History of Western Architecture

by Lawrence Wodehouse and Marian Moffett

This is a chronological history of western architecture from prehistoric times to the 20th century. Numerous societies are studied within each time period thereby allowing cross cultural comparisons.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0874847842
• ISBN13: 9780874847840
• Release Date: February 1989
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Langua
• Length: 537 Pages
• Weight: 2.55 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Good old 1st Edition, but the 2nd Edition is better

This 1st edition of textbook for undergraduate students offers a chronological description of the evolution of architectural form from prehistoric times to the 20th century on 537 pages, and it is illustrated basically in black & white (with a few color plates) unlike the 2nd edition with 300 in color. The 2nd edition was published in 2003 under ISBN: 1856693538 [Hb] and ISBN: 0071417516 [Hb], in 2004 under ISBN: 1856693716 [Pb], and in 2008 under ISBN: 0071544798 [Hb] and ISBN: 1856695492 [Pb]. BIOGRAPHIES: Marian Moffett earned a Ph.D. at the M.I.T. (1975) and taught history of architecture at the University of Tennessee, where she had collaborated and co-authored with Lawrence Wodehouse. Lawrence Wodehouse, a native of Norwich, England, received a Ph.D. from the University of St. Andrews (1980), taught history of architecture at the University of Tennessee and others, and was the author of many books and numerous scholarly articles, a registered architect in the UK, and a founding member of the Southeast Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians. CONTENTS: Maps Color Portfolio Introduction 1. The Beginnings of Architecture 2. The Second Millennium 3. The Greek World 4. Roman Architecture 5. Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture 6. Islamic Architecture 7. Early Medieval and Romanesque Architecture 8. Gothic Architecture 9. Renaissance Architecture 10. Baroque Architecture 11. The Eighteenth Century 12. Nineteenth-Century Developments 13. Twentieth-Century Modern 14. Reactions to Modernism Selected Bibliography Glossary Index

A good general look at the history of western architecture

Wodehouse and Moffett do a good job of jamming the whole history of western arcitecture into an easy to read compact work. They cover the biggies and touch on the lesser known but important works. There are ample illustrations and notations to diagrams and photographs. The writing is interesting and not full of boring technical jargan. This book is an excelent jumping off point for a time period or to get an overview of architecture in general. There is so much information one could get bogged down in, especially in the past century of architecture, but Wodehouse and Moffett charge on ahead without becoming stuck. This book is certanily not the end all of any time period, but for casual scholors of architecture or those who need to know about a building in X time period, this a great book.