City: A Guidebook for the Urban Age (Hardback) By (author) P D Smith

Full bibliographic data for City

Title

City

Subtitle

A Guidebook for the Urban Age

Authors and contributors

By (author) P D Smith

Physical properties

Format: Hardback
Number of pages: 400
Width: 182 mm
Height: 240 mm
Thickness: 38 mm
Weight: 1,197 g

Audience

General/trade

Language

English

ISBN

ISBN 13: 9781608196760
ISBN 10: 1608196763

Classifications

BISAC category code: TRV000000
Dewey: 307.76
BISAC category code: SOC026030
Nielsen BookScan Product Class: S3.2
Dewey: 307.76
BISAC category code: SOC041000

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Imprint name

Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Publication date

19 June 2012

Publication City/Country

New York, NY/US

Review quote

Named to "Best Non-Fiction 2012" list, "Kirkus Reviews" One of the "Best Books of 2012" ("Financial Times") "Half a century ago, Lewis Mumford published "The City in History," a hugely influential and in some ways controversial book that has been the Bible for students and lovers of city life. But that was half a century ago, and around the world the cityscape has undergone enormous changes. A new look at this great subject has for some time been needed, and in "City: A Guidebook for the Urban Age," P.D. Smith provides it. A British scholar connected to University College London, Smith is less philosophical and more empirical than Mumford, but if anything this is welcome, as "City" is wholly accessible to the serious general reader."--Jonathan Yardley, "Washington Post""[A] richly packed, colourful and well-written primer on the role the city plays in our lives."--"Guardian" (UK)"It's a wonderful book: BldgBlog meets Italo Calvino. Gorgeous, smart, fun, and full of surprises, like wandering all the world's great cities at once　... Irresistible"--David Dobbs, Wired.com "The book...is a rich kaleidoscope celebrating urban life in all its aspects ... consistently well-written and researched - and impressively eclectic ... a hugely enjoyable read and an inspiring vision to aim for."--"The Spectator" (UK)"The result is a sort of high-quality, unusually rigorous coffee-table book, designed to be dipped into rather than read from beginning to end ... Mr. Smith's book serves as an excellent introduction to a vast subject."--"Economist" "Effortlessly flitting from the surprisingly modern grid plans of ancient Chinese cities to the hauntingly timeless-looking ruins of contemporary Detroit, "City" represents a pain-free - in fact, joyful - survey course on nine millennia (at least) of urban history."--Taras Grescoe, "Globe and Mail" (Toronto) "Smith is an engaging and curious docent to the museum of urban history"--"Irish Times""An energetic trib

Main description

For the first time in the history of our planet, more than half the population-3.3 billion people-is now living in cities. City 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.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.

Biographical note

P. D. Smith is an independent researcher and writer. He has taught at University College London where he is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Science and Technology Studies Department and has contributed to the "Guardian "and writes for other publications including "The Times," "Independent "and the "Times Literary Supplement" and regularly contributes to the acclaimed website "3 Quarks Daily." His books include "Doomsday Men: The Real Dr Strangelove and the Dream of the Superweapon." Author's website: www.peterdsmith.com