A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals | 
| Author: Spiro Kostof
Creators: Gregory Castillo, Richard Tobias
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Category: Book
List Price: $80.00
Buy Used: $20.80
You Save: $59.20 (74%)
New (5) Used (31) from $20.80
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 326833
Media: Hardcover
Edition: Revised
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 816
Shipping Weight (lbs): 5.8
Dimensions (in): 11.3 x 9.6 x 1.5
ISBN: 0195083784
Dewey Decimal Number: 720.9
EAN: 9780195083781
ASIN: 0195083784
Publication Date: May 4, 1995
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
When the late Spiro Kostof's A History of Architecture appeared in 1985, it was universally hailed as a masterpiece--one of the finest books on architecture ever written. The New York Times Book Review, in a front cover review, called it "a magnificent guided tour through mankind's architecture," and The San Francisco Chronicle wrote that "Kostof...has enthralled a generation of students.... Now he has done the same thing for the public at large, in an extraordinary book that is a new kind of architectural history."
This magisterial work has now been revised and expanded by Greg Castillo, Kostof's colleague and literary executor. Insightful, engagingly written, and graced with almost a thousand superb illustrations, the Second Edition of this classic volume offers a sweeping narrative that examines architecture as it reflects the social, economic, and technological systems of human history. The scope of the book is astonishing. No mere survey of famous buildings, Kostof's History examines a surprisingly wide variety of manmade structures: prehistoric huts and the TVA, the pyramids at Giza and the Rome railway station, the ziggurat and the department store. Indeed, Kostof considered every building worthy of attention, every structure or shelter a potential source of insight, whether it be the prehistoric hunting camps at Terra Amata, or the caves at Lascaux with their magnificent paintings, or a twenty-story hotel on the Las Vegas strip. The Second Edition features a new concluding chapter, "Designing the Fin de Siecle," based on Kostof's last lecture notes and prepared by Castillo, as well as an all-new 16-page color section. Many of the original line drawings by Richard Tobias, as well as some 50 photographs, have also been updated or replaced, for improved clarity.
Visually and intellectually stimulating, this book is at once a compelling history and an indispensable reference on all aspects of our built environment. It achieves for architecture what Janson's history accomplished for visual art.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
Review: A History of Architecture February 8, 2008
I was very happy with the purchase, mainly because it was $50 off retail price and was free to ship.
 Comprehensive February 16, 2007
Covers all the major styles and period the Western tradition of architecture. It does one chapter on Asian architecture but no single chapter can cover all the styles and history of the Asian countries of India, China, Japan, etc. It will be great for any aspiring architect who wants to have a good foundation...or to anyone who wants to appreciate the history of spatial design, and decoratives more.
 PC-architecture January 5, 2006
10 out of 18 found this review helpful
This book was devised by a profoundly politically-correct mind. It is hard to read, inaccessible for an enthusiastic amateur, filled with historical gaps for a professional, and turns more often to social issues than to actual history of architecture. I don't know where to begin to list its omissions in terms of illustrations. On top of that, paperback is just too heavy and falls apart. I bought it at a clearance within a year after publication, it tells you something.
The ideal guide for students of architecture October 18, 2005
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
Even though greek architecture is a bit too much covered, students can enjoy the details about the history of architecture, as one can see the development of architecture and mankind step by step. Texts sometimes gets hard to understand.
mandatory book needed for class August 19, 2005
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
Many great pics. Text is a little hard to understand.
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