Western Architecture: A Survey from Ancient Greece to the Present: 0 (World of Art)

The copy I received is from a public library somewhere in US. Quality is quite alright.

I bought and read this book for a course I was taking learning to appreciate western architecture from 600BC to the present day.2,600 years of history across a land mass of 4 million square miles is a big subject and one that should be fascinating, but Sutton has succeeded in producing a dull text book. His writing style makes reading this book heavy going. Disappointingly there is little depth in his analysis and too few insights into the geo-political, financial, social, or technical factors that drove changes in style, or why these styles, including some of the barmy extremes of rococo were so readily adopted across Europe. Instead the book largely consists of endless examples of buildings from across Western Europe for the periods and styles he describes, some of these are illustrated but infuriatingly many aren't. But then the illustrations are too often poorly reproduced black and white photographs that would benefit from some annotation to help the reader identify the characteristics that Sutton is referencing.So while Ian Sutton's "Western Architecture" should be interesting it manages to be both dull and superficial and frankly I can't recommend it unless you need it for a course; it isn't for those with a just casual interest in architecture.

In some respects you have to take your hat off to any author attempting to cover almost 3,000 years of western architecture in one volume. This is currently the main text for the Oxford university architectural online course (as of 2013), and in effect is a broad survey of the subject. My main gripe with the text is that for every paragraph there can be up to four references of buildings not included in the illustrations, and these architectural mentions often hold tantalising claims of being the seminal work of its kind. Trying to visualise architectural concepts and techniques without pictures is nigh on impossible, so expect to work hard with this book, with your internet browser open to google image search beside you. Another criticism is the author's sometimes strange and subjective commentary, leaving the reader to wonder what on earth was in mind (especially throughout the Renaissance and Baroque sections, comparing Brunelleschi, Alberti, Bramante and Borromini). For the casual reader, steer clear. But if you've time or incentive to work hard, it's rewarding to get a really good idea of the movements in chronological order, and to be able to pick apart the details of mannerism from, say, rococo. For all the frustrations that the lack of illustrations induces, it's given me a way in to gaining knowledge and a new appreciation of architectural styles that I perhaps would not have readily embraced---Romanesque churches and Cistercian monasteries for example, making this still a worthwhile read for me.

Arrived with few more creases and marks than expected by otherwise okay.

This, for an amateur student of architecture, gives a sweeping over-view of architecture in the west over the past 2000 years stopping off at interesting dates to look in more depth at the key styles and architects of the time. Top stuff.

Great copy and fast delivery - thank you!

This book was purchased for a course I am studying . It is the most dry , difficult and dull book which I am struggling to read as my set text . It is too condensed and has not inspired me to enjoy the study of Architecture .

This book is very informative, well written and a pleasure to read. The author writes about important historical facts while remaining objective. It is well organized and well structured.