Nearly every essay in this book sent me to the internet with excitement to see pictures of the buildings Rybczynski talks about. Well written, interesting. ( )

This collection of essay on architecture deals mainly with housing in the United States and Canada, although some pieces also involve public buildings of various types (such as office buildings, airports, and museums) and the history of architecture. I found it not too technical which was good, but the addition of illustrations would have improved the approachability of the book very much. Many of the buildings referred to by the author are unknown to me, so I was bewildered by most of the examples. Photographs, or even simple line drawings, would have helped me understand what the author was trying to explain. All of the essays appeared in newspapers and magazines between 1986 and 1991, which makes them just a little dated now, but the writing is fantastic. ( )