"Although the Empire State Building is no longer the tallest building in the world ..., it remains mythical, iconic. This entrancing book is at once an appreciation of the structure as a practical work of art and an exploration of the building's role in the city and the world."
- The New Yorker
"A building that is a movie star unto itself deserves a writer of such contagious enthusiasm as Tauranac.... A fascinating, self-propelling, and definitive history of the building."
- Booklist
"John Tauranac's Essential New York and marvelous Elegant New York were overtures to this masterpiece of architectural and city history. Like a great novel, The Empire State Building: The Making of a Landmark is a complex and fascinating tale of men inspired by titanic visions of planning, financing, designing, and erecting this icon of New York."
- The New York Chronicle
"Mr. Tauranac knows the architecture and buildings of New York as few do. He takes us through the story of the skyscraper as a form, the zoning that emerged to control the tall buildings, the real-estate boom of the 20's, the history of the site, the careers of John J. Raskob and Al Smith and the architects and builders who designed and erected the building, and the building's subsequent career."
Nathan Glazer, The New York Times Book Review
"The title of this book suggests that it is about an extraordinary building, but that suggestion is as modest as the promise of a bologna sandwich and decaf for lunch when, in fact, one will be served an eight-course meal with a bottle of 1949 Chateau Lafite."
- Roger Starr, Book News (Citizens Housing and Planning Council of New York)
"This is a grand book about a grand building, but it is an even better book about New York City real estate and about the art of building skyscrapers. Indeed, it is probably the best general introduction to the city's development process available."
- Carter Horsley, Home Page of The City Review
"This year's assortment of architecture books is one of the finest in recent memory.... Starting at the top, almost literally, The Empire State Building: The Making of a Landmark, is a methodically researched, richly informative account of the raising of the world's most famous skyscraper."
- The Chicago Tribune
"Tauranac has written an informative and exciting biography of Manhattan's most famous building."
- Publishers Weekly