Description |
293 pages : frontispiece, illustrations, maps, portraits, photographs ; 24 cm |
Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Summary |
Six thousand years ago, there were no cities on the planet. Today, more than half of the world's population lives in urban areas, and that number is growing. Weaving together archeology, history, and contemporary observations, Monica Smith explains the rise of the first urban developments and their connection to our own. She takes readers on a journey through the ancient world of Tell Brak in modern-day Syria; Teotihuacan and Tenochtitlan in Mexico; her own digs in India; as well as the more well-known Pompeii, Rome, and Athens. Along the way, she presents the unique properties that made cities singularly responsible for the flowering of humankind: the development of networked infrastructure, the rise of an entrepreneurial middle class, and the culture of consumption that results in everything from take-out food to the tell-tale secrets of trash. |
Subject(S) |
Cities and towns -- History.
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History.
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ISBN |
9780735223677 (hardcover) |
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073522367X (hardcover) |
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