Customer Reviews

Frank Lloyd Wright Field Guide: Includes All United States and International Sites

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is not your typical Wright book filled with beautiful pictures for your coffee table. This is a Field Guide for the Wright aficionado who wants to see the buildings "in the flesh." It is meant to be kept in the glove compartment of your car or as a permanent part of your luggage. Maybe you should get one for both places. The star ratings indicate not only the quality of the design but also how well you can see the house from the street without treading on private property. In other words... it helps you decide if the trip to this site is worth your time and effort. The photos are generally of what you can see from the street, so that you will know you are in the Wright place! The descriptions that accompany each site are not just about the building, but usually more about the owners and their occupations and connections to other Wright clients or interesting people. You will not be able to find this historical information elsewhere. Other sites that will be of interest to the purchasers of this book are ones associated with Wright, like the Auditorium by Adler & Sullivan in downtown Chicago and some buildings that were built after Mr. Wright's death based on archived drawings. When the second edition comes out it should have a spiral binding.

If excellent value for money is your primary purchase standard, then consider the difference between the old edition in four separate books @ $40 each vs. the new edition of all four books in one volume @ $40. Buy it on Amazon, and the good deal gets even better!

This is no mere reprint of four-volumes-in-one; it's a revised edition of the best field guides to Frank Lloyd Wright. Its maps show you how to get to the buildings and, of even more practical value, its star rating gives you an idea what you can see without being arrested for trespassing. In other words, it's difficult to see some of the FLW gems from the road.

Its hard to believe that the FLW field, which has been so intensively plowed for so many years by so many people, can still yield nuggets of information. Thomas A. Heinz, who has devoted his life to photographing Frank Lloyd Wright and researching his client network, digs deeper and sifts the dirt finer than anyone else. That's why his revised field guide is leavened with delightful nuggets of information about the people who populated the world of Frank Lloyd Wright you won't find elsewhere.

For example: If you read page 282, you will discover that L. Frank Baum, the author of The Wizard of Oz, produced a rare book he printed and bound with his own hands which used as endpapers the leftover wall paper from FLW's Chauncey Williams House.

Even if you never hit the road in search of Frank Lloyd Wright, your arm-chair travels will be pleasantly rewarded with this Field Guide. If you can get out and about, this is the one book you need to take with you.

The real value of this book is the detailed locational information, GPS coordinates, and information on how one can see the structures without tresspassing. If you are looking for historical info or pretty pictures, this isn't the book. But if you want to see as many of Wright's buildings as possible when traveling this book is the one to have so you don't waste your time travelling to places where the structures are completely off limits. Fantastic.

I bought this for my dad who's building a prarie-style home and is the biggest FLW fan I've ever met. He loved it and said that he'd never seen anything like it. He's planning a future business trip around seeing some of the houses listed in this guide. I was surprised at what a hit it was.

It has been quite a while but well worth the wait. There are many familiar sites but also many new ones I have never heard of and will soon see when I take this book out with me on my next Pilgrimage. Was unaware that there are so many overseas projects but glad to have them. I went to a few of the sites where the buildings were proposed and took the Wright drawing along. It was enlightening to clearly see the vision of Mr. Wright.

This book comes at a very good time because my other, earlier editions are worn out . It's good to have them all in one volume, all in color and at such a great price, so much less than the price I paid for the last one. This is a great value and the essays are insightful.

The infomation about the clients of each building is much more informative than a description of the building I can see in the photo and in person when I arrive at the place.

Perhaps the most valuable information for us Pilgrims is the Star Rating. For those buildings hidden, I won't waste my time, unless there is a special tour announced. I will spend my valuable time getting all I can from what I can get to and see.

The Storrer book is not really a Field Guide, just a confused list in an odd order. It was good to have it but the Heinz Field Guide will get me where I want to go, easliy and simply. After all, no photo can do justice to the beauty of seeing these masterpieces firsthand.

Thanks Mr. Heinz for another informative book in a very long line of successes.

Finally, a reprint of an indispensible collection of guides to Frank Lloyd Wright architecture for those who like to see the master's work firsthand. And, for the armchair traveler, this guide provides a brief but accurate glimpse of the architect's vast body of work. Clearly, the author has spent a lifetime of effort to personally compile this tome. You could argue that the Guide could contain more information and more photographs. That, however, would distract from this book's purpose. Obviously, there are dozens of other books to cover nearly every perspective imaginable on Wright, including several by this Guide's author. But for those itching for the road, this Guide should come as standard equipment with every new RV sold in America.

A friend recently used this book as guide to search out homes in the mid-west and found it to be accurate and very helpful. A must have for all Wright enthusiasts.

I think the photos are terrific, much better than the other book. It's very easy to use, you just look up the region you are interested in, and everything is grouped together along with a map and GPS. Excellent buy.

I purchased this product for my husband, who is a huge Frank Lloyd Wright fan, just before a trip to Chicago's Oak Park. We took the book with us on the trip and it was very helpful for getting around the Oak Park area and gives good high-level details about each of the Frank Lloyd Wright homes in the neighborhood. The only negative was that it was a little heavy for me to carry in my purse but it is comprehensive of all of his homes so that's to be expected.

Excellent book! The easiest place to find out where Wright's gems can be found. Very brief descriptions, and (like any book such as this) sometimes out of date, but the most complete book like it I've seen.