Linda Svendsen (1) (1941–2007)

I bought this book because I am planning to renovate an older home to be more "green." This book did not suit my purposes because I was looking for more practical advice and detailed information. Also, most of the homes and techniques were waaaaaay out of my price range. Finally, I already knew alot about the topic, so to me the information seemed very basic. However, the pictures were beautiful and it serves as a good basic primer for those who are just starting out investigating green homes. I recommend The Solar House by Chiras for a much more in-depth look at the topic, but this book is good for inspiration.… (more)

If this book is any guide, we can conclude that the average bicycle around the world is a gaudily-colored, cheap mountain bike. The book includes photo after photo of them. Waiting casually at a fruit market, posed by a wharf, leaning against another picturesque, weathered stucco wall. Look, another one! Over there! Can you see it?
The photos rarely show who rides these bikes, or what they do with them. Page after page, I was hoping for some variety of their forms, and ended up getting sort of bored of bikes in general. I found myself wondering how the author got the opportunity to visit so many far flung places, only to end up seeing the same thing at every one of them. The photos are colorful and richly textured, for the most part, but the appeal of them is not in illustrating a scene or story, but in noting the exoticness of their location.
The book would have been much improved if the photographer had provided a window into how these bikes are used around the world, or what they mean to people in other societies.… (more)