Architecture

A History in 100 Buildings

By: Dan Cruickshank

Narrated by: Dan Cruickshank

This stunning book by renowned television historian Dan Cruickshank tells the history of architecture through the stories of 100 iconic buildings.

Journeying through time and place, from the ancient Egyptian pyramids to the soaring skyscrapers of Manhattan, renowned architectural historian Dan Cruickshank explores the most impressive and characterful creations in world architecture.

His selection includes many of the world’s best-known buildings that represent key or pioneering moments in architectural history, such as the Pantheon in Rome, Hagia Sophia in Turkey, the Taj Mahal in India and the Forbidden City in China.

But the book also covers less obvious and more surprising structures, the generally unsung heroes of an endlessly fascinating story. Buildings like Oriel Chambers in Liverpool and the Narkomfin Apartment Building in Moscow.

Dan Cruickshank has visited nearly all the buildings in the book, many in locations that are now inaccessible and under serious threat. A History of Architecture in 100 Buildings is an eloquent and often moving testimony to the power of great architecture to shape, and be shaped by, world history.

©2019 Dan Cruickshank (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

Praise for Dan Cruickshank:

‘Beneath the jocular surface lies an entirely serious expertise. The breadth of Cruickshank's knowledge and the very speed of his journey enables him to make striking connections between apparently unrelated cultures … illuminating … inspirational’ Guardian

‘A colossal melting pot of a book: ambitious, rigorously researched, vigorously narrated and marvellously illustrated. All of life is here, but not as we know it’ Sunday Times

‘Fascinating … a lively and scholarly panorama’ Daily Mail

very informative

I would certainly not recommend using this book as the only guide to the history of architecture, but as one of perhaps 3 or 4 intentional books this one deserves a place in your library.

Enlightening!

This was truly a marvelous read. You cannot help but be as excited as the author about the influential architecture that has shaped the world.

who is this book for?

My 4th year architecture student son and I listened to this book on a cross country road trip. He's a rising 4th year architecture student, I know little about architecture. Neither of us felt like the book was written for us. As a nonarchitect, I'd have been lost without a knowledgeable guide to stop the book about every 5 minutes to explain something. My architecture student felt like the book was definitely not aimed at a knowledgeable reader. So, who is the book for?

Both of us found the organization and flow of the book odd. The 100 buildings construct seemed forced.

As the non architect, I'd have been better served by a more in depth discussion of a handful of important buildings.

The book was mostly interesting. But I am not enthusiastic.