Nicholas Ray – författare

When The Shield first appeared on US television in March 2002, it broke ratings records with the highest audience-rated original series premiere in cable history. In the course of its subsequent seven-season run, the show went on to win international acclaim for its abrasive depiction of an urban American dystopia and the systemic political and juridical corruption feeding it. The first book dedicated to the analysis of this immensely successful series, Interrogating "The Shield" brings together ten critical essays, written from a variety of methodological and theoretical perspectives. Topics range from an exploration of the series’ derivation, genre, and production, to expositions of the ethics, aesthetics, and politics of the show. As may be expected from a multiauthored collection, this volume does not seek to present a homogenized account of The Shield. The show is variously applauded and critiqued. In their critical variety, however, the essays in this book are a testament to the cultural significance and creative complexity of the series. As such, they are a reminder of the renewed power of quality television drama today.

***Shortlisted for the Architectural Book Awards 2024***

Thinking Through Twentieth-Century Architecture connects the practice of architecture with its recent history and its theoretical origins – those philosophical ideas that lay behind modernism and its aftermath. By analyzing in straightforward and jargon-free language the genesis of modernism and the complex reactions to it, the book clarifies a continuing debate. It has been specifically written to connect issues of theory, history and contemporary practice and to allow students to make these connections easily.

This is a history of twentieth-century architecture, written with close critical attention to the theories that lie behind the works described. Importantly, unlike other historical accounts, it does not take sides and urge the reader to identify with one strand of thinking or style of architecture at the expense of others, but it presents a dispassionate view, with persuasive arguments on behalf of different positions. It pursues the history of European and American architecture chronologically, but the history is interwoven with the philosophical ideas that informed both writers and architects and are essential for its understanding.

The book is relevant to current issues of contemporary practice and education, showing that philosophical issues are fundamental and those relating to design decisions never go away. It includes 200 illustrations and will appeal to all those interested in twentieth-century architecture and to architectural students.

***Shortlisted for the Architectural Book Awards 2024***

Thinking Through Twentieth-Century Architecture connects the practice of architecture with its recent history and its theoretical origins – those philosophical ideas that lay behind modernism and its aftermath. By analyzing in straightforward and jargon-free language the genesis of modernism and the complex reactions to it, the book clarifies a continuing debate. It has been specifically written to connect issues of theory, history and contemporary practice and to allow students to make these connections easily.

This is a history of twentieth-century architecture, written with close critical attention to the theories that lie behind the works described. Importantly, unlike other historical accounts, it does not take sides and urge the reader to identify with one strand of thinking or style of architecture at the expense of others, but it presents a dispassionate view, with persuasive arguments on behalf of different positions. It pursues the history of European and American architecture chronologically, but the history is interwoven with the philosophical ideas that informed both writers and architects and are essential for its understanding.

The book is relevant to current issues of contemporary practice and education, showing that philosophical issues are fundamental and those relating to design decisions never go away. It includes 200 illustrations and will appeal to all those interested in twentieth-century architecture and to architectural students.

A cast of leading writers and practitioners tackle the ethical questions that architects are increasingly facing in their work, from practical considerations in construction to the wider social context of buildings, their appearance, use and place in the narrative of the environment. This book gives an account of these ethical questions from the perspectives of historical architectural practice, philosophy, and business, and examines the implications of such dilemmas. Taking the current discussion of ethics in architecture on to a new stage, this volume provides an accumulation of diverse opinions, focusing on architects'' actions and products that materially affect the lives of people in all urbanized societies.

A cast of leading writers and practitioners tackle the ethical questions that architects are increasingly facing in their work, from practical considerations in construction to the wider social context of buildings, their appearance, use and place in the narrative of the environment. This book gives an account of these ethical questions from the perspectives of historical architectural practice, philosophy, and business, and examines the implications of such dilemmas. Taking the current discussion of ethics in architecture on to a new stage, this volume provides an accumulation of diverse opinions, focusing on architects'' actions and products that materially affect the lives of people in all urbanized societies.