Architecture of Mughal India (English, Catherine B. Asher)

A Must if You Need to Understand Mughal Architecture.

This book is a staple when one is seeking information on Mughal art and architecture, and it also contains information that can broaden one's understanding of the history of architecture in India in general. I wanted to review this book now instead of later, because, even though I have not had the chance read the book cover to cover, I have been using it almost daily as a reference for a very detailed Mughal architecture project that I am working on, and I don't want to risk forgetting to write a review.Asher does not focus on any single building, time period, or theme more than any other; which I think is ideal but lacking, in one way or another, in most survey books about architecture history. (For example, she could have easily written half the book just on the Taj Mahal and added, as an afterthought, a paragraph or two about every other building. Thankfully, she did not. ) The information in this book is presented clearly and organized in a manner that makes the complex and intricate topic more accessible. This is fantastic when using the book for reference. The images in the book are well chosen, especially when compared to the other visual media available at the time this book was written; which adds to the book's relevance as a survey book on Mughal Architecture to this day. The one thing that I like the most about this book is that Asher uses illustrations that have many of the little extra details that other writer's illustrations leave out. These little pieces of information are priceless when working on a detailed-oriented, accuracy-centered visual media project. I also appreciate that she does not carry a thinly veiled political bias in her writing. As I said before, this book is a vital source of consistent and credible information about Mughal architecture, and a great supplement when learning about other indian architecture.