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An Autobiography
Frank Lloyd Wright exerted perhaps the greatest influence on twentieth century design. In a volume that continues to resonate more than seventy years after its initial publication, Frank Lloyd An Autobiography contains the master architect's own account of his work, his philosophy, and his personal life, written with his signature wit and charm. Wright (1867-1959) went into seclusion in a Minnesota cabin to reflect and to record his life experiences. In 1932, the first edition of the Autobiography was published. It became a form of advertising, leading many readers to seek out the master architect--thirty apprentices came to live and learn at Taliesin, Wright's Wisconsin home/school/studio, under the master's tutelage. (By 1938, Taliesin West, in Arizona, was the winter location for Wright's school.)
The volume is divided into five sections devoted to family, fellowship, work, freedom, and form. Wright recalls his childhood, his apprenticeship with Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan, the turmoil of his personal life, and the background to his greatest achievements, including Hollyhock House, the Prairie and the Usonian Houses, and the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.
The volume is divided into five sections devoted to family, fellowship, work, freedom, and form. Wright recalls his childhood, his apprenticeship with Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan, the turmoil of his personal life, and the background to his greatest achievements, including Hollyhock House, the Prairie and the Usonian Houses, and the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.
620 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1977
25 people are currently reading
1254 people want to read
About the author
Frank Lloyd Wright
466 books146 followersFrank Lloyd Wright was one of the world's most prominent and influential architects.
He developed a series of highly individual styles, influenced the design of buildings all over the world, and to this day remains America's most famous architect.
Wright was also well known in his lifetime. His colorful personal life frequently made headlines, most notably for the failure of his first two marriages and for the 1914 fire and murders at his Taliesin studio.
He developed a series of highly individual styles, influenced the design of buildings all over the world, and to this day remains America's most famous architect.
Wright was also well known in his lifetime. His colorful personal life frequently made headlines, most notably for the failure of his first two marriages and for the 1914 fire and murders at his Taliesin studio.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
December 5, 2025
What a wonderful piece of work - from start to last. And for me it began the second I picked the book off the shelf, felt the fabric of the cloth cover, took in the large square format and the bold design with that unmistakable trademark stamp of Cherokee red against the graphics. It even had a satin bookmark.
Then I turned the first page and knew, if I hadn’t known it already, I was in the hands of a world-class architect who understood exactly how to design on a solid foundation, interweave a handful of magic and mystery, and embroider it all with details as rich as any Louis Sullivan ever created.
Set aside the fact that Wright was also a top-notch salesman who never sold himself short and just enjoy the story he wants to tell. Fact or fiction. Or a mixture of both. By the time I’d done reading, I didn’t mind either way.
Then I turned the first page and knew, if I hadn’t known it already, I was in the hands of a world-class architect who understood exactly how to design on a solid foundation, interweave a handful of magic and mystery, and embroider it all with details as rich as any Louis Sullivan ever created.
Set aside the fact that Wright was also a top-notch salesman who never sold himself short and just enjoy the story he wants to tell. Fact or fiction. Or a mixture of both. By the time I’d done reading, I didn’t mind either way.
February 24, 2018
Wright writes. Punchy, adept. Consider his account of his reader father, Wm Russell Wright, whom his mother had married as an "ideal" of Education, which she believed unlocked the stores of beauty. His father had graduated from Amherst College, my school, where my Shakespeare teacher, Theodore Baird, built the only Wright house in New England in 1940 (for $5000). Wright's father moved to the Wisconsin farm of his mother's family, but later separated from his wife and left Frank and the other children to be raised by their mother. Though W R Wright had some medical training, he became a preacher, and was learning Sanskrit when he separated.
Wright's uncle knew much about nature, explained why roots must be covered to protect from frost.
Wright went to college at the U of Wisconsin, which gave Madison a "high-brow air...of being educated beyond its capacity"(28 Longman 1932 edition). His English Composition taught by Professor Freeman, "A handsome gentleman, deeply afflicted, so it seemed, by a strong expression of professional dignity"(52). His papers were marked "thought excellent," which Wright calls, "Dishwater!"
He famously got a job with the great Chicago architect Louis Sullivan, by submitting "recommendations" written by his enemies. Sullivan asked, "Don't you have any friends?" Wright figured everybody could get good recommendations, but you learn more from the bad ones--and you can discover the good qualities yourself.
Sullivan loaned him $5000 to build a house, the first house he designed for himself, in Oak Park, on the intersection of Chicago and Forest (still there). Since he and Catherine had young children, he found how to keep them out of his studio, by raising the door handle to an adult height. This is a feature of all his houses from then on.
In contrast to Whistler who valued craft, Wright valued the machine, and of course his houses had steel beams and large glass, bricks as well as cypress. He says Victor Hugo's written one of the best chapters on architecture, in Les Miserables, "Ceci tuera Cela."
Later on he designs the Imperial Hotel in Japan, where he finds "the native home in Japan is the supreme study in elimination"(196). But he famously designed that hotel as cantilevered, instead of exterior walls supporting floors: during construction, with Wright there, his hotel survived the big earthquake of 1922. The Imperial Hotel was completed the next year.
Wright's uncle knew much about nature, explained why roots must be covered to protect from frost.
Wright went to college at the U of Wisconsin, which gave Madison a "high-brow air...of being educated beyond its capacity"(28 Longman 1932 edition). His English Composition taught by Professor Freeman, "A handsome gentleman, deeply afflicted, so it seemed, by a strong expression of professional dignity"(52). His papers were marked "thought excellent," which Wright calls, "Dishwater!"
He famously got a job with the great Chicago architect Louis Sullivan, by submitting "recommendations" written by his enemies. Sullivan asked, "Don't you have any friends?" Wright figured everybody could get good recommendations, but you learn more from the bad ones--and you can discover the good qualities yourself.
Sullivan loaned him $5000 to build a house, the first house he designed for himself, in Oak Park, on the intersection of Chicago and Forest (still there). Since he and Catherine had young children, he found how to keep them out of his studio, by raising the door handle to an adult height. This is a feature of all his houses from then on.
In contrast to Whistler who valued craft, Wright valued the machine, and of course his houses had steel beams and large glass, bricks as well as cypress. He says Victor Hugo's written one of the best chapters on architecture, in Les Miserables, "Ceci tuera Cela."
Later on he designs the Imperial Hotel in Japan, where he finds "the native home in Japan is the supreme study in elimination"(196). But he famously designed that hotel as cantilevered, instead of exterior walls supporting floors: during construction, with Wright there, his hotel survived the big earthquake of 1922. The Imperial Hotel was completed the next year.
January 10, 2010
Written with all of the arrogance that comes with Frank Lloyd Wright, so written just as you would expect him to write. Love him or hate him or love his ideas on architecture or hate his ideas on architecture, this book will just strengthen your ideas. Personally, I think the bastard was bloody brilliant. Some of the best and worst thoughts on architecture are in this book.
May 14, 2014
This book was as frustrating as it was fascinating, perhaps like I suspect the author was.
It seems to me that this book was more of a journal than an autobiography. There was no real chronological flow to it. The writing style was choppy and cryptic, almost as if Wright were briefly reminding himself of something rather than informing the reader.
It was not at all an easy book to read for more than a few pages at a time, which dragged the reading time out for me quite a bit. I finally had to just tell myself to stick with it until I was done.
I found many of his observations of society in general to be quite interesting. Writing in the 1930's, he was already decrying the influence of people and businesses that pursued money at the expense of art and values.
Wright is often considered to be a modernist because of his design and building materials. However, it felt very quaint to hear of his travels to foreign countries such as Russia and Brazil being made by boat. It was, after all, the 1930's.
The book was originally published in 1932. The last chapter (Book Five) was added and published in 1943. The last chapter felt bolted on, in some ways. Its tone was less friendly, perhaps even angry at many times.
It seems to me that this book was more of a journal than an autobiography. There was no real chronological flow to it. The writing style was choppy and cryptic, almost as if Wright were briefly reminding himself of something rather than informing the reader.
It was not at all an easy book to read for more than a few pages at a time, which dragged the reading time out for me quite a bit. I finally had to just tell myself to stick with it until I was done.
I found many of his observations of society in general to be quite interesting. Writing in the 1930's, he was already decrying the influence of people and businesses that pursued money at the expense of art and values.
Wright is often considered to be a modernist because of his design and building materials. However, it felt very quaint to hear of his travels to foreign countries such as Russia and Brazil being made by boat. It was, after all, the 1930's.
The book was originally published in 1932. The last chapter (Book Five) was added and published in 1943. The last chapter felt bolted on, in some ways. Its tone was less friendly, perhaps even angry at many times.
August 20, 2009
I only read this to learn more about Mamah after reading "Loving Frank." It was truly hard to read, as he wrote in fits and spurts that maybe he found poetic but I just found lurching. And he only called her by name once, after she died. There were still 300+ pages to go, so i skimmed the rest of it and called it a day.
Julie- if you're interested in it, I can mail it to you.
Julie- if you're interested in it, I can mail it to you.
January 16, 2024
Where to even start? This was a beast, much longer and arduous than I anticipated. Almost 500 pages in my fairly large format edition. It goes in all directions, and I doubt it ever was edited - risky assonances and alliterations, repetitions and confusing tangents abound. In a way, this contributes to a fascinating reading experience, an unfiltered plunge into FLW’s mind.
The actual autobiographical bits, first. They do not make up the majority of the book, far from it, not are they its best part. The scenes that FLW recounts are of course self-aggrandising, often rocambolesque, and devoid of the slightest trace of objectivity. That was to be expected. The effect ranges from tedious to frankly amusing. Exception being his recounting of his time in Japan and of the Taliesin Fellowship. Gorgeous pages.
Then you have him clapping back at all the people, institutions and concepts he has beef with. And the list is long: banks and capitalists, the Renaissance, sentimentality, dense cities, skyscrapers, the international style, his second wife, the press, lawyers, the System, Roosevelt’s New Deal, bureaucrats, the provincial…
His rants are absolutely hilarious. Choice excerpt: « Inevitably a bureaucrat is a short man, however long his legs might be »
Continuing with filler bits: (horrible) poetry, correspondance, articles, exalted pages sharing his vision of society, urbanism, and sometimes politics. Sadly it appears his ideas don’t stand the test of time here. His vision of urbanism was an infinitely horizontally sprawling and decentralised city, serviced by cars and planes. Makes one shudder today when thinking of the environmental impact. His exaltation of Soviet Russia is also painful to read. FLW: « at the risk of turning an autobiography into propaganda »… we were warned.
So the best in this book is what remains: his philosophy on Organic Architecture, applied to individual buildings in a given landscape. Absolutely wonderful, and a true gift to be able to understand the way he approached designing and building. Rooting everything in the understanding, respect, and transcendence of natural principles.
This left me inspired, invigorated, and more than ever in awe of Wright’s unabashed creativity and never ending urge to build, to make, to create.
The actual autobiographical bits, first. They do not make up the majority of the book, far from it, not are they its best part. The scenes that FLW recounts are of course self-aggrandising, often rocambolesque, and devoid of the slightest trace of objectivity. That was to be expected. The effect ranges from tedious to frankly amusing. Exception being his recounting of his time in Japan and of the Taliesin Fellowship. Gorgeous pages.
Then you have him clapping back at all the people, institutions and concepts he has beef with. And the list is long: banks and capitalists, the Renaissance, sentimentality, dense cities, skyscrapers, the international style, his second wife, the press, lawyers, the System, Roosevelt’s New Deal, bureaucrats, the provincial…
His rants are absolutely hilarious. Choice excerpt: « Inevitably a bureaucrat is a short man, however long his legs might be »
Continuing with filler bits: (horrible) poetry, correspondance, articles, exalted pages sharing his vision of society, urbanism, and sometimes politics. Sadly it appears his ideas don’t stand the test of time here. His vision of urbanism was an infinitely horizontally sprawling and decentralised city, serviced by cars and planes. Makes one shudder today when thinking of the environmental impact. His exaltation of Soviet Russia is also painful to read. FLW: « at the risk of turning an autobiography into propaganda »… we were warned.
So the best in this book is what remains: his philosophy on Organic Architecture, applied to individual buildings in a given landscape. Absolutely wonderful, and a true gift to be able to understand the way he approached designing and building. Rooting everything in the understanding, respect, and transcendence of natural principles.
This left me inspired, invigorated, and more than ever in awe of Wright’s unabashed creativity and never ending urge to build, to make, to create.
July 9, 2021
I missed out on all the instruction I needed to write my high school research paper because I was in the hospital with a bad case of pneumonia. When I finally did make up the paper, I wrote it on Frank Lloyd Wright. I did not keep the graded copy, and I can only guess that I perhaps did not narrow down my topic enough, but I do recall being very enthusiastic about my research. The great architect had only been gone about six years, and my childhood fascination with him fired up my ambition. I was happy finally to read his autobiography divided into five books, each one perhaps written at the end of a particular era.
Some people talented in one area seem to be good at virtually everything they attempt, and some talented people seem to be natural writers. Frank Lloyd Wright appears to be both. He is not only architect but artist, chef, sommelier, pianist, and humanitarian. Book One is titled “Family,” written in the third person, about his childhood and the family members who made it a magical one growing up in Wisconsin. One even gets a good feel for his Welsh ancestry. He begins a book-long examination of “sentiment” vs. “sentimentality.” In this passage he speaks of a summer night just after his father has read to him from Poe’s The Raven: “Sometimes, after all had gone to bed he would hear that nocturnal rehearsal and the walking—was it evermore?—would fill a tender boyish heart with sadness until a head would bury itself in the pillow to shut it out” (50). The passage is moving but contains no “sentimentality” (for Wright that may mean the vestiges of Romanticism).
In Book Two, “Fellowship,” Wright begins to write in first person, a young adult looking for and finding work with one of the best architectural firms in Chicago. Either a latent or inherent anti-Semitism seems to influence his thinking at this time as he works alongside others in a crowded drafting room: “Next table to mine Jean Agnas, a clean-faced Norseman. To the right Eisendrath—apparently stupid. Jewish. Behind me to the left Ottenheimer—alert, apparently bright. Jew too. Turned around to survey the group. Isbell, Jew? Gaylord, no—not. Weydert, Jew undoubtedly. Directly behind, Weatherwax. Couldn’t make him out. In the corner Andresen—Swedish. Several more Jewish faces. Of course—I thought, because Mr. Adler [his boss] himself must be a Jew” (96). Why the preoccupation with this issue? It may be part of his upbringing, the fact that he was born in 1867. At any rate, he does begin to build a fellowship of young architects to whom he serves as mentor.
A long section, Book Three, covers his life with at least one spouse and a second one in the wings, the building (and burning) of Taliesin I and II in Wisconsin. Wright moves fairly smoothly back and forth through time, including stints in Tokyo, where he builds the Imperial Hotel, innovating construction that will withstand the many earthquakes the region is prone to having. Once again, even though Wright is fond of Asian art and culture, a certain racist language mars the portrayal of his otherwise humanitarian point of view, using terms like “slant and sloe eyes,” (197) even when he may believe he’s being complimentary: “Decorous black eyes slyly slant upon you from every direction as the little artful beings move noiselessly about, grace and refinement in every movement” (209).
By Book Four, FLW is building Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona, once again working hard to fit his work into the landscape instead of forcing a structure upon it, always preferring “horizontal” to “vertical” buildings of his Usonian vision. One wonders if even the US wouldn’t run out of land if we built everything horizonal.
Book Five seems to be a potpourri of ideas from slamming youth who do not want to work as hard as he did in his youth, Beethoven as a metaphor, a recapitulation of his family ancestry, the introduction of his idea of “gravity heat,” in which, instead of steam registers, heated liquid is piped through concrete floors, and because heat rises, rooms are heated more efficiently. Finally, though, in spite of passages of pomposity and dense abstractions, FLW still remains an interesting figure. I’ve never had a bucket list, per se, but if I were to put one item on it, it would be to visit as many as Wright’s remaining structures as possible. They are that good, that interesting.
One sad note: This Barnes and Noble edition has (by my count) at least twenty typographical errors of varying kinds from misspelled words to words omitted, to subject-verb agreement, to using commas when periods were needed. Sad.
Some people talented in one area seem to be good at virtually everything they attempt, and some talented people seem to be natural writers. Frank Lloyd Wright appears to be both. He is not only architect but artist, chef, sommelier, pianist, and humanitarian. Book One is titled “Family,” written in the third person, about his childhood and the family members who made it a magical one growing up in Wisconsin. One even gets a good feel for his Welsh ancestry. He begins a book-long examination of “sentiment” vs. “sentimentality.” In this passage he speaks of a summer night just after his father has read to him from Poe’s The Raven: “Sometimes, after all had gone to bed he would hear that nocturnal rehearsal and the walking—was it evermore?—would fill a tender boyish heart with sadness until a head would bury itself in the pillow to shut it out” (50). The passage is moving but contains no “sentimentality” (for Wright that may mean the vestiges of Romanticism).
In Book Two, “Fellowship,” Wright begins to write in first person, a young adult looking for and finding work with one of the best architectural firms in Chicago. Either a latent or inherent anti-Semitism seems to influence his thinking at this time as he works alongside others in a crowded drafting room: “Next table to mine Jean Agnas, a clean-faced Norseman. To the right Eisendrath—apparently stupid. Jewish. Behind me to the left Ottenheimer—alert, apparently bright. Jew too. Turned around to survey the group. Isbell, Jew? Gaylord, no—not. Weydert, Jew undoubtedly. Directly behind, Weatherwax. Couldn’t make him out. In the corner Andresen—Swedish. Several more Jewish faces. Of course—I thought, because Mr. Adler [his boss] himself must be a Jew” (96). Why the preoccupation with this issue? It may be part of his upbringing, the fact that he was born in 1867. At any rate, he does begin to build a fellowship of young architects to whom he serves as mentor.
A long section, Book Three, covers his life with at least one spouse and a second one in the wings, the building (and burning) of Taliesin I and II in Wisconsin. Wright moves fairly smoothly back and forth through time, including stints in Tokyo, where he builds the Imperial Hotel, innovating construction that will withstand the many earthquakes the region is prone to having. Once again, even though Wright is fond of Asian art and culture, a certain racist language mars the portrayal of his otherwise humanitarian point of view, using terms like “slant and sloe eyes,” (197) even when he may believe he’s being complimentary: “Decorous black eyes slyly slant upon you from every direction as the little artful beings move noiselessly about, grace and refinement in every movement” (209).
By Book Four, FLW is building Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona, once again working hard to fit his work into the landscape instead of forcing a structure upon it, always preferring “horizontal” to “vertical” buildings of his Usonian vision. One wonders if even the US wouldn’t run out of land if we built everything horizonal.
Book Five seems to be a potpourri of ideas from slamming youth who do not want to work as hard as he did in his youth, Beethoven as a metaphor, a recapitulation of his family ancestry, the introduction of his idea of “gravity heat,” in which, instead of steam registers, heated liquid is piped through concrete floors, and because heat rises, rooms are heated more efficiently. Finally, though, in spite of passages of pomposity and dense abstractions, FLW still remains an interesting figure. I’ve never had a bucket list, per se, but if I were to put one item on it, it would be to visit as many as Wright’s remaining structures as possible. They are that good, that interesting.
One sad note: This Barnes and Noble edition has (by my count) at least twenty typographical errors of varying kinds from misspelled words to words omitted, to subject-verb agreement, to using commas when periods were needed. Sad.
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January 21, 2010A difficult read for me, not like other autobiographies. I'm sure Frank did not want his book to be like any other. Even though I didn't like it I had to read the entire thing and it is over 600 pgs. He was a brilliant, arrogant man who thought more highly of himself than he ought and yet I admire his creativity and belief in himself. The symbolism he built into his buildings is amazing and even thought I'm not sure I would want to live in one of his houses, I really enjoy seeing them.
July 21, 2010
a beautiful piece of fiction. Wright believed fully that he was Whitman and did not have a editor
March 6, 2017
This autobiography was amazing yet so difficult. I have never studied architecture nor philosophy, and this book was filled with both. So much of FLW's thinking ran opposite of popular thinking of his time. He seemed such a contradiction to every preconceived notion I may have had of him and is work. Loving Frank is the book that led me to this one. This one will lead me to a tour of Taliesin In WI and possibly the AZ version if we get to AZ again. I would also like to tour (Fallingwater) his creation of the Kaufman House in PA. FLW's clean, organic buildings would give one no idea what an absolute mess his personal & business life were. In his day I think he was more esteemed out of our country than within it. This now makes me curious how he is respected within architecture studies now. I intend to ask my nephew the next time I see him.
May 25, 2020
i doubt few read this cover to cover (at least these days), but even skipping and skimming is so interesting. This would be inspiring for any creative person because he was the quintessential artist/visionary. It’s also very interesting from a historical standpoint, especially in how democracy and freedom were understood post Civil War. Wright was truly self-actualized, even with all the drama and tragedy.
My copy from the Oak Park Library is autographed: “To my co-author Oglivanna from her own “author”.
:/
(It was interesting to read this in Austin Gardens at the point he talked about it).
“That is why I know now that the true architect of a social order—we would not name him as an architect but call him a Statesman—could in one lifetime lay down outlines on which we could build the Democratic State...” (Sadly this became suburbia as we know it)
My copy from the Oak Park Library is autographed: “To my co-author Oglivanna from her own “author”.
:/
(It was interesting to read this in Austin Gardens at the point he talked about it).
“That is why I know now that the true architect of a social order—we would not name him as an architect but call him a Statesman—could in one lifetime lay down outlines on which we could build the Democratic State...” (Sadly this became suburbia as we know it)
April 17, 2025
As with most autobiographies there is one perspective here that doesn't always line up with history. This book inspired many young aspiring architect to join the Fellowship, a gathering of apprentices to be molded by Wright. It drew in many that wanted to be different like Wright and this helps understand why they were drawn in.
There are large parts of his story that are passed over briefly or not at all but do give you this thinking at the different part to his life up to the mid 1930.
There are large parts of his story that are passed over briefly or not at all but do give you this thinking at the different part to his life up to the mid 1930.
June 25, 2017
I have always revered his architecture, but now I also revere his writing. This may be the best autobiography I've ever read.
June 21, 2020
More a memoir than an autobiography, FLW relates many anecdotes; decidedly more of his professional life than personal. Writing style difficult to read at times.
August 1, 2015
more like Frank Lloyd Wright: An ego trip ….
I greatly admire Wright's architecture, and I am traveling to visit probably his best know work this month. Prior to my visit I wanted to brush up on my knowledge of the architect and I figured this text was probably a pretty important one to read. I think I would have been way better off reading an architectural historian's biography of Wright.
I don't know if Wright thought he was being "poetic", but this book was nearly impossible to read or extract from it any meaningful insight into his life or work. It felt like 560 pages of rambling and ego that seriously needed a better editor. The text begins with a bizarre choppy description of his childhood, which for some reason he choose to write in the third person? He continues with very inconsistent chronology of his career and personal life, stopping describe only a few architectural projects in depth. My favorite part of the book is when he describes his time in Sullivan's office which includes some unexpected fightclub-meets architecture studio action sequences. The final volume, which was written later and then tacked on, abruptly ends after a couple of passages regarding the USSR and communism and the announcement of a non-existant book 6 without offering any real conclusion or final reflections. Perhaps for future editions the foundation might consider adding an afterward of some kind from an architect or historian? Also, can I just mention that while the edition was well designed with good paper quality typeface etc., it seems absurd not to include any photographs, drawings or plans!
While there are certainly some interesting moments and quotes to extract from it, "Frank Lloyd Wright: An Autobiography" is not the place to start learning about the work of the great american architect.
I greatly admire Wright's architecture, and I am traveling to visit probably his best know work this month. Prior to my visit I wanted to brush up on my knowledge of the architect and I figured this text was probably a pretty important one to read. I think I would have been way better off reading an architectural historian's biography of Wright.
I don't know if Wright thought he was being "poetic", but this book was nearly impossible to read or extract from it any meaningful insight into his life or work. It felt like 560 pages of rambling and ego that seriously needed a better editor. The text begins with a bizarre choppy description of his childhood, which for some reason he choose to write in the third person? He continues with very inconsistent chronology of his career and personal life, stopping describe only a few architectural projects in depth. My favorite part of the book is when he describes his time in Sullivan's office which includes some unexpected fightclub-meets architecture studio action sequences. The final volume, which was written later and then tacked on, abruptly ends after a couple of passages regarding the USSR and communism and the announcement of a non-existant book 6 without offering any real conclusion or final reflections. Perhaps for future editions the foundation might consider adding an afterward of some kind from an architect or historian? Also, can I just mention that while the edition was well designed with good paper quality typeface etc., it seems absurd not to include any photographs, drawings or plans!
While there are certainly some interesting moments and quotes to extract from it, "Frank Lloyd Wright: An Autobiography" is not the place to start learning about the work of the great american architect.
January 2, 2015
Love him or hate him, there was only one Frank Lloyd Wright. His legend lives on and his autobiography is a work as uniquely his own as the architecture that made him famous.
This was a fascinating read and genuinely insightful, despite the enormous ego present on every single page. For the reader willing to look past that ego, there's a perspective on architecture and even on life that is truly unique. Wright's buildings and life were truly his own and hearing him tell the tale makes one stop and think a bit.
There were only two parts about the book that made me rate it four stars instead of five. The first is that the fifth "book" of the work is very non-linear and almost mystical at times. It's much harder and slower to read than the first four. I will admit that I think it's also more insightful. Just be prepared to spend some time with it.
Additionally, the form factor of this book makes it a bit difficult to read. It's a beautiful book. Like other Wright works, it's just aesthetically pleasing. The paper, the printing and the style of the book are stunning. But it is large and heavy and not easy to take around. It's better left at home on the nightstand rather than being a bring everywhere book.
For any Wright fan, this is obviously a must read. Indeed, I would recommend it for any lover of architecture and also anyone looking to see life from the perspective of an egotistical genius (but a genius nonetheless).
This was a fascinating read and genuinely insightful, despite the enormous ego present on every single page. For the reader willing to look past that ego, there's a perspective on architecture and even on life that is truly unique. Wright's buildings and life were truly his own and hearing him tell the tale makes one stop and think a bit.
There were only two parts about the book that made me rate it four stars instead of five. The first is that the fifth "book" of the work is very non-linear and almost mystical at times. It's much harder and slower to read than the first four. I will admit that I think it's also more insightful. Just be prepared to spend some time with it.
Additionally, the form factor of this book makes it a bit difficult to read. It's a beautiful book. Like other Wright works, it's just aesthetically pleasing. The paper, the printing and the style of the book are stunning. But it is large and heavy and not easy to take around. It's better left at home on the nightstand rather than being a bring everywhere book.
For any Wright fan, this is obviously a must read. Indeed, I would recommend it for any lover of architecture and also anyone looking to see life from the perspective of an egotistical genius (but a genius nonetheless).
February 5, 2016
One generally knows the name, as that of a famous architect who changed the thinking of architecture radically from boxes with decorations to functional living spaces integrated with the surroundings and not imposing on them or destroying them, and one might have seen examples or at least photographs of his work if one is so lucky.
If one is a professional architect one might have studied his work, though most such studies tend to equate one with another as a subject of study, good with bad, Wright with bauhaus.
If one is lucky one might find this book as I did accidentally, where he tells about his life and his work, his thoughts and his creative process. He is quite articulate too, of course, and more than intelligent, in fact his brilliance and original creativity is quite evident as one reads it. So he did not need a separate writer to tell the world about his work or his thinking or his creative process.
Fountainhead is based much on this - this man's thinking, his work, his creative process, his architecture, and more. This is the philosophy originated in the person that the architect was, that was expounded in Fountainhead, and the work of that hero based on the works of this real person.
It is very engrossing to read, and one gets to know the real architect here. If one has seen his works or reproductions of them it is even more impressive to get behind into the mind of the creator.
If one is a professional architect one might have studied his work, though most such studies tend to equate one with another as a subject of study, good with bad, Wright with bauhaus.
If one is lucky one might find this book as I did accidentally, where he tells about his life and his work, his thoughts and his creative process. He is quite articulate too, of course, and more than intelligent, in fact his brilliance and original creativity is quite evident as one reads it. So he did not need a separate writer to tell the world about his work or his thinking or his creative process.
Fountainhead is based much on this - this man's thinking, his work, his creative process, his architecture, and more. This is the philosophy originated in the person that the architect was, that was expounded in Fountainhead, and the work of that hero based on the works of this real person.
It is very engrossing to read, and one gets to know the real architect here. If one has seen his works or reproductions of them it is even more impressive to get behind into the mind of the creator.
October 12, 2014
I bought this autobiography when I toured Taliesin in the spring. I thought it would be a fascinating read, but it was not. The writing style is very bizarre. The first part of the book about Frank's childhood was written in the third person as if his childhood happened to someone else. I was confused at first during this part because I knew it was an autobiography. I had to check the cover of the book to double check that he was actually the author of this book. After the part about his childhood he switched to writing in the first person. That was such a relief because I was starting to get annoyed with his writing style. I stuck with this book until I finished reading the part about the murders at Taliesin. Frank did not even mention Mamah Cheney's name until after he wrote about the murders. When he mentioned leaving his wife and his six children for Mamah he made it sound like he wanted freedom from domesticity and that it had nothing to do with his affair with Mamah. In that section on leaving his wife even though he was not honest with the details it revealed that he was a selfish person who would do whatever he wanted with for himself. I could not finish this book. I thought an autobiography about a talented architect who led quite an interesting life would be a good read.
September 20, 2018
Todo gran arquitecto, necesariamente, es un gran poeta. Debe ser un gran intérprete original de su tiempo, de sus días, de su época.
Quizá demasiada larga. Quizá demasiado caótica. Quizá demasiado arrogante. Pero ahí radica la magia de las autobiografías. La forma de escribirla indica tanto o más de la personalidad del autor como las propias palabras escritas.
Y como suele ser común en estas obras, tratar de resumirlas sería imposible. Resumir el resumen de una vida sería absurdo e inútil. Pero me gustaría dejar una cita más, una cita que perfila de forma bastante acertada su personalidad, y nos hace una idea de lo que nos podremos encontrar a lo largo de la obra.
Temprano en la vida tuve que elegir entre la arrogancia honesta y la humildad hipócrita. Elegí lo primero y no he visto razón para cambiar.
September 1, 2016
Often fascinating, often frustrating. This is not a run of the mill autobiography, being somewhat disjointed, especially his writing style. As Wright often states throughout the book, a lot of the story is to be read "between the lines", that's ok if you know what he is actually alluding to? However, it was a good read overall and worth reading.
December 28, 2008
this is amazingly good but exasperatingly long reading for any autobiography of a non-fiction writer. The childhood portion is full of imagery and written in third person. The story of the Imperial Hotel is particularly captivating too.
September 2, 2009
I could barely start this book, let alone finish it. Wright was bombastic, boastful, full of fanciful pronouncements, and to to me, thoroughly unreadable. I plan to read a biography of him from another author.
November 30, 2007
Written entirely in the third person!
July 30, 2008
I'm not going to pretend that I finished this book but it was inspirational enough to stand out in my mind, despite being dry as a Georgia cracker.
November 11, 2012
I couldn't even finish this. It doesn't make for a very flattering take on the man. A lot of petty stuff and nothing of deep interest into his personal or professional life.
June 12, 2012
A genius. Flawed (everyone is), but a genius (everyone is NOT).
August 31, 2013
This book took me two summers to read. Good. Dense. Frank really liked to write about himself. Fascinating to read his own account of life events.
Want to read
March 21, 2014deswef
September 2, 2018
Awful. Where were the editors?
Read
November 12, 2008Great if you like fiction- yes I meant fiction.
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