 The Hardcover Version Offers Amazon Customers Confusion, But More Reviews
Universe of Stone: A Biography of Chartres Cathedral
This is a paperback version of "Universe of Stone: A Biography of Chartres Cathedral." It doesn't show as such on Amazon because the sub-title is slightly different, but a comparison of the detail shows it is the same. Perhaps the publisher was seeking a sexier title.
Sometimes these two books are shown as part of a "Frequently Bought Together" package. Purchasers who opt for this will receive two copies of the same book. I'm informing Amazon, but in the meantime I offer this as a warning.
I do genuinely award this book five stars, but not for any reason not covered in other reviews (the hardcover page has more) except that those of my students (college) to whom I have recommended it have been enthusiastic about its content, style, and helpfulness.
A Paperback Version Exists
Although not shown above, a paperback version of this text does exist at about half the price. It doesn't show because the sub-title is slightly different, but a comparison of the detail shows it is the same. The book is entitled "Universe of Stone: Chartres Cathedral and the Invention of the Gothic."
Sometimes these two books are shown as part of a "Frequently Bought Together" package. Purchasers who opt for this will receive two copies of the same book. I'm informing Amazon, but in the meantime I offer this as a warning.
I do genuinely award this book five stars, but not for any reason not covered in other reviews except that those of my students (college) to whom I have recommended it have been enthusiastic about its content, style, and helpfulness
Universe of Stone: Chartres Cathedral and the Invention of the Gothic.
 Brings light to a period once thought dark
I have always had a special place in my heart for Gothic cathedrals: Notre Dame, Chartres, and though technically not a cathedral (because it's an Episcopal church, but very Gothic nonetheless), St. Thomas Church in New York City. With a trip planned to Paris in the fall, I thought it would be fun to dive deeply into the ideas behind these architectural masterpieces that affect my senses so deeply.
The book is well organized, and attempt to really provide a full telling of the story, including the religious, political, philosophical, cultural, and economic contexts that ultimately shaped the Gothic design. And it provides for me a much more sensible preamble to the renaissance than the simplistic (and somewhat self-congratulatory) stories that emanated from the renaissance actors themselves.
The book also reads very nicely: the editing is superb, and each chapter moves with purpose through an extraordinary amount of research. The book definitely delivers everything it promises on its cover!
 Where is the heart? Where is the soul?
Henry Adams' Mont-Saint Michel and Chartres - Henry Adams is a magnificent paean to the heart and soul of those who built Chartres cathedral and worshipped there.
I am afraid that Mr. Ball's book is a merely mechanical thing. It is dull, dull, deadly dull.
For an architect...or anyone planning to build their own cathedral....this book would be a useful acquisition. But if you seek the religious spirit of France in a book, stick with Mr. Adams or Little Saint (Modern Library Paperbacks)
 Good, not great
UNIVERSE OF STONE really piqued my interest in Gothic architecture, medieval history, and Chartres in particular. That is no small accomplishment for a single book. Ball has hit upon a fascinating topic. That being said, I have the following quibbles: (1) I found Ball's written prose to be cumbersome, digressive in a way better suited to the lecture hall than the written page; (2) I would have appreciated more--and more helpfully labelled--diagrams to explain the architectural concepts Ball describes; and (3) it is a crime that there is only one exterior photograph of the cathedral, and it shows only the western facade and towers; having finished the boook, I still don't really know what Chartres actually looks like; the same could be said for interior shots: there is one excellent picture of the nave, but that's it; for a subject whose grandeur is the focus, to have but two pictures illustrating that grandeur seems a shame.
|
