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The Life and Death of Ancient Cities: A Natural History Illustrated Edition

by Greg Woolf (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 111 ratings
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The dramatic story of the rise and collapse of Europe's first great urban experiment

The growth of cities around the world in the last two centuries is the greatest episode in our urban history, but it is not the first. Three thousand years ago most of the Mediterranean basin was a world of villages; a world without money or writing, without temples for the gods or palaces for the mighty. Over the centuries that followed, however, cities appeared in many places around the Inland Sea, built by Greeks and Romans, and also by Etruscans and Phoenicians, Tartessians and Lycians, and many others. Most were tiny by modern standards, but they were the building blocks of all the states and empires of antiquity. The greatest--Athens and Corinth, Syracuse and Marseilles, Alexandria and Ephesus, Persepolis and Carthage, Rome and Byzantium--became the powerhouses of successive ancient societies, not just political centers but also the places where ancient art and literatures were created and accumulated. And then, half way through the first millennium, most withered away, leaving behind ruins that have fascinated so many who came after.

Based on the most recent historical and archaeological evidence, The Life and Death of Ancient Cities provides a sweeping narrative of one of the world's first great urban experiments, from Bronze Age origins to the demise of cities in late antiquity. Greg Woolf chronicles the history of the ancient Mediterranean city, against the background of wider patterns of human evolution, and of the unforgiving environment in which they were built. Richly illustrated, the book vividly brings to life the abandoned remains of our ancient urban ancestors and serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of even the mightiest of cities.
Previous page
  1. ISBN-10
    0199946124
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0199946129
  3. Edition
    Illustrated
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    July 1, 2020
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    9.3 x 1.7 x 6.4 inches
  8. Print length
    528 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Woolf masterfully draws on textual and archaeological evidence to consider the widest possible scope of urbanism: cities as they grow and shrink, reorganize, and re-emerge.... Woolf's study of the ancient Mediterranean offers an unmatched opportunity to explore what happens with evolutionary successes, when new and better systems emerge, and what failure might look like. The issues of urban failure and long-term resilience are perhaps his most important lessons as we look to a future of cities that must respond to environmental, political, and social challenges." -- Journal of the American Planning Association

"Selected as a 2020 Book of the Year in The Times Literary Supplement"

"A magisterial survey of ancient cities... "The Life and Death of Ancient Cities" is a big history that leaves aside some of those big comparative questions, preferring to draw out the contingent and the particular in its vivid portraits. Mr. Woolf makes for an authoritative, readable and thought-provoking guide through a few thousand years of our life as urban animals." -- Kyle Harper, The Wall Street Journal

"Fascinating and challenging... an impressive sweep of a book." -- Charlotte Higgins, The Guardian

"An impressive overview of trends in urban histories and will have an impact outside the field of archaeology and ancient history, underlining the centrality of these disciplines to the humanities and social sciences in general, as well as to a wider audience. It is certainly worth the long read to let oneself be carried through urban moments from the Levantine and Mediterranean prehistory into Late Antiquity and beyond. It is a hugely enjoyable read that reminds us that cities and settlements are creations of, and tools for, humans, creating possibilities and unforeseen hindrances in our lives." -- Journal of Roman Studies

"Greg Woolf reminds us of how vulnerable urban life has often been to plague, invasion and economic collapse." -- The Spectator

"A general history that manages to escape both the superficiality and the cretinous populism to which the genre is prone... From hydraulic despotism as the driver of urbanism to civilisation-ending vulcanism at Santorini, Woolf dismembers a lot of sacred cows. And, in a surely conscious paradox, he ventures a master hypothesis of his own: an evolutionary approach to urbanism. We are, Woolf contends, urban apes." -- London Review of Books

"If you have any interest in its subject, you won't regret the investment of time and money." -- John Wilson, The American Conservative

"This is ever such a good book. Woolf has an enviable knack for getting across complex ideas in a deft and stylish way, without any sacrifice of precision. I do understand the difference between organic and mechanical solidarity (though I can never remember which way round they are), but I have certainly never seen it explained so clearly and economically before.... Whatever one thinks of the evolutionary underpinning of life and death, no one has ever made a more compelling case for seeing cities as part of the natural history of our species. As so often (I'm looking at you, Richard Dawkins), I did sometimes detect an uncomfortable vagueness about whether we are literally talking about evolutionary change, or whether âselection for advantageous traitsâ is a metaphor for the social processes that Woolf describes so incomparably well." -- Peter Thonemann, Times Literary Supplement

"Greg Woolf is a lively and learned guide to ancient cities... Woolf's book contains many brilliant insights and is a major contribution to the history of the Mediterranean." -- David Abulafia, Literary Review

"This is a fine single-volume study of the ebb and flow of the European civilisations that built cities both large and small." -- Sun News Tucson

"A deeply researched and ambitious "natural history" of the origins and growth of urbanism." -- Andrew Robinson, Nature

"Woolf's The Life and Death of Ancient Cities: A Natural History is an engaging and richly detailed account that effectively tears down misconceptions about the ancient city and replaces them with a more diverse, more believable, and, ultimately, more interesting tale of kaleidoscopic urban experimentation across the ancient Mediterranean world." -- Kathryn Grossman, The Metropole

"An engaging and comprehensive read... Woolf provides an interesting discussion on how humans are suited to city life, and also offers some thought-provoking considerations on the current rate of globalisation that we're experiencing today... This book should appeal to those who want to discover another perspective on the history of the Mediterranean or, indeed, the ancient world." -- All About History

"This is an important study which should stand alongside the tours de force of Fernand Braudel and David Abulafia." -- Sir Michael Fallon, Classics for All

"The Life and Death of Ancient Cities joins a shelf full of enlightening new fun reads on understanding our beginnings in the ancient world." -- Robert S. Davis, New York Journal of Books

"If you have any interest in its subject, you won't regret the investment of time and money." -- John Wilson, The American Conservative

"This is a first-class publication that threads its way seamlessly through a complex topic across vast regions and time-spans. It is also accessibly written and highly recommended." -- Mark Merrony, Antiqvvs

"This worthy book contains multitudes, and as interesting and certainly as instructive as Professor Woolf's studies of urbanization are the not-few cases of deurbanization that he is able to explore, most conspicuously the (possible causes of the) decline or rather transformation of the late Roman antique world." -- Paul Cartledge, The New Criterion

"We've been waiting for a book like this. It doesn't just review the evidence for cities from Uruk onwards in clear and compelling prose. It also questions whether we have misunderstood the role of the city in human history, presenting an alternative view. A must for all those living in or studying cities." --Chris Gosden, author of Prehistory: A Very Short Introduction

"This eye-opening book casts a whole new light on humanity's 5,000-year love-hate relationship with the city as Greg Woolf, one of the world's best ancient historians, shows us just how much the forces of evolution have shaped our social behavior. A must-read for everyone interested in the big picture." --Ian Morris, author of War! What Is It Good for?

"Greg Woolf takes us on a sumptuous, kaleidoscopic journey into the ancient city and well beyond. Urbanism in antiquity could be surprisingly small-scale, unstable and unpredictable, but cities had an outsize impact on politics, empire, and the environment. By tracing their rise and fall as well as the routes between them, Woolf brings rich new perspectives to the history of a Mediterranean much bigger than Greece and Rome." --Josephine Quinn, author of In Search of the Phoenicians

"Greg Woolf's new book, a lucid and gripping read, is a deep history of ancient cities, from the Sumerians through to the end of the ancient world. Based on a lifetime's work in history and archaeology, Woolf contests the romantic image of the wonders of classical civilization. Cities were usually small, usually part of the workaday world; but, all the same, they were remarkably successful. Woolf shows us how; and he forces us to rethink the way we see the ancient past. Both experts and those who are starting to learn about the ancient world will have to read this book." --Chris Wickham, author of Medieval Europe

Book Description

A sweeping narrative history of the rise and fall of the city in the ancient Mediterranean world, and beyond

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; Illustrated edition (July 1, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 528 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0199946124
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0199946129
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.3 x 1.7 x 6.4 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 111 ratings

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Greg Woolf

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
111 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Christoff von Bingham
5.0 out of 5 stars So much more than life and death!
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2021
Verified Purchase
I finished reading the ‘Ancient City,’ before the review appeared in the ‘London Review of Books,’ demonstrating that I’m on the very cutting edge of ancient history, an accomplishment which is useful to precisely no one, except the long dead, who at best, would only marginally appreciate my keen interest in their long expired lives, however short and brutal. The ‘Ancient City’ was long and brutal as a reading experience. Repetitive too. The author liked to repeat himself, rather a lot when discussing the ‘Ancient City,’ which was recently reviewed in the ‘London Review of Books.’ London is also an ancient city, but is not discussed at length in the ‘Ancient City.’ The review article was surprisingly short. The new article was a short new article about a new long book about ancient cities which offers a new observation that ancient cities were smaller than we usually picture and very much more interconnected. Despite the shortcomings, I did enjoy the ‘Ancient City,’ a lengthy book and would recommend it if you are interested in ancient cities or if you are a long dead resident of an ancient city who is curious about the newest thinking on ancient cities, and can somehow, despite your brutal death read new books.
4 people found this helpful
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David A. Eichinger
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and very thorough look into Mediterranean Cities
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2021
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The was an interesting read. I had expected that the author would look at cities around the world but he chosen to focus on the Mediterranean. The timeline starts from the Bronze Age to and concludes about 500 CE, around the collapse of the western Roman empire and the deterioration of cross-regional trade. I think the title of the book should have been: The Life and Death of Ancient Cities of the Mediterranean.
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AJP
5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute masterpiece of near-perfection
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2020
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The author, a senior academic with what I gather to be special expertise in Mediterranean history and prehistory, is able to combine up-to-date information in genetic, linguistic, and of course archaeology (paleo and historic) information in an amazing synthesis, which is a pleasure to read. His references and comments are quite current, up to late 2019 (just missed some recent findings on human occupation in the Americas being pushed back to 30KYA reported in March of this year). While his emphasis is on the Mediterranean region, he does a great job on Eurasia and pre-Columbian cities of the New World. Exhaustive without being exhausting, accessible and a great read.
My highest recommendation!
9 people found this helpful
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eric g young
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2022
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I received this book on time and in new condition. The book itself is very interesting for anyone who likes ancient history. I am quite pleased with my purchase.
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E Fitzgerald
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Review of Mediterranean Cities From Pre-History to Collapse of Rome
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2021
The book does an excellent job of giving enough historical context to make sense of the growth and changes of cities of the past. Yet, the book is mainly about the trends in how cities were built, organized, and governed.

The book helped correct several misconceptions about cities I had. For instance
-Outside of a few major cities supported subsidized by the empire few cities had more than a few tens of thousands of people even at the Roman peak in 2nd century CE
-Cities were actually experienced a major collapse after the bronze age

An excellent book.
-
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Robert Lee
4.0 out of 5 stars A great book, marred by the worst editing I have ever experienced
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2021
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I greatly enjoyed this book, for its content, though I found the editing was the worst I had ever seen in a published book. Spelling, grammar, you name it, it was awful, with bad examples on nearly every page - but well worth sticking it out. So hold your editorial nose, and enjoy the details of the rise and fall of cities in (mostly) the classical era.
2 people found this helpful
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toronto
3.0 out of 5 stars Urbish
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2020
Some of the reviewers almost seem as if they have read a different book. There is nothing wrong with this book, it is ok, more like an extended Wikipedia page than anything else. For a really good deeper and more detailed read in this area (after a general start, we are in the Mediterranean) The Making of the Middle Sea is in a higher class.
12 people found this helpful
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michael Kordek
1.0 out of 5 stars not recommended
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2020
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I am a big reader of history and archeology.
This book was full of typos, one every few pages
It is very redundant , wordy, and repetitious.
I get that the author tried to organize it in an 'evolutionary ' perspective but it did not work.
He jumps back and forth in time, even when talking about a particular city at a particular stage.
Conclusion: NOT a fun/pleasant read. And I don't think it is an educational read either.
I would give it 0 stars if I could.
10 people found this helpful
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Stuart Rush
5.0 out of 5 stars detailed knowledge
Reviewed in Canada on December 29, 2020
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Unities of urbanization
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Simon Knows Nothing
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant. Beautifully written. Fascinating.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 21, 2021
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Just brilliant. Really sad to have come to the end of this book. It's a huge topic and Greg Woolf is very thorough on Europe and Mesopotamia and Egypt. I would love to see more about the Far East and The Americas. I have read a great deal of Turchin and would recommend him too. I think that Woolf doesn't go into the politics of cultural elites and the effects of religious thought on cities. But to my mind he's clearly on the Evolutionary Side of the fence (and I think history week prove him right). I think his basic thesis is that cities offered great rewards, particularly for the elites, but also increased risk substantially. There was no winning formula until the Romans came along, though even then it appeared to be more accidental than planned. Woolf steers well clear of the trope of trying to explain why the Western Roman Empire collapsed before the Staten
Eastern part. I would be interested if Woolf were to look at that and be a bit braver in looking at the data on why certain cities and civilisations collapsed. And why Egypt and Babylon became Empires rather than multiple city states as Greece started out . It does seem more that it was a miracle that cities survived in many places, especially on the arid shores of the N Mediterranean.
3 people found this helpful
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Luca B.
3.0 out of 5 stars Buono
Reviewed in Italy on September 28, 2020
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L’autore la piglia un po’ larga, però il libro è ben scritto e la visione è ampia non solo in termini cronologici, ma sistemici
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking history of cities in the Mediterranean basin
Reviewed in Canada on August 23, 2020
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Although the flow is more or less historical, the central idea is original: that the growth of cities was not inevitable. The author convincingly presents arguments that cities’ sizes are mostly determined by local resources rather than an inevitable byproduct of the growth of empires. However, the largest cities like Rome, Alexandria and Antioch grew well beyond the resources of their local hinterlands by capturing the Roman Empire’s excess productivity, but shrank dramatically as the Empire declined.

Although the coverage is mostly concentrated on the Mediterranean basin, the conclusions should be broadly valid for other regions of the world.

I recommend this book for anyone with an interest in history who enjoys being challenged by original ideas skillfully presented.
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margaret h
5.0 out of 5 stars Very useful for students of Classics
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 30, 2023
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Recommended by my tutor to help with course. I haven't read it all but not disappointed so far.
One person found this helpful
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