The Oxford handbook of cities in world history /

Clark's edited tome is not an encyclopedia; nevertheless, in scope and content it is most certainly encyclopedic. This comparative examination of global urban development over time (4000 BCE to the present) comprises 44 chapters chronologically structured in three parts ("Early Cities," "Pre-Modern Cities," and "Modern and Contemporary Cities") that range both in survey and in thematic forms across the historic urban landscape, from ancient Uruk to Dickensian London, to modern Beijing, Lagos, and Bangalore. The distinguished author has selected a stellar assemblage of contributors (e.g., Peter Burk, Carl Abbott, Alan Gilbert, Carola Hein, Lynn Hollen Lees, Robin Osborn, and William Rowe) who focus on the evolution of major urban systems stressing key variables such as power (politics), demography, and the rise of commercial networks. Thematic chapters include essays on early urban economies, contemporary urban social and economic inequality, the urban environment, and the creative city.The volume is surely unique if only in its sheer comprehensiveness. The nicely crafted and carefully structured chapters provide overviews of the latest urban scholarship, including urban archaeology, urban anthropology, and urbanization theory (Weber, Childe, Polyani, et al.), replete with current urban data analysis, maps, and charts highlighting past and current urban trends. Each chapter contains useful endnotes and a bibliography. Clark avoids overly tilting the volume toward the West. African urbanization, Latin American cities, urban growth in the Middle East and South Asia, and the history and patterns of urbanization in China are fully represented. While inevitable overlap causes repetition and occasionally annoying backward references, the chapters can be used individually by both undergraduates and graduate students. A must acquisition by any college or university library. Summing Up: Essential. All academic levels/libraries. J. F. Bauman University of Southern Maine