Books

Lapham's Quarterly

Lapham's Quarterly is a literary magazine established in 2007 by former Harper's Magazine editor Lewis H. Lapham. Each issue examines a theme using primary source material from history.

The Timeless Way of Building

The Timeless Way of Building is the introductory volume in the Center for Environmental Structure series, Christopher Alexander presents in it a new theory of architecture, building, and planning which has at its core that age-old process by which the people of a society have always pulled the order of their world from their own being.

Between Pacific Tides: Fifth Edition

This book describes the habits and habitats of the animals that live in one of the most prolific life zones of the world―the rocky shores and tide pools of the Pacific Coast of the United States. The intricate and fascinating life processes of these creatures are described with affectionate care. The animals are grouped according to their most characteristic habitat, whether rocky shore, sandy beach, mud flat, or wharf piling, and the authors discuss their life history, physiology, and community relations, and the influence of wave shock and shifting tide level.

Architecture without architects, an introduction to nonpedigreed architecture

From the jacket flap: In this book, Bernard Rudofsky steps outside the narrowly defined discipline that has governed our sense of architectural history and discusses the art of building as a universal phenomenon. He introduces the reader to communal architecture–architecture produced not by specialists but by the spontaneous and continuing activity of a whole people with a common heritage, acting within a community experience. A prehistoric theater district for a hundred thousand spectators on the American continent and underground towns and villages (complete with schools, offices, and factories) inhabited by millions of people are among the unexpected phenomena he brings to light.

Dwelling: On Making Your Own

This book traces the sometimes courageous, sometimes frightening steps of a former suburban-matron-come-country woman and her friends as they cast off their culture's expectations of what their houses 'ought' to look like and begin experimenting with their own fantasies for dwelling places. They are people with the courage to trust their own judgments, conceiving of living space as something which must reflect their personal uniqueness, even to the point of working as a sacred mandala for energy, a place for achieving an integration with a larger harmony.

The Captain: George C. Thomas Jr. and His Golf Architecture

Not many people know it, but George C. Thomas Jr. was one of the most significant figures in the history of golf course architecture. Geoff Shackelford's biography of Thomas, "The Captain, is the first in-depth look at the life and architectural philosophy of this interesting and talented man. Following World War I, Thomas began dabbling in course design on the East Coast. In 1920, he moved to California. There, he designed several of the most important and visually pleasing golf courses in the country--including Riviera Country Club, Los Angeles Country Club, and Bel-Air Country Club.