32 of 35 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Great but INDEX IS TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, Dec 25 2007
By T. Tucker - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: 1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die: The World's Architectural Masterpieces (Hardcover)
I love this book but I am giving it one star because I am so infuriated by the lack of a useful index. There is no index that lists which cities the buildings are in -- they are only arranged by country. Why? Many of us would like to visit buildings that are near us or in cities that we travel to. This bizarre lack of information in the index makes that virtually impossible.
This is perhaps the most foolish indexing decision I have ever seen in my entire life, perhaps the most foolish indexing decision in the history of the written word.
Also: why don't they give addresses of the buildings anywhere?
Please correct this in the next edition. Maybe create a website where we can look this stuff up.
Clearly, a lot of time was spent on this book. It's unfortunate that strange indexing decisions have rendered it almost useless.
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A contributing Author to this book, May 14 2008
By Denna Jones - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: 1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die: The World's Architectural Masterpieces (Hardcover)
I was one of the contributing authors to this book. The reviews so far are spot on. Even though I worked on this book I find it difficult to find even my own entries as the index is inadequate. I also wrote the Elrod entry - and yes, the photo is wrong - and I would have known that if I'd seen page proofs. But on a positive note, I believe this book is definitely worth buying (I don't get royalties!) if only because I know it contains entries (like mine) that are not rewrites of existing viewpoints, but original, fresh perspectives. The next book in the series is "1001 Houses" and I've been asked to be the General Editor. I intend to take these comments on board and ensure a good index and good geographic spread for 1001 Houses. The publishers have indicated they want a website to go with the book, and that will also be a priority for me, assuming they ok costs. So buy this book as its assets outweigh its faults, and keep an eye out for 1001 Houses! http://www.dennajones.com
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
INTERESTING BOOK - BUT FLAWED, Dec 18 2007
By Marc L. Kagan "Mid-Century Modern Expert" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: 1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die: The World's Architectural Masterpieces (Hardcover)
Some of the buildings do not have corresponding photos with the descriptions but that can be understandable because the book runs almost 1000 pages.
But I did find two errors:
First Error - Page 523 has Case Study House No.22 but the photo is of Case Study House No.21 both are by Pierre Koneig and they are both in the Los Angeles area.
Second error - Page 565 has Elrod House but the photo is of the Sheats/Goldstein House which is in Beverly Hills will the Elrod House is in Palm Springs. The Elrod House is famous for its location in the film Diamonds Are Forever and its circular in design.
Overall the book is a very good reference book with a photo and a short description of the building.