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Wolfgang Wagener

"Raphael Soriano (1904-1988) was one of the early Case Study architects working in California in the mid-twentieth century, and a talented advocate of the new building materials and construction techniques developed just before and after World War II. Born in Rhodes, Soriano arrived in Los Angeles in 1924 at the age of 20. After graduating from the University of Southern California, he worked in the offices of Rudolph Schindler, Richard Neutra, and for Los Angeles County before starting his own practice in Los Angeles in 1935. His characteristic floating roofs, tranparent exterior walls, and open plan responded to the postwar demand for family-friendly, middle-class housing and an indoor-outdoor lifestyle well suited to the Southern California climate. In 1953, Soriano relocated to Tiburon, near San Francisco, where he designed housing for the maverick developer Joseph Eichler, as well as innovative aluminum structures." "Independent-minded and often irascible, Soriano's architectural contribution has been largely overlooked to date. Though he designed 150 buildings and built more than 50 during his career, only a dozen projects remain standing. This book is the first published monograph on Soriano, with a thoroughly researched account of the architect's life and oeuvre, and an essay on the historical and cultural factors influencing the development of postwar housing in Southern California. It includes an examination of 30 key Soriano buildings and a listing of Complete Works that documents, for the first time, every known project in Soriano's archive, with bibliographic references. In addition to previously unpublished original plans and drawings, this volume features approximately 125 photographs by renowned architectural photographer Julius Shulman, who was a close friend of Soriano and documented his work over a period of 40 years."--BOOK JACKET.

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Peter Kilby

"Southampton through the ages is an innovative book providing a historic account of the City of Southampton from its inception in 43AD through until the present day. The author's inclusion of extensive descriptions of the buildings and their origins supported by many exceptional photographs and illustrations, paints a vivid portrayal of the city's architectural prowess from first construction to current condition. This book addresses the evolution of Southampton from its beginnings as a Roman settlement in the 1st century AD, through its encounters as a trading settlement, and onto its development as an important link between England and Normandy, until hostilities broke out between the two countries. Periods of wealth as Southampton became a port of considerable stature are recounted, as are times of economic decline up until the city's fortunes changed once again with the discovery of a spa water supply in 1750. The book tells of how modern Southampton dates from the opening of the railway line connecting London to the docks, how it has recently established itself as a premier passenger port, and how World War II has greatly influenced the appearance of the city as we know it today."--BOOK JACKET.

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David L. Witt

"This study focuses on those artists who created a substantial body of work in Taos between the mid-1940s and the early 1960s. Sixty or more artists who identified themselves as modernists, or as being influenced by modernism in art, lived in Taos during this period. A representative group of them are featured in this book"--P. 3.

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Robert Capa

In 1942, a dashing young man who liked nothing so much as a heated game of poker, a good bottle of scotch, and the company of a pretty girl hopped a merchant ship to England. He was Robert Capa, the brilliant and daring photojournalist, and Collier's magazine had put him on assignment to photograph the war raging in Europe. In these pages, Capa recounts his terrifying journey through the darkest battles of World War II and shares his memories of the men and women of the Allied forces who befriended, amused, and captivated him along the way. His photographs are masterpieces -- John G. Morris, Magnum Photos' first executive editor, called Capa "the century's greatest battlefield photographer" -- and his writing is by turns riotously funny and deeply moving. From Sicily to London, Normandy to Algiers, Capa experienced some of the most trying conditions imaginable, yet his compassion and wit shine on every page of this book. Charming and profound, Slightly Out of Focus is a marvelous memoir told in words and pictures by an extraordinary man.