Wanna learn to blow glass?  Get this book first.
358576
I learned a great deal from this book and even more from Ed's Advanced Glassworking Techniques.  If you're planning on taking a class, want to learn about glassblowing or already blow glass and want to improve, I promise you'll find value in these two books.  Ed explains the process in a really straightforward and fun way; he's much more knowledgeable and helpful in book form than just about every 'teacher' I've met in person.  Since there are about 100 ways to skin a cat or make things out of glass, even if you've worked around skilled glassblowers you'll still get insights about why glass does what it does and how you can coax it to do what you want.  I think I read the Advanced book about 100 times over the years and I highly recommend these books to anyone getting into glass.

And the bonus of it all is I met Ed briefly at Pilchuck and he's a super nice guy to boot.
3953605
The next best thing to having someone by your side teaching you the art of decoupage is Mr. Rice's book. It's highly illustrated & the step-by-step directions on how to decoupage glass and other objects are excellent. He leaves no stone unturned and even points out a mistake in a decoupaged table, making me feel that I'm not the only one making errors. Mr. Rice is funny, creative, and I'd like to see instructions on making purses.
2436402
This book is just a must for the one that is thinking of entering the "the big job's" in glass art works in the style of F.Ll. Wright.
Roland Djerf
33691
I had done stained glass long, long, ago and just needed a book to refresh my memory on certain techniques.  I was very impressed by the photos, organization, and the writing.  An excellent book to get anyone started.
526124
Loved this.  It's a really great book for any beginner interested in whisky or anyone looking to expand their knowledge from just their preferred type.  Definitely worth the read and a really easy read at that.

The book covers a bit of everything, from the origin and making of whisky through tasting and giving some background on the various styles by country.  Well worth reading if you're a fan who wants to know more.

Chapters include:
The story of whiskey
Making spirit:  Fermentation and distillation
Aging
The wall and the work:  The challenge of tasting whiskey
Tasting:  Tapping into your years of experience.
Mapping whiskey styles
Scotch:  How the world says "whisky"
Irish:  Single, double, triple
American:  Bourbon, Tennessee, and rye
Canadian:  Blended, Always
Japanese:  The student becomes the master
Craft whiskey
Dilution:  Water, ice and cocktails
What goes well with whiskey?
Collecting Whiskey
1122564
I am so excited I found this book. I have huge , impossible hair and I am a regular client at the DryBar so I was so excited to get Alli Webb's secrets. It's like having your bff teach you how to master the art of blowdrying. LOVE! Thank you so much for the great tips.
3158882
This book comes ring bound with a sturdy cover which makes it easy to keep open while working or just reading easily. It is very detailed and has great pictures showing each step. It explains very well from enviroment, tools, glass, techniques and a few example projects. It is overall a high quality book and is extremely organized and informative. A must have for anyone wanting to get off to a good start in stained glass.
1623995
I am a beginner at glass etching and cutting.  I found some useful information in this book.  I hope to use some ideas soon.
4102507
Mr Brett's little book is a gem as far as I can tell. His review of and take on fundamentals is dead on. His little hint about straight in shots is worth the price of the book.  As cheap as I am, I am considering getting his DVD. I have read or own almost everything out there and for me, since I use a snooker type stance anyway,this is the gouge. I highly recommend this book
639918
The great thing about this book is that gives a realistic viewpoint on becoming a glassblower. Many books present a flowery overview of the art but few spell out the costs involved, the struggles of making a name for yourself in the art show circuit, and how to display your works. I am a glass artist myself and I can relate to this story on a personal level.
2457802
This is the Video I wish I had when I was teaching University to add to Ed's book. I can't tell you how many students just wanted to see that demo one more time. if you have this video you can watch the demo as many times as you need to go make the form and watch it again on your water break. in this Video Joe explains the reason why the forms and techniques being taught are are important. He also gives you several ways to develop your vocabulary with the material in every lesson. This is the way you learn from working with top Glass Professionals or the way we teach at a full time Collage Glass Program There you get the opportunity to spend hundreds of hours Observing and Working with people who demonstrate many different approaches to glass working. After you go threw  Glass 1 do it over a few times before you Go threw Glass 2, then Do the entire series in order over, again and again, adding what you learn as you go. I guaranty you will come away with something different and better each time around. Don't be fooled by those nice looking full colour glass blowing book/video series you may see out there they don't compare to this one.
2775809
This is a great book on Fireworks 4, and it was perfect for a person like me who, when I started, could barely draw a circle on the canvas.  Within a couple weeks, I was feathering photos, setting up animations, creating interesting shapes using masks and other Fireworks options, working with disjointed rollovers, among many other things.
As such a book should, Cohen's starts with the basics and builds on the knowledge established in the first chapters.  First, there is document setup and Fireworks' basic tools, then on to colors, path tools, fills, strokes, effects, and text.  Before long, you've forgotten how incapable you were (or at least I was) just a few days earlier, and you're working with hotspots and slices and behaviors (a critical component of web sites these days).
Among other strong points about the book is the fact that it covers material impossible to render exciting, but extremely important for the full utilization of Fireworks, like optimizing files, importing and exporting files, and Fireworks' automation functions.
If there is a problem, it is that the book gets a little rushed in sections on behaviors and exporting, but this is not a serious problem; you just need to concentrate more on these difficult subjects, and to have an ability to experiment a little.  And if I were to advise Cohen to expand these sections, I would be hard pressed to suggest where she could cut in other sections to keep the book under 500 pages, and still directed at the target market, which I assume is people like me, who have a decent basic knowledge of computers, but who knew basically nothing about web graphics at the start.  With this book, Cohen hits the center of the target.
Some other good things.  It includes helpful "hints" in every section, hints that I grew so comfortable with that I got into the habit of skipping to those first before I returned to the beginning to start work on the new section.  The quality of these "hints" suggests the author's wide experience in the web and web graphics.
Also good was the fact that, in certain critical sections on fairly complicated subjects, for instance creating disjointed rollovers (p. 313), the author first briefly outlines all the steps in the process before going on to the details of each step.  Sometimes the big picture is necessary before diving into how it all really works, and Cohen is sensitive to that.
A fine book.  Worth every penny, and more.
4749312
Since I started working with glass, mainly fusing I have gone through five grinders. Not them, probably me. I love my grinders and there are things I could not do without them, but I hated being tied to another machine. I had heard about this method but never tried it, did not now where to start.
I know not only know where to start but how to finish. There is something very zen like about finishing my lass this way.
Thank you for taking the time to get this book out there, for making it so easy to understand and for making my finished glass look that much better.
712589
There's "Setting the Table" by Danny Meyer, to learn about being truly hospitable. There's "The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks" by David Embury, to learn about the theory and practise of mixology. And now there is "Bar Book" by Jeffrey Morgenthaler*.
I've trained about 60,000 bartenders in 60-odd (sometimes very odd) countries in the last 15 years. I've founded Europe's largest bar school as well as an award-winning craft cocktail bar, and if I could go back in time I would give Jeffrey's book to each and every student I've ever had. As it is, I will give it to every student I have from now on.
Jeffrey's research, insight and experience have resulted in a book that will shave years off the time needed to master drink making, leaving more time for professionals to concentrate on creativity and hospitality, and for interested Cocktailians** to concentrate on seducing your neighbours' wives (and husbands) at the excellent cocktail parties you will henceforth be able to effortlessly throw.

This is where you click "buy now". Now!

* Disclosure: Jeffrey is a friend and contemporary of mine, but such a cheap, thoughtless bastard that not only did he not think to offer me a financial inducement in return for a positive review, I even had to buy my own copy of this annoyingly excellent book.

** Cocktailian = cocktail equivalent of a foodie.
2597499
Pilchuck Glass School is the place where every artist who works in glass comes to take or teach a summer class (2 1/2 weeks). It's the glass art world's seat of power where craft process is shared, artists go to refresh themselves (located on 40 acres of land amidst thousands of acres of tree farm overlooking the most spectacular vista including the waterway from Seattle to Alaska it's hard not to get in touch with your soul), and it's the place where artists return each summer just to be with each other. This is a very special place.
Dale Chihuly started Pilchuck one summer more than 25 years ago when he was teaching at RISD. He thought it would be fun to go west and blow glass...there was no Studio Glass Movement and, as you will read when you buy this fabulous book, there wasn't much of anything but the extrodinary spirit of a group of very special people.
Pilchuck has grown to be one of the world's most important arts institutions with a Board of Trustees that "gets it"...and we know because we've been Trustees for years.
Tina Oldknow has written an easy to read "page turner" that's a scholarly work (she conducted more than 150 interviews in two years of thorough research for this book) while it's picture filled format (gorgeous color photographs of art made from glass as well as historic photos of the artists and their art) makes it easy to understand for those who don't really like to read art books. This is a don't miss read for anyone interested in art or in the social history of the 70's, 80's and early 90's.
1563239
Since I am a beginner to glass painting and have one book on the subject I was looking for something more comprehensive that covered other techniques.  After reading the review and previewing from amazon's "look inside", I had to buy the book.  "The Complete Guide to Glass Painting, is just what it says, it is a good start for beginners and and provides lots of projects, techniques and motifts for the more advanced glass painter.  There are so many techniques I never though of that was not covered in my one glass book.  When the book first arrived in the mail, I glanced through it quickly; now I am reading the book word for word so as not to miss a great tip.  Each page is well designed and layed out for easy reading and understanding with visual direction.  You can't go wrong.  For those who have more knowedge, this book has 400 motifs to use or combine to create fantastic glass paintings and projects that spark ideas.  If you must have a glass painting book, this will be the only one you will need.  Allan and Barry, thanks for sharing your 20 years of experience, this is a great book.  If the authors ever collaborated to produce anther book; I will be looking out for more of them.
2662848
If you've ever dabbled in encaustic art, ever WANTED to dabble in encaustic art, or just want to know what the heck it is--this is the book for you.

This step-by-step manual is not only a thoroughly-researched guidebook to the creation of encaustic art--it's also a heck of an entertaining read.

The focus here is helping you to DO-IT-YOURSELF, and ON THE CHEAP, everything from acquiring tools, equipment and materials, to using them safely and wisely--helping you produce works of art that will be around long after we've all turned to dust.

It's clear that Kassandra Kelly has learned by doing, through trail and error and trial again, and she's passing her secrets on to you, to save you time, money and a whole lot of frustration. And the writing is all so clear--and conversational--that you almost forget you're reading. It's like she's standing right there next to you, explaining the finer points and guiding you every step of the way.

But hey, that's what you'd expect from a book titled ENCAUSTIC MATERIALS HANDBOOK. The bonus is that Kelly's prose is so entertaining--and so informative. Did you know that the Egyptians used encaustic methods to create portraits for mummy cases? Or that pieces of encaustic murals survived the destruction of Pompeii? You will after reading this book. You'll also be party to the secrets imparted by Pliny the Elder before he was fried to a crisp on Mount Vesuvius. And you'll know how the encaustic process is related to the production of such widely divergent products as soap and hockey pucks.

Trust me. You're going to LOVE this book.