100 books like The Undercurrents

Monument Wars, like no other book I’ve read, explains the essence of the “monument”—what it is, what it’s supposed to do, and how it does it (or fails to do it)—in the context of American history.

Monuments freeze time and aspire to “closure,” setting heroes or momentous events and their meaning, literally, in stone. But our national lives and history do not stand still, and public memory thus changes with time, often with fraught consequences.

Savage brilliantly examines and illuminates this dissonance, focusing on the most important monumental space in the United States—Washington, D.C., and the National Mall.

Smart, surprising, and accessible, this account of the national capital’s contested terrain offers a vivid case study of how Americans remember, sometimes forget, and increasingly contest their past through sculpture, ceremonial landscape, and the theatrics of the built landscape.

The President’s House is marvelous two-volume work that is the most comprehensive history ever written about the White House. The book starts with the laying of the cornerstone, all the way through the Truman Renovation. The author writes the detailed history in the style of a page-turning novel! I had the honor of meeting the author, Dr. William Seale, during my first week working in the White House Usher's Office in 1986, a great guy!

This isn’t romance, mystery, or suspense per se. Living Landmarks are historic places that you can still visit, and they tell us the story of Chicago. Although much was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1871, some of the early architecture remains. And what was built after defines the “city of big shoulders.” As the author says, “Chicago is the physical manifestation of dreamers, malcontents, philanthropists, and grifters.” You can read about what is, maybe, the oldest house in Chicago, Clarke House, now a museum or any other of the forty-nine sites. Places I used like the Palmer House, The Rookery, the Art Institute, Union Station, and the Civic Opera House are all represented. The stories are short but compelling and the book is a valuable resource if you want to know more about the romance and mystery that define Chicago. 

Time and time again, I refer to this book because it is chock full of fascinating history about New York told in an unusual way.

Packed with beautifully reproduced photos on every page, it takes as its subject the seemingly dull characteristic of urban experience—the street grid—and fashions over 200 short succinct stories of people, politics, and real estate development. It’s a bravo book.

For an unusual and completely different take on New York, pick up this delightful, funny, and moving book filled with drawings of cityscapes past and present. I wasn’t aware of Wertz’s book until after I’d written my book (full disclosure: Wertz wrote a blurb for my book), but I feel it captures in illustrations what the best of other New York writers capture in words. Reading it is like walking along the streets of the city itself, with a bit of poetry here, a bit of squalor there, a bit of history everywhere.  

For anyone who has ever lived in a loft or aspired to live in one, this book tells the story of how loft living came into being, how it started with artists seeking a place to live with low rent and large spaces for studios they found in old manufacturing buildings.

I have used this story to teach about innovation and how artists were ahead of both government policy and real estate developers in finding value in spaces they occupied illegally! This is a classic book about an unexpected urban transformation that morphed into a chic lifestyle.

This is a little book I bought second-hand. Published in 1896 by the Religious Tract Society, each chapter is based on the author’s visit to different Christian churches and missions in East London. It’s full of lovely illustrations as well as incredible detail about the different communities and ways of life in this part of London. 

Architecture is always a collaboration between the architect who conceives the project, the builder who must realize it, and the client who starts it—and pays for it The protracted building process, which is often stressful, is always a complicated pas de trois. No one has written about this better than Tracy Kidder, who describes the complex choreography by following (in real-time and in detail) the construction of a family home in New England.

On Altering Architecture belongs to a small and unique collection of publications that are involved in distinguishing the discipline of working with existing buildings. In the book, Scott constructs an inspired argument for the understanding of the significance of environmental design disciplines such as Interior design and installation art. The book is divided into twelve chapters, each an essay on reuse and overlapping disciplines. 

Each chapter is full of insightful and interesting case studies, expertly analysed and explained. On Altering Architecture is an absorbing and fascinating book that is packed with ideas, witty asides, mischievous digressions, and provocative thoughts. In parts the tone of the book is conversational, in others authoritative, each blends seamlessly into each other providing a compelling read. 

Hidden Treasure is the thirteenth novel in the long-running Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries series.

This novel is a great addition to the series that features not only an antique dealing main character but shows her business growing and transforming. I specifically enjoyed this novel because the mystery is centered on an older woman who has a zest for life despite her age—and I like how Josie encourages and helps her.

The novel’s fast-paced and twisty, including one particularly surprising and fun detail near the end. I highly recommended this series to lovers of cozy as well as traditional mysteries with an antique dealer as the main character.