Containing over 5,000 entries from Aalto to ziggurat, this is the most comprehensive and up-to-date dictionary of architecture available. Beautifully illustrated and written in a clear and concise style, it covers all periods of Western architectural history, from ancient times to the present day. It also includes concise biographies of leading architects, from Brunelleschi to Richard Rogers. The text is complemented by over 250 meticulous line drawings, labelled cross-sections and diagrams. This is an essential work of reference for anyone with an interest in architecture.

Preface; Dictionary

James Stevens Curl

`Review from previous edition 'Dictionaries, Dr Johnson's excepted, are not supposed to be fascinating, only useful. The problem with James Stevens Curl's chunky achievement is that it is both...Curl's prose has a limpid clarity as well as a keen line in memorable aphorisms...A refreshing note of well-informed malice enlivens every major entry...'' Architects Journal Thurs 8th April 1999, p.48.