"Arranged in chronological order, the book's five sections and its conclusion offer a synthetic portrait of Mies's career and reception, spanning sixty years, two continents and two world wars. The text tells a continuous story, however, most chapters focus on a significant work (the Seagram building or the IIT campus), allowing for an in-depth presentation of photographs and drawings; other chapters focus on a specific event in Mies's life (such Mies's time as the head of the Bauhaus)."-- Publisher.

Critical realism: life and form. Apprenticeship in reform ; Riehl House: country house critical realism ; Bismarck Memorial: form and space ; Kröller-Müller Villa: living geometry --Avant-garde: art and life. Glass skyscraper: new beginnings ; Good forms for new types ; Esters and Lange houses: new language ; Weissenhofseidlung: urban montage --Task: mastering modernity. Barcelona Pavilion: spiritualizing technology ; Tugendhat House: an elevated personal life ; Neue Wache: in the world and against it ; Bauhaus education ; Reichsbank: in dark times --Organic architecture. Resor House: autonomy ; AIT/IIT: open campus ; IIT: clear construction --Unfolding structure. Farnsworth to Crown Hall: clear span ; 860-880 Lake Shore Drive: high rise ; Seagram Building: dark building ; 50 x 50 House to New National Gallery: variations and permutations ; Lafayette Park: city landscape --Event space: living life large.