Oak Park and River Forest are a mecca for Wright scholars and enthusiasts. Nowhere else can one visit so many Frank Lloyd Wright buildings and experience the architect's Prairie-style philosophy so fully. Hometown Architect: The Complete Buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright in Oak Park and River Forest, Illinois is a thorough chronicle of that experience. Even if you have not had the good fortune to see these houses firsthand, the textual and photographic tours comprising this book will make you feel as though you have.

The book presents 27 Wright homes, and Unity Temple, documenting one of the architect's most influential periods of his career. The last chapter surveys eight “lost, altered, and possibly Wright” homes. The photographs are accompanied by descriptive captions, while introductory text to each chapter details the story behind each commission, addressing Wright's relationships with his clients, the importance of each building in Wright’s oeuvre, and the characteristics that make each house unique. The endpapers of this book feature a map locating all the sites discussed.