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Ten Cities That Led the World

From Ancient Metropolis to Modern Megacity

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Ten Cities That Led the World

By: Paul Strathern
Narrated by: Elliot Fitzpatrick
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About this listen

Great cities are complex, chaotic and colossal. These are cities that dominate the world stage and define eras; where ideas flourish, revolutions are born and history is made.

Through 10 unique cities, from the founding of ancient capitals to buzzing modern megacities, Paul Strathern explores how urban centres lead civilisation forward, enjoying a moment of glory before passing on the baton.

We journey back to discover Babylonian mathematics, Athenian theatre and intellectual debate, and Roman construction that has lasted millennia. We see Constantinople evolve into Istanbul, revolutionary sparks fly in Enlightenment Paris, and the railways, canals and ships that built Imperial London. In Moscow men build spaceships while other men starve, New York's skyscrapers rise up to a soundtrack of jazz, Mumbai becomes home to immense wealth and poverty, and Beijing's economic transformation leads the way.

Each city has its own distinct personality, and Ten Cities That Led the World brings their rich and diverse histories to life, reminding us of the foundations we have built on and how our futures will be shaped.

©2022 Paul Strathern (P)2022 Hodder & Stoughton Limited Ancient Civilization Sociology Urban World Socialism Ancient History Capitalism
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The book wasn't what I was hoping for. there's very little in there about the cities themselves. it's mainly a general history of their civilizations. for example, the chapter on Athens is mainly focused on Greek philosopher and thinking. the city itself is barely mentioned. as such, there's nothing to distinguish the book from many other "short history of civilization" titles.

lacking focus

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I had high expectations of this book, but perhaps that was misguided. I had imagined something more thorough, going through the history of these cities in depth, explaining the source of their influence on the world, their reasons for being, and perhaps their legacy. I got none of that, but rather just a an anthology of interesting people and events more or less losely connected to these cities. So in the chapter on Moscow you get a long section on the subway station, describing it's grand opening and its chandeliers but somehow all history prior to communism is omitted. The history of Beijing seems to begin with the arrival of the British. Mumbai is just the story of a number of fraudulent billionaires. And so on.

A shallow collection of random facts on 10 cities

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