Home: A Short History of an Idea

Rating:
Summary: fastinating book on history and culture as much as housing
Review: As the subtitle says, it's the history of an idea. He traces the development of "home", as different time periods have concieve of it, from Middle Ages to Modern. I read this book around the same time I read William Manchester's 'A World Lit Only By Fire' and this book provides a far, far example of 'a portrait of an age' than the one that was supose to! I wrote this review because most I read seemed to be architecture and furnishings related. This book works as social history, too. You can't seporate home--family dwellings--from the society those families make up.

Rating:
Summary: fastinating book on history and culture as much as housing
Review: As the subtitle says, it's the history of an idea. He traces the development of "home", as different time periods have concieve of it, from Middle Ages to Modern. I read this book around the same time I read William Manchester's 'A World Lit Only By Fire' and this book provides a far, far example of 'a portrait of an age' than the one that was supose to! I wrote this review because most I read seemed to be architecture and furnishings related. This book works as social history, too. You can't seporate home--family dwellings--from the society those families make up.

Rating:
Summary: Changes the way you look at your own living space & life
Review: I am currently reading this as part of the curriculum for a History of Furniture class. Rybczynski puts some heart into an otherwise academic study. He looks at the way in which houses were organized within the cultural and economic scope; yet digs in deep as to the evolution of the HOME. It is very thought provoking as to how I am organizing and using my own home, very beneficial in the development of my business consulting in "Smart Home" design, and has made me look at the end of the century expectation of our homes in a whole new light. If he reads this, thanks for your approach. It has broadened my horizons (if not improved my spelling!!)

Rating:
Summary: Changes the way you look at your own living space & life
Review: I am currently reading this as part of the curriculum for a History of Furniture class. Rybczynski puts some heart into an otherwise academic study. He looks at the way in which houses were organized within the cultural and economic scope; yet digs in deep as to the evolution of the HOME. It is very thought provoking as to how I am organizing and using my own home, very beneficial in the development of my business consulting in "Smart Home" design, and has made me look at the end of the century expectation of our homes in a whole new light. If he reads this, thanks for your approach. It has broadened my horizons (if not improved my spelling!!)

Rating:
Summary: For anyone buying or building a home.
Review: I first read this book 14 years ago and it changed my life. This book is a must for anyone buying or building a home. You will never look at a house in the same way again, and you will appreciate good and functional design as never before . Your understanding and excitment at the things that make a house a pleasant home will be enhanced more by this book that any academic or popular text on the subject that I have seen or read. The author weaves together the historcal and social aspects, as well as design, in an intriguing tale. This is truly absorbing reading, you will not want to put it down. It is plainly and simply, very well writen. Rybczyski speaks as one of us.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Writers Around!
Review: I found Home by accident three years ago. Since then I've become a Rybczyski fan. This man knows how to write and has lots of thought provoking things to say about the relationship between people and their buildings. I recommend all his books. Witold is on my list of the top ten people I'd like to meet at a soiree.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Writers Around!
Review: I found Home by accident three years ago. Since then I've become a Rybczyski fan. This man knows how to write and has lots of thought provoking things to say about the relationship between people and their buildings. I recommend all his books. Witold is on my list of the top ten people I'd like to meet at a soiree.

Rating:
Summary: The underlying concepts of domesticity
Review: I love this book. I love the topic, analyzing the humble dwellingplace for its universals. I love the way he has organized by those very topics rather than by the detail of historic era or functional object. "Home" liberates the whole topic to a level whidh allows the reader to consider what all people have in common for their needs and ambitions, and it inspires such optimism for it demonstrates how resourceful people naturally are. The reader feels so much more aware of mindless routines and can delight in the choices of continuing what is habit or deliberately designing a new tradition. For this reason I like using the book with middle school and high school students. It is too long for the time allowed in the school calendar, but it suits a jigsaw approach of different groups of students studying one of the conceptual chapters and applying the insights to their own lives. The reading level is challenging but appropriate if students are not expected to read too much of it in too short a time. This is one of those treasured volumes that suits the purest progressive tradition of education: it is based on authentic experience which helps students find meaning in their real lives here and now, all the while stretching their capacity to see logic in the world. A nice companion to it is "House" by Tracey Kidder for its similarly direct and quiet manner of discussing the decisions people make, alone and collaboratively, to improve their living situation. Like "Cod", this book should be the way students learn history: focused on a recognizable topic and connecting years and years of interaction between people as it describes the everyday personal consequences of innovation and competition. 'Home: a short history of an idea" needs more than five stars, and it needs to be widely available to schoolchildren, perhaps by individual chapter.

Rating:
Summary: One of the most thought-provoking books that I've read!
Review: I read "Home: A Short History of an Idea" when it first came out and I'm re-reading it again with great pleasure. So many of the day-to-day aspects of how we function in our environment are taken for granted . . . as though they just happened spontaneously ! This book would be very worthwhile for anyone interested in a multi-discipline approach to studying our culture, history, furnishings and art. I recommend it highly!

Rating:
Summary: One of the most thought-provoking books that I've read!
Review: I read "Home: A Short History of an Idea" when it first came out and I'm re-reading it again with great pleasure. So many of the day-to-day aspects of how we function in our environment are taken for granted . . . as though they just happened spontaneously ! This book would be very worthwhile for anyone interested in a multi-discipline approach to studying our culture, history, furnishings and art. I recommend it highly!