 |
|
Title: Frank Lloyd Wright: A Biography
ISBN: 0226744140
Author:
Meryle Secrest
Publicate Date: 1998-05-08
Publish: 1998-05-08
List Price: $23.00
Average Customer Rating: 3.5
Format: Paperback
 |
|
|
|
|
Amazon Lowest New Price: $13.94
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $9.95
Amazon Merchant Price: $15.64
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Customer Review: |
|
1: It was a gift
It was a gift for someone (most of my purchases are), but the person said it was a wonderful book.
|
2: Wright the Man is Chronicled Here
Wright the man is chronicled here, in one of the two best biographies of the architectural superstar. One would also want to read Brendan Gill's "Many Masks" as a companion to Ms Secrest's treatment of F Ll W - just to get the harmonizing flavors of opinion.
Ms Secrest does magnificent research and shares it in a narrative that flows easily and keeps one's attention. Her information about Wright's family tree, as well as the family background of his wives and Mrs. Cheney, is more thoroughly presented than I have seen elsewhere.
One must not expect a thorough critique of Wright's buildings here -- there are too many works to be considered and there are many other resources, old and new, for such explorations. "In the Nature of Materials" leaps to mind. However, this book does flesh out the man and in some ways dispels some of the outlandish tales and outright fabrications about his life, toward which Wright was oft inclined.
Yes, do read his disingenuous "An Autobiography" (1943) as well, and some of the family books - "The Valley of the God-Almighty Joneses: Reminiscences of Frank Lloyd Wright's Sister, by Maginel Wright Barney, 1986, and his son, John Lloyd Wright's "My Father Who Is On Earth", G P Putnam Sons, NY, 1946. . But consider this a more reliable guide to Mr. Wright's long and theatrical life.
|
3: Frank Llloyd Wright: A Biography
Biography is very thorough, but the writing is somewhat difficult to read due to organization.
|
4: Prairie interests
This is an excellent book by Meryle Secrest on Frank Lloyd Wright. It traces the career of America's foremost builder from his days in Chicago as a resident in fashionable Oak Park to his final days on the Arizona desert. Ms. Secrest does not specialize in architecture, but this appears to be an asset. While there are plenty of books that can go on (and on and on) about building techniques, this is intended for the lay person who is interested in Frank Lloyd Wright in general terms. This book provides an excellent introduction to both the man and his work.
|
5: skip this
It's often pointed out that autobiographies are to a considerable extent works of fiction. It's less often pointed out, but equally true, that biographies are also to a considerable extent works of fiction. "Frank LLoyd Wright: A Biography" is a case in point. Now, it just so happens that the author of Frank Lloyd Wright's AUTObiography was a great artist, and it shows not only in his archecture, but also in his stylish, accomplished and original handling of English prose. This BIOGRAPHY, on the other hand, is dull, drab, and perfunctory, and its information is second-hand (at best). If you're going to read fiction, I say read GOOD fiction. Also: I've read a number of biographies of composers, and I find that they are almost always written by professional musicians. It seems to me that a biography of Frank Lloyd Wright ought to have been undertaken only by someone with a professional knowledge of architecture.
|
|
|
|
|
