Rating: 
Summary: People are Talking...and Raving!
Review: "[an] entertaining architectural tour [that] brings to life the residents and designers of 26 of America's most treasured houses."- HOUSE AND GARDEN "Brownstein...with her leisurely and informed prose...proves far better than your average tour guide....More than just a book about houses, IF THIS HOUSE COULD TALK is filled with miniature lives of distinguished Americans. If you're confined to an armchair, unable to peek inside these historic structures yourself, amble through Brownstein's amply illustrated book. It's the next best thing." - SMITHSONIAN PRESERVATION "History buffs and old house devotees alike will appreciate IF THIS HOUSE COULD TALK by Elizabeth Smith Brownstein. Using the house as a metaphor, the author explores the lives of its residents and the times that gave the houses their dramatic stories." - DETROIT FREE PRESS
Rating: 
Summary: Homes as history...
Review: I had the pleasure of meeting the author on a flight from Frankfurt to Rome last summer. I bought and read this book with great enthusiasm. The author is brilliant and funny. The book takes us to various personalities, times and eras in the historical evolution of our country as these homes are used as the medium to demonstrate the message of the time and culture. It is eloquently written in unpretensious prose. I must read.
Rating:
Summary: Homes as history...
Review: I had the pleasure of meeting the author on a flight from Frankfurt to Rome last summer. I bought and read this book with great enthusiasm. The author is brilliant and funny. The book takes us to various personalities, times and eras in the historical evolution of our country as these homes are used as the medium to demonstrate the message of the time and culture. It is eloquently written in unpretensious prose. I must read.
Rating:
Summary: I think this book will enlighten and delight you!
Review: I love it when readers of my book say "Wow, I didn't know that!" because I wanted it to be full of surprises. Each of the twenty-eight houses in the book has something dramatic, even startling, to say about the people and places that make America so special. The book is beautiful to look at (it has over 200 illustrations) and easy to read ("unstuffy" one critic calls the writing style). Perhaps potential buyers would like to know what others have said about my book: "a thrilling and inspiring concept" (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, when the book was still in the early stages), "a marvelous book" (David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Truman), "quite unusual, quite imaginative" (William Lee Miller, Arguing About Slavery), "a magnificent album" (Publishers Weekly), "A fascinating stroll through America's most memorable places and spaces" (Joseph Ellis, National Book Award winner for American Sphinx). You can't go wrong with a book endorsed by one of the great First Ladies of this century, and by three of the country's most gifted historians!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating tour of select American homes over time
Review: The reader is taken on an an insider's tour of American treasure dwellings and those who inhabited them. Elizabeth Smith Brownstein, the author, offers us a wonderful journey filled with her special touch and accumulated knowledge.There is much that is new and surprising as the past is newly reviewed; even a peek into concepts for potential year 2000 housing. Put this book on your Holiday List for house tour devotees and history buffs alike.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating tour of select American homes over time
Review: The reader is taken on an an insider's tour of American treasure dwellings and those who inhabited them. Elizabeth Smith Brownstein, the author, offers us a wonderful journey filled with her special touch and accumulated knowledge.There is much that is new and surprising as the past is newly reviewed; even a peek into concepts for potential year 2000 housing. Put this book on your Holiday List for house tour devotees and history buffs alike.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful addition to any library
Review: This book has immediately become a favorite of my wife and I. We jump from chapter to chapter, revisiting homes we have actually been to and learning additional tidbits about them. As well, we are delving into homes we now hope to visit in the future. The pictures are well-chosen and attractive and the author's choice of text brings these dwellings to life. We recommend this "work of historic art" to everyone, no matter their level of interest in this area.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful addition to any library
Review: This book has immediately become a favorite of my wife and I. We jump from chapter to chapter, revisiting homes we have actually been to and learning additional tidbits about them. As well, we are delving into homes we now hope to visit in the future. The pictures are well-chosen and attractive and the author's choice of text brings these dwellings to life. We recommend this "work of historic art" to everyone, no matter their level of interest in this area.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book that I just could not put down!
Review: This fabulous book contains interesting histories and illustrations of the homes of famous Americans. I especially liked the sections on the historical California homes, since my husband and I have visited several of them. As a student of both archicture and history, this book inspired me to plan future visits to each of the homes described. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book that I just could not put down!
Review: This fabulous book contains interesting histories and illustrations of the homes of famous Americans. I especially liked the sections on the historical California homes, since my husband and I have visited several of them. As a student of both archicture and history, this book inspired me to plan future visits to each of the homes described. Highly recommended!
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