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| What Style Is It?: A Guide to American Architecture, Revised Edition | 
| Authors: John C. Poppeliers, S. Allen Chambers
Publisher: Wiley
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $10.66
You Save: $9.29 (47%)
New (32) from $10.66
Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 369084
Media: Paperback
Edition: Rev Sub
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 160
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 10.2 x 5.2 x 0.6
ISBN: 0471250368
Dewey Decimal Number: 720.973
UPC: 723812130849
EAN: 9780471250364
ASIN: 0471250368
Publication Date: October 6, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW
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| Customer Reviews:
 The Field Guide That Could Have Been August 2, 2005
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
This is the most dissapointing of architectural field guides because it had the potential to have been the very best. John Poppeliers was the head of the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and Allen Chambers was an historian with the Historic American Buildings Survey. Quite simply they had access to 51,000 sheets of measured drawings, 156,000 large format black and white photographs and over 20,000 reproductions of individual items. With all of that access, they could have produced the ultimate architectural field guide. Instead they produced a 146 page superficial guide.
The best aspect of this guide are the line drawings produced for the Historic American Building Survey. They are two dimensional drawings that are almost surgical in their precision. The building photographs are also first class.The narrative describing the different elements of the style is short and to the point.
The second edition of this book was published in 2003. In my opinion, if someone is going to introduce a new field guide into this already crowded arena, it has to offer something new. I would recommend sticking with the already proven field guides by Lester Walker, Rachel Carley, Carole Rifkind or Virginia McAllister.
This book is recommended for people with really short attention spans. This book is a dissapointment. Oh, what it could have been. One day, somebody from the HABS project will produce the ultimate architectural field guide.
 Not so useful February 7, 2004
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Not nearly as good, useful, or comprehensive as A Field Guide to American Houses by McAlester.
 Good for my class... March 24, 2003
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I'm not that into architecture but this book was pretty good. I had to use it for my local history course. The images were good and helpful in the explanations on each of the pages.
A Sketchy Overview of American Architecture August 19, 2000
25 out of 26 found this review helpful
This book is fine if you are looking only for a very brief look at American Architecture. It does not organize architectural styles to give a comprehensive overview of them. It does, however, present example photos of various styles with easy-to-read text briefly describing the styles. If you want a book that is handy and comprehensive, no other book can compare to A Field Guide to American Houses, by Virginia and Lee McAlester (ISBN 0-394-73969-8). This book will give you a comprehensive framework of the development of American Architecture so that you can build your understanding as you become exposed examples in the field. Everything from windows and doors to contruction techniques are covered. The book is organized in such a way that you can find what you need quickly. It is the cornerstone in the study of American Architecture.
 Short and to the point! June 20, 2000
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
This is a very handy, pocket sized book which can be easily used in the field! Different historic architectural styles are divided into small chapters with helpful photos for identification. I particularly love the user-friendly "Glossary" which identifies architectural features in a short and to the point manner. Since this is published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a person can feel assured that this is accurate information! Makes a great gift too!
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