What Style Is It?: A Guide to American Architecture, Revised Edition [Paperback]

John C. Poppeliers (Author), S. Allen Chambers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0471250368 | ISBN-13: 978-0471250364 | Edition: Revised Edition

Architectural style is defined as a definite type of architecture, distinguished by special characteristics of structure and ornament.
This revised edition of What Style Is It? includes new sections on Neoclassical, Romanesque and Rustic Styles. It also provides more examples of how pure styles vary by geographic region across the US.
* Includes sections on 25 of the most significant architectural styles including Early Colonial, Federal and Second Empire
* More than 200 photos and line drawings make this a visually rich resource. 30% of photos and drawings are new to this edition
* A glossary offers quick access to architectural terms
* Includes an added guide to using the Historical American Buildings Society online catalogue of more than 30,000 historic structures, giving access to more than 51,000 measured drawings, 156,000 photographs and more than 30,000 original historical reports

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Designed for easy identification of buildings, this picture and prose handbook offers a unique overview of U.S. architectural styles. Individual chapters on 22 of the most important styles including Gothic Revival, Art Deco, Richardsonian Romanesque and Prairie School provide a concise look at the history and appearance of each. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

When was it built?

Why does it look that way?

What style is it?

What Style Is It? provides a portable, easy-to-use guide to identifying American architecture–on the road or in your own community.

This Revised Edition presents new photographs and line drawings, a concise, illustrated glossary, and accessible information on twenty-two major styles of American architecture from the past 300 years. Organized chronologically to put information at your fingertips, What Style Is It? presents succinct summaries of architectural styles, discusses their development and notable characteristics, and mentions where real-world examples can be found.

This essential guide is packed with more than 200 descriptive photographs and illustrations, accompanied by nontechnical explanations that help you quickly identify the most significant styles of architecture–from Early Colonial, Federal, and Second Empire to Neoclassical, pre-Civil War Romanesque Revival, and late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Rustic styles.

What Style Is It? is the definitive, concise guide to the captivating structures and history of American architecture.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; Revised Edition edition (October 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471250368
• ISBN-13: 978-0471250364
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #122,062 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Sketchy Overview of American Architecture, August 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: What Style Is It?: A Guide to American Architecture (Paperback)

This book is fine if you are looking only for a very brief look at American Architecture. It does not organize architectural styles to give a comprehensive overview of them. It does, however, present example photos of various styles with easy-to-read text briefly describing the styles. If you want a book that is handy and comprehensive, no other book can compare to A Field Guide to American Houses, by Virginia and Lee McAlester (ISBN 0-394-73969-8). This book will give you a comprehensive framework of the development of American Architecture so that you can build your understanding as you become exposed examples in the field. Everything from windows and doors to contruction techniques are covered. The book is organized in such a way that you can find what you need quickly. It is the cornerstone in the study of American Architecture.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Short and to the point!, June 19, 2000

By 

G Beekley - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Style Is It?: A Guide to American Architecture (Paperback)

This is a very handy, pocket sized book which can be easily used in the field! Different historic architectural styles are divided into small chapters with helpful photos for identification. I particularly love the user-friendly "Glossary" which identifies architectural features in a short and to the point manner. Since this is published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a person can feel assured that this is accurate information! Makes a great gift too!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Field Guide That Could Have Been, August 1, 2005

By 

Marco Antonio Abarca (Colorado) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: What Style Is It?: A Guide to American Architecture, Revised Edition (Paperback)

This is the most dissapointing of architectural field guides because it had the potential to have been the very best. John Poppeliers was the head of the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and Allen Chambers was an historian with the Historic American Buildings Survey. Quite simply they had access to 51,000 sheets of measured drawings, 156,000 large format black and white photographs and over 20,000 reproductions of individual items. With all of that access, they could have produced the ultimate architectural field guide. Instead they produced a 146 page superficial guide.

The best aspect of this guide are the line drawings produced for the Historic American Building Survey. They are two dimensional drawings that are almost surgical in their precision. The building photographs are also first class.The narrative describing the different elements of the style is short and to the point.

The second edition of this book was published in 2003. In my opinion, if someone is going to introduce a new field guide into this already crowded arena, it has to offer something new. I would recommend sticking with the already proven field guides by Lester Walker, Rachel Carley, Carole Rifkind or Virginia McAllister.

This book is recommended for people with really short attention spans. This book is a dissapointment. Oh, what it could have been. One day, somebody from the HABS project will produce the ultimate architectural field guide.