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Look here to find the books that have influenced the great instructors and designers.
Simply click on the book you want, and we will link you directly to Amazon.com
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Empire of the Ants
by Bernard Werber
We know you have all seen all the cute ant and bug movies from Hollywood but... This book was given to us by the head of National Geographic feature films and he just said ‘you have got to read this one! ’... so we did. Bernard Werber’s story revolves around the following premise; It is as if God had used the planet Earth to carry out an experiment. He set two species,with quite contradictory philosophies, on a race for consciousness to see which would go faster.--- However, the two leading species have developed along parallel lines: To become intelligent, man developed a monstrous brain ... To achieve the same result, ants preferred to use several thousand small brains united by very subtle communication systems. In absolute terms, there is as much matter or intelligence in the ant’s pile as in the human brain. It is a fight with equal weapons. But what would happen if, instead of running parallel to one another, the two forms of intelligence cooperated? And so begins one of the most original and transfixing mystery stories we have seen in a very long time. In a wonderful and terrifying world of evolutionary selection and social specialization unfolds a link of inter species communication. A great read as we move into the “bio” millennium of liquid memory and DNA scans.
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Perfume
by Patrick Suskind
Perfume is story telling at its highest! Through the distillation of observations to the level of essence Patrick Suskind's words seem to rise off the page in a vapor of evil. Not since Twain or Capote has a writer captured such character in a story. Our character's story unfolds in 18th century France to levels that we are not prepared for. Woven with motivations that leave us gasping we are drawn into a chase that makes "Day of the Jackal" seems slow. This fast paced thriller is a must for anyone that thinks a book alone can not rivet them to their seat! I dare you!
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Building in Egypt - Pharaonic Stone Masonry
by Dieter Arnold
Sorry no UFOs or X-files here....just real stone work! If you like to see and touch a stone wall get the book now and a ticket to Egypt this fall! Wonderful ink line drawings with supporting black and white photos, Dieter Arnold has written the book all Architects must read before their journey to the land where we started. It is a well traveled path, Alexander, Anthony, Hadrian and Napoleon where the fact of what we see are much more intriguing that any fiction! George S. Patton, the American WWII general that kick German, Italian and some American butts, said in his book "War as I Knew it" that "Certainly, anyone who is interested in ruins should see all the non-Egyptain ones first because the the Egyptian ruins make others look like nothing". I am sending a copy to Richard Meier to make the point that real stone walls are not hung on steel pegs like he did at the new Getty. Flagstone used in the facades of tract homes in the fifties and the thin sheet stone that is a skin on so many high rise buildings today does not offer the pretense of anything more than surface and pattern. Meier's work has always allowed his work to rise from the earth, to stand free. At the Getty we get "nice rock" draped around a frame in a way that makes the "light steel" system seem to struggle to hold it and it makes the stone only an applique, not a skin. The steel work that he is famous for can not do what what it must under his heavy blanket of facing stone. In masonry work the form of a wall, the rake, size of the coursing, color, the set of the stone, all of these elements sing to us about the concert at play in an Architecture. I think the path to Egypt needs to be a first hand experience! Too much is lost in the hand me down translations. The Greek to the Roman, the Roman to Le Corbusier and Kahn, Kahn almost to Meier. Get the book - get a ticket !
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Softback
B&W Images
Maps & Charts
960 Pages
Amsterdam
Loire Valley
Paris
London
Rome
New York
Prague
Vienna
Florence & Tuscany
Venice
Seville & Andalusia
France
Ireland
Italy
Great Britain
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The World's Most Dangerous Places
by Robert Young Pelton,Coskun Aral and Wink Dulles
Fielding Press
The World's Most Dangerous Places is the tough guy's guild to really tough places. We have recommended the Eyewitness Travel Guides for all the places in the world where you may want to travel with friends but it is important to know where the potholes are and these guys tell you in no uncertain terms. A great read....and yes our USA cities make many of their darker listings. There is a funny and very dry running commentary on the CIA and the players of intrigue one finds on such roads of travel.
Afghanistan
'The Russians took great pains to make Afghanistan a dangerous place for years to come. There were about 12 million land mines scattered by air and buried in the ground throughout Afghanistan.'
'Want a quick$55 million? Just round up the 300 or so aging Stinger missiles given to Afghan rebels in the mid -1980s and send them back to Uncle Sam.
Brazil
'Brazil's Roads
Brazil possesses the world's worst highway safety record. More than 50,000 people are killed and another 350,000 injured every year on Brazil's roadways. To put things in perspective, the US has 10 times as many vehicles as Brazil...but only about 41,000 traffic death each year.'
Cambodia
'Khmer phrases; That's a very nice gun sir. I'd be honored to give you the gift of my truck'
India
'With one percent of the total vehicles in the world, India accounts for 6 percent of total road accidents'
Pakistan
'To give pedestrians and other drivers a chance, Pakistanis decorate their vehicles with as many bright and shiny objects as possible.'
USA
'Los Angeles is the bank robbery capital of the world. There were 1126 of them in 1996, though down from 2641 in 1992.'
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The Sheltering Sky
by Paul Bowles
'When you go on a trip, you shouldn't know for how long. That's traveling' Some of the world's most beautiful places in the hands of some very tough men and this book could help get you in and out.
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The Spider's House
by Paul Bowles
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FAVORITE BOOKS: Henry J. Hohenstein, AICP
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Henry J. Hohenstein, AICP, Highstone Development Company City and Regional Planning and Real Estate Has been teaching planning and construction management at College of the Desert since 1985. Bachelor of Science, Agriculture, 1953 Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey Master of City and Regional Planning, 1985 California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California
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True Success
by Tom Morris
The author is a philosophy professor at Notre Dame University and holds degrees from the University of North Carolina and Yale University. Tom Morris examines the meaning and promise of life and determines there is a massive misunderstanding of what it is to be a success. In the current culture of the United States, driven by materialism and pragmatism, most often contemporary society looks toward wealth, power, high social status and fame as symbols of success. However, none of these means success. They are more often than not byproducts of the successful attainment of other goals. Having established what one should not seek as an indicator of success; Dr. Morris develops a framework for success. He begins with an obvious observation; " we must seek what it is we are aiming at." Further, he remarks, "so long as we wander aimlessly, life will be consumed in making mistakes" It is not surprising that the author places great reliance on the quality of the journey as a measure of success. He then develops what he refers to as the, "Seven components of a successful mindset." He devotes a chapter to each of the following; conception, confidence, concentration, consistency, commitment, character and capacity and concludes with a discussion of true success and the meaning of life. I enjoyed this book because it was well conceived, easy to read and he uses quotes from the philosophers of all ages to explain and amplify his points. Anyone, at any stage of his life will benefit from spending several evenings curled up with this book and using Tom Morris thought to gauge their own lives.
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The Ordeal of the Longhouse
by Daniel K. Richter
This is an extraordinarily, carefully researched book which contains insights into the Iroquois history in the early colonial period. This work details the first 100 years of contact between the Iroquois and the early settlers in northeastern North America. The author relates how the Iroquois conceived of their own destiny and how that shaped their lives and the lives of all those with whom they made contact. As a native of Upstate New York, one was always exposed to the role of the Iroquois in the shaping of America. From the place names, historic sites, myths, school studies, museum visits and books to the arrow heads one found in the fields, one was always conscious of their history. As a city planner, the book was as fascinating as Mr. Richter developed the characteristic of village and home life, patterns of kinship, interpersonal connections, models of interaction among human beings, their environment and the spirit world and prototypes for relationships with people from beyond one's own village. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, life centered around village communities, which included camps, hamlets, and towns. Camps were only temporarily occupied and the hamlets were smaller settlements closely tied to larger towns. Richter provides us with a clear understanding of level of social organization and leadership traits, which existed in these village communities in the late sixteen century. This is a great read for anyone interested in this period of American history.
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The Tragedy of American Compassion
by Marvin Olasky
Marvin Olasky is a professor at the University of Texas and he embarks on a Texas sized problem as he addresses the means by which we as a society can raise people beyond poverty. The error of contemporary welfare policy is not the amount of money being spent, but the fact that current policy is out of touch with the meaning of those needs. This book is more than a history of how Americans have addressed problems of poverty. The author examines the role of compassion and assistance for the poor among us. He details how the $190 billion we spend annually does not go to the persons of limited income, but to the participants in the poverty industry. These are the bureaucrats, caseworkers, service providers and an odd assortment of private vendors. Olasky makes a central truth of his observation that prior to the development of the poverty industry, that human needs were answered by other human beings, not bureaucracies and the response to the needs of the poor was not incrementalized and compartmentalized. This is a great book for anyone in the planning/building professions. We are all impacted by how we socially organize our communities. We have become a nation of homogeneous apartment complexes and subdivisions; a nation of individuals eating, working and sleeping in enclaves, but not a nation of persons living together as neighbors and co-partners in making communities work. Olasky addresses the question of the millennium. "How can human beings at every level of income and abilities live happily together in postindustrial urban communities?" The author suggests we must remove problems of American social policy from the studies of economics or inequality and commence with studies of the human spirit.
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Envy
by Helmut Schoeck
Helmut Schoeck received his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Tubingen in 1948 and since then has taught widely throughout Europe and the United States. Envy is an in-depth discussion of a theory of social behavior and begins as soon as two individuals become capable of mutual comparison. This is a vital book for anyone interested in how we organize ourselves into a variety of social systems. Schoeck claims it is envy, which allows us to develop the concept of social norms, and without envy, social control, would not be possible. Envy, however, can easily turn to destruction. Therefore, throughout history we find literature claiming envy to be destructive, inhibitory, futile and painful. The envious person has been portrayed as one condemned. While at the same time it has provided us with an apprehension of other person's views, thus allowing a system of social controls and balances to evolve. The principal argument offered in this book is that the more private persons and those in public power are able to act as if there are no such thing as envy, the greater will be the rate of economic growth and number of innovations will increase. This recognizes that there will be unequal achievements in a society and that there are differences, which exist among people. This book should be required reading for any person influencing or making public policy at any level in the United States.
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God Wants You to be Rich
by Paul Zane Pilzer
Pilzer received his MBA from Wharton, became Citibank's youngest vice-president and served as presidential advisor in tow administrations. He has since launched himself into the world of entrepreneurship specializing in information and education. This book allows the author to explain how we can be rich in health, love and peace of mind as well in material possessions. He also goes on to explain that we have been driven by the false premise of scarcity. This error causes us to think of wealth creation as a zero sum game in which some are winners and others are losers. Pilzer claims in reality, our lack is not physical resources, but human ingenuity. Wealth is as unlimited as is the power of our minds. The author weaves sound economic thinking with biblical references. This may seem offensive to some, but Pilzer's reminder that God loves us unconditionally and will always be there for us regardless of the choices we make is clearly refreshing. This book is an easy read because of the author's style. However, one will be rereading sections over and over again because Pilzer is constantly showing us the limits of thought of past economists upon whom we build our prior economic models.
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FAVORITE BOOKS: Michael Kiner Associates (MKA)
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Michael Kiner Associates (MKA), is an award winning Design/Development Company based in Palm Desert, California. The Company has been active in the Coachella Valley since 1982 and specializes in commercial and residential projects as well as the renovation of historic properties.
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Los Angeles, The End of the Rainbow
by Merry Ovnick
Merry Ovnick's description of the history of Los Angeles is portrayed though the City's social evolution. Ms. Ovnick chronicles LA through the City's architecture, while providing a fascinating portrait of LA's meteoric growth. I was particularly interested in the pre-railroad history of Los Angeles from the Indian villages through the Spanish and Mexican settlements, the pre-industrial Los Angeles. Los Angeles, The End of the Rainbow is a "must read" for anyone interested in the social and architectural evolution of Los Angeles and Southern California.
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Casa California, Spanish Style Houses From Santa Barbara To San Clemente
by Text By Elizabeth McMillan / Photographs By Melba Levick
What a book! The photographs of these great works of Spanish architecture in Southern California are so lush that I found myself envisioning the grand parties and social events which occurred in these historic estates. When you are pouring over these rich photographs it is easy to see why there was such a mass migration to Southern California. Who wouldn't want to swim at the base of the Santa Monica mountains at the Culberg House, or view the beach in Malibu from the balcony of the Adamson House. These homes also provide a chronology of some of the great craftsmen of their generation. The photographs of the tile designs, iron and woodwork were fascinating. The gardens, landscape design and siting of these homes just adds to the visual portrait of a bygone era. The inclusion of contemporary estates by Legorreta and Moore provide an interesting contrast to the residences of fifty years earlier.
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The Children
by David Halberstam
As a teenager growing up in the 1960's, the civil rights movement was of great interest to me. Mr. Halberstam's description of the early years of these civil protests provides a broad insight into an important period of this country's history. The Children describes in great detail the tremendous courage of the students of the sit-ins. These young men and women challenged the racism of the south in a unified, non-violent front. Their role models were Gandhi and Martin Luther King and their accomplishments were the basis of civil rights and voter reforms for minorities in America. The detail in which Mr. Halberstom depicts the individuals who were the soul of the student movement adds an appealing personal side to these historic events.
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Preferred Lies and Other Tales, Skimming the Cream of a Life in Sports
by Jack Whitaker
As a life long sports fan, I found Jack Whitaker's essays fascinating. I also have to admit to being slightly biased as Jack is my stepfather. However, biased or not, Jack Whitaker is one of the foremost sports essayists of our time. Jack's descriptions of so many major sporting events from the 1960's through today chronicle my life as a fan. His golf writing is legendary. Horse racing never seemed more poetic, or more beautiful. Jack's personal experiences with everyone from the superstars to the stable hands was for me the most interesting element of the book. Jack's career paralleled the marriage between television and sports. However, Jack Whitaker is much more than an announcer, he is an outstanding writer and would have been one of the great sports writers of our era had he chosen newspapers over television. A thoroughly enjoyable "road trip" through the eyes of a master artist whose instruments are sports and the written word.
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FAVORITE BOOKS: Holly Tempo
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The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
by Julia Cameron
I discovered this book after I had completed my education, but I wish I had it when I was in school. This is a must read for any artist or creative person.
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Taking the Leap: Build a Career as a Visual Artist
by Cay Lang
I just found this book recently while browsing and again I wish this had been around when I was in graduate school. As a professional artist whose been in the trenches for some seven years, I found Ms. Lang's advice to be very sound with great information for fledgling artists as well as those with more experience.
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Artspeak: A Guide to Contemporary Ideas, Movements and Buzzwords.
by Robert Atkins
This book, a kind of dictionary of contemporary art, was introduced to me in a graduate seminar at Claremont Graduate University. It is a great reference book, especially if you are writing about art.
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Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multicultural America
by Lucy R. Lippard
This is an insightful and validating exploration of art made by non-white artists. It helped me to realize that I am not alone.
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Women Artists in History: From Antiquity to the 20th Century
by Wendy Slatkin
When I was in graduate school, one of my professors, when asked why he was not showing us slides of work by women said that women have not made a significant contribution to art. This book proves him wrong and shows that women, in spite of incredible obstacles, have persevered through the ages and contributed greatly to the artistic discourse.
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FAVORITE BOOKS: Eric Wegerbauer
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The Society of the Spectacle
by Guy Debord
Architecture vs. non-architecture when it comes to the books that influence my work most, non-architecture is the hands-down winner, and Debord's classic is right there at the top. Though written in the 60's amid the social upheavals, the book remains the backbone for understanding today's politics and cultures. The Situationist International, a group led by Debord, have also had a lasting impression on how I work.
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Six Memos for the New Millennium
by Italo Calvino
For starters, all of Calvino's books are nothing less than amazing! I only chose Six Memos because it gave me a burst of fresh air to breath at a time when architecture was starting to leave a bad taste in my mouth. The book is a collection of five lectures Calvino was about to deliver at the time of his death. In a poetic and very personal approach, Calvino put the act of creation in a whole new light. Find a quiet place and enjoy.
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Neuromancer
by William Gibson
On one hand it is the 21st century equivalent to Kerouac's On the Road, and on the other, it is a thought provoking social discourse that deals with our future. I am still shocked that the book is 15 years old. A long time before we ever thought of things like the web or artificial intelligence, Gibson came up with this chillingly realistic tale of our near future. As a young designer with an interest in tomorrow's architecture, Neuromancer has been one of my theoretical markers pointing in that direction.
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The Box Man
by Kobo Abe
Not at all what I thought but a week later and a few re-reads, and it was all that I thought and much more. In a successful example of minimalism, this short, straightforward book is so deceptive that only the most attentive readers will grab onto all of its richness.
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The Art of War
by Sun Tzu
Yes, the book is over 2,000 years old. Yes, it details a rational basis for planning and conduct of military operations. Yes, Mao Tse-Tung turned to the writings of Sun Tzu for guidance. Yes, I learned a lot from Sun Tzu, and none of it had to do with war.
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