This book and the city it shows us are a must see for architects, students, and architectural buffs alike. The book is packed with wonderfull black and white photos showing a suprising array of high quality though little known American architecture. It is refreshing and informative to see and learn of architecture which has been passed over by the traditional architectural press solely because it is not in the typical bigger cities. The buildings presented form a rich and diverse portfolio ranging from masterpieces by Sullivan, Wright, and Richardson,to the simplest of victorian cottages, to a magnificent cathedral or a delicate greek revival temple. This book presents the unknown and forgotten richness of American architecture and releases the reader form the monotony of seeing the same cities and the same buildings published over and over agian. The writers of this book ventured out into the great american wilderness and and showed us its refinement.

The book rocks, so does the city. Buy it!

This book acts in many ways as the unofficial guidebook to exploring what is one of the most important architectural cities in America.For those who are familiar with Buffalo and those who are not the book is filled with a splendid variety of both well known Richardson and Wright masterpieces and some not so well known masterpieces. Its divided into sections based on the geography of the city so it makes the perfect book if one wants to set out exploring. Buffalos neighborhoods and amazing housing stock are unparalleled in size and preservation nationwide. Its American Indian inspired art deco city hall, perhaps the finest building of its type in the nation is just one of buildings you will find profiled. Reyner Banham ,the editor,was at the time was on the faculty at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Architecture. His wonderful book about the origins of the modern movement and its ties to Buffalos grain elevators, A Concrete Atlantis could act as a supplement to Buffalo Architecture: A Guide if you are interested in Buffalos industrial buildings as well...

I felt this was an interesting review of Wright's transition from Adler & Sullivan, the Prarie homes through the Usonian years. It is necessary to supplement this book with those which describe his life and philosphies in more detail to get the most out of "In The Nature of Materials." This is mostly a chronological review of how his home and commercial designs, concepts and use of materials matured over his working life. The second half of the book features photo examples of each step, and these are amply referred to by number in the text so you can easily refer to them. I enjoyed this book a great deal and recommend it for those who want more than just a Wright picture book.

A classic book and must have for an architectural library. The only problem being that you will need other Wright books to get more detailed documentation of his buildings.

The most interesting aspect of the new edition is the recent forward by Philip Johnson (1995). In it he humorously describes his relationship with "The International Style," and how dated the book now appears. He also notes that it was Alfred Barr who introduced Hitchcock and him to this new world of architecture. It was Barr who had written extensively on the subject and dubbed it an "International Style."

Not surprisingly, nearly all the buildings included in this catalog for the 1932 MoMA exhibit date from 1927. This was a pivotal year in the Modern Movement. Le Corbusier's "Toward a New Architecture" first appeared in English. The new improved Bauhaus opened its doors in Dessau, in Gropius' newly constructed complex. The International Competition for the League of Nations building was held with Le Corbusier losing out on a technicality. A building exhibition, laid out by Mies van der Rohe, was sponsored by the Deutscher Werkbund in Stuttgart. Modern Architecture had come of age.

The selections are interesting for their range of architects but have several notable omissions. Among them Rudolf Schindler, who dismissed the idea of an "International Style," in a letter to Johnson. Modern architects then and now hate the idea of a "style," believing their works to be based on a set of constructive and compositional principles which transcend the notion of style.

Nevertheless, the name stuck. Hitchcock and Johnson are widely credited for bringing the International Style to America, even though some early works by Neutra, Hood, Howe and Lescaze were included in the exhibition. Most importantly, Johnson lured Mies to America, where he would achieve his most lofty aspirations. The book makes for an interesting read but has long been superceded by more insightful and penetrating books on the subject.

This book is a living proof that architecture is an evolving being. It never stays stagnant. What is deemed to be modern then has now become a foundation for new styles & new materials to be developed to serve the functions & purposes of the occupants. Whilst the book defined the 3 principles that formed the backbone of the International Style, it's doing so as a mean of helping people to understand the 'style'better. Architects know better that there aren't any form of '-ism' but just good architecture when all the criterions of their clients are met. Half of the book is devoted to photos of buildings applying the so-called International Style but after you've seen one, you've seen it all. They all look distinctively indifferent to one another.

Unfortunately, this book doesn't hold up very well over time. Hitchcock's study of Modern Architecture is spotty and not very well organized. The most interesting chapters are those on 19th century architecture, which Hitchcock seems most comfortable with. However, the later chapters leave much to be desired. His understanding of Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural system is very weak. It is little more than a walk through some of his more famous buildings. He has a better understanding of the European modernists, but here too he presents them in a superficial way that leaves more questions than it does provide answers.

Hitchcock and Philip Johnson have been credited for bringing the European Modern Movement to America with their exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in 1932. They dubbed it "The International Style," a name which has stuck but doesn't do justice to the many currents that ran through Modern Architecture at the time. Hitchcock tried to develop these ideas further in "Architecture: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries." He provides a wide array of sources, but very little that binds these ideas together. One can find much better overviews of Modern Architecture by Kenneth Frampton and William J.R. Curtis.