OK. So I haven't read the whole book. That's not the point when it's a coffee table book. This book is like a big box of Godiva chocolates--It's actually better to have a just a small taste every now and then, instead of trying to take in everything in one sitting. This is a book you want to slowly savor, after all, it covers a lot of great history and showcases some of the great structures modern man has created. And also like those chocolates, any house guest that stumbles upon your book will also be delighted to flip through the pages...Unless they're some sort of whacko that doesn't like Godiva, in which case you should invite them to leave immediately, since it should be obvious that they're nothing but trouble.

I have worked from my own home office for over 5 years and I'm always looking for clever ideas for making my space my productive and pleasant. I was disappointed with this book. It is a showcase for the author's home office, which involved construction and landscaping. I am of more modest means, and I was looking for very PRACTICAL ideas. The tone of the book is more of "look at what a wonderful job I have done" and while the author's office is nice, it is not the kind of project I have in my near future. If you are just thinking about your first home office and you would like someone to explain the basics, this would be a good starter book. But even the technology and equipment information is out of date -- those things change so fast! As long as you don't expect too much, this has some good information.

Do you like furniture? I hate it. But woe be to the home office that doesn't have some. That's why this picture book is eons ahead of other books that rhapsodize about the home office but don't show it.

With its hundreds of photographs and comprehensive text, cases of real people and their transitions to home offices, this tome goes beyond surface considerations. It includes checklists for planning your own home office, and even entire sections on equipment such as computers, lighting, copiers, and on-line services. OK, there's a wishbook quality to it, but home offices frequently start out as dreams before they come crashing down to earth.

If you are an absolute Wrightophile, then I guess you might want this book. You will not learn anything new about Wright, and you wont see any outstanding photography either. 195 pages of double spaced text. Not much bang for your buck.

In 1993 my wife and I visited Florence Alabama and learned that there was a Wright Usonian home that was built in the 30's. My wife qualifies as a true "Househugger" so we called and made an appointment to tour the home. We were met at the door by Mildred Rosenbaum, a delightful person, who shared the experience of having Mr. Wright design and build the house(of course through his assistants). This home is a piece of art that has been kept true to FLW's ideals and with the exception of the furniture (Mrs. Rosenbaum said the original furniture was very uncomfortable)which is compatible with the original construction. Oh, the story she told. . . This book enhances that story and puts all in perspective with the times and the area. In Sheffield there is a building that Henry Ford built when he wanted to buy the Wilson Dam Generating Dam to create an industrial empire in the south.

Mrs. Rosenbaum no longer lives there and the City of Florence owns the house. Read this book and visit the home. Both will give you an experience that you will not get anywhere else. The author was born there and raised there. He shares experiences that happened in the house and the diversity that existed in this small part of the south.

The architect Frank Lloyd Wright was eager to jump on the New Deal bandwagon in the 1930s to help reshape America across a sprawling countryside. His anti-urban regional planning ideas are well documented in this fascinating story that identifies the influences on Wright's sensibilities, from Lewis Mumford, Henry Ford, FDR, and others. Rosenbaum, who grew up a Frank Lloyd Wright Usoinan house built by his parents in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, weaves the story of the house (now a house museum open to the public) with early developments in manufactured housing, the Tennessee Valley Authority, greenbelt communities, and other federal initiatives of the era.