Sacred Architecture by AT Mann, Fabulous and interesting Options

Hi there! This is one of the better books that I've ever seen from an overall viewpoint. It's a book that those seekers on the path will like but can also show around to the average joe. There is a plentiful amount of awesome pictures and Manns writing style is easy to read. One of the better parts of the book is the way it continually progresses.
The first few chapters define what is meant by the term sacred architecture and the ideas that go create a more divine setting. Mann doesn't get in depth into discussing how to design any place, but does give some nice guidelines. He presents ideas that you can use in your own home.
Then he starts discussing various architectural patterns from around the world. He talks about everything from stone circles to feng-shui. One of the more impressive chapters in the book is when he starts to break down mandalas and the what they were designed to do. He finishes his survey on a fantastic note, the memory theater. The chapter was difficult for me to fully grasp and was probably one of the only explanations I've seen on constructing the legendary 'memory palace'. The last chapter he looks toward the future of architecture and hails Frank Lloyd Wright as the only recent mainstream architects to create places (buildings) of divine beauty. Which isn't hard for me to argue with as Wrights architecture is surely better than many of the homes I see today.
This book is very good, I give it four of four stars easily. After reading this or even looking through this you'll look around and think some long deep thoughts as to what makes everyone so grumpy, grouchy and prone to road-rage. A true classic that can be shared with those non-believers out there as well.

This post has been edited by Bb3: Jun 11 2005, 03:56 AM

Greetings and Thanks Bb3 for the review! I've tacked this book on to the ever growing tabulation...*sigh* My parents were architects and artists. I have a huge repetoire of architectural books to draw on and Manns book seems like a good one to add to the library! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Hi there Bym. I don't think you'll be disapointed in buying this book. It's written in a very clean manner, you could easily a chapter here or there in between doing other things. It's not slow, its not fast and it never really bores the reader, that's one of things that makes it such a great book.
I think this may the only book I ever read where after reading it, I thought to myself, this info is so totally right. The implications are so true and so stunning in their simplicity. If you do read it I hope that you share some feedback since you seem to have far more experience with architecture, which is a fascinating subject.