As much a history of early American architecture as it is a biographical study of architectural historian Fiske Kimball and a thorough-going study of his research. An excellent read. My one criticism is that many of the images are reproduced at far too small a scale to be useful. ( )

As a student of architecture school at Mr. Jefferson's university c. 1980, I do not recall ever doubting Jefferson's significance as an architect, but that significance was virtually unrecognized by the end of the 19th Century. I confess I never more than casually wondered why the art and architecture library at UVa was named after Fiske Kimball, but as a researcher who (along with his similarly diligent fiance/partner/wife) really put Jefferson back into architectural relevance, where he certainly belongs, it makes a great deal of sense.

This book is history, but reads more like a whodunnit as Kimball puts the clues together through accident, research, and simple hard effort. ( )