"The late Harold D. Lasswell has provided a fascinating and highly useful interpretation of the symbolic uses of architecture in numerous societies over many years. This work opens up new vistas for social scientists who may have been unaware of the importance of buildings as indicators of power relationships. In many ways, this is one of the richest and most innovative works of Lasswell's later years." --Miriam Ershkowitz, The Journal of Politics "Clearly has its place in a series of commentaries on power, policy, and society." --David Cooperman, Contemporary Sociology "The development of theory to bridge political and architectural thought is certainly needed, and this work provides a definitive link." --James M. Mayo, Jr.

, JAE "A major innovation by a major innovator. All of Lasswell's great ingenuity has gone into these illuminating conceptions of buildings among which we live. It is a "must" book for planners, social scientists, architects, ecologists, and all readers who care about our environment." --Daniel Lerner, International Cultural Foundation "Our understanding of politics and governance is heightened by experiencing, observing, and interpreting architecture in the larger context of the impact of the complex interplay of the material and the symbolic, and of values and institutions on environmental design." --Richard C. Snyder, Ohio State University "The numerous references and notes reflect the author's extensive acquaintance with a multitude of analytic traditions and with hosts of works on public artifacts and habitats across time and place." --David Cooperman, Contemporary Sociology "Our understanding of politics and governance is heightened by experiencing, observing, and interpreting architecture in the larger context of the impact of the complex interplay of the material and the symbolic, and of values and institutions." --Richard C.

Snyder, Ohio State University.