From Library Journal
Architecture buffs and decorators will enjoy visiting these 25 noteworthy American houses, selected partly because they are open to the public. What at first glance appears to be a coffee-table title turns out to be a useful guide to the various architectural styles of the American home, replete with floor plans for each dwelling and schematic diagrams that point out representative architectural characteristics of the style in question. Each chapter also includes a tour of the interior of its house, with significant illustrations of interior detail highlighted. About half the homes are located in the Northeast, and most of the rest can be found east of the Mississippi; Monticello is the most famous house represented. Rounding out the book is a section explaining how to arrange a visit to any of these splendid residences. The McAlesters (A Field Guide to American Houses, LJ 8/84) are columnists for Country Home magazine; McLean is a freelance photographer. Recommended for architecture collections and large public libraries.Edward B. Cone, New YorkCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Book News, Inc.
The authors explore outstanding landmark houses that exemplify America's major architectural and interior design styles from Colonial times to the present. The 25 houses are illustrated with 350 specially commissioned color photographs of interior and exterior views (kudos to photographer Alex McLean), 125 b&w line drawings and floor plans, historical paintings, and vintage photographs. The text not only discusses the houses' architectural innovations and design elements but also profiles the architects and their clients. 10.25x10.25" Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In this lavishly produced volume, authors Virginia and Lee McAlester explore outstanding landmark houses that exemplify America's major architectural and interior design styles from Colonial times to the mid-twentieth century. These twenty-five houses are illustrated with more than 350 specially commissioned full-color photographs of interior and exterior views, 125 black-and-white line drawings and floor plans, historical paintings, and vintage photographs. The text not only discusses the houses' architectural innovations and design elements but also profiles the architects and their clients. The featured houses were built by many of the country's leading architects - from Alexander Jackson Davis, Richard Morris Hunt, Henry Hobson Richardson, and McKim, Mead and White to Frank Lloyd Wright, the Greene brothers, and Walter Gropius - and owned by some of its most celebrated citizens, including Thomas Jefferson, Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, Jay Gould, the Guggenheims, the Phippses, and the Vanderbilts. As a result, the book is as much a cultural history as it is an architectural study. The authors also include an informative discussion of each style as it can be seen in vernacular versions around the country. Located all over the United States, most of the featured houses are open to the public, and the book provides their addresses and other helpful information for visitors. Great American Houses and Their Architectural Styles will be irresistible to all house lovers, architects, and designers, and will give readers a deeper understanding and appreciation of our rich architectural heritage.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

Architecture buffs and decorators will enjoy visiting these 25 noteworthy American houses, selected partly because they are open to the public. What at first glance appears to be a coffee-table title turns out to be a useful guide to the various architectural styles of the American home, replete with floor plans for each dwelling and schematic diagrams that point out representative architectural characteristics of the style in question. Each chapter also includes a tour of the interior of its house, with significant illustrations of interior detail highlighted. About half the homes are located in the Northeast, and most of the rest can be found east of the Mississippi; Monticello is the most famous house represented. Rounding out the book is a section explaining how to arrange a visit to any of these splendid residences. The McAlesters (A Field Guide to American Houses, LJ 8/84) are columnists for Country Home magazine; McLean is a freelance photographer. Recommended for architecture collections and large public libraries.-Edward B. Cone, New York

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