It traces the course of modern architecture from the structural simplicity of Chicago School commercial building, to the low-slung Prairie School house, the streamlined Art Deco skyscraper, and the minimalist Miesian tower of glass and steel, all the way through to the strikingly original, diverse designs of the present day's so-called second modern movement. This eminently readable text vividly discusses both the life and work of such towering figures as Daniel Burnham, John Wellborn Root, Louis H. Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Mies van der Rohe - as well as that of the many lesser-known architects who have made outstanding contributions.