“ The Story of Architecture is a great treasure. Rybczynski is an engaging writer, skilled in making esoteric content accessible to a broad readership.”-Kelvin Browne, Literary Review of Canada

“ is a subtle reader of buildings and their meanings, and this is an elegant and thoughtful primer on the built environment.”-Michael Prodger, New Statesman It has so much humane warmth that even modestly chilly rebukes seem out of place.”-Stephen Bayley, Spectator This is a book with deep pilings of knowledge supporting a facade of avuncular charm.

“A calm, gentlemanly and intelligent book. Firm in opinion, even-handed, and rooted in scholarship, this book will delight anyone interested in understanding the buildings they use, visit, and pass by each day. This is the story of architecture’s physical manifestation of the universal aspiration to celebrate, honor, and commemorate, and an exploration of the ways that each building is a unique product of patrons, architects, and builders. Rybczynski’s narrative emphasizes the ways that buildings across time and space are united by the human desire for order, meaning, and beauty. The host of examples ranges from places of worship such as Hagia Sophia and Brunelleschi’s Duomo to living spaces such as the Katsura Imperial Villa and the Alhambra, national icons such as the Lincoln Memorial and the Sydney Opera House, and skyscrapers such as the Seagram Building and Beijing’s CCTV headquarters.

In this sweeping history, from the Stone Age to the present day, Witold Rybczynski shows how architectural ideals have been affected by technological, economic, and social changes-and by changes in taste. “The finest architectural writer in our language.”-Mark Alan Hewitt, New Criterion “Rybczynski’s expansive account traces the influence of social, technological, and economic shifts on architecture across centuries.”- New York Times Book Review An inviting exploration of architecture across cultures and centuries by one of the field’s eminent authors

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