Upon its release, A History of Western Architecture was hailed by The Times Literary Supplement as "the best single-volume history of architecture in English." Its main rival is Sir Banister Fletcher’s A History of Architecture , but readers often prefer Watkin for his prose. Fletcher is an encyclopedia; Watkin is a novel.
, argues that the Classical language of architecture remains a vital, ongoing force. Socio-Political Context david watkin a history of western architecture pdf
Sir David Watkin (1941–2018) was not just an architectural historian; he was a controversial and passionate defender of classical and traditional architecture. A professor emeritus at the University of Cambridge, Watkin was unapologetically opposed to the modernist orthodoxy that dominated much of 20th-century historiography. Unlike authors who treat modernism as the inevitable, heroic climax of architectural history, Watkin placed it within a longer, more skeptical narrative. Upon its release, A History of Western Architecture