Washoe County Library System

Rowan Moore shows how buildings are driven by human emotions and desires -- such as hope, power, money, sex, and the idea of home -- and how buildings then shape our experiences. He explores the making of buildings from conception to inhabitation, and reveals the paradoxical power of architecture: it looks fixed and solid, but is always changing, in response to the lives around it. Moore takes us on a personal journey, moving freely across the globe...

"In How Architecture Works, Witold Rybczynski, one of our best, most stylish critics and winner of the Vincent Scully Prize for his architectural writing, answers our most fundamental questions about how good--and not-so-good--buildings are designed and constructed. Introducing the reader to the rich and varied world of modern architecture, he takes us behind the scenes, revealing how architects as different as Frank Gehry, Renzo Piano, and Robert...

"In The Architecture of Happiness Alain de Botton tackles a relationship central to our lives. Our buildings - and the objects we fill them with - affect us more profoundly than we might think. To take architecture seriously is to accept that we are, for better and for worse, different people in different places. De Botton suggests that it is architecture's task to render vivid to us who we might ideally be. Turning the spotlight from the humble terraced...

Text and black-and-white illustrations follow the intricate step-by-step process of the building of an ancient Egyptian pyramid.

"Interior designer Ashley Gilbreath's fresh approach to Southern decorating is guided by her respect for family and tradition with an eye on practicality and warmheartedness. Her first book reveals the breadth of her casually elegant style. Whether it's in town, on the water, or in the countryside, each home exhibits thoughtful planning and attention to detail in harmony with the client's vision. Gilbreath gives readers insight into her design process,...