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A review by acrogers
Fallen Glory: The Lives and Deaths of History's Greatest Buildings by James Crawford
3.0
Fallen Glory was a book that I never intended to read. As I recall, I had been watching one of those escapist architecture shows on Netflix and the next time I was at the library I spontaneously picked the first book they had on the shelf in the architecture section and added it to my pile. Fallen Glory was that book, and I suppose it is a testament to my compulsive book selection habits that I was undaunted by its heft and page count. I will admit, these factors meant I really only pushed myself to read it once I was coming up on my tenth and final book renewal opportunity. Looking back after finishing the book, I’m quite grateful this book was in that “first on the shelf” position.
In many ways, this book is an excellent complement to [b:How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built|38310|How Buildings Learn What Happens After They're Built|Stewart Brand|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386924841l/38310._SX50_.jpg|1456592], one of the most thought-provoking books I read last year. A major difference is in the scope of these two books. Each chapter of Fallen Glory is a biography (obituary?) of a culturally and historically significant structure that no longer exists. The chapters run in essentially chronological (“birth”) order, though (for readers capable of mixing it up) the chapters need not be read chronologically. The author does not ruminate or make explicit the connections from one chapter or part to the next; rather, the detailed historical context and the inevitable demise of each building makes the thesis clear: structures, and the humans who build, inhabit, and destroy them, are always temporary. Buildings and the ways in which they are used and viewed by those surrounding them are reflective of the context in which they were created and how they came to meet their end. As such, they are important landmarks for understanding history, culture, and society.
Despite many of the book’s subjects being frequently mythologized structures, the author is not precious about their lives. He describes in blunt detail the realities of existing among these buildings and the often undignified circumstances that take place around them. A unsurprising commonality across the buildings, however, is their constant optimism regarding expected longevity and influence by those who construct and interact with the buildings. In each case, it is demonstrated how fleeting the physical life of a building can be in the larger historical picture.
I did struggle in the first half of the book, which details the life and death of ancient structures; however, I do not fault the author for this. Rather, my education on such times and cultures largely stopped after the superficial middle school “world history” treatment, so I think much of the nuance and detail provided resulted in slight overwhelm. However, I was much more engaged in the second half of the book, particularly enjoying the chapters on the Pruitt-Igoe complex, GeoCities (yes, the book does not limit itself to the purely three-dimensional), and Palmyra. I appreciate that the author considered structures that I would imagine are not part of the classical architectural canon of “historically significant” structures.
Certainly, this book is hefty, but its clear-cut organization with chapters that can stand alone make it less of a daunting read than one might think. I would say it is actually more of a cultural history book than one about architecture, so if the latter is the expectation one brings to this book, disappointment might ensue. Despite being somewhat of a surprise read for me, this book was an enlightening series of historical case studies and has me considering how my architectural landscape will change in years to come. Don’t be too attached to any structure - its fall is imminent.
In many ways, this book is an excellent complement to [b:How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built|38310|How Buildings Learn What Happens After They're Built|Stewart Brand|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386924841l/38310._SX50_.jpg|1456592], one of the most thought-provoking books I read last year. A major difference is in the scope of these two books. Each chapter of Fallen Glory is a biography (obituary?) of a culturally and historically significant structure that no longer exists. The chapters run in essentially chronological (“birth”) order, though (for readers capable of mixing it up) the chapters need not be read chronologically. The author does not ruminate or make explicit the connections from one chapter or part to the next; rather, the detailed historical context and the inevitable demise of each building makes the thesis clear: structures, and the humans who build, inhabit, and destroy them, are always temporary. Buildings and the ways in which they are used and viewed by those surrounding them are reflective of the context in which they were created and how they came to meet their end. As such, they are important landmarks for understanding history, culture, and society.
Despite many of the book’s subjects being frequently mythologized structures, the author is not precious about their lives. He describes in blunt detail the realities of existing among these buildings and the often undignified circumstances that take place around them. A unsurprising commonality across the buildings, however, is their constant optimism regarding expected longevity and influence by those who construct and interact with the buildings. In each case, it is demonstrated how fleeting the physical life of a building can be in the larger historical picture.
I did struggle in the first half of the book, which details the life and death of ancient structures; however, I do not fault the author for this. Rather, my education on such times and cultures largely stopped after the superficial middle school “world history” treatment, so I think much of the nuance and detail provided resulted in slight overwhelm. However, I was much more engaged in the second half of the book, particularly enjoying the chapters on the Pruitt-Igoe complex, GeoCities (yes, the book does not limit itself to the purely three-dimensional), and Palmyra. I appreciate that the author considered structures that I would imagine are not part of the classical architectural canon of “historically significant” structures.
Certainly, this book is hefty, but its clear-cut organization with chapters that can stand alone make it less of a daunting read than one might think. I would say it is actually more of a cultural history book than one about architecture, so if the latter is the expectation one brings to this book, disappointment might ensue. Despite being somewhat of a surprise read for me, this book was an enlightening series of historical case studies and has me considering how my architectural landscape will change in years to come. Don’t be too attached to any structure - its fall is imminent.