In this polemical work, journalist Martin Pawley argues that the British obsession with the architectural past is a cultural dead end with no relevance to the technological age. He describes a vision of architecture for the next century. The decline of urban economies, the rise of tourism and the threat of terrorism has transformed the modern city from an engine of commerce and industry into an art-historical spectacle. Pawley deplores the shibboleth of art history for exerting a stranglehold of traditional aestheticism on the idea of progress, and argues for a creative engagement with the future, its multifarious opportunities and shifting requirements. To embrace this architechtural future entails a radical shift in values, and he considers new vocabularies to achieve this aim.