The Man in the Glass House: Philip Johnson. Architect of the Modern Century

A smoothly written and fair-minded (Wall Street Journal) biography of architect Philip Johnson--a finalist for the National Book Critic's Circle Award When Philip Johnson died in 2005 at the age of 98 he was still one of the most recognizable--and influential--figures on the American cultural landscape. The first recipient of the Pritzker Prize and MoMA's founding architectural curator Johnson made his mark as one of America's leading architects with his famous Glass House in New Caanan CT and his controversial AT&T Building in NYC among many others in nearly every city in the country--but his most natural role was as a consummate power broker and shaper of public opinion.Johnson introduced European modernism--the sleek glass-and-steel architecture that now dominates our cities--to America and mentored generations of architects designers and artists to follow. He defined the era of starchitecture with its flamboyant buildings and celebrity designers who esteemed aesthetics and styl