This book explores the story of architecture from prehistoric pile dwellings to the Millennium Dome. It shows how the buildings of each historical period and culture are an expression of the spirit of their time, and how styles of architecture result from the materials that are available and the techniques that are understood. Representative buildings of each period are studied in fine, detailed illustrations: for example, Stonehenge, the Parthenon, the Colosseum, Chartres Cathedral, the Rialto Bridge, Versailles, the University of Virginia, the Crystal Palace, the Flatiron Building, the Sydney Opera House, and the converted Gare d'Orsay. The pyramids of Giza, Hindu temples in Khajuraho, the Badshahi mosque in Lahore, the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, a Japanese imperial villa, and the Chinese emperor's Forbidden City are the focus of chapters on the architecture of other cultures.