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Nearest Thing to Heaven: The Empire State Building and American Dreams
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Nearest Thing to Heaven: The Empire State Building and American Dreams Paperback - 2007

by Mark Kingwell


From the publisher

This elegantly written appreciation of the Empire State Building opens up the building's richness and importance as an icon of America. The book leads us through the facts surrounding the skyscraper's conception and construction, then enters into a provocative theoretical discussion of its function as an icon, its representation in pictures, literature, and film, and the implications of its iconic status as New York's most important architectural monument to ambition and optimism. The Empire State Building literally cannot be seen in its totality, from any perspective. And paradoxically, this building of unmistakable solidity has been made invisible by familiarity and reproduction through imagery. Mark Kingwell encourages us to look beneath the strong physical presence of the building, to become aware of its evolving layers of meaning, and to see how the building lives within a unique imaginative space in the landscape of the American consciousness. He offers new ways of understanding the Empire State Building in all its complexity and surprising insights into its special role as an American icon.

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Details

  • Title Nearest Thing to Heaven: The Empire State Building and American Dreams
  • Author Mark Kingwell
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition First
  • Pages 256
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Yale University Press, New Haven
  • Date 2007-12-01
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Illustrated, Index, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780300126129 / 0300126123
  • Weight 0.77 lbs (0.35 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.01 x 5.84 x 0.68 in (22.89 x 14.83 x 1.73 cm)
  • Themes
    • Geographic Orientation: New York
    • Locality: New York, N.Y.
  • Library of Congress subjects New York (N.Y.) - Buildings, structures, etc, Empire State Building (New York, N.Y.)
  • Dewey Decimal Code 974.71

About the author

Mark Kingwell is professor of philosophy, University of Toronto, a contributing editor of Harper's Magazine, and the author of eight books.
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Nearest Thing to Heaven: The Empire State Building and American Dreams (Icons of America)

Nearest Thing to Heaven: The Empire State Building and American Dreams (Icons of America)

by Mark Kingwell

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Nearest Thing to Heaven: The Empire State Building and American Dreams (Icons of America)
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Nearest Thing to Heaven: The Empire State Building and American Dreams (Icons of America)

by Mark Kingwell

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Nearest Thing to Heaven: The Empire State Building and American Dreams (Icons of America)

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Nearest Thing to Heaven: The Empire State Building and American Dreams

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Nearest Thing to Heaven : The Empire State Building and American Dreams

Nearest Thing to Heaven : The Empire State Building and American Dreams

by Mark Kingwell

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