AN INVITING, FASCINATING COMPENDIUM OF TWENTY-ONE OF HISTORY’S MOST FAMOUS LOST PLACES, FROM THE TOWER OF BABEL TO THE TWIN TOWERS

Buildings are more like us than we realize. They can be born into wealth or poverty, enjoying every privilege or struggling to make ends meet. They have parents—gods, kings and emperors, governments, visionaries and madmen—as well as friends and enemies. They have duties and responsibilities....

Beginning with their introduction in the eleventh century, and ending with their widespread abandonment in the seventeenth, Marc Morris explores many of the country's most famous castles, as well as some spectacular lesser-known examples.

From ancient dwellings to modern high-tech skyscrapers, discover everything there is to know about the history of architecture worldwide. Covering over 6,000 years of human history, Architecture charts the most important developments in building materials, technology, design, and the social changes that have shaped the architectural landscape. Explore every significant architectural period and style in depth through critical examples. Take a tour...

"An elegant presentation of interiors for introverts, placing the memorable work of London architect William Smalley alongside buildings around the world that have inspired his practice. Quiet Spaces places the work of architect William Smalley alongside spaces that have inspired him. Places of private contemplation - calm spaces to read a book or listen to music in, to walk through or simply be in - they are spaces that achieve a rare sense of repose...

"The present volume discusses the most important treatises on architecture from the Renaissance to today. The authors explore the origins of each treatise and examine the motives that have prompted architects over the past 500 years to set down their ideas on paper. Grouped by nation and epoch, the writings of Leon Battista Alberti, Andrea Palladio, Marc-Antoine Laugier, Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, John Shute Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, Karl Friedrich...

From the author of the successful 150 Best series comes the debut entry in the forward-thinking Open Concept Houses series, filled with nearly 500 pages of color photos - sure to become the ultimate resource for this fast-growing trend in home design and renovation. One of the hottest lifestyle trends today, open concept living spaces eliminate doorways and walls to create a large combined area for cooking, dining, entertaining, and relaxing. No longer...

"By the early 1950s Walt Disney's great achievements in animation were behind him, and he was increasingly bored by the two-dimensional film medium. He wanted to work in three, to build an entirely new sort of amusement park, one that relied more on cinematic techniques than on thrill rides, one from which all tawdriness had been purged. He achieved it, but just barely: he ran out of money, had to borrow against his life insurance, fell out with his...