Customer Reviews

Architecture of Democracy

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Mr. Greenberg says: 'Although they may be difficult to read, buildings tell stories through their form, symbolic content, and relationship to the surrounding city.'

In this book he uses an eclectic set of photographs of buildings that in his mind help to define the American democratic experience. These pictures vary from simple one room school houses to big ornate Government buildings. The pictures are combined with a description that explains what he sees in the architecture of that building.

Mr. Greenberg came to this country in 1964, fleeing the apartheid system in South Africa. Perhaps this has given him an insight that we natives don't have, or perhaps he just sees with an artists eye what eludes us.

Not all of the buildings shown are American. He brings in foreigh designs from time to time to illustrate the points he is making. It's a fascinating book that shows a different side of the art of architecture.

This is a book that will appeal to all, the history buff, the architecture buff, and those interested in how America came to be such a unique country. The photos are simply gorgeous, including scenes of the inside and outside of Mt Vernon and Monticello, and the text is innovative and easy to follow---where else will you find a comparison in the size of George Washington's home at Mt Vernon to the scale of the French court at Versailles and listen to Mr. Greenberg talk about why Pres. Washington felt he was a citizen, not a king? You will also laugh: the book shows the architecture of the Empire State building and comments on all the movies that have been built around it. I bought a number of copies of this book for Christmas presents....

one our most aesthetically sensitive architects.

And he is daring!