Recently launched by Adams Bookshops, A Guide to the Architecture of Durban and Pietermaritzburg by noted architectural historian Dennis Radford is a handsome pocket guide to the major buildings of the two cities and is the first of its kind available.

Covering about 250 buildings of all styles from the grand Edwardian city halls and stylish Art Deco apartments on the Berea to gleaming office blocks and community libraries in the townships, the book provides a way-in to the wealth of buildings that can be found in the two major cities of KZN.

To assist the tourist and local enthusiast in appreciating the buildings on the spot, there are colour photographs throughout as well as some original ground plans and architects drawings, short descriptions of the major buildings and useful maps.

This guide can be used to plot one's own guided tour through parts of the cities and discover and identify the buildings along the way.

Now Head of Dept at De Montfort University in Leicester, UK, Dennis Radford was formerly the Head of the School of Architecture at the University of Natal Durban.