Design and Crime (and Other Diatribes)

Enjoyable, thought-provoking and concise volume from a dignitary of contemporary criticism. Foster nimbly steers clear the of condescension and pretentiousness that can plague high-minded Criticism of this sort, without sacrificing depth of insight and deliberation. Some may welcome the taking-to-task of Gehry, Koolhaas, and Mau - I did! Refreshing to read a critical analysis of the current state of contemporary art and culture that isn't overly prescriptive, dismissive, scathing, or glib and compliant, but is willing to consider that it nevertheless may not be the best of times.

Illunminating, but probably not for everyone. Foster's modestly-sized book looks like easy reading, but it's not. That's part of its appeal: it's not Recent Art History for Dummies. Nor is it pretentious. Foster does a good job of balancing references to contemporary culture with those to "high" art, and the prosaic with the enchanting. He does a dynamite job of picking out the salient points of Benjamin.