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Title: The Architectural Historian's Bible
Review: I am a professional architectural historian and this is the guide that all my colleagues and I use on a daily basis. It's commonly and affectionately referred to as simply "McAlester". I am obsessive about architectural style terminology and though I have been known to ask "If McAlester jumped off a bridge, would you?" (to colleagues who think this book is the end-all be-all of terminology), I do think it is a highly comprehensive and accurate book. My only complaint is that it has such a nation-wide focus, and tends to favor the East Coast. It overlooks many regional and temporal differences of the West Coast (where I work) and so I am sometimes forced to do a little interpretation. (Also, I wish the McAlesters would write a guide to commercial styles.) All in all though, this is one of the best guides out there. I would also recommend Lester Walker's "American Shelter" and John Milnes Baker's "American House Styles".
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