Revered as the father of historic preservation in the United States, architect James Marston Fitch was hailed by the New York Times at the time of his death in 2000 as "an architect whose writings and teachings helped transform historic preservation from a dilettante's pastime into a vigorous, broadly based cultural movement." In this anthology of his writings, spanning over sixty years of his professional career, Fitch's incisive ideas and observations on a range of subjects are brought to light in a single, readable volume. Whether a lament of the loss of functionalism in the wake of modernism, a celebration of the architectural perfection embodied in the University of Virginia campus, or an appeal to architects to heed factors of climate and environment in their designs, Fitch's essays are both provocative and pragmatic and always deeply rooted in the human element. In the face of contemporary concerns such as suburban sprawl, energy expenditure, and environmental degradation, Fitch's writings resonate today more than ever.
