What do you think?
Rate this book
Metropolis: Mapping the City
How the city was imagined in maps from ancient times to the present day.
The a place of hopes and dreams, destruction and conflict, vision and order. The first city atlas, the Civitates Orbis Terrarum , was published by Georg Braun and Franz Hogenburg in 1572. For the first time, one could travel the streets of a city without leaving his or her armchair. Since then, our fascination with foreign cities has not abated. This sumptuous volume looks at the development of the mapping and the representation of cities, revealing how we organize urban space.
From skyline profiles, bird's-eye views, and panoramas to the schematic maps of transport networks and road layouts to help us navigate, and statistical maps that can provide information on human aspirations, cities can reveal themselves in many ways. Focusing on key points in the development of urban representation and including retrofutristic visions of how we would be living today, this enlightening book illustrates some of the oldest, youngest, liveliest, and most contested cities in the world.
Extended captions explain the relevance and elegance of each map, as well as the logic between its purpose and design. For anyone interested in the city in which he or she lives or with the desire to explore the history and culture of a metropolis overseas, this book is an enlightening companion.
The a place of hopes and dreams, destruction and conflict, vision and order. The first city atlas, the Civitates Orbis Terrarum , was published by Georg Braun and Franz Hogenburg in 1572. For the first time, one could travel the streets of a city without leaving his or her armchair. Since then, our fascination with foreign cities has not abated. This sumptuous volume looks at the development of the mapping and the representation of cities, revealing how we organize urban space.
From skyline profiles, bird's-eye views, and panoramas to the schematic maps of transport networks and road layouts to help us navigate, and statistical maps that can provide information on human aspirations, cities can reveal themselves in many ways. Focusing on key points in the development of urban representation and including retrofutristic visions of how we would be living today, this enlightening book illustrates some of the oldest, youngest, liveliest, and most contested cities in the world.
Extended captions explain the relevance and elegance of each map, as well as the logic between its purpose and design. For anyone interested in the city in which he or she lives or with the desire to explore the history and culture of a metropolis overseas, this book is an enlightening companion.
- GenresNonfictionMaps
224 pages, Hardcover
First published October 13, 2015
4 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Jeremy Black
432 books197 followersJeremy Black is an English historian, who was formerly a professor of history at the University of Exeter. He is a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of America and the West at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US.
Black is the author of over 180 books, principally but not exclusively on 18th-century British politics and international relations, and has been described by one commentator as "the most prolific historical scholar of our age". He has published on military and political history, including Warfare in the Western World, 1882–1975 (2001) and The World in the Twentieth Century (2002).
Black is the author of over 180 books, principally but not exclusively on 18th-century British politics and international relations, and has been described by one commentator as "the most prolific historical scholar of our age". He has published on military and political history, including Warfare in the Western World, 1882–1975 (2001) and The World in the Twentieth Century (2002).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 23, 2019
4.5/5
I recommend this beautiful book to anyone interested in architecture, urbanism and history. It manages to present a pretty holistic view on cities East to West, from Antiquity to the present. There are not only historical maps detailing topography and monuments, but also maps dealing with various other subjects: religion, tourism, railways, density of population, poor vs. rich neighborhoods, utopic cities, conceptual urban development etc.
I wish there were a bit more case studies with specific cities and their development throughout major epochs, as well as more thought-challenging maps visualizing how technology is changing contemporary cities.
Other than that, this is an excellent visual aid and a pretty useful tool to see how specific cultures developed thanks to trade, industry, infrastructure and so on. Lots of maps of harbor cities included.
I recommend this beautiful book to anyone interested in architecture, urbanism and history. It manages to present a pretty holistic view on cities East to West, from Antiquity to the present. There are not only historical maps detailing topography and monuments, but also maps dealing with various other subjects: religion, tourism, railways, density of population, poor vs. rich neighborhoods, utopic cities, conceptual urban development etc.
I wish there were a bit more case studies with specific cities and their development throughout major epochs, as well as more thought-challenging maps visualizing how technology is changing contemporary cities.
Other than that, this is an excellent visual aid and a pretty useful tool to see how specific cultures developed thanks to trade, industry, infrastructure and so on. Lots of maps of harbor cities included.
November 27, 2021
One of the better coffee table map books I’ve read. Interesting balance between cities east and west, though the Southern Hemisphere is poorly served, I assume because of its focus on big cities. The chapters are terse, and some paragraphs pack a lot in a small amount of dry academic text. Sadly the book lacks a section for further reading. Not all maps are reproduced with adequate quality.
July 4, 2025
各式地圖，好看！ 從不同年代的地圖去看人類對當下與未來的想像～
January 9, 2016
Some of the maps in this book are truly fascinating, but the accompanying text unfortunately, is often mind-numbingly dull and often repetitive.
Also for a book that harps on about the major sites of map making often being in London and Amsterdam there are very few more modern-era maps of European cities. Whilst African cities barely feature at all.
Also for a book that harps on about the major sites of map making often being in London and Amsterdam there are very few more modern-era maps of European cities. Whilst African cities barely feature at all.
December 2, 2015
Well written and well presented this atlas is on several best books list (see Booklist) and should be. It is amazing.
Read
May 13, 2016307.76 B6275 2015
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews