The Annotated Arch: A Crash Course in the History Of Architecture

by Carol Strickland

The Annotated Arch takes architectural history out of the realm of dreary textbooks into a world of dynamic design, succinct page-length essays and instructive sidebars. These graphic devices heighten the reader's ability to retain an impressive amount of information, even through a cursory reading.

Incorporating more than 250 illustrations, The Annotated Arch draws on the very elements of architecture to craft a visual and textual approach to the subject that no ordinary textbook could match. A brief run-through of the book's captions and sidebars provides a mini crash course in the history of architecture. From Stonehenge to the Eiffel Tower, from Flippo Brunelleschi to Frank Lloyd Wright, the language of architecture is clarified in five sections.

Everything you always wanted to know about architecture is all right here in The Annotated Arch , which covers architectural wonders from the Stone Age to the Space Age. Presented in a reader-friendly format, this new book enlightens, entertains, and informs with its lively look at architecture.

What's the difference between Doric, Corinthian, and Ionic? Within the 192 illustrated pages of The Annotated Arch , readers will learn all about these distinctive styles--and more. From engineering breakthroughs to cultural history, from biographical anecdotes to analyses of corresponding and clashing styles The Annotated Arch covers all the architectural bases. The book breaks new ground with excerpts from interviews conducted by the author with leading contemporary architects.

This new Annotated book follows Carol Strickland's first volume on art history, The Annotated Mona Lisa . Peppered with sidebars, The Annotated Arch will appeal to anyone who loves architecture or who simply wants to learn more about it in a painless, enjoyable way. It's a great, educational read.

Genres: Architecture, Art, Nonfiction, History, Reference

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 10, 2001

About the author

Carol Strickland's interactive eBook is "Masterpieces of Art: Impressionism, A Legacy of Light (available from Erudition Digital). She is author of a historical novel "The Eagle and the Swan," an eBook available from amazon for kindle and in print from Echo Point Books and Media (See the book's website: http://www.theeagleandtheswan.com.) She has written many non-fiction books and is an art critic/journalist.
Her two books on the history of art and architecture (The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in the History of Art from Prehistoric to the Present, 3rd, updated edition, and The Annotated Arch: A Crash Course in the History of Architecture) have sold more than 400,000 copies in multiple editions and translations. Strickland has also published The Illustrated Timeline of Art History: A Crash Course in Words and Pictures and The Illustrated Timeline of Western Literature: A Crash Course in Words and Pictures. Her essays have appeared in monographs on the artists Paul Waldman and Aris Kalaizis.
As a writer on cultural topics, she has contributed to publications like The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Art in America, The Nation, Commonweal, Civilization, American Theater, Garden Design, and Art & Antiques. She has a homes in Massachusetts and New York.
Strickland has a Ph.D. in American literature from the University of Michigan and has taught at Stony Brook University, Rutgers University, Southampton College, Stevens Institute of Technology, and La Guardia Community College. She’s won accolades for her screenplays in prestigious competitions.
Links to some of her feature stories are under “Events” on her website: http://www.carolcstrickland.com. She contributes reflections on current culture to Bluesky @carolartbeat.bsky.social.
Her new historical novel, "Sparks Fly Up: The Lost Story of Margaret Fuller," will be published January 22, 2026. Set in 1850 Concord, the novel shows how Fuller's famous friends like Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Whitman, and Melville squabble over how to remember her life and legacy.

Reviews

[Star · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before I read this book, I knew nothing about Architecture. Now, I find myself really looking at buildings, seeing things that I would never have noticed before, instead of just taking them for granted, letting my eye pass over them without seeing them. But not anymore. Now I'm able to see which period a building belongs to (or was at least inspired by), see the marvel of how they were built, see how we've adapted and improved - or not, as the case may be - the more we've learned and developed architecture. Frankly, it's amazing. Perhaps, most importantly, I've come to have an appreciation for cities. As a country girl through and through this is major thing. I've always viewed cities as... well, places I don't like. Everything I don't like rolled into one great blot of a mess of buildings. But not anymore. Now, I can understand how the cities came about, the histories behind them, the different periods as a city progresses through time. Now, buildings truly are frozen moments in time to me, where we can learn so much about our past.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to learn the basics of the history of architecture.

The book zooms through the history of architecture, from the times of post-and-lintel structures, to deconstructivism, and new urbanism.

Lots of pictures. Good fun to read. The author has wit and an amazing depth of vocabulary.

[Breeanna Gee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good for learning important information about architecture.
It breaks everything down, and also uses good phrases to help you remember things.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brief look at the sheer basics of every major architectural movement throughout history, this brief, but interesting read is a great way to whet your appetite for more.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the author treats this weighty subject (no pun intended) remarkably well, and the prose is interesting rather than dry, it is still so densely packed with information that I treated it more as a "read in spots, browse through in others" kind of book. The photography is wonderful and inspiring, showing some of the world's most justifiably famous examples of great architecture. Fun to see and gain information about. My favorite part are the pages that showcase multiple architectural styles all on one page, table-style format, so you can see at a glance the similarities and differences between Gothic, Romanesque, or Byzantine styles (for example). Worthwhile.

[ColleenPA · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because an SRC task assigned architecture to my birth month. The book claims to be a crash course in architecture, and it is. However, while there are lots of pictures there are not enough diagrams and explanations. The glossary is too small. And the attempts to relate the architecture of the time to social history, while interesting, were not developed enough for my tastes. The book goes well beyond the arch, and it does contain some very good information. I have officially read all I ever want to read about architecture.

[Ellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

SUPER basic outline of the history of architecture. Helpful for glossary definitions and diagrams (its cut-away of Amiens Cathedral is reproduced frequently). Not great for a serious student of art history, but good for an intro.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an Art History major, and a former Architectural student, I was skeptical when I found this book required for my study abroad course on French Art and Architecture. Generally, I've found that books attempting to cover basic knowledge on such a broad topic are somewhat lacking. However, after the first chapter or two, I was pleasantly surprised with how much information was packed into this entry level architecture manual and how few instances occurred in which I wanted to edit or add to the content. I would certainly suggest this book for entry level courses or course which only require general knowledge of Architecture.