A bad storyteller can turn even the most gripping story into torture. And a good one is to make you listen incessantly even to what, in general, does not interest you. «People and Bricks» is definitely the second case. Architectural historian Tom Wilkinson talks about ten outstanding buildings, at least half of which you have not even heard of (unless you are a colleague of the author). But if you have even a shred of childish curiosity alive in you, you will not be able to tear yourself away from this book. And in the end, disagree with the phrase of the Florentine philanthropist Giovanni Rucellai, quoted on one of the pages: “There are two important things in life: procreation and construction.” The only thing to regret is the lack of illustrations. And the size and quality of those that are available are also not encouraging. Of course, this is partly explained by the fact that photographs, for example, of the Tower of Babel, are quite difficult to get. And yet the book definitely deserves a brighter and richer illustrative series.
Alpina non-fiction, 336 p., 2015.