MOTTEL, Syeus. Charas: The Improbable Dome Builders.

(New York, NY): Drake Publishers Inc., 1973.  First edition.  Quarto.  189 pages.  Introduction by R. Buckminster Fuller.  A fascinating account of six ex-gang members who broke ground to construct a geodesic dome on a vacant lot in the shadow of the Manhattan Bridge after a 1970 meeting with the celebrated and revolutionary architect R. Buckminster Fuller.  As a group, Charas was interested in physically altering the housing conditions in their immediate neighbourhood, the Lower East Side. They developed a program that encouraged community autonomy and the reclaiming public space.  Illustrated throughout with photographic plates.  A very good plus copy in dust jacket.