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roseleaf24's review against another edition
5.0
This is a truly stunning book. The illustrations are incredible; detailed and animated, and the writing is concise and clear. I have read Ken Follett, but I still learned from this. I appreciated, too, the theological tidbits. The patience to embark on a project like this, knowing you would likely not live to see its completion is impressive and needed in this age of instant gratification. Also, the desire to build this incredible space to the glory of God; sure, pride and selfishness were also certainly involved, but this book shows how the architecture itself is a witness.
lee_hillshire's review against another edition
Actually breathtaking, this book is amazing.
myosotes's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
0.75
This is one of the greatest books I've ever read! Thanks to it I managed to get an A in my art class!! Which is why I'll treasure it forever.
The monotonous narrator and black-and-white pictures really make for a compelling yet entertaining read.
Definitely a book everyone needs to read
The monotonous narrator and black-and-white pictures really make for a compelling yet entertaining read.
Definitely a book everyone needs to read
ehays84's review against another edition
4.0
Macaulay books were always around when I was growing up, and I would frequently get excited about them and start them, but then they were always just too much for me. I suppose it's a pretty good thing I didn't try to become an engineer or architect. Even today reading it, I still just can't really visualize how some of the steps to build something actually worked.
What always has appealed to me about these books is the way that he brings something from history to life, hence my great excitement about these books. But then once I get into it, I realize it's really mostly about making something with an awl, or hammering something on an anvil, or hoisting something up on a pulley. And that's great and all, but my mind just doesn't think like that.
His books are probably the closest I will come to understanding or liking construction and engineering. I really can and do enjoy learning about architecture, because that to me is a lot more like art where there is a lot of symbolism and everything has a meaning. With the other two, there is an element of being able to visualize the way that something will actually work where I get lost. And it's funny, because I am actually pretty good with some special awareness or visualization things like planning ahead in chess or picking out a pass in soccer, but for some reason, this is different.
These are the sort of books that I will probably keep reading more of and trying to understand and appreciate that much more, but that in many ways, I hope one or both of my children will actually get more than I do because there is a lot of value in this world in knowing how to make or fix things.
What always has appealed to me about these books is the way that he brings something from history to life, hence my great excitement about these books. But then once I get into it, I realize it's really mostly about making something with an awl, or hammering something on an anvil, or hoisting something up on a pulley. And that's great and all, but my mind just doesn't think like that.
His books are probably the closest I will come to understanding or liking construction and engineering. I really can and do enjoy learning about architecture, because that to me is a lot more like art where there is a lot of symbolism and everything has a meaning. With the other two, there is an element of being able to visualize the way that something will actually work where I get lost. And it's funny, because I am actually pretty good with some special awareness or visualization things like planning ahead in chess or picking out a pass in soccer, but for some reason, this is different.
These are the sort of books that I will probably keep reading more of and trying to understand and appreciate that much more, but that in many ways, I hope one or both of my children will actually get more than I do because there is a lot of value in this world in knowing how to make or fix things.
sandiasando's review against another edition
3.0
We read this book out loud together for school, me and my boys ages 11, 10, and 8. We have also read City and Castle by the same author and thoroughly enjoyed those two. But we all decided we didn't quite enjoy this one the same. We weren't sure exactly why, maybe it was the subject matter and we weren't quite interested in it the same way?