A building is more than a roof and four walls. The ancient Roman architect Vitruvius wrote that a building must be considered with due reference to Utilitas, Firmitas and Venustas - function, structure, and beauty. In ABC of Architecture, author James F. O'Gorman uses this triad as a starting point to an accessible, nontechnical text on the first steps to understanding architectural structure, history, and criticism.

He moves seamlessly from a discussion of the most basic inspiration for architecture (the need for shelter from the elements), to an exploration of space, system, and material, and, finally, to an examination of the language and history of architecture.

O'Gorman guides reader through the history of building types by tracing advances in technology, availability of materials, and changing standards of beauty. He shows the nonspecialist how to read a design in plans, sections, and elevations, and how architects, like other artists, make creative use of space and light.