About the Author

Witold Rybczynski has written about architecture for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and Slate. Among his award-winning books are Home, The Most Beautiful House in the World, and A Clearing in the Distance, which won the J. Anthony Lukas Prize. He lives with his wife in Philadelphia, where he is the emeritus professor of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. How Architecture Works is his eighteenth book.

Reviews

"The book's chief pleasure may be that Rybczynski, ever the engaging and thoughtful writer, offers a wide-ranging tour of the glories and curiosities, old and new, in the field." --Peter Whoriskey, The Washington Post "The beautiful and the useful, in buildings as well as books, never becomes obsolete. Neither do writers like Rybczynski, who can teach us how to recognize and appreciate both." --Laura Miller, Salon "In this conversational and invigorating treatise, Rybczynski deepens our understanding of allthat goes into the design and construction of buildings . . . [This] expert, holistic, down-to-earth guide awakens us to architecture's profound humanness." --Booklist "[A] robust tour of architecture . . . Rybczynski is an artful conductor and learned hand who leaves much of the pleasure of architectural discovery to readers." --Kirkus (starred review) "A commanding view of the field . . . Here, architecture is treated as craft executed with prudence and conviction." --Publishers' Weekly (starred review)