Great Architecture Of The World (A Da Capo paperback) [Paperback]

John Julius Norwich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 1991 | Series: A Da Capo paperback

Great Architecture of the World is not only a major and lasting reference work, but also an aesthetic treasure. For the student its style of illustration is explicit and informative; for the traveler a gazetteer is added, giving a country-by-country listing of the world’s greatest buildings; and for all of us, this volume provides an exciting and compelling history of our common architectural heritage.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Julius Norwich is a world-famous historian who has made some thirty television documentaries. He is the author of many acclaimed books, including A History of Venice, Byzantium: The Early Centuries, Byzantium: The Apogee, and A Short History of Byzantium.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 21, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306804360
• ISBN-13: 978-0306804366
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,404,118 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to architecture, September 18, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Great Architecture Of The World (A Da Capo paperback) (Paperback)

As a licensed architect, I'm often asked to talk to children or teenagers who are vaguely interested in architecture. (Well, not that often, but it has happened.) I've been recommending this book for years. It has lots of full-color cutaway drawings. Let me put it this way, if you don't stare fascinated at these drawings, you probably won't be drawn to architecture. My copy of the book is hardcover, printed in 1975, but it's politically correct--Chinese and Hindu architecture is not neglected as in other Western-focused books. You won't find any post-modernism here, however, because I don't think the paperback has been updated (but I might be wrong)

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not interesting to read, so so as a reference, May 30, 2001

By 

Peter J. Adams (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Great Architecture Of The World (Paperback)

This is the opinion of someone who is neither an architect or art historian, but an amateur who got interested after traveling around and seeing some of the world's great architecture. Also, I have the 1975 version of the book - some improvements may have been made in the most recent edition.

The strength of the book is that it attempts to survey the entire world from ancient to modern times in one, not too intimidating volume. China, Japan, Indian, Islamic, and Pre-Columbian architecture are given short chapters, although the bulk of the book is dedicated to tracing Western architecture from ancient times to shortly after World War II. It is nice to have something fairly comprehensive on the shelf as a reference.

The broad scope of the book is a weakness as well. Over a dozen authors contributed various chapters. The result is spotty, as some authors are clearly better at introducing a general audience to their field than others who seem to forget that they are not at a research conference surrounded by experts. Some parts of the text do a good job at summarizing the technical accomplishments and aesthetic concerns of a period while others are just a litany of names and places (many without corresponding visuals) that is meaningless to the average reader. The large number of authors makes the book incoherent as well as there is no theme or story that carries from one part to another. This makes it much more suited for leisurely poking through sections at random than for reading from start to finish.

Finally, there are a number of technical issues that could have been handled better. While it is true that there are tons of pictures, cutaways, and diagrams, many are too small or of mediocre quality. In other places, the text refers to a compass direction, but north is not labeled on the corresponding diagram. That's fine for medieval churches if you know that the apse is (almost) always in the east, but who knows offhand which way Persepolis is oriented? You can usually figure it out, but this and other issues are frustrating.

In summary, don't buy this book if you want a coherent history to read. If you need just one volume to serve as an occasional reference, however, this one might be ok. Still, I would look around a bit more first.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Architectural Designs Around the World, October 28, 2004

By 

Chris - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great Architecture Of The World (Paperback)

This is a great resource for anyone interested in Architecture. It gives really good background information on the history of architecture in many different areas of the world. And if you need some really good photographical examples, this a great book. It also includes great picture descriptions so that you can relate it to the body of the work. This book has a wide range of architecture from much earlier ages to the modern age.

All in all, I highly recommend this book if you need a resource for a project or if you're simply interested in architecture.