This book is a treasure trove ! a refreshing contribution to the field of Islamic architecture. The publication in paperback of Robert Hillenbrand's Islamic Architecture will be a boon to those who want to study the subject in depth ... Since this book first appeared in 1994 it has provided readers with an opportunity to grasp the vast scope of ... Read morearchitectural history in the Islamic world and to understand how its traditions developed. The author discusses the evolution of Islamic architecture from its origins in Medina to its flowering in diverse and far-flung territories from Spain to Afghanistan. His task was daunting, but in an impressive lifetime of study he has personally experienced the architecture in all but one of the countries he covers...with his scholarly guidance and broad perspective, countless readers will gain a broader perspective and a deeper understand of Islamic architecture. Islamic Architecture is an awesome achievement ... Hillenbrand's arguments are incisively presented in a prose [which] occasionally develops an eloquence that mesmerises. Islamic Architecture is a work on a grand scale ... admirable for its intellectual rigour. Marvellous ... no other work comes close remotely close to this wealth of illustrations and informed discussion This book is a treasure trove ! a refreshing contribution to the field of Islamic architecture. The publication in paperback of Robert Hillenbrand's Islamic Architecture will be a boon to those who want to study the subject in depth ... Since this book first appeared in 1994 it has provided readers with an opportunity to grasp the vast scope of architectural history in the Islamic world and to understand how its traditions developed. The author discusses the evolution of Islamic architecture from its origins in Medina to its flowering in diverse and far-flung territories from Spain to Afghanistan. His task was daunting, but in an impressive lifetime of study he has personally experienced the architecture in all but one of the countries he covers...with his scholarly guidance and broad perspective, countless readers will gain a broader perspective and a deeper understand of Islamic architecture. Islamic Architecture is an awesome achievement ... Hillenbrand's arguments are incisively presented in a prose [which] occasionally develops an eloquence that mesmerises. Islamic Architecture is a work on a grand scale ... admirable for its intellectual rigour. Marvellous ... no other work comes close remotely close to this wealth of illustrations and informed discussion Show Less