Dell Upton is a historic and renowned professor of architecture and urban planning at the University of California. He has published several architecture books; one of these is “Architecture in the United States”, published in 1998. In this book Upton analyzes the architecture of the United States from different aspects, such as nature, money and art, thus describing the great variety of architectural forms , and how over the decades different interests have led communities to different ways of building, different purposes and materials, thus reflecting their way of thinking and their relationship with the environment. By exploring so many different architectural styles, Upton reveals the great diversity and richness that has always had, and continues to characterize, American architecture. For Upton, "architecture is an art of telling social stories, a means of shaping American society and culture..." (11), and it is up to the historian to choose which of the many possible stories to tell. In his approach , rejected a chronological order and instead relied on five thematic structures: community, nature, technology, money and art. In the very first chapter Upton introduces the symbol of the house in the United States; it represents the American dream and the concept of social mobility. Analyze one of the most famous houses: Monticello, designed by Thomas Jefferson. In describing how this house served as a home not only for family members and numerous visitors, but also for slaves, Upton proposes that Jefferson “organized Monticello to convey his sense of himself as patriarch at the center of his universe” (28). .In the chapter on Community, Upton studies how the architecture of societies has represented Americans... the middle of paper book...... in its shy three hundred pages goes a long way, it lacks other examples of modern architecture and historic monuments like those discussed above. Additionally, the lack of chronological order is a novel approach, but may not appeal to all readers. Bibliography Goeshel, Nancy. (September 23, 1980). Grand Central Terminal Designation Report. (LP-1099). New York, New York City. Retrieved from: http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/80-GRAND-CENT-INT.pdfLandmarks Preservation Commission. (July 19, 1994) Seventh Regiment Armory Designation Report. (LP-1884). New York, New York City. Retrieved from: http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/1994SeventhRegimentArmoryInterior.pdfUpton, Dell. Architecture in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Print