There has never been a history of the cultural impact of concrete
In fact there has never been any history of the most ubiquitous
of all of Man's inventions until now!
Reese Palley has written a book,
CONCRETE: A SEVEN THOUSAND YEAR HISTORY,
that will inform, entertain and amuse you.
Architects Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi say:
Palley writes about technology, not as an engineer but as an erudite and eloquent amateur and humanist.
US Senator Robert Kerry says:
Reese Palley shares his interesting perspective on the historical,
cultural, and environmental influences of Concrete.
Bernard Kalb, NYT, CBS (Ret) says:
Imagine! a biography of concrete! the surprising life story of all that gooey goo poured over the centuries and how it's kept us together; indeed, concrete is the reason why so many of the architectural wonders of ancient, disintegrated civilizations are still around. poor Ozymandias! if only the 'king of kings' had been created out of this stuff instead of mere stone, he too would have made it. Reese Palley's book is--hard to resist this--a concrete achievement.
Dave Hickey, Art Critic says:
I am a PYRAMIDIOT after reading the first sections of Reese Palley's history of concrete
New Scientist Magazine says:
Reese Palley delightfully traces the mix of innovation and
impudence that make up the 7000-year history of artificial stone.
Book Ideas says:
A journey through history from the Egyptian pyramids to Frank Lloyd Wright.
Reese says:
Amazon or any bookstore will be delighted to take your money and I will share their delight
Preface |
The Great Agglomeration |
Chapter 1 Pyramidiots The Pyramid Wars * Decline and Fall |
Chapter 2 Between Egypt and Rome The Nabateans |
Chapter 3 Roman Concrete and Its Impact on World History Pouring the Coffers * Herod's Dream |
Chapter 4 Vitruvius and Giocondo, 1445-1525 |
Chapter 5 Joseph Moxon, 1627-1691 |
Chapter 6 Concrete in the Eighteenth Century The New Stone Age * The Eddystone Lights * The Nineteenth Century |
Chapter 7 The Twentieth Century Control and Communications Bunkers * The Maginot Line * The Sigfried Line, and the Mannheim Line * |
Chapter 8 The Wizard Of Menlo Park Edison's Concrete Modular Houses |
Chapter 9 What Is Art? Flights of Concrete Fancy * Roots of Grass * Rachel Whiteread * |
Chapter 10 Flagler's Folly Ships * Method of Construction * Powell River Breakwater |
Chapter 11 A Woeful Century The End of the Era of Profligacy * All About Sustainability * |
Chapter 12 The Industry Hopeful Developments |
Chapter 13 Lunar Transit Engineers, the Invisible Men |
Epilogue |
Appendix I Mercer |
Appendix II Roman Underwater |
Appendix III David Moore |
Appendix IV The Builders of Eddystone |
Appendix V Timeline A Cheonological Sequence of the History of Cament and Concrete |
Chapter Notes |
Bibliography |
Index |