The Man Who Designed the Future

May 1, 2017

This title chronicles the astounding life and career of Norman Bel Geddes (1893&1958), the visionary American designer known for his influence across a seemingly impossible spectrum of mid-20th-century life and art. Bel Geddes first found success in the world of theater, achieving international fame as an artistic innovator before abruptly shifting his interests in the 1920s to the design of commercial products, everyday objects, games, transportation, entertainment spaces, public exhibitions, and more. First-time biographer Szerlip takes great care to capture the fundamentally theatrical quality of Bel Geddes's rise, balancing creative license with considerable research in order to produce a narrative that's fast paced yet rich with detail. The resulting entertaining romp, while bumpy in some interchapter twists and turns, is a fitting tribute to the ambitious form and function of its iconic subject. VERDICT A thorough and exciting biography of one of the most imaginative designers of the modern age. Recommended for readers interested in 20th-century design, especially those familiar with Bel Geddes for his industrial work or his 1939 Futurama exhibit.--Robin Chin Roemer, Univ. of Washington Lib., Seattle

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 15, 2017
Bel Geddes is likely rememberedby those who recognize his name at allas the man who designed a streamlined cocktail set and the Futurama exhibit at the 1939 New York World's Fair. In this fascinating and minutely researched biography, Szerlip brings the brilliant, indefatigable industrial designer's imagination to life so we can marvel once more. Born in 1893, Bel Geddes lived a life hard to imagine today, crossing paths with seemingly every other creative luminary in the early to mid-twentieth century, from Charlie Chaplin to Frank Lloyd Wright. While he made his lasting mark with visionary designs for radios, refrigerators, cars, and, yes, cocktail shakers, the little Leonardo also loved the theater and was responsible for radical innovations in set design, staging, and especially lighting. The full scope of his work is staggering: eventually, he consulted on everything from circuses and the first-ever computer case to top-secret military projects. But the high-school dropout's real genius may have been in the careful research that allowed products to be designed from the inside out. Focusing more on professional achievements than personal life (with a workaholic, the distinction is a fine one), Szerlip unfolds the story economically, occasionally offering sobering real-world context or settling who was first controversies with rivals such as Raymond Loewy. A remarkable rediscovery of a man ahead of his time.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)