The City: A Global History (Modern Library Chronicles Series Book 21)

Table of Contents

Praise for
THE CITY

“Provocative . . . Kotkin distills a lifetime of learning into 160 pages. . . . Everyone who loves cities and recognizes in them man’s greatest promise and his greatest challenges will enjoy this book. It belongs on every booster’s required reading list.”

—Richmond Times-Dispatch

“[
The City
] is a bracing book, one whose theses and arguments must be taken seriously and dealt with by anyone who wishes to forecast the urban future, or even describe what is going on today.”

—The New York Sun

“Bold . . . a strategic, accessible narration of urbanism in general from ancient Mesopotamia to the present.”

—Booklist

“Useful . . . a thoughtful survey, of interest to students of urban affairs and of world history alike.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“[
The City
] is a quick ride through fertile territory. . . . The questions Kotkin raises about the future of our civilization, based as it is on a particular form of urban living, deserve deep deliberation.”

—The American Enterprise

“If you want to understand why the future of American and European cities is mixed at best, if you want to understand why George Bush won the 2004 election, you need to read Joel Kotkin’s account of how and why cities have developed and declined.”

—FRED SIEGEL, author of
Prince of the City:
Giuliani, New York, and the Genius of American Life,
senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute

“Unique and powerful insights into urban life . . . This book is a great read.”

—BOB LANIER, mayor of Houston, 1992–1998

Modern Library Chronicles