Frank Gehry: Catalogue Raisonné of the Drawings, Volume 1, and Frank Gehry: The Masterpieces, both by the historian and critic Jean-Louis Cohen, come on the heels of at least 23 books previously devoted to the preeminent architect. The new titles offer distinct but not dissimilar outlooks on his formidable oeuvre.

The Catalogue Raisonné is an unusual undertaking: the first of eight volumes, the 7-½ pound, 552-page colossus includes every one of the architect’s buildings, exhibitions, models, and unbuilt projects for the hundreds of designs he produced within the designated time period (for Volume 1, 1954–1978). Innumerable construction and comparative photographs accompany the text, which is a model of descriptive analysis that includes the sources of Gehry’s inspiration, borrowings from his earlier designs, and his design and construction processes. Future volumes will follow the same structure, and each will also have a web-based version.