Book description
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The urban explorer will revel in essays on downtowns, suburbs,
shantytowns and favelas, graffiti, skylines, crime, the theater, street
food, sport, eco-cities, and sacred sites, as well as mini essays on the
Tower of Babel, flash mobs, ghettos, skateboarding, and SimCity, among
many others. Drawing on a vast range of examples from across the world
and throughout history, City
is extensively illustrated with full-color photographs, maps, and other
images. Acclaimed author and independent scholar P. D. Smith explores
what it was like to live in the first cities, how they have evolved, and
why in the future, cities will play an even greater role in human life.
I> is the ultimate guidebook to our urban centers-the signature unit
of human civilization. With erudite prose and carefully chosen
illustrations, this unique work of metatourism explores what cities are
and how they work. It covers history, customs and language, districts,
transport, money, work, shops and markets, and tourist sites, creating a
fantastically detailed portrait of the city through history and into the
future.City< PRAISE FOR 'DOOMSDAY MEN' 'Weaving together biography,
science and art, Smith has created a compelling history of physics in
the 20th century ... Smith's dynamic, riveting narrative reveals details
of people, places and events that are rarely covered in textbooks,
bringing to life not just scientists like Robert Oppenheimer and Leo
Szilard, but the horrors of chemical and atomic warfare ... Captivating
and thoroughly referenced.' 'Superb ... The research is impressive, but
it's his eye for revealing anecdotes and his ability to distil it all
into lively prose that makes this a real pleasure to read.' 'Always
readable and entertaining' >
The urban explorer will revel in essays on downtowns, suburbs,
shantytowns and favelas, graffiti, skylines, crime, the theater, street
food, sport, eco-cities, and sacred sites, as well as mini essays on the
Tower of Babel, flash mobs, ghettos, skateboarding, and SimCity, among
many others. Drawing on a vast range of examples from across the world
and throughout history, City
is extensively illustrated with full-color photographs, maps, and other
images. Acclaimed author and independent scholar P. D. Smith explores
what it was like to live in the first cities, how they have evolved, and
why in the future, cities will play an even greater role in human life.
I> is the ultimate guidebook to our urban centers-the signature unit
of human civilization. With erudite prose and carefully chosen
illustrations, this unique work of metatourism explores what cities are
and how they work. It covers history, customs and language, districts,
transport, money, work, shops and markets, and tourist sites, creating a
fantastically detailed portrait of the city through history and into the
future.City<
