In 1935, Le Corbusier visited the United States for the first time at the invitation of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. A unique account of this trip formed the basis of this book, first published in French in 1937 and translated into English after the war, in 1946. The great innovator could not help but admire New York's skyscrapers and America's rapid industrial development in the 20th century. The elevators, driveways, subways, verticals, and horizontals of Manhattan aroused his keen interest. Le Corbusier was inspired by the rhythm of New York, its new music (Armstrong's hot jazz), and its new sociality. In his poetic account, he first articulated the idea of ​​the vertical city, which a century later would be developed by another architect enamored with the Big Apple, Rem Koolhaas. America reminds Le Corbusier of the formative years of Europe, a time when technological and social progress were inseparable, when cathedrals were white and the most advanced buildings of their time. His only criticism of the 'nation of athletes' is that Americans are indecisive people who have not kept up with technological advances in their aspirations, because skyscrapers could be taller.