A History of Humankind’s Greatest Invention

Metropolis

A History of the City, Humankind’s Greatest Invention

Metropolis is a dazzling, globe-spanning history of humankind’s greatest invention: the city.

Brilliant... Enchanting... This is a history of the world told through its most buccaneering units... And it is full of quirky facts about London.

Compendious and fascinating... Metropolis is crammed with local colour; and what gives the historical schema its real flavour is the deviations it allows... It makes you understand why we opted for cities in the first place, and why, despite the doom and gloom, I doubt we will be quitting them any time soon.

Wilson [is] an erudite, creative guide to the history of civilization through its great urban areas... He broadens the book's focus beyond the usual Western suspects... An excellent account.

Wilson sets out to match Mumford's sweep in Metropolis, and he brilliantly synthesises the forces that make cities hum.

Capacious, entertaining and rich in wondrous detail, this is a work of history that pulls off the startling feat of measuring up to the immensity of its subject matter.

[A] fascinating history of cities.

[An] omnivorous, adventurous and generous history of the city... Studded with fascinating facts handled with dexterity.

Bryson-esque levels of fascination and intrigue... An informative and riveting piece of work.

Ben Wilson takes us on an exhilarating tour of more than two dozen cities and thousands of years... Metropolis is a bold undertaking that makes for gripping reading.

[A] towering achievement... Reading this book is like visiting an exhilarating city for the first time-dazzling, frazzling, sometimes both simultaneously. Metropolis teems with information and observations.

A fascinating look at the highs and lows of inner-city living, from skyscrapers to slums.

A supremely wide-ranging study of the world's great cities.

[A] towering achievement . . . Reading this book is like visiting an exhilarating city for the first time-dazzling, frazzling, sometimes both simultaneously. Metropolis teems with information and observations.

Ben Wilson takes us on an exhilarating tour of more than two dozen cities and thousands of years ... Metropolis is a bold undertaking that makes for gripping reading.

From the Sunday Times bestselling author, a dazzling, globe-spanning history of humankind's greatest invention: the city. 
 
'Brilliant...enchanting' Evening Standard 'Exhilarating' New York Times 
 
The story of the city is the story of civilisation. From Uruk and Babylon to Baghdad and Venice, and on to London, New York, Shanghai and Lagos, Ben Wilson takes us through millennia on a thrilling global tour of the key urban centres of history. 
 
Rich with individual characters, scenes and snapshots of daily life, Metropolis is at once the story of these extraordinary places and of the vital role they have played in making us who we are. 
 
'Panoramic...entertaining and rich in wondrous detail' Tom Holland 
 
'A towering achievement... Reading this book is like visiting an exhilarating city for the first time' Wall Street Journal

Ben Wilson

Teems with ideas, stories and proposals, presented with charm, eloquence and wit. It is novel and provocative... I was often left wanting more.

Awe-inspiring in its scope, Wilson's thrilling immersion in the age-old interconnectedness of city and nature is full of wonder, warning and hope - a rallying cry for urban rewilding.

Illuminating... Wilson leaves readers with hope about the future of efforts to preserve the ecosystems that surround us, as well as a new perspective that looks beyond the concrete and asphalt when walking along a city's streets.

Wilson provides an array of fascinating examples of urban ecology through the ages... Written in an authoritative yet accessible style, Urban Jungle contains a range of intriguing insights.

Wilson soars like a falcon over global cities on five continents while leading the reader through centuries of history. Full of statistics and eye-catching examples.

The History and Future of Nature in the City

Our modern-day cities might seem to represent our separation from the vitality of the natural world. Yet, as Ben Wilson reveals in this invigorating re-examination of urban landscapes across the globe, nature has always been at the heart of the city. 
 
Moving from Los Angeles and Delhi to Singapore and Amsterdam, Wilson explores how the bond between humans and nature has oscillated throughout history, and shows that – in a time of climate crisis – a new approach to rewilding may prove to be the city’s saviour.

Ben Wilson

Praise for Urban Jungle

Teems with ideas, stories and proposals, presented with charm, eloquence and wit. It is novel and provocative... I was often left wanting more.

Awe-inspiring in its scope, Wilson's thrilling immersion in the age-old interconnectedness of city and nature is full of wonder, warning and hope - a rallying cry for urban rewilding.

Illuminating... Wilson leaves readers with hope about the future of efforts to preserve the ecosystems that surround us, as well as a new perspective that looks beyond the concrete and asphalt when walking al ...

Teems with ideas, stories and proposals, presented with charm, eloquence and wit. It is novel and provocative... I was often left wanting more.

Awe-inspiring in its scope, Wilson's thrilling immersion in the age-old interconnectedness of city and nature is full of wonder, warning and hope - a rallying cry for urban rewilding.

Illuminating... Wilson leaves readers with hope about the future of efforts to preserve the ecosystems that surround us, as well as a new perspective that looks beyond the concrete and asphalt when walking al ...

Teems with ideas, stories and proposals, presented with charm, eloquence and wit. It is novel and provocative... I was often left wanting more.

Awe-inspiring in its scope, Wilson's thrilling immersion in the age-old interconnectedness of city and nature is full of wonder, warning and hope - a rallying cry for urban rewilding.

Illuminating... Wilson leaves readers with hope about the future of efforts to preserve the ecosystems that surround us, as well as a new perspective that looks beyond the concrete and asphalt when walking al ...

Books by Ben Wilson

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter