Skyscraper: The Politics and Power of Building New York City in the Twentieth Century by Benjamin Flowers offers a compelling exploration of New York City’s iconic skyscrapers and their deep ties to American culture, commerce, and power. Selected as an Outstanding Academic Title by Choice magazine, this hardback book was published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2009.
Flowers examines three landmark buildings—the Empire State Building, the Seagram Building, and the World Trade Center—to reveal how architects and developers shaped these towers not just as structures, but as symbols of broader cultural themes. Through detailed archival research, including corporate records, architects’ papers, and political cartoons, the book uncovers the intersections of wealth, politics, immigration, and Cold War ideology in the city’s skyline.
Ideal for architecture enthusiasts, historians, and students, Skyscraper offers a rich analysis of how skyscrapers reflect and influence society’s evolving ambitions. Benjamin Flowers, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, humanizes these monumental projects by connecting them to the personal and political motivations behind their creation.
For anyone interested in the history and meaning behind New York’s towering icons, Skyscraper is an insightful and authoritative resource.