How Things Were Built - nonfiction informational

Author - David J. Brown
Illustrator - David West
Publisher - Random House, 1991.
Page #'s - 135
Rating - 4.5/5

How Things Were Built is an architectural reference book. It covers sixty famous buildings throughout history. It starts with the Ancient World with structures such as The Great Pyramid, Stonehenge, and the Great Wall of China. Then it moves to the Age of Discovery with structures such as Chartres Catherdral and the Taj Mahal. Next is the New Technology era with stuctures like the Eiffel Tower and the Hoover Dam. Finally, it covers the Modern World with the Pompidou Center and the Channel Tunnel.

This reference guide is a wonderful source. Each building is drawn out and goes into great detail of how it was constructed. It gives a quick history of the building itself as well. There is also a glossary of architecture terms in the back. This is a great picture book refererence for children to learn about famous architecture. I took two years of college architecture classes and I found this book useful, even though it is geared towards children.