Georges Edouard Jeannert-Gris became Le Corbusier (Knopf, $45) in 1920 at the age of 33 when he joined with others to found a new magazine. As author Nicholas Fox Weber sees him, Corbusier had colossal self-esteem; at the age of 17, he began designing buildings without any training. The young Swiss left for Paris, where he was influenced by the Modernist movement bursting around him—Lalique the glass maker, Guimard, the designer, and Rodin. Corbusier’s creativity burst forth after the Armistice and his work remained vital into the 1960s. He and Mies van der Rohe were to have the greatest influence on contemporary architecture; this first full-length biography presents his life and work in fluid fashion.