Home: A Short History of an Idea

by Witold Rybczynski Narrated by Wanda McCaddon

Overview

In this illuminating book, Witold Rybczynski walks us through five centuries of homes both great and small, from the smoke-filled manor halls of the Middle Ages to the Ralph Lauren-designed environments of today. On a house tour like no other-one that delightfully explicates the very idea of “home”-you'll see how social and cultural changes influenced styles of decoration and furnishing, learn the connection between wall-hung religious tapestries and wall-to-wall carpeting, discover how some of our most welcome luxuries were born of architectural necessity, and much more.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

In a loosely configured essay, Rybczynski (Architecture, McGill Univ.) discusses the idea of comfort and the Western cultural attitudes that have shaped it since the end of the middle ages. Rather than dealing with the technical aspects of architecture, he reviews such cultural variables as intimacy and privacy, domesticity, ease, and ideas about light, air, and efficiency as they have changed over time. Essentially Rybczynski makes a plea for the primacy of cultural ideals as a basis for creating psychologically comfortable homes. Though he is selective in his history and examples, this is a worthwhile counterweight to the all-too-common technical practices of modern architects. Recommended. Jack Perry Brown, Ryerson & Burnham Libs., Art Inst. of Chicago

From the Publisher

"Here is a book that will change thew ay you look at your house or apartment—for the better."
—People

"Rybczynski's style is as loose and, yes, as comfortable as a down-filled comforter."
—The Christian Science Monitor

"Sensible and stylish"
—Newsweek

"It's a bracing, irreverent, worldly wise book."
—Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Home is serious, historically minded, and exquisitely readable. It is a triumph of intelligence."
—The New Yorker

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169840223
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	08/06/2012
Edition description:	Unabridged

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