[.ca] Breaking Ground (ISBN 1594481326)

Only an idiot can be brilliant at breakfast:
Libeskind proves in this personal account of his life that living dangerously has his rewards. He describes his endless struggles with authorities, bureaucrats in Berlin, New York and so on. He tells marvellous tales of taking a stand in architecture, how architecture and good design can add value to a city. But his life in architecture is an adventurous one. He won the commission for the Jewish Museum in Berlin just by good luck and an ambitious wife. Libeskind received too late the invitation to take part in the architectural competition. His wife succeeded by sheer thougness in nominating him for the contest and eventually he won. His struggle for the World Trade Center commission is a tough one. Larry Silverstein is his main opponent. Libeskind can never be confident about the outcome of this fight. Why insist on theoretical books on architecture when such personal accounts are available? Libeskind pleads for architecture with heart and soul. I liked this book tremendously and would like to recommend the book to every student of architecture. Just to learn that architecture is about winning competitions as much as about designing. Libeskind cites Einstein: Only an idiot can be brilliant at breakfast. Libeskind could have written this beautiful book during breakfast. Luuk Oost