Girouard, author of a dozen well-received books on English architecture, here is concerned with Western cities from the Middle Ages to the present. He aims to show why selected cities grew and developed as they did, with first a potted history of the revival of urban life, then discussions of the great preindustrial cities, and finally a consideration of industry (Manchester), suburbs (London), and the sky scraper. Although Girouard writes well, his subject is too broad and the treatment too episodic for the book to amount to much, even at an introductory level. The author provides exposition, but no synthesis. Only for comprehensive collections, or where Girouard's name will create a demand.
Yale University Press (September, 1987)
ISBN-13: 978-0300039689
