Ron Thom was an enigma in Canadian architecture. Best known in the West as a major influence in the development of the West Coast style of residential architecture, he is best known in the East as the master designer of innovative institutional architecture, including Massey College, Trent University, and the Toronto Zoo.

In this biographical analysis of the architect and his work, set against the broader trends of postwar Canadian society, Douglas Shadbolt makes clear the major influences and personality traits which shaped Thom's development.

Throughout, Shadbolt reveals how Thom's personal demons both impelled and inhibited his growth as an architect, and his ability to adapt and survive within the changing context of modern real estate development.

Illustrated with more than 125 black-and-white photographs and drawings, Ron Thom gives proper credit to the work of one of Canada's most subtly influential postwar architects.

Douglas Shadbolt is an architect and retired professor of architecture. He taught at McGill University and the University of Oregon, was the founding director of the schools of architecture at Nova Scotia Technical College and Carleton University in Ottawa, and served as Director of the School of Architecture at the University of British Columbia.

Douglas Shadbolt's profile page