false 15588 2 In <I>Last Harvest</i>, the award-winning author of <I>Home</i> and <I>A Clearing in the Distance</i> tells the compelling story of New Daleville, a brand-new residential subdivision in rural Pennsylvania. When Witold Rybczynski first heard about New Daleville, it was only a developer's idea, attached to ninety acres of cornfield an hour and a half west of Philadelphia. Over the course of five years, Rybczynski met everyone involved in the transformation of this land -- from the developers, to the community leaders whose approvals they needed, to the home builders and sewage experts and, ultimately, the first families who moved in.<P><P>Always eloquent and illuminating, Rybczynski looks at this "neotraditional" project, with its houses built close together to encourage a sense of intimacy and community, and explains the trends in American domestic architecture -- from where we place our kitchens and fences to why our bathrooms get larger every year.<P><P>As <I>Publishers Weekly</i> said, "Rybczynski provides historical and cultural perspective in a style reminiscent of Malcolm Gladwell, debunking the myth of urban sprawl and explaining American homeowners' preference for single-family dwellings. But Rybczynski also excels at 'the close-up,' John McPhee's method of reporting, where every interview reads like an intimate conversation, and a simple walk down neighborhood sidewalks can reveal a wealth of history."<P><P><I>Last Harvest</i> is a charming must-read for anyone interested in where we live today -- and why -- by one of our most acclaimed and original cultural writers.<P><P> 17436 17 4 2007 Last Harvest: How a Cornfield Became New Daleville: Real Estate Development in America from George Washington to the Builders of the Twenty-First Century and Why We Live in Houses Anyway total:107|5:0|4:1|3:2|2:1|1:0| 107 367 207 37 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 19:48:56 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 19:48:56 -0800 2009
This book is a pretty decent recounting of the development process from inception to completion. For anyone who assumes that real estate developers are heartless, soulless, gutless, phallicly-challenged, money-grubbing bastards,...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Dec 10 03:56:41 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 10 03:57:52 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue May 22 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Nov 09 14:59:56 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 09 14:59:56 -0800 2009 Last Harvest by Witold Rybczynski, which is the story of how a piece of land in Pennsylvania was developed according to "neotraditional" principles.

I expected to like this book a lot, in part because of the familiar scenery ("The Arcadia offices are in a ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 26 05:44:36 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 26 05:54:17 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Sep 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 20 17:35:33 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 29 21:14:54 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Mar 07 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 28 21:34:25 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 10 13:42:51 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Oct 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 08 14:54:46 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 13 08:59:27 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 04 05:37:08 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 22 08:44:57 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 30 07:48:11 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 09 07:32:42 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 20 20:07:47 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 20 20:17:42 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 12 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 13 01:14:55 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 13 01:20:23 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu May 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 21 23:36:11 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 05 09:38:35 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jul 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 11 16:04:56 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 11 16:07:39 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Tue Jul 28 14:44:50 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 28 14:44:50 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 09 09:00:11 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 09 09:01:12 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Jan 18 17:54:25 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 17:55:28 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Tue Apr 01 08:33:03 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 02 14:23:09 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 02 14:28:22 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Dec 15 10:06:22 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 15 10:06:39 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Sun Oct 05 22:23:36 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 05 22:32:37 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Feb 13 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 07 12:47:21 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 13 20:46:39 -0800 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=15588