A Living Architecture: Frank Lloyd Wright and Taliesin Architects

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From the Publisher

Mr. Wright's vision lives on in Taliesin Architects

The Wrong Stuff

A Living Architecture: Frank Lloyd Wright and Taliesin Architects
John Rattenbury
Manufacturer: Pomegranate Communications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0764913662

Customer Reviews:

From the Publisher.......2005-11-20

"Three hundred full-color illustrations and elucidating text showcase the work of the Taliesin Architects, a firm started by the students and coworkers of legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright after his death in 1959. Guided by a desire to create buildings in harmony with nature; to make a positive contribution to the way people live; and to keep Wright's vision alive, this book offers an overview of Taliesin Architects' work of the past forty years and a succinct summary of his design principles.

"John Rattenbury worked and studied with Frank Lloyd Wright for eight years. Since he cofounded Taliesin Architects, he has designed more than two hundred architectural and planning projects. Rattenbury teaches design and professional practice at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture and lectures throughout the United States.

"296 pages, size: 10.5" square. 300 color photographs and drawings. Casebound book, with dust jacket. ISBN: 0-7649-1366-2."--© Pomegranate

Mr. Wright's vision lives on in Taliesin Architects.......2000-12-01

I had no idea of the quantity and quality of the work that has been and is still being brought forth by the Taliesin Architects! Projects that were not realized in Mr. Wright's time have been brought forth lovingly and true to his vision of "organic" architecture. Not to mention the breathtaking original homes, churches, auditoriums, nursing homes, banks, hotels, mobile homes (YES!) and other moderate cost housing. Not copies of the works of their inspiring teacher, Mr. Wright would not have that! They have found their own way of "organic" architecture that would make Mr. Wright proud!

The Wrong Stuff.......2000-11-06

John Rattenbury's 'A Living Architecture: Frank Lloyd Wright and
Taliesin Architects' is the kind of 'coffee table' book that gives the
concept of the coffee table book a bad name. The publisher's
advertising blurb seems to promise an intelligent and inclusive
examination of Wright's Taliesin Fellowship, founded in 1932. Instead
we get a brief mention of only 3 of the many apprentices who studied
at the architect's elbow, and little else regarding an in-depth
history of the movement. The blurb goes on to promise a substantial
survey of the designs of the fellowship's numerous graduates since
Wright's death, again to concentrate instead on the work, much of it
mediocre indeed, of only a few, the author himself getting the lion
share of the mention. Rattenbury also spends some considerable length
in a rehashing of Wright's definition of organic architecture, a
definition that can be found in dozens of published tracts by Wright
himself, all available for far less cost than this tome demands. The
definition presented is general, simplistic, often derivative, and
offers nothing fresh to the veteran admirer of Wright; while someone
coming new to that great architect would be far better served to
expose himself to Wright through far better - and far less expensive -
introductory works such as those by Scully or Hitchcock or Twombly. As
a former apprentice and now teacher for Taliesin Architects,
Rattenbury limits himself to mainly uncritical press agentry for that
group, in a format almost totally devoid of depth or
scholarship. Strongly not recommended for anyone but the most satiated
Wright fan looking for yet another expensive, 'skin deep' presentation
trading on Wright's name and glory.

The Fellowship: The Untold Story of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Fellowship

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On a 20th Century Footing
the whole story
Racy, readable, delightful.
Flawed, like the man
Fascinating book

The Fellowship: The Untold Story of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Fellowship
Roger Friedland , and Harold Zellman
Manufacturer: Harper
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060393882
Release Date: 2006-08-22

Book Description

Frank Lloyd Wright was renowned during his life not only as an architectural genius, but as a subject of controversy—from his radical design innovations to his turbulent private life, including the notorious mass murder that occurred at his Wisconsin estate, Taliesin, in 1914. Yet, as this landmark new book reveals, that estate also gave rise to one of the most fascinating and provocative experiments in American cultural history: the Taliesin Fellowship, an extraordinary architectural colony where Wright trained hundreds of devoted apprentices, while using them as the de facto architectural practice where all of his late masterpieces—Fallingwater, Johnson Wax, the Guggenheim Museum—were born.

A decade in the making, The Fellowship draws on hundreds of new and unpublished interviews, along with countless unseen documents from the Wright archives, to create a captivating portrait of Taliesin and the three mercurial figures at its center: Wright, his imperious wife Olgivanna Hinzenberg, and her spiritual master, the Greek-Armenian mystic Georgi Gurdjieff. Authors Roger Friedland and Harold Zellman reveal how the idealistic community of Taliesin became a kind of fiefdom, where young apprentices were both inspired and manipulated by the architect and his wife. They trace the decades-long war of wills between Wright and Olgivanna, in which organic architecture was pitted against esoteric spiritualism in a struggle for the soul of Taliesin. They chronicle Wright's perennial battles with clients, bankers, and the government, which suspected him of both communist and fascist sympathies. And through it all they tell the stories of Wright's devoted apprentices—many of them gay men—who found an uncertain refuge in the architect's Wisconsin and Arizona compounds, and who helped the master realize his dreamlike architectural visions, often at great personal cost.

Epic in scope yet intimate in its detail, The Fellowship is an unforgettable story of genius and ego, sex and violence, mysticism and utopianism—a magisterial work of biography that will forever change how we think about Frank Lloyd Wright and his world.

Customer Reviews:

On a 20th Century Footing.......2007-08-16

The 20th Century was to have been the era of transformation in which the human race, and indeed human nature itself was to be wholly revised and repaired. There were as many different formulas as there were thinkers and doers. From Lenin to the Ayatollahs, everyone had a plan to bring paradise back from the lost and found. It hardly needs to be said that all of the various visions found themselves at war with each other. More than 100 million people died in the ensuing competition.

Frank Lloyd Wright thought that transformation would be a natural result of living in a dwelling that conformed with his ideas of "organic architecture". The dwelling would be properly sited in a non-urban, highly programmed, planned community. He hated cities.

In the Taliesin Fellowship, Wright had the opportunity to operate his vision the way a model railroad enthusiast operates a miniature transportation network. The results are instructive. The story is a most entertaining read and well told by the authors, Roger Friedland and Harold Zellman. The writing is excellent. The narrative has everything: sex, power, ego, mysticism, a grand vision, vivid characters, tragedy and madness.

Frank Lloyd Wright has been called the greatest architect of the 20th Century. He may be. It will remain an article of debate for as long as people care about 20th Century building. There is no debate that he lived in interesting times. The Taliesin Fellowship is an excellent mirror in which to glimpse both some of the glory and some of the horror of that time.

the whole story.......2007-08-02

Like many former apprentices I learned much more about Olgivanna
than I knew from my own contact during the time I was apprenticed at
Taliesin. It never occurred to me that she was indeed cruel--I just thought she was
FLLW's means to keep himself free of the logistics of housekeeping.
He never expressed much liking for the mystic Gurjieff, and Olgivanna set up the school
following Wright's death which spelled the demise of Wright's ideas in favor of the mystic.

I am sorry that the existing remnants of the Fellowship at Taliesin
seem to have prevailed in denying this exposition. The idolization of
Olgivanna persists!

The book reveals it all and is a great read!

Bill Patrick

Racy, readable, delightful........2007-07-03

What fun this book is! I could hardly put it down. A fascinating, almost embarrassingly readable entree into a group of brilliant, talented and contradictory people who literally changed the face of America. Frank Lloyd Wright comes across as a conflicted and rather scary genius who attracted star-struck acolytes prepared to put up with his mercurial humors; his family and entourage are equally vividly brought to life, as is the fascinating intellectual and artistic spirit of the times in which Wright's unique vision was born and developed. Some critics claim that sources are not cited - not true, they are, dozens of pages of them, but you don't realize they're there until you've finished the book (no callouts in the main text). Treat yourself to this one, you're almost certain to love it, and learn from it too.

Flawed, like the man.......2007-06-14

If you liked muckraking author Seymour Hirsch's sensationalist book about the Kennedy Administration, "The Dark Side of Camelot", then you'll lover "The Fellowship". If you would prefer an objective, concise, and balanced review of Mr. Wright's architecture as well as his personal life, then you would be better served by reading the revered architectural critic Ada Louise Huxtable's recent book, "Frank Lloyd Wright", from the "Penguin Lives" series of biographies. Ms. Huxtable is both a Pulitzer Prize winner and a MacArthur Fellow, which puts her credibility head and shoulders above the authors of "The Fellowship", one of whom sounds like he could be a disciple of Gurdjieff himself.

Fascinating book.......2007-06-12

Not only did this book teach me a lot about architecture, it also presented a highly entertaining soap opera about an incredible bunch of people. Fun read.

Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders

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All My Life I Have Been Plagued by Fires
"Enquiring minds want to know" journalism
Well Done
This book has it all
A Great Read!

Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders
William R. Drennan
Manufacturer: University of Wisconsin Press
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0299222101

Book Description

The most pivotal and yet least understood event of Frank Lloyd Wright’s celebrated life involves the brutal murders in 1914 of seven adults and children dear to the architect and the destruction by fire of Taliesin, his landmark residence, near Spring Green, Wisconsin. Unaccountably, the details of that shocking crime have been largely ignored by Wright’s legion of biographersâa historical and cultural gap that is finally addressed in William Drennan’s exhaustively researched Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders.
In response to the scandal generated by his open affair with the proto-feminist and free love advocate Mamah Borthwick Cheney, Wright had begun to build Taliesin as a refuge and "love cottage" for himself and his mistress (both married at the time to others).
Conceived as the apotheosis of Wright’s prairie house style, the original Taliesin would stand in all its isolated glory for only a few months before the bloody slayings that rocked the nation and reduced the structure itself to a smoking hull.
Supplying both a gripping mystery story and an authoritative portrait of the artist as a young man, Drennan wades through the myths surrounding Wright and the massacre, casting fresh light on the formulation of Wright’s architectural ideology and the cataclysmic effects that the Taliesin murders exerted on the fabled architect and on his subsequent designs.

Customer Reviews:

All My Life I Have Been Plagued by Fires.......2007-09-29

Ever since I studied FLW as a freshman in architecture school, I wondered how he made it thru such a dark and difficult time. So when I found this book, I had to get it. I have always admired and actually enjoyed studying FLW designs and visiting his works. I had read that he was very arrogant but most of what I had read just glossed over his personal life and focused on his work.........which is ok. In fact when I can, I tend to use his design vocabulary in my designs. After reading this book I am truly sickened to discover how much of jerk and crook FLW truly was. How a father of six children could leave and not just leave but stay away from them for over a year? I am grateful that I did not know him as a person and that I cannot relate to his behavior at any level.

Given that, I have no idea how such a loser could be such an architectural genius? If it takes an ego of this magnitude to BE a genius, I am grateful that I am not one.

It appears that the author has researched the Taliesin murders in great depth. There are over 30 pages of footnotes! Drennan's analysis for me is sound. The only thing I could not agree with was that FLW's houses became fortifications after the Taliesin murders. If you read the book "Wright Space: Pattern and Meaning in Frank Lloyd Wright's Houses" you will find that all his houses were sanctuaries of refuge starting with the hidden entrance. That's one of the characteristics of what his clients loved about the houses, security and privacy. Did FLW look for ways to prevent fires after the murders........yes as all competent architects should, would and do.

It is clear that he got caught up in some bad karma. The Spring Green community hated him the most and believed that FLW committed the murders. Even the parts of Taliesin that were burnt (living quarters) versus the parts that remained untouched (design studio) reflected his life.

There is not much evidence to support racial hatred towards Julian Carlton, the alleged murderer and arsonist, but being so close to the time of the civil war, it seems likely that there was. I still don't understand why they let the wife go. She was found hiding dressed in her Sunday's best? She had answers that remained hidden.

No matter how much FLW deserved getting what was dished out to him, you can't help but pity the man when at the end of the book, one of his apprentices heard him walking the grounds of Taliesin in the dark repeating the following statement over and over, "All my life I have been plagued by fires, All my life I have been plagued by fires.............."

Fire is not a plague but a form of spiritual purification.

Brilliantly written. I had a very difficult time putting this book down.

"Enquiring minds want to know" journalism.......2007-05-14

Mixed view of this book. The author has dug deeply to unearth whatever facts are still out there about this tragedy. And, the story is compelling. However, I am bothered somewhat that recent books on Wright have focused soley on the sensational aspects of his life rather than the work which made him famous and which is still relevant today!

As for the content, I am not totally convinced by the timeline of events which he puts forth. However, he does convincingly demolish the long-standing, accepted version. That leaves some big questions which will probably never be answered. Finally, Bill (the author) has an irritating tendency to constantly refer to Frank Loyd Wright as "Frank". Bill needed a more competent editor.

Well Done.......2007-05-07

This is a fascinating book that is written in an interesting style The history of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders in particular are well documented. Well worth the purchase.

This book has it all.......2007-05-03

William Drennan blends brutal murder, sensational scandal, exhaustive research and thought-provoking theory in this important book. A clear style and a flair for the mot juste make this book both scholarly and page-turning.
At last, an author has had the courage, persistence and skill to delve into Wisconsin's crime of the 20th century. It's a wonder no writer previously tackled this topic, given that it involves a horrific killing that claimed the paramour of America's foremost architect, as well as his signature home design, Taliesin. We're all fortunate Drennan accepted the challenge.

A Great Read!.......2007-04-26

Meticulously researched and thoughtfully presented, Death in a Prairie House is also a great read. I recommend it.

Tales of Taliesin : A Memoir of Fellowship

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Tales of Taliesin : A Memoir of Fellowship
Cornelia Brierly , and Cornelia Brierly
Manufacturer: Pomegranate Communications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Fellowship: The Untold Story of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Fellowship

ASIN: 0764913352

Book Description

Cornelia Brierly was one of the first apprentices to attend Frank Lloyd Wright's school of architecture. Before long, she was a working colleague of the master architect; during the last thirty years of his career, she made important design contributions to many of his building projects. Brierly has spent most of her life at Wright's Taliesin (Wisconsin) and Taliesin West (Arizona).

This lavishly illustrated memoir tells the story of nearly seventy years spent with the Taliesin Fellowship. It is an important work, not only because of the author's closeness to the twentieth century's foremost architect but because she has observed at first hand the unfolding of organic architecture -- Wright's design precepts made manifest. In an affectionate, honest, and preceptive book, she celebrates the fellowship as a way of life and brings to life a vibrant community that is still going strong, forty years after Wright's death.

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful Romantic Look at Taliesin Now and Then.......2001-07-11

Although many people know that Frank Lloyd Wright operated his architectural enterprise for many years from Taliesin in Wisconsin, relatively few Wright fans have been there. Having been born into the rural farm country of Wisconsin, many of Mr. Wright's architectural ideas emerged from that rolling country and its beautiful rivers and views.

Many who admire Fallingwater will be intrigued to compare the views of the Wisconsin river at Taliesin ("shining brow" in Welsh) with the stunning sights in the Alleghenies. Mr. Wright was working at Taliesin when he sketched his first drawings of Fallingwater. The land is steeper at Fallingwater, and the waterfall at Taliesin was originally there to provide power. Many of the principles of the two sites are otherwise similar in striking ways that will give you a deeper understanding of Mr. Wright's work.

The highlight of this book comes in the wonderful color photography that will probably inspire you to want to visit (in the summer time) to enjoy the hundreds of acres of grounds and the many architectural features that Mr. Wright designed there. Many may not know about his windmill tower that the local farmers predicted would not survive high winds, but which continues to beautifully grace the site.

I was fascinated to see original photographs of Taliesin and its surroundings while Mr. Wright was working there, as well as the views from today. Like a lot of Mr. Wright's work, the romantic idealization of his vision has proceeded quite far. But we will still enjoy it, even if it has evolved from the original.

Having seen this book, I have decided to make a pilgrimage to Taliesin. I have been to Taliesin West many times, and have enjoyed that wonderful Wright work very much. Taliesin West is located in Scottsdale, Arizona and was Mr. Wright's refuge from the cold Wisconsin winters in his later years.

After you enjoy the beauty and the history of Taliesin in this fine volume, I suggest that you think about the place where you were born. How has it shaped your vision? In my case, my home was nestled in a small valley surrounded by enormous mountains. It was natural to want to aspire to climb to great heights upon considering that monumental view every day.

Take the best from your heritage and share it with those whom it will help!

Customer Reviews:

From the Publisher.......2005-11-22

"Treasures of Taliesin presents 106 drawings of 77 Frank Lloyd Wright buildings that were never built--buildings that Wright believed were his most interesting works. This revised, updated, an[d] newly designed edition includes new text from Bruce Pfeiffer, Director of Archives at The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Pfeiffer draws on his long association with Wright to describe the circumstances surrounding the germination of each project, characterizes the personalities involved, and explains why the work was not completed. The stories include political intrigue and assassination, as well as providing glimpses of personalities such as Mike Todd, and Ayn Rand, and a poignant recollection of Marilyn Monroe, who wanted an entire floor of her planned home with Arthur Miller for their children. There is even a residence for a mysterious client whose identity was known only to Wright.

"In his careful selection of projects, Pfeiffer has created a visual history of Wright's accomplishments over a career that stretched from 1895 to 1959. Treasures of Taliesin ranges in scope from the minutely detailed--Wright's admonition to Franklin Watkins to "use cadmium plated screws with a electrical screwdriver" to secure the cypress siding of his studio-residence--to the uniquely extravagant: a description of the 26-foot drawing for the Mile High Building, exhibited in 1956 to the astonished world. This collection of drawings is both a feast and a fascinating overview of Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural genius.

"164 pages, 106 color reproductions, 13 x 10". Casebound book with dust jacket. ISBN: 0-7649-1041-8."--© Pomegranate

Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin and Taliesin West

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good complementary book on Frank Lloyd Wright
Visually stunning treatment of FLW's East West homesteads.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin and Taliesin West
Kathryn Smith
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0810939916

Customer Reviews:

good complementary book on Frank Lloyd Wright.......2001-01-28

This book explored the origin, the life of Frank Lloyd Wright. The author didn't discuss FLW's other works as such but did explain the nature why Taliesin & its other counterpart were built, & unbeknown to the architect would one day become 2 of the most important buildings in the States. The book contained many pictures (good quality) of the communes participating in many subsistence activities, FKW giving guidance to his disciples, lavish parties & performances that were held there, many aspects of those buildings. On the sideline, the book also displayed the graphics that were utilised by the Taliesin Foundation, Asian art works that were collected by FKW during his trip to Japan (in particular). For the benefit of the readers, building plans were enclosed to relate to the pictures provided.

Visually stunning treatment of FLW's East West homesteads........1998-09-22

The endlessly creative mind of FLW took two wildly different locales and managed to create important landmarks of twentieth-century architecture in both -- Spring Green, WI, and Scottsdale, AZ. Following a historical glimpse into Wright's origins, this beautiful volume traces the multiple purposes of Taliesin and Taliesin West. The book closes with a unique look at Wright's collect of Asian art, an important influence on his life and work. A definite treat for Wright fans, the book helps show why these two vastly different architectural gems stand as "his autobiography in wood and stone."

Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West (Building Block Series)

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Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West (Building Block Series)
Ezra Stoller
Manufacturer: Princeton Architectural Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 156898202X

Book Description

These new titles in the Building Blocks series showcase four more icons of modern architecture, as portrayed by renowned architectural photographer Ezra Stoller. Two buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright, Fallingwater and Taliesin West, Louis Kahn's Salk Institute, and Mies van der Rohe's Seagram Building are shown in original condition, with original furnishings, as the architects intended them to be seen. Wright's integration of architecture and landscape, Kahn's dramatic yet humane monumentality, and Mies's austere elegance are revealed and preserved in Stoller's classic compositions. Small, elegant, and affordable, each volume presents the photo-graphs that made these structures famous. With 60 rich duotone plates (and 16 color plates for Taliesin West), a brief introduction, and newly drawn plans, sections, and elevations, these books constitute the essential photographic histories of the most important works of modernism.

Taliesin Reflections: My Years Before, During and After Living with Frank Lloyd Wright

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Beautifully illustrated insights
BOOK REVIEW: `Taliesin Reflections' Pays Tribute to Frank Lloyd Wright, Shows His Influence on California Architect Earl Nisbet
An Apprentice's Autobiography
Taliesin Reflections by Earl Nisbet
Journey of an Architect

Taliesin Reflections: My Years Before, During and After Living with Frank Lloyd Wright
Earl Nisbet
Manufacturer: Meridian Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0977895106

Book Description

During the Great Depression, there were few clients coming to Frank Lloyd Wright for designs, so he turned to writing and lecturing. In 1932, he and his wife, Olgivanna, began the Taliesin Fellowship where 30 apprentices came to live and learn from the most influential and imaginative architect of the Twentieth Century. Earl Nisbet was one of those apprentices and Taliesin Reflections relates some of the day-to-day activities that occurred in the Taliesin Fellowship.

Customer Reviews:

Beautifully illustrated insights.......2006-10-20

Like another review, from Richard Blois, this review is not unbiased as I live in the house that Nisbet designed for Blois, referred to as the Blois House, in the book.

Earl Nisbet has a reverence for Mr and Mrs Wright, as he calls them, that intensifies the longer he stays at Taliesin and then is carried through into his architecture. It is a very personal book, about the struggles and triumphs of the Taliesin training, the rigors of the business of architecture and the pleasures of companionship.

I would recommend this book to any student who is thinking about being an architect, because even though techniques, tools and materials have changed, the principles that Wright championed, such as respecting the land are very much relevant today. Also Frank Lloyd Wright fans who have room on their bookshelves for more than books on Falling Water and usonian designs will find the book a good read.

The book is illustrated with pictures and floorplans of varying quality - ranging from snapshots to stunning portraits - that make the book appear alive and genuine. The font is sans serif that is well spaced to make the text clear and appealing. Chapters are divided with subheadings into paragraphs - so if you want this for bedtime reading you can read it in small chunks, enjoy the pictures and contemplate Mr Wright's influence on both Earl Nisbet and building styles in general.

BOOK REVIEW: `Taliesin Reflections' Pays Tribute to Frank Lloyd Wright, Shows His Influence on California Architect Earl Nisbet.......2006-10-02

By David M. Kinchen
Huntington News Network Book Critic

Hinton, WV - In the 1940s and 1950s, any man or woman dreaming of a career in architecture considered being an apprentice at the Taliesin Fellowship run by Frank Lloyd Wright the ultimate achievement - at least for those who were admirers of the Wisconsin-born Wright (1867-1959).

Born in San Jose, CA in 1926 - he turned 80 this past July - Earl Nisbet was a California dreamer, seeing himself as a Taliesin Fellow in the original Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin and Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona. He achieved his dream in 1951, following service in World War II and graduation from a San Francisco engineering institution, Heald College, where he studied architectural engineering.

In a lavishly illustrated, large format paperbound book, "Taliesin Reflections: My Years Before, During, and After Living with Frank Lloyd Wright" (Meridian Press, Petaluma, CA, 240 pages, $24.95) Nisbet gives the reader a look inside the two Taliesins, where future architects were toughened under the watchful eye of Wright's wife Olgivanna. If they didn't pass the formidable muster of Mrs. Wright, they were kicked out of the fellowship.

The cost was considerable when Nisbet was an apprentice from 1951-1953 -- $[...] a year. It included taking out the trash, cooking and canning and maintaining the buildings, something that required constant work, as anyone familiar with Wright's designs knows. Nisbet provides the reader with plenty of inside information about Taliesin operations and the book is full of black and white and color illustrations. There's even a leaking roof anecdote that will delight architecture buffs who consider leaking roofs part of the charm of a Frank Lloyd Wright house.

After leaving Taliesin, Nisbet began an architecture practice in Northern California - and after a nine-month interlude in Tahiti, described with humor and charm in this book - in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he designed the S.C. Doo House on Black Point, among other buildings. He moved back to his native region, the southern San Francisco Bay area, after several years in Hawaii. Now a resident of Aptos, California, outside Santa Cruz, Nisbet is still active in the Northern California chapter of Taliesin Fellows and travels as much as possible. His wife Barbara died about a decade ago and Nisbet's reminiscences of their life together reveal what a wonderful relationship is all about.

As a fan of Wright's architecture from my years of living in Chicago and Milwaukee, I particularly enjoyed the parts about the two Taliesins (the name means "Shining Brow" in Welsh). Nisbet was a woodworker extraordinaire, which appealed to me since I was a shop rat in high school and had a strong Industrial Arts minor in college to oddly compliment my major of English. Nisbet's skill with automobiles and trucks gave him the opportunity to use his mechanical skills at both Taliesins.

Nisbet began his Taliesin Fellowship in 1951, 19 years after Wright and Olgivanna began the fellowship in Spring Green, with 30 apprentices. The year 1932 was a tough year for everyone, but especially so for architects. Few people were building anything, and the Taliesin experiment managed to keep the distinguished architect in business.

Judging from the photos of the Doo House and Nisbet's first solo commission, the Cabana Tanglewood built in 1954 in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Nisbet drank deeply from the Wright design well. They're outstanding designs and attest to his skill as an architect and hands-on engineer. As a woodworker myself, I approved of the furniture designed and built by Nisbet for the Doo house. The author got his woodworking start working in his dad's hardwood flooring company in pre-Silicon Valley San Jose.

If you're seeking a perfect gift for an architecture buff - especially an admirer of Frank Lloyd Wright - look no further than "Taliesin Reflections" by Earl Nisbet. It's a beautifully designed book that will provide hours of delightful reading.

The book is available at [...].

An Apprentice's Autobiography.......2006-09-29

Taliesin Reflections is more than a recounting of Earl Nisbet's experiences with Frank Lloyd Wright. It's an autobiography of his life and is written in a style not unlike Wright's autobiography. It's not a narrative, but instead is a journal with interesting observations and stories throughout. As a Wright fan, I enjoyed reading about the stories related to Taliesin of course, but also found myself reading the entire book with an interest in his stories of travels and experiences in Tahiti, Hawaii, China, Japan, Egypt, various parts of Europe, etc. The book is beautifully typeset and has color photographs throughout. I've read some about Frank Lloyd Wright over the years, but Mr. Nisbet's book has made me want to read more about his apprentices. I'd give the book five stars except that as a Wright enthusiast, I wish it had an index!

Taliesin Reflections by Earl Nisbet.......2006-09-27

This is not an impartial review of Earl's book. We both attended San Mateo High School back in the 1940's. At that time Earl's talents as a designer and craftsman were already evident in the form of what today would be called "street rods". Three of his cars are pictured in the early portion of his biography (dealing with the time before his living with Mr. Wright). They were indeed objects of beauty and greatly admired by everyone, including, as he notes, Merv Griffin, also a San Mateo High student at the time. After graduation from high school Earl entered the Army. I went into the Army a year later and completely lost track of Earl until 1955. At that time my wife and I were living in a small Palo Alto cottage. When we learned of Earl's experience with Frank Lloyd Wright, his property in the Portola Valley and availability to design a house for us we could hardly wait to get started. The next few months were a great adventure as our small home took shape under Earl's expert supervision. We were delighted when it was finished and were very happy and comfortable living in it for several years. So my review of his book is from the standpoint of an old friend and one of Earl's earliest and very happy clients. The book itself is divided into three parts of Earl's life - before, during, and after his living and working with Frank Lloyd Wright. Not being a book review expert, I will fall back to my basic test of every book I read - is it a good read ? In this case my response is an enthusiastic YES. I was particularly interested in his description of his personal life and experiences as an apprentice to Mr. Wright and I suspect this will be the portion of the book that is of special interest to Frank Lloyd Wright fans. His description of a tearful good-by meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Wright on his departure in 1953 by itself could be a great closing scene for an academy award. In short, I am happy to recommend this book to anyone interested in learning what life as an apprentice with Frank Lloyd Wright was like, to anyone from San Mateo High during the years of 1942 to 1945, and to any reader who might enjoy a good read about some talented and interesting people.

Journey of an Architect.......2006-09-01

This delightful look into the life of a young architect, who by a chance acquaintance
with an ex-Taliesin apprentice, finds himself motoring across California to Spring
Green, Wisconsin, and the doorstep of the formidable Frank Lloyd Wright. Lured by the possibility of being accepted as one of these earnest apprentices, he manages
to assauge the obvious doubts of the third Mrs. Wright, Oglivanna, co-ruler in many
respects, of this remarkable enterprise and creation of FLW. With much gentle humor, the author's insights are revealed in a pleasingly understated style, and cover a wide range of travels around the world, in his pursuit of his architectural
career. The book is blessed with many fine color photographs, covering a time
period of some of the best examples of American architecture . The personal narrative of the author provides a warm and often insightful backdrop for the
reader, with many humorous anecdotes and glimpses of the "nearly famous." This is an excellent addition to the collection of "Wrightiana," and the ongoing influence of his genius on so many lives
and careers.
c

A Taliesin Legacy: The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright's Apprentices (Architecture Series)

Average customer rating:

Rekindling the Home fire
It shows the great results of FLLW's teachings still going.

A Taliesin Legacy: The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright's Apprentices (Architecture Series)
Tobias S. Guggenheimer
Manufacturer: Van Nostrand Reinhold
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Reference | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0442018797

Book Description

In this monumental book, the author unveils hundreds of photos and original interviews tracing the careers of thirty architects who apprenticed with Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin. Among those interviewed are Fay Jones, Aaron Green, John Lautner, Anthony Putnam, Paolo Soleri, and Edgar Tafel.

Customer Reviews:

Rekindling the Home fire.......2000-03-06

Too bad FLW is not able to read this book. He would have seen where his apprentices have taken his work ,and, through their eyes, how he was remembered. We, the living, are more fortunate. Like any kid, what first attracted me to this book was the pictures,in COLOR no less! But it gets even better;this book brings to life the memory fo FLW by those who knew him best,and gives life to his architecture as it is practiced by his proteges. Now I can feel the presence of the man when I see his work. As an aside,it is time for a book for us empty-nested babyboomers who would like a bungalow sized home with FLW written all over it. We want style,simplicity,function,efficiency,ecology,and enviromental soundness in our space,without all the space;an update of Usonia,a sort of Wright Lite. I hope the apprentices of the apprentices are listening. Meanwhile,read this book!

It shows the great results of FLLW's teachings still going........1997-11-08

The book shows the selected works of several of FLLW's most famous and not so famous apprentices works which have been done since the master passed away in 1959. A great book for the non believers who think the teachings or practices of Mr. Wright died in 1959 when he did. This book shows incredible results of just where organic architecture is today. Check out the works of Edgar Tafel, Cunningham, Milton Stricker, Bob Beharka, Eric Lloyd Wright, Lloyd Wright, John Lautner all of whom I'm fortunate to know and to have known. A great book to have as a part of your collection to show to your friends or those who don't think they are interested in Wright's work, it'll change them into believers fast. Also a great gift for budding architects to steer them in the right (Wright) direction. We can only hope that the work of many lessor known apprentices and fellows of Taliesin gets published soon as Volume #2.

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