Skip to content

Home : A Short History of an Idea
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Home : A Short History of an Idea Paperback - 1987

by Rybczynski, Witold

  • Used

This immensely popular, witty, and highly provocative book is changing people's attitudes about convenience, decor, and technology in home design and furnishing. 10 black-and-white illustrations.

Description

Penguin Publishing Group. Used - Good. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.
Used - Good
$6.74
FREE Shipping to USA Standard delivery: 4 to 14 days
More Shipping Options
Ships from Better World Books (Nevada, United States)
The BIBLIO Guarantee | Ask Seller a Question

About Better World Books Nevada, United States

Biblio member since 2010
Seller rating: This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.

Not everyone has access to a book the way you do, which is why Better World Books cares. We have donated millions of books and raised millions of dollars to support literacy, libraries and education. Every Better World Books purchase you make contributes. Oh yeah, great prices, fast delivery, unique titles and a generous return policy - we’ve got that too. Thank you for shopping with us!

Terms of Sale:

Better World Books wants every single one of its customers to be happy with their purchase. If you are not satisfied your purchase or simply find out that it was not the book you were looking for, please e-mail us at: help@betterworldbooks.com. We will get back to you as soon as possible with directions on how to return the book to our warehouse. Please keep in mind that because we deal mostly in used books, any extra components, such as CDs or access codes, are usually not included. CDs: If the book does include a CD, it will be noted in the book's description ("With CD!"). Otherwise, there is no CD included, even if the term is used in the book's title. Access Codes: Unless the book is described as "New," please assume that the book does *not* have an access code.

Browse books from Better World Books

Details

  • Title Home : A Short History of an Idea
  • Author Rybczynski, Witold
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: Repri
  • Condition Used - Good
  • Pages 272
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Penguin Publishing Group, E Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.A.
  • Date 1987-07-07
  • Bookseller's Inventory # 6367505-6
  • ISBN 9780140102314 / 0140102310
  • Weight 0.52 lbs (0.24 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.76 x 5.09 x 0.76 in (19.71 x 12.93 x 1.93 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Library of Congress subjects Architecture and society, Dwellings - Psychological aspects
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 86030398
  • Dewey Decimal Code 728.019

Summary

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.

From the publisher

Witold Rybczynski of Polish parentage, was born in Edinburgh in 1943, raised in Surrey, and attended Jesuit schools in England and Canada. He received Bachelor of Architecture (1960) and Master of Architecture (1972) degrees from McGill University in Montreal. He is the author of more than fifty articles and papers on the subject of housing, architecture, and technology, including the books Taming the Tiger, Paper Heroes, The Most Beautiful House in the World, Waiting for the Weekend, and Looking Around: A Journey Through Architecture (all available in Penguin), and most recently, City Life. He lives with his wife, Shirley Hallam, in Philadelphia and is the Martin and Margy Myerson Professor of Urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania.

First line

We've all seen this comfortable man; his face looks out from the advertising pages of magazines.

Categories

Media reviews

"Here is a book that will change thew ay you look at your house or apartment—for the better."
—People

"Rybczynski's style is as loose and, yes, as comfortable as a down-filled comforter."
—The Christian Science Monitor

"Sensible and stylish"
—Newsweek

"It's a bracing, irreverent, worldly wise book."
—Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Home is serious, historically minded, and exquisitely readable. It is a triumph of intelligence."
—The New Yorker

Citations

  • Publishers Weekly, 05/29/1987, Page 0

About the author

Witold Rybczynski of Polish parentage, was born in Edinburgh in 1943, raised in Surrey, and attended Jesuit schools in England and Canada. He received Bachelor of Architecture (1960) and Master of Architecture (1972) degrees from McGill University in Montreal. He has written for the Atlantic, New Yorker, New York Review of Books, and the New York Times, and has been architecture critic for Saturday Night, Wigwag, and Slate. His book include Taming the Tiger, Paper Heroes, The Most Beautiful House in the World, Waiting for the Weekend, and Looking Around: A Journey Through Architecture, City Life and Charleston Fancy. He lives with his wife, Shirley Hallam, in Philadelphia and is Emeritus Professor of Urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania.

Hang on… we’re fetching the requested page.