The author leads you through Adobe's history, advantages, varieties and mythology. Photographs from around the world illustrate Adobe buildings from ancient times to today's current structures. Often associated with luxury homes, Adobe houses come in all price ranges.

Well-organized, the book guides you on a tour of a dozen New Mexico famous buildings such as Taos Pueblo. It takes you to Peru, Bolivia and the middle East to examine Adobe's place in a variety of cultures. Personally photographed by the author, the many photos illustrate the versatility in its use, design and complexity.

The task of housing this planet's six billion people is a growing problem. One solution is using the dirt beneath our feet as material. Adobe is baked by the sun, requires unskilled labor and last for centuries. Half of the homes on Earth are built of earth ... more than any other material. The book is interesting to read and increases awareness of this often overlooked solution to World housing.

- Adobe has been used throughout the world for centuries. Why then is it no longer favored in the borderlands? Perhaps we've taken this "global treasure" for granted, or worse, thought it too old-fashioned for the present century. This book is an excellent introduction to material of adobe itself and the cultures of people who used adobe to create shelter. This is a book with practical sensibilities; after all, it was funded in part by the United States Agency for International Development.

An unusual approach to explore the roots of simple earthen architecture. The similarities found in many parts of the world are clearly illustrated with photos. It offers solutions for ecologically sensitive housing that is available to all.

This book is for the individual who wants to and is able to build his/her own home. The details are geared towards someone who is already familiar with building techniques and jargon. If you're planning to design your own adobe home but have a contractor do the actually building of it, you probably don't need to know this much and will be overwhelmed by the information provided.

This book is easy to read and understand when the author explains adobe and rammed earth buildings. The book seems to be a bit more focused on the details of adobe brick making which is great if that is what you want. The rammed earth sections are very informative but lack some of the construction details. I would have liked to have seen more detailed decriptions with better drawings of forms, for example. The author also has several table having containg soil composition that was a bit too technical for practical use. Overall,I believe this book is well worth the money for an introduction to adobe and rammed earth buildings. Additional books would be needed to learn enough to build one yourself though.

Full of good basic information. You quickly realize that unless you are a builder, you will not be able to build it yourself but that you will at least have some knowledge to help you make decisions about the process, and to oversee and talk with your builder intelligently. Very few pictures, no house plans. Does include basic information to help you draw your own plan.