I pose this question: When was the last time you read a book about architecture? I'm not a betting man, but I'll wager your answer is--hmmm-- never. Change that with Paul Shepheard's stimulating and exceedingly readable What is Architecture? An Essay on Landscapes, Buildings, and Machines.

The book is Shepheard's reaction to architecture's move away from practice toward theory. My guess is that telling you that probably won't fuel your desire to pick the thing up (even if I tell you the author comes down squarely on the side of practice). Give it a chance. The author is like one of those unforgettable teachers who leaves an indelible mark--not only will you enjoy the book; you'll probably want to corner Shepheard in a pub somewhere and down a few pints.

Shepheard takes a casual approach, touching on subjects as wide-ranging as Roman siege weapons, the dome of St. Paul's, Kitty Hawk, Stone Henge, camouflage, and the kilt. He draws on Gertrude Stein, John Ruskin, Borges, Vitruvius, and Le Corbusier, as well as personal friends, acquaintances, associates, and family. Along the way he even relates a dirty joke about Cinderella.

The author eventually invokes the ancient model that divides Action into three parts: Strategy, Tactics, and Operations [think of it as the goal or idea, the plan, and the execution], and applies it to Architecture, calling those constituent ideas Landscape, Buildings, and Machines. The book exploring each--though not too deeply--Shepheard's next book, The Cultivated Wilderness or What is Landscape?, quite explicitly focuses more intently on the broadest of those concepts.

Hey, what am I going to do, force you? If you don't want to read about architecture, you won't. However, I do think if you give it a chance, you'll be pleasantly surprised by this neat little book and you may find your self looking for the companion volume.

--Brad Katz