Towers

The format is approximately 4.5 inches by 10.75 inches. 112 pages. Illustrated front and back cover. Illustrations. The front cover illustration is of a two-towered castle. No dust jacket present. Cover has minor wear and soiling, with some sticker residue on the back cover. Foreword by Sir John Betjeman. Archibald "Archie" Victor Dudley Gordon (1913?1984) was the 5th Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair, serving as a British broadcaster, author, and Scottish peer. He managed the BBC Talks Department (1946?1972) and produced "The Week in Westminster". Known as a colorful character, he inherited the title in 1974. He was born on July 9, 1913, in Bexley, Kent, to Dudley Gladstone Gordon (3rd Marquess) and Cecile Elizabeth Drummond. He was a major figure in the BBC, running the Talks Department and overseeing political broadcasting from 1946 to 1972. He was styled Lord Archibald Gordon from 1965 until he inherited the Marquessate in 1974, holding it until his death on September 7, 1984. Described as a "mischievous peer", he was a writer known for his memoirs and tales of life. Towers is a non-fiction, illustrated book by Archie Gordon, featuring a foreword by Sir John Betjeman. It explores the architecture and history of various towers. The book features photographs or detailed descriptions, making it a sought-after item for architecture enthusiasts. The author here chooses some 50 towers and tall structures of the British Isles that illustrate the importance of lofty buildings as focal points of landscape and townscape. They range in date from the early Christian round towers of Ireland to buildings completed within the decade prior to this work's publications. The author writes of their impact upon himself, describes their history and tells some amusing anecdotes about them. The choice of subject was based solely on the author's curiousity and personal preference. He went to look at some towers for the first time, at others to refresh his view of places had had known all his life. The result is a wide-ranging choice including church and cathedral towers, spires and steeples, castle keeps and gate houses, civic buildings, private buildings, working buildings, and some pure follies. Some are architecturally distinguished, some are architecturally disastrous, some are masterpieces, some are curiosities. But all could be visited at the time this work was published, and the author encouraged the reader to "Go and lock for yourself." Presumed First U. S. Edition, First printing. …