Home: A Short History of an Idea
by Witold Rybczynski

First published in 1993.

When Witold Rybczynski realised that in all his years of architectural training the word 'comfort' had been mentioned only once - and then in a mechanical context - he began to cast about for a definition of that elusive term. What he came up with was by no means as simple as we might expect; the way we arrange our homes reflects not only particular taste and current fashion but an idea of the home that is the culmination of several hundred years of development. Rybczynski discusses such essential issues as privacy, domesticity, efficiency and ease; he examines the variety of social and cultural factors that promoted them and proves those concepts to be as much human inventions as easy chairs and wall-to-wall carpeting. Today we focus more on décor, technology, and convenience than on comfort - the least obvious concern. This book will again change our attitudes - and will make it impossible for us to think of our homes in the same way again.