Customer Reviews

Place of My Own

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I'm so glad this book is once again readily available; I keep wanting to give it to friends and it had become hard to find. Pollan undertook the project of building himself a modest shelter, and used that as a jumping-off place to consider--always entertainingly--a dazzling array of related subjects. The book is a joy to read, a disquisition on everything from design considerations (site, view, feel), to descriptions of the nitty-gritty of basic shelter construction (why you don't see windows that swing inward, the right way to hammer a nail), to reflections about historical, cultural and technological influences on the evolution of structures, the divergence between design and construction that produced the profession of architect and the craft of builder and the tension between the two. Pollan's graceful writing is informed by his inquiring intellect and his wide-ranging fund of knowledge. There is something thought-provoking on nearly every page.

I was astonished to see that there are *any* less than stellar reviews for this book, so let me speak in defense of Michael Pollan's sophomore effort: You Must Read This Book!

For those who loved The Omnivore's Dilemma, this book describes the process by which the cradle of that great work was itself brought to life. As a person married to an author, and as a person who himself writes more than the average American, Pollan's process of articulating his own dreams (and fears) for his own writing house literally brought tears to my eyes, so profound his subject and so universal its truths. It is a brilliant synthesis of abstract and concrete--the construction of a physical space *so that* greater mental heights can be imagined and obtained.

For those who celebrate the way that Pollan has helped us restore some measure of our own humanity by helping us reconnect with what is true about food (and by learning how to avoid what is false about edible food-like substances), let only those who are truly roofless cast the first stone against this book! For the rest of us, whether we own, rent, or live more transiently in some sheltering construct, this book teaches the truly multi-dimensional ways that dwellings come to be, and how the manifold relationships that condense into built forms continue to express those relationships, even to those who are not yet born.

For those who love Pollan's ways with words, this book is full of fridge-worthy sentences and page-worthy paragraphs.

For those who enjoyed meeting Joel Salatin in "Part III: Grass" of the Omnivore's Dilemma, in this book we meet the prototype from the building trade, Joe Benney. Indeed, I'd be willing to bet that without Joe's training in the manual arts, Michael would never have made it past the first handshake with Mr. Salatin of Polyface farms.

For those who complain "this book is nothing new", fooey. Yes it was first published more than a decade ago, but as a book I had not read, it was new to me. The new paperback format is far more friendly to me and my traveling lifestyle. And the new preface provides an opportunity for Pollan to complete some factual and cultural arcs that were anticipated by the foundations he laid in 1997. (In that way, every finished building is really the start of a new, unimagined next building.)

So...I loved it, and I suspect that if you have ever dreamed about building a place for your own dreams, you will love it, too!

I picked up this book after reading Omnivore's Dilemma. This book is the Omnivore's Dilemma for architecture and building. I found it to give a fantastic overview of the history of architecture, the difficulties in translating the architect's plans into something realistic (paring things down to form over function), and the realities of making a structure from the ground up.
This book however is not a manual of how to build. If you are interested in building or creating things out of scratch it will be very happy with this book. This might better be titled the philosophy of building.... a place of one's own.

A really great book covering the authors progress, both mentally and physically, while building his writing shack. Loved all the amazing architectural history references! Great read for writers, builders and history buffs...

As someone who is sometimes on both sides of the design and construction fence, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Especially making me smile often was the relationship between client, architect and old school "builder".

You're either a Pollan fan or you're not, and for Pollan fans, this book is every bit as fun and informative (tho on a much smaller scale) as Omnivore's Dilemma. If you're into purely linear thought, don't read it. Pollan thinks in spokes -- lots of linear lines shooting out all over the place but never scattershot and always tied together around the edge with an articulate, interesting philosophy. You have to be willing to go with the flow, but he is always entertaining and always a thought ahead of himself. For the time I'm reading it, I want to build a hut even though I have no woods, no pond, and no real desire to sit/work inside one. I'm reading the last part of the book slowly now, reluctant to finish and have to put it away, but willing to because that will let me go on to the next Pollan inspiration.

I end up reading this book every spring somehow, always wishing I had my own little cabin! The author ties in a lot of history of architecture, along with the story of how he came to design and built his own getaway... just feet from his house. I'm always jealous!

I really enjoyed the book. Just finished building a small project myself and found the dialogue between the designer/ builder to be right on point.

I appreciated the diversions into architectural theory found throughout the text.

This should be required reading for first year architecture students and those interested in what makes the "houseness" of houses. It is a little self-conscious about the various "schools" of architecture, but is full of first hand information about the tension between the dreamers and the doers.

I remember in high school hearing the synopsis of Walden and rolling my eyes. This book has helped me see why that book has held such a strong place in the zeitgeist... and yes, makes me want to build my own little place in the woods.

I really appreciated how Pollan went into some of the architectural history and theory - although at one point I just wanted to shout at him to just get up off of his duff and DO something rather than reading about doing something! And then only a few paragraphs later, he made fun of himself for that very thing, and went and actually started with the doing. Pretty handy, that! Wish it always worked that way for me, the things I could do...

The book really has 3 main characters - his architect friend/mentor, his contractor/mentor, and Pollan. The book spends an awful lot of time on the struggle between architects and contractors, and Pollan's place stuck between the two of them... and his gradual acquisition of knowledge and confidence, which allows him to make decisions outside of the blueprints.

I read this book on audiobook, so it was solidly built out of imagination. I imagine that the book itself has drawings or illustrations - and see, even just looking at the cover shows me what the finished product looks like, and darn that little hut looks cute and snug! - which would help give it shape mentally... but actually that may have helped me a bit. I rewound and relistened in some parts to try to figure out what he meant when describing building details, and I don't know that I would have thought so hard about it if it had been diagrammed.

That said, is this the Omnivore's Dilemma? Nope, not by a long shot. But if I had never read OD, I'd have given it 5 stars, so that's what I'm doing here. (maybe OD should get an imaginary 6th star, to make it fair to every other book?)

This was just a really enjoyable book, and it's subtly altered how I look at buildings around me. Worth the reading, definitely.