Product Description

How to implement effective event-processing solutions

Business people and IT professionals understand well the benefits of corporate agility and fast response to emerging threats and opportunities. However, many people are less familiar with the techniques now available to help accomplish those aspirations.

Event processing has emerged as the key enabler for situation awareness and a set of guiding principles for systems that can adapt quickly to shifts in company and market conditions. Written by experts in the field, this prescriptive guide explains how to use event processing in the design of business processes and the systems that support them. Event Processing: Designing IT Systems for Agile Companies covers:

• The role of event processing in enabling business dashboards and situation awareness
• Types of event-processing applications and their costs and benefits
• How event-driven architecture (EDA) complements conventional request-driven SOA
• How to implement event processing without disrupting existing applications

Customer Reviews (9)

Well Presented Concept
Fantastic high-level presentation of event processing. Not appropriate for programmers looking for implementation tricks, but dead-on in giving the reader a thorough yet concise and very readable insight into the conceptual side of event processing.

Good information on an interesting topic, but short on polish
This book contains a clear explanation of event procesing that I have not seen elsewhere. It isn't really just about event processing, it is sort of a general primer on the architecture of modern business applications. As it explains event-driven systems , it also clarifies the alternatives (request-driven and time-driven systems). It goes through straight-through processing, sense-and-respond, SOA and issues like guaranteed message delivery. On the other hand, the book is repetitive on several subjects and the flow should have been tightened up. The diagrams are helpful to show how things work, but the quality of the art leaves a lot to be desired.Basically, I'd recommend this book to a business analyst, IT manager or software developer who wants an up-to-date picture on how event processing works.An architect would probably also find things here that they didn't know or have forgotten.

Good Explanation of Events but Lacks Information on Software Products and Languages
This book is an overview, covering basic principles, vocabulary and best practices for application design. Pros:it's a good way to get started and a nice description of Event Processing (EP), Complex Event Processing (CEP) and how EP systems are designed. It explains how EP helps a business and positions EP with respect to other aspects of IT such as BPM, Rules Engines, SOA and Business Intelligence.Cons:It does not cover the commercial software products - there is nothing here about specific vendors and products.Also, it does not compare and contrast event processing languages - it gives a couple of language examples but not enough to tell me which language to use for a particular application.Overall, I'd recommend this book to someone who wants to understand what events are and how event processing systems work.However, a hands-on software developer will have to find detailed information on implementation elsewhere.

Very good explanation of events; doesn't cover software products
I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand what events are and how event processing systems work. I am a non-IT manager, and like many people, I had encountered discussions of events from time to time but I had never seen a full, clear explanation of the topic. This book provides a good overview, covering basic principles, business issues, application design and technology.The book could benefit from more discussion of available commercial software products - there is nothing here about specific vendors and products.Still it's a good way to get started and a nice overview of the usefulness of event processing, complex event processing and how EP systems are designed.

Event Processing
Although intended for the IT community, the authors conclusions are readily understood and are applicable to most anyone who needs to make sense of the vast amount of rapidly changing information needed to make sound business decisions.
Clearly written, with real-world examples to illustrate salient points, this is a must-read. ... Read more

Product Description
After thoroughly introducing the concept, the book moves on to a more detailed, technical explanation of CEP, featuring the Rapid event pattern language, reactive event pattern rules, event pattern constraints, and event processing agents. Offers practical advice on building CEP-based solutions that solve real world IS/IT problems. Softcover. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

OK... nothing special, no real insight
A decent book to add to the shelf and an informational read, but really nothing more.

The book provides no real insight and as another reviewer points out reads more like an advertisement.It's useful to read to get an overall view, but much better books exist on the subject and it seems to be catered primarily to the non-technical.The book uses a lot of buzz words, wraps the topics in "wouldn't it be nice" scenarios, etc. but provides no real meat or content.

All-in-all, decent to read, but provides no insight for business and/or technical decision making.

Still a great book on event processing!
This book is by far the best book on event processing.Sure some of the examples may be contextually old but the concepts still very much apply today.I actually like the dot-com examples because we have all been there and done that so it's easier to see how it could have been done better using events.If you're trying to get your arms around event processing then this book will help a-lot.I highly recommend it.

Rather disappointing
I have been very keen to read this book and to learn about CEP and event-driven architectures. However, I found the book rather disappointing. The introduction to CEP for global enterprises is weird, after so many years after the dotcom-bubble burst. The examples in the first parts of the book (electronic media stores) are not convincing, because they do not really need CEP or EDA. Sloppy explanations and definitions are embarrassing; several definitions are self-referring (e.g., significance and event pattern) or inconsistent (e.g., event pattern on page 114 and 116).

Good book in some ways but also very odd
This book is quite odd in that if flicks between what sounds like a dotcom consulting company pre-2000 and then to a univeristy academic and then back again quite regularly. I'm sure the academic content of the theory is flawless but it's like the author is pretending to work in in industry when in fact he's never seen outside a university. This is perhaps unfair as there's a limited amount of the ESP/CEP literature out there but don't be fooled into believing this book will be of practical use to you if you're a developer in industry being pressured into one ESP/CEP system or another, though it should cerainly be food for thought if you'd like to consider more deeply past some of the commerical implementations of ESP/CEP. If you're a software architect with no deliverables this is probably right up your street.

Surprisingly boring to read
I tried to read this book.I have it on my book shelf and I can see it right now, but I really couldn't get past the introduction.For a supposedly technical book, the first chapter reads like a 1995 introduction to the 'information superhighway' and about how wonderful it will be.This sentence on page 9:
"Another example is automated trading Web sites, or "eMarketplaces" as they are called."

Then followed by the word "global eCommerce Web".It just reads like a bad commercial from IBM or BEA telling you how to 'accelerate your eCommerce to web speed'.

In theory the book should be good, but this kind of treatment really offends my technical sensibilities. ... Read more

Product Description
In Event-Cities (MIT Press, 1994), Bernard Tschumi expanded his architectural concerns to address the issue of cities and their making. Event-Cities 2 continues this project through new selections from his recent architectural projects. The book includes the first comprehensive documentation of the drawings for the award-winning Parc de la Villette (including many previously unpublished drawings), his project for the expansion of the Museum of Modern Art, two architectural schools, a concert and exhibition hall, a student center, a railway station, a department store, and other urban projects. Tschumi suggests that architecture can accelerate the events of everyday life through new forms of organization. Using various modes of notation ranging from rough models to sophisticated computer-generated images, he reveals the complexities of the architectural process and the rich texture of events that define urban reality today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Before having coffee in one of the follies
Simultaneously I have on my desk Peter Hall Cities in Civilization and Bernard Tschumi Event Cities 2. Well, you should try it. It is quite a challenge! Peter Hall describes in (sometimes boring) length the histories of great cities. Bernard Tschumi offers drawings, emphasizing concepts. A large part of the Tschumi book pays attention to the Parc de la Villette in Paris. A park I have loved since I first visited it in the early nineties. I fairly well remember my first impressions. I was stunned at the assumption that this could be named a park. There were buildings, follies, the French national technology museum. In all respects, this was not what a park was meant to be. But, I loved it. The lay out of the park invited me to wander around. It was a very exciting experience: nature, culture, technology, playground, people just strolling around. During my second visit I began to understand more theoretically what the park was meant to represent. I was vaguely aware of the combination nature and culture. By reading the book of Tschumi I developed a sense of the purpose and intention. I admire the theoretical concepts in the book because I have seen actually how well the park functions. I realized that Tschumi considered the park as one of the greatest buildings ever been constructed. The park ought not to be an image of nature. The park is contributing to the city! This concept of the park as an open air cultural center is nicefully being explained in Event Cities. My third visit was in 2005. I realized I had come a long way in understanding this park, or rather this concept. The preliminary thoughts and drawings of Tschumi in Event Cities did help me a lot. So, I suggest the forthcoming visitor to the Parc de la Villette should read this book before having a coffee in one of the follies.

Luuk Oost

event cites 2
Item recieved well packaged, on-time, and as described.Will do business with again.

Poseur's Dud Theories
If the architecture of Frank Gehry, has been described as a movie composed entirely of special effects, then Tschumi's is like special effects that don't quite come off.Herbert Muschamp, the modernist cheerleader who is the architecture critic for the NY Times, began his review of Tschumi's Lerner Student Center at Columbia University by saying "By now, everyone knows that Bernard Tschumi's new Lerner Hall is a dud." And City Journal described his work as ""an agitated, irrational mix of limestone, brick, metal, and glass... giving the impression of a building on the edge of a nervous breakdown." Journalist Robert Locke has written, ""Tschumi's theoretical writings, the basis of his reputation, are a tangled mess that alternately induces dizziness and puzzlement as to whether the author actually knows what philosophy is, or merely heard it described by someone in a bar once ...... The worst of this stuff is so self-evidently empty as to defy attack".- It only remains for you to ask yourself whether you are one of those fools who will be taken in by this confidence trickster who has ruined the cities we live in, or whether you will move on to more intelligent reading.[Hint:Try Louis Kahn.it's a good start!]

Event Cities 2 - Five Design Devices of Benard Tschumi
In Event Cities 2, Benard Tschumi lists out his five design devices or strategies applied in his "in-between" architecture.

The first device is using space, event and movement as beginning of analysis. The famous Parc de la Villette is a typical example.

The second one is using the concept of "movement vector" to organize space. Vector can be applied as landscape in an office building in Geneva or as infrastructure inrailaway station in Lausanne.

The third one is to explore the relationship between soild and void in his design. The fourth one is to activate the movenment vector is this void.

The fifth "envelope" strategy is to explore the potential of building envelope as animated and integrated in-between space, instead of just building skin.

Through the explanation of the above strategies in Event-Cities 2 by Tschumi, all the complex ideas behind his recent design projects from 94 to 99 can be well-organized and easily understood by both design professionals and students. ... Read more

Product Description
In Event-Cities 3, Bernard Tschumi explores the complex and productive triangulation of architectural concept, context, and content. There is no architecture without a concept, an overriding idea that gives coherence and identity to a building. But there is also no architecture without context—historical, geographical, cultural—or content (what happens inside). Concept, context, and content may be in unison or purposely discordant. Against the contextualist movement of the 1980s and 1990s, which called for architecture to blend in with its surroundings, Tschumi argues that buildings may or may not conform to their settings—but that the decision should always be strategic.

Through documentation of recent projects—including the new Acropolis Museum in Athens, a campus athletic center in Cincinnati, museums in Sao Paolo, New York, and Antwerp, concert halls in France, and a speculative urban project in Beijing—Tschumi examines different ways that concept, context, and content relate to each other in his work. In the new Acropolis Museum, for example, Tschumi looks at the interaction of the concept—a simple and precise museum with the clarity of ancient Greek buildings—with the context (its location at the base of the Acropolis, 800 feet from the Parthenon) and the content, which incorporates archaeological excavations on the building site into the fabric of the museum. Through provocative examples, Tschumi demonstrates that the relationship of concept, context, and content may be one of indifference, reciprocity, or conflict—all of which, he argues, are valid architectural approaches. Above all, he suggests that the activity of architecture is less about the making of forms than the investigation and materialization of concepts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Must have for architecture students
This is an amazing book for anyone looking for insight as to how modern architects go about the practice of their profession.Tschumi provides many sketches to show the necessary rigor and logical progression of design developement.This is a must have for any architect or aspiring architecture student!

Event Cities 3
Item recieved well packaged, on-time, and as described.Will do business with again.

Anti-Architecture
If the architecture of Frank Gehry, has been described as a movie composed entirely of special effects, then Tschumi's is like special effects that don't quite come off.Herbert Muschamp, the modernist cheerleader who is the architecture critic for the NY Times, began his review of Tschumi's Lerner Student Center at Columbia University by saying "By now, everyone knows that Bernard Tschumi's new Lerner Hall is a dud." And City Journal described his work as ""an agitated, irrational mix of limestone, brick, metal, and glass... giving the impression of a building on the edge of a nervous breakdown." Journalist Robert Locke has written, ""Tschumi's theoretical writings, the basis of his reputation, are a tangled mess that alternately induces dizziness and puzzlement as to whether the author actually knows what philosophy is, or merely heard it described by someone in a bar once ...... The worst of this stuff is so self-evidently empty as to defy attack".-It only remains for you to ask yourself whether you are one of those fools who will be taken in by this confidence trickster who has ruined the cities we live in, or whether you will move on to more intelligent reading.[Hint: Try Louis Kahn.It's a good start!]

diggity dank
this book is phaaaat.You know like a cold ice cream on a summers day.Man it is better than poppie's chicken. dogg

A full monography from "la Villette" To "le Fresnoy"
This monography of Tschumi is very interesting and show well the conceptual approach in his works. the design of the book is also made by Tschumi himself. We can like or don't like these esthetism, I mean theblack and white pictures with low resolution. But nevertheless, this bookis a full monography of all the project until the beginning of the 90's.there is a new book planned to follow this one "Event-cities 2".So I believe these two books would be good to have in your own library ifyou want to have a full coverage of tschumi works. ... Read more

Product Description

An introduction to the medieval cathedral, those churches that are regarded as the greatest achievements of medieval architecture. Details their social history, who built them, how they were built, and why. Forty photos and maps help to guide the reader through a narrated tour of these awe-inspiring churches.

When we think of cathedrals, we usually envision the great Gothic Buildings of 12th- and 13th-century Europe. But other than being a large church, a cathedral is neither a specific building type nor specifically medieval. What a makes a large church a cathedral is the presence of a single item of furniture: the chair (in Latin: cathedra) or throne that is the symbol of the ecclesiastical and spiritual authority of a bishop. This book is an introduction to the medieval cathedral, those churches that are usually regarded as among the greatest achievements of medieval architecture.

While cathedrals were often the most prominent urban structure in many European cities, their construction was never a civic responsibility, but remained the responsibility of the clergy in charge of the day to day activities and services. Beginning with an overview of the social history of cathedrals, Clark examines such topics as patrons, builders and artists, and planning and construction; and provides an in-depth examination of the French Cathedral at Reims—a seminal building with significant technological advances, important sculptural programs, a surviving bishop's palace, and other structures. The volume concludes with a series of illustrations, a selection of original texts, and a selected bibliography for further study. A full index is also provided.

Customer Reviews (1)

The history and concept of medieval cathedrals
Cathedrals are usually envisioned as Gothic buildings of early Europe - but it's not a specific kind of building, but the singular presence of a chair or throne which stands as the symbol of the spiritual authority of a bishop. The history and concept of medieval cathedrals is surveyed here as part of Greenwood's ongoing 'Guides to Historic Events of the Medieval World' series, offering college-level readers chapters covering Gothic era construction, planning, patrons, and religious sentiments. An introduction to Gothic history is a concurrent theme of MEDIEVAL CATHEDRALS, which provides plenty of primary source documentation throughout, adds black and white illustration examples of Gothic structures, and provides both architectural and spiritual insights.
... Read more

Product Description
Since the days of Montesquieu and Jefferson, political decentralization has been seen as a force for better government and economic performance. It is thought to bring government 'closer to the people', nurture civic virtue, protect liberty, exploit local information, stimulate policy innovation, and alleviate ethnic tensions. Inspired by such arguments, and generously funded by the major development agencies, countries across the globe have been racing to devolve power to local governments. This book re-examines the arguments that underlie the modern faith in decentralization. Using logical analysis and formal modeling, and appealing to numerous examples, it shows that most are based on vague intuitions or partial views that do not withstand scrutiny. A review of empirical studies of decentralization finds these as inconclusive and mutually contradictory as the theories they set out to test. ... Read more

Product Description

Event-Triggered and Time-Triggered Control Paradigms presents a valuable survey about existing architectures for safety-critical applications and discusses the issues that must be considered when moving from a federated to an integrated architecture. The book focuses on one key topic - the amalgamation of the event-triggered and the time-triggered control paradigm into a coherent integrated architecture. The architecture provides for the integration of independent distributed application subsystems by introducing multi-criticality nodes and virtual networks of known temporal properties. The feasibility and the tangible advantages of this new architecture are demonstrated with practical examples taken from the automotive industry.

Event-Triggered and Time-Triggered Control Paradigms offers significant insights into the architecture and design of integrated embedded systems, both at the conceptual and at the practical level.

Product Description
Literary Education and Digital Learning: Methods and Technologies for Humanities Studies provides insight into the most relevant issues in literary education and digital learning. This unique reference fills a gap in literature teaching, covering literary aspects both from educational and research perspectives. ... Read more

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Product Description
The latest volume presents a series of projects including the completed office of the president of Germany, the construction of teh Chancellery in Tiergarten, the Gemaldegalerie by Hilmer/Sattler, the new Chamber of Industry and Commerce by Grimshaw and Unger's exhibition complex. The book invites the reader to take a stroll through Berlin's most attractive art quarter in central Berlin and traces the developments at the Alexanderplatz. The progress of teh buildings now completed around the Friedrichstrasse and the Pariser Platz by architects including Gehry, Kleinhues, Ortner & Ortner, Van den Valentyn and gmp are also documented. Naturally the Potsdamer Platz, which has recently been opened, with its buildings by Piano, Rogers, Kollhoff, Moneo, Lauber and Wohr is also featured. As in previous volumes, the main part is complemented by a chronology of buildings events and an index of all newly completed buildings of the current year. ... Read more

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John Hughes-Wilson is a former intelligence officer and is ideally placed to reveal the secret history of military intelligence. He takes us 'behind the scenes' of military and political events from Elizabeth I to Osama bin Laden and the crisis in the Middle East. The book is divided into three parts. The first investigates some famous disasters when lack of intelligence was the decisive factor, e.g. Gallipoli and Dieppe. The secondexamines some equally famous examples of good intelligence being overlooked or ignored, e.g. the 'bridge too far' battle of Arnhem. The last part goes behind the scenes of some famous successes, from the capture of Slobodan Milosevic to the defeat of IRA bombing campaigns and the arrest of a spy ring at the heart of NATO. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A lively read for both serious military history buffs and general-interest readers alike
THE PUPPET MASTERS: SPIES, TRAITORS AND THE REAL FORCES BEHIND WORLD EVENTS covers intelligence around the world and its effect on major events in world history, from Cold War spying operations to the effects of intelligence on statesmen, politicians, and agencies of military and government alike. It draws strong connections between world history and legacies left by intelligence operations during war and peacetime alike, providing a fine survey of underlying rationale, historical events, and more. A lively read for both serious military history buffs and general-interest readers alike.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Misinformed, innacurate, confusing
I was thoroughly disappointed. The book would have been a much, timely treatment of events occurring today. The Cold War is over but there is a new threat amongst us: can the Intell-Defense powers be just as active to crush this new enemy? It would have been an interesting book. The author is often found waffling due to lack of material and sometimes even relating historical items inaccurately. ... Read more

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Sociopolitical changes are often associated with ideological shifts at the individual and mass level. The study of how sociopolitical and ideological change interrelate has been the subject of debate for decades. Here, however, the authors develop and defend a new theory that treats ideologies as complex cognitive systems that are internally articulated around prioritized principles and values. Focusing on the transition to democracy in Latin America, the book examines the changes in mass beliefs that accompany democratization in an effort to offer a more sophisticated theory of the relationship between belief, ideology, and action in social change. Ultimately, the authors argue for a cognitive-based model that can account for how social actors come to define "democracy" in current contexts. ... Read more

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With increasing greenhouse gas emissions, we are embarked on an unprecedented experiment with an uncertain outcome for the future of the planet. The Kyoto Protocol serves as an initial step through 2012 to mitigate the threats posed by global climate change but policy-makers, scholars, businessmen, and environmentalists have begun debating the structure of the successor to the Kyoto agreement. Written by a team of leading scholars in economics, law and international relations, this book contributes to this debate by examining the merits of six alternative international architectures for climate policy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Well organized book
This isn't a technical book, but it's not lazy Sunday reading either. It is a well laid out book though. There are 6 proposed "architectures" (post-Kyoto frameworks) presented-- along with 1 or 2 competing reviews are each proposal. Due to this organization, you get a total 360 view of the policy issues and trade-offs involved. Perhaps, due to the academic tone, it might be a little off-balanced away from business realities. However, this is not, in any way, a biased environmental ranting book. ... Read more

Product Description
Event-Cities 4 is the latest in the Event-Cities series from Bernard Tschumi, documenting recent built and theoretical projects in the context of his evolving views on architecture, urbanism, and design. Event-Cities 4 follows directly from the work of Event-Cities 3, which examined the interaction of architectural content, concept, and context. This volume takes the interaction a step further, looking at a series of projects for which program or context are insufficient as a generative conceptual strategy, hence requiring a different approach. Tschumi has said, "Over the past years, there is one word I have almost never used, except in order to attack it: 'form.'" In Event-Cities 4, Tschumi introduces the "concept-form": a concept generating a form, or a form generating a concept, so that one reinforces the other. The concept may be programmatic, technological, or social. The form may be singular or multiple, regular or irregular. Concept-forms act as organizing devices or common denominators for the multiple dimensions of programs and their evolution over time, and drive the projects featured in this book.

Highlights include master plans for a pair of media-based work spaces and cultural campuses in Singapore and Abu Dhabi; a major master plan for a financial center with 40,000 projected inhabitants in the Dominican Republic; the innovative Blue Residential Tower in New York City; a group of museums and cultural buildings in France, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and South Korea; a pedestrian bridge in France; and a "multi-programmatic" furniture piece, the TypoLounger. The book contains more than twenty of the Tschumi firm's recent projects, showcasing the most current and forward-looking designs of one of the world's leading architectural practices. ... Read more

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"Written in exceptionally clear yet imaginative prose by two distinguished architectural historians."—Paul Goldberger, The New York Times Book Review

This highly regarded, exceptionally well-written book brings to life the entire sweep of architectural history, and its greatest buildings, from the prehistoric era to the present. For over 15 years readers have relied on this incomparable work for its lucidity, originality, splendid illustrations, and nuanced interpretation of architecture. Now in its Second Edition, the top-selling history of architecture is better than ever with an updated introduction, new insights based on recent research, improved illustrations including eight additional pages in color, and above all a new chapter—on the most significant and controversial works of contemporary architecture from 1980 to 2000 —that proposes challenges for the future.Amazon.com Review
For everyone interested in looking beyond the façades of architectural landmarks to learn about the forces that shaped them, Architecture: From Prehistory to Postmodernity has been a definitive resource since its publication in 1986. Marvin Trachtenberg and Isabelle Hyman, professors at New York University, weave complex information into an engrossing narrative. While the authors' focus is on the Western tradition, shared ancient roots inspired a chapter on aspects of Islamic architecture. In the second edition, Trachtenberg's well-supported opinions add a lively sense of engagement to a new chapter surveying major trends of the 1980s and 1990s (work by Renzo Piano, Frank Gehry, Daniel Liebeskind, and others). Among the special delights of the book are its excursions into fascinating architectural byways, such as the history of castles, why the mendicant monks wanted simpler churches, and the superiority of the truss to the girder. More than 1,000 illustrations, including 91color plates, provide ample visual reference. --Cathy Curtis ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Achitecture: From Prehistory to Post Modernism
Good price, excellent value. There were only two pages that appeared to be 'damaged' due to possibly leaving a copied sheet of paper in the book, which left two overlapping layers of text. Other than that, the book itself was in very good condition, no other notes or markings throughout the book, and nothing torn.

good book
The book was in good condition. It came exactly how it was described. Good seller!!!

Not Light Reading
Purchased as a textbook for my Architectural Theory class.While very in-depth and expansive, Trachtenberg postulates opinions as fact, without a second opinion.

Being a textbook, everything said is drawn out and convoluted.This has the potential to either leave the reader with a deep understanding or completely bewildered.

Being an architecture student, this book is giving me a historical design base I plan to build off of for the rest of my life.

like new
received the book in time and hardly any traces of wear and tear. the book looks like new and it had a hard cover binding also. very satisfied with my purchase.

This is THE story of western architecture.
I am a Registered architect(with National Certification), Registered Interior Designer and instructor of Architectural History. Trachtenberg and Hyman have written the definitive history of western architecture in this tract. The reading is awkward at times, but the ideas conveyed comprise the foundation of todays architectural theory. There are few, if any textbooks on this subject which maintain a consistant thread of thought all the way through. This one does. If you are vitally interested in the underpinnings of today's designs, you should read it. ... Read more

Product Description
This original analysis of structuration, agency and the state offers an incisive explanation of the changing nature of the state.

Cerny first presents a theoretical overview of the nature of political science, and the role of institutional structures and individual agency. In so doing, he develops a sophisticated analysis of the interaction between political structuration, individual agency and political change.

The second part addresses issues of political structuration in practice. Cerny examines the constraints and opportunities within which leaders and parties operate; the interaction between the state and socio-economic interests and groups; the state involvement in the domestic economy; and changing political structures at the transnational level.

Cerny argues that the state is not being transcended; the architecture of politics is not moving beyond the nation-state despite the emergence of transnational structures. He points to the movement of many states towards the model of the `competition state', and away from the model of `welfare state', as the major contemporary change in the role of the state. He asserts that new forms of political action will have to evolve if the state itself is to be controlled and used for the pursuit of deeper human values in the 21st century.

Customer Reviews (1)

Key book for the study of IPE
Brillant insight of theoretical aspects related to the state and agency. In particular, I would recommend to look into chapter 3 which challengesthe traditional conceptualisation of nation-states. ... Read more

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The destinyof the Baroque, from the rigorous design of Italy's first capital city to the rediscovery of a strategic resource for the future of Turin. In the heart of the contemporary city, the Baroque still acts as the background against which new interventions stand out, the fabric on which new designs for the public spaces are laid, the living body on which numerous restorations are compared. Architectrue conceived on a European scale investigates ways for transporting into the future a legacy that is crucial for the city's urban identity.The seriesContemporary Architecture in Turin reconstructs the complex topography of places, buildings, architects, techniques and styles in Turin throughout the twentieth century. A collection of small histories that helps identify future scenarios for a city that has unobtrusively embraced the twenty-first century. Also available: Italia 61 ISBN 9788842214052Lavori PubbliciISBN 9788842214045Alpine ArchitectureISBN 9788842214069Turin ... Read more

Product Description
Prominent buildings continue to rise in Berlin's center. Last year's highlights included works by Jean Nouvel, Mathias Ungers, Ieoh Ming Pei, Dominique Perrault, Josef Paul Kleihues and many more. The 1997 volume documents, among others, the work of Renzo Piano and Arata Isozaki at the bow of Potsdamer Platz, Daniel Libeskind's Jewish Museum, Sir Norman Foster's new dome for the Reichstag and the completed city complexes of Philip Johnson and Aldo Rossi.

In addition ot urban projects, five new suburbs are presented, ranging from garden-city to stone-block, and Berlin's neglected waterfront is documented in a series of air views that cover the north-to-south course between the New Towns "Spandau Lake" (Kees Christiaanse et al.) and "Rummelsburg Bay" (Herman Hertzberger et al.).

Also in 1997: city strolls, the day-by-day "Chronology of Events" and Berlin's "New Buildings '97". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Isozaki, Libeskind, Rossi & Johnson Build in 1997
The second in the series of Bauwelt Berlin Annuals.This book contains the building events which shaped 1997 in Berlin.I use all the Bauwelt books regularly because they are so thorough in their presentation.Plans, sections, construction site photos and interviews or perspectives from the everyday man that humanize the otherwise mechanical process of construction.I look at different projects each time I open the book.The major projects in this book POTSDAMER PLATZ (Renzo Piano, Arata Isozaki), Daniel Libeskind's Jewish Museum (<--There is also a whole comprehensive book on this building), Foster's Reichstag, Aldo Rossi's Housing, The Phillip Johnson House, SPITTELMARKT, Hotel Adlon (Patzschke, Klotz und Partner, AIC, Ezra Attia and AD Living Design), The "New Suburbs" of Franzoesisch-Buchholz, Neu-Karow, Aalemannufer, Staaken, Rudower Felder and Altglienicke.Don't miss the timeline in the back for the day to day feel of Berlin, and the comprehensive list of new buildings in the second half of the book. ... Read more

Product Description
In Up from Zero, Paul Goldberger, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, tells the inside story of the quest to rebuild one of the most important symbolic sites in the world, the sixteen acres where the towers of the former World Trade Center stood. A story of power, politics, architecture, community, and culture, Up from Zero takes us inside the controversial struggle to create and build one of the most challenging urban-design projects in history.

What should replace the fallen towers? Who had the courage and vision to rise to the task of rebuilding? Who had the right, finally, to decide? The struggle began soon after September 11, 2001, as titanic egos took sides, made demands, and jockeyed for power. Lawyers, developers, grieving families, local residents, politicians, artists, and architects all had fierce needs, radically different ideas, strong emotions, and boundless determination. How could conflicting interests be resolved? After hundreds of hours of often rancorous meetings, the first sets of plans were finally revealed in the summer of 2002–and the results were staggeringly disappointing.

Yet, as Goldberger shows, the rebuilding process recovered and began to flourish. Rather than degenerating into turf wars, it evolved in ways that no one could have predicted. From the decision to reintegrate the site into the dense fabric of lower Manhattan, to the choice of Daniel Libeskind as master planner, to the appointment of a memorial jury, the process has been marked by moments of bold vision, effective community activism, and personal instinct, punctuating the often contentious politics of public participation.
Up from Zero takes in the full sweep of this tremendous effort. Goldberger presents a drama of creative minds at work, solving seemingly insurmountable clashes of taste, interests, and ideas. With unique access to the players and the process, and with a sophisticated understanding of architecture and its impact on people and on the social and cultural life of a city, Paul Goldberger here chronicles the courage, the sacrifices, and the burning passions at the heart of one of the greatest efforts of urban revitalization in modern times.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A true epic of a great contemporary city, New York.
What's so great about this book?

Is it because the book carefully analyzes
pros and cons on the history of the area?

Is it because the book brings alive the political
games of Port Authority and LMDC?

Is it because the book broadcasts the competition
of world-class architects?

Is it because the book records the behind scenes
of super architects' dirty cat fight?

Is it because the eye of the book is not only from
top-down, but also bottom-up?

Is it because the book tells what the role of developer is in NY?


Well, the book surely answers all of above-mentioned questions. But the real drama of the book is in what the New Yorkers did together to make this site memorable and meaningful (both symbolically and practically); a strong testimony to the victorious civic life against the destructive terrorists attacks.

Paul Goldberger bites that drama with such tenacity and rigor that it's really difficult to put down the book once in hands. The book actually mentions that NY had to wait several months before speaking of rebuilding because nobody dared to speak when the scars of terrorism was just around the corner. What a tragic yet promising story!

The heart of the matter is that in the turmoil of rebuilding energy arises a revelation how a great contemporary city -such as New York- claims it's identity. It's a city of ideas. It's a city of debates. It's a city of interactions, and it's a city of generating hope from the deepest despair of human affairs. "It's a city of Victors, not Victims"

I would like to believe that Goldberger, as a New Yorker, simply could not resist speaking of what he had witnessed. The book is mind bothering, yet, heart beating read.

Factual, informative, broad, and surprisingly objective
Who would have expected from Paul Goldberger to produce such a restraint in personal opinion and - instead - factual, informative, surprisingly objective, and detailed history of the Ground Zero's struggle to rebuild the WTC in NYC? It is a story involving distribution of billions of dollars by those having executive power (combined with exemption from NY City building code) giving the politicians ("Emperor" Pataki, the Director of LMDC Roland Betts - a close friend and business partner of President George W. Bush, ...) opportunities to establish arbitrary restrictions and allowances regardless of the cost and usefulness, to arbitrarily select the participants of design process regardless of their merit, ability, capacity, and a public interest, etc. They created (initiated and developed) opportunities for favored participants in the design process to gain from their political and not entirely appropriate, but self-serving decisions, which - at the end - bit them, after confronted by a reality check, which exposed their selfishness and ignorance.
Supplementing illustrations are in "Imagining Ground Zero" - ISBN: 0847826570. ... Read more

Product Description
The Organizational Complex is a historical and theoretical analysis of corporate architecture in the United States after the Second World War. Its title refers to the aesthetic and technological extension of the military-industrial complex, in which architecture, computers, and corporations formed a network of objects, images, and discourses that realigned social relations and transformed the postwar landscape.

In-depth case studies of architect Eero Saarinen's work for General Motors, IBM, and Bell Laboratories and analyses of office buildings designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill trace the emergence of a systems-based model of organization in architecture, in which the modular curtain wall acts as both an organizational device and a carrier of the corporate image. Such an image—of the corporation as a flexible, integrated system—is seen to correspond with a "humanization" of corporate life, as corporations decentralize both spatially and administratively.

Parallel analyses follow the assimilation of cybernetics into aesthetics in the writings of artist and visual theorist Gyorgy Kepes, as art merges with techno-science in the service of a dynamic new "pattern-seeing." Image and system thus converge in the organizational complex, while top-down power dissolves into networked, pattern-based control. Architecture, as one among many media technologies, supplies the patterns—images of organic integration designed to regulate new and unstable human-machine assemblages. ... Read more