Rating: 
Summary: Definitely the "Wright" stuff
Review: Last August, my 17 year old son and I visited Fallingwater. In December, said son bought me "Fallingwater Rising". The book is a tremendous read. I now need to go back to Fallingwater (this time with my wife!) to get an entirely different view of the masterpiece.This is a history of the merchants of Pittsburgh, to a history of architecture, architectural publishing, with Ayn Rand, Henry Luce, the Carnegies, the Mellons, Frida Kahlo and of course the Kaufmann family and Mr. Wright included. Do yourself a favor and pick this book up. If you have never visited Fallingwater, you will yearn to; if you have visited, you will be anxious to return. Thank you, Mr. Toker.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely the "Wright" stuff
Review: Last August, my 17 year old son and I visited Fallingwater. In December, said son bought me "Fallingwater Rising". The book is a tremendous read. I now need to go back to Fallingwater (this time with my wife!) to get an entirely different view of the masterpiece. This is a history of the merchants of Pittsburgh, to a history of architecture, architectural publishing, with Ayn Rand, Henry Luce, the Carnegies, the Mellons, Frida Kahlo and of course the Kaufmann family and Mr. Wright included. Do yourself a favor and pick this book up. If you have never visited Fallingwater, you will yearn to; if you have visited, you will be anxious to return. Thank you, Mr. Toker.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Read
Review: Professor Toker has written an informative and interesting book not only explaining the history of Falling Water, but the dynamics between the merchant/architect Kauffman, and Frank Lloyd Wright the architect/merchant.
The book is well researched as is evident by all the tidbits of information not found in other previous works on this remarkable building.
I highly recommend this book either as a gift or for your own pleasure.
Rating:
Summary: Greatest Hoax of the 20C
Review: Rich in detail, this book dispells the myth that Jr. was in charge of coordinating architect and client. I visited Fallingwater, one time, and regret not having had
Toker as my guide
Rating:
Summary: Meticulous scholarship, a real page-turner
Review: That Franklin Toker has tended to all the scholarly details is evident in the footnotes and photo captions, and it comes through on every page of the narrative itself. Fallingwater Rising is the story of an iconic house, designed by America's greatest architect for Edgar J. Kaufmann, Sr., a Jewish merchant whose own fascinating story is told here for the first time. Toker manages to deliver even more than that. Within these pages is a memorable portrait of the clannish and provincial power elite that ran twentieth-century Pittsburgh. Anyone interested in architectural history, the modernist movement, business history, academic ambition (that of Edgar Jr.), or urban history will want to own this riveting and lavishly illustrated book.
Rating: 
Summary: Superb & Truly Outstanding
Review: These days, it's a rarity to read an architectural book that is informative and entertaining at the same time. For those that have read materials from Kenneth Frampton, they are probably more cerebral. At times, I also find architectural book either to be shallow (bombarding us with glossy pictures and thus no substance) or too dry for an architectural enthusiast to go all the way. This effort by Franklin Tokler is a reaper, to much my pleasant surprise. He spent almost three years writing this book and the amount of research that he had done is truly outstanding and tangible proofs were all in the book. The book contained facts and relevant photos (both B&W and colour). Franklin digged deeper into the Fallingwater. He investigated the motivation of why Fallingwater gotten built at the first place. He discussed the personalities involved in depth and in length and naturally, we also gotten to read about the other personalities of the time and of their connection to Fallingwater as well. Gosh, there were so many to name but just as a teaser: Diego Riviera, Frida Kahlo, Rockerfeller, Mellon, Richard Neutra, Walter Gropius, Mies van de Rohe, Le Corbusier, disciples of Frank Lloyd Wright, and the list goes on and on. Franklin endeavoured to educate the world that the patron, Kauffman is just as important as Frank Lloyd Wright in the project. That's what I find the most entertaining to read about the uneasy alliance between the patron and the architect. He also disputed the claim by the young sibling of Kauffman that the credit went to him for bring his father and the architect together. Then, there were talk of their collection of arts, their Jews background and how did the American society accept them at that time, and so forth. Then, there were talk about the flawed structural system (particularly the cantilever) and how Fallingwater underwent a quiet suicide, the speculation of the origin of the name of the building itself. The book also went into explaining the rationale of why the house is so endearing to people from all over the world till now and perhaps, there would be another Fallingwater in the making somehow? A book that is written with passion and vigour, paying homage to it with utmost dignity from an author who obviously has been visiting it for hundreds of time (as mentioned). I find Franklin's high spirit contagious and I sincerely recommend this book to all architecture buff. A truly unforgettable experience.
Rating:
Summary: An Instructive Book That Establishes the Gold Standard
Review: This book is an extraordinary education in the many facets of early twentieth-century American life and international architecture that bear on a house in the forest that has become a lasting treasure for devotees of Frank Lloyd Wright, a testament to his genius, and a gift to the traditions from which it borrowed and synthesized. Its author-Franklin Toker-has evidently read, observed, and digested everything that could have possibly influenced the building of this world-famous house. Whether carefully detailing the twists and turns of modernist architecture, reviewing the "social vaulting" strategy of E.J. Kaufmann and his family among the regional elite in the Pittsburgh area or musing over the influence and legacy of Wright's anti-Semitism, whether explaining the structural features of the building itself, pointing to the progenitors of its design in Wright's earlier work and that of his some of his contemporaries or demonstrating how Wright beat the Internationalists at their own game, Toker is ever the entertaining instructor assiduously and judiciously separating out fact and fiction, complex verities and simplistic myths in order to tell a story that generously enlarges everyone in this venture. By the end of the book, the reader has been profoundly changed by Toker's odyssey, enriching both her or his outlook on this architectural masterpiece and appreciation for the genius who designed it. No less rewarding, the reader has been taken on a voyage through the life and times of a powerful and beguiling client who proved himself equal to the tasks of commissioning such a unique blend of modernist and vernacular elements and challenging its architect to meet the demands of producing a work that has drawn such popular and scholarly acclaim.
Rating:
Summary: In no way just another another book about Wright!
Review: This book was a gold mine of originality and creativity. Franklin Toker scrupulously examines the intriguing chronicles of this architectural icon and those most responsible for its rise to international prominence with unprecedented accuracy and lively narration. As I have told several people who cringed at the notion of another book regarding Frank Lloyd Wright and his architectural "genius"...this is in no way just another book about Wright! The book meticulously clarifies the relationships that came to be, as well as the importance of each character and their role in the creation of the house. The author fittingly applauds the architect and patrons for there successful progeny, but brilliantly points out the houses returned value to them. I, for one, questioned the rationale of another book about Fallingwater; perhaps the most published house in American history. The book captured my attention from the onset, and I felt obligated to rethink my position. This is an ideal first-read for readers who may be virgin to the topic and a fail-safe favorite for the Fallingwater-educated.
Rating:
Summary: Fallingwater Rising: scholarly and well researched
Review: This is an excellently detailed book about the building of a remarkable house and the legends that surround it. It is scholarly without being boring and gives the reader a real feel for the time period in which this all occurred. I highly recommend this book not only to the Frank Lloyd Wright enthusiast but anyone with an interest in the culture of that time.
Rating:
Summary: Educational and Interesting
Review: This is an exceptionally well written book that gives insight to to not only Fallingwater, but the era in which it was built. Simply outstanding.
|
