Published in 1978 this book feels like a "seventies book" . It has an obscure and not very apposite title, though this is the architecturally themed volume among other titles making up The Grand Tour and hence a cultured and considered education for the tourist of that decade, and hence the title, "The Grand Tour, Individual creations ". Who would guess that it is actually about six buildings , selected by The author as his pick of timeless architectural masterpieces it is a disparate selection in time, place and style and really becomes an individual choice of architectural high spots . I like the selection and for me they stand out as monuments, and I think a case can be made for timelessness, even in the case of the three 20th century great architects Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier and Gaudi . The Finnish architects Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen are represented by a rock hewn church in Helsinki in the 1960s. Thus four buildings are 20th Century grand statements in bricks and concrete. From earlier centuries there are Fontainbleau in France and The Belvedere Palace in Vienna as elaborate ornate rather baroque palaces that are really an amalgam of the work of many kings , builders and designers . They represent many eras rather than a single unifying vision. The Escorial outside Madrid is another grand forbidding labyrinth of a palace , castle and an imperial representation of the Habsburgs . The choice of architectural gems is heavily weighted towards Europe ( 6 of the eight, of which 2 are from Spain ) with the Wright Guggenheim museum being the US representative and The Indian Taj Mahal perhaps the most exotic . Each chapter is on a different building, and the chapter comprises a photographic essay (various sources for the photographs) and an historical architectural essay . Best to appreciate the book as a collection of the author's favourite buildings and reflect his own traceks . Accept that this is a subjective and idiosyncratic selection and enjoy it at that level. perhaps it gets one thinking about one's own best and favourite buildings . of this collection , I had in fact visited three and yes, in reading this book I would like to see the other 5 . ( )