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Michael Pollan's unmatched ability to draw lines of connection between our everyday experiences— whether eating, gardening, or building—and the natural world has been the basis for the popular success of his many works of nonfiction, including the genre-defining bestsellers The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food. With this updated edition of his earlier book A Place of My Own, readers can revisit the inspired, intelligent, and often hilarious story of Pollan's realization of a room of his own—a small, wooden hut, his "shelter for daydreams"—built with his admittedly unhandy hands. Inspired by both Thoreau and Mr. Blandings, A Place of My Own not only works to convey the history and meaning of all human building, it also marks the connections between our bodies, our minds, and the natural world.
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The education of an architectural novice - me!,
By Malcolm Books (NB, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Place Of My Own (Paperback)
I thought this was a fabulous book, despite the previous review giving it just one star.
The concept is one which appeals to many - finding a place of quiet and tranquility to escape to. What better way to make it your own than to build it yourself? Something that many dream of, but few manage in reality. Pollan is an honest writer who is not afraid to tell of his failings as well as his triumphs. I enjoyed the construction details, especially as he goes into a lot of detail concerning the mundane detail of construction work which had previously passed me by. The best part of the book, though, were all of his philosophical musings on every aspect of architecture. He takes the reader through many different styles of buildings, quoting many examples and naming many influential architects. I found myself googling a lot of the places and people that he mentions, and came across a whole new world of architecture. On top of all that, the book is well written, interesting in many different ways, and the very opposite of "tedious"! I recommend it highly,
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A CJThompson Rejection,
By C. J. Thompson "Arctic John" (Pond Inlet, Nunavut Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: A Place Of My Own (Paperback)
I bought and read Pollan's 'The Omnivores's Dilemma' and thoroughly enjoyed every page.... I bought two more of his books, expecting the same great read, and (at least as far as this book is concerned) was VERY disappointed.
The title of this book suggests one person's homesteading adventure and it is quite a let down to discover that it is lttle more than an account of Pollan's building of a shed. Ostensibly it is a philisophical treatise whose discussions and conclusions arise from the creative process involved in the construction process but, somehow, I couldn't identify with anything he was saying. I gave this book a chance ... I got about a third of the way into it ... but I ultimately found it tedious and uninteresting. CJT
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.5 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews) 83 of 83 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
looking at building from all angles,
By RamblingReviewer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Place Of My Own (Paperback)
I'm so glad this book is once again readily available; I keep wanting to give it to friends and it had become hard to find. Pollan undertook the project of building himself a modest shelter, and used that as a jumping-off place to consider--always entertainingly--a dazzling array of related subjects. The book is a joy to read, a disquisition on everything from design considerations (site, view, feel), to descriptions of the nitty-gritty of basic shelter construction (why you don't see windows that swing inward, the right way to hammer a nail), to reflections about historical, cultural and technological influences on the evolution of structures, the divergence between design and construction that produced the profession of architect and the craft of builder and the tension between the two. Pollan's graceful writing is informed by his inquiring intellect and his wide-ranging fund of knowledge. There is something thought-provoking on nearly every page.
57 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An intimate tour of a writer's most sacred place: the house of their dreams,
By Michael Tiemann - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Place Of My Own (Paperback)
I was astonished to see that there are *any* less than stellar reviews for this book, so let me speak in defense of Michael Pollan's sophomore effort: You Must Read This Book!
For those who loved The Omnivore's Dilemma, this book describes the process by which the cradle of that great work was itself brought to life. As a person married to an author, and as a person who himself writes more than the average American, Pollan's process of articulating his own dreams (and fears) for his own writing house literally brought tears to my eyes, so profound his subject and so universal its truths. It is a brilliant synthesis of abstract and concrete--the construction of a physical space *so that* greater mental heights can be imagined and obtained. For those who celebrate the way that Pollan has helped us restore some measure of our own humanity by helping us reconnect with what is true about food (and by learning how to avoid what is false about edible food-like substances), let only those who are truly roofless cast the first stone against this book! For the rest of us, whether we own, rent, or live more transiently in some sheltering construct, this book teaches the truly multi-dimensional ways that dwellings come to be, and how the manifold relationships that condense into built forms continue to express those relationships, even to those who are not yet born. For those who love Pollan's ways with words, this book is full of fridge-worthy sentences and page-worthy paragraphs. For those who enjoyed meeting Joel Salatin in "Part III: Grass" of the Omnivore's Dilemma, in this book we meet the prototype from the building trade, Joe Benney. Indeed, I'd be willing to bet that without Joe's training in the manual arts, Michael would never have made it past the first handshake with Mr. Salatin of Polyface farms. For those who complain "this book is nothing new", fooey. Yes it was first published more than a decade ago, but as a book I had not read, it was new to me. The new paperback format is far more friendly to me and my traveling lifestyle. And the new preface provides an opportunity for Pollan to complete some factual and cultural arcs that were anticipated by the foundations he laid in 1997. (In that way, every finished building is really the start of a new, unimagined next building.) So...I loved it, and I suspect that if you have ever dreamed about building a place for your own dreams, you will love it, too! 19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful,
By Raph84 "eXtreme reader" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Place Of My Own (Paperback)
I picked up this book after reading Omnivore's Dilemma. This book is the Omnivore's Dilemma for architecture and building. I found it to give a fantastic overview of the history of architecture, the difficulties in translating the architect's plans into something realistic (paring things down to form over function), and the realities of making a structure from the ground up.
This book however is not a manual of how to build. If you are interested in building or creating things out of scratch it will be very happy with this book. This might better be titled the philosophy of building.... a place of one's own. |
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