Four Lost Cities
Book description
In Four Lost Cities, acclaimed science journalist Annalee Newitz takes readers on an entertaining and mind-bending adventure into the deep history of urban life. Investigating across the centuries and around the world, Newitz explores the rise and fall of four ancient cities, each the centre of a sophisticated civilisation: the…
Why read it?
2 authors picked Four Lost Cities as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I’ve been on an archaeology kick this year, and this book (a Christmas gift) was right in my sweet spot – detailed but accessible, with a personal viewpoint that brought the four “lost cities” to light.
It helped that one of those cities was near my home – Cahokia, in Illinois, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that I have visited. Two of the others (Angkor and Pompeii) are cities I had only a superficial knowledge of, but now feel much better informed about. And the fourth, Catalhoyuk in Turkey, was unknown to me. An insightful book with a fresh perspective…
This book became an instant favorite for the way it zeroes in on each of the four titular cities—only one of which I’d ever heard of—and sifts its layers in a way that makes it feel alive from top to bottom. Reading through it was a beautiful reminder of how little we know about the past, and yet, how similar our ancestors are to us in the things that are important to them. The gift of this book is its curiosity and tenderness towards its subjects, and it inspires the same open-mindedness.
From Neil's list on healing your heart.
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