Book excerpt: "This volume presents this master architect in a profoundly personal manner, touching on the influences he gathered in the gardens and cities of his native China, his studies under the great masters of modernism at America's most prestigious universities, and his ascent to the top of his profession in the United States and internationally. Complete with a colorplate section showing Pei's works, a selection of his drawings, and a catalog of his oeuvre, this volume offers a view of a truly extraordinary man. Conversations with I. M. Pei: Light is the Key is as valuable a resource for the general reader as it is for architects and students."--BOOK JACKET.