The book contains twenty-five essays and other works, many chosen from the newly organized Christopher Alexander archive, providing a window into the ideas and thought process of one of the most innovative architectural thinkers of the twentieth century.

Howard Davis is Professor of Architecture at the University of Oregon. He is the author of three books: The Culture of Building, Living Over the Store: Architecture and Local Urban Life and Working Cities: Architecture, Place and Production. Davis worked with Christopher Alexander for seven years, was the co-author with Alexander and others of The Production of Houses, and is presently an advisor in the development of a comprehensive archive of Alexander's work.

Preface, PART 1: THE LARGE AND SMALL DETAILS OF EVERYDAY LIFE, 1. Perception and modular coordination 1959, 2. Notes on the Synthesis of Form: Contents, Preface and Part One in early draft 1960, 3. The Nature of Order, Book One, section on local symmstries 2001, 4. On changing the way people see 1964, 5. From a set of forces to a form 1966, 6. Center for Environmental Structure seminar report, excerpt, 1967, 7. Early ideas for the pattern language format 1967-68, 8. Major changes in environmental form required by social and psychological demands 1969, 9. The atoms of environmental structure 1970, PART 2 : FROM THE CENTER TO THE UNIVERSE, 10. Value: a reply to Protzen 1977, 11. Centering 1977, 12. A shrine to color and light 1990, 13. OOPSLA lecture 1996, 14. Reply to William Saunders 2002, 15. Our new architecture and the many world cultures 2002, 16. Harmony-seeking computations 2005, 17. Conversation with Rem Koolhaas 2006, PART 3: THEORY INTO BUILDING, 18. The grassroots housing process 1973, 19. The growth of order from small acts 1974, 20. The architect-builder: toward changing the conception of what an architect is 1977, 21. Rebirth of the Inner City: The North Omaha Plan, excerpts 1981, 22. The construction of new neighborhoods for Guasare New Town, Venezuela, excerpts 1983, 23. Toward a personal workplace, excerpt 1987, 24. Construction management contract 1994, 25. Battle, unpublished chapter 2010, Bibliography, Illustration credits, Index