City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction [Paperback]

David Macaulay (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Text and black and white illustrations show how the Romans planned and constructed their cities for the people who lived within them.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"City charts the planning and building of an imaginary Roman city, 'Verbonia.' Macaulay focuses on the achievement of efficient and rational city planning. His brilliantly individualistic drawings capture the essential quality of the Roman character, the ability to organize." School Library Journal, Starred

About the Author

David Macaulay is an award-winning author and illustrator whose books have sold millions of copies in the United States alone, and his work has been translated into a dozen languages. Macaulay has garnered numerous awards including the Caldecott Medal and Honor Awards, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Christopher Award, an American Institute of Architects Medal, and the Washington Post-Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award. In 2006, he was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, given "to encourage people of outstanding talent to pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations." Superb design, magnificent illustrations, and clearly presented information distinguish all of his books. David Macaulay lives with his family in Vermont.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Graphia (October 24, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395349222
• ISBN-13: 978-0395349229
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,413 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Crafts & Music > Architecture

More About the Author

David Macaulay is an award-winning author and illustrator whose books have sold millions of copies in the United States alone, and his work has been translated into a dozen languages. Macaulay has garnered numerous awards including the Caldecott Medal and Honor Awards, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Christopher Award, an American Institute of Architects Medal, and the Washington Post-Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award. In 2006, he was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, given "to encourage people of outstanding talent to pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations." Superb design, magnificent illustrations, and clearly presented information distinguish all of his books. David Macaulay lives with his family in Vermont.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A marvelous book, December 5, 2004

By 

Alexanderplatz (Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction (Paperback)

I had the good fortune to receive this book as a gift some twenty years ago as a child. The basic premise is simple enough: these people from another time and country are going to build something, and the book is going to show us how they did it. The text itself, as with many children's books, is relatively simple, but the intricate pen-and-ink drawings are spellbinding. Time and again I would go back to CITY, and pore over the pictures, often discovering some previously-overlooked detail that Macaulay had included.

I highly recommend CITY, and Macaulay's other architectural books, to both children and adults. Most children are inherently curious, and interested in how things are made, why they work, and who made them. Macaulay teaches those things in his books, but more importantly, the books draw the reader in and stimulate the imagination. There's a hands-on history lesson inherent in each of these books, a brief glimpse at other cultures around the globe and in different times. Whether it's ancient Egypt, classical Rome, medieval France, or 18th Century America, the worlds in Macaulay's books are always fascinating to visit.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars another great resource from Macaulay, December 16, 2002

By 

audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction (Paperback)

David Macaulay's works are always entertaining, educational and literate, and this is no exception. A multitude of black-and-white line drawings illustrate the story of Roman urban planners as they design and construct a new city on the Roman empire's frontier. Every stage is explained thoroughly using text, illustrations and charts, from developing a master plan through construction. Tools are explained, cross-sections are used to good effect and specific projects such as a house, a road, a bridge and aqueduct, the forum and central market, public baths, the sewer system and an amphitheater and theater are represented. The book ends with a one-page glossary. If you or a student you know is interested in Roman engineering, this would be a marvelous book to read.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It is a facinating format of how the Romans built., February 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction (Paperback)

This book is extrmely valuable as a beginning to the study of Roman Civil Engineering. The Tool and Material lists are facinating, and the drawings are worth a thousand words. For an advanced study in Roman Civil Engineering this book will go a long way to clearing up the meaning of Wordy text that do not provide illustrations.