{"product_id":"9781921921995","title":"The Australian Ugliness: Text Classics","description":"\u003cp\u003eBrilliant, witty, scathing, \u003ci\u003eThe Australian Ugliness\u003c\/i\u003e is the classic postwar account of Australian society, how we live in the environments we create, and the consequences of our failure to think about how we live.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e Boyd was a fierce critic, and an advocate of good design. He understood the significance of the connection between people and their dwellings, and argued passionately for a national architecture forged from a genuine Australian identity. His concerns are as important now, in an era of suburban sprawl and inner-city redevelopment, as they were more than half a century ago.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e 'The basis of the Australian ugliness,' he wrote, 'is an unwillingness to be committed on the level of ideas. In all the arts of living, in the  shaping of all her artefacts, as in politics, Australia shuffles about vigorously in the middle - as she estimates the middle - of the road,  picking up disconnected ideas wherever she finds them.'\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e Caustic and brilliant, \u003ci\u003eThe Australian Ugliness\u003c\/i\u003e is a masterpiece that enables us to see our surroundings with fresh eyes. This edition is complemented by Robin Boyd's original sketches for the book and a new afterword by major contemporary architects: John Denton, Philip Goad and Geoffrey London.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRobin Boyd\u003c\/b\u003e is arguably Australia's most influential architect. From the late 1940s Boyd wrote extensively about the importance of design in inexpensive housing. In 1952 he published \u003ci\u003eAustralia's Home\u003c\/i\u003e, the first substantial survey of the country's domestic architecture. His masterwork, \u003ci\u003eThe Australian Ugliness\u003c\/i\u003e, was first published in 1960 and the title has since entered the Australian lexicon. In all, Boyd wrote twelve books.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eChristos Tsiolkas\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of four novels: \u003ci\u003eLoaded\u003c\/i\u003e (made into the film \u003ci\u003eHead On\u003c\/i\u003e), \u003ci\u003eThe Jesus Man\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eDead Europe\u003c\/i\u003e and the award-winning bestseller \u003ci\u003eThe Slap\u003c\/i\u003e, which has been made into a television series for the ABC.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003etextclassics.com.au\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'Robin Boyd's book clarified for all of us that Australian  ugliness - how we would bludgeon the land into fertility, cut forests so  that power lines could go through, so that cars could take precedence  over everything...Conservatism reigned supreme; it had to be like that  regardless of whether it was logical, whether it was appropriate,  whether it responded to climatic variations...The buildings were the same  from Melbourne to Darwin, and they still are the same.' Glenn Murcutt \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e 'As interesting and amusing and untechnical as a novel.' Sir John Betjeman \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e 'An argument for an environmental approach to design and a tirade  against the visual pollution of the commercial strip.' Philip Goad \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e 'The link by which architects began to speak to the community and the community spoke back.' J.M. Freeland  \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e 'He got us. He still gets us. Boyd understands that like all peoples we  are contradictory; he also understands...that we are responsible for  ourselves.' Christos Tsiolkas\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Text Publishing Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47141110874352,"sku":"9781921921995","price":12.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781921921995_p0.jpg?v=1763632531","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781921921995","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}