About this title: What makes a house beautiful? Is it serious to spend your time thinking about home decoration? Why do people disagree about taste? And can buildings make us happy? In "The Architecture of Happiness", Alain de Botton tackles a relationship central to our lives. Our buildings - and the objects we fill them with - affect us more profoundly than we might think. To take architecture seriously is to accept that we are, for better and for worse, different people in different places. De Botton suggests that it is architecture's task to render vivid to us who we might ideally be. Turning the spotlight ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780307277244ISBN:0307277240
Description: Very Good+ 9780307277244. Unmarked text, no ownership marks. Very little wear to covers and edges.; 0.7 x 8 x 6 Inches; 288 pages. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton / Peguin Books [2006], [London]
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780241142486ISBN:0241142482
Description: Very Good in Near Fine jacket. First edition. "The inspiration for the TV series The Perfect Home...Amounts to a beguiling tour through the philosophy and psychology of architecture. It could forever change the way you think about your home, your streets---and yourself". 280 pages, profusely illustrated, acknowledgements, index. VG copy [spine cocked, one upper corner lightly bumped] in Near Fine Dust Wrapper. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Vintage Books
Date Published: 2008-04-08
ISBN-13:9780307277244ISBN:0307277240
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780307277244. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Date Published: 2006-09-14
ISBN-13:9780771026027ISBN:0771026021
Description: Good. 2006 hardcover with dust jacket, no marks noted in text, bottom of pages are crinkled, All of our products are cleaned with an disinfectant for your protection before shipping. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780307277244ISBN:0307277240
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Edition: First edition.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Pantheon Books
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780375424434ISBN:0375424431
Description: New in new dust jacket. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 280 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. Brand New-Gift Quality In a plastic cover read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Pantheon Books
Date Published: 2006-10-03
ISBN-13:9780375424434ISBN:0375424431
Description: NEW. Hardcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780375424434. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Pantheon
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780375424434ISBN:0375424431
Description: Fine in Fine jacket. Hardcover, black cloth with silver gilt titles, DJ, 280 pp, b&w illustrations, a hint of shelfwear, else a very nice, clean and crisp copy. read more
Description: Fine. 0375424431 1st UK Edition Teade Size Paperback 2006: This is a UK edition, faint spine creasing, no other creasing, no wear, clean, crisp and tight. read more
Binding: Spoken Word MP3-CD
Publisher: Blackstone Audio Inc
Date Published: 2009-03-01
ISBN-13:9781433222979ISBN:1433222973
Description: NEW. Spoken Word MP3-CD. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781433222979. read more
Binding: MP3 CD
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781433222979ISBN:1433222973
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Pantheon
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780375424434ISBN:0375424431
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Edition: First U.S. Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Pantheon Books, New York
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780375424434ISBN:0375424431
Description: Very Good in Fine jacket. Collectible. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Cloth, 280 pp., illus., index; 22 cm. Near fine. Tight, clean copy. Top right corners lightly bumped. Stated "First American Edition. " Dust jacket protected in a mylar book cover. "Bestselling author Alain de Botton considers how our private homes and public edifices influence how we feel, and how we could build dwellings in which we would stand a better chance of happiness. In this witty, erudite look at how we shape, and are ... read more
"In a typical philosopher way, the author put out a statement and promptly counter it to evaluate its relevance. It's a hard book to read in one setting because it goes back and forth- all the way without making a clear statement. However, I enjoyed it because the book is filled with interesting thoughts, nuggets that let you really see the concept of architecture in a new way. The architecture used to communicate human feelings beyond words, the concept of "home" and happiness, the role of aesthetic in culture, the desire for beauty and what it means anyways, are some of the intriguing ideas that I found in this book. Maybe the author could explore such diverse concepts in one book because he chose such chopped-up format. If you see it that way, it's a greatly condensed, generous snapshot of the author's mind, kind of like a brainstorm around architecture and the concept of happiness."
"I enjoyed the more general discussion that this book began with about beauty and why we are drawn to certain things. His idea is that we like what we lack. For example, the simple, clean lines of a modern design speaks to a longing for simplicity and order. More ornate, gilded things look beautiful to people in a rough, dirty, violent world. Et cetera. It was interesting for me to reflect on why I want to bring certain looks and feelings - rustic and earthy - into our house we've recently bought.
By the end it was starting to bug, though. Somehow seemed a little bit snobby. It is a philosophical rumination on beauty that I wished had lead up to some more interesting nuts and bolts about creating beautiful built spaces. But it's short, so you might want to give it a try.
I loved the bit about the rich English guy in the 1700s who loved the Middle Ages, so built a gothic home for himself, and singlehandedly turned the dominant architecture from classical to gothic."
"Like many others, I learned of this book by watching the film 500 Days of Summer. The movie made such a distinct impression on me that I felt I had no choice but to read the book the protagonist gave to his love. Why this book? Why not something romantic?
The simple answer is that this book is incredibly romantic, just not in the cliche way I was looking for. In the opening pages, de Botton expounds on the idea that one must feel the ever-so-memorable cocktail of pain, loss, and heartbreak to ever be moved by art. I can understand this. For as long as I have been alive, I have had artistic sympathies but no particular appreciation of any art other than music and writing. Visual mediums just did nothing for me. I could understand the mechanics of a pretty picture and could aspire to create such things myself, but was never able to attach any sort of significant feeling or understanding to them.
A couple of years ago, I hit a low point in my life. I was depressed and hollow and pain seemed to be sewn into my shadow. For the first time in my life, I had a desire to visit an art exhibit. So I gathered up my pre-teen brother and we headed out for the art museum one Sunday morning. Much to my surprise, I was moved by color. I found empathy and clarity in the various shades of reds and blues that made up, oddly enough, the somber religious paintings depicting angels in their various earthly activities. Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I am not a religious person and that I appreciate the concept of angels no more than, say, the NRA. But here I was, downtrodden and broken, finding these winged cherubs beautiful. The selection of this book for use in the film was brilliant and probably more thought out than any other book used as a prop in the entire history of film (excluding, of course, all the films I have not seen; which is, thankfully, most of them).
But why architecture, Mr. de Botton?
This, I'm not sure of. Most of the author's musings seemed to me to apply to art in general, not specifically to architecture. But I forgive him for that. He had to pick something to draw specific examples from, otherwise he would have ended up with an exponentially larger book (which neither of us wanted). Still, I would have liked to walk away from this book with some knowledge of what makes buildings great. Or bad. And I haven't. I now know a couple of traits that make classical and gothic architecture distinct, but that's it. de Botton focuses more on the philosophical aspects of this art and less on the practicalities. Which is okay, but a bit misleading.
Of course, he did the same thing when discussing specific architectural ideas. He talked about the Japanese and the cultural influences present in their buildings. And, while he compared them briefly to the Dutch, he sort of left it at that with no points for comparison. I don't know how regional differences vary between geographical areas because he just went on about the Japanese. Which, again, is fine since he had to write specifically about something and Japan's as good a something as any. Unfortunately, I have no great interest in Japan so he lost me for a stretch.
At the very end of the book, de Botton discusses probably the most profound idea in the work, that art gives us confidence to feel our own feelings. We may have an inherent preference for cracked concrete or itchy wool, but until others say that those things are good, we are fearful of openly embracing these things. Art is the perfect medium for exploring ourselves. Seeing an ornate cathedral or a fruit bowl still life can give us something to identify with and can go lengths to make us feel okay with who we are.
My chief complaint about this book is that half of it is filled with uninspiring photos. Nothing made my jaw drop and few of them were necessary for comprehension. I wish more thought would have gone into the selection of a few good images, rather than filling the book with what seemed good at the time. I wanted to feel something when I got all fired up by de Botton's words, but, visually, he gave me nothing and all that energy was wasted on staring at the pattern on my bedspread.
This was a rather good book, three-and-a-half stars, I think. Definitely more than three, but not quite four."
"This was praised in 500 Days of Summer and Noelle was reading anoher book by the same author, so how could I go wrong? It's a long and pleasingly discursive essay on how our environment affects us (de Botton argues that our bes buildings and cityscapes supply those qualities missing in our everyday lives and thus bring us joy and inspire us to improve ourselves. The writing is very precise, and the illustrations (mostly) made his points more forcefully for me. Examples are drawn mostly from Europe, and the book made me want to visit Edinburg. Best of all, it gave me new ways to think about buildings, and the desire to do so."
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