Originally published in 1960, this book is widely regarded as a classic. It has been claimed by architects and architectural historians who consider it to be one of the most important books on American architectural history ever written. Personal, detailed and the book outlines the lives and presented the work of seminal figures in American architecture. Each architect. Maybeck, Gill, The Greene brothers and Schindler devised an original style that has had a profound effect on younger generations of American architects..