Customer Reviews

City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction

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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.

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.

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.

As a teacher I constantly seek new resources for the classroom. I teach high school and find this resources reaches all levels. My own college student sat down and devoured this book. You will not be dissappointed as Mr. MacAulay once again dissects the difficult and dry and produces an interesting and accesible resource on Rome.

Another of a series of books by this author about architecture and building projects through the ages, City brings the reader face to face with the problems, challenges and triumphs of Roman engineering and construction.

The illustrations done in a wonderful pen and ink are as vivid as any photograph could have ever been and may are quite amusing as well as educational and enlightening. The text is explanatory, but not overly detailed and this is by no means a college level treatise on Roman civilization. It is however fun to read and illuminates the practices of the antiquities for younger readers.

Adult readers will enjoy the humor depicted in some of the drawings and the text and illustrations are informative for them as well. This may also be a good book for school rooms where much reference is made to the times of the Roman Empire in general study. It's a worthy addition to any library.

I am a huge fan of David Macaulay's historically based line drawings. I found myself drawn into the images and fact-based fictional story. I forgot I borrowed this for my children! After you read the book, you may want to view the PBS video Roman City hosted by Mr. Macaulay. It features footage of ruines as well as animation sequences that follow the story set-up in City. Be sure to include this book in your study of 1st century BC / AD Rome- you won't be disappointed!

How did they do it? Build an empire, erect bathhouses and apartment buildings, provide running water and sub-floor heating... MacAuley begins with the emperial surveyors laying out the streets of the city they will build: town planning with fine attention to the details that are a hallmark in this stunning and valuable series. The book reveals the work in progress... a Sim City in a book. This treasure provides links in many directions: to The Gladiator and Asterix, to Roman studies and literature, and to architecture and engineering in all its modern carnations. Enjoy! I add this series to my list of "1000 books I would give to any child".

If you're studying Rome, you NEED this book! There are no pretty colored pictures here, no photos either, just very clear, exceptionally detailed line drawings that make it apparent even to quite young students (I used this with a grade 3 homeschool student) how very much "modern" life owes to Roman engineering genius.

I read this book before going to Pompeii and Herculeum, and it greatly enriched my appreciation for and understanding of those sites. Guidebooks may help you develop a general idea as to the use of a particular building, usually help you find that building, and may give you an idea as to what that building looked like 2000 years ago. This book gives you a brief, easily accessible account of what life was like in these places and helps you identify and understand little details that you otherwise would have either missed or puzzled over. It will greatly increase your appreciation for the Romans as engineers and urban planners!

When David Macaulay published this book in 1974, he was following in the path of the great American illustrators Edwin Tunis and Eric Sloane. They produced many memorable history books for young adults in the years following the Second World War. Tunis and Sloane blended well written history with well done pen and pencil illustrations. "City" follows the standard convention of beginning with a parcel of undeveloped land and showing the building process as the project progresses to a completed Roman city.

What makes this book so important is that David Macauley was able to expand the age paremeters and produce a beautiful book that could appeal to both young children and adults. His skills as a story teller and illustrator allowed people to look architecture and history in a new light. There are other illustrators with stronger drafting skills but there is nobody with more imagination. Macaulay is not afraid to enter into an image and tear it apart and look at it from many different viewpoints. There is a sense of movement and playfulness in his illustrations that make him unique.

This book is so important in the history of children's non-fiction literature because David Macaulay opened the doors for a whole series of children's book illustrators who have produced hundreds of illustrated history books.