It might just as well have been titled "Daniel Libeskind: Taking Shots." 

A newly published memoir by the internationally known architect  interweaves personal history with descriptions of his projects,  including the $90.5 million Denver Art Museum addition. 

But much attention surrounding the book, titled "Daniel Libeskind:  Breaking Ground," has focused on his blunt critiques, especially of some  of his architectural peers. 

A chief target is David Childs, a collaborator on the World Trade Center  reconstruction. 

"This profession is ruthless," Libeskind said, laughing. "It's not just  nice architects with nice ties and good shirts. There's cruelty behind  the scenes. 

"There's people ready to kill each other, to stab each other in the  heart. And coming from the Bronx, as I did, you have to have a thick skin." 

Libeskind discussed his "very forthright" book and the reaction to it  during an interview before a book-signing Thursday evening at the LoDo  branch of the Tattered Cover Book Store. 

He is on a promotional tour primarily taking him to cities where he has  projects underway or completed. 

Besides Denver, these have included New York City, San Francisco and  Toronto, and he has a stop scheduled in Hong Kong. 

Libeskind said he decided to write a memoir now because of the many  questions he gets from the public about how he comes up with his ideas  or how he was chosen to oversee the architectural master plan for ground  zero at the Trade Center. 

"It's not a retrospective book," he said. "It's a cross-section of  what's happening. It's not about looking backward at yourself. It's  really about the action of architecture and what architecture  contributes to life. 

"For a lot of people, architecture is a very abstract thing done by  somebody somewhere. I wanted to tell a very personal story." 

Part of that, he said, was revealing some of the behind- the-scenes  drama, which is an inevitable part of getting a building completed. 

"There are always struggles, whether it's ground zero with these huge,  powerful forces or any building. You meet the villains, and you meet the  heroes. It's like life itself."