Here are 100 books that The Man in the Glass House fans have personally recommended if you like
The Man in the Glass House.
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I am both a musician and an author: a Juilliard-trained professional composer who fell into writing after a Ph.D. in electronic music at NYU. Both of my biographiesāa favorite genreāchronicle the lives of inventors who married music to electronics and altered the trajectory of music. But their lives each took strange turnsāsometimes in almost fictional dimensionsādemonstrating that leaving a technological and artistic mark on posterity often has a black side that history overlooked. Iām fascinated by the psychic profiles of my subjects, and I love books that show how character is not black and whiteāthat those who moved the needle of human progress also harbored dark realms in their personalities.
If youāve ever wondered (or havenāt) what Richard Nixon, Jane Fonda, Linda Ronstadt, All in the Family, and the films Chinatown and Shampoo share in common, and why it matters, author and political correspondent Ronald Brownstein connects the dots in a compelling examination of how the seismic cultural upheavals we attribute to the late 60s were in fact late bloomers, leaving their mark only in the early 70s.Ā Ā
Part nostalgia, part pop and TV history, part political analysis, this book zeros in on the cast of personalities and classic artistic works that collectively made 1974 the pivotal year in the modern American zeitgeist. Something for everyone who lived through that timeāI can attest to thatāand a timely cultural history lesson for those who didnāt.
In this exceptional cultural history, Atlantic Senior Editor Ronald Brownstein-"one of America's best political journalists" (The Economist)-tells the kaleidoscopic story of one monumental year that marked the city of Los Angeles' creative peak, a glittering moment when popular culture was ahead of politics in predicting what America would become.
Los Angeles in 1974 exerted more influence over popular culture than any other city in America. Los Angeles that year, in fact, dominated popular culture more than it ever had before, or would again. Working in film, recording, and televisionā¦
The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.
The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.
Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn theā¦
I am both a musician and an author: a Juilliard-trained professional composer who fell into writing after a Ph.D. in electronic music at NYU. Both of my biographiesāa favorite genreāchronicle the lives of inventors who married music to electronics and altered the trajectory of music. But their lives each took strange turnsāsometimes in almost fictional dimensionsādemonstrating that leaving a technological and artistic mark on posterity often has a black side that history overlooked. Iām fascinated by the psychic profiles of my subjects, and I love books that show how character is not black and whiteāthat those who moved the needle of human progress also harbored dark realms in their personalities.
Electric guitars are all around us, but they didnāt just burst upon the scene with 1950s rock ānā roll, fully formed; their zig-zaggy path to ubiquity surprised me, and Iām sure it will surprise others. Ian Portās captivating triple biography of the electrified guitar and its creators Leo Fender and Les Paul (the Gibson guitar), is set against the atmosphere of competing visions and vicious rivalry between Fender and Gibson, and their rush to win the hearts and pocketbooks of their famed rocker customers.Ā
This very American tale of spontaneous mom-and-pop invention that spawned a beloved tool of music we take for granted uncovers the dark and sometimes clandestine side of its creation. It resonated with my own similar discoveries about Bob Moog and his synthesizer.
"A hot-rod joy ride through mid-20th-century American history" (The New York Times Book Review), this one-of-a-kind narrative masterfully recreates the rivalry between the two men who innovated the electric guitar's amplified sound-Leo Fender and Les Paul-and their intense competition to convince rock stars like the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton to play the instruments they built.
In the years after World War II, music was evolving from big-band jazz into rock 'n' roll-and these louder styles demanded revolutionary instruments. When Leo Fender's tiny firm marketed the first solid-body electric guitar, the Esquire, musicians immediately saw its appeal. Not toā¦
I am both a musician and an author: a Juilliard-trained professional composer who fell into writing after a Ph.D. in electronic music at NYU. Both of my biographiesāa favorite genreāchronicle the lives of inventors who married music to electronics and altered the trajectory of music. But their lives each took strange turnsāsometimes in almost fictional dimensionsādemonstrating that leaving a technological and artistic mark on posterity often has a black side that history overlooked. Iām fascinated by the psychic profiles of my subjects, and I love books that show how character is not black and whiteāthat those who moved the needle of human progress also harbored dark realms in their personalities.
The invention of the radio came at a great price for Edwin Armstrong, inventor of the key component that made broadcasting possible. Financially ruined by nefarious competition, he jumped from a window. Lewisās gripping account of the lives of Armstrong, Lee de Forest, and David Sarnoffāthe pioneers who put our lives on the airāis another tug-of-war tale of who got there first or who claimed to have gotten there first and who would profit from crossing the finish line, deserved or not.Ā Ā
Iāve researched the history of radio extensively for my own writing, and Lewisās account is surely the best seat-of-the-pants history of this technology that fostered not only radio but every incarnation of electronics during the first half of the 20th century.Ā
The story of the invention of radio focuses on scientist Lee de Forest, brilliant recluse Edwin Armstrong, and RCA mogul David Sarnoff, who turned a basement discovery into a worldwide communications revolution
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa storiesāall reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argueā¦
I am both a musician and an author: a Juilliard-trained professional composer who fell into writing after a Ph.D. in electronic music at NYU. Both of my biographiesāa favorite genreāchronicle the lives of inventors who married music to electronics and altered the trajectory of music. But their lives each took strange turnsāsometimes in almost fictional dimensionsādemonstrating that leaving a technological and artistic mark on posterity often has a black side that history overlooked. Iām fascinated by the psychic profiles of my subjects, and I love books that show how character is not black and whiteāthat those who moved the needle of human progress also harbored dark realms in their personalities.
Iāve been a fan of Leonard Bernsteinās music and his peerless conducting since I was a child and I knew that his personal and creative life was stormy. But I was gobsmacked by Jamie Bernsteinās deeply personal tour through the up-close, at-home world of this timeless genius. She invites us into Lennyās study, his living room, or seats us at the dinner table as he puffs his umpteenth daily cigarette, downs a scotch, and holds forth on the sacred, the profane, and the mundane.Ā Ā
As a biographer, I gleaned much from this powerful memoir, a confessional chronicle that emboldened me to take chances and dissect the deepest innards of my subject unapologetically.Ā If we can witness Lenny soiling himself onstage in his last year as he is honored for lifetime achievement, we can also plumb the depths of his deeper psyche as well.Ā A masterful portrait.Ā Ā
The intimate memoir of Leonard Bernstein and his family, that helped inspire the new movieĀ Maestro
āUnique among classical-music memoirs for its physical intimacy, its humor and tenderness, its ambivalence toward an irrepressible family genius. . . . The existence of this well-written book, with its poignancy and its shuddery detail. . . is a mark of [Jamie Bernsteinās] sanity and survival. In telling [her fatherās] story, she got to write her own.ā āNew Yorker
The oldest daughter of revered composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein offers a rare look at her father on the centennial of his birth in a deeply intimateā¦
As a practicing architect, and an avid readerāin a variety of subjects and genres, not just architectureāI love finding patterns and connections between seemingly dissimilar phenomena. Patterns conform to principles, and principles are the fountainhead of wisdom that never runs dry.Ā I will be the first to admit that, even after forty years of absorbing these and other kindred principles, Iām still far from consistent in applying them. And, like the others I cite, my own work suffers from that inconsistency. I commiserate with all architects who are similarly struggling to design buildings that exemplify even a few of the principles in these books. And that is why I chose them.
Whenever Iām reading Ruskin, I feel like Iām overhearing a crusty old manās rant. Some rants I loveāwhen he talks about honesty in materials, or his in-depth thoughts on nature and light; some I questionādemonizing cast iron facades; and others I disagree withāthe necessity for obedience to God as an architect. And some of his ideas are so outdated, theyāve almost come back full circle. But the reason I included this older volume, is simply because Ruskinās seven principles on architecture have withstood the test of time.
"I believe architecture must be the beginning of arts, and that the others must follow her in their time and order; and I think the prosperity of our schools of painting and sculpture, in which no one will deny the life, though many the health, depends upon that of our architecture." ā John Ruskin. In August of 1848, John Ruskin and his new bride visited northern France, for the gifted young critic wished to write a work that would examine the essence of Gothic architecture. By the following April, the book was finished. Titled The Seven Lamps of Architecture, itā¦
Alison and Walter have come into architecture on different paths, Alison with a biology/chemistry background (yes, one can become an architect with an accredited, first professional degree in architecture) and Walter through architectural engineering. We both believe that the union of science, aesthetics, energy, comfort, and health make buildings work! We enjoy creating simplified design processes for students to use in their work, so that they can gain confidence in the first steps of design. Equally, we feel it important to clearly understand what is to be created and how to confirm that what was intended actually results in the built environment.
Fitch is best known as a city plannerānot as an architect or engineer. Perhaps it is this perspective that allowed him to prepare a delightful introduction to the various sensory dimensionsāthe environmental forcesāwe engage as building users.
These dimensions, which constitute much of our holistic experience with architecture, include air quality, light, sound, and heat. None are truly shown on architectural plans. All affect us for better or worse. This is a great introductory read bereft of equations.Ā
Few books have influenced the field of architecture more than American Building: The Environmental Forces That Shape It. Originally published in 1947, it has emerged as a classic work on the relationships among buildings, their inhabitants, and the environment. Now comes the first major revision in over twenty-five years, bringing this essential book completely up to date for a new, more environmentally aware generation of architects and designers. In this superb volume, James Marston Fitch provides a fundamental theory of buildings. "The ultimate task of architecture," he writes, "is to act in favor of human beings: to interpose itself betweenā¦
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother hadā¦
Iāve always been interested in art and architecture. I studied Fine Arts at CalArts. Iāve written three books on Mid-century home builders and designers, William Mellenthin, Jean Vandruff, and Robert Byrd, whose life and work in Southern California had gone mostly unnoticed during their lifetimesāwith very little information written about them in the press. I spent three years on each book working with the families to uncover their lives and place in local history. This is information that would have otherwise been lost. When you research the life of one person in this profession, you inevitably learn about the life and work of othersāsome famous, some not.
Having lived in West Hollywood for many years, I have always been interested in the beautiful and historically significant courtyard apartment buildings found throughout the city.
One of the more famous buildings, the Villa Primavera (seen in the Gloria Grahame, Humphrey Bogart film, In a Lonely Place) was designed and built by Arthur and Nina Zwebell in 1923. Their story is quite fascinating, since neither one was formerly trained or a licensed architect.
He designed the buildingās exterior, while she designed the interior as well as the furniture.
As cities throughout the U.S. struggle with housing shortages, valuable lessons can be learned from the principles thatunderlie the design of the courtyard house. Whether humble or sumptuous in scale, courtyards create a sense of privacyand enhance quality of life by creating the impression of green space for their residents.
Now available in its fifth printing, Courtyard Housing in Los Angeles documents the historical, technical, and cultural forces that shaped the development of this distinctive West Coast building type. The authors's in-depth research andanalysis is enhanced by the inclusion of numerous plans and technical drawings. Julius Shulman's sensuous black-and-whitephotographs documentā¦
Iāve always been interested in art and architecture. I studied Fine Arts at CalArts. Iāve written three books on Mid-century home builders and designers, William Mellenthin, Jean Vandruff, and Robert Byrd, whose life and work in Southern California had gone mostly unnoticed during their lifetimesāwith very little information written about them in the press. I spent three years on each book working with the families to uncover their lives and place in local history. This is information that would have otherwise been lost. When you research the life of one person in this profession, you inevitably learn about the life and work of othersāsome famous, some not.
Esther McCoy has long been admired for her writing on architecture in Southern California, particularly on the Case Study House program from 1945-1962.
This is a remarkable story of a once-in-a-lifetime program sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine that brought together legendary architects, hopes and dreams, and some fantastic Mid-century Modern Homes.
Many of these Case Study homes are still standing today, and some are available to tour. You can also look up the addresses of these homes and drive by yourself.
Since the popular Museum of Contemporary Art exhibit of 1989, Blueprint for Modern Living, much attention has been paid to the pioneering work done by the architects of the Case Study Program. Sponsored by John Entenza's Art & Architectue Magazine, the Case Study Houses program brought new thinking, techniques, and materials to post-war California house building. Contains the work of Charles Eames, Eero Saarinen, Craig Ellwood, Pierre Koenig, Richard Neutra, William Wurster, and others.
Trevor Burnard is Wilberforce Professor of Slavery and Emancipation at the University of Hull and author of four books and many articles on eighteenth-century Jamaica. He has recently reviewed 34 books just published on Jamaica in ā`Wi Lickle but Wi Tallawahā: Writing Jamaica into the Atlantic World, 1655-1834Reviews in American History 49 (2021), 168-86.
Beautifully illustrated and persuasively argued, this survey of a variety of architectural forms in the eighteenth century, from merchant houses to enslaved yards to great houses shows how studying the built environment of early Jamaica gives insight into a society both rich and highly conflicted.
Through Creole houses and merchant stores to sugar fields and boiling houses, Jamaica played a leading role in the formation of both the early modern Atlantic world and the British Empire. Architecture and Empire in Jamaica offers the first scholarly analysis of Jamaican architecture in the long 18th century, spanning roughly from the Port Royal earthquake of 1692 to Emancipation in 1838. In this richly illustrated study, which includes hundreds of the author's own photographs and drawings, Louis P. Nelson examines surviving buildings and archival records to write a social history of architecture.
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to runā¦
Iām a writer of historical novels and primary literacy books, and a poet. I was born in Trinidad and live in London. So why am I writing about the magic of castles? Iāve loved visiting them since I was a child, when Iād run round them and imagine what had happened there. Back home, Iād immerse myself in reading legends and fairy storiesāat bedtime, lying in my top bunk, I'd make up stories to entertain my sister in her bottom bunk. So it was natural to move on to writing fictionāthe novel Iāve just completed is about King Canute. Iāve written primary literacy books for Collins, Oxford, and Ransom.
Iāve spent some time in the north of Scotland and became intrigued by the remains of Pictish forts on hilltops and by the sea. This book doesnāt provide many answersāwritten records before 900 AD are few and the archaeology is confusedāKonstamās conclusion is "the main benefit of any visit to one of these sites is to be able to stand on the same hilltop or promontory, and to imagine what it might have looked like in the days of the Picts." Which explains why legends and stories have grown up about castlesāimagining has been key to making sense of such imposing features in the landscape, when often their real history has been forgotten over time.
Konstamās book is one of a series, and if your curiosity is about a different sort of castle itās worth checking it out.
This concise guide actually covers not just Pictish fortifications, but all those in use in early medieval Scotland, including those of Strathclyde and Rheged and of the Dal Riata. Konstam introduces the reader to the principal types of fort, including the re-use of earlier defences, before offering more in-depth surveys of Dundurn and Dunadd. As well as architecture and construction he looks at the use of the forts in war and peace, to control the landscape and act as royal strong points.
