House A Memoir PDF Book Download *FREE

Michael Ruhlman’s uncanny knack for taking a wide range of subjects and making them completely his own has gained him acclaim and popularity. In his latest offering, he owns the subject both figuratively and literally: his home. House really began in 1901 when a family moved into a brand-new house in Cleveland Heights—full of hope for the future and pride in their stunning home. But as time moved on, upkeep began to wane and, in the end, the house went on the market. And there it stayed for quite some time, until the Ruhlman family decided to buy the dilapidated building.

With the always-tedious home-buying process and expensive repairs soaring into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the American Dream can seem like the American Nightmare. Detailing the purchase and renovation of a single family home, House explores the importance of the place we live in, our yearning to establish it, and the importance of the actual structure, its impact on our intellectual and spiritual lives, and on the struggles of a family. Packed with useful information and stories written with a storyteller’s flair, House is a dramatic narrative by a gifted writer who eloquently concludes that be it ever so humble, a castle or a row house downtown, there’s truly no place like home.

An acclaimed journalist who has written about everything from chefs to pediatric surgeons now turns his attention to the subject of home. In 2001 Michael and Donna Ruhlman purchased a 100-year-old house in suburban Cleveland. Then they set about making it their own. In relating this story—whose details he invests with novelistic drama—Ruhlman moves readers to consider what “home” means in a nation of vagabonds: why Americans long for a home of their own even as they feel compelled to move on. Here, too, is a deft unraveling of the relationship between a physical structure and the family life that transpires inside it. Thoughtful, elegant, and provocative, House is a must for prospective homebuyers and lovers of bravura journalism.

“[Ruhlman] has a wonderful sense of narrative and pace. . . . An amazing visual and aural memory.”

—The New York Times Book Review

Michael Ruhlman is the author of The Making of a Chef, The Soul of a Chef, and Charcuterie. He has also collaborated with Thomas Keller on two cookbooks, The French Laundry Cookbook and Bouchon. Additionally, Ruhlman has written for The New York Times, Gourmet, Saveur, and Food Arts magazine, as well as being featured on the PBS series Cooking Under Fire.