Yes, this book is a must have. It is also (a reprint of) perhaps the most important publication of Wright's early career. But it certainly has not been virtually ignored. It has been praised by many, including rival architects, and reprinted numerous times before this.

Wright printed this book in Germany to show the European architecture world what the future of architecture could be. Though virtually ignored in both Europe and the United States, this collection of both built and unbuilt plans and drawings gives a through insight and understanding of the architect's genius.

This book is the only complete and accurate reproduction of Wright's 1910 treatise "Ausgefurte Bauten und Entwurfe von Frank LLoyd Wright" (the Wasmuth Portfolio.) Although it is reduced in size, all plates are listed by their original roman numerals with the German text. It is the only useful refernece when researching the wasmuth portfolio. Neither the Dover edition nor the Horizon Press edition reproduced the plates without renumbering them in some fashion. This book is a must for any dealer or collector interested in acquiring the Wasmuth Portfolio.

The author, Anthony Alofsin, is one of the most brilliant minds today, both in and out of architectural history. It goes without saying that the book follows suit.

This book provides a new perspective on Wright -- who knew he designed a civic and arts complex for Baghdad, Iraq (it was never built)? Or that Fallingwater influenced the design of a wealthy suburb of Mexico City (El Pedregal)? If you think you're tired of Wright and all the Prairie Style images associated with him, read this book and get a fresh take.

Modernism in architecture is so closely identified with a handful of hero figures (like Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe) that we often forget that the real story behind its development is a complex and contentious one. In this wonderful and much-needed book, Anthony Alofsin deftly illustrates that the arrival of European architects in the U.S. in the 1930s cast a shadow over emerging progressive trends in American architectural design and education. At Harvard in particular, this led to an amnesia that convinced students and professors alike that it was Gropius who brought modern ideas to the Graduate School of Design when he began teaching there in 1937. "The Struggle for Modernism" shows clearly, though, that the kernels of these modern ideas were present in the Harvard design programs from their beginnings in 1900. It was not from the Bauhaus that Harvard developed its interdisciplinary approach to design that insisted on collaboration amongst architects, landscape architects, and city planners. Instead, it was Americans like Herbert Langford Warren, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., George Harold Edgell, and, most importantly, Joseph Hudnut who over decades created the influential and rigorous design programs. This is a fascinating and most welcome book that sheds much new light on a subject that many have incorrectly assumed was already well-understood. Highly recommended.

I went to school in Socorro and this book brought back a lot of memories. It also gave me a lot of background information about the town and the buildings. (Thanks for confirming the "rumour" that no opera has ever been held in the Garcia Opera House.)

I'm not sure that the book would appeal to an audience that is not already familiar with the Socorro (or at least the New Mexico) area, but for those of us who are -- I recommend the book.

I was also a little disappointed to find that the last half of the book was nothing but a copy of the legislative request to designate certain areas historic. That is important information, but I don't think anyone is really interested in reading the entire legal document.