Customer Reviews

Fallingwater: A Frank Lloyd Wright Country House

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fallingwater, in and of itself, is a name that commands awe and respect. This book epitomizes that notion.

Simply, this is it. This is the be all, end all of texts on this masterpiece by the late F.L.W.

I have been an admirer of F.L.W. since I was in the fifth grade, and had to do a report on earthquakes and buildings. Living in S.F., I guess this was a hot topic. But, in a showing (foreshadowing?) of extremely good taste---if I do say so myself, I chose F.L.W. and the TransAmerica building. For those of you out of the loop, that's the "pyramid" building you see when looking at (virtually every) snapshot(s) of the S.F. skyline. I hadn't yet discovered Fallingwater, but I would eventually be shown the way...

This is such an incredibly beautiful house. Honestly, I could not imagine the blessing of owning that house and living there. This text, however, sets it all out.

EXCELLENT photos, both inside and out....in different seasons as well.

VERY GOOD text and dialogue. Provides a great understanding of the dream, planning, undertaking, and completion of this masterpiece.

This is an incredibly text. I cannot urge you enough to purchase this one. In short, your collection is not complete without it.

Open this book, and dream....

This is a classic coffe table book that will endure for decades. It is chock full of color photographs, drawings, layouts and stories from the owner's son. The author was a pupil of Frank Lloyd Wright, his father commissioned several works from the famous man. The book is not about FLW; it does not discuss his other work, or even his contribution to architecture. Yet, it does tell stories. Stories about the house, the building, the site, the construction, the arguements, the leaks, and the repairs. It is a story of archeciture that is organic - one that is growing; one that grows on you.

This is a category killer of a book. It knocks other Fallingwater books out of the ring. It is large and beautifully photgraphed. It is simply and honestly written. And well it does not tell of FLW, those facts are readily available elsewhere.

This is a treasure of a find. A real keeper. One that you can look at again and again

I went to Fallingwater and saw the book in the gift shop. I compared it to all of the other books there before purchasing it. It you are an architecture person or a Frank Lincoln (Lloyd) Wright fan this is not a book for you. This book concentrates on the facets of Fallingwater from the point of view of the owners son (a FLW student). It shows some great pictures of the site before construction, the house during construction, and I would say the best set of published pictures of the home. It falls short in the textual details. Overall I would still purchase it if you like the home.

What first draws one to this book is the wonderful new photographs presented. This is also what I keep going back to see after reading the text. The perspective of many of the downstream shots is not exaggerated as are the older black and white ones taken in the 1930's although when I visited the house I was unable to get the same view or position. They must have been taken with a special camera. I appreciate the helicopter photos as it really shows the site, a deep ravine. The house always seemed to be up on a promontory but is set deep into the forest. The lighting on the interior is a little misleading when the shadows and light direction are altered. These photos overall are the most naturalistic that I have seen and to see all the seasons represented makes me want to goback for the others. It looks as if the insect screens were removed for most of the photos which gave the house a cleaner, more modern appearance than in person. I only wish the breaker pages, the ones with the large green background, were larger although I believe I have seen the winter view on a recent calendar by the same photographer, Heinz, great work on his part. I always wish there were more books like this on great American buildings, especially on the photogenic ones by Wright.

So, we'd just gotten done with the tour at Fallingwater when my wife pointed out the gift shop. We really wanted to get this book while we were there but the $55 price tag seemed a bit high. So, we decided to check out the price on Amazon and saved $20. As for the book itself... it's written by Edgar Kaufmann who was a member of the family that built the house as a summer escape. So, he's quite qualified to write this book and lends a unique perspective as he actually spent time living in this national treasure. The pictures in this book are fantastic as well. If you can't get to Pittsburgh to see Fallingwater, this is the next best thing.

I admit it, I paid full price for this thing. I'm still glad I did, though I took a big gulp when I bought it. Particularly given that I've built my FLW big photo book collection from discounted used, though excellent condition purchases. I saw this in the store and I just had to have it. It was an indulgence, no question. But I took the plunge.

190 pages. 12 1/4" tall x 9 3/4". The paper dust jacket has two beautiful photos, one each for the front and back of the home in the context of the wood that it is in. The inside covers and facing pages to them have a photo of the creek that the home stradles. This photo is lush in the woods where the home is located. The home is not pictured in this facing page two page sized photo. It is a clear indication that the book was lovingly made. The hardcover itself is white fabric with the title stamped into the front cover just as it appears on the dust jacket.

The author is the son of the people who commisioned the home and it says he, "...entered Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin Fellowship in 1934. During Fallingwater's design and construction, he often served as intermediary between his parents and Wright."

There are 53 full page photos and 30 of those are of a single photo, that is 15 photos, taking up two full facing pages. About 5 of the other 23 full page photos also cover about a third of their facing page. One facing set of pages has one drawing. There are about 27 other pages with color photos. And there is a fold out with front and back each showing a architectural drawing. There are 3 photos of the site before the home was built and a few of the home being constructed, all black and white. There are about 6 architectural drawings and about 10 other drawings including, in the introduction, drawings of woods or buildings in woods. There are 41 pages with black and white photos. There's one extensive ariel photo on two facing pages of the home in the context of a few square miles of the woods in which it is located. There is another ariel photo that is just above the home. The magnificent architectural drawing of the home almost fills two facing pages. Most of the photos are interior shots. The exterior shots give you a real sense of the home in its natural context.

There's only about one page that is all text. There's about 48 pages that have both text and photos. Throughout, the author tells the story of Fallingwater, from inception to completion and into its existance as a home no longer to be lived in but to be shared with any visitor through guided tours. His perspective is a unique one and he tells the story like a professional.

Fallingwater is known as the finest residence in America. This book, completely dedicated to this single building, is worthy of its subject. You can feel the love of the author for his parents, for FLW's work and the love that he put into making this book without it being sappy. If you never get a chance to tour the home this book will be, certainly, the finest opportunity you have to get a complete look at it through and through. I still can't believe I paid full price for it. But, by golly, I'm glad I did. It is virtually a work of art itself. chrisbct@hotmail.com

This is a really lovely, large coffee table book. What makes it special is that the author, Edgar Kaufmann, Jr, is the son of the owner of the historic and, perhaps, best known home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. In the book are drawings and topographical sketches of the home and grounds as well as some intimate photos which came directly from the family who commissioned and eventually lived in the home, the Kaufmann family of Pittsburg. The author tells how the relationship between his father and Frank Lloyd Wright developed and how they often disagreed during construction of the house. It is told that the senior Mr Kaufmann said, at one point that, although he had hired Mr. Wright to design & oversee the building of his country vacation home, he often felt as if, before it was over, that it was the other way around; that he was working for Mr. Wright! Frank Lloyd Wright was a controversial individual, to be sure, but was one of the most brilliant architects in history and this home is, without a doubt, one of his crowning achievements. As with most artists, he had a vision in his mind. He was fortunate to have a client willing, for the most part, to finance that vision. It's really quite an amazing design achievement to have taken place in 1935! The home was bequeathed to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1963 by the family and is now open for public viewing and tours.
Some interesting facts I learned from this book included:
The first thing Frank Lloyd Wright asked for when taking on the commission, were topographic drawings of the property.
The first drawings for the house were actually completed in just a few hours. Mr. Kaufmann was going to be at a meeting nearby Mr. Wright's studio so he called and asked to see how "progress" was going on the plans for his home. Nothing had been drawn as yet, even though several months had passed but the drawings were ready before Mr. Kaufmann arrived later that day!
The author, Edgar Kaufmann Jr., actually stayed at Taliesin (Frank Lloyd Wright's Studio). Although not planning to become an architect, he was part of the Fellowship for a time which is how his parents came to know Frank Lloyd Wright.
There is a little dry history about architecture in the first part of the book. I believe the author wants to give the reader an bit of information on the subject so you might understand the impact of this home in the field of architecture as well as the art form. The pictures are stunning...many in full color as well as intimate photos of the interior. Just a lovely and informative book.

The book contains stunning photos, a detailed history, in-depth architectural insights into the project and an interesting insider's view of Frank Lloyd Wright.

This is the only book that really covers the true nature of Fallingwater written by the son of the original owner (Edgar Kaufmann Jr.) who also apprenticed under Frank Lloyd Wright.

Edgar Kaufmann Junior was not only the son of the couple that commisioned Fallingwater from Frank Lloyd Wright as their summer get-away, he also apprenticed with Frank Lloyd Wright. This not only gave him the uniquie perspective of the genius that designed the house, but what is was like to live in it. The large format and detailed pictures in this book give you a glimpse of Fallingwater, although I must admit I could not fully appreciate it until visiting the site this past Fall.