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Witold Rybczynski (Photo credit: Michael Cooper)
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Rybczynski’s book ranges over topics as varied as shopping malls, Central Park (a NYC Scenic Landmark), the Opéra Bastille, and America’s shrinking cities. Along the way, he examines our post-9/11 obsession with security, the revival of the big-city library, the rise of college towns, our fascination with vacation homes, and Disney’s planned community of Celebration. Rybczynski ponders the role of global metropolises in an age of tourism and reflects on what kinds of places attract us in the modern city.
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*Witold Rybczynski is the author of award-winning books Home: The History of an Idea; A Clearing in the Distance: Frederick Law Olmsted and America in the Nineteenth Century; City Life: Urban Expectations in a New World; The Most Beautiful House in the World; and How Architecture Works: A Humanist’s Toolkit. Rybczynski has also written about architecture for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and the New York Times.
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**Constance Rosenblum formerly wrote for the Real Estate section of the New York Times and was the former editor of the paper’s City and Arts & Leisure sections. She is the author of Gold Digger: The Outrageous Life and Times of Peggy Hopkins Joyce, which was named an editor’s choice by The New Yorker, and Boulevard of Dreams, a history of the Grand Concourse. Rosenblum is also the author ofHabitats: Private Lives in the Big City, which is a collection of pieces from her New York Times column, Habitats.
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Praise for Mysteries of the Mall
“A deft and sensible guide, Rybczynski charms, challenges, and finally, welcomes us into a world we may never have realized could be so enthralling… This one is required reading for anyone interested in the story of architecture-or the shape of the modern world.”
~Dustin Illingworth, The Brooklyn Rail
“[Rybczynski’s] writing is, like his architectural leanings, clear and civil, and full of cocktail-worthy trivia.”
~Mike Doherty, Maclean’s
“A superb book for those interested in architectural history, written in an easygoing style by a man with encyclopedic knowledge and an obvious great love for building.”
~Kirkus Reviews
“[Rybczynski is] an eloquent critic with a range of interests as broad as his voluminous published work… the prose sparkles… Over the course of his career, Rybczynski has proven a deft guide to the work of countless architects; here, he is just as sage a curator of his own criticism.”
~Anthony Paletta, Publishers Weekly
“Throughout the collection, Rybczynski’s writing is clear-headed and thoughtful, knowledgeable but unpretentious… the awe, appreciation and wonder that Rybczynski has for architecture can be infectious.”
~Anna Weiner, The New Republic