Lee Goff
Harry N. Abrams 2002, Hardback, 232pp
ISBN 0-8109-3287-3

From prehistoric dwellings to the houses of the early 21st century, this book sets out to record the use of stone in the domestic architecture of the United States. The introduction seeks to establish an intellectual raison d’être, which unfortunately not all of the subsequent chapters manage to deliver. Not that the content is poor – the rich and exuberant photography almost encourages the reader to stretch out and feel the texture of the stones forming the houses on display – but the book’s title could lead the unsuspecting to presume that more detail will be provided on the range of stones utilised.

Some of the examples included are particularly striking – Henry Hobson Richardson’s Ames’ Gate House (1880-1) demonstrates the expressive possibilities inherent in construction with large, rough stone boulders, while the delicate simplicity of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Top Cottage belies its importance as possibly the first building designed by a disabled person for himself and one of only two houses designed by a sitting US president.

Inevitably, with a shorter timescale to work with, the 21st century examples offered are less intriguing than those of the three previous centuries. The book’s value extends beyond its intended coffee table market, however, by providing technical nuggets such as "...mortar enhanced with coal dust to darken it and echo the flecks of mica in the schist..." which could only otherwise be obtained by practical experiment. For the contemporary architect seeking to design well with stone, this is the equivalent of discovering alchemical success.