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I am using this book as a research and knowledge base for my pending Plug In Electric Vehicle (EV)project. I am converting a 1992 Mazda MX-3 to a plug in fully electric auto.

This book is the best place to begin, it conceptualizes the whole environment surrounding the need for conversions providing historical back ground, economic understanding, and environmental impact information. Although the book was published in the early 90's it's predictions of the future for energy dependance and economic turmoil are right on. The Books prime function is as an excellent technical reference on the "how to" of EV conversions. This book goes into great detail about chassis selection, energy calculations, motor and component selection, range and speed expectations, and gives many examples, tips and techniques to use in building an EV.

This book also goes through from beginning to end a conversion of an auto conversion (a light pick up truck) from internal combustion engine powered to plug in electric powered. It is impressively simple to do and this book shows you just what to do. It also provides a great amount of contact information for parts suppliers and businesses already engaged in the conversion market place.

So if your sick of paying high fuel prices, want to do something personnally to reduce the effects of human impact on the environment, or are an engineering weenie who wants a fun and cool project to obsess over then pick up this book and start today!

Have Fun and Good Luck!

David Fink "Shade Tree Mechanic"
My first EV conversion project (1992 Mazda MX-3)

A good review of history of the electric car, best vehicles to convert, lists of sources for kits and parts, diagrams of how to do it, etc.
Highly recommended.

A good place to start if you prefer to look at paper vs. the computer screen. Much more & better info available on the internet.

Does cover the basics - what exactly is involved in a conversion, batteries, controller, charger, motor & the "extras" - main contactor etc.

Others complained about too much math, but I found it was too basic to make any engineering decisions or judgments.

I've read several books on Electric Vehicles and this is, by far, the definitive resource for the DIY Electric Vehicle designer. It provides details and pictures on every topic necessary to design and build an electric vehicle from an existing gas vehicle.

I read the book because I was interested in converting a car. At times, it became waaay more technical than I bargained for. But it gave me the confidence to go ahead with my project.

I later learned that what I wanted to build was going to be so expensive, that I would not be able to afford it. This led me to see the book on a different light. For example, I would have liked it to be more specific info on the ranges and speeds one could get with a certain system. I did not find that... maybe I skipped it when I blew off the extremely technical info.

But other than that I thought the book was AWESOME. I would not recommend anyone to start a project like this without first talking to people who have done it already. (That is how I found out that I was being too ambitious).

I have not converted a car yet, since I decided to wait until batteries get better so I can get the range and speeds I need. But when the time comes, I going to pick up this book again. This puppy is NOT going to the used-book bookstore.

The book was a very nice product and was quickly shipped from the seller. Would love to order from seller again and trust product 100%.

except perhaps the late Ms. Nancy Lancaster! Mr. John Fowler would not have been who he was if it were not for Ms. Lancaster, period!

Another reviewer said it best: If only our decorators of today can know the histories about such people as these, they would have a better direction of where they're going. This is my opinion of course. Let's forget about the word decorator versus designer. My gosh, real decorators of yesterday are doing the same things that designers are doing today! The term used is just different. Forget all that, and know the history of interiors.

John Fowler was an extremely talented, true creator in every sense of the word. He was good at everything when it came to beauty and function. Nancy knew the right people to uplift him to new heights, and she was a damn good decorator in her own right. These people created rooms; rooms that will never be forgotten. These were creators! Their exquisite taste only accented their natural talent. Henrietta Spencer-Churchill carries on their spirit very well, and I only hope to be as good as they! :)

One can be aristocratic and have poor taste. Money does not give you good taste. Taste comes from within, and has its own solid foundation. This is a great book, and recommend it to every designer student highly.

I bought this book as a companion to the one I have on Colefax and Fowler. Have always admired the work of the firm. Enjoyed reading more about John Fowler and the projects he worked on.

Book's pictures are of poor quality and worse still, small in frame. Not worth the asking price.

John Fowler has and will continue to inspire the way I decorate my home...this book is full of lovely illustrations and photos and a very interesting read

I was dissapointed with the lack of quality "full page color photos" inside this book. One can not get a sense of the cozy details in Fowler's designs, in the pics represented within. I found the book mostly a biographical story rather than an inspirational journey through Fowler's career. Don't be fooled by the intimacy presented on the cover...once inside you might be surprised by the lack of warmth.

Authors Wendy Smedley and Aby Garvey take a unique approach that solves problems without being overwhelming, and the book even features a few projects readers can create to decorate their creative space with.

The Organized & Inspired Scrapbooker is spiral-bound and divided into three main sections. The first section is a step-by-step process of determining your needs for your organization and inspiration in your space. While seemingly not as in-depth as other books on the topic, it effectively addresses topics through broader concepts without bogging the reader down in distracting detail. In fact, I believe that it is the application of these broader concepts that has helped lead me to the solutions that I needed.

The second section is devoted to sample scrap spaces but is definitely more than just eye candy. Tucked between each room's detailed photographs are descriptions and explanations of the room's set-up and contents. Even if the room's occupant didn't have the same scrapping process as I do, it seemed that there was still a relevant storage or decor idea that I could take from each room.

The third section of Organized and Inspired focuses on projects that scrapbookers can create to store or display their supplies and creations. It is a beautiful reminder that our spaces should not just be practical but should be inspirational as well.

One of the most valuable parts of The Organized and Inspired Scrapbooker is the workbook that is tucked into a pocket in the back of the book. Consisting of a two page quiz and checklist for each of the book's first 11 chapters, the workbook walks the reader through identifying their personal organizational needs and style. Answering questions in that workbook is what made my personal lightbulb go on about what wasn't working for me in my storage set-up and made me realize why certain of my supplies were constantly ignored in my creative process.

The Organized and Inspired Scrapbooker is a simple but comprehensive way to re-evaluate your scrapbook area and improve things that aren't working for you. It is also a great source of inspiration to remind yourself that form and function do not have to be mutually exclusive - your scrap space can be nice to look at and nice to work at!

This book is really worthwhile if you are struggling to get your craft space so that you are using to the fullest. That is not all, the book is really helping me to rethink my scrapbooking techniques, what inspires me as well as the use of my products and what to do with what I am not using. I like the visual and the extra insert tests and information. A wonderful book if you need help to keep motivated and working on whatever you like to do. A+A+A+ all the way.

I am thoroughly impressed with this book. The ideas are great! Throughout this guide, you'll see creative ways to organize paper, ephemera, photos, and all kinds of supplies. At first glance the ideas may seem expensive, but most can be adapted using inexpensive or recycled containers and materials (think shoe boxes, clean jam jars, etc) -- including those little scraps of paper that can become labels and much more.

Though be warned, it all seems very time consuming, but time spent upfront organizing will help when it comes to having materials easily accessed when working on layouts. The organizing tips helpful, but there are also numerous scrapbook page ideas to boot! Inspiring for scrapbookers, artists and creative types trying to organzize a workroom or studio.

Beautiful spiral-bound book! I enjoy looking at the fabulous photos of the various scrap rooms and of all the organizational containers. Gives lots of great ideas. And plenty of fun reading and instruction on how to organize the many embellishments and paper we love to collect! Excellent book. It even looks pretty just sitting on my shelf. Worth every penny! Very happy that I bought it.

This book was just what I needed to figure out just what kind of scrapbooking space I wanted to create. I was able to see what style would work for me. I had tried several things in my scrapping space and it never seemed to work. Now I have used this book to help me create a wonderful creative room!! It is pretty too!!

I just finished reading Piers Paul Read's Alive (1974) a few days ago, and so fresh with names, maps and time lines, I had high hopes `Miracles in the Andes` would add a new dimension to this amazing story. Unfortunately I was somewhat disappointed, all the more so given the generally good reviews `Miracle` has been getting. It is perhaps inevitable in the shadow of Read's classic masterpiece that anything else will pale in comparison. The re-telling of events from Parrado's perspective is interesting but misses a lot - for example he was in a coma the first three days of the accident - and he doesn't seem to add much that is new to Read's version - which almost without exception is better told.

Beyond a retelling of the events, I had hoped Parrado would reveal something new about himself and the other survivors, but instead if often read like hagiography, glossing over the differences among the group to show them as united friends, discounting and minimizing character defects. It reminds me of how the Catholic Church writes history of saints, and it is probably no coincidence that the survivors were from Catholic backgrounds, and saints in the minds of true believers who saw the hand of God at work in this "Miracle in the Andres". I was hoping for a more in depth psychological examination of the survivors, a sort of personality x-ray to bring them to life, to intimately know them as friend or brother. Instead there is a polite respectful distance, which is frustrating, given the intimate nature of the experience.

Despite these sentiments I still recommend the book to anyone who has read `Alive`. Parrado's inner struggle with life and death - while not exactly original or new - is profound and worth the reminder of what is important. There are also new pictures, and an Epilogue with brief bio's of what happened to the survivors after the rescue to the present day. Whatever the faults, as the men age, and the myth grows, more books and films will appear to hopefully peel back more layers behind the "Miracle" in the Andres.

I finished this book last night and was touched many times by the insight and humility of the author's story. This book contains sobering lessons of how powerless we are against the forces of nature, as well as the honest questioning of a God who would allow these things to happen. The conclusions the author comes to, after 30 years of soul-searching, are courageous and down-to-earth.

The author's loyalty to his friends and fellow survivors is also admirable, as well as his loyalty to the memory of the ones who didn't survive. He seems to have taken away big lessons from his ordeal, which is all we can ask of ourselves when something of this tragic magnitude happens.

When I first read this book it took me back to Alive by Piers Paul Read & I remembered how special Nando was in the story. I was madly in love with Nando for his common sense and bravery. I still have that original book. Finding Miracle in the Andes was a special surprise because it's HIS story of it all. It is such a good book that I know I'll keep this one forever too, and read it over and over. I read Alive several times and I intend to go back and read it all over again too now. It touches your heart. I was so sad about Susie. Nando's mom too of course, but Susie seemed special to me. It's not surprising that Nando has become a huge success. His wife and daughters are beautiful, as he is. His life has shown that he's an extraordinary person.
Barbara,
Ukiah, CA

An amazing story that I couldn't put down! I was awestruck by the sheer impossibility of anyone surviving. The most striking moment was under the avalanche in which Nando surrendered his life and was ready to die.
Their courage and instincts for survival were amazing. The message I took away is that love can inspire a person to do miraculous things and that God is too distant to rely on or understand. While I myself am a strong Christian, I still enjoyed the story. Finally, the book was well written with inner monologues and background and mixed with just enough detail to keep the story moving along. I highly recommend this book to any adventure/survival story lover, or anyone who wants to ponder the human spirit.

Nando Parrado has wriiten a great book, not only on survival skills, but on the Leadership it took to pull the survivors together to work as a team.

The first half of the book was kind of slow, but by the middle I couldn't put it down! It was wonderful and had a few surprises. I am trying to read all of Jane Austen's books...so far I have only read this, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma. I would have to say I like both P&P and Emma better than Mansfield Park, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy this book!

I ordered all the books at once and they came in in a very timely matter. Not to mention the books were in excellent shape as if I just picked them up from Books a Million down the street.

I just finished this novel after having read Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion. It took me a while to get pulled into this novel because I really was not expecting that much from reading other opinions. Slowly I became absorbed by the personality of Fanny. She was doing an incredible job of turning Fanny gradually toward Henry Crawford and you were starting to like him when all of a sudden it was like she just got tired of the story and decided to contrive an ending. It did not fit into the ending she was developing. Edmund was starting to look like milk toast and Crawford and Fanny's relationship was starting to warm up. I think it was by far her best writing but how disappointing an ending. Someone should rewrite it.

Jane Austen finished "Mansfield Park" in 1813, after "Sense and Sensibility" and "Pride and Prejudice." It is a more complex novel than either of its precedessors or its successors ("Emma", "Persuasion", and "Northanger Abbey"). Its heroine, Fanny Price, is rather the middle child in Austen's sisterhood, often overlooked when compared to her more attractive older sisters or more interesting younger sisters. Still, Fanny Price is worth getting to know.

One of a growing brood of children in a lower middle class family in Portsmouth, Fanny is placed for raising with her much wealthier Aunt and Uncle Bertram at Mansfield Park in the English countryside. The ten year-old Fanny is painfully shy, physically sickly, and less educated than her Bertram cousins, who mostly ignore or make subtle fun of her. Her Aunt Norris, responsible for the day-to-day raising of her cousins, thrives on tormenting Fanny. Only her cousin Edmund takes an interest in her. Under his guidance, she begins to catch up to her cousins as she matures into an attractive young woman. Most importantly, she fortifies a strong sense of morality.

The prolonged absence of Fanny's Uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram, to tend to his estates in Antigua, leaves the household under the uncertain leadership of Aunt Norris, just as the wealthy Mary and Henry Crawford arrive from London. Mary and Henry are the same age as the older Bertram children, but worldly, manipulative, and less grounded in solid values. Henry flirts shamelessly with Fanny's engaged cousin Maria and trifles with Maria's younger sister Julia, while Mary flaunts her considerable charms at Edmund. The Bertrams are tempted into inappropriate behavior, which only Fanny resists.

Sir Thomas re-imposes order upon his return from the Caribbean. Maria is married off to a wealthy if rather stupid neighbor. Edmund courts Mary Crawford, to the distress of Fanny, who has an interes in Edmund and who sees Mary for the shallow manipulator she is. Fanny herself is courted by Henry Crawford, who starts by trifling with her emotions but comes to seek her as a wife. Great pressure is placed on Fanny by Sir Thomas, by Edmund, and by Mary to accept Henry as an advantageous match.

The anguished Fanny holds her ground, and is effectively exiled to Portsmouth, where she finds little to love in her vulgar birth family except a promising younger sister. In her absence, the Bertram family falls to pieces in sickness and scandal. Fanny will be summoned back to Mansfield Park, with a final opportunity for personal happiness.

As Tony Tanner's excellent introduction makes clear, Fanny is unique among Austen heroines in her invariably good moral sense. Her attraction as a character is based less on the personal growth and maturation we expect in a Austen heroine and more on her perseverence in the face of very attractive temptations and seemingly reasonable pressures. It is Austen's genius to insert complex characters into the subtle relationships between four families in the story. The story provides a fascinating venue for social commentary and compelling domestic drama. The witty and enthusiastic but morally flawed Crawfords, for example, seem more attractive than the shy, vulnerable, and withdrawn Fanny or the understated Edmund.

"Mansfield Park" is very highly recommended to fans of Jane Austen's romances. Its complex characters and storyline may ultimately be as rewarding to the reader as the more popular novels.

If all the Austen books were sisters, Mansfield Park would be the quiet, pensively courageous sibling of the six. Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, and Persuasion all seem to glow like ladies at a ball. (Northanger Abbey would, I guess, be the sister who plays piano and can't really sing...although she tries...)

I felt this novel to have a wonderfully theatrical feel, a closet drama of sorts. The above novels are like social epics whereas Mansfield Park appears stately, stoic and unto itself, thoughtful in a way the others aren't. I still think the other novels are excellent but there is something reserved about this one in particular. I am not a dedicated Austen lover but I would chose this one over the others simply because it is the less popular and to me, the most fascinating. The social-relationship dynamics are similar to the other novels - i.e. learning that the pretty face doesn't always have a pretty soul.

Let's put it this way, I'll probably read this novel again before the others. This is the sister I would like to know, to talk with and share philosophy with. The other sisters, in my opinion are great to dance with and they'll certainly entertain you. Nothing wrong in that.

This book has the best cover and it looks like a great idea book for setting up a creative space or improving a space. I was not as happy with it as with a few other craft space books out there. It you like reading about women who are already professional in some form or another and thier craft spaces this is your book. For that is truly the gist of the book. I enjoyed it and while it wasn't exactly what I was looking for I found some great motivation from it. Jnetti.

This book was very inspiring. I definately got some good ideas that I'll try for my own studio (when I have one that is). And some nice ideas for around the home creation areas too. I love to create. This book is about others creation spaces. I can definately appreciate that!
Create on!

I bought this bought because I am designing my own studio and wanted some ideas. I found this book VERY inspiring and full of great ideas! I recommend it to anyone designing their own creative space!

Delightful book, I especially enjoyed the "peek" into April Cornell, Kitty Bartholomew & Dee Gruenig's rooms!
Even though all the rooms where set-up for the photo shoot, if you look closely you will get an idea of their personalities...
Great photography and wonderful little Tips from the participants.

The pictures are a feast for the eyes and an inspiration to both organize and create. It's easy to understand how working in these spaces helps these women create their works of art. I can look at the pictures over and over again and see something new every time.

Since our daughters were babies;I knew I wanted to homeschool.
I have used an unschooling approach until the age of 5 when I had to make a real choice(due to my state regulations). This book helped me find myself as an unschooler, and have the courage to teach and learn with my kids our own way. The resource sections are wonderful as well!

I'm not an "unschooler" but I was intrigued by the book's subtitle. I'm a big fan of experiential learning so I thought that the book might have some useful resources for hands-on exploration. In fact, it does have a number of good ideas for the various subjects in chapters 5-9 and for that reason, I'm glad that I decided to read it.

I noticed that a lot of what Ms. Griffith touts as benefits of "unschooling" are not specific to that particular approach but rather are benefits of homeschooling in general. Things like tailoring learning to the specific needs of each child, having a home environment conducive to exploration and experimentation, using authentic assessments such as portfolios rather than traditional grades and tests, interacting with people of many different ages rather than being segregated with their chronological peers, etc. The "day in the life of an unschooler" examples didn't really sound a whole lot different than what most homeschoolers I know do except for the hour or two of formal lessons.

There was basically just a lot of "interviews" or opinions from unschoolers and not a lot of "structure" to the book - but that is what maybe makes if good for unschooling! I was hoping for a bit more specifics on what unschoolers do or how they go about using the whole world as their kids' classroom, but most of what I got out of the book was just that unschoolers just do whatever they feel like doing (whatever makes their kids happy). Perhaps the method itself doesn't work as well for kindergarten or the early years (when my son would just like to watch dvds all day) because I can't see a young child directing their own learning and still being able to learn the necessary basics (writing, reading, etc.) But aside from my lack of enthusiasm for unschooling as a whole, I still feel disappointed by this "handbook." When I bought it I was considering unschooling as an option for our family and wanted more direction and specific examples; this book seemed vague and incredibly wordy - it reads like a novel and I would have preferred more of a concise topical format, perhaps organized by subject matter or age level.

I am a parent of two who are not close to school age, but I have been looking into alternative education methods for the future, such as the Montessori method. This was recommended to me by Amazon, and I decided to read it because I thought the concept was interesting, to use the world around you as an educational resource. Let me tell you, I was blown away. This book presents the concept of unschooling in a very persuasive manner. It really got me thinking. This is not an instructional guide (which would be completely against the concept of unschooling whatsoever) so if you're looking at reading this to get a better idea of how to unschool, you'll waste your time. This is more of an encouraging resource for those who are currently unschooling, going to unschool, or considering it. The book has alot of testimony from parents and their children who are unschooling, and alot of other resources if you want to know more about what works in tandem with the unschooling philosophy. This book is also like an FAQ in regards to unschoolers (or potential unschoolers) biggest fears, "How will I teach them higher level maths?" "What about socialization?" "Will my children actually WANT to learn on their own??" I like this book because it didn't slam other teaching methods or throw a bunch of biased facts in my face (I admit a few of the testimonials kinda come off "a little Holier than thou" in regards to traditional schooling though) I would say that this book is very reassuring and comforting to have if you are considering this method of teaching. It's like a personal cheerleader. I loved it. I plan on discussing this method with my husband to see what he thinks, but I'll tell you that my heart is all for this method of teaching. This book will really make you sit back and rethink about education methods.
Also, keep in mind that this book was written in like 1998, so some of the resources provided to the reader may probably be outdated, but anyone who's remotely internet savy will probably figure this out anyway and know how to get more info on unschooling on the internet.

I love this book! It helped be to better understand "going with the flow" of the educational process and not stressing myself out so much about it. The examples were very helpful for giving me ideas that might work for our family. Plus the resources of other books, websites, etc, will keep me busy for a while. Unschooling is really living a life of education. This is the tool to get going.

May be of interest to househunters trying to envision what their happy home to be might want to be. It's basically a selective history of the concepts of home and comfort, related to changing forms of the family, over the last four or five hundred years. It's full of interesting factoids, probably ultimately of less significance than Rybczynski had hoped, but he's a good writer and charming (a hair too warm and fuzzy for me). It's a light, easy and pleasant read. It didn't leave me with anything of substance that stuck in my memory, but I definitely enjoyed reading it. It's the type of book you curl up with next to a fire with a skim mocha nutmeg and cinnamon whatever when you need to give your brain a break but can't quite stoop to watching American Idol. Okay, sorry - it's a much better book than that. And it's fun - and we all probably need to have a little fun now and then (in between reading all these serious books and growing our big, fat brains). But in the end it's not really substantial.

You probably have notions about what "home" means, and those notions probably revolve around your immediate family, domestic comfort and convenience, with a dash of nostalgia. Most likely you share my sense that home has been thus for a long time, subject to the whims of fashion and demands of social hierarchy. What I learned from Witold Rybczynski is that those are very near-sighted suppositions. The modern (Western) idea of a home is very new, historically. Even the notion of "family" that occupies so much of modern political cant, and seems so central to our social organization, goes back no further than the early 18th Century. Households before that time were comprised of groups of working adults, house owners and employees and servants, plus infants. Children were farmed out as apprentices at a tender age -- even in the wealthiest households where fortunate youngsters were placed as servants to courtiers and nobles in order to learn the ropes of oligarchy. Privacy was rare. Beds were built to handle 6-8 adults and work tables often tripled as dining boards and sleeping platforms. Rybczynski artfully traces the development of the modern household, decor and furnishing, to enable a deep understanding of why we live as we do, what works and what doesn't. As an architect he reserves some of his harshest criticism for his fellows, and neatly shoots down such icons as Le Corbusier and Wright who were too hung on their brilliance to notice that things weren't working. (As I reported in my review of Stewart Brand's excellent HOW BUILDINGS LEARN, Viking, 1994, most -- if not all -- of Frank Lloyd Wright's houses leaked, badly. HOME reports that they didn't work as living quarters either.) This author's highest praise falls to the women who invented household engineering in the late 1800s, stepping into the architectural void, inventing home economics, and shaping the modern home to suit the needs of a servantless woman charged with housekeeping and child rearing. Catherine E. Beecher and Ellen Richards come in for particular commendation. Modern furniture also falls under the author's verbal axe. Designed for style instead of comfort, he describes its advent as a foolish embrace of creativity above function, and offers the detailed research in France under the Louises (Louies?), which erupted as Chippendale and Hepplewhite designs: templates which carefully noted dimensions and proportions that actually fit a human body and allowed for the constant movement necessary to ongoing comfort. The only modern chairs which come near to the standard set in those classic designs are found in the best mechanical chairs, made to be adjusted to the user's body and to flex with movement. (More often to be found in office furniture than in a home.) Altogether an illuminating look at the circumstances of our lives. For this reviewer, who spent 20 years inventing an "alternative" house from scratch, it is greatly amusing to learn that I have spent a lot of hours reinventing wheels rounded out a hundred years ago. Talk about being forced to repeat history one has failed to learn! Been there. And so it goes.

Home is an articulate, rapid reading book about the developements leading to the current concept of "home". Tying history, architecture, sociology and technology together the emerging concept of home and comfort developes in clear visualizations.
After reading this book I now appreciate the evolution of the contradictory outlooks over time and how they affect our current drives in creating our personal living spaces.

Witold Rybczynski's Home: A Short History Of An Idea, is an historical and informational text following the devlopment of the concept of home and discusses the psychological effects of different types of dwellings and personal space, architecture, and society. Home is a well-structured and planned tracing of society's development of the concepts of home and comfort and relates to today's audiences with a new perspective on where and how they live. One of Mr. Rybczynski's strengths as a writer is his conversational writing style and the flow of the organization of his main ideas.
Home instantly dives into the development of society's ideas of comfort and home with an almost staggering jump into a strong comparison and analysis of the four style lines of the Ralph Lauren collection. Mr. Rybczynski highlights the different aspects of the setting that Lauren creates to entice the public and the different props he uses to create this feeling of home. Home utilizes the time line approach, begining in the medieval era, to explain Ralph Lauren's heightend understanding of the public's ideas of comfort. Mr. Rybczynski also examines the work of Le Corbusier and relates the modernist movement with current modern trends.
Mr. Rybczynski's book remeinds architects and interior designers that even in today's society it is easy to get caught up in what is in style or what would make a statement rather than what is comfertable for occupants to inhabit. I recommend Mr. Rybczynski's book to anyone who would appreciate seeing their home in a whole new way.

So, I am predisposed to like Rybczynski -- his biography of Frederick Law Olmsted, "A Clearing in the Distance," is one of my favorites.

Sure enough, I liked "Home" as well. It describes the invention of the concepts of "home" and "comfort" and "domesticity." Those are not things I ever thought of as having been invented; but if Rybczynski is right, they were, and relatively recently at that.

Worth noting: My favorite chapter was the one on the Netherlands in the 1600s -- a really, really interesting society, it turns out, for a lot of different reasons.

Also: The book has lots of interesting notes on the history of furniture, especially the chair.

Finally: Above all this is a book that makes you look at familiar surroundings with new eyes.