Looking Around : A Journey Through Architecture (A Saturday Night Book Ser.)

Arts & Photography

Rybczynski, Witold

Architecture

Harper Collins, Toronto, 1992

City Life: Urban Expectations in a New World

Politics & Social Sciences

Sociology

Scribner

A Clearing in the Distance: Frederick Law Olmsted and America in the Nineteenth Century [ A Clearing in the Distance: Frederick Law Olmsted and America in the Nineteenth Century by Rybczynski, Witold ( Author ) Hardcover Jun- 1999 ] Hardcover Jun- 08- 1999

A Clearing in the Distance : Frederick Law Olmsted and America in the Nineteenth Century

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Looking Around: a Journey Through Architecture

Penguin

Why did Peter L. Robertson think he had the “biggest little invention of the twentieth century”?How did a quest to improve the precision of the screw result in Captain Cook’s voyages of discovery? And how did Witold Rybczynski discover the true origins of the screwdriver in an obscure15th-century tome known as the Medieval Housebook, despite historians’ claims that it had not been invented until three centuries later? In a narrative that reads like a satisfying detective story, Witold Rybczynski takes the humble screwdriver and turns it into an object of mystery, a seemingly simple tool that has driven its way into our history, politics, technology and even fashion. Along the way he introduces us to a cast of inventors, artisans, tool makers and factory owners whose ingenuity has helped to shape our most essential household tools. From the genius of Leonardo da Vinci to the ambitious marketing plans of Canadian Peter Robertson (critics agree that the Robertson screwdriver is still superior to the Phillips), One Good Turn is a book for all those who love tools and inventions, woodwork and metalwork, and who are curious to know more about the origins of our mechanical world. Written in Rybczynski’s trademark intelligent, fluid style, and backed by meticulous research, One Good Turn is infused with the author’s personal sense of discovery and enthusiasm for his subject.

One Good Turn Tpb

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Crafts & Hobbies

Harper-perennial

THE PROBLEM OF CONTROLLING TECHNOLOGY HAS PREOCCUPIED US SINCE THE TIME OF THE FIRST FOREST FIRE CAUSED BY MAN, BUT TODAY, IN THE AGE OF TECHNOLOGY, THE INTRODUCTION AND EVOLUTION OF MACHINES ARE OF INCREASING CONCERN. UNINTENDED SIDE EFFECTS HAVE ALWAYS ACCOMPANIED TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, AND AS ADVANCES THAT MAY HAVE FAR REACHING CONSEQUENCES OCCUR IN PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING, WE FEEL AGAIN THE NEED TO DEFINE OUR UNEASY RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR INVENTIONS. WITOLD RYBCZYNSKI PROVOCATIVE BOOK HELPS US TO DO SO BY EXAMINING THE ATTEMPTS OF OUR PREDECESSORS TO COME TO TERMS WITH THE SHOCK OF THE MACHINE.

Taming the Tiger: The Struggle to Control Technology

History

Americas

Penguin??Books

Walk through five centuries of homes both great and small—from the smoke-filled manor halls of the Middle Ages to today's Ralph Lauren-designed environments—on a house tour like no other, one that delightfully explicates the very idea of "home."
You'll see how social and cultural changes influenced styles of decoration and furnishing, learn the connection between wall-hung religious tapestries and wall-to-wall carpeting, discover how some of our most welcome luxuries were born of architectural necessity, and much more. Most of all, Home opens a rare window into our private lives—and how we really want to live.

Home: A Short History of an Idea

Historical Study & Educational Resources

Most Beautiful House in the World

"A winning book, a pleasure to read…a revelation about what architects actually do and how they go about doing it." –Los Angeles Times Witold Rybezynski takes us on an extraordinary odyssey as he tells the story of designing and building of his own house. Rybezynski’s project began as a workshed; through a series of "happy accidents," however, the structure gradually evolved into a full-fledge house. In tracing this evolution, he touches on matters both theoretical and practical, writing on such diverse topics as the distinguished structural descendants of the humble barn, the ritualistic origins of the elements of classical architecture, and the connections between dress and habitation, and between architecture and gastronomy. Rybezynski discusses feng shui, the Chinese art of placing a home in the landscape, and also considers the theories and work of such architects as Palladio, Le Corbusier, and Frank Lloyd Wright. An eloquent examination of the links between being and building, The Most Beautiful House in the World offers insights into the joys of "installing ourselves in a place, of establishing a spot where it be safe to dream."

The Most Beautiful House in the World

Penguin Publishing Group

Waiting for the Weekend

Exploring the time we think of as our own, the author discusses the evolution of leisure time in Western civilization, from Aristotle, through the Middle Ages, to the present. By the author of Home. Reprint.

Business & Money

Economics

Paper Heros: Appropriate Technology: Panacea or Pipe Dream?

Paper Heros: Appropriate Technology: Panacea or Pipe Dream?

Science & Math

Technology

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Books by Rybczynski, Witold