HOUSES: Shelters from Prehistoric Times to Today

The Western world alone is considered here--Siberell acknowledges no other civilization--and then merely in a random, slapdash manner. Though the book is purportedly about homes, only a pyramid is shown on the page for Egypt, a ziggurat for Babylonia, and the Parthenon for Greece. A Norman castle is Siberell's sole stop between Ancient Rome and the New World--where she refers to but doesn't describe Spanish, Dutch, French, and English styles. Presumably she expects her sketchy drawings to make the point--but sometimes they mislead. For example, mention of the suburbs is accompanied only by rows of split-levels; the labels ""duplex"" and ""triplex"" are affixed respectively to a pair and a trio of two-story houses attached side-by-side; and the drawing of a two-story house with a balcony on each floor doesn't convey the meaning of ""condominium."" This might be an inattentive child's recapitulation of a hasty classroom survey.