Frank Lloyd Wright: The Masterworks

Wright, as Pfeiffer notes, was primarily a residential architect, and this stunning survey of 38 of his most influential buildings reveals how he created new patterns of living through rooms that open into one another and walls that reach out to engulf gardens and plantings. That the Wisconsin-born pioneer of organic architecture was also an innovative engineer emerges in discussions of Manhattan's Guggenheim Museum with its curved elements, the tripod design of Beth Sholom Synagogue in Elkins Park, Pa., and the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, Calif., featuring a circular public library at the hub of administrative buildings ensconced in the hills. Wright's home and studio in Oak Park, Ill., the ``Fallingwater'' house in Mills Run, Pa., and the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo are among the projects selected by Pfeiffer, editor of Wright's Collected Writings and author of many books about him. Nearly all of the buildings were newly photographed for this book, which features 275 color plates, including Wright's beautiful working drawings and plans. BOMC alternate. (Nov.)