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Home: A Short History of an Idea (Paperback)

by Witold Rybczynski (Author) "We've all seen this comfortable man; his face looks out from the advertising pages of magazines..." (more)
Key Phrases: domestic engineers, bourgeois interior, sitting comfort, Middle Ages, Art Deco, Queen Anne (more...)

4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In this study of the evolution of domestic living, McGill University architecture professor Rybczynski traces the material and cultural influences that have helped shape our notions of comfort. PW recommended this "intriguing" book.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
In a loosely configured essay, Rybczynski (Architecture, McGill Univ.) discusses the idea of comfort and the Western cultural attitudes that have shaped it since the end of the middle ages. Rather than dealing with the technical aspects of architecture, he reviews such cultural variables as intimacy and privacy, domesticity, ease, and ideas about light, air, and efficiency as they have changed over time. Essentially Rybczynski makes a plea for the primacy of cultural ideals as a basis for creating psychologically comfortable homes. Though he is selective in his history and examples, this is a worthwhile counterweight to the all-too-common technical practices of modern architects. Recommended. Jack Perry Brown, Ryerson & Burnham Libs., Art Inst. of Chicago
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (July 7, 1987)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0140102310
ISBN-13: 978-0140102314
Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #183,416 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in this category: (What's this?)
#70 in Books > Home & Garden > Small Homes & Cottages

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
We've all seen this comfortable man; his face looks out from the advertising pages of magazines. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
domestic engineers, bourgeois interior, sitting comfort

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Middle Ages, Art Deco, Queen Anne, New Spirit, New York, United States, Ralph Lauren, Jane Austen, Catherine Beecher, Christine Frederick, International Exposition, Household Engineering, John Lukacs, Lillian Gilbreth, Shingle Style, Walter Scott, Art Nouveau, Madame de Pompadour, New England, Adolf Loos, Bourgeois Age

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 50 books:

Towards a New Architecture by Le Corbusier on 5 pages
The Cost Of Shelter by Ellen H. Richards on 4 pages
Treatise on Domestic Economy by Catherine Beecher on 4 pages
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh on 4 pages
Clean and Decent: The Fascinating History of the Bathroom and the Water-Closet by Lawrence Wright in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)

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100 books cite this book:

The Invention of Comfort: Sensibilities and Design in Early Modern Britain and Early America by John E. Crowley on 4 pages
Where Stuff Comes From: How Toasters, Toilets, Cars, Computers and Many Other Things Come to Be As They Are by Harvey Molotch in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
What's Happening to Home: Balancing Work, Life and Refuge in the Information Age by Maggie Jackson in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
Human Rights And The Search For Community by Rhoda E. Howard-hassmann on page 49, and Back Matter
Deconstructing Disney by Eleanor Byrne in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)

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Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Sexuality & Space by Beatriz Colomina

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	82% buy the item featured on this page: Home: A Short History of an Idea 4.4 out of 5 stars (20) $10.88
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Customer Reviews

20 Reviews

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4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
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Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The underlying concepts of domesticity, August 21, 1999

By A Customer

I love this book. I love the topic, analyzing the humble dwellingplace for its universals. I love the way he has organized by those very topics rather than by the detail of historic era or functional object. "Home" liberates the whole topic to a level whidh allows the reader to consider what all people have in common for their needs and ambitions, and it inspires such optimism for it demonstrates how resourceful people naturally are. The reader feels so much more aware of mindless routines and can delight in the choices of continuing what is habit or deliberately designing a new tradition. For this reason I like using the book with middle school and high school students. It is too long for the time allowed in the school calendar, but it suits a jigsaw approach of different groups of students studying one of the conceptual chapters and applying the insights to their own lives. The reading level is challenging but appropriate if students are not expected to read too much of it in too short a time. This is one of those treasured volumes that suits the purest progressive tradition of education: it is based on authentic experience which helps students find meaning in their real lives here and now, all the while stretching their capacity to see logic in the world. A nice companion to it is "House" by Tracey Kidder for its similarly direct and quiet manner of discussing the decisions people make, alone and collaboratively, to improve their living situation. Like "Cod", this book should be the way students learn history: focused on a recognizable topic and connecting years and years of interaction between people as it describes the everyday personal consequences of innovation and competition. 'Home: a short history of an idea" needs more than five stars, and it needs to be widely available to schoolchildren, perhaps by individual chapter.

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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exploration, June 6, 2004

By	Erika Mitchell (E. Calais, VT USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This book is an exploration into the meaning of the word "comfort" and its place in the home. Rybczynski begins the volume with an examination of the Sixteenth Century painting by Durer "Saint Jerome in His Study". He describes each of the objects and furnishings visible in the paining in turn, noting that they are not particularly conducive to comfort or reflective of individuality. Rybczynski goes on to describe how this painting may be representative of the era in which it was painted, how houses at the time had many occupants and were spaces where people lived communally, but not necessarily as a family in the present sense of the term. He argues that in the Sixteenth Century, the nuclear family as a residential unit was non-existent, since children were sent away to live and work with others at a young age, and households always included many unrelated servants or apprentices. It was only later, as the concept of the nuclear family became more established that the need for privacy came to the fore, and private and public spaces began to be differentiated within the house. Later developments in technology, especially plumbing, ventilation, and lighting also came to influence housing design. One of the themes of the book is how the field of interior design has often been faced with the conflict between what looks good and what feels good. Rybcynski stresses that often the style of a design wins out, leaving the residents with the very least in comfort (to the point of having to carry their toothbrushes to and from the bathroom for lack of proper storage there, for instance).

Some of Rybcynski's discussion is quite interesting, particularly that concerning the influences French, Dutch, and British cultures have had on the development of houses and homes over the centuries, especially in North America. It would have been interesting to consider some of the influences of other world cultures on housing styles as well. For example, certainly Spanish and Arabic cultures have had a strong impact on house design and interiors of North American homes. However, considering such topics for the sake of completeness might have taken the book too far afield. In order to explore the concept of comfort with respect to design, Rybcynski has selected only a few examples of cultures and designers to explicate his points.

The book is academic in style, although quite accessible and engaging for the general reader. Sources are listed in the extensive endnotes, and there is an index.

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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For anyone buying or building a home., June 9, 2001

By A Customer

I first read this book 14 years ago and it changed my life. This book is a must for anyone buying or building a home. You will never look at a house in the same way again, and you will appreciate good and functional design as never before . Your understanding and excitment at the things that make a house a pleasant home will be enhanced more by this book that any academic or popular text on the subject that I have seen or read. The author weaves together the historcal and social aspects, as well as design, in an intriguing tale. This is truly absorbing reading, you will not want to put it down. It is plainly and simply, very well writen. Rybczyski speaks as one of us.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars interesting
Fascinating history of the home from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, with a focus on how the built domestic environment influences us and vice versa. Read more

Published 9 months ago by GG

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent and fun, but not much more
May be of interest to househunters trying to envision what their happy home to be might want to be. It's basically a selective history of the concepts of home and comfort, related... Read more

Published 13 months ago by T. Duffy

4.0 out of 5 stars Where the hearth is
You probably have notions about what "home" means, and those notions probably revolve around your immediate family, domestic comfort and convenience, with a dash of nostalgia... Read more

Published 19 months ago by Cecil Bothwell

4.0 out of 5 stars Home, history of a concept
Home is an articulate, rapid reading book about the developements leading to the current concept of "home". Read more

Published 20 months ago by E. James Morrissey Jr.

4.0 out of 5 stars Homes of Yesterday and Today
Witold Rybczynski's Home: A Short History Of An Idea, is an historical and informational text following the devlopment of the concept of home and discusses the psychological... Read more

Published on November 16, 2005 by Amy C. Clark

4.0 out of 5 stars Look at familiar surroundings with new eyes.
So, I am predisposed to like Rybczynski -- his biography of Frederick Law Olmsted, "A Clearing in the Distance," is one of my favorites. Read more

Published on September 26, 2005 by Robin Sloan

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect companion to invite "Home"
Rybczynski's elegant prose makes "Home: A Short History" a perfect fireside companion -- not least because he'll make you think about why you positioned your most comfy... Read more

Published on June 27, 2004 by L. Cameron

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Writers Around!
I found Home by accident three years ago. Since then I've become a Rybczyski fan. This man knows how to write and has lots of thought provoking things to say about the... Read more

Published on September 24, 2003 by Margo Taylor

4.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant book
Traces the evolution of the European-influenced home from medieval times to our present age. Rybczynski describes how the home evolved from an uncomfortable, group dwelling-place... Read more

Published on September 18, 2001 by Liam Friedland

4.0 out of 5 stars Spanish review
Se trata de un libro entretenido e interesante,que se puede leer f�cil y r�pidamente una vez superado su primer capitulo, excesiva y superficialmente decorativo. Read more

Published on July 12, 2000 by jejo

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