The classic art of enameling is experiencing a well-deservedrenaissance—and it’s stunningly captured in this lovingly curatedsurvey. More than 300 international contemporary artists havecontributed museum-worthy pieces, which range in scale from DavidC. Freda’s Green Slipper Brooch and Harlan W. Butt’s Maine Teapotto large sculptures and public art. Some of the creators take aminimalist approach, using only soft colors and matte finishes,while others exploit the material’s vibrant palette and glass-likesurface. The broad technical applications include everything fromsimple sifting and torch firing to complex cloisonné andplique-à-jour.

A wonderful and original tribute to the curious, comical Dodoand the beautiful island of Mauritius. Award-winning Finnishphotographer Harri Kallio creates the illusion that thesefascinating creatures are alive and abundant, living as they oncedid in their own unspoiled haven, the island of Mauritius.Accompanied by a thorough history of this extraordinary bird,including eyewitness accounts and pictorial sources, the book wasthe winner of the 2004 European Publishers’ Award forPhotography.

The moral of this book is that behind every great engineeringsuccess is a trail of often ignored (but frequently spectacular)engineering failures. Petroski covers many of the best knownexamples of well-intentioned but ultimately failed design in action-- the galloping Tacoma Narrows Bridge (which you've probably seentossing cars willy-nilly in the famous black-and-white footage),the collapse of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel walkways -- andmany lesser known but equally informative examples. The line ofreasoning Petroski develops in this book were later formalized intohis quasi-Darwinian model of technological evolution in TheEvolution of Useful Things , but this book is arguably the moreilluminating -- and defintely the more enjoyable -- of these twotitles. Highly recommended.

Lavishly illustrated, meticulously researched, and gracefullywritten, this is the definitive study of California's distinctivestyle ofImpressionism.At a time when interest in all forms ofregional Impressionism continues to grow, California Impressionismcommands the greatest interest of all. The richly colored,exuberantly painted canvases by such artists as Franz Bischoff,Selden Gile, Richard Miller, Guy Rose, and William Wendt are soughtwith increasing avidity by collectors and museums alike, in athriving market that extends far beyond the West Coast.In hiswide-ranging introductory essay, Dr. Gerdts explores the context ofCalifornia Impressionism, surveying the movement's sources abroad,the most influential exhibitions in America, and the criticalresponses to the art and the artists. Will South supplies agraceful chronological narrative of the movement, starting with itsroots in the Hudson River School and other American art and tracingthe trajectory of California Impressionism from its innovations int