3 comments about Under Live Oaks: The Last Great Houses of the Old South.

1. I own a 120 year old farmhouse in the South and I am fascinated w/ the history and culture. This book is a JOY! I LOVE reading about the families in the book, the photos are GORGOUS and I have been unable to put this book down! Of all the 'Home' books I've read this is by far my absolute favorite! ENJOY!!!



2. If you like old houses of the South this book has some wonderful pictures. Some interesting photos of the interior rooms with a little bit of personal collections of the families. A great coffe table book. Not deep reading.



3. Both author and photographer of "Under Live Oaks" are English, and their knowledge of the South is distinctly secondhand and second-rate. Seebohm even acknowledges needing a crash course in Southern architecture from a friend! Instead of genuine knowledge and insight, we are offered a gauzy gothic cocktail of Hollywood cliches. (Mix one shot of "Gone With the Wind" with a dash of "Suddenly Last Summer" and a gallon of "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte.") For a beautiful and intelligent book on Southern architecture, try "Architecture of the Old South" by Mills Lane. For photos that shed some light on Southern myths and realities, try "William Eggleston's Guide."

4 comments about The Lost Meaning of Classical Architecture: Speculations on Ornament from Vitruvius to Venturi.

1. its wonderful to read details regarding the birth of greek architecture, the birth of classicism. the heads above arches, those sorry warriors, beaten. the blood letting flutes, fat dripping thigh bones, guttae from the triglyphs if i remember correctly. no wonder classicism is so haunting - sometimes touching - the echinus shape on the capital of tuscan and doric is also the name for "hedgehog" - its gently sloping butt is the same and also for "little cake" as in the sloping crescendo of a risin cupcake's belly. humane architecture has its birth in death - modernism is only intellectual. a subjective dream of babel. in the study of words are clues to the strength of classical architecture.



2. I bought this book and finished it the day it arrived. I couldn't put it down. It reads like a detective story for architecture enthusiasts. Hersey begins this work by introducing a cluster of tropes that at first seem disparate items. As he develops his arguments (and there are many) he weaves a beautiful tapestry with these tropes. Hersey brings the roots of Greek architecture alive (literally). If he were a philosopher I would be tempted to compare him to Nietzsche in his ability to uncover the conceptual ruins of ancient art. I also recommend Hersey's other work, but this one is my favorite.



3. The book discusses the persistence of ideas and the ways that ancient belief systems can work their way right into our language and the way we perceive the world. This is certainly a major contribution to the philosophical literature architectural historians have produced.



4. A marvelous marriage of language and the language of Architecture. Finally, someone has had the courage and talent to take this thing back to the (bloody) beginning. I have read it a couple of times, and given it to about 6 friends.

2 comments about The Bird House Book: How To Build Fanciful Birdhouses and Feeders, from the Purely Practical to the Absolutely Outrageous.

1. This book caters to people who want to make art rather than basic functional houses to attract wild birds. I just wanted a book where I could get plans for a variety of bird houses that I could make with simple hand tools. I was also looking for more info on the particulars of what species are attracted to a particular type of structure. Sure, the houses in the book are great but I didn't want to make a log cabin or a post-modern art-deco bungalow. I just wanted to learn how to make a few basic houses and learn how to attract and feed wild birds. I had to send the book back.



2. After building every house in this book I wanted more. I went in search for something that would give me as much pleasur as this book. I've paid as much as 100 dollars and now have 8 books. What a waste!!! The plans in this book are easy to read and follow and are one of a kind bird houses. please Bruce and David don't leave us hanging.

3 comments about The Architectural Guidebook to New York City.

1. I was a bit disapointed by this book. There is information on a lot of NY buildings, but the information does not always concern architecture and is usually very limited. Gives you an impression of all there is to see, but does not do much more than that. Photographs are not impressive. Much more intersting is The Architecture of New York City, by Donald Martin Reynolds.



2. This book is really good and best used if you have a fair amount of time to wander around New York. It is like trailing through the city with a friend who has lived there for a long time; Marrone has great excursive lengthy interesting descriptions of a number of buildngs, and that's great. The problem is that each chapter has its own tiny map, and they are never put together in a larger overall map anywhere, making navigation difficult. If you have a lot of time, and want to do just a few buidings per day, that's fine. If you want to storm through NYC and see as much as possible in a limited amount of time, if is difficult.



3. The most obvious reason to replace the AIA Guide with this book is size. Dealing with only one borough enables the author to go into more detail while reducing the size of the book. The AIA Guide is about half the size of a large yellow pages. The Architectural Guidebook to NYC is about the size of an average novel. That makes a big difference when you're stuffing it into your backpack or purse for a trip on subway or foot.

   The more extensive entries are very welcome. In Union Square with this book and a view of the surrounding buildings, I was able to spend a pleasant and informative hour on a park bench, for free. That's a better bargain than the Staten Island Ferry.

   Morrone keeps the architect's jargon to a minimum and knows his subject well. The historical insights and views on clashing aesthetics were skillfully presented. He pointed out a couple of museums of very high caliber that I wasn't even aware of. A book like this is a perfect jumping off point for thousands of topics, from neighborhoods to cultures to politics to construction.

   I would encourage him to write similar books on the other buroughs, or better yet, an even more detailed work on each of the neighborhoods of Manhattan: each of them has at least a thousand buildings worth writing about.

3 comments about Louis Comfort Tiffany and Laurelton Hall: An Artist's Country Estate (Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications).

1. I found this book very dry. I am a Tiffany fan and create Tiffany stained glass reproductions as a hobby. I think anyone who is not already a devotee should think twice about this book. I really doesn't add much to the information already out there. Cut and paste literature at best.



2. This is an excellent and scholarly book filled with incredible photos and descriptions of LCT's home, Laurelton Hall. The author has written a series of fine chapters that look at all aspects of this magnificent residence. What the fire at Laurelton destroyed, this book restores with words and photos. For all of you who love Tiffany's artistry, this book is not to be missed!



3. Nicely put together and informative for those who are seriously interested in the life and works of Louis Comfort Tiffany.

1 comments about Barn.

1. Maybe I can only give this one star because it did not meet my expectations. I pictured a documentary-like story via photos of the rebuilding of an old barn into a home. This book is trying to be a little too artsy (for my taste) & takes minimalist to extreme. No writing at all - B & W photos, some blurry. What has a naked toddler to do with any of this? Its a tiny book to boot. If you like extreme artsy stuff with little content beyond what I've described, hey, go for it. I'm returning the book.

No comments about The Project of Autonomy: Politics and Architecture Within and Against Capitalism (FORuM Project Publications).

2 comments about Structure and Architecture, Second Edition.

1. This book describes the different types of structural elements in buildings (steel, wood, reinforced concrete) and how they are constructed for maximum efficiency. A lot of the book deals with spans and how the efficiency of materials must accomodate different spans and weights. The concepts were very well written and easy to understand (the appendices were a little bit more complex) with lots of examples. I would recommend this for anyone who would like to try framing a structure or who is interested in more than just the picture books of architecture and would actually like to know what's inside the walls and how those objects are functioning.



2. Now in an updated and expanded second edition, Angus MacDonald's Structure & Architecture showcases the relationship between architecture and structural engineering using both historical and contemporary examples. This new edition is enhanced with an expanded and re-written chapter dealing with structural criticism and the relationship between structure and architectural style; as well as a new section on the relationships between architects, builders and engineers, and the influence which these relationships have on architectural styles and forms. Structure & Architecture is an invaluable and highly recommended addition to any personal, professional, or academic architectural studies collection.

3 comments about Heidegger's Hut.

1. This book is really nice small book, well written, illustrations throughout the book, etc. As some of the finer details concern a.o. the colours of the hut, the colours (?) of Heidegger's thinking and his direct environment, it should have been done in full colour. This book gave me some brilliant insights and saves me a lot of time. I'm now sure I will never read anything from Heidegger, sorry Martin.



2. If you have an interest in Heidegger, this is a clever little monogram on the place where Heidegger wrote or was inspired throughout the course of his career. The funny thing is, it is such a meager, crappy little hut that I guess he had no choice but to think profoundly. As architecture - well, it's laughably German: bare essentials, hardly comfortable, no cross ventilation, no indoor plumbing. And somehow that last factor takes the wind, so to speak, out of all that hermeneutics. Nothing like imagining Martin bent over a log to de-mythologize one of humanity's greatest thinkers.
   The hut is still in the hands of his family, so it is not really a tourist site, but there is enough interest for the local government to signpost it and then ask everyone to respect the family's privacy. The black and white photos are collected from a series done in the sixties, and the author notes that they are somewhat staged. That's alright. It gives you the impression of how close the quarters were. Spartan is far too luxurious a concept. Nonetheless, this is where Martin came to follow those paths that led to the clearings wherein he began to consider how to uncover what had been appropriated. And all that is to say, that for its barren uncomfortableness, it is all the more remarkable that it was in such a setting that such piety was contemplated.
   In short, the hut had precious little to do with it, I suppose. The landscape must be spectacular. Considering who came to visit him here, it is all the more remarkable. The place must have reeked. My estimation and admiration for both Elfride Heidegger and Hannah Arendt has increased exponentially. If you have had any experience travelling with Germans over the summer, you'll know what I'm talking about.
   Against this setting is also a consideration of the more suburban digs Martin and his brood occupied in Freiburg. It seems more comfortable and while I gather Marty wasn't as keen on it, at least there was running water. The two settings compose an almost Monty Python pastiche of the life of Martin Heidegger - a bit like the Sartre sketch Cleese and Idle did: "OW, 'e's in his room sulkin again - all what about I dunno".
   Much is made about Heidegger's brief flirtation with the Nazis, and his banishment to Todtnauberg (mostly self imposed, mind you), and as an ardent student of his work, I think it's time for a reality check: one, he gave up the Nazi post within a year, and in fact five years before Kristallnacht (ever wonder why? Of course not, it would force you to admit and forgive), and two, Hannah forgave him for being pissed at Jewish students who were annoying him and stating incredibly stupid propoaganda policies. And if she could forgive him, that's good enough for me.
   Besides, look who is ghetto-izing and annhilating a minority now - as Victor Hugo would have it, those who refuse to learn from history.....
   In any case, yer not likely, mate, to find hidden swastikas and egyptian icons writ backwards and cryptic messages stating "Paul is the walrus" anywhere around. This was a simple, really basic, unattractive hut in a beautiful setting that Martin found ideal for his enterprises. Hardly sacred space, but sacred enough for him.
   The book is a quick read, but file it definitely under the cult of personality studies that seek vicarious approximation to glory in fetishizing the most insignificant details that have nothing to do with the heart of being, Being, Martin.



3. It discusses the hut from an architectural perspective, situating it in valley & comparing it to his city home.
   
   It gives a good sense of what it would be like to have used it in the way Heidegger did, without overreaching into architectural determinism.

No comments about Outhouses.