Everything All The Time

Book: Adventures Under Fire! by Albert C. Henke (pictured above)

Looking through old photos of WWII bombers, I had completely forgotten that I meant to post something about this book a long time ago. Albert kept a secretive personal journal of 50 missions he flew as a gunman on a B-17 during WWII. For a good portion of the missions he was the tail gunner, on the last plan positioned in the pack.

Maybe that doesn’t sound that interesting, but to me it is mind blowing. First off, imagine this one person keeping a secretive diary (which was seriously illegal: if caught he could have been thrown in prison for treason) of 50 air missions, and living to tell the tale. Plus, being the tail gunner he was the first thing enemy planes shot at!

Anyway, this is a great book to own. It is hard cover, and includes scans of his original journal, plus other items. I bought my copy at Rainy Day Books (click through) and it is hand signed by Albert himself. He grew up around KC, and now lives in Shawnee. You can read more about him & the book here.

I’m seriously hoping they make a movie about this one day.

(photo via Shawnee Dispatch)

11.19.09   4 note(s)  

Charlie Harper’s Illustrated Life is a book I need to own at some point in time. If this book has been on your wish list for a while, you will be happy to know there is now a smaller version available for a fraction of the cost. Still a hard cover. Still including all the same pages. I’ll hold out until I can see myself splurging for the larger version, but it is nice they are offering it. Get it from Amazon for $33….

11.9.09   18 note(s)  

I don’t have time to blog, but having my own small business is pretty much on my mind 24/7 lately. If anyone has some reading recommendations, drop me a line or leave a comment.

9.9.09   6 note(s)  

» Flip through the entire Logo Design Vol. 2 book, from Taschen

But flip to page 146 - 147 for the good stuff…!

9.1.09   5 note(s)  

As I’ve mentioned before, some of my favorite residential architecture is from the Mid Century era, especially the Case Study houses. This massive book (440 pages) chronicles all 36 houses in order. This is a must own for me, but will have to wait because of the price tag. Buy at Amazon

from dailyicon

6.18.09   10 note(s)  

» 30 Essential Books for Industrial Designers

While this is a good list, there are some I don’t agree with, and also other very essential books missing. There seem to be too many ‘thinking’ books on this list. What about mandatory knowledge of human interaction with objects?

Here are a couple that in my opinions should have been on this list:

The Measure of Man and Woman: Human Factors In Design

How could there NOT be a Henry Dreyfuss book on the list?

Industrial Design: Materials and Manufacturing Guide

You better know your manufacturing processes

The New Way Things Work

Don’t know if this should be required, but it is awesome. Either buy this, or just hang out at How Stuff Works on a regular basis.

6.10.09   10 note(s)  

This is definitely a series of books I need to add to my collection very soon, especially the “Key houses of the twentieth century.” The books include plans, sections, and elevations of some of the most influential buildings.

Key Contemporary Buildings: Plans, Sections and Elevations
Key Buildings of the Twentieth Century: Plans, Sections, Elevations
Key Houses of the Twentieth Century: Plans, Sections, and Elevations

from dailyicon

5.5.09   3 note(s)  

How I learned to draw when I was young. :)

5.1.09   2 note(s)  

I’m going to have to buy this. Sounds like a great read, plus it is hardcover for $14!

“Mark Twain died in 1910, he left behind the largest collection of personal papers created by any nineteenth-century American author. Here, for the first time in book form, are twenty-four remarkable pieces by the American master—pieces that have been handpicked by Robert Hirst, general editor of the Mark Twain Project at the University of California, Berkeley.”

4.27.09   2 note(s)  

Although I haven’t done any self printing of any type since high school or college, lately I’ve been contemplating doing some wood cuts or lino cuts.  I’m thinking of picking up this book, and besides the content, I love the cover.

3.16.09   1 note(s)  

Eli No!  A children’s book illustrated by Katie Kirk & Nathan Strandberg.  I really like the style of the illustrations in this book.

Click for more images.

from grainedit

1.27.09   3 note(s)  

Another great looking book called “Process”, more specifically about Product Design (Industrial Design).  I think I’ll ask for this as a Christmas gift.

11.25.08   0 note(s)