Michael Pollan’s unmatched ability to draw lines of connection between our everyday experiences— whether eating, gardening, or building—and the natural world has been the basis for the popular success of his many works of nonfiction, including the genre-defining bestsellers The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food. With this updated edition of his earlier book A Place of My Own, readers can revisit the inspired, intelligent, and often hilarious story of Pollan’s realization of a room of his own—a small, wooden hut, his “shelter for daydreams”—built with his admittedly unhandy hands. Inspired by both Thoreau and Mr. Blandings, A Place of My Own not only works to convey the history and meaning of all human building, it also marks the connections between our bodies, our minds, and the natural world.

Customer Rating:
Summary: looking at building from all angles
Comment: I'm so glad this book is once again readily available; I keep wanting to give it to friends and it had become hard to find. Pollan undertook the project of building himself a modest shelter, and used that as a jumping-off place to consider--always entertainingly--a dazzling array of related subjects. The book is a joy to read, a disquisition on everything from design considerations (site, view, feel), to descriptions of the nitty-gritty of basic shelter construction (why you don't see awning windows that swing inward, the right way to hammer a nail), to reflections about historical, cultural and technological influences on the evolution of structures, the divergence between design and construction that produced the profession of architect and the craft of builder and the tension between the two. Pollan's graceful writing is informed by his inquiring intellect and his wide-ranging fund of knowledge. There is something thought-provoking on nearly every page.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Don't Be Conned!!
Comment: I love Michael Pollan. "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and "In Defense of Food" changed the way I eat forever. Both are brilliant. So, when browsing here I noticed a new book by him. Thought it sounded interesting. The book wasn't to be released until a few days ago. Everything leads me to believe this is a new work by Pollan. WRONG! This book was published over ten years ago. It garnered mediocre to terrible reviews, including one by Library Journal -- normally a very fair, even generous, book review instititution -- that was a complete pan, going so far as to advise libraries NOT to buy it. If you go to other editions of this book you'll find one with a different cover that does have 17 reviews. Except for the reviews clearly written by his friends the book was basically panned.

Disappointed to learn all of this I braved on and tried to read it. It's not a bad book, but clearly not what we have come to want from Pollan. His Thoreauian meditation on building a cabin behind his house in the Northeast with his own hands is very slim material indeed. I put the book down. I have a lot of books to read and I eagerly put this at the top of my list, but now it's been deep-sixed forever. I buy books by the authors I have loved in the past, reviews -- after combing through the inane ones and the ones by the author's fan club -- and other factors. Putting this out in a new cover does not change the fact that it is decidedly minor Pollan. I would probaby give it three or four stars, but because I was conned, because I'm angry that I can't get my money back on the purchase of books, I give it one star. Shame on you and your publisher, Mr. Pollan. Shame on you. I hope others won't be deceived.

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