"Howard argues convincingly that Kimball and Jefferson were the Boswell and Johnson of American architecture. Their conversation managed to leap over two centuries of separation and establish, for the first time, the origins of an indigenous American architectural style. And speaking of style, this book truly has it."—Joseph J. Ellis, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author of Founding Brothers, American Sphinx and His Excellency

"This important new anthology features more than 100 short essays spanning the career of noted and influential architecture critic Huxtable . . . What makes this volume important is Huxtable's retrospective organization. The theme that runs throughout is the 'transformation of modernism.' Opening chapters on each decade from the 1960s to the 1990s reflect the architectural Zeitgeist of the times. In the second half, Huxtable assembles essays examining iconic buildings and the works of the masters of modernism-Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Alvar Aalto, Louis Kahn, Walter Gropius, and Frank Lloyd Wright. She devotes a whole section to essays about the World Trade Center, and her 1966 piece is all the more prescient given our historical perspective. Although the essays span a career lasting more than 35 years, none of them seems dated. If your library does not own any of Huxtable's work, this is the one to add to your collection. Highly recommended."—Herbert E. Shapiro, Library Journal

"No wonder . . . this book is the hottest topic in Manhattan's architectural salons."—The New York Times Book Review