Book Description
The guide that enables you to identify, and place in their historic and architectural contexts, the houses you see in your neighborhood or in your travels across America. 17th century to the present.
Customer Reviews:
Great Resource.......2007-09-30
Great book!!! I'm using for my company to get a true representation of many styles for many of the house I'm designing. A great resource for any firm!!!
great book for the housing history.......2007-09-10
great at housing history
great describe for the house component
good picture to show handy book to show at real estate
Get out your "readers!".......2007-07-27
A good "bible" type book for house lovers (buyers, sellers, architects, Realtors, etc.) However, the print is itty bitty, so be sure to have a magnifying glass or some readers handy. There is a lot of information and many black and white photographs along with intricate drawings. It almost feels like a college textbook (good thing it's a paperback!). Good reference book.
A very useful book .......2007-05-06
This book has been one of the most fascinating and useful books I have read. It is laid out in an easy-to-use manner, and is packed full of information that is useful for an amatuer old-house lover, or as a reference for a professional. It follows the history and evolution of homebuilding consecutively from pre-1600's-current (the book was published in 1984, so it is lacking the last 20 years, though). Each style of house or time period has it's own chapter, which goes into depth detailing the features that are unique to and commonly found in that style. It also includes many pictures displaying these features.
The first few chapters of the book introduce you to the basics of house form, structure, and style, and provide a wealth of information on how to look at a house and identify it using key features. It literally is a field guide! I have learned so much about the way a house is constructed, how house layouts have evolved through the years, and learned the names and meanings of all the different parts of a house. It has been fascinating. My husband and I met with a home builder last week, and I was able to comfortably converse with him and understand everything he said because of having read this book recently!
I can't begin to describe all that this book contains. Highly recommended!
A Field Guide to American Houses.......2007-03-12
I've actually purchased two of this book, one as a gift. It is a 'coffee table' book that will actually get used. It is a great reference book and an interesting book to spend some time with. The explanatory illustrations are exceptional, and the photographic examples provide more than just an example. Looking at these photographs you can travel back in time and different periods of American history. Some of the houses are abandoned and run down which in no way lessens the impact of their design and grandeur.
Early in the book, most houses are named and the location given. However, the newer houses toward the back are not so identified. This is not a problem as much as it is a disappointment.
Book Description
American Houses is a historical guide to the architecture of the American home. While other architectural field guides show only faades, this book includes floor plans, showing how the form of a house arises from its function. Photographs and drawings of exteriors illustrate the significant field marks of each style and help pinpoint the key elements that can identify a house even when it has been remodeled beyond recognition. Beautifully illustrated, clearly written, and impeccably researched, American Houses is an essential reference for anyone interested in the history of American residential architecture.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2005-08-19
If you own an older home, then this book is a must. Lots of valuable information.
A Field Guide with Little Imagination.......2005-08-09
There is a great tradition in the United States of Field Guides to American Domestic Architecture. Almost all of the Guides break down into two camps. The first group are the Guides that illustrate architectural styles through the use of photographs. The second group of Guides show styles through the use of black and white line drawings. Of the two camps, I prefer line drawings because they allow the reader to focus on the mulitple architectural details that come together to form an architectural style.
Gerald Foster's "American Houses" is a good example of the line drawing style of Field Guide. Gerald Foster is a competent artist in what I call the illustrator school of architectural drawings. He took highly detailed drawings from the Historic Architectural Building Survey (HABS)and rotated the drawings so as to center on a corner view. Hovering below the corner view is a representative floor plan.
The drawings are competent and pleasant to look at but where Foster falls short in my estimation is the sheer repetive nature of his drawings. Almost all of the drawings are from this same corner view and after a while the view becomes monotonous. A more imaginative artist would have shown buildings from different angles. A good artist can bend static buildings and provide new insights into their construction.
The drawings are competent and George Foster has done enough homework in order to do a good job of describing the different styles. Its a good Guide and if this is your fist Field Guide, you will be very happy with it. However, there are better examples of Architectural Field Guides. For this line drawing style of Field Guide, I would recommend Lester Walker's "American Home" and "The Visual Dictionary to American Architecture." The illustrations in these books are both more exciting and educational.
A wonderfully entertaining read.......2004-08-21
This book is a great overview of American architecture. It is entertaining for the non-architect but full of detail and histry for those who already have a lot of knowledge of the subject matter. Foster has obviously spent considerable time and energy researching his material. The floorplans are informative and help the reader to visualize a certain style and to understand the practical forces that shaped each architectural style. A must read for anyone with an interest in American architectural history!
"Related" Topics.......2004-08-14
Brilliantly researched, "Gerry" Foster manages to build the houses he describes in our minds through his illustrative diction and syntax. With its diagrams and managable set up, this book is a treat for all those who aspire to understand what goes into the frame work of an American home. For those who have read Foster's Field Guide to Trains, I assure you will agree with me when I say that I look forward to more works by this highly talented painter, architect, author, and father. I had the pleasure of recently meeting with his daughter, Shelby Foster, who only confirmed my belief in her father's intelligence, as she was able, eager, and willing to discuss the behind the pages research that went in to this wonderful read. We, the readers, can only hope that her upcoming novel contains as much information seamlessly weaved with a powerful narrative voice as her father's works. In all, a must read for any student, formal or unformal, of modern day American homes, and their history.
An artist's perspective.......2004-04-09
The author is the illustrator as well, and his pen and ink renditions are museum worthy. As an artist, and not an academic, his approach is informal and slightly irreverent.
The book's emphasis is on the Colonial era, whose styles he divides into New England, Hudson River, Mid-Atlantic, Chesapeake, Southern, French and Spanish. He then sums up the 19th century styles, predominantly Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne and other late Victorian styles, and ends with the Colonial Revival, Bungalow, and Prairie styles (originated in Illinois, the Prairie State).
He points out some styles were revived exclusively for the mansions of the turn-of-the-century industrial barons. He has not much to say about more recent houses, only mentioning the International Style, but overall it is still a good book.
Customer Reviews:
If I had only known............2006-05-02
This field guide has what I consider to be soso black and white photos and drawings of each type of barn and supporting structures. If you are looking for accurate information on a style of barn and where it may be located this is the book for you. I would perfer better quality photo's and some color. Rather boring presentation!
Fantastic Book on Barns!.......2001-04-02
For what I wanted the book for it is a fantastic resourse. I build model barns and covered bridges. This book has not only given me new ideas but also a history behind them. Love the book.
Frustratingly brief presentation.......1998-10-29
While the book presents numerous types of agricultural buildings from all over the U.S., it doesn't go into any sort of detail about any of them, making it of limited reference use.
Customer Reviews:
Nice Illustrations of all Sorts of American Buildings.......2005-07-25
Most field guides to American Architecture concentrate on domestic architecture. This book is truly a guide to the full range American Architecture. The Author includes wonderful examples of industrial and commercial architecture as well as examples of bridges and other engineering structures. It is the diversity of structures that makes this book valuable.
Almost all of the illustrations in this books come from the Historical American Building Survey (HABS) sponsored by the United States Government. If you like this style of two dimensional illustration, you can search the HABS web site at the Library of Congress web site.
This book is best for people who already know a little something about identifying American buildings. I would recommend Lester Walker's book for beginners. Other field guides do a better job of describing the features that make a particular building an example of a certain architectural style. However, for the sheer scope of buildings shown, this is the best field guide that I have found. Highly recommended.
Excellent artist reference!.......1998-05-24
This book is a wonderful resource for 3D animators in particular. "If you do a lot of animation that requires scenery (and doesn't it all?) this book is a must have." -Taming The Wave, June 1996
Book Description
Incisive, jargon-free and a pleasure to read, A Field Guide To American Architecture presents an exceptionally comprehensive view of American architecture from the 1940s to the present. Plentiful photographs and graphic representations, carefully interwoven with succint text and informative captions, make this volume ideal for browsing as well as serious study. Like Carole Rifkind's earlier book, this one investigates buildings by type, taking a fresh vantage point for each--houses, housing projects, public buildings, art museums, churches and synagogues, schools and colleges, tall office buildings, and shopping centers. Encompassing the works of two hundred architects, from the little known to the famous, it builds a diverse and fascinating panorama of recent American architecture.
Customer Reviews:
Path Breaking Field Guide.......2006-05-12
Most field guides to American archiecture end with buildings from the 1950's. It is a rare field guide that goes forward to the Twenty First Century. Yet, most of the nation's buildings were constructed in the past fifty years. There is a real reluctance to identify and catalog contemporary American architecture.
Carole Rifkind and her Field Guide to Contemporay American Architecture boldly goes where other field guides dare to tread. What makes this book so interesting is that she is prepared to define styles and give these new styles names. As an example she has chapters on "Abstract, Technical and Regional" and "Expressionist, Organic, Manipulated Space and Deconstructivist." In the staid world of architectural field guides, this is pretty bold stuff. Rifkind is defining a path that future field guides will probably follow.
The illustrations and floor plans in this book are good but nothing to write home about. All of these homes and buildings are still to new to receive the close attention of the Survey of Historic American Buildings. It is going to take a few more decades for these buildings to enter into the realm of historic.
This is a book for all those who already feel comfortable with being able to identify Tudors and Bungalows and who now want to enter into something just a bit more daring. Highly recommended.
Poor illustrations.......2001-11-27
I don't know what book the other reviewers saw, but the copy I have has illustrations that rank with those in high school texts of the 60s. All black-and-white, or rather darkish gray and white, no snap, very bland, on low quality (for reproduction) paper. An office inkjet printer could do much better. With the importance of color in contemporary architecture this is ridiculous (especially for the price). I think that books on visual matters should look good themselves --- otherwise, how do we get excited? How do we begin to want to read it?
An outstanding work on contemporary arcvhitecture!.......1998-12-07
A Field Guide to Contemporary American Architecture picks up where every other book I've looked at leaves off. It not only tells about the building styles of the last 50 years, but it also lets you know that contemporary american architecture is defined by much more than style. Rifkind makes a large and complex subject easy to take. I enjoyed reading about shopping malls, public housing, and school and college buildings -- which most books don't touch. I appreciated the many clear and informative photographs. Kudos to the author for making sense and speaking clearly -- the same qualities that I enjoyed in her earlier book on historic buildings, A Field Guide to American Architecture.
Fascinating architectural and cultural history.......1998-11-17
A really nicely written survey of building forms and their uses. This book is a sequel to the author's earlier book, A Field Guide to American Architecture, which I also really liked. This book is better because it presents a more sophisticated view of the cultural landscape. Excellent photos and excellent choice of buildings--some familiar and many brand new to me. Overall, a great resource and guide.
Book Description
One of Americas greatest landscape designers and conservationists, Jensen used native plants to introduce the influential Prairie style of landscape architecture. In Siftings, Jensen shares his memories of "wandering in many lands" and his life in the heart of Middle America. His recollections--like his designs--express a love of natural landscapes and regional cultures. As he sifts through a lifetime of ideas about gardens, cities, towns and parks, Jensen makes an eloquent case for a natural style of American landscape.
Customer Reviews:
Pragmatic and poetic, an inspiring read.......1997-11-01
Jens Jensen's ode to the landscape he loved and enhanced during his lifetime - the prairie. Filled with philosophical musings and selected vignettes from his long career, Jens Jensen writes with ardor about the need to conserve, observe and embrace the natural environment.
Book Description
An entertaining and educational book on the history of domestic architecture, the styles of the houses we live in and the terms for the architectural elements that compose those buildings. Contains a pictorial field guide to investigate your own home and to identify different architectural details. Features over 60 houses listed in the National Register of Historic Places along with 170 full-color illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
Definitive Architectural Guide for Children.......2003-04-12
I learned more about architecture than I ever imagined I would. And the thing is, I was really intimidated by the topic. Glenn has a way of writing that is easy to digest and remember. I read it with my son who is in 4th grade and I think we both really looked forward to the time we invested in this new subject. I understand she has written a second book, "Discover America's Favorite Architects," which I plan to purchase and read with my son . These books are to BUY not to take out of the library because they become constant companions! With summer approaching, I suggest you get out and treat yourself to adventures in architecture!!!
Average customer rating:
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The Lawn: A Guide to Jefferson's University
Pendleton Hogan
Manufacturer: University of Virginia Press
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ASIN: 0813911095 |
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