How did the pyramid evolve during its journey from Luxor to the Louvre? Why can the Parthenon be compared to a Greek fighting ship? What connects Hadrian's Villa to the Getty Center Los Angeles? In this inspiring and innovative overview Jonathan Glancey brings a fresh approach and unique personal insights into the continuing story of 5 000 years of architecture. From the ziggurat of Ur to the Buddhist temples of Southeast Asia via Romanesque arcades Gothic steeples Baroque palaces and Modernist appartment blocks this accessible and lively narrative reveals the geographical historical and cultural influences that permeated these structures.