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Shelter [Paperback]

Lloyd Kahn , Bob Easton
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

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Book Description

May 1, 2000
Shelter is many things - a visually dynamic, oversized compendium of organic architecture past and present; a how-to book that includes over 1,250 illustrations; and a Whole Earth Catalog-type sourcebook for living in harmony with the earth by using every conceivable material. First published in 1973, Shelter remains a source of inspiration and invention. Including the nuts-and-bolts aspects of building, the book covers such topics as dwellings from Iron Age huts to Bedouin tents to Togo's tin-and-thatch houses; nomadic shelters from tipis to "housecars"; and domes, dome cities, sod iglus, and even treehouses.
The authors recount personal stories about alternative dwellings that illustrate sensible solutions to problems associated with using materials found in the environment - with fascinating, often surprising results.

Frequently Bought Together

Shelter + Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter + Shelter II
Price for all three: $51.95

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Lloyd Kahn has managed to pull together a stunning catalog of the phenomenon of human shelter through history, across cultures and climates from around the world. Yurts and huts and tree houses and cathedrals of stone. This is an eye-opener for anyone considering building their own home, or anyone just interested in human inventiveness and creativity. With over 1000 photos and drawings of cave houses, communal huts, wooden shacks, tents, domes, towers and holes in the ground, you'll be amazed at all the different ways people have tried to keep the rain off their heads and the wolves outside! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"It's an inspiring celebration of indigenous, handmade, personal-statement building. Oughta be the first book a freshman architecture student sees."
-J. Baldwin, Whole Earth Review

"How very fine it is to leaf through a 176 page book on architecture - from baliwicks to zomes - and find no palaces, no pyramids, or temples, no cathedrals, skyscrapers, Kremlins, or Pentagons in sight... Instead, a book of homes, habitations for human beings in all their infinite variety."
-Edward Abbey

"Shelter is a must not only for those actively engaged in house building, but for everyone who understands that lifestyle begins at home - that we are, after all, where we live."
-Rolling Stone

"It's time to educate the architects. To that extent this book on shakes and wattle and daub is the most revolutionary architecture book around..."
-Architecture in Australia

Product Details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Shelter Publications; 2nd edition (May 1, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0936070110
  • ISBN-13: 978-0936070117
  • Product Dimensions: 11 x 0.4 x 14.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
46 of 47 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Shelters is a must-own classic. I treasure my copy, and I am actually came to the amazon site today to buy 3 copies of this book, one to donate to my Church library, one for a Christmas gift for a carpenter friend, and one to complement my first edition of this book. This book was first released in 1973 by Shelter Press. If this book is of interest, check out the other books from them.

This is a big, oversize paperback the size of a road atlas. Every page packed with great drawings, photos or diagrams. I never get tired of browsing through the pictures, reading some of the stories, and getting inspiration to go out and build a shelter, a home, for a planned or unplanned need to build a place to live; this book covers expedient shelters of many types.

I have yet to see a better book on this subject, it is simply a fantastic reference and a joy to read. This is not a book simply on construction methodology, this is a book about people building shelter to reflect available materials, tools, budget, and most of all culture.
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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I studied architecture in Australia and dragged my feet through the course. That is until a mate suggested I check out this book.
It liberated me.

Here was a bunch of common folk who met one of the most basic needs of all humanity - shelter.

So much of what we encounter in our 'western' enlightened age is alien and regulated. The materials that we commonly use in buildings & infrastruture is devoid of any life or connection with the earth. They are not in or close to their natural state. And even if they are, there is so much regulation and stipulation on how we are to use them.

But this book gives you hope, a chance to dream. It shows buildings as art forms, useful & practical but completely expressive of the owners they serve. They are not bound by regulations and conventions. This is craftsmanship not industrialisation. They are made from from natural unrefined materials which in essence connects us to the earth, which we all belong to. From dust we came, to dust we will all return. The beauty of nature is your own home.

This book is filled with ideas and ways in which people have often 'escaped' from the life draining cities to a more peacuful and harmonious way of life. It's superb photo's, hand illustrations and even the way the book is laid out are a freedom in itself. This is one book you will not regret owning and will always find pleasure returning again and again to.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Informative and Interesting September 24, 1998
By A Customer
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I believe this book was out of print for a while so it is nice to have it back. Architecture students or anyone with an interest in architecture would appreciate this book. It is a good look at how humans have satisfied one of our basic needs. It is an exhaustive collection of human habitats, written in a clever and unprentious way (unlike most architecture books!). If you like this book, you may also enjoy books by Witold Rybczynski such as Home, and Looking Around.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars amazing book
item arrived fast and is exactly as described,
amazing book very inspirational- a must have for everyone who is interested in Eco-building and in
the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by halely
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Reference Book
This book is a must for any person wanting to build their own home in an alternative day. There are great illustrations and reference diagrams.
Published 2 months ago by Lorraine Bollard
5.0 out of 5 stars Cool book
I mainly bought this book out of curiosity but it really does have a lot of cool information. It goes through the steps of how to build a log cabin which doesnt really apply to me... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Benjamin
5.0 out of 5 stars Get's you thinking outside the box
I've spent hours pouring over the articles in this book. This is a non-traditional book (size... it's really big!, organization, pics, text... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Tom Jefferson
5.0 out of 5 stars Still Has a Fresh and Timely Message
I purely love this book. Besides being charming and dense with information, I believe the ideas it contains still remain fresh and timely today. 'Shelter' is not a "set piece". Read more
Published 10 months ago by EternalSeeker
2.0 out of 5 stars Unfortunately, poor quality print...
This book is AWESOME. Unfortunately I received a poor quality copy. I am comparing it to a good quality print I have, and the difference is too loud to ignore. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Sciurus Oceanus
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful little time capsule
This is a fun, informative and slightly disorganized look at shelter. It was published in the same time period as the "Whole Earth Catalog" and has the same look and feel. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mintzoid
5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic gift or coffee-table book
Keep this on your coffee table or lounge. People *will* pick it up and read it. It's a pretty interesting and trippy book that speaks to people's natural interest in... well... Read more
Published 19 months ago by G_to-the_D
4.0 out of 5 stars A Cool Book
I bought this just to get a feel of what else is out there. The books succeeds in that front.

Some of the text can be hard to read, some of the images are not the... Read more
Published on February 16, 2011 by G. Kepnick
1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed
I was quite disappointed with this selection. The large size format was great, but I expecxted more floor plan types of diagrams. Read more
Published on June 9, 2010 by Jeanne M. Jardine
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