Books about Balcony from Amazon.com

Some people are in the "balcony" of your life, cheering you on, energizing you with their affirmation Others are in your "basement" doing exactly the opposite This book is about being a "balcony person.".
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Who is your "irregular person?" Joyce brings wise and healing words to help you deal with those insensitive family members who have crushed your spirit with their emotional neglect and abuse..
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Someone is killing young girls in the once-peaceful parks of Stockholm -- killing them after having his way. The people of Stockholm are tense and fearful Police Superintendent Martin Beck has two witnesses: a cold-blooded mugger who won't say much and a three-year-old boy who can't say much. The dedicated work of the police force seems to be leading nowhere, and with each passing day, the likelihood of another murder grows. But then Beck remembers someone -- or something -- he overheard.

A quietly relentless thriller, The Man on the Balcony juxtaposes the most inhuman of crimes with the humanity of the men who must solve it -- their perseverance, frustration, and horror -- resulting in a police procedural that is as moving and credible as it is enthralling..
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Clematis have long enjoyed popularity in gardens large enough to accommodate them. Now, with the arrival of a new generation of cultivars that excel in mixed borders, containers, and other small spaces, there is more reason than ever to grow them. As well as being modest in height, many of these new clematis are extremely floriferous and self-supporting in a wide range of garden situations and they are joined here by a selection of classic species and cultivars that perform well.

The clematis featured in this book are hand-picked for their longer flowering periods, large flowers and resistance to diseases. Internationally renowned clematis breeder Raymond Evison recommends the best clematis for particular situations, such as containers, mixed borders, patios, deck gardens, hanging baskets, and balconies. Clematis associate well with a variety of other plants and the author lists suitable companion plants and explains how to achieve a compatible mix of color, shape, and other characteristics.

This unprecedented book celebrates a new generation of clematis and will appeak to both established enthusiasts and beginners..
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Landscaping is the design of open spaces through
the use of live and inert elements as a way of transforming
nature. The projects for gardens and residential
landscapes, however, express a different complexity
to their larger, public counterparts Ideas such as privacy
and concepts that take the family into account
prevail over other considerations. The garden becomes
another room of the house and is used on a daily basis.
The projects presented in this book respond to a drastic
renovation in what we understand to be traditional
gardening. Research into materials, respect for the
environment, spatial distribution and a profound knowledge
of the flora are the concepts used to create these
magnificent spaces..
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The long and illustrious career of architectural photographer Julius Shulman is a case study in how being in the right place at the right time can make one an eyewitness to history. In 1936, Shulman, a young slacker with a fondness for snapping pictures, took a few casual shots of a Los Angeles house that recently had been designed by a young architect whose wife was acquainted with Shulman's sister. The house happened to be the Kun House, and the architect, who liked the shots and commissioned more, happened to be the fledgling Richard Neutra. In short order, Neutra arranged for Shulman to photograph the works of Raphael Soriano, Rudolph Schindler, Gregory Ain, J.R. Davidson, and other colleagues who were pioneering the International style on the West Coast and throughout the U.S. By the 1950s, Shulman was shooting the work of Mies and Wright--by 1962, when Shulman published the first edition of this guide to the craft and business of architectural photography, his work was as inextricably linked with the modern movement in design as was Berenice Abbott's with Paris's Lost Generation.

For both those who are and aren't familiar with Shulman's oeuvre, this delightful updated edition of his stolidly titled Photographing Architecture and Interiorsmakes it completely clear why and how he forged that artistic and professional alliance with the masters of modernism. As a how-to book for both budding and experienced architectural photographers, it's still invaluable. Camera technology and changes in the profession itself might have dated some of the text here, but most of it focuses on principles and techniques that transcend matters of film- or camera-make, and addresses every possible aspect of the craft--from composition, angles, lenses, and lighting (for both exteriors and interiors, which Shulman always saw as contiguous) to shooting with both black-and-white and color film, darkroom manipulation, and special tips for residential, commercial, and landscape work. But, even if the book had no main text, the hundreds of shots of his own work (and their excellent "how I got that shot" captions) would speak and educate for themselves, and are what make this book such a classic for architectural shutterbugs and general lovers of modern architecture alike. It's simply a dramatically arranged and lighted panorama of the boldest design of the postwar era, with a particular emphasis on the glamorous residential projects of a brashly affluent Southern California, where Shulman did most of his work. The book abounds with outdoor and indoor shots of the sleekly linear homes of Soriano, Wright, Thornton Ladd, William Pereira, John Lautner, Cliff May, and many others; all of their drop-dead-cool rec rooms, swimming pools, pavilions and terraces, glass walls, and surrounding hillscapes captured with angles and lighting that compare to Orson Welles or Hitchcock in their drama and intrigue. There's also great representation of Shulman's commercial work here, too--to this day, no one has made such femmes fatales of corporate modernism as the Seagram Building, Lever House, and Pei's Mile-High Center in Denver look as sexy as Shulman did, and his shots of Charles Luckman's high-tech industrial shrines, like General Dynamics Astronautics in San Diego, are a sheer blast from an era that was besotted with the glamour of science, space, and the Bomb. There's a terrific interview with Shulman, up front, and the book concludes with his walk-through case study of the shoot for an entire Bel Air house.

But it's Shulman's decades-long interpretation of the work of his first client, Neutra, that attained a perfection on the level of such other collaborations of the era as Nelson Riddle's Capitol arrangements for Frank Sinatra or Hubert de Givenchy's couture for Audrey Hepburn. Fittingly, in the eloquent introduction that he wrote for this book, Neutra said of an artist of Shulman's rank, "With one gesture, he may evoke untold illusions ... [he] can and does speak to human souls." To wit, this timeless volume opens with those fateful first shots of the Kun House, its gleamingly white and shockingly stark facades staring out over the raw hills of Southern California. No matter that Shulman "snapped" them with his Eastman Vest-Pocket Camera; amid his vertiginous angles and bold chiaroscuro, one senses that something big is about to happen in American architecture. Of course, as we all know now, something did happen--and, as this update of an architectural classic makes clear, no one documented it as lucidly or stylishly as the richly talented Mr. Shulman. --Timothy Murphy.
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Leading landscape architect Signe Nielsen shares her years of experience, and draws on other professional projects to present this incredible design portfolio. Great design ideas are combined with practical tips on transforming an outdoor living space into a personal oasis. Lavishly illustrated with hundreds of examples, this book provides a stunning portfolio of hidden treasures and is packed with innovative and useful suggestions. You will be able to make informed choices for everything from style to plant selection. The book guides you through steps toward composing a sky garden, beginning with key principles of design. Discover endless possibilities for creating a special place, whether a shady nook for relaxation or a dramatic vista for alfresco dining. Bring your airy retreat to life by choosing from eye-catching plant combinations and furniture arrangements. Add the finishing touch with lighting, outdoor sculpture and ornaments, and fountains and other water effects that make a garden uniquely your own. This is an invaluable resource for everyone planning to renovate or build a rooftop, terrace, or balcony garden. With expert advice and images from a leading landscape architect, you will be inspired to express your personality by adapting the ideas to suit your taste, needs, and budget..
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