The cover of Phoenix: 21st Century City invites the viewer to fly into the Valley of the Sun: PHX is printed in large letters against a blue sky and a plane is visible at a distance. One’s introduction to Phoenix continues inside the cover with a series of boldly cropped photographs of upscale shopping centers, car dealerships, desert cacti, hipster skateboarders in front of the futuristic Sandra Day O’Connor Federal Courthouse, and classic 1960s neon signs advertising laundromats, car dealerships, and florists. The photographs are linked together by swooping, aerodynamic white lines. The bold layout continues inside. The two-page foreword by Edward Booth-Clibborn, the book’s author and publisher, is printed against a blue sky with a plane flying over the tops of palm trees and utility wires, while Nan Ellin’s introduction is set against panoramic views of downtown Phoenix, interstate ramps, and more cacti. The book’s imaginative layout and photographs immediately set the reader in a Phoenix state of mind and foreshadow the variety of artworks in the ensuing pages. Flying into Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), one is invariably struck by the sheer expanse of the city, covering 515 square miles, an area larger than Los Angeles. The...