Brick: A World History [Hardcover]

James W. P. Campbell (Author), Will Pryce (Photographer), William Pryce (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 24, 2003

This first ever comprehensive study of brick follows the story of brick from 5,000 BC to its use in building today, via the vast baths and basilicas of ancient Rome, through the wonders of Gothic brick in Germany, the majestic temples of Pagan and Mughal mosques in Iran, to its modern revival. Illustrated with specially-taken photographs, "Brick" is at once an historical account of how bricks have been employed by architects of every period, a technical survey of brickmaking and bricklaying, and an essay in architectural and cultural history.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Proceeding chronologically from the first Neolithic "bun bricks" to relatively high-tech contemporary forms, Cambridge University art historian Campbell and documentary photographer Pryce reveal the building blocks of the Coliseum, the Taj Mahal, the Florence Cathedral and the Chrysler Building, as well as more humble abodes. Pryce's photos are stunning, making up the bulk of the 600 illustrations here (570 in color) and miraculously capturing the outlines of each brick, even in such massive structures as the Great Mosque in Isfahan, Iran, or the beautiful Buddhist temples of Pagan in Myanmar. He also documents brickmaking in the Bulmer Brickworks in Suffolk, England, as a worker moulds, "strikes," "drops" and dusts large, ochre, rectangular bricks. The photos, as well as excellent period technical illustrations, are laid out in compelling two-page spreads, each with subheading (e.g., "Petrus Cuypers and the Gothic Revival in Holland") in this 9.75" 12.5" book, and are matched by Campbell's clear and intense historiography. In Sumerian times, he notes, offerings of food and drink were presented to "the brick god," who was "represented in the ritual by the first brick." More recently, mortar for the foundations of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul was mixed with "a broth of barley and bark of elm" and sacred relics, accompanied by prayers, placed between every 12 bricks. A lack of detail on Chinese use of brick, particularly early brickwork, is a drawback, but the Islamic world is well-covered, and Campbell's refreshing focus on the brickmakers (often family-run businesses) and bricklayers themselves shows how techniques were kept secret to prevent early forms of industrial espionage, now posing a challenge to contemporary scholars trying to figure out how bricks were engineered even as late as the Victorian era.
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From Booklist

An ur-building material, brick is astonishingly versatile and often stunning. Art historian Campbell and architect and photographer Pryce present the first comprehensive international study of the technology and aesthetics of the humble but endlessly useful brick in a volume meritorious for its spectacular color photographs, nearly 600 in number, and the panoramic scope of its text. The fired brick was first invented in Neolithic Jericho, then taken up with great alacrity and skill in Mesopotamia and Egypt and by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Moving slowly forward in time, Campbell and Bryce chart the rapid evolution of brick making and bricklaying, explicating such marvels as the Colosseum and the Great Wall of China. Religious ardor in the Middle Ages inspired the construction of incredibly elaborate brick cathedrals, intricately patterned mosques, and such beautiful Asian Buddhist structures as Pagan, Burma, a brick dream consisting of several thousand temples and stupas. From castles to schools to New York's Chrysler Building, Campbell and Pryce explicate premier examples of engineering ingenuity and architectural grace, all based on the ubiquitous brick. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson (November 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500341958
• ISBN-13: 978-0500341957
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #374,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great pictures, great text, a truly beautiful book, January 1, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Brick: A World History (Hardcover)

After reading favourable reviews by architectural critics, I was pleased to find that this book exceeded my expectations. The book is an authoritative history of the use of world's oldest building material. Despite its massive size, it is easy to read and covers a lot of ground, from the origins of the brick in mud-bricks in the Near East to the modern day. The clearly written text is complemented by sumptuous colour photographs. For these reasons, it stands out.

This book certainly opened my eyes to the variety of buildings in which brick has been used and introduced many that I would like to visit myself. It makes you look at the world in a whole new way. It not only covers the shows the wide range of design possibilities but also the practical aspects of building in brick. For the serious student, there is an illustrated glossary at the end. A fascinating book for both students and laymen alike.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Particularly nice book design and photography, May 17, 2004

By 

misterbeets "misterbeets" (Safe Harbor, MD USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Brick: A World History (Hardcover)

The author writes easily, seems to know everything, and has a completely unpretentious style. He also chose his subjects well, with many less-well-known examples and only a few icons. As a historian, he occasionaly suffers from their tendency to document, say, the names and ruling periods of the Middle Ages Persian kings before getting to the interesting parts about the use of brick in that era. The photographs are all similar to the one on the cover--deep colors and bright sunlight--and their consistency adds a nice touch. The organization of the book was good too, presenting the subject in manageable bites.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have, November 9, 2004

By 

Keen Reader (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brick: A World History (Hardcover)

This is, simply, an outstanding book. While Campbell delivers in taking an unlikely subject (brick? who would have thought?) and making it interesting to the general reader, the real draw of this book is its breathtaking photographs. Suffused with light, stunning in composition, masterful in perspective they practically glow as one turns the page. Will Pryce is clearly one to watch. This is a book that will delight general audiences and architectural historians alike. Buy it!