School Library Journal Starred Review (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Gr 5 Up-"Every building has a story to tell." Beginning with the Egyptian pyramid of Djoser and progressing through the Greeks and Romans, the Renaissance, and on to modern skyscrapers and Paris's Pompidou Center, Dillon ties advances in architecture and building to specific cultural and economic conditions. In some cases, he credits the genius of individuals, such as Palladio. Each chapter begins with a historical overview and is followed by a description and illustration of a representative building. Clear explanations of basic building concepts (cantilevers, arches and domes, reinforced concrete) are balanced with discussions of more abstract principles such as symmetry, geometry, and pattern. But the volume is truly set apart by Biesty's elaborate, meticulously detailed, and clearly labeled drawings (some stretching across two large-format pages plus two half-page fold-outs). Widely known for his 1992 Incredible Cross Sections , Biesty here adds a kaleidoscopic yet tightly integrated visual dimension that will transfix readers. The section on London's Crystal Palace, designed by gardener Joseph Paxton and built for the Great Exhibition of 1851, is fascinating, outlining the modular design and rapid construction from 300,000 sheets of glass and 1,000 iron columns. Sections detailing Beijing's Forbidden City, Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the Taj Mahal, and other buildings from outside the European tradition are worked deftly into the narrative.— Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson Middle School, Falls Church, VA

ALA Booklist (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

This large, handsome volume combines broad discussions of architectural history with exceptional drawings of significant buildings from ancient to modern times. Though most of the 16 featured buildings were constructed in Europe, the Pyramid of Djoser, the Forbidden City, the Taj Mahal, the Chrysler Building, and the Sydney Opera House are included as well. A typical entry fills several large pages, including a beautifully drawn double-page illustration with a gatefold page highlighting related facts. An English architect, Dillon clearly knows his subject and presents it in a readable way. However, the time frame of historical events is sometimes vague, and occasionally a scene imagining the past is tinged with fiction. (No sources are appended.) Intricate and precise, Biesty's colored-pencil drawings offer viewers a good sense of the scale as well as the form and presence of each building. Through his signature cross sections, details of interiors and construction can be seen as well. While the text, illustrations, and captions all provide information, it's the drawings of buildings that make this a valuable resource.

Horn Book (Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Dillon and Biesty highlight a diverse selection of buildings from different eras, with most being given a splendid gatefold cross-section illustration. Each picture is thoroughly but unobtrusively annotated; the verso of each gatefold page explicates a feature germane to the building. The book provides a modest social and political account of (mostly) European history, and its absorbing pictures and spacious design invite browsing. Timeline. Ind.

Kirkus Reviews

Biesty's precisely drawn, finely detailed architectural views supply the highlights for this unfocused survey of homes and prominent buildings through the ages. Dillon (The Story of Britain, 2011) opens with our ancestors in caves and closes with the eco-friendly Straw Bale House built in London. In between, he offers a chronological overview of architectural styles as represented by an apparently indiscriminate mix of homes, public buildings and, in the single case of St. Petersburg, a planned city. He mentions about three dozen specific examples and devotes particular attention to 16—from the Pyramid of Djoser to the Pompidou Center. Biesty provides for each of this latter group a labeled, exploded portrait often large enough to require a single or double gatefold and so intricately exact that, for instance, the very ticket booths in the Crystal Palace are visible. Though the author sometimes goes into similarly specific detail about architectural features or building methods, he also shows a weakness for grand generalizations ("Skyscrapers were the first truly American buildings") and for repeating the notion that buildings are a kind of machine. With a few exceptions, his main choices reflect a distinctly Eurocentric outlook, and he neglects even to mention Frank Gehry or more than a spare handful of living architects. There is no bibliography or further reading. Broad of historical (if not international) scope and with illustrations that richly reward poring over—but unfocused. (index, timeline) (Nonfiction. 12-14)