Frank Lloyd Wright: The Masterworks by David Larkin, Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer (2000) Paperback

Loved the book although it was not in as good of shape as I would have expected from a Used/Very Good condition book. Still, it was quite usable and my brother loved it (Christmas gift).

I've seen a lot of books on Wright over the years, and read a number of them, but for sheer enjoyment and the celebration of his work, this work is the best I've seen. It strikes the best balance between the photos and text, but the photos are truly magnificent and worth the price of the book by themselves. Much of the information, as another reviewer has commented, is available in other books on Wright, so there might not be that much new here for the Wright expert, but for those not steeped in Wright scholarship, this book is as good as any to learn about his architecture, philosophy, and life. Thirty-eight of Wright's most important buildings are covered, equally divided between his private and public buildings. Overall, probably the best single book out there on Wright to gain an understanding and appreciation of his work for the general reader. By the way, just today we toured Taliesen, in Phoenix, AZ. It's a great tour if you ever get to the area and are a fan of Wright's buildings. Perhaps that's why I was inspired to write the review. :-)

No one book could capture the full range of Frank Lloyd Wright's brilliance and versatility, but this one comes close! If you're a fan of the man who was arguably the 20th century's greatest architect, this book is a must-have. It covers his design philosophy, and shows how that philosophy was manifested, from Wright's preliminary sketches to great photos of the finished structures. A visual treat and an invaluable reference work.

Thirty-eight of his buildings are presented mainly with large color photos along with around a dozen architectural drawings. About a fifth of the book is text. The dust jacket has a striking photo of the exterior of Fallingwater with the lights on inside at night. Maybe half the color photos fill the page. There are about nine black and white photos, mainly in the front of the book as well as a page of eight other black and white photos showing the construction of one of the buildings. If you want a high quality overview of his work, this is the book to get. Enough buildings are shown to give you a broad view of his work and the book is long enough to go into some detail on each building. The text provides lots of information and reads less like a textbook and more like someone revealing the work of a master, in this case, America's finest architect. You're not likely to be able to find this for much of a discounted price. It's certainly a well done book and does not fall in the catagory of discounted books. Some things are worth paying for and this could be one of them. I gotta admit, I was more willing to pay full price for Fallingwater by Kaufman. The big difference was that his book had far more full page color photographs. That's one of my few small complaints about this book. If only. But the quality of presentation, the consistently high quality of the photos and, of course, the buildings they focus on, really makes this a book deserving of a full 5 star rating. There are no bad or weak or slightly out of focus photos in this book. Many of the photos are particularly beautiful. This is the finest collection of his drawings I have seen in one book. If you only plan to own two FLW books I would definitely say make it this one and the Fallingwater book.

The primary appeal in this book is the photo collection. While the accompanying text throughout is quite interesting, I think most people will buy it for the pictures. And excellent pictures they are.For buildings that still exist, the authors/editors took brand new photographs specifically for this book. You would be hard pressed to find similar quality photographs anywhere else.However, if you are interested in an introductory reading on Wright's work, you won't be disappointed. The reading level seems to be geared towards someone who already knows who Wright is, but is not familiar with his lesser known works, or with the details of his life and of architecture. The authors did a splendid job of placing Wright's work in the context of the time and place, and highlighting that which is fundamentally American about both. From the insight on Wrights life and works, you will learn not only about some of the foremost icons of American architecture, but also about American culture itself. The passion the authors have for Wrights work really shows through in every page, both through photographs and text.I read every single word and closely examined every single photo. I can promise that if you're honestly interested in learning about Wright's work, as well as his place in history and culture, you will not be sorry you bought this book.