Review by Choice Review
British novelist King has written a remarkably readable book with a well-designed format on what could be a tediously technical subject: the construction of the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. The reader is treated to a chronicle of Filippo Brunelleschi's life in 19 chapters that include such fascinating details as the daily routine of the workers, the technology of brick making and quarrying of marble, the amazing machines invented by Brunelleschi for raising 70 million pounds of stone to the highest levels of the dome, and the rhyme and reason for his ingenious patterning of bricks. This detailed history of the building process is illustrated with useful diagrams and drawings and includes comprehensive notes and bibliography. Using primary sources as well as the literature of decades of scholarship, the author delights the reader with his enticing narrative, which unfolds like a mystery tale. Any prospective reader will ask one important question: does the author really explain comprehensibly exactly how Brunelleschi constructed the dome? He does. But more than that, a window is opened onto life in 15th-century Florence, with a telescope on the genius who solved "the greatest architectural puzzle of the age." General readers; undergraduates through faculty. S. C. Scott Pennsylvania State University, University Park Campus
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Like the poetry of Petrarch or the artistry of Giotto, the architecture of Filippo Brunelleschi radiates the talent of a Renaissance genius. King illuminates the mysterious sources of inspiration and the secretive methods of this architectural genius in a fascinating chronicle of the building of his masterwork, the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore. Unsurpassed by St. Peter's in Rome or St. Paul's in London, Filippo's sublime dome required an imaginative leap in its conception and a stubborn relentlessness in its execution. King details how Filippo waged and won his 28-year battle to raise the magnificent structure, surmounting every technical, political, and artistic obstacle. And just as his dome created a visual focus for the city of Florence, his exploits in building it wove together numerous strands of municipal history--war, disease, intrigue, commerce--making one glorious narrative cord. King demonstrates a remarkable range, explaining everything from how Filippo engineered the hoists for raising stone to why the masons working on the dome drank diluted wine, but he always brings us back to the one incandescent mind performing the one matchless feat that would forever transform architecture from a mechanical craft into a creative art. --Bryce Christensen
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Walker was the hardcover publisher of Dava Sobel's sleeper smash, Longitude, and Mark Kurlansky's steady-seller Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World. This brief, secondary source-based account is clearly aimed at the same lay science-cum-adventure readership. British novelist King (previously unpublished in the U.S.) compiles an elementary introduction to the story of how and why Renaissance Italian architect Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) designed and oversaw the construction of the enormous dome of Florence's Santa Maria del Fiore cathedralÄdesigning its curves so that they needed no supporting framework during construction: a major Renaissance architectural innovation. Illustrated with 26 b&w period prints, the book contains 19 chapters, some very brief. Although the result is fast moving and accessible, King overdoes the simplicity to the point that the book appears unwittingly as if it was intended for young adults. (Donatello, Leonardo and Michelangelo, for example, "took a dim view of marriage and women.") This book feels miles away from its actual characters, lacking the kind of dramatic flourish that would bring it fully to life. Despite direct quotes from letters and period accounts, the "would have," "may have" and "must have" sentences pile up. Still, the focus on the dome, its attendant social and architectural problems, and the solutions improvised by Brunelleschi provide enough inherent tension to carry readers along. (Oct. 23) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
British historical novelist King (Domino, Minerva; Ex Libris) brings his talent for colorful period re-creation to the story of the world's largest masonry dome, that of the cathedral in Florence, Italy. Filippo Brunelleschi's ingenious solution for erecting the enormous dome ranks among the outstanding accomplishments of the early Renaissance, stimulating among his contemporaries a new appreciation of classical architecture as well as inspiring a spirit of innovation. For King, the dome's story is a tumultuous saga of rich and poor, geniuses and journeymen, soldiers and ecclesiastics, all of whom bring to life the vivid tapestry of daily life in the first half of the 1400s. King has done his research, but where the historical record is vague he doesn't hesitate to deploy the speculative imagination of the novelist. Regarding the cathedral itself, he dwells on engineering minutiae, paying scant attention to design and aesthetics. Omitted is mention of Filippo's important designs for the cathedral's exedrae, perhaps because this episode lacks drama. For reference, public libraries need Peter Murray's Architecture of the Italian Renaissance (1975, o.p.) or Ludwig Heydenreich's Architecture in Italy, 1400-1500 (Yale Univ., 1995). Those that are looking for a simple "good read" in the mold of Dava Sobel's Longitude (LJ 8/96) would do well to acquire this page turner.DDavid Soltsz, Cuyahoga Cty. P.L., Parma, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Novelist King (Ex Libris, not reviewed) takes us to Florence, half a millennium ago. It took over a century to build Santa Maria del Fiore, the cathedral of Florence. In 1418, builders realized that constructing the cathedral's dome was a bit of a challenge, and they asked for proposals. A goldsmith and clockmaker called Filippo Brunelleschi submitted the winning plan and spent almost 30 years vaulting the dome. Here, King tells the tale of the genius Brunelleschi and sheds light on the travails of life in 15th-century Italy, to boot. The cathedral dome contest was not the first time Brunelleschi had competed to public acclaim: when he was 24--just three years after he was designated a master goldsmith--he offered a design for the bronze doors to the baptistery of San Giovanni that was very nearly accepted. Although his doors never hung on the baptistery, he had been thrust into the limelight at a young age. In addition to following the colorful career of Brunelleschi, the author treats us to captivating descriptions of the weekly religious feasts at which Florentines gorged, the lavish gold and silk habits of the monks and priests who paraded through the streets, and the bells that chimed throughout the city. We read about the painstaking brick-laying techniques that Florentine builders used, the professional rivalries that occasionally dragged master craftsmen to the level of soap opera, and the religious and architectural reasons that Gothic builders "sought to fill their churches with plenty of light." And we learn everything we ever wanted to know--probably more--about the creation of a cathedral dome, from cupolas to Carrara marble. A compelling (if a touch overly detailed) look at Florence, its architecture, and one of its artisans. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
