Walls : a history of civilization in blood and brick

ISBN: 9781501172700
ISBN: 1501172700
ISBN: 9781501172717
ISBN: 1501172719
Physical Description: print xii, 292 pages : maps ; 24 cm
Edition: First Scribner hardcover edition.
Publisher: New York, NY : Scribner, [2018]
Copyright: &copy;2018

Summary: "A survey of walls throughout history and their role in shaping society."--Provided by publisher.

Record details

General Note:	"August 2018"--Title page verso.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 251-275) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Introduction : A wall against the wasteland -- Part one. Builders and barbarians. Midwife to civilization : wall builders at the dawn of history : the ancient Near East, 2500-500 BC -- To wall or not to wall? : Greece, 600-338 BC -- "Cries of pain and sadness" : China, 214 BC -- Wallers and warriors : life outside the walls : Eurasia, 2000 BC-AD 1800 -- Part two. The great age of walls. Prologue to the great age of walls : Alexander's gates : timeless folklore -- Walls connect Eurasia : China and central Asia, c. 100 BC -- Hadrian's walls : the Roman Empire, AD 117-38 -- Paradise lost : The Roman Empire, c. AD 300 -- Defenseless behind walls : The Roman and Byzantine Empires, AD 400-600 -- Cycles of walls and despots : China, AD 280-1600 -- Walls and the Apocalypse : Western and Central Asia, AD 500-1300 -- Part three. The world in transition. The horrible bombard : Constantinople, AD 1453 -- Beyond the pale : Ireland, Scotland, and the Russian Empire, AD 1494-c. 1800 -- Fort Brokenheart : South, Central, and North America, prehistory-AD 1800 -- Part four. A clash of symbols. The last battles : China and France, 1933-40 -- "A hell of a lot better than a war" : Berlin, 1961-89 -- Epilogue : "Love your neighbor, but don't pull down your hedge" : Earth, 1990-present.