TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 767 Yavetz does well to focus on Heaviside. At a couple of places, how ever, that focus is too close. For example, it would have been more illuminating if, while examining Heaviside’s notion of energy flow, Yavetz had compared him with J. H. Poynting, because the latter obtained the idea of energy flow at almost the same time as Heavi side did. In addition, although Yavetz talks about larger historio graphical issues such as the nature of engineering science, he is not explicit about the new implications to be drawn from his analysis of Heaviside’s case. Despite these minor shortcomings, there is no doubt that this book is a welcome addition to the historiography of 19th-century physics and electrical engineering and, in particular, to their common denominators. Sungook Hong Dr. Hong teaches at the University of Toronto. His work centers on the relation ship between theory and practice in the early phase of power engineering and wire less telegraphy. TheRise oftheNew York Skyscraper, 1865-1913. By Sarah Bradford Lan dau and Carl W. Condit. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996. Pp. xvi+478; illustrations, maps, notes, bibliography, index. $50.00 (cloth). The rise of the New York skyscraper is a big, difficult, neglected topic, so this effort by Sarah Bradford Landau and Carl W. Condit arouses great expectations. Its title does not reflect its focus, how ever; the authors present the “physical and formal development” (p. xi) of selected high-rise buildings in Manhattan without concep tually tying the story together and without considered analysis of the issues behind it. The Rise ofthe Skyscraper, nonetheless, is a handsome book that provides beautiful photographs of old New York skyscrap ers, many ofwhich have been demolished. It hints at the forces that drove the construction ofthe high-rise, pointing out the importance of institutions such as insurance companies and hotels. This chronologically organized work presents the celebrated tall buildings of New York while touching on subjects such as the role of the architect, the regulation of height, and fire safety. The main focus is on detailed description of facade composition (with an eye toward stylistic labeling) as well as particularization of framework and foundations; these texts read like historic structure reports. The Rise of the Skyscraper may be helpful for further investigation of the history of individual buildings, and it will enhance a New Yorker’s walk through lower Manhattan. On the other hand, lack of a clear thematic framework means that this volume seems like a set of re search notes pieced together rather than a work conceived as a whole. Text sometimes reads like footnotes, and vice-versa. The 768 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE reader doesn’t know if facts are provided because they are relevant or unusual, or simply because they were available. Rather than a general discussion of technology, Landau and Condit provide a series of blurbs that seem random because they are not linked to an overarching idea of skyscraper development. The authors’ claim that “building was no longer a craft tradition but rather a scientific technology” (p. 113) is a rephrasing of a sentence in American Building, written by Condit thirty years ago; but this state ment is never discussed, let alone justified. The building process is rarely touched on, and issues such as standardization and mass pro duction—crucial for both structure and ornament—are not dis cussed. An explanation of the various modes of exterior wall con struction—the part of the skyscraper central to this book—is buried within a description of an individual building (p. 121) rather than given detailed treatment. Several times, the authors seem to argue that technology should provide definitive solutions; for example, the claim that “disastrous fires still sometimes occur indicates that the problem has never finally been solved” (p. 30) is an unusual assess ment, as technology never brings a final solution to any problem. Architectural and technological development is explained in ways that will trouble historians. There are many references to “foreshad owings,” “forerunners,” and “grandfathers” (e.g., pp. 52,116); the fact that something appeared earlier seems justification enough to link it to what came later...
Search from 250 M+ research papersSearch from 250 M+ research papers
Open Access
Dec 8, 2020
Michael Novak 
