Skyscrapers: A History of the World's Most Extraordinary Buildings -- Revised and Updated Hardcover - 2013

From the rear cover

Breathtaking. Magnificent. Unique. Very Special. Exquisite. One-of-a-kind. Well researched. Beautifully designed. (Robert J. Bruss, Tribune Media Services)

"An eye-popping shelf-scraper...an elevating experience." (Gene Shalit, "Today")

"You may get vertigo looking at Skyscrapers..." (The New York Times)

Like towering divas, skyscrapers command the urban stage. They hold us enthralled, leaving us anticipating and half-fearing their next majestic manifestation. The roles played by the skyscraper and many: they are icons of cities, stars of movies, symbols of corporate power, and the place where many of us report to work every morning. Deemed both avatars and annihilators of civilized life, they have been praised as efficient space-savers and denounced as rapacious consumers of light and air. In short, the skyscraper's bold visual gestalt, one layered with multiple meanings, has become a complex metaphor for all that is good and bad about the twentieth century. (Judith Dupre, from the Foreword)

I think the interesting question is why does man want to build to the sky? What is there about the desire for domination, or to reach God, or for private pride - the Pyramids are an example of that, but the tall building is certainly another. Every civilization is touched by that desire... They all reached for a dominant height. The impulse may have been different, but that's a common feeling of must culture. (Philip Johnson, from the Introductory Interview)

From the jacket flap

Rising majestically above the hubbub of crowded cities or standing in solitude against a natural backdrop, skyscrapers captivate the eye, excite the imagination, and inspire awe. Wonders of creativity and ingenuity, they embody the best of our practical achievements and reflect our highest aspirations.
This magnificent chronological tour of the world 's tallest buildings thoroughly revised and updated since its initial publication, and featuring cutting edge work by today 's international superstars of architecture stands as the most thorough, authoritative, and eye-popping book on the subject, as dramatic in presentation as the structures it celebrates. Breathtaking photographs capture the buildings details as well as their monumental scale; architectural drawings and plans invite you behind the scenes as new buildings take shape; and lively commentary on each building explores its particular significance and provides historic context. Throughout, informative profiles, features, and statistics make "Skyscrapers" an invaluable reference as well as a visual feast.
From a church built to the glory of God to monuments that symbolize national or civic pride, to buildings so forward thinking that they contribute to the betterment of the environment, the 62 structures included here encompass the very best and most ingenious of our history, spanning some 125 years and circling the globe. The 15 astonishing supertalls that have been added to this edition represent flights of imagination and feats of engineering that the skyscraper 's earliest pioneers could never have dreamed of.
To say that the megatall landscape has changed since this book was first published in 1996 is an understatement, comments the author in her forward. We are in the midst of a new skyscraper boom Skyscraper design, now embraced by the global community, has entered a flamboyant, no-holds-barred era of exhilarating, highly personal exploration of the extreme frontiers of structural and creative possibility.
Every civilization has expressed in buildings both sacred and secular the eternal quest to reach ever upward toward the sky. "Skyscrapers" invites you to relish in the stunning works born of that quest.

Media reviews

Citations

• People Weekly, 12/23/2013, Page 68
• Publishers Weekly, 11/18/2013, Page 0