Brick: A World History

Rating:
Summary: Great pictures, great text, a truly beautiful book
Review: After reading favourable reviews by architectural critics, I was pleased to find that this book exceeded my expectations. The book is an authoritative history of the use of world's oldest building material. Despite its massive size, it is easy to read and covers a lot of ground, from the origins of the brick in mud-bricks in the Near East to the modern day. The clearly written text is complemented by sumptuous colour photographs. For these reasons, it stands out.

This book certainly opened my eyes to the variety of buildings in which brick has been used and introduced many that I would like to visit myself. It makes you look at the world in a whole new way. It not only covers the shows the wide range of design possibilities but also the practical aspects of building in brick. For the serious student, there is an illustrated glossary at the end. A fascinating book for both students and laymen alike.

Rating:
Summary: A must have
Review: I bought this book in a hurry thinking it was a guide to making a brick oven for pizza. Despite the mistake, I was quickly engrossed. Campbell's writing kept me glued, but I absolutely delighted in the pictures--I moved all around the house for an entire day to hold these brilliant images up to various light sources. Will Pryce is clearly one to watch. When I did finally tear myself away from the book, I found that this is also what the critics are saying. Believe them on this one. This may well be the best architecture book published in the last ten years! Buy it!

Rating:
Summary: Particularly nice book design and photography
Review: The author writes easily, seems to know everything, and has a completely unpretentious style. He also chose his subjects well, with many less-well-known examples and only a few icons. As a historian, he occasionaly suffers from their tendency to document, say, the names and ruling periods of the Middle Ages Persian kings before getting to the interesting parts about the use of brick in that era. The photographs are all similar to the one on the cover--deep colors and bright sunlight--and their consistency adds a nice touch. The organization of the book was good too, presenting the subject in manageable bites.