This vibrantly designed volume celebrates every facet of the skyscraper as an architectural icon.

Few buildings rivet our attention like skyscrapers. As the race to build higher and higher continues, these symbols of success and economic power dominate and reshape urban skylines across the globe. Opening with Chicago's Reliance Building, built in 1894, and closing with plans for the Freedom Tower, which will be built on the site of the World Trade Center, eye-catching two to four page spreads in this up-to-date and comprehensive volume capture fifty of the world's most important skyscrapers. Each building is breathtakingly photographed, and an accompanying text offers intriguing historical details, notes on construction, and engineering feats. Tracing the evolution of these magnificent structures, Skyscrapers illustrates their significance not only in architectural history, but also as a reflection of humankind's most competitive and optimistic urges.