[PDF] The Great Cities In History eBook

Author : John Julius Norwich
Publisher : Thames & Hudson
Page : 466 pages
File Size : 17,74 MB
Release : 2016-07-21
Category : History
ISBN : 0500773580

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A work of history, but also about art and architecture, trade and commerce, travel and exploration, economics and politics, this is above all a book about people and how, over the millennia, they have managed to live closely together. From the origins of urbanization in Mesopotamia to the global metropolises of today, great cities have marked the development of humankind Babylon and Nineveh, Athens and Rome, Istanbul and Venice, Timbuktu and Samarkand, their very names are redolent both of history and romance. The Great Cities in History tells their story from early Uruk and Thebes to Jerusalem and Alexandria. Then the fabulous cities of the first millennium: Damascus and Baghdad in the days of the Caliphates, Teotihuacan and Maya Tikal in Central America, and Changan, capital of Tang Dynasty China. The medieval world saw the rise of powerful cities: Palermo and Paris in Europe, Benin in Africa and Angkor of the Khmer. In the early modern world, we journey to Islamic Isfahan and Agra, and Prague and Amsterdam in their heyday, before arriving at the phenomenon of the contemporary mega-city: London and New York, Tokyo and Barcelona, Los Angeles and São Paulo. A galaxy of more than fifty distinguished authors, including Jan Morris, Colin Thubron, Simon Schama, Orlando Figes, Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Misha Glenny, Adam Zamoyski and A. N. Wilson, evoke the character of each place and explain the reasons for its success, seeing what each city would have been like during its golden age.

Author : Andrew Lees
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 161 pages
File Size : 27,4 MB
Release : 2015
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 019985954X

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The City: A World History depicts the rise of urban centers from the middle of the fourth century BCE to the early twenty-first century. It begins in the ancient Near East, and traces urban growth and its effects throughout Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Author : DK
Publisher : Dorling Kindersley Ltd
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 42,27 MB
Release : 2021-08-26
Category : History
ISBN : 0241546109

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Delve into the social and cultural history of 100 of the world's most important cities. From the first towns in Mesopotamia to today's global metropolises, cities have marked the progress of civilization. Written in the form of illustrated "biographies", Great Cities offers a rich historical overview of each featured city, brought to vivid life with paintings, photographs, timelines, maps, and artefacts. The latest title in the series style of Artists, Writers, Philosophers, and Composers, this lavish ebook goes under the skin of cities both ancient and modern - from Persepolis and Tikal, Paris and Vienna to Prague, Amsterdam, Tokyo, and Dubai. Which ancient civilization founded the precursor to Mexico City? Why was Venice the gateway to the East? What was the Belle Epoque? Which was the first city to build sewers? Great Cities takes you there, and tells you all this and more. Stunning images of city life and key moments in history are complemented by close-ups of revealing details and feature panels that provide additional context. An ebook not just about history but also about art, architecture, commerce, and politics, Great Cities provides a fascinating insight into what has shaped the places where we live. Perfect for history, geography, and arts enthusiasts and a stunning gift for armchair explorers of all ages, it is your window into the world's most fascinating cities.

Author : Anthony M. Tung
Publisher : Three Rivers Press
Page : 520 pages
File Size : 45,27 MB
Release : 2001
Category : Architecture
ISBN :

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Both epic and intimate, this is the story of the fight to save the world’s architectural and cultural heritage as it is embodied in the extraordinary buildings and urban spaces of the great cities of Asia, the Americas, and Europe. Never before have the complexities and dramas of urban preservation been as keenly documented as inPreserving the World’s Great Cities. In researching this important work, Anthony Tung traveled throughout the world to visit remarkable buildings and districts in China, Italy, Greece, the U.S., Japan, and elsewhere. Everywhere he found both the devastating legacy of war, economics, and indifference and the accomplishments of people who have worked and sometimes risked their lives to preserve and renew the most meaningful urban expressions of the human spirit. From Singapore’s blind rush to become the most modern city of the East to Warsaw’s poignant and heroic effort to resurrect itself from the Nazis’ systematic campaign of physical and cultural obliteration, from New York and Rome to Kyoto and Cairo, we see the city as an expression of the best and worst within us. This is essential reading for fans of Jane Jacobs and Witold Rybczynski and everyone who is concerned about urban preservation.

Author : John Julius Norwich
Publisher : Thames & Hudson
Page : 562 pages
File Size : 20,24 MB
Release : 2016-08-02
Category : History
ISBN : 0500773599

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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 Sao 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.

Author : DK
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 23,69 MB
Release : 2021-08-31
Category : History
ISBN : 0744053889

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Explore the social and cultural history of 100 of the world’s most important cities. This illustrated history book provides a fascinating insight into the events, movements, and people throughout history who have shaped the cities where we live. Written in a “biography” format, it offers a rich historical overview of each featured city, brought to vivid life with beautiful imagery. Inside the pages of this visual guide, discover: • The story behind each city — how it was established, critical moments in its development and why it is considered historically significant. • The different types of cities, from the centers of ancient and lost civilizations and great river cities to planned cities and modern metropolises. • Beautiful illustrations with large-scale reproductions of paintings, photographs, maps and other artifacts. • Stunning images of city life and key moments in history are complemented by close-ups of revealing details and feature panels that provide additional context. From the ancient to the modern, get under the skin of what made cities like Persepolis, Paris, Vienna, Prague, Amsterdam, Tokyo and Dubai tick. This lavish book is about more than history — it explores the art, architecture, commerce and politics of the great civilizations throughout history. Great Cities provides a unique window into how cities have become markers of human progress. Explore which ancient civilization founded the precursor to Mexico City, why Venice was the gateway to the East, what the Belle Epoque was and which city was the first to build sewers. It’s the perfect gift for armchair explorers interested in history, geography and the arts.

Author : John Julius Norwich
Publisher : National Geographic Books
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 35,66 MB
Release : 2022-09-13
Category : History
ISBN : 0500293406

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John Julius Norwich presents a sweeping tour of forty great cities that shaped the ancient world and its civilizations—and which in turn have shaped our own. The cities of the ancient world built the foundations for modern urban life, their innovations in architecture and politics essential to cities as we know them today. But what was it like to live in Babylon, Carthage, or Teotihuacan? From the first cities in Mesopotamia to the spectacular urban monuments of the Maya in Central America, the cities explored in Cities That Shaped the Ancient World represent almost three millennia of human history. Not only do they illustrate the highest achievement of the cultures that built them, but they also help us understand the rise and fall of these ancient peoples. In this new compact paperback, eminent historians and archaeologists with first-hand knowledge of each site give voice to these silent ruins, bringing them to life as the teeming, state-of-the-art metropolises they once were.

Author : Alexander Garvin
Publisher : Island Press
Page : 342 pages
File Size : 26,89 MB
Release : 2016-09-08
Category : Architecture
ISBN : 1610917588

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One of Planetizen's Top Planning Books for 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle's 2016 Holiday Books Gift Guide Pick What makes a great city? City planner and architect Alexander Garvin set out to answer this question by observing cities, largely in North America and Europe, with special attention to Paris, London, New York, and Vienna. For Garvin, greatness is about what people who shape cities can do to make a city great. A great city is a dynamic, constantly changing place that residents and their leaders can reshape to satisfy their demands. Most importantly, it is about the interplay between people and public realm, and how they have interacted throughout history to create great cities. What Makes a Great City will help readers understand that any city can be changed for the better and inspire entrepreneurs, public officials, and city residents to do it themselves.

Author : Greg Clark
Publisher : Brookings Institution Press
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 15,81 MB
Release : 2016-11-29
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0815728921

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Why have some cities become great global urban centers, and what cities will be future leaders? From Athens and Rome in ancient times to New York and Singapore today, a handful of cities have stood out as centers of global economic, military, or political power. In the twenty-first century, the number of truly global cities is greater than ever before, reflecting the globalization of both economic and political power. In Global Cities: A Short History, Greg Clark, an internationally renowned British urbanist, examines the enduring forces—such as trade, migration, war, and technology—that have enabled some cities to emerge from the pack into global leadership. Much more than a historical review, Clark’s book looks to the future, examining the trends that are transforming cities around the world as well as the new challenges all global cities, increasingly, will face. Which cities will be the global leaders of tomorrow? What are the common issues and opportunities they will face? What kinds of leadership can make these cities competitive and resilient? Clark offers answers to these and similar questions in a book that will be of interest to anyone who lives in or is affected by the world’s great urban areas.

Author :
Publisher : Chartwell Books
Page : 259 pages
File Size : 33,98 MB
Release : 2020-06-30
Category : Travel
ISBN : 0785837949

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World's Greatest Cities is an illuminating visual guide to 30 incredible cities around the globe—with annotated 3-D reconstructions and cutaway models that allow you to journey right to the soul of each of them. For thousands of years, cities built by humans have reflected their beliefs, their power, their needs, and their desires. Palaces and prisons, churches and mosques, skyscrapers and suspension bridges are the tracks that history, sometimes glorious, often violent, imprints on these cities. But these cities are also the men and women who inhabit them and who stamp a unique character onto each of them. The spirit of each city is also etched in the daily coming and going of the streets, the hustle and bustle of the markets, and in the unhurried discussions of the cafés. Explore the cities of the world today that leave a lasting impression on those who visit them. These cities offer rich architectural heritage and spectacular natural environments. But above all, they have a vitality that makes them unique. They are cities that know how to grow, transform, and reinvent themselves without losing their essence. Feel the heartbeat of the most vibrant and exciting cities around the globe. Skyscrapers, alongside ancient marvels, are beautifully illustrated and perfectly complement the engaging text that describes the creation and history of these celebrated destinations. Cities dissected are Paris, San Francisco, New York; City, Toronto, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro , London, Barcelona, Rome, Venice, Vienna, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, Prague, Athens, Moscow, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Dubai, Sydney, Auckland, Cairo, Johannesburg, Mumbai, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo and all of their landmark sites.