okay, i need some help. this is probably a difficult/impossible question for most... i have a friend whose birthday is coming up. she is passionate about architecture but she hasn't studied it formally. therefore, i would like to get her a book about architecture for her birthday.

here's the thing, it can't be a coffee table (as in "look at this pretty building with its flying buttresses") but it also shouldn't be nothing but theory. i think an ideal book would be a nice balance between the two, working from an elementary level of theory.

so, any recommendations?

thanks much!
-di doctor-

Do you know what kind of architecture she is specifically interested in? Periods, places, architects, styles, etc.?