Customer Reviews

The Architecture Traveler: A Guide to 250 Key Twentieth-Century American Buildings, Third Edition

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This classic guide keeps getting longer and stronger. This latest edition has been updated to include the remarkable new buildings constructed through the 90s; a period when unprecedented prosperity, a fresh generation of architects, and a new materials technology began to realize a new American style. Compact, helpful, witty and accurate: all the buildings are visible, and many are open to visitors. Hours, addresses, phone numbers and maps are provided. The maps are especially interesting because they show you where the architecture is in America. In visiting some of these buildings over the years I have occasionally spotted other devoted Architecture Travelers carrying their copies of The Guide, which has by now been published in English, Chinese and German. It is just the right size to travel with yet it has a nice heft - useful photos and solid, substantial research. Plus lots of interesting, little known tales of the architects, clients, builders and designs behind America's classic buildings.

A friendly, witty guide to great classic buildings, plus the hot new ones. The book is thick and useful with good maps. Most of all, I like it because it gives such a solid architectural history while it is actually telling "stories" of the people who designed and built these fascinating buildings. I've often used this book in its earlier editions, and now this one -- it's never failed me. Even when I thought I knew everything about a particular city's architecture, I've found new discoveries. It's nice to have a book of this kind that is authoritative and also a lot of fun.

If you are an avid architecture fan, and you are planning to see some iconoclastic buildings in the States, then, this handy small but substantial book is a must. The book is arranged in a chronological order, black and white in colour though, providing the readers with an insightful explanation of why every and each projects are highly regarded. Moreover, it also tells us where to find them, when to visit or if the buildings could be accessed at all, who to contact to arrange for a viewing, how to get there (subways &/or even bus numbers), who designed the buildings. To make the readers' life even easier, there are various formats of index at the end of the book, should we want to search the buildings via the architects' names, or thru the cities, or thru the highway maps. I am pleasantly surprised by this book and would recommend this to anyone else who want to have a road trip in USA just looking at buildings. Mind you, this book only goes as far as 1999 and to date, there are new buildings that are to be updated in there such as Frank Gehry's latest work for Mr. Allen of Microsoft underneath Seattle's pin. One note of interest is that none of the architecture buildings in Las Vegas is mentioned at all or taken seriously.

From the "Prairie Style" Robie House of Frank Lloyd Wright to the stunning Art Deco Chrysler Building to the modern, organic ripples of Frank Gehry's Weisman Art Museum, author Sydney LeBlanc takes her readers on an architectural tour of the United States. Thoughtfully designed chronologically, this guidebook of 250 masterpieces of American buildings is a great survey of the key architectural achievements of the twentieth-century. A must for architecture enthusiasts, this book is not just for the armchair, architecture traveler. Indeed, this slim volume includes an invaluable appendix of detailed maps so the reader can plan a driving tour and see their favorite buildings in-situ. A great, well-written resource!

To appreciate the life and values of a particuliar culture and time, one has to examine the literature, music and the arts. Architechture is probably king of the arts, the expense of constructing a building, you have to consider the thoughts of the persons or committee spending this money and their appreciation of the overall impression of the structure. I find that Leblanc has truly captured, from an Art Historian's point of veiw, the most significant structures and her writing leaves the reader with much significant knowledge of the most important architectural works of the 20th century. Readers of the future will be able to grasp a concept of this century in America along with a study of the other arts using this reference book as a handy guide. I consider this an indispensible reference work.

I like this book a lot - it has guided me to many buildings I probably wouldn't have visited otherwise. But it is outdated now and a new edition has recently come out, with a number of cool new buildings, especially in LA, New York and Chicago. The new book includes 263 buildings and also gives web addresses, which is very useful. I recommend you look for the new edition instead of this older one.

I guess that having read the reviews before I bought this book; it is totally worth it. So I wont repeat what everyone has said, but everything that they said is true! It is truly an amazing book and a must have before you travel anywhere.

I give it 4 stars though for poor editing. The maps are wrong in places ... cant forgive that. Also it needs a severe update as far as contemporary work goes to include work by HDM, Holl et al. The author can and should also attempt a book on buildings in Europe & Asia. Will be great to have all volumes as a repertoire of the best architecture around.

I'm not sure who put the map index together, but they must've been dyslexic. The numbers on the maps hardly coorespond with the correct page numbers of the building. I spent over 2 hours "correcting" the book, in order to make my cross-country road trip a little more efficient.

Do not buy this book until they release a 3rd "corrected" edition... ...unless "correcting books" is your cup-of-tea.

Every time I plan a trip, I find this book gives me great ideas of buildings I can see along the way. It makes sight-seeing more manageable in large cities with many, many important buildings, like New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago, by singling out the best places to spend my time. I've also been surprised to find that the author has also included buildings in smaller cities that seem off the beaten path where architecture is concerned.

The maps haven't failed me. The map problem mentioned by another reviewer has been corrected in the current (Norton) edition.

The buildings are organized chronologically, so you get a good idea of the history of our country's architecture just by flipping through the book. I think it would be a nice gift for anyone interested in architecture - I don't know of any other book that gives such a helpful overview plus the information you need to experience the buildings for yourself.