FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

Appealing book design can't rescue a leaden look at the life and work of the eminent architect. Rubin (Emily Good as Gold, 1993) offers a coherent but drab account of Wright's life and the development of his art. She mentions his several women, but disposes of them quickly (after his lover Mamah Cheney was murdered, he ``missed [her] dreadfully and lost weight at first''), and, since she doesn't cite sources, her analytical comments are sometimes moot (``Wright's own broken home may have driven him to create beautiful homes for other American families''). They are also seemingly contradictory: Wright, an avid collector of Japanese art ``denied any direct influence from Japanese architecture,'' and, though he espoused the revolutionary idea that houses should be designed around the people who lived in them, many of his chairs are described as favoring ``art over comfort.'' The photos, though frequent and mostly in color, have a cramped, cropped look and, worse, will not help viewers understand Wright's vision. There are no exterior views or floor plans for his ``usonian'' houses; the Storer house and Fallingwater are seen from unrevealing, low angles; and Taliesin is barely glimpsed through surrounding trees. As books about Wright abound, this, though handsome, is at best supplemental. (No bibliography; cursory index) (Biography. 12- 15)