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Rem Koolhaas
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Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan Paperback – December 1, 1997

by Rem Koolhaas (Author)
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Since its publication - Delirious New York (1978) has attained mythic status. Rem Koolhaas's celebration and analysis of New York depicts the city as a metaphor for the variety of human behavior

At the end of the nineteenth century, population, information, and technology explosions made Manhattan a laboratory for the invention and testing of a metropolitan lifestyle - "the culture of congestion" - and its architecture. "Manhattan," he writes, "is the 20th century's Rosetta Stone . . . occupied by architectural mutations (Central Park, the Skyscraper), utopian fragments (Rockefeller Center, the U.N. Building), and irrational phenomena (Radio City Music Hall)." Koolhaas interprets and reinterprets the dynamic relationship between architecture and culture in a number of telling episodes of New York's history, including the imposition of the Manhattan grid, the creation of Coney Island, and the development of the skyscraper.

Delirious New York is also packed with intriguing and fun facts and illustrated with witty watercolors and quirky archival drawings, photographs, postcards, and maps. The spirit of this visionary investigation of Manhattan equals the energy of the city itself.

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  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    The Monacelli Press
  4. Publication date
    December 1, 1997
  5. Dimensions
    7.3 x 1 x 9.4 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1885254008
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1885254009
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In this fanciful volume, Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, founder of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (O.M.A.), both analyzes and celebrates New York City. By suggesting the city as the site for an infinite variety of human activities and events--both real and imagined--the essence of the metropolitan lifestyle, its "culture of congestion" and its architecture are revealed in a brilliant new light. "Manhattan," Koolhaas writes, "is the 20th century's Rosetta stone . . . occupied by architectural mutations (Central Park, the Skyscraper), utopian fragments (Rockefeller Center, the U.N. Building), and irrational phenomena (Radio City Music Hall)." Filled with fascinating facts, as well as photographs, postcards, maps, watercolors, and drawings, the vibrancy of Koolhaas's poignant exploration of Gotham equals the heady, frenetic energy of the city itself. Anyone who loves New York will want to own this book.

From Library Journal

"Koolhaas's retroactive manifesto explains Manhattan's architecture as the physical embodiment of a 'culture of congestion,' " said LJ's reviewer of this mixture of architectural theory and social commentary (LJ 3/15/79).
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Monacelli Press (December 1, 1997)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1885254008
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1885254009
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.12 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.3 x 1 x 9.4 inches
  • Customer Reviews:

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Rem Koolhaas

Rem Koolhaas

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
283 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the content fascinating from start to finish. They also describe the book as a great read with understandable content.

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ContentReading experienceComprehensibility
9 customers mention "Content"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the content fascinating from start to finish, with interesting case studies and a socio-architectural retrospective. They also say the book provides an interesting comparison of Le and the Manhattanist lifestyle.

"...It's not a totally normal style of writing but it's still very interesting and understandable if you can pay attention. One of my favorite reads...." Read more

"Fascinating from start to finish. This is a gripping history of the city of New York, tracing its architectural evolution from the Dutch's rational..." Read more

"An insightful and original history of the coming into being of Manhattan, New York as a metropolis, by a great writer and (now) internationally..." Read more

"...go with it though and you'll be glad you did; it's a captivating interpretation of New York that is certainly at least as valuable as whatever you..." Read more

8 customers mention "Reading experience"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book a great read.

"...Very enjoyable, I have read this more than once...." Read more

"Good read, good quality" Read more

"...Well worth a read for the romantics and the sceptics." Read more

"...or not - for anyone who lives in New York or not... This book is a great read" Read more

3 customers mention "Comprehensibility"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book understandable, and say it's written in a clear and concise way. They also say it’s a must read for architects.

"...normal style of writing but it's still very interesting and understandable if you can pay attention. One of my favorite reads...." Read more

"Lucidly written, it manages to be simultaneously clear yet poetic...." Read more

"This classic is a must read for every architect, ......" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

emmawu
5.0 out of 5 stars In great condition
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2022
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The book comes in great condition. Everything is intact. Compared with the price for a new book, this is def a good deal!
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Plains
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite books
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2013
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He goes into rigorous detail in describing the evidence for his "manifesto" but without losing the reader. If you have ever read any art theory style writing then this will be understandable. It's not a totally normal style of writing but it's still very interesting and understandable if you can pay attention. One of my favorite reads. There are moments of wonder (did that really happen in New York?), moments of enlightenment, and plenty of humor and irony, and even some heroes and villains (Le Corbusier as the tyrant who seeks to destroy New York, Dali as the out of place European in America). Very enjoyable, I have read this more than once. Highly recommend to anyone interested in architecture, design, or art history (and New York of course).
7 people found this helpful
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DS
5.0 out of 5 stars In a word brilliant.
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2014
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Fascinating from start to finish. This is a gripping history of the city of New York, tracing its architectural evolution from the Dutch's rational plotting the grid of Manhattan to Coney Island's early extravagance as a showcase for the bizarre to the manical explosion of sky scrapers. Intriguing is the story of Coney Island serving as an incubator for Manhattan's themes and personality of forms. Koolhaas, now a starchitect, wrote this goregous work decades before he would create his own masterpieces of architecture such as the Seattle Library or Casa de Musica. In a word brilliant.
4 people found this helpful
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Diamonds
4.0 out of 5 stars Obligatory starting point for building an understanding of the impact of the author as an Architect
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2016
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An insightful and original history of the coming into being of Manhattan, New York as a metropolis, by a great writer and (now) internationally revered Architect. Reading this, as an Architect, almost four decades after this has been put together for the first time, and being somewhat familiar with some of the works of the office he started (OMA), makes its' reading not without expectations in regards to learning about the practical applications of the lessons learned here. And to fast-forward to a tentative conclusion; these kind of expectations are not full-filled. The book, as a study is an exploration first and foremost; anything beyond is (and was) future, which we can now 'measure' or compare against actual production (of the author as Architect).

The book itself then and its' structure; it starts off with a chapter on Coney Island, as being the laboratory for Manhattan; if one can make it through this first chapter, one is well positioned for the next chapters dealing with Manhattan's development, until the last one, where the author shifts gears suddenly, to get into the heads of two European celebrities of the Art & Architecture community, and basically finishes off the 'Manhattanism' process/period described in the previous chapters, thru the tales and eyes of these two. In terms of reading, a somewhat discontinuous experience, and asking the reader (once more), to find his/her bearing on a new 'platform' of thought(s) / thinking, this time centered around a newly introduced idea of a so-called 'Paranoia-Critical-Method', and the aspects of Paranoia itself. It is not quite clear why this shift is needed in view of the preceding chapters and history, and does not contribute to its core story, imho.

The book is an intellectual and theoretical approach to Planning and Architectural history, where an objectivity has been maintained most of the time, albeit one cannot miss the at times sarcastic/sceptical/comical tones, when describing rather bizarre moments and ideas in the history of Manhattan. Almost every paragraph, headed by a short keyword of its content/subject, is concluded with a transcendental thought, a 'one-liner' providing a philosophical condensation of the evolving step in the process, which in themselves are the little pearls the writer adds on a string (of the story-line).

One of the main values of the approach is that it puts Architecture, Planning and Design in an historical context that's including cultural, socio- and economic forces, as much, and most of the time, more than the Architecture, Planning and Design itself. What it tries to convey is a sense of processes beyond any one's control, where the Architect, Engineer and Designer are merely the ones providing the means to the forces that are occurring and shaping the processes. Their 'ideas' appear as makeshift, when seen against a 'bigger picture' background, their particular 'Architectural' approach or style more or less irrelevant.

The book does include at the end, design proposals for Manhattan by the author / Architect around the time of writing / conception of the book (mid-seventies), that are presented as visual illustrations of the principles discovered and described in the book. However, partly due to the scale of the graphics included (small singular conceptual 3D images) and in part due to a listing of programmatic characteristics that one has been inundated with already a lot in the book, it doesn't really add to the story-line, imho. It seems that what one would expect, based on knowing what we know now in regards to the author and his career, that is a summarizing and a valuation of the principles in terms of how they would be made to guide one in projects for the future, is a missing stepping stone.

As such, the shown projects in a way act more as a 'smoke-screen' than an unveiling of a future 'manifesto' (or set of rules), since it is not clear what is 'different' than what one has come to see before, nor what value, rejection or acceptance, is placed upon it. The Architect did not come out and valuate what the author has distilled. Perhaps that had not happened to the point of conclusion yet, but instead what is presented seems to represent a phase of mesmerizing and fascination with the subject. As such, the Architect and the subsequent work of the office remains a subject of study for me. One has to start somewhere, and this is most likely an obligatory starting point.
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T. Peters
5.0 out of 5 stars You'll never look at NY the same way
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2011
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Here's an undergraduate architecture student's perspective: I really enjoyed this book! It's not difficult to get into but be prepared to venture into some pretty fantastical theories about New York. I couldn't help but think that some of the explanations and narrative were a bit forced to fit into some very memorable lines and titles. Just go with it though and you'll be glad you did; it's a captivating interpretation of New York that is certainly at least as valuable as whatever you'll find in a history book.
11 people found this helpful
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larry gibson
5.0 out of 5 stars Manhattanism Explored
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2017
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Very interesting socio-architectural retrospective on the "manhattanism" lifestyle that developed in conjunction with the imposed street grid system, the elimination of nature from the city, and the architecture of skyscraper buildings. Different approach to the history of the city.
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Xavier Atlas
5.0 out of 5 stars This classic is a must read for every architect, ...
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2014
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This classic is a must read for every architect, urbanist and New York aficionado. Although written may years ago, the essence of the city, which Koolhaas correctly sensed and wrote on its pages, make it one of the most quoted and takled about books about the urbanism and architecture of this unique city.
2 people found this helpful
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Christopher I. Nelson
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2010
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I read this book on the train, to and from work. I'm an architect in NYC, so it seemed like a perfect place to read this book. There are some interesting case studies that lead to an interesting comparison of Le Corbusier and Salvidor Dali with their respect to architecture. Oddly enough, I end up liking Dali as an architect more than Le Corbusier.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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valentin
4.0 out of 5 stars Fast delivery
Reviewed in Sweden on September 3, 2023
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Good quality of the book!
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HN
5.0 out of 5 stars Must have
Reviewed in Germany on July 30, 2019
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Super schneller versand. Buch ist must have und Klassiker
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Herold Palacky
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read (with a dictionary on a side)
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 29, 2018
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Genius description of New York's history by the architecture great Rem Koolhaas. The only thing which hurts the readability is Rem's love in using jargon and uncommon words, which are sometimes completely unnecessary.
2 people found this helpful
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Snk
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in India on September 25, 2016
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Must read for architects .
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Robert Bass
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on December 17, 2015
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good read
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