Rating: 
Summary: A Book to Enjoy; Houses to Think About
Review: What was the average home like in Plymouth Colony? What is meant by "living in a bandbox" (Philadelphia town houses in the Federal period)? Do you want to look inside several "gingerbread" cottages at those Methodist Church summer colonies? Can "America's first architect", Thomas Jefferson, bring the same style and elegance to a very small structure that he brought to Monticello? Where can you turn to for a modern timberframe cabin (or two) that combines style with a pre-cut kit? In "A Little House of My Own", Lester Walker gives the answers--in prose descriptions that hit the high points by explaining useful features; in lovely color pictures of exteriors and interiors; in three-dimensional scale drawings that show rooms as they were furnished for use. The author's selections of experimental small houses take us "inside" the architect's profession to show readers how one uses cutting edge materials or meets special housing needs. Unfortunately, these projects usually only exist as cut-out models and they are not as compelling as the built forms that have stood the test of time in so many of our communities. My conclusion: this is a book I have read and reread with great interest...and I bet you will, too.
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