Book Reviews and other items  
H. Edward Goldberg AIA has released an impressive new book for AutoCAD Architecture 2008. In its nearly 600 pages of 8 1/2x11 format this book covers a vast amount of information on ACA 2008.  There is even information on using RPC content and linking models to 3DS Max.   Visit his site to read more.  This book is the best AutoCAD Architecture book that has come across my desk! Purchase from www.prenhall.com.
ISBN-10: 0131592270
 
New AutoCAD and Lt Book:
SYBEX, an imprint of Wiley Publishers sent me George Omura's latest work: Mastering AutoCAD® 2008 and AutoCAD LT® 2008.  Learn about Annotative Scaling, Improved Tables (linked to Excel), MLeader, DimBreak and more new features that came with the 2008 release.
SYBEX; ISBN: 978-0-470-13738-3
www.sybex.com.
New AutoCAD and Lt Book:
Wiley Publishers sent me Ellen Finkelstein's latest book: AutoCAD® 2008 and AutoCAD LT® 2008 Bible. Included with this book is a full version in PDF format so you can easily share it with an entire office.  This book has a lot of fun little exercises with step-by-step instructions.

SYBEX; ISBN: 978-0-470-12049-1
www.sybex.com.

AutoCAD® Professional Tips and Techniques has just been released by Sybex, ISBN: 0470084545.  Written by Scott Onstott and Lynn Allen (Autodesk employee) it was the biggest book surprise to come my way in 2006.  The layout, presentation and all color graphics along with color coded chapters make this book a joy to read through. 

This book offers great information on the more challenging topics in AutoCAD 2007; including general configuration, network installation, cui customization, workspaces, sheet set manager, dynamic blocks, visual styles, rendering and 3d modeling.

Ameri-CAD sent me a copy of their VisionREZ plug-in for Architectural Desktop 2005-2007.  They were wondering what I thought of their Roof Object but I took a look at more than that - more>>
New AutoCAD and Lt Book:
SYBEX, an imprint of Wiley Publishers sent me George Omura's latest work: Mastering AutoCAD® 2007 and AutoCAD LT® 2007.  This book just keeps getting bigger and this time the paper is a little thinner.  You may need this copy for the updated writing on Visual Styles, Modeling and Rendering.
SYBEX; ISBN: 0-470-00876-8
www.sybex.com.
New AutoCAD and Lt Book:
Wiley Publishers sent me Ellen Finkelstein's latest book: AutoCAD® 2007 and AutoCAD LT® 2007 Bible.  It's huge: 1252 pages.  The customization section has some great tips like how to create custom menus with toggle commands.

SYBEX; ISBN: 0-471-78886-4
www.sybex.com.

George Omura's has a new AutoCAD book called just enough AutoCAD® 2007 for users of AutoCAD and AutoCAD Lt.
SYBEX; ISBN: 0-470-00878-4
www.sybex.com.
This book seems to compete with the other beginner book Sybex sent me but having self-competing products appears to be a trend these days.  Both books cut off at some point between beginner and intermediate/advanced leaving subjects like Sheet Set Manager and Dynamic Blocks to other books.  However, both provide basic information on 3D and the tools found on the new Dashboard Palette.
David Frey's "AutoCAD® 2007 and AutoCAD LT® 2007 - No Experience Necessary" book has just been released.  SYBEX; ISBN: 0-470-00877-6.  www.sybex.com.  This book is an update to the same beginner book that goes back many years so it is a bit more mature in form and structure.  This book differs greatly from Omura's in that it takes readers through the steps required to create a simple 2D residential project
StoneCAD has released a new update to their hatch patterns suite which now includes texture maps -  http:// www.culturedstone.com/ stonecad/  

H. Edward Goldberg AIA has released another book on Architectural Desktop 2005.  Visit his site to read more.  The large 8 1/2 x 11 book size, great screen grabs and classroom-style tutorials make Ed's books the best for beginners. Purchase from www.prenhall.com.
ISBN: 0-13-171407-4

New Portuguese Book on ADT
Pedro Aroso continues to put in the hard work required to produce a technical book - see his latest collaboration on Architectural Desktop at http://www.fca.pt/cgi-bin/fca_livros.cgi/?op=2&isbn=972-722-446-6
 or see Chapter 18 on Symbols at
http://www.fca.pt/livros-html/docs/ 446_6_cap18.pdf   I don't read Portuguese but in my e-mail exchanges with Pedro it's quite clear that he has a thorough understanding of ADT; not to mention the English language.
New AutoCAD and Lt Book
Wiley Publishers sent me Ellen Finkelstein's latest book while another publisher stopped sending me things because we couldn't agree on the value of my services for one of their projects (is that professional behavior?).

Ellen's tome weighs in at 1208 pages and runs $32.99 on Amazon.com.  Ellen writes about a lot of different software products and is among the few women writers who write about AutoCAD; that alone may be reason enough for some to buy her book. 

AutoCAD® 2006 and AutoCAD LT® 2006 Bible
http://www.wiley.com/ WileyCDA/WileyAncillary/ productCd-0764596756.html

Autodesk® Architectural Desktop 2004 - A Comprehensive TutorialH. Edward Goldberg AIA has just released his latest book on Architectural Desktop 2005.  Visit his site to read more and sample a chapter.  Purchase from www.prenhall.com .
ISBN: 0-13-113497-3

Scott Onstott has a new book out - "Enhancing CAD Drawings with Photoshop":
For architects who seek better ways to communicate their vision, here is the first book that explains how to transform CAD drawings into beautiful presentational pieces using Photoshop.
http://www.amazon.com/
Publisher: Sybex Inc ISBN: 0782143865

Mastering AutoCAD 2005 and AutoCAD LT 200
For beginners needing a book that focuses on basic architectural drafting techniques, David Frey's "AutoCAD® 2005 and AutoCAD LT® 2005 - No Experience Necessary" book has just been released.  SYBEX; ISBN: 0-7821-4341-5.  www.sybex.com  (sample chapter) Photoshop for Architects - training material by Scott Onstott hits the spot many need.  This DVD will certainly teach even those who have been using Photoshop and I was amazed to discover how many tricks I picked up.  The interesting thing about Photoshop is how artistic the implementation is - everyone has tricks - none are right or wrong but many are faster.

mastering_autocad_omura_icon.gif (1933 bytes)Mastering AutoCAD 2004 and AutoCAD LT 2004

mastering_adt_aubin_button.gif (1796 bytes)Mastering Autodesk® Architectural Desktop by Paul F. Aubin, autodesk® Press.  This book is not to be confused with the Mastering series.  As the author eloquently states in the preface of this book, it is a "primer".  If you are looking for a book to get you going in Architectural Desktop without a head full of technical overhead but straight up focus on the essentials required to produce common U.S. Imperial based architectural plans, elevations, sections, schedules and other non-structural drawings, then this is a good book for you.

adt3.3_portuguese_book_review_icon.gif (2224 bytes)ADT 3.3 Book for the Portuguese and Brazilians  

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