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The Autobiography of an Idea
The famous American architect's fascinating look at the early years of his pioneering work, which led to his being called the "father of the skyscraper." Far from an ordinary document of records and dates, Sullivan's passionate book crystallizes his insights and opinions into an organic theory of architecture. Includes a wealth of projects and evaluations, as well as 34 fu
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Paperback
,
384 pages
Published
June 22nd 2009
by Dover Publications
(first published June 1st 1956)
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Community Reviews
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This book was not quite what I was expecting based on the description on the back. It may be the fact that it is an autobiography written in the third person or the writing style in general, but I found it hard to get into and relate to on a personal level. It is written in a poetic and at times grandiose style that tries to express the important impressions on a young boy as he learns and grows into manhood. Some of it is effective, some of it is not.
I found his descriptions of friends or peopl ...more
I found his descriptions of friends or peopl ...more
Despite my high rating, I'm not at all surprised to see a lot of people who disagree. In many ways it's an odd and bewildering book: an autobiography told in the third person, full of purple prose, apocryphal conversations, enough drama to fill the Auditorium Building, and a probably unreliable narrator. And yet: if you want to know what went on in Sullivan's brain, and what his beliefs were, then this is the book to read. Forget a straight narrative about "this happened to me at this time, and
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I really don't know anything about architecture. I saw this book laying on my boyfriend's bookshelf (the poor book was in awful condition because the man reads it so much). I thought about the trip to Chicago he and I took in 2009 and how we visited Louis Sullivan's grave. I knew it meant a lot to him, but it meant almost nothing to me. So, to learn more about my other half's inspiration, I decided to read The Autobiography of an Idea .
It is Mr. Sullivan's autobiography, but it's written in the 3
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Poorly written, third person? I skimmed through, just couldn't force myself to read it, the horror. Although a very influential architect, not a writer. I can't believe I bought this book.
Read that he had some influence over Ayn Rand, so if you like her, you might be able to stomach this one.
Read that he had some influence over Ayn Rand, so if you like her, you might be able to stomach this one.
Loius Sullivan's descriptions of spending time as a young boy exploring the wilderness around his grandparent's rural farm are unbelievable. I lost it around the second-to-last chapter in this book, where Sullivan starts waxing poetic and listing major metaphors for his simple concepts.
What can I say? He write his autobiography in the third person...
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