Alan Balfour writes on the cultural imagination from the evidence in the forms of architecture and the city. His most recent book The Walls of Jerusalem: Preserving the Past Controlling the Future (Wiley-Blackwell, 2019) is an examination of the many forces that shaped the modern State of Israel. The book is sequel to Solomon’s Temple, Myth, Conflict and Faith, also published by Wiley- Blackwell in 2012), which studies the constructive and destructive power of faith played out in the myths and realities of Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Among his previous works are books on Berlin, New York and Shanghai. His two books on Berlin have won international awards. Educated at Edinburgh and Princeton, he has led several schools of architecture in the US and was formerly chairman of the Architectural Association in London. Balfour was the year 2000 recipient of the Topaz Medal, the highest recognition given in North America to an educator in architecture.