The Great Cities in History
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Hardcover Book, 304 pages
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New (1 Copy). BRAND NEW HARDBACK 304 pages. From the origins of urbanization in mesopotamia to the global metropolises of today, great cities have marked the development of human civilization. this book tells their stories, from uruk and memphis to tokyo and sao paulo. 290 illustrations, 244 in colour (Hardback)
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New (397 Copies). New. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 304 p.
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New (45 Copies). NEW Hardcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780500251546.
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Product Description
A portrait of world civilization told through the stories of the world's greatest cities from ancient times to the present. Today, for the first time in history, the majority of people in the world live in cities. The implications and challenges associated with this fact are enormous. But how did we get here?
From the origins of urbanization in Mesopotamia to the global metropolises of today, great cities have marked the development of human civilization. The Great Cities in History tells their stories, starting with the earliest, from Uruk and Memphis to Jerusalem and Alexandria. Next come the fabulous cities of the first millennium: Damascus and Baghdad, Teotihuacan and Tikal, and Chang’an, capital of Tang Dynasty China. The medieval world saw the rise of powerful cities such as Palermo and Paris in Europe, Benin in Africa, and Angkor in southeast Asia. The last two sections bring us from the early modern world, with Isfahan, Agra, and Amsterdam, to the contemporary city: London and New York, Tokyo and Barcelona, Los Angeles and São Paulo.
The distinguished contributors, including Jan Morris, Michael D. Coe, Simon Schama, Orlando Figes, Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Misha Glenny, Susan Toby Evans, and A. N. Wilson, evoke the character of each place—people, art and architecture, government—and explain the reasons for its success. 280 color, 50 b&w illustrations.
Product Details
- Media: Hardcover Book, 304 pages
- Publisher: Thames & Hudson (November 02, 2009)
- ISBN-10: 0500251541
- ISBN-13: 9780500251546
- Dimensions: 8.2 x 10.5 x 1.3 inches
- Shipping Weight: 3.25 lbs
- Note: Some of this information came from Amazon.com
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Customer Reviews
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Metropolitan riches beyond measure Nov 5, 2009 (5 of 5 found this helpful)
This wonderful book is almost impossible to review fairly, especially in view of the outstanding review by Tunku Varadarajan in "The Wall Street Journal" [link to free article in first Comment]. The list of cities is so interesting, the various authors so talented and informative, the overall approach so encompassing, that one can merely suggest a personal approach that others may find useful. [I've included a list of the contents, cities and writers, in the first Comment to help you decide if the approach makes sense for you.]
John Julius Norwich edited this book and after outlining the shape of cities in various historic periods in his Introduction, describes the parameters of the various contributions:
"This book can indeed be seen as a work of history, for those who prefer to read it in such a light; but it is also about art and architecture, about trade and commerce, about travel and exploration, about economics and planning. Above all it is about people: how they work and play, how they worship; and how, over the centuries, they have tackled that greatest of all social problems: how to live together in close proximity, yet also in harmony and concord."
Reading through the table of contents is like taking a magic carpet trip over time and space, alighting to find an excellent guide to enlight and delight. For example, alight with Colin Thubron as seen by Tunku Varadarajan in Samarkand:
"In the 14th century, in Samarkand --- the great city 'farthest from any ocean,' essayist Colin Thubron notes of the Central Asian metropolis --- Tamerlane put Indian jewelers, Anatolian gunsmiths, Turco-Mongol soldiers and a Persian bureaucracy to work on his municipal project. The city became a peerless brain trust, a concentration of artistic and scientific accomplishment. It was later rhapsodized over by the likes of Goethe and Keats as 'the center of the universe,' 'the garden of the soul' and 'the mirror of the world.'"
Bettany Hughes guides the reader through Athens in the Classic Age: "Athens in 500BC, the Golden Age of the city, was a riot of colour. Marble statues were painted harlequin bright; young aristocratic men -- the It-boys of their day -- tied gaudy ribbons around their oiled muscles; prostitutes worked day and night under exotically dyed awnings; and saffron was sold in the Agora."
Each essay delivers an interesting view of the city in question, but serves as a launching pad for additional resources on each city and best of all to the essay writers themselves. I discovered that Hughes, for example, has written Helen of Troy: The Story Behind the Most Beautiful Woman in the World, a fascinating history of the real person who may have started a great war.
You'll find your own way through the riches here. But if you have any interest in cities, their histories and cultures, this is a great book to continue your journeys.
Robert C. Ross 2009