An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn

I was hoping for more and bigger pictures.Vague writing. Sometimes hard to follow.

Francis Morrone's new book on the architecture of Brooklyn proves once again that he is not just a masterful prose stylist, he is a uniquely high-spirited urbanist of wide-ranging tastes, keen architectural discrimination and infectious enthusiasms. At every page I wanted to jump up and rush out to Brooklyn to walk up and down the streets with *An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn* in hand, sharing Francis Morrone's delight in Brooklyn's wonderful, and even its less wonderful, buildings. A popular lecturer on New York City history at NYU, and long-time principal guide for the Municipal Art Society of New York, Morrone does not merely describe the architecture of his own borough, Brooklyn, he savors it, he uncovers it--many Brooklyn treasures have never been described in print before this book--and he loves it. He knows the fascinating histories of the buildings and their owners, he knows his architecture, he looks not just at the buildings but at the neighborhoods and the whole borough. He has read deeply, he has walked the streets of the borough many times, and his research has even taken him to the best web sites. A wonderful, richly detailed, helpfully illustrated book for every urbanist, architecture fan, history buff and, indeed, for every reader. If you love cities, architecture and good writing, read this book!

I just bought this book and I absolutely love it. It's a treasure that I'm sure I'll take with me on many a weekend walk around Brooklyn. True to the title, this is an excellent guidebook to Brooklyn, but it's much more than this. It includes lots of historical and cultural information about the buildings, political figures and architects connected to the various neighborhoods and buildings that Morrone describes. Obviously the author feels the same love for the borough that many Brooklynites share, and this comes through in the affectionate and informative details he relates. The layout is very reader-friendly as well, and the photos (though black and white) capture many of the most noteworthy buildings. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in city architecture and history.

If you know of or live in Brooklyn, this is a bible on the structure of this great borough!

Morrone's passion for urban life is infectious. He puts things in a broad historical and cultural context to give a real sense of how and why the neighborhoods of Brooklyn evolved. Few books of this kind even attempt to do that, let alone do it well. The book is well written, with many astute observations, and often very funny.