This is the kind of nonfiction book that is a slow read, but an absolutely fascinating one if you geek out over historical details. This book describes the invention of the toilet, the sofa, the concept of the private bedroom, how France warred against cotton, along with many other intriguing historical minutia. This is a book I'll keep around for reference. ( )

Please read my blog for a review: http://notmytypee.blogspot.com/2011/10/age-of-comfort.html

I won my copy through First Reads. ( )

I won this book on a Giveaway and was delighted.

This book, about a subject of particular interest to me (history of decoration, lifestyles in the past, fashion of the past, etc.) amply fulfilled my expectations.

It was fascinating to learn the history of the development of bedrooms, flush toilets, and the use of cotton in clothing, to name but a few things.

This book would serve, perhaps, as more of a reference type book than just a read-it-all-at-once book; the style of writing is very understandable and detailed, but not the kind of thing that one would sit down and read straight through without having time to think about the subject. At least for me.

I knew absolutely nothing about the life in France during the time period of this book and so found it quite educational in a general way as well. Particularly interesting to me was the description of how clothing went from being miserably uncomfortable to much more relaxed and tolerable to wear; and how furniture became designed to actually be comfortable instead of merely formal.

All in all, a pleasant read and I recommend the book to anyone interested in the subjects it covers.

This is an engaging and well-researched survey of the development of our modern ideas of comfort. It will be appealing to both the general reader and the historian alike. My only possible concern is that I would have loved to see even more illustrations and photographs. But that is more a reflection of how interesting I found the material than of any lack on the part of the book. ( )

I have to confess, I never in a million years would have associated the court of Louis XV with the invention of the sofa. Extremely well researched, and surprisingly detailed, this book paints a fascinating picture of a piece of furniture many of us would take for granted. ( )