Geography of Home: Writings on Where We Live (Hardcover)

by Akiko Busch (Author) "All my life I've lived in old houses..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Green Valley, Penguin Books (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews
An appealing, insightful collection of musings on the architecture, psychology, and history of house and home in America. Busch, a contributing editor at Metropolis magazine, has assembled 14 essays originally published there. Analyzing the domestic spaces that compose the American home, she offers fascinating insights into the changing conditions and circumstances of our habitats. The front door, for example, in her view has become almost obsolete, not only because we use the door closest to the driveway, but because ``it represents a formality for which we have little use in an age when informality and casualness provide comfort.'' As we have come to increasingly view our home as a private sanctuary providing respite from a chaotic and menacing world, states Busch, we tend to avoid the door that is closest to the public, though we continue to build houses with front doors. Front porchesuntil after WWII an integral part of every home, a place where people shared news and gossiphave also become somewhat an anachronism, the author believes. People get their news elsewhere and are wary about exposing themselves to the fumes of passing cars. In urban environments, front stoops that once served as a ``neighborhoods outdoor living room'' are avoided for fear of aimless violence. But the importance of other architectural spaces has grown. Closet space is now regarded as a priority because, suggests Busch, ``as we become a more transient society, we tend to define home by the accumulation of possessions as much as by place.'' In other words, the more tenuously we view our daily existence, the more fervently we pile up things. Living rooms are now often decorated according to the inhabitants personality. Kitchens, ironically, have expanded, as homeowners find the work done therefrom preparing food to eatinga necessary relief from technology and mechanization. This cozy book provides provocative and intelligent insights that land close to home. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
"Akiko Busch doesn't so much look at houses as cock her head and listen to them. What she hears is the rustle of humanity within their all-too-mortal frames." -- House and Garden, June 1999

"Akiko Busch's elegant and charming book walks us through the American house as if we were on a tour not only of a home's geography, but also of its culture and history...Busch's sharp insights into human progress and folly guide us through kitchen, closet, living room, and bedroom. She places each room in a historical perspective to reveal how technology and public trends have profoundly impacted our private spaces and our humanity." -- The Austin Chronicle

"The book's design is as elegant as Busch's writing, and suggests why the computer will never replace the pleasures of reading - it's the perfect size, with a handsome, old-fashioned appearance." -- Minneapolis Star Tribune

"This small, richly written tome evokes all the pathos and pleasure of designing and living in a house; and it does so in a highly enjoyable, almost novelistic style."

"Geography of Home is both elegant and funny, philosophical and thoroughly absorbing. Busch coaxed meaning and intrigue out of the front door, laundry room, and other humble elements of a house. She makes us realize afresh the fascinating and complex lessons contained in a home." -- Residential Architect, October 15th, 1999

"Who should read this? Anyone who enjoyed Gaston Bachelard's The Poetics of Space or Robert Harbison's Eccentric Spaces. Architects. Realtors. Anyone who watches home repair shows on televions. Anyone who considers renovating, redecorating, building, or buying a house. Anyone who wonders why he doesn't "live" in his living room. Anyone who wonders why, long ago, houses had front porches, and why newer houses don't." -- Judith Moore, San Diego Reader, July 29, 1999

"With her light touch, Busch--at once learned and unpretentious--takes you through a tour of homes and homemaking that is rich in history and sumptuously detailed. 'Dining Room' tells, among other things, of how table knives lost their pointed ends when Louis XIV decided that the table was no place for dueling. Henceforth all knife-ends were to be rounded and a great leap was made, if not for mankind, then for manners...No corner of the home or habit of the mind goes neglected here; reading this, you will look on your house--from its public face, the front door, to the inner sanctum of the well-appointed bathroom--with new eyes." -- Pool & Spa Living

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 158 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; 1 edition (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568981724
• ISBN-13: 978-1568981727
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #851,816 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charming and provocative reflections on how we live, June 26, 1999

By	Douglas K. Smith (Millbrook, NY United States) - See all my reviews

Bravo! Aki Busch takes us on a charming and provocative stroll both through her home and each of ours. Ever wonder why you still have a front door? Or whatever happened to the front porch? Or why your kitchen and closets and garage are so essential? READ THIS BOOK and find out!!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pithy Insights About Homes That Don't Fit Lives, November 25, 2003

By	Douglas W Rae (New Haven, Connecticut) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Geography of Home (Paperback)

This little book of essays is a fine read -- brightly written, free of the usual jargon, quick with insight. It helps the reader to understand why that expensively furnished living room lies silent while the kitchen bussles with everything but cooking. I enjoyed it immensely.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cute, but a little too precious, April 4, 2007

By	sonya34 "sonya34" (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Geography of Home (Paperback)

I found the core notion that our home designs don't fit our lives to be very interesting. But be warned that the book is a series of very personal, sometimes bordering on superficial, essays. Beyond the core notion, I didn't find much to relate to in Busch's observations about her own
(upper class, domesticated) life. She often makes blanket statements about how "we" live that more than once made me feel like she was writing for a whole other group of people I've never met. That said, if you do feel included in her blanket statements, you might love the book.