Fundamentally really interesting but a bit flawed

I feel really mean not giving five stars for each aspect of this audio book as Dan Cruickshank is so infectiously enthusiastic, seems like a terribly nice bloke and is also something of a national treasure. However, firstly, for the book to be a "history of architecture" I think there needs to be a bit more to link up the examples, which are presented more or less as a disjointed list. Although there are sort-of themes running through the book, the reader is left to try to work out how the examples are connected or how they fit chronologically. Secondly, although listening to Dan Cruickshank's cheery, friendly and avuncular voice is a real treat (especially in lockdown), he often garbles or swallows his words and sometimes it sounds like he just needs to stop, sip some water and clear his throat. As a result, his pronunciation is sometimes very strange. He removes or adds syllables to some words willy nilly, which sometimes makes it very hard to understand him. For example every time he says "creation", which should have three syllables, he pronounces it "cray-shun", and every time he says "sacristy" he adds an extra R towards the end and pronounces it "sacristRy". "Architecture" sometimes ends up as "archer". Thirdly, his pronunciation of even the most basic of foreign names and terms is done with the stiffest of upper lips. Given that this is a book that covers architecture from around the world it would have helped to have looked the words up on Forvo and had a practice first. However, I would still really recommend this book if you are interested in buildings (I also have the print version so I can check things and look at the pictures). It isn't extremely detailed (I don't think it is meant to be), but there is plenty of interesting comment about each building, and Dan Cruickshank makes it clear why he rates each one, and that by itself is a delight. I teach history of architecture and I still found it a very worthwhile and enjoyable listen, even given everything I have said above.

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2 people found this helpful

great book every useful

every informative, and useful for me I am in 2nd year at university studying architecture and planning at UWE Bristol and this year we have a module in the subject of history of architecture. it has given me a another perspective and view on things. on top of this it has allowed me to get a larger understanding of the topic, which has been helping me, within the module for its not necessarily the first time I have heard the information.
Through out the audio you can hear the passion that the author has, it is also every clear and easy to understand.

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