Vladimir Kagan's Blog

Mid-Century Modern in Palm Springs

From Palm Beach to Palm Springs

An Odyssey

Copyright Vladimir Kagan, February 20, 2016

In November of 2015 a conspiracy was launched to drag me from the East Coast to the West Coast: Palm Beach to Palm Springs. That didn’t sound too daunting all those months ago, but as time grew closer, the reality set in. Why leave Florida’s sunny beaches for California’s arid deserts? Answer: They needed a feature speaker for Palm Spring’s Modernism Week –Who better than me? I could talk up a storm about Mid-Century Modern.

This is what the road into the desert should look like unless you have a four and a half hour traffic jam! 

 

Michael Boodro, the editor of Elle Décor, was to moderate the event. Smart, poignant questions were floated. Michael requested a short Power Point presentation to illustrate my thoughts. ‘Short’ is not in my make-up – “More is more, is more like me.” I prepared a lovely talk with over 150 slides. Editors being editors, Michael pared it down to 45! 

Michael Boodro, Editor Elle Decor, Michael Hinkle, Manager, Donor Relations and myself, previewing the slides for the lecture

                                                                                                    photo Lani Garfield

 

(See the Q&A’s between Michael and myself at the bottom of this article)

The Palm Springs Art Museum has the magnificent Annenberg Theater that can seat four hundred-thirty-three people. That was to be my stage! (Empty seats are the kiss-of-death for a performer.) To my surprise they sold over three hundred tickets and at the book signing that followed, I scribbled my notes, sketches and good wishes into over 125 books! The Mid-Century is alive and flourishing in California!

 

 

 

Elisabeth Armstrong, the Executive Director of the Palm Springs Art Museum and me before my lecture

  
 

   

I loved the spacious open plan of the museums architecture and the use of local lava stones to veneer the exterior walls

Here is where I got 'artsy' and created an abstract photo of the Museum's interior.

 

The Museum has a huge footprint for a small community. It even has a separate building, totally dedicated to architecture and design, converted from a seventies bank designed by E. Stewart Williams a celebrated local architect.

 

photo   Dan Chavkin

 

The Museum is blessed with members who have a big hearts and deep pockets. But, like everywhere else, prying their hands out their pockets takes skill.  But enough of the community’s patrons have made this small museum an architectural treasure with a significant collection.

 

The Henry Moore Sculpture Exhibit on the ground floor

     
The Museum's magnificent exhibit of Henry Moore Sculptures on loan from a local collector, shown with photos of the sculptures  in their garden setting.

 

Meandering through the museum, I found art that amuses me... it may not be a critic's choice, but it's mine    

 

A sculpture made entirely of steel cubes

 

A spoof of a car and the ubiquitous installation art of trash bags, except these were executed in bronze!

Taking a leaf out of my friend Seward Johnson's sculpture, this couple is waiting to converse with you.Just pull up a chair!

And especially for me, a luscious nude, real enough to cuddle - (where did Henry Moore find his models? Ha ha)

Every museum needs a Chihuly - thanks to his high level of productivity, every museum can own one!

Louise Bourgeois' Spider creeping up the wall. I saw a thirty foot tall version at the Tate. Does size make it more valuable?  Is it more art?

This giant Puppy is entirely made of felted wool.

A wonderful horse, made out of desert drift-wood and cast in bronze.

The museum's two upper floors are divided into focused exhibits: one is dedicated to the core concern of all Westerners - water, another exhibits beautiful indian pottery and jewelry, there is superb contemporary glass. I could have spent the day, but my rule of thumb is that you don't spend the day in a museum when the sun is shining...

 

My book signing was a breeze, in the museum's garden, under a half moon, with balmy temperatures and plenty of food and booze to keep everyone happy. I could have signed all night,  but my hosts' were getting hungry and squirreled me off to a fancy, noisy restaurant for a delicious Valentine's Day dinner.

A stack of books awaiting my signature

One of the celebrity guests at the event, my friend Trina Turk, the fashion designer

 

I traveled with Mark Minichiello, the COO of my company, whose mission was to make certain that I didn’t get into trouble with a buxom starlet. I was hoping that he’d bring back a whopping big order! He succeeded in the first mission, but fell short in the second.

Mark is a man of military precision. I did not know that when I read his resume. He plans ahead like a drill sergeant, which is quite contrary to me. I live on ‘Kagan time’, which has suited me for quite a few years, but I may have to change my watch to accommodate Mark.

 The weekend was delightful, plenty of time to relax by the pool and acquire an instant suntan; I was squired from cocktail parties to receptions and dinners. Star status has its advantages.

Our departure from Palm Springs was delayed due to inclement weather in New York. We managed to squeeze in two more days in paradise. Back east this is considered a boondoggle – out west it’s just the right thing to do.

On our drive from L.A. to Palm Springs we encountered a typical California four-and-a-half hour traffic jam. Mark was not about to let this happen again. He plotted our return four days in advance and with careful calculations, determined our departure needed to be 7:45 AM. At the precise moment of our scheduled departure, the electric lock in my hotel room hopelessly jammed. We were prisoners in my room. A half hour later with the help of a three-man maintenance crew, we were finally set free. Mark’s veins were popping in his forehead. In my Blyth spirit, I found it amusing and apropos to what can go wrong when you plan too seriously ahead. In the end, all went well and we made it to the airport two hours before our flight. 

The rescue team that pried open the door 

 

As a farewell present to our friends in California, it actually started to rain as we were departing!

 

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The Q & A session with Michael Boodro of Elle Décor Magazine

The connection between modernism and decorative arts.  Why do you think so many modernists were antagonistic toward decoration?

Modern was driven by a mission for purity – less is more - decoration is a sin. 

I embrace decoration as part of my design esthetic! I come from a family that worshipped the decorative arts. My father had two art-galleries in Germany; He sold the works of Deutche Werkstätte and Wiener Werkstätte including creations by Joseph Hoffman and Eileen Grey. The range of products included metal work, leatherwork, bookbinding, jewelry and ceramics.

   

On the opposite site of the spectrum was my grandfather’s shop. Volkskunsthaus Wallach, in Munich, focused on folk-art from painted furniture, printed textiles, and accessories. My father hated my grandfather’s taste and vise-versa. I lived with both. Combining decorative arts and modern was a natural.

That's my mother, age 18, sitting in her father's shop

Many of your designs—even pieces from the 40s—seem so modern as to be futuristic, but you have always looked to natural and organic forms. How do you make organic inspirations seem so contemporary?

It was my devotion to the Bauhaus philosophy that stimulated my earliest modern esthetic. Before my work became ‘amorphous’ I was a devotee of linear design. My studies in architecture found expression in my first furniture designs.

I developed a corollary between modern and organic forms. . My organic shapes follow the human body. I design ‘vessels’ to hold the body. Human anatomy is not angular.

However, I have always been under the influence of Bauhaus ideology. “Less is more.,” meant eliminating clutter. A large amorphous sofa could seat ten to twelve people and eliminated the clutter of chairs. The second inspiration was, “Form follows function,” an admonition to create comfort. No piece of furniture, no matter how beautiful, is functional unless it is also comfortable or useful 

 

Why are your designs timeless?

I have always understood the need to restrain the superfluous. I design disciplined, structurally rational lines.

What has changed home design over the past fifty years?

Apartment living has accelerated the shrinking space. I anticipated this in the 60’s and 70’s and designed the Omnibus Sectional Sofa Collection to accommodate smaller spaces. Omnibus was designed to float in the middle of a room, the sections are relatively small, built for apartment living and each element can be assembled like a ‘Lego’ construction. Not all spaces have shrunk. There are today’s affluent young. They live in multi-million dollar apartments and villas, decorated by trendy interior designers. Thankfully, these are my clients, – My design philosophy suits their 21^st Century esthetic. 

You have seen so many styles/trends come and go—you have ridden the wave, a few, such as Post-modernism, you embraced yourself.  You have been in and out of fashion; embraced by Tom Ford and Bill Sofield at Gucci in the nineties. Did that surprise you? It seems you are more ubiquitous in high design than you ever were. How does that feel?

 With my celebrity clients like Tom Ford, Sir Elton John, Tommy Hilfiger, and Angelina Jolie, I floated to the top of the heap. Yes, that is very satisfying. Staying on top, however, takes work. Coming up with new creativity is inspiring and challenging and keeps me energized. Did I ever fathom it would happen? NO. Will I ever retire? Hell NO.

How do you feel about your early work being considered collectible, even as you create new pieces?

It is very flattering that my early works have retained their value and those children that have inherited their parents early Kagans are very lucky indeed. It is flattering that when my furniture comes up at auction, it brings ever-increasing prices.

An Ode to a Bridge

In Celebration of the George Washington Bridge

Copyright Vladimir Kagan December 20, 2015

I cross the GWB (George Washington Bridge) four or five times a week to and from my studio in Clifton N.J. Thousands of cars and trucks join me each day. For trucks it’s the only route between Manhattan and New Jersey as they are banned from the tunnels.  This enormous overpass is the conduit for millions of cars each year. It boasts the most traffic of any suspension bridge in the world.

To pass the time, I am on my cell phone or directing the Uber driver to ignore the ‘Google lady’ giving him wrong directions. Though the view is spectacular, I take it for granted! I seldom look out of the window.

That’s a huge mistake!

One day I took a moment to look-up and rediscovered this magnificent structure. The realization that mere humans conceived this gorgeous bridge was mind-boggling.  Engineers and architects, whose names have long been forgotten and the hundreds of human hands brought it to fruition. And yes, the forgotten workers whose lives were lost in its building.

         

 

I was awe-struck by the massive chunks of concrete anchoring the cables at each end. It is unfathomable to contemplate the amount of concrete needed to create them. Imagine the number of cement trucks it would take to build such a mass. (The builders wisely had their own cement factory on sight.) Visualize the teams of men riveting each red-hot rivet into the superstructure. Squint into the sun and look at the height of the towers and the cables extending from them. Then imagine tiny men manipulating strands of steel stretched across the river’s span. If you are lucky, you might see the high-wire-act of today’s maintenance crews painting every inch of the bridge or servicing the string of light bulbs along its cables.

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I have a wonderful connection to this bridge!

 In my early teens, I lived on Riverside Drive and 103^rd Street, in a gracious old building with a wire-caged elevator and a spectacular view of the Hudson River. I would often sit in our living room window and paint the changing seasons on the river. With a little stretch of the neck I could see the GW Bridge off in the distance.

My water color painting of Ice on the Hudson River - circa 1943

Though I was a good student in most subjects, I had a terrible time with math! I couldn’t visualize the hypotheses of mathematical formulas; algebra, geometry and trigonometry stifled me. I could not accept a theoretical truth.  If it wasn’t visual, I flunked the test. 

A few floors above our apartment lived a friend of my family, David Bernard Steinman. D. B. Steinman, as he was known to all. Mr. Steinman was an affable man who loved puffing on his pipe and explaining the theories of mathematics to me. He made mathematics visual. D.B. Steinman was not a tutor; he was the world’s foremost bridge designer!

D.B. Steinman was born on the lower east side in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge. He fell in love with Roebling’s masterpiece and determined … he wanted to become a designer and builder of bridges. At age thirteen, he was the youngest pupil admitted to City College.  He graduated with honors and went on to Columbia University receiving his PhD in engineering. 

His career as a consulting engineer struggled for a number of years. He recalled … his first consulting fee was $5! Ten years later he was offered a job to work with Holton Robinson, who built the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges across the East River in New York.  Mr. Holton wanted to enter a competition to build the Florianopolis Bridge in Brazil. The firm won the competition largely due to D. B. Steinman’s revolutionary new concepts for suspension spans. The Florianopolis Bridge was hailed worldwide as a huge success.  His revolutionary concept laid the foundation for the successful design of the George Washington Bridge, which at the time was twice the length of any suspension bridge ever built.

In addition to the Florianopolis Bridge, Mr. Steinman’s list of successes include the Henry Hudson Bridge and the Triborough Bridge in NY, the Mt. Hope Bridge connecting Providence with Newport, the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan and the Messina Straight Bridge linking Italy with Sicily. One of his favorite projects was the commission to modernize the Brooklyn Bridge, the first love of his life. D.B was an avid writer and wrote many books of poetry and the best selling ‘The History of the Brooklyn Bridge’ and ‘The Biography of the Roeblings, THE BUILDING OF THE BRIDGE.’ 

In his memoirs Mr. Steinman gave words to his meaning of a bridge: “A bridge is more than a thing of steel and stone: it is the fulfillment of human dreams to link together distant places. A bridge is more than a problem in stresses and strains; it is a challenge and an opportunity to create the beautiful.”  

He and I would sit for hours discussing bridges. The conversation would eventually be intermingled with the explanation of the bridge structure’s connection to math.  His patience and love of math helped me to understand the theories of math well enough to pass my exams!

During our chats, he explained how the Tacoma Washington Bridge disaster could have been averted with a simple sea anchor to stop the oscillation that finally tore the bridge apart. He explained his theory of how a bridge could be built over the New York Harbor, even though it was considered impossibility at the time.  His dream became the Verrazano Bridge. He described how the George Washington Bridge was designed to be clad with steel plates like the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was decided that the structure was too beautiful to be hidden. When I first saw the GW Bridge, it had only one deck!  He explained that the clever engineers envisioned one-day, the increased traffic would need additional roadways and so their original design factored-in the second level.

These pieces of knowledge have stayed with me for sixty odd years, imbedded in my mind forever through the teachings of the indomitable D.B. Steinman.

Today, I no longer keep my head down. I love the approach to the bridge from the Henry Hudson Parkway. It looms up through the fog, glistens in the rain or shimmers in the sunlight. This massive work of art is nearly eighty-five years old and still one of the great wonders of the world. Next time you have a chance to cross the Hudson, enjoy all that is before your eyes. 

New Canaan, home to classic modern.

A Walk In the Country

In Search of Modern

PART 1

Copyright Vladimir Kagan, December 2, 2015 

 

A few weeks ago, I lauded my friend Zaha Hadid.

This time I sing my praise to two Japanese architects, Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of the firm SANAA. Both Zaha Hadid and SANAA have won the Pritzker Award; both are at the peak of their success; both compete for the same projects.

There is a tug-of-was between the deconstructionism of Zaha Hadid and Frank Gehry vs. the esthetic understatement of Mssrs. Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa. Both styles are important statements of the 21^st centuries. One is explosive, a tribute to modern technology; the other a return to the drawing board. Neither could achieve their masterpieces without the 21st Century’s new technology.

I had recently received an invitation to a luncheon at Philip Johnson’s ‘Glass House’ in New Canaan Connecticut and used this occasion to explore the newly opened ‘Grace Farms’ near by.

This is a Blog in Two Parts for you to enjoy both properties

 

Though the weather started grey and raining, it was a beautiful fall day in Connecticut. The trees were in full color and the ground covered in glistening golden leaves like a carpet.

    

A carpet of fall leaves

Our destination was New Canaan long known for its iconic mid-century modern architecture spearheaded by The Harvard Five, a young architectural cooperative back in 1949: Marcel Breuer, Landis Gores, John Johansen, Philip Johnson, Eliot Noyes and my old skiing and sailing buddy, John Black Lee. They were affordable modern houses; some two stories others ranch, nestled into the woods, often precariously cantilevered on jagged granite boulders protruding out of the ground. My son-in-law’s mother lives in one of them - A little gem perched on top of one of these boulders.

 

Early 50's houses in New Canaan designed by The Harvard Five Architectural Group

Too many of these gems were demolished by enterprising builders and replaced with hideous “McMansions” and clapboard houses that now dot the neighborhoods - all too readily visible behind the historic stonewalls so ubiquitous in this part of Connecticut. Mercifully, the town fathers of New Canaan finally came to their senses and put a stop to this destruction. Today, what’s left of these examples of mid-century modern is landmarked!

 

 

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Our destination was the Philip Johnson Glass House. A return to a landmark I had written about a few years ago in one of my earlier Blogs. The centerpiece of the property is the Glass House. Its primary purpose was for entertaining. However, behind a partition wall was a beautiful bedroom open to the sky and the prowling deer; it was for show only or the occasional privileged guest. The bathroom has a secret tunnel that leads to the real sleeping quarters some hundred feet away!

 

The Philip Johnson Glass House was a tribute to his friend Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

 

The occasion of our visit was a private viewing of the paintings by Enoc Perez; huge wall to wall, floor to ceiling paintings of Philip Johnson’s pink granite office tower nicknamed the ‘Lipstick’. The event was a discreet fundraiser sponsored by Peter Brand and his lovely wife Stephanie Seymour Brant, both great patrons of the arts. My friend Amy Lau managed to get us invitations for this event. 

   

Enrico Perez with Scott Dreving, Deputy Director of the Glass House and Amy Lau and myself

(photo Patrick McMullan)

 

Enrico Perez's striking paintings of the Lipstick Building

The Philip Johnson Compound was built in the 50’s on 49 acres of hilly wooded land. The property is a celebration in opulence; money well spent on the indulgence of beauty. Each structure is a tribute to Philip Johnson’s fertile and whimsical mind. All the buildings on the rambling property are accessible by footpath only. It is a sybaritic treat.

Age has its privilege  - I was comfortably transported in a golf cart from building to building

 

Tucked into the landscape discreetly away from the other buildings is a window-less fortress constructed entirely of bricks. Intimate on the inside with a fireplace, it has a huge elliptical opening in the ceiling that emits a glow of indirect lighting. This quite sanctuary houses Mr. Johnson library.

The library is a foreboding windowless structure (though hidden from view is a nice window into the woods)

   

Mr. Johnson's library was a place for peace and solitude

 

In a dell near the entrance to the woods is the ‘Ghost House’, designed by Johnson with his friend Frank Gehry as a sanctuary for growing Lilies. The two architects gleefully thought they had outwitted the ever-prowling deer on the property. Of course the deer outsmarted them and enjoyed munching on the succulent deer-candy flowers.   All that remained of the flowers were stems. The very ethereal look of this building gave it its name ‘Ghost House’!

   

The Ghost House was conceived as an outdoor shelter for growing lilies. It is tucked into the woods and is virtually invisible with its thin wire construction

 

A visit to the property would not be complete without venturing down the winding path through the woods to the Lincoln Kirstein tower and beyond that the bucolic pond with a miniature ‘floating’ pavilion that was Mr. Johnsons little ‘Folly”. He loved sitting there and contemplate the world.The Lincoln Kirstein Tower is an imposing sculpture, strategically placed at the edge of the woods overlooking the floating Pavilion.(it is interesting to note that Lincoln Kirstein was a good friend of my father and had Dad restore all the wooden sculpture of Eli Nadelman for a show at MOMA.)

    

 

 

Unfortunately, the beautiful White Sculpture Gallery with its subterranean caves was closed for repair. It houses Mr. Johnson’s diverse taste in sculpture from Greek Marbles to Frank Stella’s abstract constructions.

A view of the interior of the Sculpture House

 

At the top of the hill, near the ‘entrance to the property, is ‘The Monster’, an avant-garde building, created under the influence of Frank Gehry. It was the newest building on the property. Today, it serves as the welcome center for the complex.

 

The Monster guards the compound at the entrance - it is the most modernistic building on the property.

 (photo Patrick McMullan)

Almost invisible from sight with only a grass mount as a hint of something happening, is an underground bunker, reminiscent of a World War II airplane hanger. If the doors weren’t open, you’d pass it by completely. This is the treasure trove that houses Mr. Johnson’s phenomenal collection of modern art. – Three enormous carrousels of rotating panels conceal dozens, maybe hundreds of paintings to be viewed leisurely by rotating panel after panel.

The Gallery was set up for our little private luncheon

 (photo Patrick McMullan)

Lunch was a casual tête-à-tête with a group major art collectors and an interesting introduction to the works of Enoc Perez given by the host, Peter Brand. The luncheon was so hi-toned that only champagne or tea was served. I had no idea how addicted I was to my little dram of decaf coffee, and so a stop at the nearest Starbuck afterwards provided the right fix. 

TO BE CONTINUED

Measure Three Times - Cut Once!

Copyright Vladimir Kagan, August 29, 2015

 

Measure Three Times - Cut Once! This was my father’s admonition seventy-odd years ago. It was a lesson that I never learned!

 

It is the story of my life. I am compulsive and have always cut three times and didn’t bother to measure! - It is how I became a furniture designer instead of a cabinetmaker!

Furniture design is a haphazard endeavor that relies on visual recognition, the ability to draw well and pray that sometime in the future proper measurements are put to each design. Cabinet making, on the other hand is a precision endeavor that takes careful planning, skilled use of tools and most importantly, accurate measurements. If you can’t do that, you can’t cut the mustard and had better think of becoming a designer. And so my dear readers, that is how I ended up being a designer. 

Every once in a while, I derive great pleasure of following my Precision Muse and attempt to do something challenging and meticulous. - It is a rare moment of pleasure.

Building the half model of my sailboat was one of those rare moments. I am joining a class this fall at Nantucket’s 1800 House, to build a scale model of a wooden Dory. I can’t wait.

 

Last week, I inadvertently drifted into one of those challenging moments when I was helping a friend hand-bind a dozen books. I have never done bookbinding, but the prospect had always appealed to me. She had seen the work of a mutual friend of ours: a beautiful small sketchbook of pen drawings of New York City.  In her enthusiasm she volunteered to duplicate them for grandchildren and posterity; a task much, much larger than it seemed at the time. 

Our friend is a robust 90 years old, full of spirit and jour de vivre. Little did my friend realize what she was getting herself into: scanning 44 drawings, cleaning each in Photoshop, printing over 500 pages onto quality rag paper. This was only the beginning. Prepping jackets and covering them with handmade paper, collating loose pages and a myriad of other steps needed to be accomplished. In desperation, my hapless friend had sought out a friend of hers, an artist and experienced bookbinder to help her – much work got done but it just never got finished. A year later a new volunteer was needed: I jumped into the breach. 

My designing juices were fired up with the challenge. I conceptualized that a drilling jig and press was needed to hold the pages and the cover. I launched into the project head-on. But Oooops, “Father were are you?” - “Measure three times and cut once!” A lesson still not learned. I measured only after having drilled three holes haphazardly; built jigs the wrong way, until finally, three days later, I got it synchronized. We had produced twelve beautifully bound books - a very satisfactory result.

 
  

First mistake: I drilled three holes without careful measuring

   
The key to success: a jig to hold the book

The book-press: clamping pages and cover firmly together

A happy me with my improvised book-press

   

The beautiful sketches by my friend Sheila 

Collating roughly five hundred pages ready for binding

Mission accomplished one year later!

Lesson learned: the road to the finished product has not changed for seventy years: I’m still compulsive, impatient, helter-skelter and slap-dash, but I rejoice in the end product.

 

 

 

Design Week in New York - Part 2

Design Week in New York

 Part 2

Copyright Vladimir Kagan, June 7, 2015

  

 

 

Three years ago Steven Lerner, an enterprising young architect, found a cavernous empty space in the abandoned U.S. Post Office Sorting Facility on West 30th Street. Steven came up with the idea of replicating the off-premises shows that were such a huge success at Salone Del Mobile in Milan. He solicited a handful of small galleries in the USA and European to exhibit their artisans in a start-up show he called Collective Design. Today Collective Design is the premium exhibit of Design Week. The show relocated to 550 Washington Street in Tribeca and can brag of an impressive lineup of exhibitors that go beyond the usual suspects, which is why the exhibition is so exciting. I will take you on a belated tour of this exhibit.

 

I am a car buff - classic cars! This 1953 Cadillac LeMans Concept Convertible was my "take-home" favorite. Cadillac was one of the sponsors of the show and as a VIP guest I was picked-up and delivered home in a very comfortable Cadillac Limo.

 

After my love affair with the convertible "Caddi" - I found my friend, Dana Barnes, with an installation of her concrete seating blocks embedded with her signature knotted and felted wool blobs reminiscent of tropical islands in a sea.

    

Some of the most creative design ideas were tucked away in a separate wing dedicated to new talent. Amongst these I found a basket maker, who loved sewing machines and created these amazing works sewing together tightly wound cords.

 

Another craftsman built this elegant cabinet with doors covered in industrial rubber thereby forming a soft bubble for the finger-grips.

 

I loved this geometric bronze coffee table with a cubist motif marble insert

 

 

 

 

 

Joseph  Walsh, the master of extruded ribbons of wood, created this dining table  in the Todd Merrill exhibit.

and bellow  a young Japanese artist, Laura Kishimoto is one of Walsh's disciples.

 

 

 

Who knows better than Mom what kids need. -- She created a store just for kids furniture and founded kinder MODERN, a Soho mecca for fun kids furnishings

 

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My friend Madeline Weinrib keeps getting better and better with her exciting rugs and textiles

 

And finally, the reason I spent such a productive day at Collective Design was at the invitation of Michael Boodro the Editor of Elle Décor, to join him in an open-ended conversation about design.

 

Michael Boodro and me with the first copy of my new book!

 

 

 

Steven Lerner, the  founder of Collective Design, welcoming Michael and me for our tete-a-tete.

Fortunately, I had brought a copy of my book with me for the interview with Michael Boodro. It was immediately snapped up and launched my 2015 autographing career.

 

Below are just a few of the curve balls Michael threw at me:

 

Elle Decor: The connection between modernism and decorative arts.  Why do you think so many modernists were antagonistic toward decoration, which you embraced? Your history of working with jewelers, artists, and of course your wife, Erica Wilson.

VK: I was brought up among art and artists. Incorporating decorative art into my designs was a mission. From my earliest days I commissioned artists and craftsmen to create tiles, table bases, buffet surfaces and hardware to incorporate into my designs. Naturally, working with my wife, Erica for 54 years had kept me focused on the marriage of the arts and design.

 Elle Décor: Your family history of woodworking, crafting and design. Your father and grandfather, etc. Having a shop. How do you think being a retailer, interacting with the public, influenced your designs?

 VK: My father, Ilii Kagan was a stanch modernist, selling Deutchewerkstätte and Vienerwerkschtätte, the two most avant-garde collaboratives, in his shops in Worms and Heidelberg. He collected German impressionist art ranging from George Grosz, Käthe Kollwitz and Ernst Barlach to Kokoschka.  Some of these are hanging in my apartment today. My grandfather, Julius Wallach, on the other hand was a dyed-in-the-wool traditionalist: he collected folk art, peasant furniture and textiles. His store, Volkskunsthaus Wallach, in Munch was world famous. Even Hitler had his block-printed fabrics in his Eagle’s Nest. Julius was the diametric opposite of my father: they did not get along. I loved both their art, which found roots in my earliest designs. The flared legs of the peasant chairs and stools became a part of my early chair vocabulary while my Father’s adherence to the Bauhaus philosophy of ”Less is More” has motivated me all of my life.

Elle Décor: Many of your designs—even pieces from the 40s—seem so modern as to be futuristic, but you have always looked to natural and organic forms. How do you make organic inspirations seem so contemporary?

V.K. Nature is a great streamliner. Nature is a great engineer. Organic shapes are ergonomic. Learning from Nature inspired me to simplify and reduce excess elements in my designs. Though no one would ever call me a Bauhaus modernist, this is where my inspirations originated.

Elle Décor: The scale of works of contemporary art inspired one of your most famous pieces, the Serpentine Sofa—the era of the big Abstract Expressionist paintings—which inspired pieces floating a room. Andre Emmerich was a client, etc.  You’ve dealt with the rise of open plan layouts, home offices and modular small pieces.

V.K. I had to take furniture away from the wall and open them for wall-to-wall art. To allow for generous seating and appreciation of the art works, I created my Serpentine Sofas that could seat eight to ten people in an animated way – not like birds perched on a power line. Building these huge sofas eliminated excess chairs and fulfilled by Bauhaus philosophy of “Less is More”. I called this “Interior Landscaping”.

Elle Décor: You have seen so many styles/trends come and go—you have ridden the wave, a few, such as Post-modernism, you embraced yourself.  You have been in and out of fashion. Embraced by Tom Ford and Bill Sofield at Gucci in the nineties. Did that surprise you? It seems you are more ubiquitous in high design than you ever were. How does that feel?

 V.K. Well, with a long career in design, like a marathon Runner, you can “hit the wall”. You’ve reached the end of your stretch, when along came the  Memphis movement! It was a crazy, non-functional media event that was like a shot in the arm for design. We all of a sudden could look at classic designs and rejoice in their decorative appendages. Add a touch of wild colors and you step over the threshold of traditional modernism and find a new world of design opportunities. I didn’t stay in that idiom for long, but it liberated me from the doldrums and helped me to move on. - How did it feel that Tom Ford and Bill Sofield latched on to my designs? A great boost and confirmation of my work over the years!

Elle Décor: What new technologies do you think are influencing furniture design today? What do you feel about the resurgence of interest in design and making furniture among the young generation?

 V.K. Furniture making is a traditional art. Yeah, plastics, high tech machinery, injection molding will make furniture cheaper and more accessible. But what I really like are the young people at this show experimenting with new ideas and carrying on in the time-honored tradition of furniture making.

Elle Décor: How do you feel about your early work being considered collectible, even as you create new pieces?

V.K. Cool!

 

When a person in the audience asked what was my favorite design - a difficult question to answer as they are all my favorite designs, I answered, my rocking chair, NOT knowing that there actually was one on display in the show!

 

 

Design Week ushered in the introduction of my new book “VLADIMIR KAGAN a Lifetime of Avant-Garde Design” 

 

The first official book-signing was at the Ralph Pucci gallery at 44 West 18^th Street. I signed 150 copies! The opening was followed by two more events in Dallas and Houston at the David Sutherland showrooms. Dallas was where I had opened my first representative showroom some forty years ago. It’s a changed city, wild imaginative architecture that puts the East coast to shame. But no one wears cowboy boots or 12-gallon Stetson hats, which are still only worn in Fort Worth and points west. It was great fun seeing old and new friends and eating the best Tex-Mex food… alone worth the trip.

 

The first book signing event at Ralph Pucci in New York

 

Ralph Pucci, like a proud father, introducing me and my book to the guests

 

My two favorite red-heads: Renee Landegger and Amy Lau

 
A family affair - The Keiser clan, who's loft is featured in the book and my great friends, the Bordes family with friend Ellen Lake-Ewald

 
My lovely client, Clarissa Bronfman and my friend architect Edda Elias

Both Clarissa's and Edda's sofas are featured in the book.

My terrific book designer, Stafford Cliff flew in from London for the event

And finally, my two lovely daughters, Vanessa and Jessica hugging Dad

 

Book signing in Dallas

My hosts, David and Anne Sutherland who hosted my events in Dallas and Houston

     

Hugging Vladi was the big event in Dallas - I loved every minute!

Onward to Houston

         
Hugging and lap-dancing is definitely "IN" in Houston

There's nothing like an after party, party - here were some of the Houston guests listening to my word's of wisdom after the book signing.

 

I am sure, comes fall, my darling publisher, Susan Slesin will have me criss-crossing the country hustling more books and I collecting more hugs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Design Week in New York

 

 

Design Week in New York

Part 1

Copyright Vladimir Kagan, May 31, 2015

 

 

New York has its Fashion Week, Fleet Week, Bike Month, Manhattan Cocktail Classic… and finally the spotlight was on us with DESIGN WEEK, (which ended two weeks ago)

It all started some twenty years ago with a small event called ICFF held in a newly built glass palace on 11th Ave. called the Jacob Javits Convention Center.  Designed by I. M. Pei after his huge success with the Louvre addition in Paris.

ICFF was the brainchild of a group of young entrepreneurs who were inspired by the success of the Milan and Cologne Furniture Fairs. It was time to show contemporary design in America. The show was fresh, vibrant and relevant. It was a perfect showcase for new talent, exhibited in unadorned ten by ten foot plain booths. It was where I reintroduced my designs and I credit this show with the rebirth of my Classic Collection.  

 

Over the years ICFF expanded, incorporating exhibitors from Italy, Austria, Spain and added an adjacent space under a huge tent. When more space was needed, new exhibitors found locations at the Piers on the Hudson River. Satellite exhibits found vacant spaces in Soho, Tribeca, Hell’s Kitchen, the Meat Packing District and anywhere temp space was available… Design Week was born.

 
ICFF is like an old school reunion; no sooner did I walk through the doors, when I immediately ran into a half dozen clients, old friends, and admiring fans. I love this show!

However, ICFF, like most exhibits over the years, has become institutionalized. The bloom has worn off.  It is a real estate venture with space rented to anyone willing to pay the price of admission. The sheer size has diluted the presentations. The show that started as an exhilarating showcase for new talent has become unexciting. Today, it includes dozens of bathroom companies showing sexy bathtubs carved in marble, beguiling faucets, showerheads and square toilets.

In all fairness, “Seek and thou shalt find”. Tucked into small-unadorned cubicles there are still gems to be discovered. In the British sector there were creative designers with hardware, lighting and wallpaper. My friend Chris Poehlmann of CP Lighting Is still making beautiful tree-inspired chandeliers. Audrey Sterk, a friend from Nantucket, is showing her graphic wallpapers designs for the first time.  Her work has caught the eye of Janovic - Plaza, a major paint retailer, who has taken on her collection. 

 

 

 You know how I love birds... I couldn't resist these feathered friends by Daniel Latorre Cruz from England

 

 

Nantucket artist, Audrey Sterk's first exhibit at ICFF

 

A talented young English artist with her imaginative wall mural paper through Badgers of Bohemia

 

 

 

I found this very amusing caterpillar stool with articulated vertebrae by an Australian design cooperative called Designs By Them

s  

Christ Poehlmann's twig wall sconset is a classic

 

I discovered Aaron Scott's work at the Architectural Digest show a year ago... this Brooklyn based artisan is doing great original work

 

I loved this amusing rattan chair (though it may not be stable when sitting in it)

In a  Danish exhibit called "Onecollection" I found this reproduction of one of my all-time favorite mid-century craftsman Finn Juhl 

 

Twist and turn - two artisans explored similar concepts

The stool is by British artist Nick Rawcliffe - Sadly I do not have the name of the maker of the table

Revisiting acrylic lighting with new LED technology

  
A very simple but effective wall clock by Nomon

 

George Beylaryan's Design Memorabilia company with a collection called De Gustibus

 

A cool bookcase system with movable dividers made of recycled wood

   This all steel cabinet is made of discarded - recycled metal shelving from the dump by Jim Rose. The pattern is from an old American quilt design

 
   

Fun designs concept from the schools: A bird-house with wings • A glass decanter cast into a wood mold

F
...and finally the prettiest shoes at the show

and an endearing exhibitor from Northern Canada showing her father's tables

 

 

 

The Social Agenda

The MAD Museum (Museum of Art & Design) used Design Week for its annual Gala dinner honoring the young emerging designer Sebastian Errazuriz. I was honored to introduce my friend at this Gala dinner. At only thirty seven year old, Sebastian is one of the hottest, most talented multi-faceted artists today. (I had devoted an earlier Blog to his provocative work - look him up on the internet)

Dapper Sebastian Errazuriz got to hug the two most beautiful women at the Gala

...but I got the Kiss!

 

Saturday evening, I was invited to a night of impromptu jazz at my friends the Vales, who do this once or twice a year. The entire family is into jazz and each member performed with the twenty-five invited musicians at the party.

 

Look for Part Two of this review shortly

Happy Valentine's Day

The Spoiling of Vladimir Kagan

Copyright Vladimir Kagan February 14, 2015

 

Syb-a-rite
Noun
Plural noun: sybarites

A person who is self-indulgent in their fondness for serious luxury
Synonym: hedonist, sensualist, voluptuary, libertine, pleasure-seeker, epicure, bon vivant, bon viveur

A Sybarite was a native of Sybaris, an ancient Greek city in southern Italy. Sybarites were stereotyped as seekers of pleasure and luxury, and "sybarite" and "sybaritism" now connote such sensualism.


The Sybarites never had it so good!

I came to visit my sister and console her after the loss of her husband, David. Two weeks, perhaps three… who would have guessed that I would still be here almost two months later? For someone who thrives on activity and diversity, this could have bordered on insanity; incarceration in a sanitarium. No one stirs in the house until 10 am

But, why get up at 7 or 7:30, my usual “rise and shine” hour, when we get to bed closer to one-thirty or two? My wake-up call is the muffled sound of the steel security blinds being electrically retracted to allow the morning to penetrate. My room has a picture window overlooking a wooded landscape and a grandly restored turn-of-the-century mansion. Each morning I am greeted with a different setting; one day covered with a blanket of white glistening snow, the next brilliant sunshine, all too often though, the day is a gloomy gray with a thick cloud cover with no chance of burning off. Consequently, the occasional bright sunshine is a special treat.

 

Breakfast at 11, lunch at 2:30, tea at 4 and dinner always after eight… and often considerably later. Breakfast can be served in bed or on a small table in the library overlooking a bucolic winter scene. We face east and west so there is never a time of day when streaks of sunlight, if in fact there is sunshine, cannot penetrate the rooms.

Lunch is set out on a beautiful dining table capable of sitting fourteen but graciously set for five or six depending on who will drop in unannounced. The table is always replete with fresh flowers. Like most of the furniture in my sister’s house, the table is early Kagan vintage, beautifully preserved and loved. That alone makes me feel at home.

 

None of this would be possible without my sister's devoted staff: Espy who hails from Peru and Albano from Portugal - my Gloria in the middle is from Serbia

And then there is my sister’s loving attention. Need a manicure? The next day a delightful Spanish lady turns up to trim my nails: feet and hands. Feel stiff? - A charming Swiss masseuse appears to ease the pain. Need a haircut? you don't go to a barber, she takes me to her coiffeur.

A selfie at the hairdresser 

The cook in the kitchen prepares divine meals, but my sister is an inveterate chef and cannot stay out of the kitchen. Her soups are to die for! The cuisine hovers between healthy and Asian, neither of which catch my fancy… but never mind, Tanya gives me a free hand to shop for my favorite food: “Schweinerei” – pig food: sausages, salami, jambon cru, prosciutto, cheeses galore and crispy fresh-baked bread… And of course after dinner chocolates. Have I gained weight? Of course not. Ha ha!

My favorite "Pig" food

To ease my anticipated tedium, Tanya wisely assigned Slavica Rnjak, better known as Gloria, to entertain me; keep me out of trouble and definitely spoil me. (Not in the biblical sense), But pampered I am. Every morning my clothing is carefully laid out – color matched from head to toe. It helped that my departed brother-in-law had a closet full of the finest polo shirt with Hermes labels; cashmere sweaters from Italy, and sweat suits in every color imaginable. My sheets are changed every other day… new linens bring new colors. The chest of drawers, now assigned to me, was originally built by my father, one of my earliest designs dating to the mid-forties. The drawers are carefully organized and tidied daily… open one and it looks like a display at Saks 5th Avenue or any high-class men’s haberdashery.

                                                    These photos don't need a caption!

I have a desk bigger than any in my homes in America. I have two screens for my computer to keep me in touch with my office and monitor new design development. I sketch, I scan, I write Blogs… why bother to come home?

She invites friends for fun musical evenings -Fabrizio Chiavetta is a concert pianist, who plays magnificent accordion... here is is playing both at the same time

When Tanya's daughter Vicki arrived from Milano, we went straight out for a great steak dinner... Do you see the family resemblance?

Polly Hering, Tanya's devoted daughter, who lives in Geneva,  at  Art Expo

 

We go out for lunches - Tanya makes certain that I have a pretty girl as my guest: Nadege Chambrier studies environmental engineering in Lausanne - Albano and Gloria joined the fun 

some afternoons are so sunny and warm that I can sit on the balcony and do designs

A frigid walk along Lake Geneva with "ice fences" created by the freezing name of lake fish dish in genevaspray

The reward for a frigid walk; a delicious Peche de lac lunch with my friends Marion and Jullius

A twilight stroll along the lake

On one of our cultural outings: a visited to the Fondation Martin Bodmer that houses a World class book collection. the exhibit space is purposely located underground not to obstruct the magnificent view of the lake. The Swiss architect  Mario Botta did a sensitive design inserting a modern structure into an historic landscape

 

How do I keep fit in such a sybaritic environment? It’s not easy. Gloria and I take walks in the neighborhood and photograph chimneys, iron gates, old buildings and gnarly trees. Friends take me walking along the lake. Geneva has diverse museums to visit on gray days. I have found a superb trainer who makes me crawl on the floor and works on my abs. When I do finally leave here, I will surely have the much treasured six-pack stomach muscles Arnold Schwarzenegger is so famous for!

Doing my abs in the gyms with my  trainer

Vladi the tree huger can't resist an ancient tree

And finally: a clear sign to curb your dog!

 

 

 

Thinking of you!

 

 

Happy Valentine to all my girlfriends 

See you stateside…sooner or later. 

Farewell Afghanistan Welcome the Taliban

 

 

Bing West and the Afghanistan Conundrum

Copyright Vladimir Kagan March 11, 2014

“Bing” West

 

Francis J. “Bing” West is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Middle East Institute, the Military Order of the Carabao, and the Infantry Order of St. Crispin, he appears frequently on C-SPAN and The News Hour on PBS.

  

At a private luncheon held at the Sail Fish Club in Palm Beach, 55 members of the Coudert Institute were treated to an earful of Bing West. He started his talk with four questions about Afghanistan:

 

What happened?

Why Failure?

What are the Consequences?

What’s the future in a larger context?

 

Bing is one tough honcho… It is good to understand that there is no such thing as an ex-Marine only a retired one! Bing is one thousand percent Marine… he earned his “wings” fighting in Vietnam and later as former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs during the Reagan Administration. He’s been embedded with the front-line troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan as a journalist and made 16 extended trips to Iraq and six to Afghanistan. West has written numerous books about military strategy, the fighting on the ground, his life with the troops on combat patrols and the counterinsurgency. He has stared down the barrel of insurgent fighter’s guns; he is no stranger to bullets whirling around his ears or death by improvised roadside mines IEDs.

 
Bing illustrating his talk with a slide of the ground soldiers carefully walking a narrow path with  hundreds of IEDs frequently buried on either side of the road

West minces no words. He speaks from first-hand experience and is highly critical of our war efforts. “Misguided". West argued that the current doctrine of nation-building and winning hearts and minds by economic development is no way to win insurgent wars. This philosophy was inspired by our country’s success with our own democracy, that took us decades to produce. Conversely, we gave freedom and democracy to people who are still physically and mentally back in the 9th century.

 

West has grave reservations about the effects of our counterinsurgency strategy. He thinks that insurgencies proceed from the bottom up, and must be dealt with at the local level. He believes that warriors defeat warriors, not the well-meaning words of Diplomats. America's mistake in both Iraq and Afghanistan was to concede all control to appointed local authority. We invade as liberating saviors, wanting to democratize the natives and bring them out of their medieval slumber… We are the eternal do-gooders, “Let’s rid the country of its brutal dictators, give them democratically elected leaders.” Except that is not what they want… these countries are made up of hostile tribes, deeply-rooted religious hatred for each other, and religious beliefs foreign to our democratic philosophy. The few that are enlightened leave; most do not want our interference in their way of life.

 

it is mandatory for platoon leaders to meet with village leaders on a regular basis - looking at their faces, Bing points out that they do not appear to be our best friends... 

West compared the conflict in Afghanistan with Napoleon’s defeat in Russia – (as depicted in Tolstoy's War & Peace). The Russian prince and his entourage were baffled by Napoleon’s attack; at Bordino; the prince decided that the spirit of nationalism - a shared belief in Mother Russia would defeat the invaders, So the Russian troops were allowed to sleep through the night. Napoleon on the other hand prep-talked his troops all through the night: First came the Generals, then the Colonels, next the captains and finally an awe-inspiring harangue to his soldiers… in Napoleon’s camp, there was no sleep that night… by morning they were exhausted and unfit for battle. The liaise fair Russians, refreshed by a good night’s sleep, routed Napoleon - it was the start of his defeat.  

 

What is the point? President Bush believed in "top-down" leadership. He was gravely in error. The peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan did not share his vision. 

 

Our expressed mission in Iraq was to rid the country of WMD and depose a tyrannical dictator … what we discovered was that there were no Weapons of Mass Destructions. We succeeded killing the hated Hassan Husain. In his place we empowered new leaders as corrupt and brutal as their predecessor. The country today is in a bitter conflict between the Shi’ite majority and the Sunni minority… Fallujah has once again become a bloody battleground of tribal warfare.

 

We invaded Afghanistan in retaliation for 9/11 determined to ferret out Al Qaeda and destroy Bin Laden… Afghanistan is a nation the size of Texas, consisting of 31 disparate tribes, each separated by 10,000 feet high mountains. This impenetrable countryside might be a mountain climber’s paradise, but not for an army in pursuit of an illusive enemy capable of disappearing into its jungle and impenetrable mountains…. Afghanistan has a 1500-mile porous border with Pakistan… That’s about the distance between New York and Florida… a perfect place to hide forever. We chased the “bastards” right up to the Pakistan border and stopped. (You don’t invade the borders of a neutral country)… Al Qaeda escaped un-opposed into the friendly territory of Pakistan. Unbeknownst to us, Al Qaeda had dug into tunnels and underground bunkers and Bin Laden was securely hidden. These tunnels proved indestructible by aerial bombardments… only penetrable on the ground with hand-to-hand combat, or annihilating the enemy one by one with our drones.

 

Al Qaeda gone, the new enemy was the Taliban: the brutal rulers that controlled Afghanistan. Afghanistan is not one homogenous country, it consist of 31 tribal fiefdoms not friendly to each other but co-exist in their 9th century world.

 

America’s armed forces boasts an unsurpassable Air Force, an efficient Navy and an Army trained to fight on the ground with tanks and other 21st Century ordinance… they were not prepared for the Afghans, where the battle must be fought on dirt roads, mountains and in villages of hostile natives… we were back to fighting with infantry troops in man to man combat; fighting an invisible enemy, not troops in uniforms but local farmers, poppy growers and store keepers. We were fighting people that hate us and do not see us as liberators but we are the occupiers of their land. Again we supported a leadership that is corrupt – corruption is endemic in these lands – you pay for every favor – every assist. Our military was not prepared to flight this kind of war…

 

Our arcane Generals indoctrinated our troops with the rules-of-engagement: A soldier on the ground is forbidden to shoot unless first shot at… every civilian kill is investigated by military lawyers and the soldier is under interrogation and considered guilty until proven innocent. Every platoon has a lawyer attached to it to assure adherence to these rules…West considers our Generals to be noble Napoleonic warriors fighting a partisan war where the enemy is everywhere; the enemy hidden amongst the native who universally hate us.

 

The Taliban knows that time and terrain will defeat the Americans… and so it has… President Obama’s scheduled withdrawal provided the Taliban with a time-table… time is on their side… wait for the American’s to leave and take over. . West believes that we over-reached. Eventually, the Afghan government and the Taliban will work out understandings that we cannot possibly comprehend. But we can detect and bomb any new Al Qaeda sanctuary, as we do in Pakistan and Yemen. In short, we fought for too long for too small a gain. In a few years, we will forget about Afghanistan.

 

+++++++++

 

In the military, the system rewards conformity: Generals work in a hierarchical chain-of-command. They advance to their exalted position by starting as low ranking officers; then climbing the ladder rank by rank with diligent adherence to the rules. Slowly, they arrive at their lofty status. (The process can take thirty-five years or more). This hierarchy is built on the buddy system… no one will criticize a higher-ranking officer; no general will contradict a colleague in arms… they have all been together too long; dependent for their promotions on the support of their fellow officers.

 

 +++++++++++

 

Below is a footnote written by Bing West for this article: (Some of the views expressed by Mr. West do not necessarily reflect those of the writer)

 

 “Our next battleground will be decidedly different… Conflict is inevitable but we won’t know when or where. Our military must remain prepared but tailored to a new reality. We are slashing Defense as if there will not be another war. West believes Defense is the nation's insurance policy. It has taken about 6% of our wealth. Now we are about to cut it in a few years to 3%. Would we do that with our houses and our life insurance for our loved ones? Defense is not the cause or the solution of our huge debt; our selfishness and preposterous promises to the elderly - West notes that he is 74 - are the fault of our debt. Afghanistan was a dumb over reach by both Mr. Bush and Obama. But it is foolish to react by burying our heads in the sand and ignoring events like the 150,000 dead in Syria and Putin's sneers. If we choose to become weak - and we have chosen to do so - we will be pushed around. It will do us no good to complain that our two presidents tried to do too much in Afghanistan. Spare us in the future, because we made a mistake in the past. Want to bet the nation on that plea?”

 

 P.S.

 An article in yesterday's New York Times illustates the vast difference between our culture and that of the Afghan's 

'2 Star-Crossed Afghans Cling to Love, Even at Risk of Death'

 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/10/world/asia/2-star-crossed-afghans-cling-to-love-even-at-risk-of-death.html?emc=edit_th_20140310&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=61363280

 

BOOKS BY BING WEST

• Small Unit Action in Vietnam, Summer 1966. ISBN 0-405-00018-9.

• The Village. ISBN 0-7434-5757-9.

• The Pepperdogs: a Novel. ISBN 0-7434-5643-2.

• The March Up: Taking Baghdad with the US Marines. ISBN 0-553-38269-1.

• No True Glory: a Front-line Account of the Battle of Fallujah. ISBN 0-553-80402-2.

• The Strongest Tribe: War, Politics, and the Endgame in Iraq (Random     House, 2008) ISBN 1-4000-6701-4

• The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy, and the Way Out of Afghanistan ISBN 1-4000-6873-8.

• Into the Fire: 2012