Among the critical adulation that follows VJAA wherever they build, you'll find words like graceful, beautiful, sublime, quiet, classic, disciplined, and lightall suggesting the kind of alchemy that makes the work of this Minnesota-based firm so highly regarded. The magic they performmarrying the simple forms of modernism with the rich materials of their sites in a thoughtful framework that encourages social interaction and environmental responsibilityis carefully illustrated and explained in this monograph, which evokes the very qualities that make their work so seductive and compelling. A former furniture maker, principal Vincent James brings the woodworker's appreciation of materials, details, joinery, and structure to the firm's work, which here includes both their award-winning houses such as the Dayton and Type/Variant houses and institutional projects, such as the Minneapolis Rowing Club, Tulane University Center, and St. John's Abbey and Monastery Guesthouse. Along with an introductory essay by Hashim Sarkis, partners Vincent James and Jennifer Yoos provide a captivating and insightful portrait of their talented young firm.

A collection of Courtney's columns from the Texas Monthly, curing the curious, exorcizing bedevilment, and orienting the disoriented, advising "on such things as: Is it wrong to wear your football team's jersey to church? When out at a dancehall, do you need to stick with the one that brung ya? Is it real Tex-Mex if it's served with a side of black beans? Can one have too many Texas-themed tattoos?"--Amazon.com.

Give road-weary eyes a break with this spiral-bound Large Scale edition featuring all the accuracy you've come to expect from Rand McNally, only bigger. This updated atlas contains maps of every U.S. state that are 35% larger than the standard atlas version plus over 350 detailed city inset and national park maps and a comprehensive, unabridged index. Road construction and conditions contact information for every state conveniently located on map pages. Contains mileage chart showing distances between 77 North American cities and national parks with driving times map. Tough spiral binding allows the book to lay open easily. Other Features: Rand McNally presents The National Parks by Decade, a review of park history that begins more than a century ago, with the first wild and wonderful place to achieve park status---Yellowstone. Tourism websites and phone numbers for every U.S. state and Canadian province on map pages. Spiral Binding. Dimensions: 10.375 x 15.375