
Haven Kimmel
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743247752

Amazon.com

Young Cassie Claiborne, the heroine of Haven Kimmel's egregiously ill-named novel Something Rising (Light and Swift), is a pool hustler. She learns to shoot pool for money when her unreliable father abandons her, along with her shut-in mother and her neurotic sister. Her growing-up is a dark thing: She has funny friends and pot-smoking good times out on country roads, but she's always carrying the financial and emotional burden left behind by her father. A good daughter, she lives with her mother in her small Indiana hometown till she's 30. Finally, after her mother's death, she decides to visit New Orleans to learn about her family's past. Up to this point, the novel is a sensitively written coming-of-age story, a little on the slow side. The book really takes off when Cassie hits the Big Easy. A taciturn, almost compulsively private person, she finds herself encountering enchanting strangers at every turn. A new friend named Miss Sophie grills Cassie about her line of work, and she replies, "I play pool for money. I just announce myself, I say I've come to a place to play their best, and for money, and that person is called. Or I wait for him." Miss Sophie replies "My interest in this is so sudden it feels lewd." The exchange gives an idea of the malleability and strength of Kimmel's style. You believe in both the gruff Cassie and the effusive Miss Sophie, and you believe they could charm each other. Such off-kilter connections are, in a sense, the point of the novel; it's a book about the serendipity of finding someone to like. --Claire Dederer

Book Description

In her first two books, Haven Kimmel claimed her spot on the literary scene- surprising readers with her memoir, A Girl Named Zippy, and winning an outpouring of critical acclaim for her first novel, The Solace of Leaving Early. Now, in her second novel, she brings to the page a heroine's tireless quest for truth, love, justice, and the perfect game of 9-ball.

Cassie Claiborne's world is riddled with problems beyond her control: her hard- living, pool-shooting father has another wife; her stoic, long-suffering mother is incapable of moving herself mentally away from the kitchen window; her sister Belle is a tempest of fragility and brilliance; her closest friends, Puck and Emmy, are adolescent harbingers of their own doomed futures. Frustrated by her inability to care deeply enough for so many troubled souls, Cassie finds in the local pool hall an oasis of green felt where she can master objects and restrain her emotions.

As Cassie grows from a quietly complex girl into a headstrong young woman, she takes on the thankless role of family provider by working odd jobs and hustling pool. All the while, she keeps her eye on the ultimate prize: wringing suitable justice out of past wrongs and freeing herself from the inertia that is her life.

In this ultimately uplifting story, Haven Kimmel reaches deep into the hamstrung souls of her fictional corner of Indiana. Remarkable for its tough tenderness, Something Rising (Light and Swift) is an astonishing work of pure heartbreak.

Customer Reviews:

Something's Rising and it has an off smell.......2006-06-15

Compared to Kimmel's brilliant first novel,"Solace..." this reads like a labored Writing Class assignment: "Write a piece about a woman pool hustler, and make her an angry, masculine, drywaller whose redneck mother alludes to Kundera, Randall Jarrell, Marianne Moore, Anne Sexton, Martin Amis in the space of 2 pages."
Kimmel has a thing about frustrated intellectual housewives (the mothers, Laura, here and Annalee in "Solace...") who never went to college yet worship at the alter of Thought and Literature. Usually one kid goes to Bloomington to become a neurotic pointy-head while the other makes meth in the barn or practices tire-iron road rage while Seeking The Absent Father. Throw in some depth psychology and pages of pointless and unbelievable STRIFE, and you eventually get to the end of the exercise.
The pasted-on New Orleans Good Ending is OK only because we can hope that Hurricane Katrina has wiped out Haven's fictional Pool Hall Heaven paid for by deus ex machina. By the way, Cassie, the lumpy heroine whose outlawry consists of having uninteresting pot-smoking friends and never paying income tax, supposedly inherits a $300G stock and insurance settlement and the lawyer hands it over in cash and takes out no taxes?
Haven needs to have people who aren't in awe of her to read the drafts of her future novels. She is way too talented to wing it just because she had a great first novel. She needs better advisors/editors.

I Loved This Novel.......2006-04-09

After reading both of the Zippy books, I decided to give Something Rising a try. I read it cover to cover (with ease) and loved it. The theme is the same (but different) from the Zippy books. Still present is the absent and utterly selfish father, along with the despondent mother, who feels her life has been ruined by her marital union with this man. The main character loves them both but, as she matures, grows to despise her father. A new twist from Zippy is a mentally ill sister, whose mind the reader cannot even begin to follow or understand.

The book was full of deep thoughts and observations and many times I did not completely understand them, but I was impressed by the author's talent for telling this story. Never once was I bored.

I guess the coming of age part is addressed in many ways in this book, but certainly the losing of one's mother is key and was approached so beautifully in this book. As one who has recently lost a mother, I was touched and so much understood the last quarter of the book.

I must disagree with some...this is a wonderful book, by an extremely talented writer. Not one to be missed.

Felt Like Homework.......2005-08-23

For a book about hustling pool, this book contains an awful lot of discussion about the role of feminine mythology in literature. This book felt less like a story than a justification of the tuition money spent on a Lit degree.

Not only is there the bizare out-of-place discussions about the protagonist's sister's college dissertation, but the book is chock-full of ham-fisted literary devices. I actually laughed out loud when Cassie won her father's prized pool que in a bet. Gee, what could that possibly be a metaphor for?

Early in the story, Cassie is instructed to study geometry and physics textbooks in order to understand pool. This made me wonder whether the author had ever seen a pool table or a geometry textbook. Most pool sharks don't need to know how to calculate the area of a tetrahedron. The amount of geometery that one must know to play pool well could probably be written in large letters on one side of a 3x5 index card.

The characters are dull and one-dimensional. Everybody dutifully plays their part without acting like an acutal person. We are treated to road-worn cliche characters such as the gay best friend, the absentee father, and the kindly grandfather. Cassie, the protagonist, is cold and unlikeable. She's like a Holden Caufield without the charm. I found myself wanting bad things to happen to her.

I suspect that my assignment was to analogize the Cassie character to some mythological godess that the author discussed. But it just wasn't worth the effort.

Didn't quite hit the mark for me..........2005-01-12

This was one of the very few books that I was not able to finish. Not because it's awful, or poorly written...actually, I thought it was written quite well, which is why I'm giving it 3 stars. Its just that I didn't get it. After getting more than halfway through this book I realized...I didn't care about any one of the characters, I didn't care what happened to them, didn't fully understand who they were, nothing at all. I skimmed the last 1/3 of the book just to see if it would get a little more exciting...it never did.

Cassie was likeable enough, but I found her to be to hard and empty, and her sister Belle obviously had some serious problems, but what they were I couldn't tell you. And Puck and Emmy...what a bizzare pair. What it comes down to is this book just wasn't for me. The reading is extremely choppy, and difficult to follow in some places. What I got wasn't quite what I expected when I started reading. It's not that I don't recommend the book, I personally didn't take to it, but I really like Haven Kimmel, and have high hopes for the next book of hers I pick up.

Not as good as I hoped it would be...........2004-10-09

I dearly loved Haven Kimmel's first novel, "The Solace of Leaving Early". It was one of those books whose ending was so utterly satisfying on so many levels, I felt lighthearted for the rest of the day after I finished it (having read until the small hours of the morning.) "That," I kept saying to myself, "was a darned good book."

So I was watching and waiting for "Something Rising (Light and Swift," ready to fall in love (or hate) with a whole new cast of characters. And so I read it, finished it, and closed the cover feeling puzzled and morose and saying, "Yes, but...."

I just didn't like it very much. There was an underlying scornfulness, a mocking of people, that I found unattractive, considering Kimmel's smartness and sweetness and gentle prodding humor when describing the weirdness of small midwestern Bible Belt towns in "Solace". One got the feeling that she was giggling slightly at her own solid midwestern core that has been covered over with the shiny veneer of being a Published Author.

But in "Something Rising," I just didn't get that sense. It's a bit hard to define. There was an edge -- and I presume Kimmel meant it to be there -- of razor-sharp ugliness about it. No tenderness. No healing. No comfort. Just desolation and despair.

It didn't make for a happy read. It probably wasn't supposed to. But I really hate the feeling of being left with a partially unresolved plot.

And I wish someone would explain to me the significance of the title. The esoteric meaning has apparently flown right over my thick-as-a-stump midwestern head.

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The Bluebell Pool
Sue Sully
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0312112815

Light in Yumuri (1955 Graded Series of Home Mission Studies)

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Light in Yumuri (1955 Graded Series of Home Mission Studies)
Rose Goodwin Pool
Manufacturer: Home Mission Board
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000O53B8O

Product Description

An account of Baptist missionary activity in Cuba prior to Castro.

Light in Yumurí (1955 graded series of home mission studies. Home mission outposts)

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Light in YumuriÌ (1955 graded series of home mission studies. Home mission outposts)
Rose Goodwin Pool
Manufacturer: Home Mission Board, Southern Baptist Convention
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Light options: if you think you can't afford a UV system, you may not have considered all the options.(ultraviolet technology ) : An article from: Aquatics International

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Light options: if you think you can't afford a UV system, you may not have considered all the options.(ultraviolet technology ) : An article from: Aquatics International
Tom Schaefer
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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The Online Business Setup, Cheap Marketing, Inner Game for Pool Lights Businesses

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The Online Business Setup, Cheap Marketing, Inner Game for Pool Lights Businesses
J Bowman J Orr
Manufacturer: LTBR, Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000WIN8LS

The Online Business Setup, Direct Marketing, Accounting for Pool Lights Businesses

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The Online Business Setup, Direct Marketing, Accounting for Pool Lights Businesses
J Bowman J Orr
Manufacturer: LTBR, Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000WE0M9S

The Online Business Setup, Direct Marketing, Business Networking for Pool Lights Businesses

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The Online Business Setup, Direct Marketing, Business Networking for Pool Lights Businesses
J Bowman J Orr
Manufacturer: LTBR, Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000WAXVZO

The Online Business Setup, Direct Marketing, Godfather Principles for Pool Lights Businesses

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The Online Business Setup, Direct Marketing, Godfather Principles for Pool Lights Businesses
J Bowman J Orr
Manufacturer: LTBR, Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000W9YA8M

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Con la cruz de Rumasa a cuestas. (José María Ruiz Mateos)(TT: Bearing Rumasa's cross)(Illustration): An article from: Epoca

Manufacturer: Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B00097LB2U
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA) on January 20, 1997. The length of the article is 2028 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Con la cruz de Rumasa a cuestas. (José María Ruiz Mateos)(TT: Bearing Rumasa's cross)(Illustration)
Publication: Epoca (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 20, 1997
Publisher: Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA)
Issue: n621 Page: p26(6)

Article Type: Illustration

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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El senor Rumasa
Jose Maria Bernaldez
Manufacturer: Plaza & Janes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: 8401371457

Una colmena muy rentable: la familia Ruiz-Mateos se hace con Parmalat España por 188 millones de euros: Nueva Rumasa no pierde comba y amplia sus dominios ... Mateos S.A.): An article from: Epoca

Average customer rating:

Una colmena muy rentable: la familia Ruiz-Mateos se hace con Parmalat España por 188 millones de euros: Nueva Rumasa no pierde comba y amplia sus dominios ... Mateos S.A.): An article from: Epoca
Mari Luz Alonso
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000T0FX44
Release Date: 2007-07-02

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Thomson Gale on May 25, 2007. The length of the article is 973 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Una colmena muy rentable: la familia Ruiz-Mateos se hace con Parmalat España por 188 millones de euros: Nueva Rumasa no pierde comba y amplia sus dominios a través de la compra de la filial española de Parmalat. La operación incrementará en más de 700 millones de euros la facturación de sus empresas.(Ruiz Mateos S.A.)
Author: Mari Luz Alonso
Publication: Epoca (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 25, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Issue: 1151 Page: 60(3)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Rumasa (Documento)
E. Diaz Gonzalez , and Enrique Diaz Gonzalez
Manufacturer: Planeta
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Rumasa: Su expropiacion, un atentado contra la democracia

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Rumasa: Su expropiacion, un atentado contra la democracia
Manuel Andujar Sanchez
Manufacturer: s.n.]
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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Book Description

Inside the Minds: Leading Labor Lawyers is the most authoritative book ever written on the art and science of labor law, written by an unprecedented collection of employment and labor lawyers from some of the leading law firms of the world-including Chairs/Group Coordinators from Perkins Coie, Thelen Reid & Priest, Schiff Hardin & Waite, Winston & Strawn, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Sidley Austin Brown & Wood, Morrison & Foerster, Butzel Long & Gray Plant Mooty. These industry visionaries reveal the secrets to employment contracts, hiring and firing, non-competes, infringement, litigation, privacy, arbitration, Internet and technology related issues, sexual harassment, client psychology and other important issues affecting the future of labor and employment law. Also covered are specific, proven legal strategies and methodologies practiced by these leading attorneys that have led to their success. An unprecedented look inside the minds of the world's best labor lawyers makes for critical reading for every labor/employment lawyer, CEO, human resources professional, entrepreneur, law school student and anyone interested in labor law on a personal or professional level. Other Inside the Minds legal books include Inside the Minds: Leading Deal Makers, Inside the Minds: Leading Litigators, Inside the Minds Internet Lawyers and Inside the Minds: Leading Intellectual Property Lawyers.

Praise for Inside the Minds:

"An informative insider's perspective..." - Gary Klotz, Labor Chair, Butzel Long

"A must read..." - Raymond Wheeler, Labor Chair, Morrison & Foerster

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