Customer Reviews

Breaking Ground: An Immigrant's Journey from Poland to Ground Zero

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

I enjoy biographies of creative people and occasionally veer into the architectural field. Brendan Gill's `Man of Many Masks' about Frank Lloyd Wright, and Margaret Heilbrun's `Inventing the Skyline' about Cass Gilbert provide intelligent and balanced insights into these fine minds. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Libeskind's book is a one-sided, tale of how he bettered almost everyone he came in contact with. From the start, when he claims to have upstaged musician, Itzhak Perlman, to his constant belittling of his teammates on the Ground Zero project, Libeskind believes he alone is a genius in a world of incompetents. Even when describing his first meeting with his eventual wife Nina, he says she was "so beautiful she must be stupid", - perhaps the most telling indication of how this arrogant man assesses the world and the people he encounters. Three quarters of the way through this vindictive and self-indulgent rant, I packed it in, in favor of Roger Kimball's `Art's Prospect', a compelling view of our age where celebrity too often triumphs over substance. The obviously insecure Libeskind is a case in point, and I'll be thankful when he gets the comeuppance he so richly deserves.

At times merely banal, at others a cringing read, this silly little book might attract a few youngsters investigating architecture for the first time, but it will not engage or satisfy the adult mind. - For Libeskind, architecture need only be new and different in order to be good. Logically, of course, this does not follow, but that point is lost on the skittish author who carelessly makes this uncritical claim to support his work. In chirpy, passages Daniel tells us his design for the Holocaust Museum is the missing movement of an unfinished symphony - though details for this peculiar claim are never offered. Similarly, his choice of heart-tugging names for Ground Zero's `Park Of Heroes' and `Freedom Tower' are somberly given as evidence of his sensitive vision. But you have to wonder if it was aesthetics or a calculated marketing that capriciously set the latter's height at 1776 feet? That his designs are based on these and other superficial factors (such as the direction of the incoming terrorist's planes, not to mention the infamous `Wedge Of Light' which did not actually work), is glossed over in this intellectually-challenged narrative. These one-dimensional excuses serve to underscore his failure to understand scale, proportion or context, the core basis for quality architecture anywhere. Reading this book, I am reminded of sophomore architecture studies where insubstantial nonsense of this sort is commonly left to pubescent students. It is surprising to find a supposedly grown man in the sandbox playing these juvenile games today.

It is hard to know what Libeskind hoped to accomplish with this oddball book. By his own admission, he is "more cornball than cosmopolite" (page 159), and granted no one will ever use the word "sophisticated" to describe either Daniel or Nina Libeskind. But most of this disjointed and confused story reads like a schoolgirl's diary hastily scribbled beneath the bedclothes. And with all the insecurity of such diaries, it is replete with smug and nasty comments about people Libeskind feels have been mean to him, or who have been critical of his work. Curiously, for a man who too frequently professes to be a genius, his own book portrays mostly him as puerile and petulant. Much of this book reveals Libeskind's deep-seated bitterness and jealousy towards his professional peers. He claims his internships with Richard Meier and Peter Eisenman were beneath him and he stormed out of their offices (pages 41 and 42) when asked to do the routine tasks that inform the careers of most novice practitioners. Even when describing his own designs, the writing is disappointingly inane. "MY building would not be about toilets", he proclaims a bit too proudly about his Jewish Museum project, implying that most other architects and buildings are only about lavatories. And, of the Nussbaum Museum he declares to his own amazement - "I called this project `the museum without an Exit', because for Nussbaum, there was no exit, (from Nazi persecutions). Defensive and embarrassing writing like this was common in this bumbling and very unsatisfying book.

I bought this biography looking for a glimpse into the mind of a supposedly creative person. What I got was a close look at a pompous architect who spent so much of his time bragging about himself, that he seems oblivious to humanity around him. Given how little Libeskind has actually built, such delusional arrogance should be embarrassing, but sensitivity or discretion are not the author's strong suit. The book lurches awkwardly between incessant ego-tripping, quasi-intellectual posturing, and cliched, self-pitying stories intended to suggest that the author is thoughtful, reflective and has learned from life experiences. But it all comes across as coldly calculated and patronizing. Somehow, one of life's lessons that the "genius" Daniel Libeskind never learned, is that compliments are really meaningful only if they come from someone other than himself.

Hiding behind the ploy of biography, Libeskind gives a biased version of the Ground Zero fiasco all the while criticizing the other players in a forum where they have no chance of rebuttal. Libeskind barely stops short of hair-pulling and face-scratching in his catty and cowardly attack. Similar stories of his other projects in London and Berlin left me with the impression that this very pretentious man has some misguided notions of his own importance and intellectual capabilities. Unfortunately, most of this poorly written account reads like tabloid journalism and Libeskind's relentless self-congratulation was extremely annoying. Hardly a life worth emulating or even knowing about. This ego-driven exercise is easily the worst book I've read this year .

Libeskind's formulaic and pedestrian memoir covers the standard, well-trodden ground of perceived persecutions and exile, and growing up in a world where his genius was, predictably, misunderstood. Probably intended as myth-building, it reads more like a script for a Made-For-TV Movie, and somewhere, someone must be casting Rick Moranis as the pixyish grinning architect. Inevitably, he cites the controversial nature of his work as irrefutable proof of his genius. An immature argument at the best of times, Libeskind pitches it anyway, presuming his audience to be fairly gullible. (I wonder whether he would credit Bin Laden or Charles Manson, also controversial figures, with having genius also?) Blinded by enormous arrogance, Libeskind repeatedly denigrates the achievements of others as a way of making himself seem superior. He brandishes this pedestrian story as though it had relevance. It does not, and in the end, Breaking Ground reads more like the marketing brochure it really is, than as a memoir. Like his architecture, this book is flashy, and gimmicky in a way that becomes irritating very quickly.

Daniel Liebskind designed the new wing of my local (Denver) art museum, and to coincide with its opening, my book club chose to read "Breaking Ground." In reading the book I was expecting to gain a little insight into who this man is and possibly how he came up with some of his ideas. But I never expected to find that he is a very good writer, incredibly well-read, and to learn of the amazing thought processes behind his designs (e.g. the Twin Towers Memorial among others world-wide). It was a wonderful surprise and a book I will read again some day.

Although billed as an autobiography, Breaking Ground is more about Libeskind to settling old scores. DFaniel. who is still pouting about how his scheme for Ground Zero was altered to suit the practical and financial concerns of the property's owner, (not to mention the logistics of Code and structure), "spins" that story to cast himself in more intelligent light. Other competition entrants are routinely criticized, as is the firm who is now executing the work. In case you didn't know it, Daniel reminds readers that he is a `Genius' and curiously builds a case for claiming the design remains his .... even as he criticizes the end result as unsatisfying and severely compromised. Illogical contradictions of this sort are common in a book that seems hastily written, perhaps fueled more by anger and jealousy than any coherent or reasonable train of thought. Frankly, parts seem so juvenile as to be embarrassing. The rather predictable stories of being misunderstood, forced into exile, and suffering perceived persecutions abound as does a rather premature declaration of his own greatness. Evidently Daniel is unwilling to risk letting History make that determination, and of course you should not question it either. But like most New Yorkers, I still wonder why a man who is so sure of his own genius delegated the design of his own home to another architect. Could it be that Libeskind and Ground Zero Developer, Larry Silverstein, share a common interest after all? . neither are willing to let Libeskind be involved where their own real-estate assets are at stake. - And who could blame them?

Architect, throw your hat into the ring and watch the sparks fly! It never ceases to amaze me to hear the screeching howls that erupt when someone boldly defies tradition to march alone. Walking out of Meier's and Eisenman's office!!! The horror!!! I'd never push a broom for any of the lot of them either. Those who demand more of ourselves than merely being in the presence of greatness often offend the sensibilities of such people. Much can be said about Daniel Libeskind's rather caustic relationships with many of his contemporary luminaries atop the current architectural pantheon, but I find this book to be refreshingly free of the invented language, jargon and outright arrogance found in most architect's writings. Sure, Libeskind is plenty arrogant, but to arrive at the top of such an uncompromisingly agressive, arrogant and protective group of superstar architects requires a certain type of self promotion and a damn-the-torpedos attitude. While I, like several fellow reviewers here, find Libeskind's jabs and retributions toward those he has competed or contended with to be rather juvenile, I also take great pleasure in reading the words of someone who has achieved a position where he can throw the rocks back. It is somewhat like growing up bigger and stronger than anyone thought and having a deliciously satisfying encounter with the old schoolyard bully. Who wouldn't like that????

The author has no shortage of grievances, and the airing of them does get tedious. I did find his somewhat elegaic portrayal of his family history to be a high point. He certainly does draw from the experiences of his parents, and rightly so. To suggest that he reject the history of the generation that brought him to the world would be to suggest that any one of us has no birthright. That is patently absurd. Libeskind's childhood experiences justifiably broaden and support his current work. As a non-Jew, I find his writings about his background to be an interesting peek into a world I know little of, and have little connection with.

As for Libeskind's body of work, "Breaking Ground" does little to describe or detail it. As I see it, that is not at all the point of this book. This is a writing from a place outside the occasionally rigid and often stuffy halls of academic architecture. Why anyone would seek to skewer a simple memoir because it does not rise to the heights of great literature is beyond me. Libeskind pointedly does not represent this book to be great literature. Sure, the man may often be unpleasant, even detestable to some, but I hardly find that to be grounds for the sort of nasty and transparently hateful reviews I've seen here.

Architects would do well to consign their notoriously uncomprehensible technical invented language to the scrapheap. As an architect myself, I am disgusted when I read (or, rather, endure) the type of writing my peers often use to make themselves seemingly appear elevated or sophisticated. Libeskind creates design that in the hands of other writers would lend itself to self-serving drivel and archi-babble of the worst kind, but in this book there is a refreshingly simple, conversational and ordinary language used. Regardless of the subject matter, that makes this book a pleasant surprise to me.

Libeskind's story opens promisingly with an account of his first view of the Statue of Liberty and closes, like a self-help book, with an admonition to "dream". It's all a bit syrupy, but there is nothing particularly wrong with that. Unfortunately the stuff in between - not to put too fine a point on it - is drivel.

No immigrant's life is complete without a history of struggle, so Libeskind (who was born in 1946), gets down to business and quickly plays "the Auschwitz card", tastelessly invoking the names of 85 relatives who suffered in Germany or died in the death camp. The fact that these lives were taken before he was born, and that he never knew them, is deftly sidestepped by Libeskind so bent on is he on establishing credibility as a suffering artist. You don't have to be a Jew to be offended by this cheap, opportunistic appropriation of a tragic event. It is simply unlikely that the lessons casually borrowed from the suffering of murdered souls (like so much jewelry casually pocketed from the dead) have been understood well enough to have made any real impact on Libeskind's designs.

But this book is not about design. It is about an ego raging out of control. The story plummets downwards as Libeskind takes on the task of redressing any perceived slight or emotional wound that he has ever endured. It is a daunting task, for the list is a very long one, and the reader will find himself enmeshed in chapter upon chapter of retribution. Libeskind's fantasy death camp may have gratified his need for revenge, but I was left wondering how a man could become so disliked in the first place. To hear Daniel Libeskind tell it, these tribulations were something of a personal Holocaust, one that has qualified him -and only him - to fully understand the tragedy of September 11. Once again, a claim for empathy with the victims is inappropriately assumed and the memory of the relatives he lost is diminished by the bizarre comparison.

From there, a most of the book is taken up with Libeskind's battle to control the Ground Zero project in New York. Not surprisingly, he portrays himself as the good guy, while property developer Larry Silverstein and his architect, David Childs, are clearly the evil guys. It is an easy distinction to make when writing the book about yourself, but the failure to flesh out the story with real developed characters made for childish reading. Wallowing in self-pity, Libeskind becomes a victim of his own chutzpah and impregnable self-esteem. I was however, amused to read Libeskind mentioning that at one point David Childs "...gave me the patronizing look reserved for the village idiot." It is tempting to suggest that if Daniel Libeskind looked at himself in the mirror more truthfully, he might very well find the Village Idiot looking back.

Breaking Ground: Adventures in Life and architecture, is wonderful piece of literature. Part biopic, part anecdotal, Daniel Libeskind's up-lifting story leads the reader through the trials and tribulations one faces when deseigning ground breaking controversial buildings around the world. He makes very clear that regardless of where his buildings are to be built, there are always forces that be that because of their limited vision and narrow minds find his emotionally charged touching work, too much to handle. This book provides every reader with life lessons on how to battle the goliaths that impede progress and vision. How does one man, passionate about an idea face off with an entire city's Building Senate? How does one man defend the rights of millions of New Yorkers against the desire the developer has for profits? How do you comprimise on your projects without comprimising on your core beliefs? Libeskind's book is beautifully written, and in addition to telling us a very touching story about his family's plight during and after the holocaust, he teaches us never to give up hope and give in to people who on the surface seem undefeatable, but in reality will crumble like the roman empire when faced with visionary ideas. A must have for any dreamer, any optimist, anybody trying to break their own new ground.