<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Art Nouveau at it's splendid best!
Review: Although the designs in this book may not be for the beginning stained glass artist, the color combinations and whimsy incorporated in them will most certainly get your creative juices flowing! I spent several hours just thinking of how I might take just small segments of some of these masterpieces of glasswork to create my own projects. Although Art Nouveau as a whole "look" may be too much for some people, there are certain aspects of these works that are timeless and would fit with nearly any other design genre. Great book for any artisan or craftsperson in search of marvelous design ideas.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book, Poorly Proofread
Review: As the previous reviewer notes, South Wind is an excellent work of fiction. It is Norman Douglas' most highly acclaimed work. This reprint edition however, suffers from abominably poor transcription and proofreading. Letters are missing from words and spaces are sometimes inserted where they don't belong. In some instances a return character or two is omitted in dialogues. I would guess that I have spotted over a hundred errors. They do not undermine the quality of the story, but do make it harder to read. This book is in the public domain and so is available on the web in HTML format, possibly with fewer errors. That said, I am glad to have a printed version of this book. Reading or printing it from the web would be a cumbersome enterprise.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning!
Review: I absolutely love this book. It's definitely not for beginning stained glass crafters, though - lots of curves and intricacies. I'm looking forward to when I have the expertise to use some of the patterns. There are 30 pages of some of the best art nouveau patterns I have ever seen. I've already used one of the patterns to create a needlepoint pattern, and I plan on using many more. Even better than I anticipated!
Rating:
Summary: Stunning!
Review: I absolutely love this book. It's definitely not for beginning stained glass crafters, though - lots of curves and intricacies. I'm looking forward to when I have the expertise to use some of the patterns. There are 30 pages of some of the best art nouveau patterns I have ever seen. I've already used one of the patterns to create a needlepoint pattern, and I plan on using many more. Even better than I anticipated!
Rating:
Summary: Intoxicating Sirocco
Review: I hope that this gem of a book is reprinted soon. For all those who cannot wait, wend to the Strand bookstore on Broadway and 12th in NYC, and check out the Modern Library section; a few copies may still linger. Like its title, the book sweeps over the reader in a sort of halcyon gale of language. Read once, the book must be re-read just so that one can retrace the plot. When not totally high on language I got glimpses of two of the most vivid characters in literature -- Mr. Keith and Count Calovaglia -- and that what it was - a glimpse. Like the South Wind of the title, the book leaves the reader terribly thirsty for more -- more of the island, more of the people, more of the flora, more of the rocks, for crying out loud. It has the sense and immediacy of an impressionist painting. In the 1924 Modern Library copy I possess, Douglas has an introduction in which he enumerates the islands that inspired the locale in the book. I am still considering an island hopping vacation to the Mediterranean.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: Returning from Africa, the Anglican Bishop of Bompopo detours to the little island of Nepenthe, where he finds some charming natives and an assortment of interesting and eccentric expatriates. As the Nepenthean year slides gently along, the expatriates go on about their lives, living in a dreamland, and maintaining illusions that keep them happy about themselves. This 1917 book is the work of George Norman Douglas (1868-1952), Scottish author and diplomat, and is considered by some to be his masterpiece. The edition I possess is the 1924 Modern Library one, which includes a short introduction by the author, in which he defends his book against the charge that it does not possess a plot. Well, in truth, this book is not plot driven - it is a sort of theater of the absurd tale, in which people's hypocrisy, inanity and stupidity are laid bare. Quite a fun tale, I must admit that it's been a while since I have enjoyed a book quite so much!
<< 1 >>
| 
