The History of Architecture

by Michael Stephenson

Civilizations can be judged, at least to some extent, by their man-made structures. For certain early cultures that left limited or no written records, monumental remains are the principal sources of information. Due to this, architectural history sometimes becomes the most important part of general history. In a continuously running stream of events, The History of Architecture pieces together humankind s building prowess from 10,000 BCE, when humans began creating basic shelters from twigs and leaves, through to the wondrous feats of today, visible in futuristic skyscrapers and towers of concrete, steel and glass. It covers religious and secular architecture, including places of worship, royal buildings, forts, commercial complexes, bridges, industrial buildings, transportation hubs and residences. The reader discovers styles and sub-styles, ranging across civilizations and geographies, and is acquainted, through biographies, with great masters like Brunelleschi and Frank Lloyd Wright, whose works are considered landmarks of architectural achievement. A famous architect once said, Ideally all buildings should be visited . Practically impossible as that is, many of the more stupendous edifices can be visited through the pages of this book.

280 pages, Paperback

Published February 5, 2019

About the author

"In addition to his writing, Stephenson spent more than twenty-five years as a professional book editor, for much of that time with a particular focus on military publishing."

"Stephenson is the former editor of the Military Book Club and the editor of National Geographic's Battlegrounds: Geography and the History of Warfare. He is also the author of Patriot Battles: How the War of Independence Was Fought. He lives in New York City."

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Reviews

[Tri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think that this book tried to do too much. It’s not possible to get the history of world architecture in less than 300 pages, it just isn’t. Primarily a time line of world architecture that also has some descriptions of architectural styles and history on opposing pages. The book is incredibly euro-centric. Sure, it includes some buildings from around the world. But the majority of all of them are European. Especially in the ancient section.
And how can you do a section on ancient architecture and only mention two of the ancient wonders of the world? At the very least they should have talked about the Pharos- it was the first ever lighthouse!

The layout though, is really flawed. There are parts where the time line is interrupted mid sentence by three or more pages on a completely different subject. There are images with no title, so you have no idea what they are. And in the second half of the book, the lines linking images and their descriptions are off. I think it needed another look over by the editor.

Having the glossaries interspread with more text is an interesting choice.

Its not all bad though. There’s a good section on world heritage sites and a really great section on ecological architecture. The photos are beautiful, even if some of the drawings are not. I enjoy the color coding and the use of lots of different photos to illustrate the time period. I learned a lot, and I enjoyed reading it. I think though that this is more a coffee table book than a book for reading.

2.5 stars

[lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 (rounded up)