Virginia Savage McAlester's A Field Guide to American Houses is now available in an e-book version

2019-02-11T19:50:00-05:00

In 1984, when Virginia Savage McAlester published the seminal A Field Guide to American Houses, the text she wrote to fill a void became an instant classic adopted by realtors, builders, architects and schools, as well as Americans who wanted to know about their own homes’ architectural style and history [...] But now, McAlester’s field guide is truly user-friendly for the 21st century, available in an e-book version.

Architectural discourse can be quite heavy and dense to those outside of the profession. Especially when it comes to detailed technicalities of design and construction, some claim understanding architecture may not be pedestrian enough. In the hopes of helping other's identify and understand buildings around them, Virginia Savage McAlester published a field guide to aid the public.

In 1984, McAlester's digestible guide to domestic American architecture, A Field Guide to American Homes, hit the market and was quickly adopted and praised by many. The classic coffee table book—now a handy e-book—brings to light the need for architecture to have detailed resource guides the general public can reference. Filled with images and texts cataloging homes built from 1940 - 2010, the guide spurred much interest in the subject of American residential styles.

Architectural style explained - Gothic Revival, Courtesy of Knopf Publishing

For many, living in the built world may be enough when it come...

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Virginia Savage McAlester's A Field Guide to American Houses is now available in an e-book version