Michael Pollan's A Place of My Own: An Amateur's Guide to Home-Building

Jill Clardy: I really enjoyed reading Pollan's experience about building his own hut in the woods, which would house his writing desk and books but be within sight of his home in Connecticut. About half of the book is about the nuts and bolts experience of designing and building the 8'x13' writing house, and the other half is much more philosophical and far ranging - about architecture in general, columns and pediments, conflicts between architects and contractors, feng shui, chi, and many aspects of building. He admits "a tendency of mine to lean rather heavily on words and theories in my dealings with the world." In Chapter 3 he wrote. "...deep piles of words on the page comprised for me a kind of soothing environment, a plush cushion into which sometimes I could barely wait to sink my head." If you're looking for a how-to book about building an outbuilding, you will become impatient with Pollan's book. If you're looking for a deep immersion in words about the history, theory and philosophy of building, interspersed with Pollan's actual experience in the project, you will thoroughly enjoy this book.

Pollan refers frequently to Thoreau and shared his desire to find a place of his own...

United States on May 15, 2016

catliketread: As an architect myself I was skeptical I would gain much from this. However it is an erudite outsider's view looking into the depths and processes at work when you decide to build from concept to completion; the whys, wheres and how are all very well researched and considered, actually surprisingly funny at times. It is not so much how to build your own shed but an essay on how you should think about building...applies to anything really.

United Kingdom on Aug 28, 2015

old guy: This book is not for everyone. Michael Pollan does not leave out any details in building a small house in the woods. The book doesn't overwhelm you exactly; it beats you down until you nearly give up. If you don't surrender, and if you have any interest at all in learning how to do something you know nothing about, and if you care about doing something right, you need to read almost anything by Michael Pollan. I fell under his spell with his opening salvos in "The Omnivores Dilemma," a book that helped start a revolution in food quality and that leads to the corruption that begins with factory farming clear through sales and promotion excesses to the grocery stores and pretended government oversight. I don't think it is overblown to write that some Americans and possibly myself would be in a nursing home or six feet under except for Pollan. So if you are planning or just thinking about building something and want it to stand the test of time, read "A Place of My Own." Actually, you can learn a lot from Pollan whether you are going to build anything or not. There is a way of looking at things that may be in decline today but that can result in infinite value. Pollan can show you...

United States on Jul 05, 2015

Brian Palmquist: I am an architect who has learned much from the reading of this. Michael blends personal aspiration with a telling analysis of the current state of design. He leavens the mixture with well-researched details about the evolution of residential design and construction. After reading this, I want to pay a visit so I can do better going forward.

Canada on Apr 02, 2015

Dynomum: I was a writer in need of a writing space and did what Pollan advised. I grabbed a chair and walked around my garden until I saw the view I wanted from my desk and chair. Then I built a garden office around it. Every day I delight in my space, I have privacy and I value the work I do from my own work space. You may not be able to build a cabin in the woods as he did, and I didn't use my own hands to build my office, but it is the philosophy behind all Pollan's beliefs that starts ones own brain whirring. All his books are worth the read.

United Kingdom on Nov 16, 2013

Pedroza: He is a brilliant writer - OK he is over exposed after 'Cooking ' ( if you are already a fan you'll want to say 'Oh , I've loved his books for aaaaaages ! ') this is , I think his second book . Often non fiction interests me but without a narrative to carry me through I don't finish . No such problem with this . He writes so well that he makes deciding where a window will go seem fascinating . He even interested me in architecture , but most of all this is an eclectic book which meanders gorgeously through ideas . I have recommend it to many and have heard no one who has not been enchanted . ( if you like Michael Crawford - this is similar but much more friendly )

United Kingdom on Jun 03, 2013

waldlaeuferin: Voller Enthusiasmus begann ich die Lektüre von "A Place of my own", nachdem das "Omnivoren-Dilemma" desselben Autors mir so ein exquisites Lesevergnügen bereitet hatte.
Und wer träumt nicht von seiner eigenen kleinen Hütte im Wald und davon, diese mit eigenen Händen zu erbauen und sich dann darin zurückzuziehen?

Und ich habe auch echt nichts dagegen, das, was man tut, in einem geschichtlichen und kulturellen Kontext zu betrachten, denn ob wir wollen oder nicht, wir sind nur zu einem Bruchteil Individuen und können nicht so tun, als würden wir die erste Hütte des Planeten bauen.

Michael Pollan, bekennender nicht-Heimwerker, engagiert einen befreundeten Architekten und einen "Bauleiter", er selbst führt nur narrensichere Arbeiten wie Schindeln annageln durch. Während er mit dem Architekten Schritt für Schritt die Hütte entwirft, fräst er sich durch Architektur-Zeitschriften und -bücher, um eine Ahnung von der Formensprache und den moderneren Strömungen des Hausbaus zu bekommen. Auch die Geschichte des Hausbaus während der Inbesitznahme Nordamerikas durch die Europäer wird skizziert.

Auf seinem großen Grundstück irrt Pollan geradezu umher,...

Germany on Nov 15, 2011

1.5 Trick Pony: I remember in high school hearing about the eccentricities of Walden and rolling my eyes. This book has helped me see why that book has held such a strong place in the zeitgeist... and yes, makes me want to build my own little place in the woods.

I really appreciated how Pollan went into some of the architectural history and theory - although at one point I just wanted to shout at him to just get up off of his duff and DO something rather than reading about doing something! And then only a few paragraphs later, he made fun of himself for that very thing, and went and actually started with the doing. Pretty handy, that! Wish it always worked that way for me, the things I could do...

The book really has 3 main characters - his architect friend/mentor, his contractor/mentor, and Pollan. The book spends an awful lot of time on the struggle between architects and contractors, and Pollan's place stuck between the two of them... and his gradual acquisition of knowledge and confidence, which allows him to make decisions outside of the blueprints.

I read this book on audiobook, so it was solidly built out of imagination. I imagine that the book itself has drawings or...

United States on Nov 12, 2010