This collection of essays investigates the shifting aesthetic and structural priorities of architecture during the transition into the postmodern era. Paul Goldberger, a Pulitzer Prize-winning architectural critic, utilizes his extensive background in journalism to analyze how buildings reflect the cultural and social anxieties of the late 20th century. He argues that the rigid functionalism of modernism gave way to a more pluralistic, historically conscious, and often playful approach to design. The text serves as a critical survey of the built environment, examining how architects navigated the tension between tradition and innovation.

Critics and architectural historians frequently cite this work as a primary document for understanding the critical discourse surrounding postmodernism in the 1980s. Readers often note the accessibility of Goldberger's prose, which bridges the gap between professional architectural theory and general public interest.