A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals

by Spiro Kostof

Kostof's A History of Architecture, 1985, was universally hailed as a masterpiece--one of the finest books on architecture ever written. The New York Times Book Review, in a front cover review, called it "a magnificent guided tour through mankind's architecture," and The San Francisco Chronicle wrote that "Kostof...has enthralled a generation of students.... Now he has done the same thing for the public at large, in an extraordinary book that is a new kind of architectural history." This magisterial work has now been revised and expanded by Greg Castillo, Kostof's colleague and literary executor. Insightful, engagingly written, and graced with almost a thousand superb illustrations, the Second Edition of this classic volume offers a sweeping narrative that examines architecture as it reflects the social, economic, and technological systems of human history. The scope of the book is astonishing. No mere survey of famous buildings, Kostof's History examines a surprisingly wide variety of manmade prehistoric huts and the TVA, the pyramids at Giza and the Rome railway station, the ziggurat and the department store. Indeed, Kostof considered every building worthy of attention, every structure or shelter a potential source of insight, whether it be the prehistoric hunting camps at Terra Amata, or the caves at Lascaux with their magnificent paintings, or a twenty-story hotel on the Las Vegas strip. The Second Edition features a new concluding chapter, "Designing the Fin de Siècle," based on Kostof's last lecture notes and prepared by Castillo, as well as an all-new 16-page color section. Many of the original line drawings by Richard Tobias, as well as some 50 photographs, have also been updated or replaced, for improved clarity. Visually and intellectually stimulating, this book is at once a compelling history and an indispensable reference on all aspects of our built environment. It achieves for architecture what Janson's history accomplished for visual art.

Genres: Architecture, History, Nonfiction, Art, Art History, Reference, Design

800 pages, Paperback

First published March 21, 1985

About the author

Spiro Konstantine Kostof was a leading architectural historian, and professor at the University of California, Berkeley. His books continue to be widely read and some are routinely used in collegiate courses on architectural history.

In 1993, following his death, the Society of Architectural Historians established the "Spiro Kostof Award," to recognize books "in the spirit of Kostof's writings," particularly those that are interdisciplinary and whose content focuses on urban development, the history of urban form, and/or the architecture of the built environment.

Reviews

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full disclosure: this was a book to skim, not read. I imagine it was created as a college textbook, with all that implies. Anyway, I enjoyed seeing the evolution of medieval stone villages to Florentine palaces to Turkish mosques. Buildings are fascinating things, and as varied as the imaginations of their creators (as well as the treasuries of their commissioners). Good browsing material here, thanks largely to the intriguing photos and drawings.

[Bob Shadel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible textbook of architecture history. Kostof was an amazingly knowledgeable historian; his tome is filled with the social/cultural history of the world and the connections to architecture. A simple history of great buildings is really insufficient to understand the history of the development of how societies have built the various edifices throughout history. What an amazing journey I have taken with Mr. Kostof.

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a huge textbook, I didn't really read it all, but it is a beautiful introduction to architecture from the caves of Lascaux to 1945. The sections on Istanbul, Venice, Rome, and the U.S. are especially good, and the pictures, drawings, and commentary are excellent. Kostof taught at Berkeley for many years.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book!

[Imkrtr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good way to see history

[Carolee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have NOT read this substantial textbook cover to cover, but use it for reference when needed.

[Alexis]

nice book

[Rory Hyde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hefty tome taking in a few thousand odd years of history. A history of the winners, focussed on the names and places, skewed toward a Western European tradition. Great as a foundational text.

[Lizzy B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Similar to my “The Experts” review, my goodness, this was a slog. It is so dry in some places. It is so hard to visualize the architectural descriptions sometimes. Being an older book, it doesn’t cover the twenty-first century. Several hundred pages seem to just be church after church after church. I was going to call out the author’s assumption that the reader already knew architectural terms, but then I saw that the book’d had a glossary in the back the whole time. Oops.

On the other hand, it presents a lot of big, mind-expanding ideas to chew on, it is thoughtful about historical and political contexts, and now I can identify a bunch of architectural styles. I also really liked when the author got on his soapbox - there were dozens of well-crafted lines (no pun intended). The book also does a great job of drawing from a variety of textual and image sources (also no pun intended).

In short, you’ll absolutely get something out of this book, but know what you’re getting into! Consider only reading sections that interest you (e.g. I especially enjoyed the ancient civ and American architecture chapters).

[Van · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave it 3 star rating because there isn’t single photo or discussion of Notre Dame cathedral. Sorry Spiro.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, I sold this book back to the bookstore after my freshman year - then I had to buy the same damn book back the next year for History of Architecture 2. Let this be a lesson to you.

[Havva]

Loved the concept, but the book was much to slow to get through. At page 176 decided that I have better ways to spend my time.