With great wit and extraordinary knowledge - skillfully supported by writing that makes us pay nothing yet delivers everything - this book guides us into the rich subject of accident and anecdote as forms of historical criticism. Riveting accounts of landscapes, architectures, and the thickness of life bring the central epistemological dilemmas of our time into exquisite relief. A brilliant book. - Catherine Ingraham, Professor of Architecture, Pratt Institute; author of Architecture and the Burdens of Linearity sakriti opis