“Anyone who wants an outline of history, the core of all subjects, can grasp it here.”

The Economist

“A work of outstanding breadth of scholarship and penetrating judgements. There is nothing better of its kind.”

The Sunday Telegraph

“…Metropolis is a book intended for the general reader: map historians and collectors are unlikely to find anything new here. What readers do get is context: almost a potted history of the rise of larger cities. It is also a book where the accent is more on the 217 illustrations than on the text: the extended captions can indeed be read as an alternative narrative. … [It] is commendably wide ranging, both geographically and temporally … Some of the maps … are well-known ‘set pieces’, but there are many others where, even if the city is familiar, the map is not. … A book such as this must stand or fall by its illustrations and general design. The quality of reproduction is generally excellent, and it is worth having a lens to hand to study fine details. … All in all, Metropolis is recommended as an excellent selection of city-maps that is worth having as a picture-source.”

“A beautiful collection of maps, showing how we have drawn cities.”

Daily Telegraph: 100 books for Christmas

“It is rare that a book manages to be both a great work of scholarship and a beautiful object.”

The New Criterion

“…generously fulfills any urbanologist’s fantasy.”

New York Times

“Recommended. All levels/libraries.”

CHOICE Magazine

“A cartographic feast. Delicious. If you’ve ever wondered why cities work, you’ll find the answer in this beautiful book.”

Geographical

“Nelson, Navy & Nation is a perfect resource for those who attend the National Maritime Museum’s new long-term gallery, ‛Nelson, Navy, Nation,’ and wish to expand their knowledge. Overall, it is an ideal starting point for anyone wishing to begin research on eighteenth-century British naval history from a cultural, rather than a military, perspective.”

“This is a truly magnificent book. First, the lavish production of the cover and book itself is wonderful. The wealth of photographs come in all different sizes and provide visual details that help you better experience the text. The way the writer weaves the tale of the ship’s origins, design and construction, her many voyages and career, preservation, and current renovated state flow seamlessly through the book. … As you read this book you learn every detail of her career, visit exotic ports around the world, and feast your eyes on black-and-white pictures and many two-page, full-color spreads. It’s hard to get past the fold-out plans of Sails, Masts and Rigging, Deck-plans, and Stowage in the hull without studying them first! These fold-outs give a wonderful and complete view of this complex sailing vessel.”

“Black’s ambitious text gives us a short global history not only of city mapping but also of the development of cities themselves, from the focal points of power for rulers to the great metropolises in which now, for the first time in history, most of humanity lives. All the many aspects of this essay in human geography, from economics and imperialism to mathematics and environmentalism, are touched on in the author’s easygoing style. Most impressive are the well-informed captions, which show a wealth of background knowledge even when the map is in Chinese or Russian. In colour throughout, the maps are as sharply reproduced as the originals will allow, and of such global variety that even readers who are familiar with the subject will discover many treasures here for the first time.”

“By 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population is expected to be urban. Cities have never been as popular or as ambitious. But these cultural blenders, these laboratories of high-density living, are difficult to comprehend. So Jeremy Black’s latest cartographic feast, packed with 217 exquisite maps and views, turns up with delicious punctuality. The aim is to explore through time the visualisation of cities… A constant theme is the quest to recognise form, or some kind of rational structure, in these gigantic human agglomerations. … Cities are artificial constructs on a vast scale, and it takes a strong-willed mapmaker not to respond. Metropolis is a graphic advert for nucleation. If you’ve ever wondered why cities work, you’ll find the answer in this beautiful book.”

“Jeremy Black’s Metropolis: Mapping the City examines how maps of urban spaces came to be, from incised roads on Mesopotamian clay tablets to the pixels of Google Earth. Mr. Black is such an interesting historian that an expanded text would have been welcome, but it is impossible to imagine losing any one of the unusual and extraordinary images he has found. Tinsel rating: 10/10.”

“Porter’s book is one of those rare books in which the ample illustrations actually enhance the text. Many books simply throw in a bunch of illustrations without regard for extending the text. Porter’s choices are excellent, making this book not only readable, but highly informative. In that regard, the book is one of the most thorough looks at the historical Jesus. … This is a beautifully produced volume, and could be a very good ‛first book’, because it is comprehensive, reliable and clearly presented.”

“An ace browsing book, bedecked with color reproductions of Byzantine, medieval, and Renaissance Christian artwork as well as modern photographs of historic sites and artifacts… One can begin reading anywhere and be drawn in deeper and deeper. An absolutely first-class production.”

Booklist

“An exquisite book… Summarizes in clear, interesting, non-technical writing many of the results of scholarly research on the historical Jesus and offers a feast for the eyes and mind through lavish reproductions of art work illustrating events from Jesus’ life.”

Library Journal

“Next to the Bible, this book may be the best introduction to Jesus Christ that most of us will ever read.”

Wisconsin State Journal

“Splendid…. Masterly in its clarity, concision and comprehensiveness. Porter’s familiarity with scripture is profound, and he commands the knowledge gained from a long and distinguished career in biblical history and scholarship.”

Christian Science Monitor

“Emma Stafford has produced a wide-ranging, concisely-written survey of ancient Greek culture. With its punchy prose, peppered with interesting, insightful anecdotes, the book will be easily accessible to an undergraduate and lay readership … with its lavish illustrations and clear, thoughtful prose [the] book is a solid candidate for attracting a long-term readership.”

“This book is a stunning look at most aspects of Buddhism. It allocates a two- (and occasionally four-) page spread to each topic and has beautiful imagery and photography to illustrate the various topics. … This is a wonderful place to turn to learn more about this religion – and the images alone more than make up the purchase price. This book covers more topics than most other ‛introduction’ books I’ve read and in a way that renders the idea clear and coherent. I highly recommend this in your explorations of this religion and the ideals it teaches.”

“This illustrated guide to Buddhism skillfully embodies brains, brawn and beauty. With its 200 full-cover photos, maps and reproductions of art and architecture, it is a gorgeous … book that also succeeds in being both scholarly and lively. … Picture researcher Cee Weston-Baker deserves special mention for the carefully selected, handsome photographs and art reproductions that offer much more than retail allure. These places, spaces and rituals inform the work beyond normal measure … This book will prove useful to the curious, the scholar and the devotee.”

“On the Caribbean coast of Panama, at the head of a snug oval harbor guarded on each side by the ruins of two forts, lies what is left of the ancient city of Portobelo… [this] was once the terminus to which pack animals carried gold and silver from Peru and Bolivia for shipment to Spain. In 1688 the British buccaneer Henry Morgan fell upon the forts … and made off with great treasure. The episode … won Morgan fortune, a knighthood and fame among the British people. These tales and many others about pirates are engagingly told by Cordingly, a deft writer who served on the staff of the splendid National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, England.

His book has excellent maps and illustrations. Cordingly touches on pirates through history and around the world. But he focuses on ‛the great age’ of piracy in the Western World. It began in the 1650s and ended ‛abruptly’ about 1725 . … The great merit of Cordingly’s book is that he weaves together the story of what the pirates actually were with the narrative of how we came to see them as we do. It is a tale of the power of imaginative literature to re-create the past.

Pirates … makes an excellent companion volume with its rich use of color photographs and prints of pirate objects, ship models, old paintings and the illustrations of Howard Pyle and Frank Schoonover.”

“Lavishly illustrated and well presented, this book serves to remind people of the legacy that is more than just that of Nelson, but that of the Royal Navy of the day. A marvellous book and highly recommended.”

“…Besides being a fascinating account of the period, it is a beautifully designed book. Its sections are broken up into short studies with rich, colored illustrations. You can read it in short stages, and absorb the material at leisure. It also shares the strength of a perspective shared by several historians, so you are aware that the research is not just one man’s ideas but the fruit of much fresh information… This one is worth the money and time you will put into it.”

“Others have said this, and I agree: much of the book is in short nuggets – a page or two per topic. I really loved that. Made it very organized and easily digested… What I would like to add, though, is from my point of view this book describes not only the stereotypical Crusades (… in the Mideast), but the parts that I’ve never thought about – Byzantium and eastern Europe, The Turks, The Fall of Constantinople, The Reformation. And it does so smoothly. I feel like I can see how it all fits together…”

“I’ve read numerous books about the Crusades and Crusades: The Illustrated History is my absolute favorite. Why? Because it is a wonderful combination of excellent scholarship (all contributors are university professors of medieval history), great illustrations, excellent maps and good organization of individual chapters. Yet, despite the scholarly authorship, it reads extremely well as it is written for the non-expert. If you want to read only one book on the history of the crusades, this is it!”

“The book is a model of organization and pertinent illustration, with maps, sidebars, a chronology and an accessible bibliography. Given so fine and comprehensive an introduction, readers are likely to turn to the classic prose narratives, both Christian and Islamic. They will also have a new appreciation of the current Christian–Islamic conflict and its many roots.”

 

“…the ideal volume for anyone with a desire to know more about the struggle between Christianity and Islam in the Near East. … Beautifully illustrated, this informative guide to the major Crusades not only clearly defines the conflict and traces the individual campaigns but also places in context the historical roots of the 21st century tensions between Islam and the West.”

 

“…an outstanding addition to any library.”

Emmaus Journal

“[An] absolutely beautiful book.… The authors and the University of Michigan Press deserve congratulations of the highest order for their superbly rich scholarship and deftly crafted gem of a publication.”

Stanford Review Online Edition

“…a first-rate introduction that dispels myths while providing a narrative grounded in current research. We often hear the saying that history is written by the victors. Thankfully, in this instance, it’s being written by the historians.”

National Catholic Register

“A beautifully illustrated and aesthetically laid out … book providing plenty of balanced, scholarly insight into the Crusades and their impact on the world – past and present. Good editing of carefully researched historical fact and changing Western–Eastern world views pulled me from one page to the next. And I certainly appreciated the concise sidebars and interest-grabbing artwork set out with generously proportioned spacing on high quality paper. Recommended.”

“This good looking and beautifully illustrated book would make an excellent addition to any coffee table. However, the concise editing and excellent academic contributions make it a worthwhile read for anyone seeking historical insight into the current tensions between Islam and Christianity. The text is very well cross-referenced with many sources of further information highlighted. This lovely hardback edition will be enjoyed by a wide audience and would make an excellent Christmas gift.”

“An authoritative, original and informative publication to explain how trade from the earliest prehistoric times to the present has influenced the emergence of civilisations. Each epoch is described, and the main routes sustaining the movement of traded goods are covered, in six informative chapters written by eminent historians. The book is beautifully illustrated and edited, and significantly enriched with clear diagrams. This is a magnificent book in its own right, but also an invaluable source of information on an endeavour which underpins so much of world history.”

“Superbly produced book, which delivers a deep insight into the development of the trade routes that have shaped the world we now live in not only economically but socially, culturally, strategically and politically.”