Thank you, Mr. Hill. I’ve been recently reading Broken Glass by Alex Beam and it’s allowed me to see what an intriguing character MVDR is in every possible aspect of his personal and professional life. By the way, do you have any recommendations on similar books? This one reads almost like an architectural novel, but it’s nonfiction nonetheless and I’d like to read more books like it. Thanks!
I haven't ready Beam's book but have only heard good things about it. The subject shows to me that general interest architecture books need good personal stories to hold the reader's attention, that architecture in and of itself isn't enough. So big-name architects with dramatic personal lives have made good general reads, such as with Mark Lamster's "The Main in the Glass House," a great bio of Philip Johnson ( https://archidose.blogspot.com/2018/11/book-review-man-in-glass-house.html ), Ian Volner's critical bio of Michael Graves ( https://archidose.blogspot.com/2018/03/book-review-michael-graves-design-for.html ), and T. C. Boyle's "The Women," a beautiful novel about Frank Lloyd Wright and the women in his life. There are Ross King's books on Brunelleschi and Michelangelo, which I haven't read but are quite popular; as is "The Devil in the White City," but that mixes mass murder with the story of the 1893 World's Fair and therefore shows how architecture ultimately isn't that interesting to most readers.
Thank you so much, Mr. Hill. That's a great list of new books for my wish list! I'm particularly attracted to the biography of Philip Johnson considering his relationship with Mies and how it's shown on Alex Beam's book. After reading your review now, I'd also love to read When Eero Met His Match by Eva Hagberg as soon as possible; it sounds like the type of "beside every great man is a greater woman" story that I'm always fascinated by. Thank you for sharing, sir.
Thank you, Mr. Hill. I’ve been recently reading Broken Glass by Alex Beam and it’s allowed me to see what an intriguing character MVDR is in every possible aspect of his personal and professional life. By the way, do you have any recommendations on similar books? This one reads almost like an architectural novel, but it’s nonfiction nonetheless and I’d like to read more books like it. Thanks!
I haven't ready Beam's book but have only heard good things about it. The subject shows to me that general interest architecture books need good personal stories to hold the reader's attention, that architecture in and of itself isn't enough. So big-name architects with dramatic personal lives have made good general reads, such as with Mark Lamster's "The Main in the Glass House," a great bio of Philip Johnson ( https://archidose.blogspot.com/2018/11/book-review-man-in-glass-house.html ), Ian Volner's critical bio of Michael Graves ( https://archidose.blogspot.com/2018/03/book-review-michael-graves-design-for.html ), and T. C. Boyle's "The Women," a beautiful novel about Frank Lloyd Wright and the women in his life. There are Ross King's books on Brunelleschi and Michelangelo, which I haven't read but are quite popular; as is "The Devil in the White City," but that mixes mass murder with the story of the 1893 World's Fair and therefore shows how architecture ultimately isn't that interesting to most readers.
A few other relatively obscure recommendations:
- "Deventer," which tells the story of two contemporary projects in the titular Dutch city ( http://www.designersandbooks.com/book/deventer )
- "When Eero Met His Match: Aline Louchheim Saarinen and the Making of an Architect," which intersperses a bio of Aline Saarinen with autobiographical elements by Eva Hagberg ( https://archidose.blogspot.com/2022/09/when-eero-met-his-match.html )
- Similarly, "Sandfutures" alternates between Minoru Yamasaki's story and that of author Justin Beal ( https://archidose.blogspot.com/2021/11/sandfuture.html )
Thank you so much, Mr. Hill. That's a great list of new books for my wish list! I'm particularly attracted to the biography of Philip Johnson considering his relationship with Mies and how it's shown on Alex Beam's book. After reading your review now, I'd also love to read When Eero Met His Match by Eva Hagberg as soon as possible; it sounds like the type of "beside every great man is a greater woman" story that I'm always fascinated by. Thank you for sharing, sir.