American Castles: A Pictorial History

I love this book. It sits along with others at my coffee table. Beautiful pictures, I have the places I have visited bookmarked.

This is a nice hardback book with beautifully photographed pictures of the "MAJOR" USA Castles (or mansions) . Please note that most of the photos in this book are of the exteriors. There are many other mansions still around in the USA, but this book contains the most well-known "mansions",photographed on the outside.

Though I greatly enjoyed a visit to Hearst's "Castle" in San Simeon some years ago, as a European one tends to be unaware that it isn't the only building of its kind in the USA. This book provides an excellent overview of what's on offer, and for me truly opened up whole new perspectives on architecture. The shameless display of wealth is very much to the fore in several of the houses that are documented. Though the results are sometimes in questionable taste, or even childishly naïve, and architects apparently weren't always able to articulate the difference between a hallway in a private dwelling and an opera house lobby, there is also an exhilarating buoyancy to it all that's rarely found in European buildings, weighed down as they are by historical and stylistic consciousness (barring maybe a few Victorian extravaganzas in the UK and of course Ludwig II's castles in Bavaria). Confections like the dining room at The Breakers or the ballroom at Marble House might have been cooked up in Hollywood as sets for some million-dollar fairy tale movie and are simply mind-blowing. Still, of even greater interest than these would-be Versailles' are quintessentially American buildings like the Carson House in Eureka or the bizarre Winchester "Mystery" House. All of these are shown to excellent advantage in this book, with an occasional Italianate Palazzo and the odd gothic monstrosity thrown in for good measure. Both interiors and exteriors are (selectively) documented. Texts are brief and to the point. The photography is more than serviceable, though of somewhat variable quality and rarely quite top-notch. Still, at the price nobody interested need hesitate to pick up this slim volume. If you are seriously interested in the subject I would however urge you (also) to invest in the McAlister's more comprehensive, scholarly, and visually stunning "Great American Houses", which includes floor plans, unfortunately missing in the present book.

For $10.36 you simply cant beat the value of the beautiful photos in this book. Grand 'modern' castles & mansions of the Guilded Era with pictures of their interiors also. My favorites are the Hearst mansion/castle & the Hammond castle. I gave it less than 5 stars because it is only 80 pages long. I gave it more than 3 stars for the exquisite photos.See other books I have reviewed if you want more suggestions for books on castles & architecture.

A variety of architectural styles are represented in this full color book, including gothic castles, victorian mansions and palazzos. Each building represented contains a brief history and beautiful photographs. A few of the castles highlighted are the monumentous Hearst Castle, the Winchester Mystery House and Ca'd'Zan. Newport's mansions are well represented also. It is an absolute bargain for the price. Short and sweet it is a great way to start a library of castles. I would highly recommend.