The Story of Architecture

by Jonathan Glancey

Book Overview

Guiding readers through a staggering 5,000 years of world architecture, from ancient Sumeria to the spectacular glass-and-steel towers of today's cityscapes, this refreshingly accessible visual... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0789459655
• ISBN13: 9780789459657
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley)
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.7" x 11.1"

Customer Reviews

Happy, Happy!

Great price for the book, timely delivery, and I even recieved an e-mail from Better World Books make sure that I had recieved my book...good customer service!

Fine introduction.

I was looking for a readable inroduction to varied styles and history of architecture that was jargon free but not overly simplified. This book did the job well. Perhaps Glancey could have provided a bit more text to go along with the beautiful pictures, but he still informs. Recommended for newcomers or those with an incomplete education in the field of architecture.

excellent (and opinionated) survey

THis is a very, very good introduction to the complexities of architecture, at about the freshman level of college. Starting with the dawn of civilization (in what is now Iraq), Glancey takes the reader on a tour of human history from the angle of what we build to worship, work, and live in. THe basics are covered extremely well, providing a context for further research. Glancey writes with grace and clarity, dividing each major movement into regular cuts of two pages, each with brilliant images. While this format shoehorns things into categories that are a bit too sharply delineated, that kind of reductionism is a necessity in this kind of survey. In the latter part of the book, some of the distinctions appear artificial, but then we are in a period where no dominating style - you get post-modern, decontructivist, and organic, etc. - has emerged and the author had to make some decisions regarding how to put them in the format. To his credit, Glancey does not ignore the exceptions and quirks. One thing I enjoyed about the book is that Glancey does not shy away from making strikingly loud judgements, many of which I did not share. Corbusier, he writes, "was the most inventive and poetic architect who ever lived." Now that is strong stuff and I would never have expected it in a routine survey! (While I can respect and understand what Corbusier did, I don't love it like Glancey.) But that is what makes this book more than a run of the mill overview - it adds flavor and stimulates. Also, while international, because Glancey is a Brit, much of it focuses on Britain and contemporary Europe, which provides a valuable contrast to more US-centric views.Recommended.

Great review

Great book to review the history of architecture, it is concise and well illustrated.

new architecture student

As a freshman architecture student, this book was exactly at my level. The photographs are splendid, and the dialogue informative. This book provides a complete history of architecture in every area of the world, as well as some theory. Great for anyone truly interested in architecture, but not an expert (yet!)