House Styles in America : The Old-House Journal Guide to the Architecture of AmericanHomes

Rating:
Summary: A house for everyone
Review: House Styles in America is a well constructed collection of american houses dating back to the old Ironworks houses, Like the Turner house and Bacons Castle,but this book also contains modern houses, like Phillip Johnson's glass house. This book is a great addition to anyones growing architecture library.

Rating:
Summary: Architecture can be fun
Review: I highly recommend this inviting picture book. Covering the major architectural movements and trends it steers clear of being encyclopedic and tedious.

The authors offer a clear presentation with four easily digestible sections, further organized into twenty-one chapters in chronological order. One can flip to a particular style as a reference or enjoy the entire text as an enlightening overview of American architecture. Over 200 colour photographs offer typical examples of each design as well as black and white line drawings which illustrate the defining features. Pictures are captioned with the city and state, architect, style and characteristic features. They range in size from quarter page to 2 full pages affording a more than adequate view. Instead of showing only the most 'impressive' houses, its emphasis is on representative examples of residential architecture of the time, providing an agreeable way to absorb and understand the major movements. The glossary in the back is helpful for architectural terms mentioned.

A delightful book for entering into the world of architecture.

Rating:
Summary: Best book on the subject
Review: So why is it out of print? (Had no trouble getting one though.) This book is based on a series of magazine articles for Old Home Journal, so the style is informal. The carefully chosen color pictures set it apart from its competition, A Field Guide to American Houses, by the other husband and wife team. But mostly it's the authors' ability to explain in simple language the events that caused the rise and fall of the various styles: the switch to stud framing, the widely circulated pattern books, the Arts and Craft movement, World War I and the various European styles brought home by the soldiers, etc.