Catalogus Van Het Kabinet Van Schilderyen (1800)

As the last major written work of an important contemporary thinker What If? has been produced to the highest standards. It is as original in composition and design as the monumental cities proposed by its author. It includes thirty-five previously unpublished essays, ranging from observations on the nature of The American Dream to speculations about the ultimate purposes of evolution. Soleri writes as an elder of his profession, as a philosopher, as a journalist, as a historian, and, at times as a prophet. Accompanying the text is an extensive, four-color, marginal commentary by Soleri, which emphasizes, illuminates - and sometimes questions - the arguments presented in the body of the work. Additional sections, developed from personal journals over the past fifteen years, and a detailed glossary, further examine such esential Soleri ideas as Miniaturization, Frugality, and The Urban Effect. The result is a profound tapestry of reports, analyses, discoveries, ruminations, and hypotheses that will serve as stepping stones to the architectural and social projects of future generations. What If? includes a foreword by Harry Rand of the Smithsonian Institute, and an introductory essay by Ron Anastasia that elucidates Soleri’s philosophical framework. It includes four illustrations, two diagrams, and an index.