REACH FOR THE SKY shows:
(1) WHERE tall buildings were erected, from the earliest settlements in Mesopotamia and across the world;
(2) HOW those buildings were constructed;
(3) WHY we required ever higher places to live and work; and
(4) WHO (developers, architects, engineers...) put up the buildings.

From the late Neolithic age to the heights of modern Dubai — a period that saw the transition of human culture from hunter-gatherer to an urban lifestyle with a population tightly packed into modern buildings—this book goes on a journey from Babylon; past the glories of Egypt, Greece and Rome; through the grandest achievements of the medieval cathedrals; the influences of Asian and Islamic architecture; into the wonders of the Renaissance; and on to the stunning skyscrapers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Art Deco, Nouveau, Bauhaus and the age of 'Modernism'.

The book talks about materials used to build these the edifices (brick, stone, concrete, iron, and steel) and the beauty of the design. 350 pictures (photographs, diagrams and paintings) supply inspiration and information; the text amplifies the images, as well as incorporating quotations, short histories, notes on contributors (builders, architects, engineers, bankers, etc.); and explains the architectural styles and structural details.

The book should be of interest not only to those professionals who have been involved in any parts of the building process, anyone with an interest in the history of tall buildings, and anyone who has really looked up and wondered how did we get there and how does that building stay up?