Broken Glass: Mies van der Rohe, Edith Farnsworth, and the Fight Over a Modernist Masterpiece

by Alex Beam

The true story of the intimate relationship that gave birth to the Farnsworth House, a masterpiece of twentieth-century architecture—and disintegrated into a bitter feud over love, money, gender, and the very nature of art.

“An intimate portrait . . . alive with architectural intrigue.”— Architect Magazine

In 1945, Edith Farnsworth asked the German architect Mies van der Rohe, already renowned for his avant-garde buildings, to design a weekend home for her outside of Chicago. Edith was a woman ahead of her time—unmarried, she was a distinguished medical researcher, as well as an accomplished violinist, translator, and poet. The two quickly began spending weekends together, talking philosophy, Catholic mysticism, and, of course, architecture over wine-soaked picnic lunches. Their personal and professional collaboration would produce the Farnsworth House, one of the most important works of architecture of all time, a blindingly original structure made up almost entirely of glass and steel.

But the minimalist marvel, built in 1951, was plagued by cost overruns and a sudden chilling of the two friends’ mutual affection. Though the building became world famous, Edith found it impossible to live in, because of its constant leaks, flooding, and complete lack of privacy. Alienated and aggrieved, she lent her name to a public campaign against Mies, cheered on by Frank Lloyd Wright. Mies, in turn, sued her for unpaid monies. The ensuing lengthy trial heard evidence of purported incompetence by an acclaimed architect, and allegations of psychological cruelty and emotional trauma. A commercial dispute litigated in a rural Illinois courthouse became a trial of modernist art and architecture itself.

Interweaving personal drama and cultural history, Alex Beam presents a stylish, enthralling narrative tapestry, illuminating the fascinating history behind one of the twentieth century’s most beautiful and significant architectural projects.

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction, Art, History, Biography, Audiobook, Art History

368 pages, Paperback

First published March 17, 2020

About the author

I'm [still] a [part-time] columnist for the Boston Globe. Before that I worked as a business reporter in Los Angeles and Moscow. I've lived in Boston since 1984, and written for the newspaper since 1987. I'm working on my next book, about the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith. I wish I still resembled that handsome photo, taken about a decade ago. UPDATE: Finished the Joseph Smith book (obviously) and have started turning over soil for my next project. UPDATE: Finished that project, a short, sharp book called "The Feud: Vladimir Nabokov, Edmund Wilson, and the End of a Beautiful Friendship." UPDATE The Nabokov-Wilson book got lovely reviews, and now I am days away from handing in the ms for my seventh book, my fifth work of nonfiction, the (true) story of Mies van der Rohe and his girlfriend/client/tormentor, Dr. Edith Farnsworth, for whom he built the Farnsworth House. (Please Google it - famous, beautiful house) ) UPDATE I ghost-wrote a book sometime in here, but alas under conditions of strictest secrecy. It was quite successful and I'd be happpy to do that kind of work again. I follow my Goodreads reviews, and would like to offer a collective Thank You to the men and women, who -- without exception, as far as I can see -- have offered literate, unbiased reactions to my writing. Thanks!

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You cannot find new architecture every Monday morning. That is a bit naïve. Architecture was always a very serious endeavor, periods were named after it. And that’s how it shall remain.” Mies van der Rohe, p 259.

“It was quite a wonderful place, when it rained or when there was an electrical storm it became very exciting. It was like being inside a lotus flower—you could sit in a thunderstorm and never get wet.” Peter Palumbo, second owner of Farnsworth House p.267-8.

Alex Beam’s Broken Glass: Mies van der Rohe, Edith Farnsworth, and the Fight Over a Masterpiece is an informative and engaging book. I am interested in architecture but don’t know much about it. The Masterpiece in question is a glass weekend home on the Fox River about 1 hour outside of Chicago that van der Rohe designed for Dr. Edith Farnsworth. Before reading this book, when I heard glass house, I thought of Phillip Johnson’s glass house in New Canaan, CT. Little did I know that Johnson was trying to imitate and perhaps outdo one of his architectural heroes by building that home.

The book revolves around the relationship between Farnsworth and van der Rohe, the design and construction of the house, and the later lawsuit over costs and defects. Beam is pretty even handed in his treatment of the two parties describing both their strengths and weaknesses. The book is well documented and researched.

Readers are introduced to Dr. Edith Farnsworth, a little known figure today, who is very unusual in her own right for the time period of the early 1900’s. Dr. Farnsworth was a single woman who was a specialist in nephritis and worked on trying to find a cure for nephritis (at that time called Bright’s disease). Bright’s disease, incidentally caused the death of my grandfather well before I was born. So Dr. Farnsworth, a strong, independent, and intelligent woman hired, the well-known van der Rohe to design her house. They met at a dinner party and became romantically involved, and then Farnsworth chose him to design her weekend getaway.

The Masterpiece is constructed of large sheets of glass all the way around with the mechanical systems (heating and plumbing--no air conditioning) hidden in a stack. Van der Rohe was very controlling, including trying to put furniture that he designed and selected into the finished home. He staged the house too close to the Fox River and so the house was subject to floods. The large glass panels constantly fogged up and the flat roof could leak. Among the features of the home that make so beautiful, including the terrific views from the large glass panels, are the staircase that seems to float, the fireplace, and the travertine flooring. The riverside location also made mosquitoes a huge problem for Farnsworth.

The cost overruns were tremendous and part of the contention in the lawsuit. The house is now open for public viewing and still requires lots of maintenance. It is clearly an important part of architectural history because of its unique design and statement about how people live or rather don’t live; most people preferring more privacy. No spoilers on how the lawsuit comes out. Check out van der Rohe’s Barcelona building on line. It is the precursor to the house and constructed from lavish materials.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a designer of homes, my main job is problem solving. That's what I like about my job. Some of the problems I solve are aesthetic, but most of them are practical: how to design a functional bathroom, how to get the required headroom and walking path at the bottom of these stairs, how to provide egress in case of fire, how to prevent water intrusion? Mies seemed to only be interested in solving the aesthetic problems, because he barely solved any of the practical ones.



The Farnsworth is more of a sculpture than it is a house; it would be an absolute nightmare to live in. It's completely open concept. Other than the bathroom and a 5 foot high partition to suggest a bedroom area, it's just a glass box. The roof leaks like a sieve because of Mies's terrible flashing details. The glass is single pane rather than thermopane, so in summer it's hot and in winter it's cold, heating bills skyrocket, and the glass streams with condensation. The site regularly floods and you'd have to escape the house via rowboat.

So it's hard for me to accept that the Farnsworth House is a masterpiece of architecture. A masterpiece of sculpture, perhaps, even though it's really not my cup of tea as an art object, either. But it's undeniable that it's been very influential. But if architecture is about making a space that is nice to live in, not just to look at, then this house is definitely a failure.

Mies himself is a character. Between him and Frank Lloyd Wright, you'd assume all architects are egomaniacal womanizers... but did you also know that Mies was a Nazi sympathizer and only left Germany because he disagreed with the direction Hitler set for German architectural style? But one of my favorite details I learned from this book is that, despite his avant garde designs and his insistence that his clients live according to the strict lifestyle those designs entailed, Mies lived in a traditional apartment. Apparently, he did not walk the walk.

So no, I'm not a fan of this house or this architect. But I am a fan of this book, which was really enlightening. I haven't even gotten into the relationship between Edith Farnsworth and Mies, or the bitter lawsuit after the house's completion. If you're interested in modern or traditional architecture, this is a fascinating read.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I reading this book concerning the genius of Mies Van der Roche and the modern masterpiece he built for Edith Farnsworth. I had not realized the long court battle they had, nor all of the problems with the building once completed. The book seemed to me more about Edith than Mies, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I recommend this book to anyone interested in architecture.

[Ronald Koltnow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Note: Alex Beam is a friend, although I mean every word here.
I know little about modern architecture and care less about it than most people. Give me Victorian splendor and ornamentation any day. That said, this study of the battle of wills between ex-Bauhaus master Mies van der Rohe and Chicago doctor Edith Farnsworth is as enjoyable a book as you are likely to find. It may be Beam's best work yet. At a party one day in the 1940s, Dr. Farnsworth said that she'd like a small country getaway. Mies said he would design her one. Their collaboration came to be known as The Farnsworth House and it is one of the pillars of Modernist culture. Essentially a glass box on stilts, the house is a distillation of the mostly abstract ideas that Mies, Gropius, et alia had dreamed of in Europe: an open plan building with few barriers to nature and with form following dysfunction. Farnsworth had planned on spending $7-10K on the place. Years later and with a $79K price tag, Farnsworth moved in. It was costly to heat and cool, there was no air-conditioning, and the roof leaked. Yet, thousands, if not millions, have flocked to see it. Beam knows a great deal about architecture, but he knows more about the foibles of great egos. This is a dark comedy of manners with travertine tiles and earthtone curtains.

[Trin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nowhere near as fascinating, or as funny, as Beam's superlative The Feud, which is the story of the dissolution of the friendship between Vladimir Nabokov and Edmund Wilson -- the personalities here are neither as large, nor as catty. In Broken Glass, the players are architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and his client/lover, pioneering doctor Edith Farnsworth. Their disagreements are mostly about money and practicality, and the same sparks simply do not fly. But it was nevertheless interesting to learn more about mid century modernist architecture.

[Joann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting account of an accomplished architect, an accomplished client, and a house that was never really meant to be lived in. At least the architect didn’t have that in mind though the client intended to make it her summer home. It is amazing how many ill chosen elements went into the making of the Farnsworth House.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book about a fascinating house

[Judy Aulik · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title says it all.
It's a fascinating book about a prominent physician, her search for a simple life in rural Illinois, and the architect (and possible lover) who created an essentially useless monument on a river prone to flooding. The author does an excellent job of juggling the three characters' lives. As you get to know the Farnsworth house, you realize that it truly is a character.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Broken Glass shines a narrative non-fiction light on the fascinating history behind the Farnsworth House. Both the architect and the patron are the focus here as the author explores the origins and the aftermath of the building of this iconic masterpiece of modernist architecture. Well worth a read for anyone interested in the history of modern architecture, discovering the story of an independent mid-century woman, or even those who just enjoy discovering a unique piece of Illinois history. This book would pair well with Women and the Making of the Modern House.

[David Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed account of a architect-client relationship that resulted in the world famous 1951 Farnsworth House in which two indomitable personalities slug it out to the very end. Full of minutiae about Van Der Rohe, Farnsworth, and the structure itself. That the house still survives is a wonder!

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Broken Glass is about the Farnsworth House, an iconic work of architecture designed and built in the late 1940s by architect Mies van der Rohe for Dr. Edith Farnsworth, a kidney specialist from Chicago.

The house has always intrigued me with its transparency, modern design, and because of its first owner—a single, professional woman who wanted to build a unique space for a weekend retreat. The book delves into the story by first describing how Farnsworth aligned herself with the famous architect, Rohe, whom she met at a dinner party with a group of Chicago elites. Surprisingly, Rohe agreed to design her “little” house on the condition that it was different, minimal, and modern.

Farnsworth and Rohe began the project in alignment, even engaging in a brief affair, but as construction began, relations deteriorated. The book's title references their fractious relationship that culminated in a lawsuit. Triggered by cost overruns, the lawsuit involved Mies suing Farnsworth for non-payment, with Farnsworth countersuing for misrepresentation. The relationship was indeed broken, but it was Farnsworth (in my opinion) who experienced the most brokenness.  Edith never got to enjoy her weekend home; she endured years of headaches, heartache, and expense. Structural problems endured, even years after the house was completed in 1951. The house flooded, usually in the spring. Its roof leaked. The home was cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Condensation clung to the inside of the glass for six months of the year. The fireplace, built directly onto the travertine floor, never worked properly due to poor air circulation within the house.

Rohe never experienced the level of despair that Edith did after the Glass House was complete. In fact, the house appeared to have boosted Rohe’s career. Countless architectural enthusiasts and professional practitioners visited the house to get a glimpse of its radical design (often with Farnsworth inside) and experience Rohe’s attempt to “bring the outdoors in." Articles were written; exhibitions staged—all celebrating the “brilliant” architect, Mies van der Rohe, an architect at the forefront of international modernism.

Broken Glass was interesting, but I took issue with how Beam portrayed Farnsworth in contrast to Rohe. Rohe was the brilliant architect and creator of an iconic modernist masterpiece, yet Farnsworth was portrayed as difficult, abrasive, and unlikeable. One example is how Beam titled chapter two, “She Had a Sharp Tongue," in reference to Farnsworth. Farnsworth deserved equal treatment to Rohe. She was an accomplished violinist, one of very few women in the US to obtain her MD designation in 1938, a practicing doctor and associate professor of medicine at Passavant Hospital, specializing in nephrology (the study of the kidney). After retiring from medicine and moving to Italy, Farnsworth became a published translator of the Italian poet Eugenio Montale, a recipient of a Nobel Prize in literature. Yet Beam referenced Edith’s accomplishments in passing, frequently with innuendos that she was disliked and at times incompetent.

Despite the book’s shortcomings, Broken Glass is a good read that architecture enthusiasts will find worthwhile. It includes several black-and-white photographs of the Farnsworth home and various images of the design process.

[David Fulmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about the Farnsworth House, a weekend home built outside of Chicago for Dr Edith Farnsworth and designed by legendary architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The design and construction of the house began with warm relations and mutual admiration between client and architect but when the price of construction ballooned and the roof began to leak, Farnsworth refused to pay what had not been agreed to in writing and the architect filed a lawsuit. This led to a trial which Alex Beam has mined for maximum entertainment value during which the doctor’s lawyer pounced on the German architect with shaky English and exposed his ignorance of basic building techniques and materials.

Having read this book, you will have an understanding of where the Farnsworth House stands in the history of Twentieth Century Architecture, but you will also know all the juicy gossip behind how it came to be and how it has been lived in over the past 70 some years. The author includes a great capsule history of Mies and much biographical information on Dr Farnsworth, two very interesting characters who came together to create architectural history on the banks of the Fox River in Illinois. Tapping court transcripts, art histories, oral histories, and much more archival and journalistic digging, Beam presents a 360 degree history of the great glass house and the characters in its orbit. And he follows the lives of the architect and doctor right up to the end of their lives. Mies became a legend, lauded far and wide for the brilliant and groundbreaking ideas he brought to architecture, things like letting the outside in, here on vivid display in a house with no walls and only glass for an envelope. And the doctor enjoyed her house in her own way for many years, once she tossed aside Mies’s suggested furniture and spare trappings for her own cluttered style. Then she sold it for a princely sum to an English businessman and took off for Italy, a place where she spent treasured years in her youth.

I think this book will appeal to many: those with an interest in architecture, those who have ever tried their hand at home improvement, those interested in local history of the Chicago area. It’s an utterly fascinating account of a world famous landmark which tells its whole story from its origin up until today. And the people who were involved and their disputes give a human dimension to what is a beautiful but somewhat cold monument to a certain philosophy of domestic architecture. In the end, the Glass House let the outside in in more ways than one, as the secrets of Mies and Dr Farnsworth were exposed and revealed for the world to see.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's the beginning of a story : famous emigre architect meets opinionated woman at a social occasion in Chicago. The woman mentions her desire to have a small weekend cabin in the cottage, for soul-searching, violin-playing, and some modest entertaining. Famous emigre architect agrees to build this cabin for her. His client, an accomplished musician and physician, becomes highly interested in the project, and the planning and drafting goes on for years. The cabin will turn out to be a daringly modern concept : a glass house on an elevated platform, with just one flowing living space around a core containing the kitchen and the bathroom. The architect (who barely speaks English) and his admiring patron are so caught up in the aesthetics of the project that they don't get around to discussing budget or architect fees.

Can you guess how the story ends? Exactly like many stories involving home renovation or building. The building of the house is delayed and ends up costing about 3 times what the patron had originally expected. The single pane glass is sweltering in the summer and cold in the winter. Inadequate ventilation leads to massive condensation and the roof leaks. Oh, and the nearby river floods the house on a regular basis. And on top of that, the owner of the house realizes that living in a glass house means... the absolute absence of privacy. So the patron (Dr. Edith Farnsworth) and the architect (superstar Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe) end up in court, where the many engineering shortcomings, building mishaps and cost overruns are discussed publicly for weeks on end. This is the type of situation where no one comes off looking good, and so it proves to be here. Although Mies Van der Rohe "won" the court case, he was disgusted with the building of private dwellings for the rest of his career, and the difficult Dr. Farnsworth ended up taking early retirement, sell the controversial house, and move to a classical villa in Italy, attaching herself to another distinguished older man (in this case, Italian poet Montale, winner of the 1975 Nobel Prize). A sad story... but it's worth looking up some pictures of Farnsworth House. A showcase rather than a place to live in, but oh, so beautiful and graceful!

[Eileen Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lively, well-researched read on an arcane but entirely fascinating subject. The Farnsworth House is a landmark of modern architecture, and in the telling of its design and construction the author also paints a picture of the patron (a determined Edith Farnsworth), the architect (a taciturn Mies van der Rohe), and Philip Johnson. The latter, who is technically a bit player in this tale, comes off as a slippery fellow, ostensibly supporting Mies but just as often stealing from him (Johnson’s Glass House was built before the Farnsworth House, but only after Johnson had a good long look at Mies’s plans).
Of course, Mies doesn’t really have any comprehensive plans (he works ponderously slowly), and takes years to finally complete this completely pristine modern getaway outside of Chicago. Along the way, the relationship between Edith and Mies moves from a romantic one to a friendly and then chilly connection between two strong personalities. With no contract, they proceed blithely forward, led forward by the intractable and arrogant Mies who makes decisions entirely governed by aesthetics. Costs balloon and the lack of engineering know-how ensures that the house is an albatross.
Like Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies seems wholly ignorant or disinterested in practical engineering matters. While their styles are vastly different, the results are the same, with aspects of the building failing their residents within months of moving in. In the case of the Farnsworth House, the upshot is a lawsuit (or sparring lawsuits, since the parties sue each other) as well as the enduring and very costly upkeep and restoration of a modern masterpiece.
The author does a masterful job keeping the narrative lively, and the characters entirely human—which means that we see both the strengths and shortcomings of both the architect and patron. Both characters—as well as the resulting house—are deeply flawed but wholly compelling and worth reading about.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alex is actually a friend of mine, and has always been a brilliant writer, so I read all of his books. I disclose this because this is not normally a book I would read—I loathe Mies van der Rohe's architecture for reasons that are fully laid out in this book, although the author does not share my plebeian views.

The book is written almost as a novel, and is as absorbing. It delves deep into the relationship between two larger-than-life characters, one an architect with some personality problems, a low-class past, and a reputation to build, the other an old-money woman client, in fact an accomplished physician and researcher, who was not as wealthy or as soft a touch as he seemed to think. Edith Farnsworth admired Van der Rohe's work, was possibly in love with him, and dreamed of a beautiful house by the eminent architect that would also give her some street cred as a patron of the arts. Van der Rohe was intrigued by her at the beginning—it is possible they had an affair—and they got along well for a time. The result of their collaboration was the famous Farnsworth House, on the Fox River not far from Chicago, which is now open to the public as a museum. But as the house was being finished, Van der Rohe treated Farnsworth high-handedly, the house had many problems of a practical nature (such as being prone to flooding and leaks), and the expense and then the legal costs became staggering. The resultant clashes are quite amusing for the reader, but must have been most distressing for all those involved. In the end, Farnsworth scarcely spent much time in the house, and finally moved to Italy to live out her life in an old Tuscan villa.

Van der Rohe, whose early life is detailed to some extent here, was really named Ludwig Mies and not a nice guy. To be frank, this book just confirmed my dislike of him and his work—but it was really fun to read.

[Russell Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was given a copy of Alex Beam’s Broken Glass: Mies van de Rohe, Edith Farnsworth, and the Fight over a Modernist Masterpiece, my first reaction was, “Oh, no. I don’t want to read a dry treatise about a piece of architecture.” But I began the book and was instantly engrossed. This is a biography—of a house. In the late 1940s, Dr. Edith Farnsworth, a respected medical doctor and researcher, began a relationship with the now renowned Mies van der Rohe, the architect. She had purchased a plot of land about an hour out of Chicago, their home city, and she wanted a weekend getaway. Mies began to design, as the subtitle says, a modernist masterpiece, a house that is now the property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is acclaimed as a work of architectural art. The book tells of the saga of building that house—which took six years—and the aftermath, when Farnsworth, who had eventually severed ties with Mies, moved in and realized it was a beautiful, totally impractical house. This book is fascinating, and only in a few places does it descend into “architect talk.” Most of it is a powerful examination of two brilliant people who began loving each other and ended hating each other as a treasure developed. We see the inception of the relationship and the house, the court case between the two that eventually developed, the trials and tribulations of owning this house, and the restoration by a millionaire who purchased the house from Farnsworth and held it as his personal getaway for almost thirty years before a consortium of Chicagoans bought it at auction on behalf of the National Trust. Beam’s writing is conversational with lively quotes from Mies’s and Farnsworth’s papers and others who were involved in the design and building plus architecture and art critics. This is a lively tale and is extremely entertaining and enlightening.

[Cynthia Livingston · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit of a slough, but also captivating - what will happen next? I was not familiar with the architect in question, Mies van Der Rohe but he bore some resemblance to the approach of Frank Lloyd Wright and was definitely an avant-garde designer. Edith Farnsworth, a brilliant doctor who graduated from medical school when women just didn't do that, practiced medicine as well had her own lab working on kidney research, and was an accomplished violinist, poet and translator. Initially they hit it off for quite awhile. Then she asked him to design a small weekend retreat on a piece of property she purchased by the Fox river in a wild flower field. Yes, trouble in paradise - originally discussed at $10K (back in 1951 a lot of money), eventually increased to $40K. No contract, costs spiraled, the flood plane not accounted for, leaks, made of steel, glass and travertine marble, always either hot or cold - and on and on. Did I mention it gave "open concept" a real run for the money. But an architectural marvel, famous that "rewards aesthetic contemplation before it fulfills domestic necessity." Friends no more, a lawsuit ensues where each sue the other. How the owner used it for 15 years is a mystery - eventually it cost her north of $73K. She later sold it for an undisclosed sum of money (south of $250K) to someone who put money into it and later it was purchased by the National Trust for Historic Preservation for $6.7M. A work of art!

[John Morello · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a couple years old, and may have been passed up by newer scholarship, but there's no denying that Beam knows how to tell a story, which made rereading it worthwhile. Who would find a story where a homeowner and a builder have a falling out over the finished product worth the trouble? One would think it happens a lot. But if the builder happens to be Mies van der Rohe, one of the icons of the modern architecture movement, and the homeowner is Edith Farnsworth, famous not only for her groundbreaking kidney research, but a groundbreaker as well for being a single woman who, in the post war period, had the audacity not only to build a house, but to pay for it herself, the scrap becomes a big deal.
Mies' idea of architecture is provocative and unsettling in post WW2 America. Edith, a single, independently wealthy woman commissioning a house to be built, especially at a time when the notion of marriage and home had been thought to be inextricably linked also raised eyebrows. Beam covers it all. He drills into Mies and Edith's formative years, their achievements which put them on the map, their professional and (maybe) personal relationship, and the blowup over a glass house, loved by architectural purists, but denounced as an un-American house elsewhere. Well researched, although that doesn't always show up in the work. Still, worth the trouble.

[Ginny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very scatological writing style. This author jumped around so confusingly in time and place it resulted in an incoherent jumble. Which is quite unfortunate.
The two subjects of the story, Edith Farnsworth (the property owner) and Miles Van de Rohe (the architect) and knew one another for many decades and their opinions of the other varied over time. This author steadfastly refused to be accurate as to the point in time certain things were said and done.
The same is also true concerning issues with the house itself. There are references to design drawings and going to an unfinished work sight a few paragraphs away from events that transpired a decade later. Mind you, I do not require that non-fiction always follow a chronological format. Maybe better writing (or editing) would have brought the disjointedneas of this book into harmony.
This frustration aside, I broadened my knowledge in something and I am glad for that. The book itself was an easy read and got more interesting the further along I got.

[Randal · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most interesting nonfiction reads I’ve come across this year. Glad I read it, and would gladly recommend to others. I listened to the audiobook, so it does make me wonder if the physical edition has pictures, which are sorely needed to understand a tale about architecture and aesthetics. I found myself looking up photos of the Farnsworth house while listening.

I walked away from this book with the opinion that, his artistic importance aside, Mies Van der Rohe was really a terrible person, but so, I think to a lesser extent, was Edith Farnsworth. The book sticks to the biographical facts for the most part, but their relationship, if fictionalized and dramatized, would probably make for a good novel.

I’ve always had a latent interest in 20th century architecture, so I enjoyed this book maybe more than it deserved, but I would still recommend it to anyone interested in mid century American history or architecture.

[Marian Knapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Broken Glass is an intriguing tale that reveals the amazing talents and the all-too-human tendencies of two remarkable public figures. Edith Farnsworth and Mies Van der Rohe each lived in their own rarified worlds – she in science and medicine, and he in leading-edge architecture - where they both challenged contemporary opinions and created new ways of thinking. Their often-contentious collaboration on Farnsworth’s small country retreat, exposes the most basic aspects of their personalities which ultimately engender nasty arguments, court battles, and an end to their one-time amicable relationship.

Farnsworth’s house with its own dramatic persona is the true main character in this beautifully written story. It is as if, unwittingly, Farnsworth and Van der Rohe have complicit but secondary roles as the producers of a celebrated but, flawed, masterpiece. Fascinating!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book because I'd seen a favorable review and then planned a vacation to a glass house. It seemed like the perfect book to bring. Unfortunately the way this book is set up I didn't even get to the construction of Farnsworth house during that vacation. 😕 When I eventually did get through the rest of the book, I was surprised that the trial was such a small part of the story, and its outcome contradicted so much of what had happened previously in the narrative. It was a very informative exercise in how people perceive things, how they document things, and how poor attorney strategy can lead to the miscarriage of justice. No one comes out of this story without sin, (or at least ineptitude and over inflated ego) but it's pretty clear from the documentary evidence that Farnsworth could have had a strong case against van der Roche if it had been handled correctly.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall this is a well written book on the plight of Edith Farnsworth and her friend and architect Ludwig Mies vander Rohe. Mies van der Rohe is really thought to be the "Father of Modern Architecture" in Chicago. Edith wanted a country home in Plano, IL and asked Mies to design and build the home. What ensues is a disaster between the two people. However Farnsworth House is born and is thought in many circles to be one of the best International Style home ever built. Alex Beam does an excellent job of descrining International Style and the good and bad aspects of Farnsworth House.
If you are interested in architecture- especially mid century modern and like Mies vand Rohe- this is a book for you.

[Steve Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a glowing review of the book, however I still need to visit this house. I cannot believe we lived in Michigan for 16 years and did not get there. We were so obsessed with seeing all of the Frank Lloyd Wright homes we could (an endeavor I do not regret) that we are guilty of overlooking so many other architectural gems. This book is an entertaining inside look at the relation between Mies and home owner Edith Farnsworth. It was complicated. As great architect-client relationships so often are. This one, like the historical value of the home itself, rises to a new level of dysfunctional relationship and author Alex Beam captures it in this detailed novel.

[Mark Einselen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating from start to finish, "Broken Glass" effortlessly blends personal details with architectural history. The personal and professional relationship between architect Mies van der Rohe and home owner Dr Edith Farnsworth wasn't a boring business transaction. Distinctions between favors and agreements were blurred and led to a lengthy court case. Details of their story before, during, and after the construction of the world famous Farnsworth House are illustrated with quotes, journal entries, and snippets from interviews. It was intriguing to learn more about the background of a structure I was familiar with having studied it in college and visited the site in person.

[Brad Sauls · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-researched and well-written account of the building of the Mies modern masterpiece, the house at Fox River built for Dr. Edith Farnsworth of Chicago. Beam's book spills all the tea on how the house-as-art combined and clashed with a Doctor's desire to get away from life in the Windy City. Architect and client start as fast friends, but can that friendahip survive building a most-unique house out of glass and steel next to a flood-prone river? Beam's writing style makes me interested to read his other books. He adds flair and life to this story about a famous house and the tempestuous relationship of its creators.

[Jim Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting, if sometimes a little slow, story of the relationship between a renowned architect and his client that culminated in the construction of a very modernist house that really wasn’t designed as it should have been, and the subsequent fallout including litigation between the two principles. While the architect had a big name, I question that he should have been permitted to practice based on his lack of formal training. He comes across as quite a pompous ass. She comes across as an overly trusting dufus, whose brilliance lay in areas other than as a careful home buyer.

[Laura Chase · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had heard an interview with Alex Beam and thought this sounded interesting. I found it interesting since I knew nothing about A: Architecture, B: Dr. Edith Farnsworth & C: Mies Van Der Rohe.
I'm not sure I'd want to live in an all glass house but would be curious to actually see this house in person. I didn't read this book straight through, I kept switching between this books and various fiction ones.

[Carolyn Leshyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up 2 to 3 miles from the Farnsworth house and was familiar with the stories about the house, owner and its architect. It brought back memories because we lived so close to the scene. I truly didn't know the specific details about the Mies-Farnsworth relationship and found it interesting to read.

I no longer live in the area, but a few years ago, I toured the house and found it so interesting. Thus, this book was a read down memory lane for me.

[Marian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I’m from Illinois, I had never heard of the Farnsworth House until I bought the album Plano by The Aluminum Group, which features the house on the cover. I’ve since had the good fortune to visit this fascinating property. The dispute between architect and client covered here shows neither in a good light, though both were very accomplished in their own fields. Philip Johnson comes off as an absolute tool.