ARTS & HUMANITIES Houses of 111 Repute Brittain-Catlin, Timothy. Bleak Houses: Disappointment and Failure in Architecture. MIT. 2014.192p. illus. notes, hibliog. index. ISBN 9780262026697. $24.95; ehk. ISBN 9780262321259. ARCH Brittain-Catlin (senior lecturer, Kent Sch. of Architecture) looks at lost, neglected, and modified designs of England's forgotten architects, referring to them as "losers" throughout. He postulates that most writing on architectural history is ineffective since it returns repeatedly to the best examples of successful architecture but fails to give critical attention to lesser-known buildings. Looking mainly at structures of the last century to the present the author describes how the lack of conversation about architecture has resulted in pervasive bad design. "Loser" architects cannot relate to the loñy ideals of conventional criticism so they go in their own directions, producing ugly constructs with undisciplined designs. Readers of this book may want to consider Douglas Murphy's Architecture of Failure, which references Victorian glass and iron design as an archetype for the recurring faults of architects to produce lasting innovation. This title is difficult to follow because of the author's wordiness and use of run-on sentences; nevertheless, Brittain-Catlin makes a good case for reevaluating the quality of architectural criticism. VERDICT Architecture faculty and practicing architects will find this book to be a valuable source of professional discussion.—Eric G. Linderman, Euclid P.L., OH the Vernacular Architecture Forum. It is a reasoned explanation for developing definitions for common domestic homes in the United States, with a call for the public, students, and architectural historians to use the theories set forth to conduct a census of regional homes. In order to develop a common descriptive language for homes, Hubka [Resplendent Synagogue: Architecture and Worship in an Eighteenth-Century Poiish Community) argues that a residence should be identified by its outside features as well as its interior layout. The work includes small black-and-white photographs of exteriors and diagrams of floor plans. A set of representative blueprints is supplied with the author's universal term describing groups of floor plans. For example, homes built between 1800 and 2000 can be primarily classified into these groupings: suburban; minimal-traditional; manufactured home; split-level; and ranch. VERDICT This book is for readers interested in domestic architecture in the United States and for those who want to create a classification scheme and conduct a census of common homes.—Valerie Nye, Coll. of Santa Fe, NM tled The Age of Nothing), this is not so much an attack on religion or a defense of atheism as it is a chronicle of the myriad ways in which people have attempted to answer the question of how to find meaning since Friedrich Nietzsche famously declared that "God is dead" in 1882. Although challenging, this very readable survey covers artists, novelists, dramatists, poets, scientists, psychologists, philosophers, and more.. Watson takes readers on a whirlwind tour that includes major figures from the past 130 years—Virginia Woolf, Pablo Picasso, Sigmund Freud, and Wallace Stevens, up through Richard Dawkins and Ronald Dworkin, among many others. VERDICT Although there were times when, ironically, this reviewer wished for Watson to neatly tie some of the innumerable threads of thought together, his intended purpose is more to point, map, and chronicle them. In this, the author has provided an accessible entryway into an immense body of knowledge that curious readers will be inspired to pursue further.—Brian Sullivan, Alfred Univ. Lib., NY SPORTS & RECREATION Feinstein, John. Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life in the Minor Leagues of Basehall. Doubleday. 2014.384p. index. ISBN 9780385535939. $26.95; ebk. ISBN 9780385535946. SPORTS With firsthand interviews and an omniscient presence, Feinstein {Washington Post columnist; Season on the Brink) chronicles Huhka, Thomas C. a diverse range of personalities experiencHouses Without ing the grind of a minor league season and Names: Architectural sharing an ambition to reach the majors. Nomenclature and the The author believes poignant sporting Classification of America's narratives are not made by recounting Common Houses. Univ. the lives of immortal players or legendary of Tennessee. (Vernacular events, but rather by portraying "the guys Architecture Studies). 2013. who love their games, even though they 112p. illus. notes, index. often fail while playing them." And it is ISBN 9781572339477. pap. these unheralded individuals Feinstein de$29.95. ARCH picts. For highly touted prospects, the miThis is one title in a senors are a temporary initiation to the rigries of books produced by ors of professional baseball before reaching the majors. Yet, for most, these leagues are ginnings of the closing of the canon for called the Bible.—Sandra Collins, Byzantine an inescapable reality of brief call-ups and a constant revolving door between orgaboth Jews and Christians (third century Catholic Seminary Lib., Pittsburgh nizations. VERDICT Feinstein accomplishes CE). He provides a treasury of historical highlights, biblical backstories, and details Watson, Peter. The Age of Atheists: How more than revealing an aspect of baseball of textual production as well as a sweeping We Have Sought To Live Since the Death that many fans overlook or relegate to a overview of the struggles within Judaism of God. S. & S. 2014.512p. notes, index. subsidiary of the major leagues. He presand Christianity to establish the bases of ISBN 9781476754314. $35; ehk. ISBN ents relatable characters whose dedication their own spiritual authority. This far- 9781476754338. REL and sacrifice create empathy. While pritoo-seldom-studied area of biblical history The breathtakingly vast scope of intellec- marily recommended to baseball fans for deserves this attention and Satlow's effort tual historian Watson's ridiculously ambi- its survey of a misunderstood aspect of the does not disappoint. For those wanting tious narrative is reminiscent of his pre- sport, all readers may gain inspiration from more the extensive bibliography points the vious works Ideas and The Modern Mind. the perseverance of underdogs pursuing a way. VERDICT Satlow serves as the best sort Despite the misleading American title (the lifelong passion.—Stephen Arougheti, Arizona of tour guide to the history of this book British edition was more appropriately ti- State Univ., Phoenix 92 I LIBRARY JOURNAL APRIL 15,2014 [ WWW.LIBRARYJOURNALCOM REVIEWS, NEWS, AND MORE Copyright of Library Journal is the property of Media Source, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.