Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: American House Styles: A Concise Guide by John Milnes Baker ISBN: 0-393-03421-6 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: April, 1994 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.33 (6 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: It sells out fast at the book store
Comment: This is a great way to study the different elevations/styles that can be applied to the same basic floorplan. Also a quick reference for the many Architectural styles of the U.S.
Rating: 4
Summary: A good, quick introduction
Comment: This fascinating book is a quick introduction to the evolution of house styles across the history of the United States. Each chapter has a short introduction to the era in American history, and then launches into a description of the house styles, complete with excellent sketches of a typical house and floor plan of that style. I found this to be a fun and educational read. I enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it.
Rating: 3
Summary: Causes of Architecture
Comment: In the beginning of this book the author points out that a culture is reflected in its buildings. Then he goes on to identify the events that caused the various styles--the War of 1812 that stopped our imitation of English architecture, the change to stud framing and the effects of industrialization that mark the Victorian era, the nationalistic spirit of the 1876 Centennial that spawned the revival in Colonial archictecture at the end of the 19th century, etc.--in such a professional style of writing you'd never suspect he was also an architect. A history professor maybe. All of which explains the subject better than the usual bare chronological sequence.
What helps in a book like this are the odd bits of information casually thrown out that show mastery of the subject.
Colonial homes were never white; Greek Revival were never anything but. A particular cornice is usually done incorrectly, compared to the true Classical version.
He also make the sensible point that you can only compare styles within limits, that at some point you're really discussing altogether different building types, as in ranches, bungalows, and certainly octagon houses. And early on he boasts he can design a modern four bedroom house in any style. Then he proceeds to do it, providing a front elevation and a repeating ground floor plan (front: LR, center hall, DR. rear: family room, kitchen, mud room) with added porch, tower, fireplace, chimney, as needed. Not so much to explain the architectural features, I think, but to give the prospective homebuilder something that actually could be built today.
Where most authors stop around WWII, he continues up to the present. His next-to-last chapter shows the recent builder's styles which will be familiar to anyone who's driven through any of those vinyl village developments with the Olde English names: the Townes, Pointes, Glenns, and Harbours. Here he doesn't hesitate to criticize the tastless examples, and continues his tirade into last chapter, where he argues against the Post-Modern assault on tradition in favor of a return to order and careful design.
 |
Title: A Field Guide to American Houses by Virginia McAlester, Lee McAlester, Juan Rodriguez-Arnaiz, Lauren Jarrett (Illustrator) ISBN: 0394739698 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 12 May, 1984 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
 |
Title: Identifying American Architecture: A Pictorial Guide to Styles and Terms: 1600-1945 by John J. G. Blumenson, Nikolaus Pevsner ISBN: 0393306100 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: March, 1990 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
 |
Title: The Visual Dictionary of American Domestic Architecture by Rachel Carley ISBN: 0805045635 Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, Inc. Pub. Date: 15 March, 1997 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
 |
Title: What Style Is It?: A Guide to American Architecture by John C. Poppeliers, S. Allen Chambers, Nancy B. Schwartz, Historic American Buildings Survey ISBN: 0471144347 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 29 June, 1995 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
 |
Title: American Architecture since 1780: A Guide to the Styles by Marcus Whiffen ISBN: 0262730979 Publisher: MIT Press Pub. Date: 04 March, 1992 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
