In this volume, John A Walker makes a study of the intellectual dicipline of design histroy and the issues that confront scholars writing histories of design. Walker uses an approach derived from a range of related fields to discuss the problems of defining design and writing history. He considers the different methods that leading scholars have employed in the absence of a theoritical framework, and looks critically at a number of histories of design and architecture. This text is an essential overview as well as a theoritical critique for all students of design history.