Jon Cannon

This is a highly detailed, masterful work. It's also as heavy as the known universe. The heft is surely due to the glossy pages presenting hundreds of beautiful photos in both color and black & white. These photos illustrate the detailed discussion admirably. The book is divided into two roughly equal sections (≈500 pages each), the first being a history of cathedral building in England, the second being descriptions of the cathedrals themselves. Cannon's work is more expansive and more show more up-to-date in terms of scholarship than Alec Clifton-Taylor's The Cathedrals of England in the World of Art series (Thames and Hudson, 1967). Clifton-Taylor's ≈300 page volume, mostly with black and white photographs. Both are really good, nonetheless. show less

This is a fascinating and comprehensive book on English Cathedrals addressing both their history and their architectural qualities with numerous illustrations.