Customer Reviews

The Skyward Trend of Thought: The Metaphysics of the American Skyscraper

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According to van Leeuwen, it's a myth that the skyscraper was a response to high land values. Instead, he argues that they are essentially the cathedrals of our era - monuments to individual men, or to organizations, or simply monuments to civilization itself. The prose is turgid and constitutes a test of the reader's powers of concentration, but this is balanced by the numerous b&w drawings of building exteriors, averaging more than one per page. The renderings of artist Hugh Ferriss receive particular attention.

Van Leeuwen describes the early evolution of the skyscraper in the US and the sometimes hysterical forces driving buildings higher. A great read, van Leeuwen has a wonderful ability to interpret meaning and importance of skyscrapers to the American landscape. His research is quite good

This book is probably the best available, when it comes about theories about how and why the skyscraper was made in the first place. Very actual after 9/11.

Buy it, and read it, you will not be disappointed. It hosts amazing stories about the record that the Chrysler building made, about all kinds of ways to symbolize the skyscraper, from a frozen fountain to...read it yourself and enjoy!