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Pilot for Spaceship Earth: R. Buckminster Fuller, Architect, Inventor, and Poet
A biography of R. Buckminster Fuller, the architect and inventor whose investigations into the principles of nature influenced his designs and helped revolutionize our world.
168 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 1978
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September 27, 2016
This is a relatively short but quite good biography of Fuller, aimed at a young adult audience but accessible and interesting to adults as well. I was doing research on Fuller for a course, and read this book as well as the longer and arguably more complete biography by Lloyd Seiden. For the most part, this book serves as a higher-level summary of, almost an extract from the Sieden book.
There are a few differences, the most notable (from my perspective) being in the description of Fuller's transformative experience, at the age of 30 on the shore of Lake Michigan, that apparently had a strong determining influence on the rest of his life, and may have saved him from committing suicide. It seems there is a "sanitized for public consumption" version, that has religious or spiritual overtones but is explained in terms that even an atheist or agnostic can relate to, and certainly mainstream religionists will find completely acceptable; and another version, that Fuller may have shared only with an inner circle of family members and trusted friends, that one may presume was a more accurate and complete description of the experience, that had strong mystical overtones, or could simply be described as a very mystical, "shamanic" type of experience. Sieden also says that Fuller had other similar experiences later in life, but does not detail then in the text.
However, as far as the more mundane details of Fuller's life story are concerned, the high points are all covered in this volume, and his importance and his place in history are explained admirably. Altogether, this book is a fine source of basic information and narratives concerning important episodes in Fuller's remarkable life.
There are a few differences, the most notable (from my perspective) being in the description of Fuller's transformative experience, at the age of 30 on the shore of Lake Michigan, that apparently had a strong determining influence on the rest of his life, and may have saved him from committing suicide. It seems there is a "sanitized for public consumption" version, that has religious or spiritual overtones but is explained in terms that even an atheist or agnostic can relate to, and certainly mainstream religionists will find completely acceptable; and another version, that Fuller may have shared only with an inner circle of family members and trusted friends, that one may presume was a more accurate and complete description of the experience, that had strong mystical overtones, or could simply be described as a very mystical, "shamanic" type of experience. Sieden also says that Fuller had other similar experiences later in life, but does not detail then in the text.
However, as far as the more mundane details of Fuller's life story are concerned, the high points are all covered in this volume, and his importance and his place in history are explained admirably. Altogether, this book is a fine source of basic information and narratives concerning important episodes in Fuller's remarkable life.
Displaying 1 of 1 review