Journal of Design History
"As a trained Alexander Technique teacher and a Professor of Architecture at Berkeley, [Cranz] is well placed to consider the requirements we place on our furniture and its ability to fulfil them...[a] well-argued critique of chair design and the ways in which we sit."
Scientific & Medical Network
"A fascinating and original book...Of special interest to anyone professionally involved with backs and posture, but a book from which we can all benefit."
The Architectural Review
"This is an interesting book charting the influences, historical, social and ergonomic, on the design and evolution of the chair, from its primitive beginnings to the current day...a fascinating read."
Product Description
Galen Cranz documents our ongoing love affair with the chair and how its evolution has been governed not by a quest for comfort or practicality, but by the designation of status. Relating much of the modern era's rampant back pain to an increasingly sedentary lifestyle spent in traditional seating, Cranz goes beyond ergonomic theory to formulate new design principles that challenge the way we think and live.
