Charles Moore

Peter Becker

Regula Campbell

Provides lively and penetrating appraisals of 262 buildings and sets them in their broader historical and cultural contexts.

Spine looks wrinkled (see photo) but the book itself is in fine shape.

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

California

L. A.

The City Observed

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Paul Goldberger

This book raises our awareness of fundamental elements  like proportion, scale, space, texture, materials, shapes, and light.

It's basically about how we relate to buildings.

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

"The purpose of Why Architecture Matters is to 'come to grips with how things feel to us when we stand before them, with how architecture affects us emotionally as well as intellectually' - to teach us how to understand the architecture that surrounds us every day."--Inside jacket.

Why Architecture Matters

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Witold Rybczynski

This book illuminates the connection between architecture, interior decoration, and fashion.

"Style is the language of architecture."

One of the nation's foremost experts on architecture discusses the role of style in the "language" of the discipline, and shows how Frank Gehry, Mies van der Rohe, Allan Greenberg, and others are influenced by it.

The Look of Architecture

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Michael. Korda

"A wry, lively, informative, and wonderfully written chronicle that puts to the lie any idea that publishing is a stodgy business."

A Memoir of Other People

Take a boy like Tommy Carver, with a hard head and a hair-trigger temper. Let him lovee a girl with too much money and the wrong kind of blood in her veins. Then don't ask when Tommy Carver will explode; ask who he'll take with him when he does. 'Jim Thompson is the best suspense writer going, bar none.' - The New York Times

Another Life

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John Hill

Pavel Bendov

This drfinitive walking guide to contemporary architecture in NYC provides 10 unique, information-packed tours.

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

Guide to New Architecture

The first-ever walking tour guide of New York City's stunning contemporary architecture showcases the most intriguing new buildings in the city. It can be hard to keep up with New York City's surge of cutting-edge architecture since the turn of the millennium. This portable, easy-to-use guide directs readers to the city's newest architectural gems, all completed in the 21st century with some still under construction. Divided into ten 1- to 3-mile walks that extend from Columbia University through lower Manhattan and across to Brooklyn and Queens, this guidebook highlights over 150 buildings, popular destinations like the High Line and Lincoln Center, and trendy locations such as Williamsburg and the Bowery. Led by author John Hill, these tours are highly informative, engaging, and filled with fascinating insights and details. Maps and numerous photographs make this guide the perfect companion for anyone visiting New York City, architecture buffs, and those wishing to better know the city they call home.

NYC Walks

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Egbert Koster

This is about new architecture on historic ground.

Some stunning photos here.

Eastern Docklands

The Eastern Docklands in Amsterdam / Het Oostelijk Havengebied Van Amsterdam

85eb46ba-acaf-4175-832a-8426c9930b09-0

Kenneth Powell

Photographs amd architectural details of Grand Central Station.

Warren and Wetmore

This book looks at Grand Central Terminal, in the heart of Manhattan. It was built at the beginning of the 20th century by the distignuished partnership of architects Warren and Wetmore.

Grand Central Terminal

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Carol Willis

Skyscrapers in New York and Chicago  developed very differently in the first half of the 20th century.

Skyscrapers and Skylines in New York and Chicago

In contrast to standard histories that counterpose the design philosophies of the Chicago and New York "schools," Form Follows Finance shows how market formulas produced characteristic forms in each city - "vernaculars of capitalism" - that resulted from local land-use patterns, municipal codes, and zoning. Refuting some common cliches of skyscraper history such as the equation of big buildings with big business and the idea of a "corporate skyline," this book emphasizes the importance of speculative development and the impact of real estate cycles on the forms of buildings.

Form Follows Finance

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Cara A. Sutherland

Explores the history and fascinating stories behind the bridges and yhe people who created them.

More than 100 archival photos.

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

The Museum of the City of New York

Opening a fascinating window on a country's bygone days, Portraits of America celebrates the personalities and the politics, the lofty principles and back-room deals that lie behind some of our nation's best loved landmarks. The first six titles in this brand-new series celebrate the enduring magic and architectural majesty of New York City. Featuring more than 100 vintage black-and-white photographs, this meticulously researched collection created by the Museum of the City of New York details the conception, creation and powerful social impact of New York's great icons. From the bridges to the parks, the skyscrapers to the statues, they all helped transform the "Big Apple" into the undisputed "Capital of the World." It's sometimes easy to forget that Manhattan is, after all, an island, and that water is as much a part of New York as concrete and steel. What links Manhattan with Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island and New Jersey are hundreds of bridges; some of stone, some iron or gleaming steel, and all vital for tying together the people and places of the city. Through words and pictures, the histories of New York's bridges are traced from early pedestrian and wagon crossings to such engineering marvels as the Brooklyn and George Washington Bridges, along with profiles of the bridge builders, including the famous Roebling family and the prolific O.H. Ammann, designer of the George Washington, Verrazano Narrows, and other major New York bridges.

Bridges of New York City

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David Gebhard

Robert W. Winter

This hefty guide contains 100s of entries plus notes on city history, freeways, murals, and historic preservation.  Also a photographic history of Los Angeles architecture.

A Compleat Guide

Architecture in Los Angeles

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Jennifer Ackerman

The author explores the birds' newly discovered brilliance and how it came about.

NYT bestseller

“Lovely, celebratory. For all the belittling of ‘bird brains,’ [Ackerman] shows them to be uniquely impressive machines . . .” —New York Times Book Review “A lyrical testimony to the wonders of avian intelligence.” —Scientific American An award-winning science writer tours the globe to reveal what makes birds capable of such extraordinary feats of mental prowess Birds are astonishingly intelligent creatures. According to revolutionary new research, some birds rival primates and even humans in their remarkable forms of intelligence. In The Genius of Birds, acclaimed author Jennifer Ackerman explores their newly discovered brilliance and how it came about. As she travels around the world to the most cutting-edge frontiers of research, Ackerman not only tells the story of the recently uncovered genius of birds but also delves deeply into the latest findings about the bird brain itself that are shifting our view of what it means to be intelligent. At once personal yet scientific, richly informative and beautifully written, The Genius of Birds celebrates the triumphs of these surprising and fiercely intelligent creatures. Ackerman is also the author of Birds by the Shore: Observing the Natural Life of the Atlantic Coast.

The Genius of Birds

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Tom Wolfe

Features Wolfe's thoughts on major art and artists.

"America's nerviest journalist" (Newsweek) trains his satirical eye on Modern Art in this "masterpiece" (The Washington Post)

Wolfe's style has never been more dazzling, his wit never more keen. He addresses the scope of Modern Art, from its founding days as Abstract Expressionism through its transformations to Pop, Op, Minimal, and Conceptual. The Painted Word is Tom Wolfe "at his most clever, amusing, and irreverent" (San Francisco Chronicle).

The Painted Word

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Carl W. Condit

This book teaches us the anatomy and physiology--rather than the cosmetics--of American buildings.

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Materials and Techniques from the Beginning of the Colonial Settlements to the Present

American Building

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Sally B. Woodbridge

From San Francisco's Victotian houses to Sonoma's historic Mission, this book offers over 1,000 entries of notable architectural sites.


The Illustrated Guide to Over 600 of the Best Buildings, Parks and Public Artworks in Bay Area

San Francisco Architecture

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Patrick Loughran

Examines glass in construction and offers solutions to problems in design and installation.

Problems and Solutions in Contemporary Architecture

Problems in construction have existed for as long as architecture itself has enclosed our spaces. Particularly in glass structures there have been some catastrophic problems in recent years. It would seem that modern architecture with its complex technologies and ingenious details is especially prone to defects. For this very reason, this selection of examples includes such renowned projects as John Hancock Tower in Boston, Galeries Lafayette in Berlin, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Bibliothèque de France in Paris. The book can be seen as a catalogue of facade failure modes, examining defects due to water leakage, corrosion, incompatibility of materials, insufficient redundancy, climatic influences, wear and tear of materials etc. Each chapter is devoted to a particular form of damage, illustrating it with examples, and concluding with strategies to avoid repetition of defects. Patrick Loughran, architect and engineer, has been working in the design of building facades in Chicago since 1994.

Falling Glass

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Susan R. Stein

Essays and photos of Hunt's work.

He was popularly known as the dean of American architecture.

Essays discuss museums, mansions, and monuments designed by Hunt, influences on his work, and his place in modern architecture

The Architecture of Richard Morris Hunt

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Kevin Bone

Eugenia Bone

Mary Beth Betts

This book is a documentation of the rise and fall of the waterfront's architectural, technological, industrial, and commercial existence over the past 150 years.

Evolution and Building Culture of the Port and Harbor

Created by a team of architects, historians, teachers, and students, The New York Waterfront is an unprecedented documentation of the rise and fall of the waterfront's architectural, technological, industrial, and commercial existence over the past 150 years. This densely illustrated book vividly presents and preserves the waterfront's development. Superb watercolor, ink, and pencil drawings-some specially created for this publication-as well as rare historic pictures, aerial photographs, and maps culled from a wide variety of sources and reproduced here for the first time, make this book the most comprehensive study on the subject. Newly commissioned photographs by Stanley Greenberg supplement this already rich array of images, often bringing out the melancholy beauty of the waterfront in its present derelict state. Also seen here are many major modern sites-the Red Hook Water Pollution Control Plant, the Port Authority Grain Elevators, the Fresh Kills Landfill, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard-capturing the nameless, inhospitable tracts whose only landmarks are the rusting remains of a once vital commercial life. This illustrative material, together with a series of informative texts written by critics and scholars, reveals a complete picture of the New York waterfront through contemporary projects and visionary proposals, environmental plans and master-planning, built and unbuilt waterfront structures (pier warehouses, recreation piers, markets, and ferry terminals), in addition to a meticulous analysis of a variety of documents and records. The New York Waterfront offers a unique perspective on waterfront building so that the lessons of the past can inform decisions about the future. This publication also inspires us to strive for an equivalent greatness when designing the urban fabric of the twenty-first century, the kind of greatness in public works that has in the past distinguished New York City.

New York Waterfront

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Keith Heyer Meldahl

This is about the epic overland journey of the covered wagon trains and the compelling story of the landscape they encountered.

History and Geology along the Gold Rush Trail

Taking readers along the 2,000-mile California Gold Trail, Meldahl uses the diaries and letters of the 1849 settlers to reveal how geology and topography directly affected our nations westward expansion.

Hard Road West

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Rob Temple

Book about a nation of awkward but well-meaning oddballs.

Making Life Awkward for Ourselves, One Rainy Day at a Time

There's an epidemic sweeping the nation Symptoms include: *Acute embarrassment at the mere notion of 'making a fuss' *Extreme awkwardness when faced with any social greeting beyond a brisk handshake *An unhealthy preoccupation with meteorology Doctors have also reported several cases of unnecessary apologising, an obsessive interest in correct queuing etiquette and dramatic sighing in the presence of loud teenagers on public transport. If you have experienced any of these symptoms, you may be suffering from VERY BRITISH PROBLEMS. VERY BRITISH PROBLEMS are highly contagious. There is no known cure. Rob Temple's hilarious new book reveals all the ways in which we are a nation of socially awkward but well-meaning oddballs, struggling to make it through every day without apologising to an inanimate object. Take comfort in misfortunes of others. You are not alone.

Very British Problems

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Terry Teachout

Biography of Mencken, a great journalist, editor, and social critic.

*a few notes in text; very minimal*

A Life of H. L. Mencken

When H. L. Mencken talked, everyone listened -- like it or not. In the Roaring Twenties, he was the one critic who mattered, the champion of a generation of plain-speaking writers who redefined the American novel, and the ax-swinging scourge of the know-nothing, go-getting middle-class philistines whom he dubbed the "booboisie." Some loved him, others loathed him, but everybody read him. Now Terry Teachout takes on the man Edmund Wilson called "our greatest practicing literary journalist," brilliantly capturing all of Mencken's energy and erudition, passion and paradoxes, in a masterful biography of this iconoclastic figure and the world he shaped.

The Skeptic

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Edward Denison

Ian Stewart

Analyzes and explores all types of bridgrs from around the world from the first millennium to the present day.

A Crash Course in Engineering and Architecture

This accessible book is a visual guide to understanding and identifying architectural styles and engineering techniques of all types of bridges, from ancient Roman arch bridges and nineteenth-century truss bridges prevalent in the United States, to the latest high-design cantilever and suspension bridges of the moment. It explores the elegant and varied ways in which engineers and architects have designed ever longer yet less heavy bridges, devising new methods of construction along the way. Illustrated throughout with detailed line drawings and cross sections, including dramatic images of the world’s iconic bridges, this charming guide still fits in a pocket or purse—perfect for anyone who likes to explore the dynamic bridges and built environment on foot.

How to Read Bridges

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Will Jones

A one-step guide to understanding the architecture and urban design of New York City.

*a few lines are highlighted*

A Crash Course in Big Apple Architecture

Essential reading for both native New Yorkers and tourists alike, How to Read New York unveils the boundless diversity of Gotham’s architectural wonders. Covering every era of New York architecture—from what remains of the colonial days to the latest postmodern skyscraper—this unique guidebook illuminates the fascinating architectural and urban history of New York. Organized chronologically and by architectural style, the book covers key highlights of the built environment from the Battery to Inwood. Many of the skyline’s most iconic buildings are included, along with many lesser-known buildings that are architecturally interesting. Charmingly illustrated with 430 line drawings and vintage engravings that bring old New York to life, the book concludes with a map section that suggests themed walking tours.

How to Read New York

6529f127-3772-4959-a185-c7f33611acb2-0

Jan Morris

A history of Hong Kong through its architecture.

Commercial, financial, and residential buildings are featured.

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

Building Hong Kong

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Dian Phillips-Pulverman

Peter Lloyd

Describes and illustrates more than 100 buildings from late  
90s to early 2000s.

*small-format book*

A Guide to Recent Architecture 

This book describes and illustrates more than 100 buildings of the last ten years-ranging in scale from shops and family residences to the rediscovery of public space seen in schemes such as Pershing Square, taking in housing for the homeless, schools, daycare facilities, libraries, churches, offices and restaurants along the way. It features the work of the internationally known 'LA School' (Including Morphosis, Frank Gehry, Eric Moss, and Frank Israel), architects such as Ray Kappe and Pierre Koenig with a long record of interesting work, and the younger architects (BAM Construction/Design Inc. and studio bau: ton, among many others) whose work continues the LA tradition of innovation.

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Charles Moore; Peter Becker; Regula Campbell