Today's (3/10/2010) New Book Releases on Arts & Photography

Bali is an island paradise that inspires countless dreams of tropical beaches, exotic people and gorgeous views. More than just an increasingly popular tourist destination, Bali is also a global leader in tropical design, showcased in all its glory in Bali Home. Covering over 100 homes, garden estates, hotels, restaurants and more, this book gives a tantalizing glimpse of the latest design trends coming out of Bali. Full-color photography, both of decorative details and architectural concepts, is accompanied by an insightful text that gives attainable interior design tips to tropical dream seekers.

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) is widely considered the greatest American architect of all time; his work ushered in the modern era and remains highly influential today—half a century after his death. TASCHEN's three-volume monograph covers all his designs (numbering approximately 1100), realized and unrealized. Made in collaboration with the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives in Taliesin, Arizona, this collection leaves no stone unturned in examining and paying tribute to Wright's astonishing life and work.

Volume Two starts with the years spent working in Japan, mainly on the Imperial Hotel, and followed by personal turmoil; in late 1922, Wright divorced from first wife Catherine, and the following year married Miriam Noel. Yet barely six months later she left, initiating a bitter divorce. Shortly after, Wright met his third wife, Olgivanna. During this difficult period a second fire at Taliesin strained his already parlous finances; the bank foreclosed, leaving him without home or studio. With nowhere to practice, he started writing magazine articles, and his autobiography (published in 1932 to great acclaim).
    
From 1917 through the Depression, up until 1942, though he designed continually, Wright saw many projects go unrealized, but nevertheless had the chance to build on new concepts and in new regions. His block building system led to idiosyncratic works like the famous Ennis house in Los Angeles, and in 1936 he completed the Herbert Jacobs house, using his new "Usonian" techniques, designed to be affordable for the middle-American family. The same year he moved to Arizona where, at the age of 71, Wright embraced his rugged new life in the desert, and with his students started building the Taliesin West complex. After receiving a gold medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects in London, he returned to see his Johnson Administration Building opened to great fanfare, nationwide publicity, and lines around the block waiting to tour inside.
   
Despite adversity, Wright emerged from this era with reputation restored and vitality renewed—as manifested in Fallingwater and the Johnson building—while his Usonian homes began to alter the way Americans lived.

Whether you're remodeling your house, redesigning your apartment or just looking for a book of design ideas, Japan Home is a beautiful and indispensable resource full of practical information, shopping resources and, of course, inspiration.

Filled with light and simplicity and existing in close harmony with the natural world, Japanese interior design has long been renowned for its spare beauty, utility and grace. More and more people outside of Japan have come to appreciate its tranquil allure, and are incorporating uniquely Japanese features into their homes.

The Living House was the first book of its kind to present a detailed picture of the house within the social and symbolic worlds of Southeast Asian peoples. A pioneering title that has become a classic, this exemplary text draws on many sources of information, from architects and anthropologists, to the author's own firsthand research.

As it probes into the centrally significant role of houses within Southeast Asian social systems, The Living House reveals new insights into kinship systems, gender symbolism and cosmological ideas, ultimately uncovering basic themes concerning the idea of life and life processes themselves. A vivid picture emerges of how people shape buildings and buildings shape people, as rules about layout and uses of space have an impact on social relationships.

Although intended first and foremost as a work of anthropology, The Living House will also appeal to architects, scholars and the interested general reader.

Nothing reflects the beauty of life as much as Japanese theater. It is here that reality is held suspended and emptiness can fill the mind through words, music, dance, and mysticism. A.L. Sadler translates the mysteries of Noh, Kyogen, and Kabuki in his groundbreaking book, Japanese Plays. A seminal classic, it provides a cross section of Japanese theater that gives the reader a sampler of its beauty and power.