Books >
Last Harvest

Last Harvest Browse Inside Last Harvest
Last Harvest
From Cornfield to New Town  
By Witold Rybczynski
This edition: Trade Paperback, 336 pages
Availability: Usually ships within 1 business day
List Price: $15.00
Your Price: $12.00 You Save $3.00 (20%)
Add to Cart or Buy from another online retailer
Also available in

Description

When Witold Rybczynski first heard about New Daleville, it was only a developer's idea, attached to ninety acres of cornfield an hour and a half west of Philadelphia. Over the course of five years, Rybczynski met and talked to everyone involved in the building of this residential subdivision -- from the developers to the township leaders, whose approval they needed, to the home builders and engineers and, ultimately, the first families who moved in.

Always eloquent and illuminating, the award-winning author of Home and A Clearing in the Distance looks at this "neotraditional" project, with its houses built close together to encourage a sense of intimacy and community, and explains the trends in American domestic architecture -- from where we place our kitchens and fences to why our bathrooms get larger every year.

Last Harvest was voted one of the ten best books of 2008 by the editors of Planetizen, and as Publishers Weekly said, "Rybczynski provides historical and cultural perspectives in a style reminiscent of Malcolm Gladwell, debunking the myth of urban sprawl and explaining American homeowners' preference for single-family dwellings."

"Maybe you like the way America is being built, maybe you don't, but either way you will not find a more absorbing or patient look at the real real estate process than this elegant time-lapse portrait of a neighborhood-to-be. Witold Rybczynski is the poet laureate of what you haven't noticed that's probably right in front of you." -- Robert Sullivan, author of Cross Country: Fifteen Years and 90,000 Miles on the Roads and Interstates of America

-- Robert Sullivan, author of Cross Country: Fifteen Years and 90,000 Miles on the Roads and Interstates of America

"Nowhere do pretty hypotheses get blast-tested by the facts as in the work of Witold Rybczynski. He is not the kind of scholar who looks at perfectly functional realities and asks whether they can possibly work in theory. Instead, in Last Harvest Rybczynski is our engaging and authentic guide, immersing us in a fascinating narrative of how real people live, work, play -- and build. Last Harvest is The Soul of a New Machine for the new urbanism." -- Joel Garreau, author of Edge City: Life on the New Frontier

-- Joel Garreau, author of Edge City: Life on the New Frontier

"The master has done it again. His best book ever. It is a must-read for anyone interested in urban development. This seemingly simple example sheds light on suburban development and, in the process, why affordable housing is disappearing." -- Dr. Peter Linneman, Albert Sussman Professor of Real Estate and Professor of Finance and Business Public Policy, the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

-- Dr. Peter Linneman, Albert Sussman Professor of Real Estate and Professor of Finance and Business Public Policy, the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
"Understanding the business of real estate requires an appreciation of its many aesthetic, economic, historical, physical, political, psychological, structural, and countless other aspects, and Last Harvest is a primer on them all." - Henry Petroski, author of Successess through Failure: The Paradox of Design
"From the initial planning to the home construction to the selling of properties, the five-year project was a challenge for everyone involved, and the author was there every step of the way. Woven into his story are reflections on how American architectural tastes have changed throughout history and how we balance our individuality with [the] need for community."- Jennifer Caesar, New York Post
"Entertaining and frequently enlightening."- Penelope Green, The New York Times Book Review
"Rybczynski is a graceful, personable writer whose considerable erudition is in service to his storyteller's curiosity."- Lloyd Rose, The Washington Post
"Rybczynski has written about the world of American architecture with a simple, rare clarity."- Annie Dawid, The Oregonian
"Rybczynski has a prose style so well designed, even dry bits of design history are as absorbing as a down-filled sofa."- David Colman, The New York Times
"Rybczynski provides historical and cultural perspectives in a style reminiscent of Malcolm Gladwell, debunking the myth of urban sprawl and explaining American homeowners' preference for single-family dwellings."- Publishers Weekly
"A smart, swift tour through the country's embrace of ranchstyle and split-level homes in decades past."- Daniel McGinn, Newsweek.com
"[Rybczynski is] a perpetually curious observer of architecture and urbanism."- Teresa Weaver, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Maybe you like the way America is being built, maybe you don't, but either way you will not find a more absorbing or patient look at the real real estate process than this elegant time-lapsed portrait of a neighborhood to be. Witold Rybczynski is the poet laureate of what you haven't noticed that's probably right in front of you."- Robert Sullivan, author of Cross Country: Fifteen Years and 90,000 Miles on the Roads and Interstates of America
"Nowhere do pretty hypotheses get blast-tested by the facts as in the work of Witold Rybczynski. He is not the kind of scholar who looks at perfectly functional realities and asks whether they can possibly work in theory. Instead, in Last Harvest Rybczynski is our engaging and authentic guide, immersing us in a fascinating narrative of how real people live, work, play - and build. Last Harvest is The Soul of a New Machine for the new urbanism."- Joel Garreau, author of Edge City: Life on the New Frontier
"The master has done it again. His best book ever. It is a must-read for anyone interested in urban development. This seemingly simple example sheds light on suburban development and, in the process, why affordable housing is disappearing."- Dr. Peter Linneman, Albert Sussman Professor of Real Estate, professor of finance, business, and public policy, the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Witold Rybczynski's Books
Displaying 1 of
See All Witold Rybczynski books