No comments about Waterwise House & Garden: A Guide to Sustainable Living (Landlinks Press).

1 comments about Holy Things and Profane: Anglican Parish Churches in Colonial Virginia.

1. Dell Upton's book does for the eighteenth century Virginia parish Church what Addleshaw's 'The Architectural Setting of Anglican Worship' did for its English and Irish counterpart half a century ago by high lighting and exploring a unique church architecture and the society that produced it.Upton explores the architectural, historical, and sociological aspects of Anglicanism in Colonial Virginia as expressed in the church buildings. However it isn't just an architectural study. Upton's awareness of the social context of Virginia Anglicanism as an Established Church enables him to look at the buildings as an expression of the society that produced them. He raises awareness of the unique nature of the parishes, and the need to accomodate the scattered population and hierarchical social order of the colony. He also compares the church architecture of the Old Dominion to other formal structures such as courthouses and mansions, and vernacular homes illustrating the construction techniques and conventions common to all buildings in Georgian Virginia. If I have one minor criticism it is that Upton does not seem to have any great familiarity with the history of 17th & 18th century Anglicanism. For example, he states that the Rev. Devereux Jarrett (1732-1801) was a Methodist when in fact he was an Evangelical Anglican sharply critical of the separatists. Upton also seems to have only limited familiarity with the Anglican Book of Common Prayer and its demands on the worshipping space. However these are very minor blemishes in what is primarily a study of an architecture in its context. This is a very interesting and valuble book for anyone interested in colonial church architecture, the history of Anglicanism or Virginia history.

3 comments about Usonia: Frank Lloyd Wright's Design for America.

1. The architect Frank Lloyd Wright was eager to jump on the New Deal bandwagon in the 1930s to help reshape America across a sprawling countryside. His anti-urban regional planning ideas are well documented in this fascinating story that identifies the influences on Wright's sensibilities, from Lewis Mumford, Henry Ford, FDR, and others. Rosenbaum, who grew up a Frank Lloyd Wright Usoinan house built by his parents in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, weaves the story of the house (now a house museum open to the public) with early developments in manufactured housing, the Tennessee Valley Authority, greenbelt communities, and other federal initiatives of the era.



2. In 1993 my wife and I visited Florence Alabama and learned that there was a Wright Usonian home that was built in the 30's. My wife qualifies as a true "Househugger" so we called and made an appointment to tour the home. We were met at the door by Mildred Rosenbaum, a delightful person, who shared the experience of having Mr. Wright design and build the house(of course through his assistants). This home is a piece of art that has been kept true to FLW's ideals and with the exception of the furniture (Mrs. Rosenbaum said the original furniture was very uncomfortable)which is compatible with the original construction. Oh, the story she told. . . This book enhances that story and puts all in perspective with the times and the area. In Sheffield there is a building that Henry Ford built when he wanted to buy the Wilson Dam Generating Dam to create an industrial empire in the south.

   Mrs. Rosenbaum no longer lives there and the City of Florence owns the house. Read this book and visit the home. Both will give you an experience that you will not get anywhere else. The author was born there and raised there. He shares experiences that happened in the house and the diversity that existed in this small part of the south.




3. If you are an absolute Wrightophile, then I guess you might want this book. You will not learn anything new about Wright, and you wont see any outstanding photography either. 195 pages of double spaced text. Not much bang for your buck.

No comments about Coastal Design: A Guide for Builders, Planners, and Home Owners.

No comments about Monasteries of Western Europe: The Architecture of the Orders.

1 comments about Country Houses (Great Houses).

1. I bought this book because I was so pleased with Fine Homebuilder's book, More Small Houses. My disappointment was with the repetition of selected homes that were in both volumes. If you want one all around good selection of plans, try the Enclyclopedia of Home Designs by Home Planners.

No comments about The Symbol at your Door: Number and Geometry in the Religious Architecture of the Greek and Latin Middle Ages.

No comments about Great Planned Communities.

2 comments about The World War II Memorial: A Grateful Nation Remembers.

1. This is a wonderfully realized book on a memorial that is a wonderful tribute to the greatest generation of behalf on a grateful nation. I appreciated the history lesson on American's envolvement in World War II, and the images of the memorial itself are well conceived. The memorial, though colossel, is somehow intimate and fitting, and is full of symbolism. I only wish my grandfather had seen it, but alas he died before it was completed. The nation owes Bob Dole a huge thanks for getting this long deserved memeorial built, thank you Senater Dole, you make me very proud.



2. THANK YOU for ALL you have given us...Freedom, peace of mind, dedication to our country!
   This book is a Beautiful tribute to our Heros! This memorial is a LONG TIME COMING, but it is Finally here!
   I Pray ALL vets get a chance to visit this memorial!
   Thank you, again!

No comments about Public Markets (with CD-ROM) (Norton/Library of Congress Visual Sourcebooks in Architecture, Design & Engineering).