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Title: Not Built in a Day: Exploring the Architecture of Rome
ISBN: 0786717491
Author:
George H. Sullivan
Publicate Date: 2006-05-14
Publish: 2006-05-14
List Price: $19.95
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $5.73
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $4.99
Amazon Merchant Price: $14.57
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Teaching the Reader to Look
George Sullivan's "Not Built in a Day" has many virtues. It is well-organized (as a series of walking tours); it is well indexed (to enable the reader to organize his/her own study; it is written fluently--neither densely scholarly nor "tour book breathless," each mini-essay captures the history of a building and its context in a direct straight-forward way. But the real difference between this book and so many others is that each essay--whether brief or more extended (like one on the Pantheon)--both reveals and encourages in the reader a careful "reading" of each building itself. I was especially interested in Bernini and Borromini's designs, and NBIAD was as good as any textbook could have been in guiding my eye as I studied the aesthetic relationship between these two acclaimed architects of baroque Rome. Anyone really interested in understanding architectural composition in Rome will find a worthy friend in this book.
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2: Dynamic interest generator!
Fabulous for those who have been to Rome. Mandates that you return to see it anew and deeper. Great job.
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3: The Best Guide to Understanding Rome
My wife and I recently returned from Rome, and one of our many fine moments in that glorious city was sitting on top of Michelangelo's Campodiglio, with Mr. Sullivan's book in hand and understanding for the first time exactly what Michelangelo did and why -- and thus helping us understand more deeply the greatness of his accomplishment. So it went with magnificent works such as Borromini's San Carlino or Bramante's Tempietto. Similarly, we came to understand the failures -- what the architect wanted to do and didn't quite get there. Mr. Sullivan's goal, was to help us move beyond admiration or puzzlement at what we are looking at, and understand what was done, and how well it did or did not work. Very well written, tough in its judgments, and infused throughout by a love for the city. Don't go to Rome without it.
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4: Not built in a day
A good read for those who love history, it is an excellent companion for travel to Rome
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5: Outstanding Guidebook!
George Sullivan's "Not Built in a Day" is a unique and wonderful combination of scholarly knowledge, art, passion, and wit. The author recently gave a series of slide lectures at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. based upon the material in the book, which I attended. His lectures were exceptional -- insightful and enjoyable, a college-level crash course on the history of European architecture that was set entirely in Rome! He really made the buildings come alive through his enthusiasm and humor; I especially liked that he not only had definite opinions on buildings, but also explained clearly what architectural qualities those opinions were based on. This same in-depth but accessible approach can be found in the book, which is unlike any other guide to Rome that I have seen. I would enthusiastically recommend it if you are going to Rome, and if the lectures show up at a museum near you in the future, I would enthusiastically recommend them as well.
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