Cyril Harris’s name is best known to the general public for the outstanding concert halls he has designed. But his impact on reduction of noise and vibration through the application of established fundamental engineering design principles is far greater through the work of others who have benefited from the books (and particularly handbooks) he has written and edited. His first book, co-authored with Vern Knudsen, Acoustical Design in Architecture, was published over a half-century ago. It was the first milestone on a continuing quest to explain the physics and engineering of acoustics, as well as noise and vibration control, to those who are responsible for the design of habitable structures. [See the excellent review in J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 22, 521 (1950).] To expand the utility of this approach, Professor Harris assembled and regularly revised two comprehensive compilations: the Shock and Vibration Handbook (now in its fourth edition) and the Handbook of Acoustical Measurements and Noise Control (now in its third edition and available from ASA). Those handbooks make the application and the evaluation of required techniques accessible to the entire community of noise control engineers and architects. The presentation will also briefly describe his books on architecture and architectural history.