American Architecture

What if the United States is more than a nation—what if it is a symbolic construction shaped by ritual, myth, architecture, and collective belief? In The American Egregore, Magnus Barton offers an esoteric interpretation of the American story. Drawing on Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, Hermetic philosophy, and the history of modern occult thought, this book explores how symbols, ceremonies, sacred spaces, money, and media participate in the making of national identity. From the dream of a New Atlantis to the ceremonial language of the early republic, from the geometry of Washington, D.C. to ...

Thirty years after its publication, The Death and Life of Great American Cities was described by The New York Times as "perhaps the most influential single work in the history of town planning....[It] can also be seen in a much larger context. It is first of all a work of literature; the...

#1 Kids Indie Next List * Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year * Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book of the Year * SLJ Best Book of the Year * Kirkus Best Book of the Year * Junior Library Guild Selection * Edgar Award Nominee * Four Starred Reviews * Bank Street Best Children’s...

Known for her wonderfully addictive characters, multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian introduces her newest heroine in this heartfelt series debut. Under Lock & Skeleton Key layers stunning architecture with mouthwatering food in an ode to classic locked-room mysteries that will leave...

“Cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears, even if the thread of their discourse is secret, their rules are absurd, their perspectives deceitful, and everything conceals something else.” — from Invisible Cities In a garden sit the aged Kublai Khan and the young Marco Polo —...

This stunning book by renowned television historian Dan Cruickshank tells the history of architecture through the stories of 100 iconic buildings. Journeying through time and place, from the ancient Egyptian pyramids to the soaring skyscrapers of Manhattan, renowned architectural historian Dan...

Discover how the automobile fundamentally reshaped American life beyond mere transportation in this compelling cultural history. From drive-in theaters where families watched movies under the stars to restaurants that served meals on trays attached to car windows, this installment in the best-selling AMERICAN POP series explores how cars became extensions of living space that transformed entertainment, dining, commerce, and even religious worship. This richly detailed narrative examines the rise of distinctive automotive architecture like Googie-style buildings with their space-age ...

From New York Times bestselling author Shelley Noble comes a thrilling historical novel about the inception of the Colony Club, the first women’s club of its kind, set against the dazzling backdrop of Gilded Age New York. When young Gilded Age society matron Daisy Harriman is refused a room at...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Globe-trotting golfer Tom Coyne has finally come home. And he’s ready to play all of it. After playing hundreds of courses overseas in the birthplace of golf,​ Coyne, the bestselling author of A Course Called Ireland and A Course Called Scotland, returns to his own...

Expose the Dark History of State-Sanctioned Social Engineering and the Uncompromising Fight for the Sacred Value of Every Human Life. The Shenandoah Valley in the early twentieth century offered a vision of ordered tranquility and progressive modern civic pride. But behind the manicured lawns and idyllic facades of Staunton, Virginia, a devastating intellectual architecture was being drafted. It was a philosophy that reduced human beings to mere data points in an equation of economic utility and state efficiency. A Meticulous, Gripping Exposure of Virginia’s Epicenter of Eugenics. In this...

New York Times Notable Book “A smart, crackling chronicle of fast game, the ’80s art market, [and] the attraction of destruction.”— Village Voice A bold and vivid biography that chronicles the dazzling rise and tragic death of Neo-expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. In less than a...

Spanning more than two centuries in Ireland, Castle on the Rise unites the legacy of three women who must risk mending their broken places for life, love, and the belief that even through the depths of our pain, a masterpiece of a story can emerge. When Laine Forrester travels overseas to attend...

This new biography—featuring over 150 archival images and full-color photographs printed throughout—introduces Julia Morgan as both a pioneering architect and a captivating individual. Julia Morgan was a lifelong trailblazer. She was the first woman admitted to study architecture at the...

Journalist Julie Satow's thrilling, unforgettable history of how one illustrious hotel has defined our understanding of money and glamour, from the Gilded Age to the Go-Go Eighties to today's Billionaire Row. From the moment in 1907 when New York millionaire Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt strode...

A cultural history of Chicago at midcentury, with its incredible mix of architects, politicians, musicians, writers, entrepreneurs, and actors who helped shape modern America Though today it can seem as if all American culture comes out of New York and Los Angeles, much of what defined the...

A Scientific American Favorite Book of 2025 The riveting story of the McKissack family—the founders of the leading Black design and construction firm in the United States, from its beginnings in the mid-1800s to its thriving status today—in a moving celebration of resilience and innovation...

A fascinating biography of the philanthropist Albert Barnes, whose pioneering collection of modern art was meant to transform America’s soul From prominent critic and biographer Blake Gopnik comes a compelling new art collector biography of America’s first great collector of modern art...

An in-depth exploration of history of the US Capitol building and the incredible personalities who built it, full of dramatic stories and surprising facts; a powerful testament to what the Capitol has meant to generations of Americans and how it has endured. The Capitol is a unique biography of...

"Joy Callaway weaves a dramatic, heartfelt story of self-discovery and a hard-won love against the stunning backdrop the 'Eighth Wonder of the World.'" --Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times bestselling author of Time is a River At this wondrous resort, secrets can easily be hidden in plain sight...

A novel in The L.A. Quartet. Internationally acclaimed author James Ellroy presents another literary noir masterpiece of historical paranoia. Los Angeles, 1958. Killings, beatings, bribes, shakedowns—it's standard procedure for Lieutenant Dave Klein, LAPD. He's a slumlord, a bagman, an...