The Story of Utopias by Mumford [PD US ONLY]

Suggest and discuss books to read (all languages welcome!)
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alg1001
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Post by alg1001 »

The Story of Utopias by Lewis Mumford. This was published in 1922 but the author lived until 1990. It is a really interesting book.

Here's a description from sacred texts:
This is a survey of the development of the concept of Utopia, by one of the foremost urban planning theorists of the 20th century. This was Mumford's first book. He starts with a survey of the major utopias, some well-known, others less so. We look at Plato's Republic, More's Utopia, Andreæ's Christanopolis, Bacon's New Atlantis, Campanella's City of the Sun, Fourier's Phalanxes, Cabet's Icaria, Bellamy's Looking Backward, Morris' News from Nowhere, and finally H.G. Wells' utopian fiction. In the final portion of the book Mumford explores the prospects for Utopia and relates it to the realities of urban planning. Mumford's prose style is engaging and this is a great introduction to this fascinating subject

What do you think?

http://www.archive.org/details/storyutopias00mumfgoog
In the mind, or consciousness of the Earth this flower first lay latent as a dream. Perhaps, in her consciousness, it nested as that which in us corresponds to a little thought.--A.Blackwood
Algy Pug
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Post by Algy Pug »

alg1001 wrote:The Story of Utopias by Lewis Mumford. This was published in 1922 but the author lived until 1990. It is a really interesting book.

http://www.archive.org/details/storyutopias00mumfgoog
Sounds fascinating. I'd love to be part of it, but unfortunately this book won't in the public domain in Australia until 2060.

Good luck.

Cheers

Algy Pug
Algy Pug

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TriciaG
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Post by TriciaG »

Yeah - sounds great, but it's only PD in the USA. :(
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ColleenMc
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Post by ColleenMc »

A second book by Lewis Mumford, published in 1924, is now PD in the US (only):

Sticks and Stones: A Study of American Architecture and Civilization

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64629

Colleen
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