{"product_id":"the-sagrada-familia-9781408854792","title":"The Sagrada Familia","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Exquisite ... A wonderment of an essay about a wonderment of a building'' Paul Preston\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIts scaffolding-cloaked spires reach up to the heavens, dominating the Barcelona skyline and drawing in millions of visitors every year. What seduces our attention is perhaps a combination: not only its almost megalomaniac ambition and architectural extravagance but the sheer longevity of its construction.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIts creator, Antoni Gaudí, ''God''s Architect'', saw the first stone laid on 19 March 1882 and yet it is unlikely to be completed until 2026 at the very earliest. It has survived two World Wars, the ravages of the Spanish Civil War and the ''Hunger Years'' of Franco''s rule. It has defied the critics, the penny-pinching accountants, the conservative town-planners and the slaves to sterile modernism to witness the most momentous changes in society and history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Sagrada Familia\u003c\/i\u003e explores the evolution of this remarkable building, working through the decades r\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTerrifically stirring\u003c\/b\u003e…A gripping firsthand account of Gaudi’s power to melt the mind * New York Times (praise for 'Gaudi') *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBrilliant\u003c\/b\u003e * Observer (praise for 'Guernica') *\u003cbr\u003eThe most \u003cb\u003eextraordinary and important\u003c\/b\u003e biography ...\u003cb\u003e A vivid, painstaking portrait of an almost mediaeval figure\u003c\/b\u003e brooding over the 20th century -- Jane Gardam, Books of the Year * Independent (praise for 'Gaudi') *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIntoxicating\u003c\/b\u003e … \u003cb\u003eInstantly engages\u003c\/b\u003e … Van Hensbergen’s rich, poetic prose is perfectly suited to describe this unprecedented work of art. \u003cb\u003eAn engrossing, vivid inquiry \u003c\/b\u003einto a man and his magisterial creation * Kirkus *\u003cbr\u003eThe manic beauty of Antoni Gaudí’s ‘bible in stone’ is evoked by the richly nuanced prose of Gijs van Hensbergen.  In many ways an autobiography, this \u003cb\u003eexquisite \u003c\/b\u003ebook also offers vivid insights into the life of the eccentric Gaudí, Catalan culture and the roles of the Vatican and of iconoclastic anarchists.  \u003cb\u003eA wonderment of an essay about a wonderment of a building\u003c\/b\u003e -- Peter Preston\u003cbr\u003eGijs van Hensbergen has pulled off a remarkable feat, taming  the monstre sacre of 20th century architecture, without diminishing him -- Deyan Sudjic, Director of the Design Museum, London\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFascinating and instructive \u003c\/b\u003e… Anyone going for the first time should read van Hensbergen’s \u003cb\u003eperceptive interpretation\u003c\/b\u003e of what he calls Gaudí’s most quixotic work -- Simon Courtauld * Spectator *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49408011960663,"sku":"9781408854792","price":11.69,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781408854792.jpg?v=1730501265","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-sagrada-familia-9781408854792","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}