This highly regarded, consistently well-selling and extremely well-written book brings to life architectural history and its canon of great buildings through a lively approach that is both insightful and accurate. This story of architecture moves back and forth between long views of historical trends and close-ups of major works and crucial architectural themes. The authors have successfully made the subject of architectural history - which due to its technical aspects can too often be off-putting to the lay reader - transparent, engaging, and easily mastered. All buildings are illustrated with effective images that are well reproduced and thoughtfully keyed to the text. In the second edition, the content of the book has been fine-tuned and polished. Sections in the Renaissance, Baroque, and Modern chapters were reworked to include recent scholarship and, in the case of the Baroque, expand coverage to Eastern Europe. The Introduction has been significantly updated in its slant and language, including a discussion of the newly introduced term "Postmodernity." The most significant and exciting change, however, is the addition of the new chapter, which covers architectural developments from approximately 1980 to 2000. The new chapter is a challenging yet comprehensible take on the exciting, diverse, and stunning buildings from the last twenty years. Most impressively, the author creates a cohesive story from these recent buildings that are, by their very nature, extremely complex, individualistic, and difficult to categorise.
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
For everyone interested in looking beyond the façades of architectural landmarks to learn about the forces that shaped them, Architecture: From Prehistory to Postmodernity has been a definitive resource since its publication in 1986. Marvin Trachtenberg and Isabelle Hyman, professors at New York University, weave complex information into an engrossing narrative. While the authors' focus is on the Western tradition, shared ancient roots inspired a chapter on aspects of Islamic architecture. In the second edition, Trachtenberg's well-supported opinions add a lively sense of engagement to a new chapter surveying major trends of the 1980s and 1990s (work by Renzo Piano, Frank Gehry, Daniel Liebeskind, and others). Among the special delights of the book are its excursions into fascinating architectural byways, such as the history of castles, why the mendicant monks wanted simpler churches, and the superiority of the truss to the girder. More than 1,000 illustrations, including 91color plates, provide ample visual reference. --Cathy Curtis
From Library Journal
This new edition updates the 1986 edition of this authoritative historical survey of Western architecture. As the introduction points out, this survey is "mainly a history of monumental buildings." Trachtenberg (Dominion of the Eye: Urbanism, Art and Power in Early Modern Florence) and Hyman (Marcel Breuer, Architect) proceed chronologically, discussing significant styles, works, and architects. The scope is more restrictive than that of other heavyweights, e.g., Sir Banister Fletcher's a History of Architecture and Spiro Kostof and others' A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals, which include non-Western and vernacular architecture. Nevertheless, this new volume considers diverse modes of modern architecture that have flourished, abetted by computer-aided design and unprecedented wealth, during the past 20 years. Included are very recent masterworks such as Daniel Libeskind's Jewish Museum in Berlin. The high-quality graphics include 91 color plates, and an illustrated glossary is provided. The many libraries holding the previous edition will want to purchase this update; other large public and academic libraries should also consider. David R. Conn, Surrey P.L., B.C.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great vast amount of knowledge,
By
This review is from: Architecture: From Prehistory to Post-Modernism : The Western Tradition (Hardcover)
This book contains the most comprehensive amout of Architectural infomation I have ever seen. I had to purchase this book for class and I would recommend it if you can find it... Not only can it help with studies a must own for regular knowledge.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Architecture: From Prehistory to Postmodernity,
By PakHeadInc (South Florida) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Architecture: From Pre-history to Postmodernism (Hardcover)
This book summarizes over ten thousand years of architectural history in such a practical and clear form. Ignoring its price, I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in architecture. However, though the book briefly studies such vast expanses in the history of architecture, it fails to even touch architecture in the eastern world. Asia still continues to remain much of a mystery and covering it would truly enlighten the human imagination. Yet, doing so would also probably double the size of the book, thus increasing its cost to over a hundred American dollars. The book also, I feel, seems to enter into too much detail in the forms of modern architecture. In buying this book, one most likely seeks to learn more of history not 'postmodernity,' nevertheless it can be interesting to learn how modern architecture has come to pass.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect Purchase!,
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This review is from: Architecture: From Prehistory to Post Modernism (Hardcover)
Excellent Transaction! Fast shipping service once order was placed and will do business Again. This product had everything I needed to know and understand for each and every one of my projects! Great Buy!
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