A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder - Hardcover

Pollan, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0679415327 ISBN 13: 9780679415329

Publisher: Random House, 1997

Synopsis

At a turning point in his life, writer Michael Pollan found himself dreaming of a small wood-frame hut in the woods near his house--a place to work, but also a "shelter for daydreams." Weaving the practical with the philosophical, this book presents a captivating personal inquiry into the art of architecture, the craft of building, and the meaning of modern work. Line drawings throughout. Size C. 320 pp. National ads & publicity. 35,000 print.

About this title

Review

Michael Pollan's A Place of My Own might be suspiciously viewed by some readers as a text begging for interpretation. What is it that causes this man at midlife to attempt to put up a structure, an actual wood and concrete dwelling, where he can work on his own craft away from his domestic life? Arguably, Pollan's intentions are more transparent than a too clever postmodern audience can easily appreciate. The author of this fine, well-crafted book offers an explanation that seems honest and understandable: "Whenever I heard myself described as an 'information service worker' or a 'symbolic analyst,' I wanted to reach for a hammer, or a hoe, and with it make something less virtual than a sentence."

In Pollan's bestselling book Second Nature: A Gardener's Education, he illustrated his facility with both hoe and pen. In A Place of My Own he hefts the hammer and again records with great intelligence how thoroughly thought and reflection can be woven into our common lives and the patterns of a day's work. His book's subtitle, "An Education of an Amateur Builder," captures much of what this book contains: the lessons learned by a diligent student of architecture, design, and construction. The writing contains no gaps or unsightly seams, and it's full of clues to readers who share a similar desire to build something tangible in a world that prizes the evanescent.

From the Back Cover

"A glorious piece of prose...Pollan leads readers on his adventure with humor and grace."
--Chicago Tribune

"A captivating and informative adventure."
--John Berendt, author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

"An utterly terrific book...an inspired meditation on the complex relationship between space, the human body and the human spirit."
--Francine du Plessix Gray

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0679415327
• ISBN 13: 9780679415329
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320