From Publishers Weekly
Unabashedly huge in its proportions, this book differs from the standard architecture survey in that it doesn't approach the topic from a Western perspective, but rather, as the title indicates, through a global lens. This bodes well for its success as a textbook, but will also please the casual reader. Chronologically organized, the work spans the globe within each time period, occasionally taking time to discuss certain styles and major historical periods, but devoting most of its space to specific architectural works. This chronological organization keeps the book from feeling divided geographically, and maintains a diverse view without manic overextension-a look at the palace at New Delhi is followed by Swedish architect Gunnar Asplund, which is followed by the Hollyhock House in Los Angeles. Throughout, the authors make connections that have rarely been explored ("An important influence on European architecture in the west came from the direction of Armenia"). The book disseminates textbook amounts of need-to-know information, but it does so clearly-more like a down-to-earth conversation than a grad-school dissertation. A practicing architect and two academics, respectively, Ching, Jarzombek and Prakash aren't afraid to get into the meaning and emotion behind the architecture, addressing its passionate, intangible aspects, as in their discussion of irony's place in postmodern design. That personal and phenomenological angle, along with the book's giant scope, makes it a strong addition to the field, an example of successfully going macro without getting muddled. 1000 b & w photos, 50 color photos, 1500 b & w illustrations.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"…the work offers a fresh and engaging outlook for an architectural history survey course. It affords the student an opportunity to view architecture differently and make connections that might not otherwise be apparent." (
American Reference Books Annual, 2008)
"…it constitutes a wonderful and interesting read in its own right, and because of its exceptionally wide perspective, even architectural historians who do not teach general survey courses are likely to enjoy and appreciate it." (Annali d'architecthura, 2008)
"Not only does A Global History of Architecture own the territory [of world architecture], it pulls off this audacious task with panache, intelligence and -- for the most part -- grace. The slices of time in A Global History provide a richer learning experience for an introductory course." (Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 2008)
"The book's most informative and attractive feature is its illustrations, hundreds of drawings by Ching, a noted author and architectural illustrator." (Choice, March 2007)
A decade after the 100th anniversary of Banister Fletcher's venerable and indispensable A History of Architecture (20th ed.) comes this fresh, one-volume historical encyclopedia of world architecture. Ching (architecture, Univ. of Washington; Architecture: Form, Space, and Order), Mark M. Jarzombek (architecture & art, MIT), and Vikramaditya Prakash (architecture, Univ. of Washington) recast the story of the last 5000 years of building into a simple but brilliantly workable chronological schema of "timecuts," flexible time spans growing shorter and denser as we reach the present. These timecuts succeed in facilitating cross-cultural analysis and minimizing Eurocentric bias. Best of all, they prevent yet another rehash of architectural history as a monotonous procession of endless and unconnected styles, periods, and places. Thus, the Forbidden City, Topkapi Palace, and Villa Medici are viewed as phenomena interdependent upon international trade routes and as outgrowths of an emergent "global urbanism." Fifteenhundred elegant and superbly legible hand drawings by Ching, along with 1000 photographs and maps, illustrate a lucid and engaging text. Something of a hybrid, this is as much a solid reference resource as a revisionist textbook. Essential for most collections.
—David Soltész, Cuyahoga Cty. P.L., Parma, OH (Library Journal, October 15, 2006)
"…a unique and ambitious undertaking…" (The London Review of Books, November 2006)
"Extremely informative, it will no doubt become a standard reference book." (The Herald {Glasgow}, Saturday 15th December 2007)
