5 comments about The Most Beautiful House in the World.

1. This book is like a conversation with an architect and as conversations sometimes go, Rybczynski goes on many rabbit trail, some interesting, some tedious.
   
   And then he will land upon a nugget of real value to someone interested in designing a house. Things like, "A building has to be simple enough to grasp and remember," and "Determining the shape of the roof is the most important decision the designer of a building must make," and a classic rule to remember, "reduce the size of elements as the eye moves up the facade."
   
   The book was written to tell the story of Rybczynski's barn-cum-home and that is mildly interesting. The real interest is in the information he gives the reader about building and designing in general.
   
   If you are interested in just the facts of architecture, buy a text book. If you are looking for a conversation about architecture you will enjoy this book.



2. this refers to the 1989 Penguin Edition-
   
   Asa mechanical engineer in my late thirties I started to know what architecture was all about and its relation to design. It turns out that its not easy to have a comprehensive introduction to the theme. Fortunately, Through Amazon and its reviews and suggested I bought this wonderful book and I was captivated, not only by the perspective it gives on the architecs work, but also on the insight about design it provides.



3. This book by the author of "Home: A Short History of an Idea" (1986) is a more subjective and less disciplined examination of that same topic. Professor Rybczynski uses his experience as an immigrant trying to "fit in" as a lens for looking at what in means to build ones own home. The skeleton of this story is the author's own decision to build a shed to which he can retreat on weekends (for more on weekends, read the author's "Waiting for the Weekend," 1991) and build a boat he can sail away in. At some point the shed becomes more of a barn and then, when he finally abandons his plan to build a boat, it becomes a permanent home for himself and his wife. For me, the book is less about architecture, the act or craft of building, and more about morphing and the undpredictable ways life unfolds. Taken in that vein, Rybczynski's story can be appreciated as a spiritual journey with many sidetrips and gentle awakenings. He is self-critical, but not self-deprecating. And he infuses his tale with enough humor to keep the reader interested without taxing credibility. I especially enjoyed his description of his wife, Shirley, who does some morphing of her own. At the beginning (when the couple was building a mere boathouse), she is little more than an extra pair of hands; when the couple decides to make the structure they have been building into their home, Shirley suddenly becomes a full-fledged "client," full of opinions and demands.
   
   Although, Rybczynski describes several impressive architect conceived and built houses (such as Wright's Fallingwater and Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth house), it is the houses built by their owners that he most celebrates--Mark Twain's home in Hartford, Connecticutt, Sir Walter Scott's Abbotsford, Robert Lewis Stevenson's Vailima in Samoa, artists Carl and Karin Larsson's much documented Lilla Hyttnas in Sundborn, Sweden, and Carl Jung's home in Bollingen, Switzerland. "It is no coincidence," writes Rybczynski, "that Stevenson, Scott, Clemens, Larsson, Castrejon, and I were less than forty years old when we built our homes.... The process of building, for all of us, was a process of installing ourselves in a place, of establishing a spot where it would be safe to dream. We had to be old enough to recognize the particularity--and limits--of our dreams, but not too old to believe in them....My house had begun with the dream of a boat. The dream had run aground--I was now rooted in place." (pp. 190, 193)



4. I have to agree with another reviewer this book has little to do with home building and is much adieu about nothing. In the end I was a little digusted at what got built....but then again what is beautiful?
   
   I am a fan of the author and this is my 3rd read by him. I do have to warn potential readers that sometimes this book rambles on about topics most readers would have VERY little interest in. On the flip side the book does contain passages that are highly entertaining. Its about 50/50
   
   This is a book that comes in and out of focus, a style of writing I believe the author enjoys. I guess in order to get books out in the marketplace as often as Witold does he must resort to digressing on just about any topic that pops into his mind.
   
   With that said, he is an intellect...he's well traveled and leads what I believe to be a pretty interesting life.
   
   This is an average book, I was expecting a bit more about home building and a bit less esoteric rhetoric. But then again, nothing churns out books better than rambling away.



5. This book did not come close to meeting my expectations. Of the 200 pages in this book, scarcely 30 actually pertain to the author's house building experience. It appears "the Most Beautiful House" subject was merely a excuse to ramble from one topic to another. One minute he is talking about animal sacrifices & liver divining, the next he is discussing the verb "to habit". I was sorely disappointed and struggle to find any redeeming quality in this work. Readers be warned that this book is a motley crew of diatribes on topics having little to do with The Most Beautiful House in the World.

No comments about Olin's Construction: Principles, Materials, and Methods.

No comments about Water-Works: The Architecture and Engineering of the New York City Water Supply.

3 comments about Retro Style : The '50s Look for Today's Home.

1. The historical information and pictures of classic furniture are useful and can serve as some inspiration when putting together your own 50s look. The projects in the book, however, seem like a lot of work for not a lot result, time consuming, perhaps more expensive than an equivalent purchase, and in one instance (a wall hanging from a CD sleeve) downright tacky. There are way better books on this subject (see, Pad).



2. Giving a house today a 1950's look is a dated idea. The cool thing now is creating your own look. What isn't cool or very creative is just sort of buying a lot of 1950's things and attempting to create that look instead of mixing things up. What we and our friends are doing is mixing all styles. I mean, like, we're not the Jetsons. This is 2002. Almost 2003.



3. This book has many helpful ideas about turning modern items into retro-looking pieces. A definite help if you're in the market for something and just can't find it you can do it yourself.

3 comments about Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, Second Edition.

1. This text provides down-to-earth information concerning CPTED for the security practitioner. Some material in the first few chapters is repeated excessively. At times the author's opinions are louder than the factual text, detracting from the material. However, the appendicies are excellent and practical.



2. The CPTED Strategies introduced and well laid out in this book, establish a foundation for creative target hardening and risk transference.
   To suggest as one critic does, that this is "low level" stuff is to miss the point entirely.
   As a security consultant, I have applied these concepts to a variety of corporate settings with positive results.
   If someone is simply looking for standard "templates" without the capacity to creatively apply the ideals this is not the book.
   If you are serious about your work, it is essential.



3. This book has pretty low level info.

   If you are looking for ways to secure a high level executive's office suite using the principles of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, forget it. The examples in this book are more at the level of bus stops.

   Hopefully the authors will update their information with modern design scenarios.

2 comments about The Gothic Cathedral: The Architecture of the Great Church 1130-1530.

1. Christoper Wilson's "The Gothic Cathedral: The Architecture of the Great Church, 1130-1530" is a superb survey of cathedrals and large European churches constructed across four centuries, not only filled with an incisive text but also wonderfully illustrated with hundreds of diagrams and exquisite photographs. It is true that the photos are only black-and-white so the reader cannot wholly grasp the glory of stained glass windows, but the photographs nonetheless render the Gothic architectural features and details with great clarity. This combination of excellent text and superb illustrations makes Wilson's book ideal for either close, intensive study or simple joyful browsing. I cannot imagine that anyone who appreciates glorious Gothic architecture would not find Wilson's "The Gothic Cathedral" not only a valuable but also a necessary addition to his or her library.



2. How I ended up being the first to review this book is beyond me. I would've guessed that many a learned architectural scholar would've long since sung the praises of this wonderful book. I, however, am just a layman with a lifelong passion for Gothic cathedral architecture, which started in the Washington National Cathedral and became educated, at least partiallly, in this book.

   I consider Wilson's "The Gothic Cathedral", a 'must own' for anyone who has ever felt a yearning to know more about the soaring arches, brilliant glasswork, and impossibly high, vaulted ceilings of these magnificent medieval structures. This book, details the development of this unique form of architectural artistry; beginning with it's modest antecedents in Romanesque architecture and the groin-vaulted churches of Normandy and England and continuing through even the most elaborate and extravagant versions of late-Gothic throughout Europe. Mr. Wilson moves the reader, comfortably and comprehensibly through the chronological development of Gothic architecture, while neatly detailing the differences in coincidental development in several diverse geographic regions. Even I, with no formal architectural education, can now explain most of the finer points of Norman Romanesque, French High Gothic, and the Rayonnant styles of architecture, as well as explaining the odd metamorphisis of the English Decorated style into the very uniquely English, Perpendicular style.

   The text is brilliantly cross-referenced with the illustrations, diagrams and photographs, which are both descriptive and beautiful, despite being all black and white. Finally, the glossary, index, and bibliography are complete and very helpful. If you think you MIGHT like this book... you will. Buy it.

2 comments about New Color Schemes Made Easy (Better Homes & Gardens).

1. Clear, concise guide to choosing and co-ordinating colors in the home. Lots of helpful pointers, such as how to unify rooms in the home with the baseboard color. Often I flip through interior design books looking at the photos, but this one was interesting to read as well as look at.



2. I have purchased my first house and will soon be tackling the job of painting it. I bought this book to get ideas on how to paint without using neutral colors in every room. This book has opened my eyes to the various color schemes and how to use them. It has a painting wheel inside. It tells you how to use colors and even has a question/answer page in the very back. It gives you a lot of pictures with furnishings and talks about how to tie the color on the walls with the furnishings and vice versa. I really liked how the author explained what the colors draw out, for example, "Yellow. Happiness and good cheer circle the room when you invite yellow inside. Bright citrus and pistachio yellows wake you up while the softer tones of vanilla, cream, and honey warm you like sunshine. Yellow-greens add brightness, golds glow with richness. Whatever your pick--buttercup, mustard, bamboo, or lemon sherbert-- yellow is sure to improve your outlook on life." I had some ideas of how I wanted to paint my house and this book helped me to figure out if I was headed in a good direction. By allowing me to pick a trait I wanted to draw out, for example my living room I would like to draw on conversation, while the bedroom relaxation; this book helped guide me into the correct colors to draw on those attributes. The author speaks in a basic level so the average person can comprehend what they are saying at a basic level. I would recommend this book for beginners, but would also recommend purchasing another book to go with it that may give more ideas.

4 comments about The Art Deco House.

1. Thanks. The shipping is a little long, like usually with books coming from USA.
   To recommend
   Olivier



2. This book is full of beautiful pictures and is well written. However, I was expecting a book about the average art-deco home. This book featured only the more extravagant homes of the time. It did not help me decide how to furnish my modest 1930's home.



3. The opening sentence "One of the big issues that exercised the minds and consciences of architects and social commentators between the two world wars was the future of domestic architecture" sets the tone for the book that follows. It discusses all of Modernism in the Twenties and Thirties, not just Art Deco, including Rietveld-Schroder and Villa Savoy among the Deco houses. It gives the context of the famous "machines for living" quote, often used as a rallying cry of the anti-Modernists, but which actually only refers to the thermostatically-controlled central heating, hot and cold running water, and other conveniences that were new back then.

   The author talks about the personalities, events and the Jazz Age itself as much as the houses, explaining the style had none of the intellectual seriousness of the International Style, was usually very expensive, and was never big in Britain.

   It's a very substantive book, full of interesting pictures, from an extremely knowledgeable and charming author.




4. There are some glorious color photos in this book of Art Deco (or Moderne) houses. Twenty-nine are featured as well as places like Miami Beach, Los Angeles apartments and Napier, New Zealand. This last place is the Deco capital of the southern hemisphere and I think there should have been more photos than just the four shown.
   
   Each house starts on a spread (frequently with a photo of the architect) and Adrian Tinniswood explains in detail the thinking behind the design. He also writes additional essays on other aspects of Deco style. Unfortunately there are no plans to any of the houses, something I would have thought was fairly essential to a book of historical architecture. I've always wanted to see a plan of the amazing Butler House in Des Moines.
   
   A major disappointment for me was the bland layout. Each page has only one column which makes the photo sizes very inflexible, most pages end up with one photo and a lot of empty white space. Someone should have suggested using more photos (especially interiors) and creating some interesting side-bars.
   
   The twenty-nine houses featured are probably the best examples of the Art Deco style but have a look at two other books on the same subject, 'The Modern House Today' by Kenneth Powell, wonderful color photos of sixty-five still standing Moderne houses in England and 'Classic Modern Homes of the Thirties' by James and Katherine Ford, an inexpensive black and white reprint of a 1940 book featuring houses in America. Both these books have some floor plans.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

2 comments about Houses: The Illustrated Guide to Construction, Design and Systems.

1. Although this book covers almost all the subjects related to house design & construction, it seems to need more rework especially on the last sections (Chapter 8 and ahead). For instance in Chap. 10 (pages 305-315), it hardly describes the type of doors and windows, without providing any further information about recommended sizes and thickneses.



2. Excellent book for someone interested in any field related to real estate, architecture or construction. Very, very helpful in becoming familiar with zoning, land and construction of different types of homes. Lots of pictures and diagrams. Not just a bunch of reading.

4 comments about San Diego Then and Now.

1. When I received the book I ordered in Jan 2007 I was disappointed to find pages missing and holes in some pages. I complained to Bookarama but they never responded. I then complained to amazon and that got a response from Bookarama offering a refund. I returned the book in July 2007 and have not received any response from them. I guess I must complain to amazon again to see if they can get their dealer to provide a refund for a damaged book.



2. This is one of two San Diego photo books I purchased for my husbands birthday. Absolutly beautiful! The black and white photography really captures some of the details that are lost in color photos.



3. This book lacks color and detail. The real San Diego book was done by photographer George Ross Jezek. This is a knockoff of his ideas. Shame on you



4. It's facinating to see the way the city has changed, the author has some good history and trivia throughout the pages as well.
   
   If you are from San Diego or have ever lived here, this makes a great coffee table book.