Walls: The Long History of Human Barriers and Why We Build Them

by Gregor Craigie, Arden Taylor (Illustrator)

Building walls that separate us from others is as old as humanity. People have built walls to keep others out for thousands of years, from the Great Wall of China to Hadrian's Wall to security fences along the US-Mexico border. But did you know they've also been built to keep people in, to grow food, to control nature and to collect taxes? Sometimes they've helped people and kept communities safe, but they've also created inequity and done more harm than good. Why do we have walls at all? the Long History of Human Barriers and Why We Build Them explores the many reasons humanity has put up walls over the course of our history, and why we continue building them today.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction

88 pages, Hardcover

Published March 12, 2024

Reviews

[Wunderdrugged · Rating 5 out of 5]

This title is nominated for the 2026 Hackmatack Award in the English non-fiction category. On the surface it might seem like strange idea to write an entire book about the history of walls, but with every page turned I found myself getting more and more drawn in! As someone who really enjoys history, I was surprised that I hadn't heard of many (most?) of these walls. Quite a reminder that our worldviews are largely shaped by the people & places that we are familiar with. I found the discussions of various African civilizations particularly interesting. Growing up as I did in the 80s and 90s in rural Canada we were led to believe that Africa didn't really have 'civilized' places and thus my knowledge of such things is woefully little.
I really liked the way that the book was organized into ten short & simple chapters that followed a clear format and explained then basic reasons why the walls were built. The table of contents lays it out very clearly. Each chapter introduces the concept, for example 'to keep people out', 'to keep people in' and so on. Then there are a few walls introduced with their stats (built / length / height / materials) and an overview of the history of each. The book concludes by posing the idea that humanity might be better off if we spent more time & energy building bridges as opposed to walls, which is a pretty interesting jumping off point for a class discussion about barriers to inclusivity.
If I wasn't already a fan of this title, the glossary, index, AND list of suggested resources would have sealed the deal. I have one more title to read in this category, but I think this one MIGHT be getting my vote! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys history, kids who enjoy collecting facts and statistics, kids who love history, or anyone with an attention span that can only handle short, easily digestible chapters.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

What could have been an excruciating apologia for the woke pro-migrant world view actually proves to be something else. Sure, the book does seem to side on certain walls as not being welcome – Trump's patches of barrier with Mexico, the Hungarian anti-immigrant fences, and anything Hamas has to actually paraglide over – but we don't get too much politics here. Instead we get the whole gamut of walls, from walled cities like Dubrovnik (wot no Game of Thrones reference?!) to rabbit-proof fences that seldom were, well, rabbit-proof, to Jericho, China and other enclosed spaces. Walls keep some people in, some people out, and lots of people taxed if the builders see fit. And while I wouldn't say each and every school needs to drain the moat, lower the drawbridge and let this in, there is hardly a rash of books on this subject, lightly touching on history and engineering as it does, so this gets an easy four stars.

[Katie Hutchison Irion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walls: The Long History of Human Barries and Why We Build Them by Gregor Craigie and Arden Taylor is a nonfiction picture book that a little older reader will just eat up. It is so informative while being accessible. The entire book is about different types of walls that humans build and highlights different walls around the world. It answers the “why” and the “what” of wall building. I know you never thought you’d need this information but I will be the first to say I thought this book was not for me and then I was completely engrossed. I liked learning about ancient walls and the purpose they were built. There is a section devoted to the Waraw Ghetto Wall, Berlin Wall and other structures that have been built to keep people in or to keep people out. I honestly learned a ton while reading this.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept for this book is really cool. I enjoyed reading it and learned a lot. I may even check it out again to reference certain walls mentioned. However, I have some issues with the book.

First, this is not a book that would be engaging to most people, especially children. He references so many people and places that, unless you have a very broad knowledge base, you would have a hard time following. Including a map for each wall would have been helpful at the very least.

Second, I did not like the illustration style. They did not connect me to the wall or give much context. Photos, please!

[Janna Odenthal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who would have thought that a topic such as Walls could capture my attention. Quite interesting, and made me start asking questions about other things as well. Kudos to the author for successfully braving this unique topic.

[BiblioBrandie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and its thematic approach to understanding the reasons behind barriers and walls. I will definitely use this in school, but I'm not sure if it'll grab students' attention.