1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die: The World's Architectural Masterpieces (Quintessence Books) [Hardcover]

Mark Irving (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Quintessence Books | Publication Date: October 23, 2007

This book is a one-stop guide to the world’s greatest architectural achievements. Comprehensive and concise, it contains reviews of the most influential structures ever built worldwide. Covering a diverse array of architectural traditions and construction styles–from the bold and brash to the spiritual and reserved, from Angkor Wat to the Parthenon, from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater to Frank Gehry’s Bilbao Guggenheim–the book celebrates the vision and achievement of world architecture. Entries are organized chronologically and include essential information on the featured building, as well as the social, political, cultural, and geographical considerations that influenced the design. Stunning illustrations and photographs highlight the technical feats and aesthetic brilliance of architects past and present. This comprehensive collection is an accessible reference for anyone interested in the history of architecture.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Filled with photographs, it’s a visual delight confirming the magnificent beauty of the structures and the brilliance who architects, engineers, and builders who created these masterpieces.” ~Lovin’ Life After 50

About the Author

Mark Irving, general editor, writes on art and architecture for The Financial Times, The Independent, and The Guardian as well as for magazines such as Time, Domus, Blueprint, Prospect, L’Espresso, and The New Statesman.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 960 pages
• Publisher: Universe (October 23, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789315645
• ISBN-13: 978-0789315649
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 2.4 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #701,381 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Great but INDEX IS TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, December 25, 2007

By 

T. Tucker (Rochester, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die: The World's Architectural Masterpieces (Quintessence Books) (Hardcover)

I love this book but I am giving it one star because I am so infuriated by the lack of a useful index. There is no index that lists which cities the buildings are in -- they are only arranged by country. Why? Many of us would like to visit buildings that are near us or in cities that we travel to. This bizarre lack of information in the index makes that virtually impossible.

This is perhaps the most foolish indexing decision I have ever seen in my entire life, perhaps the most foolish indexing decision in the history of the written word.

Also: why don't they give addresses of the buildings anywhere?

Please correct this in the next edition. Maybe create a website where we can look this stuff up.

Clearly, a lot of time was spent on this book. It's unfortunate that strange indexing decisions have rendered it almost useless.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A contributing Author to this book, May 14, 2008

By 

Denna Jones (London, England, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die: The World's Architectural Masterpieces (Quintessence Books) (Hardcover)

I was one of the contributing authors to this book. The reviews so far are spot on. Even though I worked on this book I find it difficult to find even my own entries as the index is inadequate. I also wrote the Elrod entry - and yes, the photo is wrong - and I would have known that if I'd seen page proofs. But on a positive note, I believe this book is definitely worth buying (I don't get royalties!) if only because I know it contains entries (like mine) that are not rewrites of existing viewpoints, but original, fresh perspectives. The next book in the series is "1001 Houses" and I've been asked to be the General Editor. I intend to take these comments on board and ensure a good index and good geographic spread for 1001 Houses. The publishers have indicated they want a website to go with the book, and that will also be a priority for me, assuming they ok costs. So buy this book as its assets outweigh its faults, and keep an eye out for 1001 Houses! http://www.dennajones.com

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars INTERESTING BOOK - BUT FLAWED, December 18, 2007

By 

Marc L. Kagan "Mid-Century Modern Expert" (San Francisco Bay Area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die: The World's Architectural Masterpieces (Quintessence Books) (Hardcover)

Some of the buildings do not have corresponding photos with the descriptions but that can be understandable because the book runs almost 1000 pages.
But I did find two errors:
First Error - Page 523 has Case Study House No.22 but the photo is of Case Study House No.21 both are by Pierre Koneig and they are both in the Los Angeles area.
Second error - Page 565 has Elrod House but the photo is of the Sheats/Goldstein House which is in Beverly Hills will the Elrod House is in Palm Springs. The Elrod House is famous for its location in the film Diamonds Are Forever and its circular in design.
Overall the book is a very good reference book with a photo and a short description of the building.