"What is the state of Mackinthosh's popular reputation? While studying the furniture and interiors in The Mackintosh House, I got into the habit of jotting down the remarks of visitors which I overheard. Those notes are the best evidence I have of how people see Mackinthosh, so here is a selection, in the order in which I heard them: 'It's end of 19th century, early 20th, but there's something so contemporary about it.' Small Glaswegian boy: 'Why is it all white, Dad?' Dad: 'Because the man was a genius.' 'All the wood was dark [in Victorian times] and he came and painted it all white.' 'He died penniless.' 'It must have been terribly modern at the time. Lovely lamps.' 'When you what people's houses were like at the time, so crammed. These places are so restful, empty.'"

The reputation of the architect and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928) has travelled some strange paths, both during his lifetime and afterwards. It swayed between anonimity and broad acclaim. His lifetime story seems to be that of the Romantic heroe; a genius struggling alone without acknowledgements at home, a predecessor of the Modern Movement in architecture. Indeed, the Modern Movement was eager to claim Mackintosh being on their side. This interpretation has long been the predominant one on Mackintosh. However, is it true?

Although his work has been well documented, there is not much definite material that documents Mackintosh's personal life. Alan Crawford sets out to tell again the story of Mackintosh's life, aiming to critically examine previous statements. His approach is historical, not architectural, which serves his purpose quite well. He takes the chronological order as the main vehicle for constructing his discussion. In this way he is able to stay detached from the works, since the activities in which Mackintosh was engaged often intertwine. It also makes for a rather matter-of-fact style of tone that supports his approach to investigate Mackintosh anew on the basis of definite sources rather than previous interpretations.

Although the chronological approach is prone to induce boredom through predictable order, or to confusion through parallel developments, Crawford handles his device skilfully. His narration is almost film-like. He zooms in and out, offering broad and detached descriptions, and suddenly leaping into detailed discussion. Sometimes he minutely reconstructs events, which at other times (also due to scarcity of sources) he leaps through quite fast. In all cases his tone is one of involvement, and showing the excitement of a new discovery. Sometimes his involvement leads him to speculations on Mackintosh's life that seem to spring forth from his enthousiasm. However, these outpourings are sparse and balance the story-telling.

Crawford identifies major themes in the work of Charles and Margaret Mackintosh (the artist couple referred to as Mackintosh), in the architectural field as well as furniture, painting, and decoration. He discusses particulars of buildings, chairs, watercolours, and (wall-paper) designs. The involvement of Mackintosh abroad is discussed and assessed. In the end, he consisely sums up the achievement and meaning of Mackintosh as bearing on the aspects of intellect, originality, and inventiveness in their work. Intellect, since Mackintosh appeals in a sophisticated way to discontinuity, (sensual) contrast, and imbalance to our senses and awareness. Originality, since he created truly novel things based on Free-Style architecture, Art Nouveau, and vernacular forms. Inventiveness, as his production yielded a vast amount of ever new work even in times when his fortunes were low.

"Charles Rennie Mackintosh" is a pleasurable book to read. It is well conceived, and although its rather small format denies a comprehensive collection of images and drawings, there still is an abundance of them. They have been chosen carefully to support the main theses of Crawford and to illustrate the narrative he offers.

The importance of Mackintosh does not lie in his influence on others or vice versa. There hardly is any. It lies in his work itself which deserves careful study. This book provides a broad introduction on Mackintosh. It will probably not be the last written on Mackintosh. Alan Crawford about interpretations on Mackintosh: "He was whatever he was during his lifetime. Then he became a Modernist, then a master of Art Nouveau, then a pioneer of liberated sexuality. I expect people will say that I have made him into a Postmodernist, though I did not set out to do that. At all events, I am sure that this will not be the last word."