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Rating: 
Summary: Innappropriately Titled
Review: If this book had been titled Pittsburgh: an Architectural Portrait I may well have rated it at 5 stars. Of course, had it been titled such, I probably wouldn't of picked it up. It was not until I read a previous reviewers comments that I understood the inclination of the author to include extreme architectural details of many specific buildings in Pittsburgh. I found myself wading through much of the architectural descriptions searching for other points of interest. Had I been reading the book from the point of view of a student of architecture, I'm sure I would of found the book interesting. Instead I found much of it tedious. I did find the historical and social commentary interesting but lacking, leaving me feeling wanting more, which is why I sought such a book in the first place.
Rating:
Summary: Innappropriately Titled
Review: If this book had been titled Pittsburgh: an Architectural Portrait I may well have rated it at 5 stars. Of course, had it been titled such, I probably wouldn't of picked it up. It was not until I read a previous reviewers comments that I understood the inclination of the author to include extreme architectural details of many specific buildings in Pittsburgh. I found myself wading through much of the architectural descriptions searching for other points of interest. Had I been reading the book from the point of view of a student of architecture, I'm sure I would of found the book interesting. Instead I found much of it tedious. I did find the historical and social commentary interesting but lacking, leaving me feeling wanting more, which is why I sought such a book in the first place.
Rating: 
Summary: An engaging chronicle of a unique urban environment.
Review: Pittsburgh is a city of surprises, most of them positive for out-of-towners. This book capably explains how the city became what it once was and what it now is. Although the author is an academic (Professor of Architecture at Pitt) the writing style is reasonably warm and pleasant. Tales of individual buildings and neighbourhoods are told with passion and a precise eye for landscape and cityscape. There are more places celebrated in this history than people, but that's for another volume I suppose. There are illustrations aplenty and the book is a marvelous guide for anyone who wants to explore one of North America's truly unique urban environments.
Rating:
Summary: An engaging chronicle of a unique urban environment.
Review: Pittsburgh is a city of surprises, most of them positive for out-of-towners. This book capably explains how the city became what it once was and what it now is. Although the author is an academic (Professor of Architecture at Pitt) the writing style is reasonably warm and pleasant. Tales of individual buildings and neighbourhoods are told with passion and a precise eye for landscape and cityscape. There are more places celebrated in this history than people, but that's for another volume I suppose. There are illustrations aplenty and the book is a marvelous guide for anyone who wants to explore one of North America's truly unique urban environments.
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