Customer Reviews

Shingle Styles. Innovation and tradition in American architecture, 1874 to 1982

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It is the photography that will stay with you long after you close the covers of this book. The text is informative but the pictures tell the true story--moody and rich and full of surprises. There is a haunting sense that arises from practically every page. A book that exalts architecture with top-notch photography. Terrific!

This is a wonderful book. The photos are sublime--going well beyond mere structural illustration and explanation to capture the spirit of the original design. The text gives grounding information about the evolution and permutations of what has come to be called Shingle Style and examines 30 structures, both familiar and unfamiliar. Roth recounts not only the training and shaping influences of the architects who designed these, but also provides such information as the circumstances surrounding the original project, a bit of social history, or the preservation efforts of present-day heirs. The presentation is thorough without being overwhelming or deadly, dryly academic. Morgan's wonderfully poetic photos take a similar approach: conveying not only the architecture of the whole, but also revealing the telling detail. I liked the inclusion of modern-day exemplars of this American style.

"Shingle Styles" is a treasure trove of architectural images and ideas. We are planning a new house inspired by the Shingle Style and this book has been most helpful in talking to our architect and contractor. The more recent houses are particularly helpful in thinking about adapting a historic style to our contemporary needs.

"Shingle Styles" makes a great companion volume to Vincent Scully's "The Shingle Style". The lack of plans here didn't bother me because Scully's book has so many. Architects like Stanford White conceived of these buildings in 3D and presented them in 3D sketches and vignettes, and "Shingle Styles" takes a similar pictorial approach. Almost like the old sketches, the color photographs show the 3D reality of the buildings, and the play of natural light across their textured surfaces. "Shingle Styles" goes beyond Scully's book to include great examples across the U.S., and also some examples of modern houses inspired by the Shingle Style. I especially enjoyed learning of the 1982 recreation of "Kragsyde", one of the long-lost ultimate Shingle Style houses.

The book "SHINGLE STYLES Innovation and Tradition in American Architecture 1874 to 1982" is a truely exquisite book. The shingle style architecture is one of the last american architectural styles, and should be deeply cherished. The book has beautiful photographs by Bret Morgan and flowing text by Leland M. Roth. The book brings you through time, starting in the gilded age with lavish country homes, and ending in recent 1982, again displaying a lavish country home, stating the continuation of the shingle style. While reading the book you tend to have vicarious dreams of living in the later 1800s, going to the country home with the faimly and walking along the beach or senic country path, with your shingle villa in the background. The book makes a fine contribution to any library, and in my library it is prominately positioned in reach of all that wish to indulge in the enjoyment of the shingle style of architecture. I strongly recomend this book, and hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

A truly delectable book! After chewing it over thoroughly from cover to cover, I've been dreaming of shady porches, snug fireplaces, the smell of old houses in the rain. Bret Morgan is a wonderful photographer; his pictures evoke all of this -- I ate them up!

"Shingle Styles" is a fine demonstration of the endurance of this popular form of architecture. I enjoyed learning about the families who commissioned the houses. And I was fascinated to read of a time when architects and craftsmen worked side by side in the creation of these structures. The photographs wonderfully represent the intricate craft of each structure, and give a sense, too, of the lives lived within them. As a designer, I keep books of this caliber next to my desk to be inspired by the details.

The selection of buildings covered is very good as a sampling of the very best of different aspects of the shingle style. It is also example of what is so often wrong with what is sold as Architectural History in the popular press.

The admittedly evocative photographs do often convey an insite into the "feel" (for the lack of a better word) of the individual structures, they usually do not however provide clear understanding of the form, oganization or context of these wonderful structures. The supporting text told me little that I didn't already know, in the cases of several structures of which I had little or no familiarity the text told me little that was of value.

I believe the attitude of the author towards architectural writing is illustrated by the fact that he chose not to include plans, comprehensive information about the various architects backgrounds, education, practices, or examples of other similar work to place the illustrated works in historic context. Conversly, he devoted a comparivly large portion of the text to discribing the Owner/occupants. A concise example of the shortcomings of this book would be a comparison of the amount of useful information contained in it description of Ernest Coxhead's house to that found in "On the Edge of the World" by Richard Longstreth where five pages in a small format book supported by five poor quality illustrations and one plan communicates a far superior understanding to the reader of this wonderful house.