A book that touches on a wide range of places, dates and civilisations. The writing is really approachable and easy to read and follow. The format follows one page one map for several of the cities, with some having double spreads of both images and text. There is much to learn from how humans have come together, built and fallen apart throughout history and this book offers a snapshot of a world beyond our modern day context.

The images are good quality and the explanations are easy to follow. Even in maps that are constructed differently than our typical north - top and south - bottom you get a sense of what’s what. The descriptions in the text section are never tedious or too long but offer a good amount of information and it is well researched.

A pretty decent book, allowing one to browse serious subjects in a not-too-heavy manner, and to discover the history of cities across the world, as long as they all had a convenient map at least. So we start with the ancient town of Mohendro-daro, a place where our knowledge is limited by not knowing the local language at all, but whose plumbing was exemplary for the time, so while it had no walls or major fortifications, and while we know nothing about the people there and their beliefs, etc, we can certainly assume they had no excuse for not getting clean. The next entries, on Babylon and Athens, show the format is not necessarily one page of map, one page of text per city – these get more text and the image over a double-page spread all to itself.

But these also show, in the writing, that this is a book regarding the history of multiple cities – not necessarily The City as a concept. Athens is an entry that tells us about that place, not what the site tells us about urbanisation, city development, etc. That said, the next entry, Priene, in Turkey, courtesy the Greeks, is an early masterpiece of the grid-styled layout, so there is something of a timeline about cities in general to be had, and the failed experiment of Palmanova, Venice, is a half-and-half chapter, taking us to one place and teaching us about that and the ideals of the city in general at that time.

Ultimately we learn a lot about many diverse places, and not strictly what it means to be a city. Some times the map is rather underwhelming, but it catches a more or less key time in a place's progress – none more so the one of Paris once Haussmann was finished with it, or Berlin with its wall. If you know you're in for dozens of smaller narratives, as opposed to one continuous lesson, this is a pretty good look at the history of the world's metropolises. Either way it's a perfectly accessible history book. Zoom in on any living map and you'll squint to see a librarian buying a copy – it would not be a bad idea to follow in her footsteps.

"History of Cities in Maps" by Philip Parker, published by Collins Books, is a visually stunning and informative exploration of urban development throughout history. The book traces the evolution of cities around the world through detailed maps, providing a fascinating look at how urban landscapes have been shaped by politics, culture, and geography. Parker presents a well-researched and insightful commentary on the rise and fall of various cities, offering a historical perspective on their growth, decline, and transformation. The maps, which range from ancient civilizations to modern metropolises, are beautifully presented, making this book not only a valuable resource for history and geography enthusiasts but also a captivating visual journey through time. It’s an engaging read for anyone interested in the history of urban planning and the stories cities tell through their cartography.

This is an absolutely stunning and immersive book.

The collection of over sixty maps covers an impressive range of cities, from ancient metropolises like Babylon and Athens to modern urban centers like New York and Beijing. Each map is a window into a particular moment in a city's evolution, highlighting key events like the Great Fire of London or the fall of Berlin's wall. The vibrant artwork and historic details pull you in, and some of the maps are so complex and detailed that you’ll want to spend time examining every corner.

The accompanying text is just as captivating as the visuals. Each chapter is dedicated to a different city, blending historical facts with fascinating insights into the military, industrial, and cultural forces that shaped these places. The book's underlying theme—“The history of mankind is the history of the city”—is a powerful concept that echoes throughout, showing how urban spaces have been the driving force behind civilization.

What I loved most was how this book doesn’t just give a history lesson—it invites you to explore. Whether it's cities that have been lost to time or those that have been reborn, the narrative offers rich perspectives on how cities influence and reflect the human experience.

This is a book to be savored. It’s perfect for history buffs, map enthusiasts, or anyone curious about the evolution of urban spaces. Whether you dip in to appreciate the beautiful illustrations or dive into the detailed historical accounts, History of Cities in Maps is a treasure trove of knowledge and art. Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and Philip Parker for providing a complimentary digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Posted review on Goodreads on Monday, October 7th
Posted review on Amazon on Monday, October 7th

This is a lovely well produced book. I am a history fan who loves maps and many of the maps in this book were unknown to me. The maps have been carefully chosen and are interesting. The written descriptions are just the right length, not overly detailed and never get boring. I enjoyed this book immensely for the well written descriptions, the interesting maps and the quality of the reproductions.

Beautiful introduction to cities old and new

In a breathless but thorough tour of 4500 years of cities, Parker's latest visual history gives glimpses into cities old and new, well-known and lesser, from all around the world. Giving almost the same airtime to each city, there's only room for highlights, but what highlights! For me, this is a gateway into more reading into the histories of these cities, especially the lesser known ones, or the ones that are no longer there. I will be poring over this for a long time, taking virtual and, in hope, actual visits to these fascinating and delightful places.

A solid four stars.

I love looking at maps so this was an amazing read for me, to was so beautiful to see the progression and change over 4,500 years.

Love maps, always have done, to me, a map is a key to things that you don’t yet know, because if you knew them, you wouldn’t need a map…

Thus I always try and look at map books when they arrive, not because there’ll be a cool design or an interesting layout (although there often is), but because there’ll be something in there that I don’t know about yet.

And so it was with this book.

Interesting in the way it’s put together, the first few cities have interesting anecdotes about various cities, and the way in which those cities were put together, such as the start of orthogonal grids in 350 BC, to the construction of a tower that had a brothel at the bottom (Base desires one imagines), a school in the middle of it, and an observatory and astronomical study centre at the top.

However, as the book goes on, the descriptions become less the nature of the interesting parts of the city, and more the events that shaped the city into what it eventually came to be, and while those are interesting enough, they form more of the history of the events in and around the city, rather than the description of the city itself, and while there is interest in what made a city what it is, that’s not what I look in maps for.

That said, from the point of view of what is promised in the title and the foreword of the book, this is superb, it is exactly the nature and history of the city and how in each case it grew to be what it was, from the wall in Berlin, to the near relocation of Washington DC, and the multiple rebuildings of New York from the events that shaped it in times before to current day.

Recommended.

WOW! This book is SO interesting. I love how it's full of images of ancient maps and cities. It would be the perfect gift for those who have a passion for maps (yes, they do exist!).
It's crazy to think about how cities developed throught the years.
Totally recommend.

This is not really a subject I know much about but I found the book fascinating. The maps are beautiful and show urban development throughout history, and the supporting text is very thorough but readable and easy to understand.

If you are interested in urban development, cities and maps, this book is for you.
It offers highly rich, interesting and well-researched information, and the maps are wonderful.
I have learnt a lot from this book.