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A Global History
Modern Library Chronicles
Modern Library
April 2005
On Sale: April 5, 2005
256 pages
ISBN: 0679603360
EAN: 9780679603368
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
If humankind can be said to have a single greatest
creation, it would be those places that represent the most
eloquent expression of our species’s ingenuity, beliefs, and
ideals: the city. In this authoritative and engagingly
written account, the acclaimed urbanist and bestselling
author examines the evolution of urban life over the
millennia and, in doing so, attempts to answer the age-old
question: What makes a city great?
Despite their
infinite variety, all cities essentially serve three
purposes: spiritual, political, and economic. Kotkin follows
the progression of the city from the early religious centers
of Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and China to the imperial
centers of the Classical era, through the rise of the
Islamic city and the European commercial capitals, ending
with today’s post-industrial suburban metropolis.
Despite widespread optimistic claims that cities are
“back in style,” Kotkin warns that whatever their form,
cities can thrive only if they remain sacred, safe, and
busy–and this is true for both the increasingly urbanized
developing world and the often self-possessed “global
cities” of the West and East Asia.
Looking at cities
in the twenty-first century, Kotkin discusses the effects of
developments such as shifting demographics and emerging
technologies. He also considers the effects of terrorism–how
the religious and cultural struggles of the present pose the
greatest challenge to the urban future.
Truly global
in scope, The City is a timely narrative that will
place Kotkin in the company of Lewis Mumford, Jane Jacobs,
and other preeminent urban scholars.
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