“A stunning, image-driven examination of the "uniquely American symbol of home and hearth” —BuzzFeed (Books Gift Guide) "Lavishly illustrated, this book by a Cincinnati native tells the story of America through its iconic structure — the log cabin. In lively prose," —Columbus Dispatch "The perfect holiday gift for grown-ups who graduated past Lincoln Logs," —Mother News Network Like a wooden security blanket that Americans reach for when times get tough, the log cabin has endured as a uniquely American symbol of home and hearth. This strain of cabin fever is no fleeting trend: It has struck at regular intervals since the early 1900s, when log cabin vacations first became an option for an increasingly mobile America. Now the cozy cabin aesthetic is found, like a collective fantasy, in every corner of our national culture. But how did it all begin? This is an image-driven history of log cabins in America. Exploring the log cabin’s hidden past, this book draws on colonial diaries and journalistic accounts, as well as paintings, illustrations, and graphics to show how the log cabin—once derided as a poor immigrant’s hovel—became an American institution and a modern ambition. Bursting with quirk, charm, and fascinating trivia, The Log Cabin is the perfect companion for cabin dwellers, vacationers, and daydreamers alike.

Examines the backgrounds of each of our presidents, argues that their families were better off than the average American family, and discusses the whole presidential selection process

For roughly a century, the log cabin occupied a central and indispensable role in the rapidly growing United States. Although it largely disappeared as a living space, it lived on as a symbol of the settling of the nation. In her thought-provoking and generously illustrated new book, Alison Hoagland looks at this once-common dwelling as a practical shelter solution--easy to construct, built on the frontier’s abundance of trees, and not necessarily meant to be permanent--and its evolving place in the public memory. Hoagland shows how the log cabin was a uniquely adaptable symbol, responsive to the needs of the cultural moment. It served as the noble birthplace of presidents, but it was also seen as the basest form of housing, accommodating the lowly poor. It functioned as a paragon of domesticity, but it was also a basic element in the life of striving and wandering. Held up as a triumph of westward expansion, it was also perceived as a building type to be discarded in favor of more civilized forms. In the twentieth century, the log cabin became ingrained in popular culture, serving as second homes and motels, as well as restaurants and shops striking a rustic note. The romantic view of the past, combined with the log cabin’s simplicity, solidity, and compatibility with nature, has made it an enduring architectural and cultural icon. Preparation of this volume has been supported by Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund

Examines the backgrounds and social standings of the families of the presidents to test the myth that most fit the rags-to-riches theme with surprising results.

Judgment and Sensibility is the second volume of the collected essays of E. Digby Baltzell, one of the keenest observers and analysts of America's upper classes since Thorstein Veblen. Spanning four decades of writing, these essays cover a wide range of topics, including contemporary politics, democratic elitism, Puritanism, Judaism, higher education, urbanization, and the U.S. Supreme Court, among others.

From 1911 to 1917 Craftsman Farms—now a major museum—was the home of Gustav Stickley, one of the central figures in the American Arts and Crafts Movement. This book unravels the rich and sometimes contradictory ideas that informed not only Stickley but many of the artists and literary figures of the progressive era in America. The year 1900 was the fulcrum in a long arc of utopian ideals dating back to Thomas Carlyle, John Ruskin, and William Morris in England, a movement which would eventually lead up to the art communes of the Guild of Handicraft, Woodstock, and the MacDowell colony. Craftsman Farms was at the center of a large group of American experiments in "living the artistic life." With this book, Mark Alan Hewitt provides a foil for a critical examination of the theories that guided many architects, artists, and craft artisans at the turn of the last century. Illustrated with specially commissioned photographs as well as many archival photographs from the Winterthur Museum and Library, this book provides both a visual and historical record of Stickley's life and work during his most fertile creative period.