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Rating: 
Summary: Too much black and white?
Review: After recently visiting Biltmore, I was curious about how it all began, relating to the ideas of construction and architecture. I enjoyed this book immensely, but finished it in about 2 hours. [In relation to theprice], this is expensive reading.
Rating:
Summary: Great Information but with a high price!
Review: After recently visiting Biltmore, I was curious about how it all began, relating to the ideas of construction and architecture. I enjoyed this book immensely, but finished it in about 2 hours. [In relation to theprice], this is expensive reading.
Rating: 
Summary: The most interesting book on the creation of Biltmore.
Review: Few people realize what effort it took to design and construct the largest private residence in the United States, but this book details it all from the breaking of the ground to the designing of the curtain rods. This book is one of the best written and most appealing architectural history books ever. The photographs and drawings in it are also to be commended. Many of the pictures offer breathtaking views of the mansion and its grounds as well as showing many vintage photographs taken at various times throughout its construction and times of residence. It also contains many pictures of Richard Morris Hunt's and Frederick Law Olmsted's original drawings and sketches. This book truly lives up to the impressive heritage one finds at the Biltmore. I would also recommend The Vanderbilts and the Gilded Age: Architectural Aspirations 1879-1901, by John Foreman, et al.
Rating:
Summary: Too much black and white?
Review: I enjoyed the story, don't get me wrong, but as for the pictures, yes it had numerous colors, but mainly black and white. I was surprised. Even pictures that weren't historic were in black and white. When I purchased this book, I had hoped for a good floorplan of the home, instead I got a little sketch that could hardly be read with a magnifying glass. Overall, very factual. It makes you realize just what went into the building process. Even if the paragraphs are a little too wordy.
Rating:
Summary: The Magic of Biltmore!
Review: I found this book on George Washington Vanderbilt's Biltmore Estate in Ashville, North Carolina, to be extremelly through. This book includes sketchs of many of the considered facades for the home, and what their floorplans would have been. Pictures of all of the beautiful rooms in the house are included in this publication. Also included are sketchs of the many details of the home, included are the east facade, the Gate House, the gates that set next to the house, the Biltmore Village Church, and sketchs of many of the statues from Biltmore's gardens. Also included in this book is the histories of many of the principal players in Biltmore's creation, including Fredrick Law Olmsted the landscape designer, Richard Morris Hunt the arcitect, and of course George Vanderbilt the home's owner.
Included is many of the landscape designs of Biltmore's gardens, and beautiful pictures of many of them. Pictures of Biltmore's Conservatory are included which sits in Biltmore's Walled Garden, to the north of Biltmore House. All in all, this book is great, and a great companion to a day long visit to Biltmore! If you loved Biltmore Estate, you'll love this book, I garentee it!
Rating:
Summary: How about all the other rooms ?
Review: It's unfortunate this is the only hardcover picture book of the Biltmore, available at the time of this review. Because it was the best one I could find, I bought it albeit, reluctantly as I like to have a picture book keepsake when I visit these places. There are many beautiful and often full page colour photographs, but there are also many black and white. Some of the latter are historical, so that is understandable, but others are not. With a predominance of construction pictures and the emphasis on the actual building process which of course ties into the history. This focus veers away from the main objective of a picture book momento, to include plenty of photographs of both the interior and exterior, preferably at least one colour photograph of each room. The estate boasts 255 rooms, and hardly 10% of them are represented. I would like to see this book enlarged to 3 times the size, with about 200 more interior pictures, then Rizzoli, who usually produces outstanding books of this genre, could up the price, but it would be worth it.
Rating:
Summary: How about all the other rooms ?
Review: It's unfortunate this is the only hardcover picture book of the Biltmore, available at the time of this review. Because it was the best one I could find, I bought it albeit, reluctantly as I like to have a picture book keepsake when I visit these places. There are many beautiful and often full page colour photographs, but there are also many black and white. Some of the latter are historical, so that is understandable, but others are not. With a predominance of construction pictures and the emphasis on the actual building process which of course ties into the history. This focus veers away from the main objective of a picture book momento, to include plenty of photographs of both the interior and exterior, preferably at least one colour photograph of each room. The estate boasts 255 rooms, and hardly 10% of them are represented. I would like to see this book enlarged to 3 times the size, with about 200 more interior pictures, then Rizzoli, who usually produces outstanding books of this genre, could up the price, but it would be worth it.
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