Architecture for Reading in Public

“[Levine] has been thinking and writing about this library since his days as a student. The book has chapters devoted to everything from the library’s design to its construction, and features abundant color illustrations. It is, like its subject, inviting to the public, conceptually ambitious, and beautiful.”—Cammy Brothers, Wall Street Journal, “Holiday Gift Books: Architecture”“Architecture for Reading in Public is a profound work of scholarship with considerable new discoveries stemming from the author’s decades of engagement with Henri Labrouste’s iconic building. This is an essential and long-awaited book.”—Barry Bergdoll, Columbia University“Architecture for Reading in Public brings flawless scholarship and fresh perspectives gained throughout the rich and productive career of a distinguished architectural historian.”—Antoine Picon, Harvard University“Neil Levine’s brilliant, clear, and fascinating overview of the Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève is a seminal model of architectural history.”—Alice Thomine-Berrada, Beaux-Arts de Paris

Neil Levine is Emmet Blakeney Gleason Professor Emeritus of the History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University. He is the author of Modern Architecture: Representation and Reality.