Save A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire

Wide-ranging look at nations' quest for "the perfect red," and the immense impact that a simple INSECT can have on an entire nation's econmy.

Good intertwining examinations of the parallel stories of the economy, empire, espionage, piracy, trade, labor conditions (including slavery), racism, the "old" and "new" worlds, etc. Lots of good detail about the personalities involved and the twists and turns as researchers tried to discover the source of the "perfect red" at the heart of Spain's economy.

Fun aside: While you're reading the book, you find yourself noticing colors more. The book gives you an increased appreciation for the use of color in everyday life and a gratitude that in contemporary times everyone can afford colors of every hue, as opposed to centuries past when certain colors were only for the royals or other upper classes.Get more detail about A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire.

Discount The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live

This book is full of great pictures and better ideas and concepts. I read it cover to cover and it helped shape my thoughts and plans for our next, and last, house. Thank you!Get more detail about The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live.

Cheapest Nikon Capture NX 2 After the Shoot

Hagen's book is well written, easy to follow and very helpful. He explains all the options in NX2, offers suggestions for settings, examples, and recommendations for workflow. If you're looking for a useable hands on guide, then this is an excellent book that gives context to the NX2 manual and help feature. Reading this book as given me the courage to shoot RAW and is taking my post processing to the next level.Get more detail about Nikon Capture NX 2 After the Shoot.

Cheap Hubble: Imaging Space and Time

This book is absolutely wonderful for anyone remotely interested in space exploration. Not only are the photos beautiful but the book itself is an informative and detailed guide to the Hubble Telescope project. Years ago a friend worked on the Hubble beginnings and all I can say is that anyone who wonders about the value of our exploration program should have this book. I plan to use some of the images for my artwork (with full inspirational credit to the Hubble Telescope project).Get more detail about Hubble: Imaging Space and Time.

Buying Architectural Graphics

All of the man-made architectural wonders that we see around us began their lives as just seeds of ideas. Before being built, these seeds must be crystallized and nurtured through drawings. Architects depend on drawing to bring their ideas to life.

One book that has become a trusted source for teaching architects how to do it right is Francis D.K. Ching's //Architectural Graphics//. Now in its fifth edition, it offers the essential drawing tools, principles, and techniques that architects use to communicate their ideas. It expands upon the wealth of illustrations and instructions that have made this book a classic, and guides readers through the subtleties of translating architectural ideas into vivid visual representations.

Readers will learn Ching's renowned methods through: coverage of multiview drawings, paraline drawings, and perspective drawings; techniques for drawing section views of building interiors; strategies for rendering tonal value, enhancing pictorial depth, and conveying the illumination of spatial environments; approaches for developing the layout of architectural presentations; freehand sketching and diagramming; and so much more.

This beautiful fifth edition of //Architectural Graphics//from Francis D.K. Ching clearly represents the complexity of architectural concepts in an intuitive graphic manner that benefits anyone interested in maintaining the highest standard of the profession of architecture.

Reviewed by Dominique JamesGet more detail about Architectural Graphics.

Buy Alla Prima: A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Direct Painting

Great book for the price, but not the real Alla Prima. (Alla Prima: Everything I Know About Painting by Richard Schmidt)Get more detail about Alla Prima: A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Direct Painting.

Purchase The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art

If you are interested in fine art then you will love this book. They talk all about the big art sales, dealers, galleries and auction houses. How they operate, sell, and entice large art sales. Must read for any art enthusiast!Get more detail about The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art.