Choice Review

Cesar Pelli is an important contemporary American architect and former dean of the School of Architecture at Yale University. His list of significant designs include the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, Battery Park City and the MOMA tower in New York City, and skyscrapers in Houston, Chicago, Minneapolis, and London. This monograph is an annotated pictorial survey of his work and constitutes the single most comprehensive treatment of Pelli's career to date. The selection of photographic material is excellent and succeeds in capturing both large and small-scale aspects of Pelli's architecture. Paul Goldberger's introduction and John Pastier's essay are excellent but frustratingly brief; only 15 of the 288 pages are devoted to analytical text. The bibliography is very good and arranged in serviceable categories: writings by Pelli and about Pelli, and reviews of individual buildings. This will be a useful addition to collections on recent American architecture, of interest primarily to architects and architectural historians. D. P. Doordan University of Notre Dame