FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT: The Interactive Portfolio

Packed with removable facsimiles of exceptional quality and interest, this collection documenting great American architect Wright (1867–1959) was put together by the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives registrar and art collections administrator, whose work makes her deeply familiar with Wright's legacy. Taking readers from Wright's modest Wisconsin beginnings to a terrific 1940s colored-pencil sketch of the Guggenheim Museum (and Baroness Hilla von Rebay's handwritten letter commissioning it) and beyond, Stipe tells the story of the work and the life with an organic clarity, economy and specificity that is completely in keeping with Wright's spirit, down to the simple but thoughtful layout, sans serif main font and deco-like block caption font. The never-finished, WWI-era Midway Gardens (destroyed in 1929), the famed 1930s Fallingwater house in Pennsylvania and even a 1957 "Plan for Greater Baghdad" are all here, along with numerous other projects familiar and unfamiliar. While it surpasses most Wright books in its plain forthrightness about Wright's turbulent personal life, this 11"×11" collection's 100 illustrations and 25 interactive elements form the book's intimate core. A 17-track CD presents short question-and-answer exchanges with Wright from various interviews recorded in the 1950s. (Oct.)