Gillian Darley

This is a delightful work, and leaves me wanting to read more in the series of "Wonders of the Word." While starting with Pliny's observations, the most interesting parts of the book for me were the role that Vesuvius played in various Grand Tours taken in the 17th and 18th centuries. The accounts by these travelers are fascinating, as is the role played by the volcano in the development of modern geology. The present situation, reminiscent of that of ancient witless Pompeii, ends the book on a somber note.… (altro)

I picked up this intriguing-looking little book from the counter of my favorite bookstore when I was buying something else, and I am glad it was little because it wasn't as intriguing as I had hoped. Darley looks at how others have looked at Vesuvius, from the classical era to the Renaissance to the romantics to the budding scientists of the 18th and 19th centuries to today, from artists and writers to diplomats and impressarios and tourists. While this is mildly interesting, although more than I wanted to know, I would have preferred a different book, one that talked about the geology and the impact on the people who lived and live near Vesuvius, including the ones who even today are building their houses further and further up the slope of a still active volcano. So I can't really criticize the book; it just wasn't completely to my taste. Fun pictures, though.… (altro)

I often buy books like this, I look at the pictures, I browse the text, I discover an unreadable level of pretentiousness and I shelve it for future reference. Not so in this case. I read this book with great interest and am impressed by its readability and the quality of research. Despite our almost total dependence on manufactured products this is a minority interest. There is no great curiosity about how the manufacturing process has left its mark on our landscape or about the ways in which factory architecture has influenced mainstream design. Albion Mill, Cromford, Saltaire, Ford, Fiat, Boots, Van Nelle, Spirella and Fagus are all described and placed in cultural and historical context. The idea of the factory as advertising is explored, making clear that the decline in this activity is due mainly to the easy availability of modern publicity media and the practice of outsourcing manufacturing to developing countries. I was reminded of the infamous events of August Bank Holiday, 1980 when the Firestone factory was demolished by the egregious Trafalgar House in an act of Thatcherite opportunist phillistinism. I learned about the Pilkington village of Kirk Sandall near Doncaster and the Menier factory in Noisiel and the Templeton Carpet Factory in Glasgow and whilst I appreciate this is not designed to be a Field Guide, it would have been a bonus if the author had found space for just a line to indicate the fate or visibility of the buildings she describes. Still, it is a rare pleasure to read a book that makes the reader want to explore the subject in more detail and is both lucid and well informed throughout.… (altro)