Customer Reviews

John Lautner (Big Series Art)

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

 

 

Most books on Lautner (my father) are out of print and expensive. This one is a great small book that makes a terrific gift or handy guide. Some new pictures, some different buildings from Campbell-Lange's other Lautner book.

The large color photo's in this book are wonderful, but unfortunately, there is not as much information on the architect and the individual projects he worked on, that there are in the other 2 Lautner books I have Purchased ("John Lautner- Architect", and "The Architecture of John Lautner". Also this book is written in three languages and therefore the layout is a little confusing. If you are a huge Lautner fan like I am, you will still enjoy the book, and considering the cost is less than 1/2 the price of the other 2 I mentioned (unless you purchase the softcover edition) I consider it a great coffee table bargain.

This book provides a good summary of what you'll find in The Architecture of John Lautner by Weintraub. Its footprint is much more compact, and it only has 96 pages compared to 276 pages in the Weintraub book. The photo quality is good but it is not stunning like the Weintraub book. The main reason to get it is that it includes some photo composition that Weintraub does not have (same houses, but shot from different angles and with different lighting). It also includes some plan and elevation architectural drawings that are similar to what you'll find in John Lautner, Architect by Escher. Weintraub does not include a single architectural drawing. If you have to choose, then definitely get the Weintraub book. Its photos are stunning and narrative is detailed. The most astounding aspect of Lautner by Barbara-Ann Campbell-Lange is the price on Amazon. $1,000 for paperback? What's up with that? That can't be correct. Drop a zero and divide by half. That's the fair market value. I hired Arthur Dyson, a colleague of Lautner's, to design our home. For photos of my house, designed by Arthur Dyson and built completely by my weary old hands, see [...].

Growing up in Los Angeles like I did in the 60s, Lautner's work personified the period modern, daring space age of architecture of the era. I like this paperback book because of the many quality photographs of my favorite Lautner buildings. A good primer for any budding architecture aficionado who likes light, easy text and lots of photos.

I saw an item on CBS Sunday Morning about this gentleman and I was interested in learning more. This book did not disappoint. The photos are high quality and the writing was excellent. This is a very informative book. I have since purchased more in the Taschen series.

For those of us who can't afford Mr Escher's book this is a good alternative.A good introduction to Lautner for those beginning their study of his work.

I would have given this book 4 stars except that it is written in more than one language which makes the book a bit harder to follow. But there are lots of nice photos of Lautner's homes, except for 2 of them which look like they where done with a cheap digital camera and printed on a xerox machine! I cannot complain about the price though.

I am a huge Lautner fan and have all the other books. I am also a huge fan of this Taschen architects series. Amazing value for price.... HOWEVER, this little book is really poorly written. It's filled with archi-geek-speak and architecture school jargon. I bet the author is a professor somewhere or a recent graduate with an MARCH I. Ignore the text and enjoy Lautner's terrific work. The book costs less than 2 starbucks coffees so enjoy.

A beatifully presented and interesting book, which made a very nice gift for a very appreciative friend.
Thanks to Amazon also for their speedy delivery in time for Christmas.

Luciano

In the store this book costed less than 10$, and now there is a seller who charges 999 $ and one who charges almost 1.300$ for this 96 page book. Only because it's (temporary?) out of print? What is going on here?
(By the way, for 10$ this is a great introduction to Lautner's work.)
JB