Le Corbusier (1887 -- 1965) has been one of the dominant forces in twentieth-century architecture, and many of the forms he created have become archetypes of Modernism. He was also a social visionary and a writer of polemics, whose ideas have generated intense and partisan controversy. This highly acclaimed book provides a comprehensive and objective survey that puts Le Corbusier's career in a more balanced perspective. Making full use of the Le Corbusier archive, the author documents individual projects in detail while linking the imaginative activities of the artist to his philosophy of life, to his urban visions, to his art and to the cultural predicaments of his times.