--- product_id: 1705461 title: "Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan" brand: "rem koolhaas" price: "€ 84.25" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.gr/products/1705461-delirious-new-york-a-retroactive-manifesto-for-manhattan store_origin: GR region: Greece --- # 4.6/5 rating from 295 reviews Top 10 in Urban & Architectural Criticism Iconic NYC architectural evolution Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan **Brand:** rem koolhaas **Price:** € 84.25 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 🏙️ Unlock the blueprint of Manhattan’s madness and genius ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan by rem koolhaas - **How much does it cost?** € 84.25 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.gr](https://www.desertcart.gr/products/1705461-delirious-new-york-a-retroactive-manifesto-for-manhattan) ## Best For - rem koolhaas enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted rem koolhaas brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Collector’s Gem:** Used but in good condition—own a piece of architectural literature history - • **Cult Classic Status:** Ranked top 10 in Urban Planning & Architectural Criticism—join the elite readers - • **FOMO-Worthy Insight:** Gain perspectives that will forever change how you see New York’s urban fabric - • **Architectural Time Machine:** Explore Manhattan’s transformation from Dutch grids to skyscraper mania - • **Thought-Provoking Narrative:** Dive into Koolhaas’s visionary, sometimes wild theories that reshape NYC’s story ## Overview Delirious New York by Rem Koolhaas is a seminal architectural manifesto tracing Manhattan’s evolution from its Dutch origins to its iconic skyscraper skyline. Celebrated for its visionary and sometimes provocative theories, this used copy in good condition ranks in the top 10 for Urban Planning and Architectural Criticism, boasting a 4.6-star rating from nearly 300 readers. A must-have for professionals craving deep insight into NYC’s urban identity. ## Description Since its publication - Delirious New York (1978) has attained mythic status. Rem Koolhaas's celebration and analysis of New York depicts the city as a metaphor for the variety of human behavior At the end of the nineteenth century, population, information, and technology explosions made Manhattan a laboratory for the invention and testing of a metropolitan lifestyle - "the culture of congestion" - and its architecture. "Manhattan," he writes, "is the 20th century's Rosetta Stone . . . occupied by architectural mutations (Central Park, the Skyscraper), utopian fragments (Rockefeller Center, the U.N. Building), and irrational phenomena (Radio City Music Hall)." Koolhaas interprets and reinterprets the dynamic relationship between architecture and culture in a number of telling episodes of New York's history, including the imposition of the Manhattan grid, the creation of Coney Island, and the development of the skyscraper. Delirious New York is also packed with intriguing and fun facts and illustrated with witty watercolors and quirky archival drawings, photographs, postcards, and maps. The spirit of this visionary investigation of Manhattan equals the energy of the city itself. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Dimensions | 7.2 x 0.91 x 9.41 inches | | Isbn 10 | 1885254008 | | Isbn 13 | 978-1885254009 | | Item Weight | 2.06 pounds | | Language | English | | Print Length | 320 pages | | Publication Date | December 1, 1997 | | Publisher | The Monacelli Press | ## Images ![Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/717l+kZEIuL.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ In a word brilliant. *by on Reviewed in the United States December 29, 2014* Fascinating from start to finish. This is a gripping history of the city of New York, tracing its architectural evolution from the Dutch's rational plotting the grid of Manhattan to Coney Island's early extravagance as a showcase for the bizarre to the manical explosion of sky scrapers. Intriguing is the story of Coney Island serving as an incubator for Manhattan's themes and personality of forms. Koolhaas, now a starchitect, wrote this goregous work decades before he would create his own masterpieces of architecture such as the Seattle Library or Casa de Musica. In a word brilliant. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ You'll never look at NY the same way *by on Reviewed in the United States April 29, 2011* Here's an undergraduate architecture student's perspective: I really enjoyed this book! It's not difficult to get into but be prepared to venture into some pretty fantastical theories about New York. I couldn't help but think that some of the explanations and narrative were a bit forced to fit into some very memorable lines and titles. Just go with it though and you'll be glad you did; it's a captivating interpretation of New York that is certainly at least as valuable as whatever you'll find in a history book. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Obligatory starting point for building an understanding of the impact of the author as an Architect *by on Reviewed in the United States January 18, 2016* An insightful and original history of the coming into being of Manhattan, New York as a metropolis, by a great writer and (now) internationally revered Architect. Reading this, as an Architect, almost four decades after this has been put together for the first time, and being somewhat familiar with some of the works of the office he started (OMA), makes its' reading not without expectations in regards to learning about the practical applications of the lessons learned here. And to fast-forward to a tentative conclusion; these kind of expectations are not full-filled. The book, as a study is an exploration first and foremost; anything beyond is (and was) future, which we can now 'measure' or compare against actual production (of the author as Architect).The book itself then and its' structure; it starts off with a chapter on Coney Island, as being the laboratory for Manhattan; if one can make it through this first chapter, one is well positioned for the next chapters dealing with Manhattan's development, until the last one, where the author shifts gears suddenly, to get into the heads of two European celebrities of the Art & Architecture community, and basically finishes off the 'Manhattanism' process/period described in the previous chapters, thru the tales and eyes of these two. In terms of reading, a somewhat discontinuous experience, and asking the reader (once more), to find his/her bearing on a new 'platform' of thought(s) / thinking, this time centered around a newly introduced idea of a so-called 'Paranoia-Critical-Method', and the aspects of Paranoia itself. It is not quite clear why this shift is needed in view of the preceding chapters and history, and does not contribute to its core story, imho.The book is an intellectual and theoretical approach to Planning and Architectural history, where an objectivity has been maintained most of the time, albeit one cannot miss the at times sarcastic/sceptical/comical tones, when describing rather bizarre moments and ideas in the history of Manhattan. Almost every paragraph, headed by a short keyword of its content/subject, is concluded with a transcendental thought, a 'one-liner' providing a philosophical condensation of the evolving step in the process, which in themselves are the little pearls the writer adds on a string (of the story-line).One of the main values of the approach is that it puts Architecture, Planning and Design in an historical context that's including cultural, socio- and economic forces, as much, and most of the time, more than the Architecture, Planning and Design itself. What it tries to convey is a sense of processes beyond any one's control, where the Architect, Engineer and Designer are merely the ones providing the means to the forces that are occurring and shaping the processes. Their 'ideas' appear as makeshift, when seen against a 'bigger picture' background, their particular 'Architectural' approach or style more or less irrelevant.The book does include at the end, design proposals for Manhattan by the author / Architect around the time of writing / conception of the book (mid-seventies), that are presented as visual illustrations of the principles discovered and described in the book. However, partly due to the scale of the graphics included (small singular conceptual 3D images) and in part due to a listing of programmatic characteristics that one has been inundated with already a lot in the book, it doesn't really add to the story-line, imho. It seems that what one would expect, based on knowing what we know now in regards to the author and his career, that is a summarizing and a valuation of the principles in terms of how they would be made to guide one in projects for the future, is a missing stepping stone.As such, the shown projects in a way act more as a 'smoke-screen' than an unveiling of a future 'manifesto' (or set of rules), since it is not clear what is 'different' than what one has come to see before, nor what value, rejection or acceptance, is placed upon it. The Architect did not come out and valuate what the author has distilled. Perhaps that had not happened to the point of conclusion yet, but instead what is presented seems to represent a phase of mesmerizing and fascination with the subject. As such, the Architect and the subsequent work of the office remains a subject of study for me. One has to start somewhere, and this is most likely an obligatory starting point. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.gr/products/1705461-delirious-new-york-a-retroactive-manifesto-for-manhattan](https://www.desertcart.gr/products/1705461-delirious-new-york-a-retroactive-manifesto-for-manhattan) --- *Product available on Desertcart Greece* *Store origin: GR* *Last updated: 2026-07-06*