Lewis Mumford: A Life

By Donald L. Miller

Book Overview

Malcolm Cowley called Lewis Mumford "the last of the great humanists, " and indeed, in more than six decades of writing, Mumford made contributions to history, philosophy, literature, art, architectural criticism, and urban planning. The author of some thirty books, Mumford produced a body of work almost unequaled in the twentieth century for its range and richness.A New York Times Notable Book, Donald Miller's engagingly written biography reveals Mumford's full and fascinating life. Based on ten years of research and unprecedented access to original and private papers, Miller penetrates Mumford's reserved public persona and takes in the complete man, his works as well as his days, as he struggles to transform the world -- and his own life -- in decades marked by unparalleled change.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1555842445
• ISBN13: 9781555842444
• Release Date: January 1989
• Publisher: George Weidenfeld & Nicholson
• Length: 628 Pages
• Weight: 2.48 lbs.

Customer Reviews

An untidy but rich life.

Donald Miller has written an exceptionally engaging and perceptive biography of Lewis Mumford, one of America's most capacious and fertile thinkers, exploring not only his exceptional career but the untidy and sometimes tittilating aspects of his personal life.Mumford's obsessive need for women is examined with depth and honesty without sinking into tawdry tabloidism.It is a long book but moves along at the pace of a well written novel.The pity is that Mumford's warnings for America's future were not heeded lending even greater relevance to Ralph Waldo Emerson's depiction of late 19th century America, "Things are in the saddle and ride mankind" .

What a great biography!

More people need to discover Mumford. I found the parts on his personal life to be fascinating and worthwhile. An extremely well-researched, well-balanced, and engaging book about a truly great American. Why can't all biographies be like this?

Fine Biography

All in all, this is a decent biography of Mumford, who will probably be remembered as America's last true renaissance man. One major flaw though, is that the book really bogs down about halfway through with way too much information about Mumford's many extramarital affairs. It would have been better off to spend more time on his writings and other work.