Great Cities- The Stories Behind The World’s Most Fascinating Places

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I can’t resist an amazing resource book. Something that not only catches your eye but also keeps your interest throughout. Great Cities- The Stories Behind The World’s Most Fascinating Places fits that bill perfectly. I want to thank DK Books for sending me a copy of this book for review! It has absolutely blown me away and I can’t wait to tell you guys all about it. Let’s check it out!

Great Cities- The Stories Behind the World’s Most Fascinating Places

I was immediately drawn to this gorgeous book. The cover is absolutely stunning with an abstract watercolor feel that just caught my eye and made me want to open it up! I am also a huge history and geography nerd…and I knew this book would tackle both of those areas…and it sure does!

Great Cities is a gorgeous stroll through history. Told in biography format, Great Cities takes a look at 100 of the most well-loved cities of all time. It looks at the stories behind their great cities…from their very beginning until today. It looks at the people, movements, and events that have shaped these cities and made them what they are today. Truly a deep dive into architecture, art, politics, people, and so much more.

But how is it organized? Well, let’s take a look!

The Layout

Great Cities is divided into 5 chapters. Each chapter showcases several different cities with multi-page spreads and then some smaller sections with additional cities of note. Here is how it is organized:

Chapters

1. Centers of Ancient and Lost Civilizations – featuring cities such as Rome, Jerusalem, and Tikal
2. Great River Cities– featuring such cities as Paris, Cairo, and New Orleans
3. Maritime Cities– featuring cities such as Dublin, Cape Town, and Havana
4. Cities by Design– featuring cities such as Singapore, Kyoto, and Washington, D.C.
5. Modern Metropolises– featuring cities such as Dubai, Tokyo, and Los Angeles

Each multi-page spread is going to include bite-sized pieces of information, timelines of the cities history, gorgeous photographs and illustrations, and many will also include quotes about the city.

I have to say that I wasn’t expecting the quotes and it was an absolutely amazing addition. One of my favorite ways to learn about history is through the people who lived there. What better way to learn than by hearing quotes from people who have lived there or been there. I have to share a couple favorites with you…

“Every time I close my eyes blowing that trumpet of mine, I look right into the heart of good old New Orleans”- Louis Armstrong

“He who has not seen Cairo has not seen the world.”- The Thousand and One Nights

I wish I had time to talk about all of the different cities included…but with 100 cities I just don’t have the room! But, if you click on this link to Amazon, they have an amazing flip through of the book. You can also catch a flip through on my Instagram page!

Why I love it

If you have been following my account for some time you will know that I am a die-hard fan of DK books…and there is a reason for that. They are some of the most engaging, interesting, and informative books that I own. These are the books that we reach for time and again at our house and Great Cities is no exception. It is so well done and truly brings history to life.

I think my favorite thing about this particular book is the biography format. You feel like you are reading about the life of the city…because you are. It isn’t just merely facts and dates…it is a deep dive into the things that makes the city what it is. Another stand-out feature for me would have to be the artwork. DK always knocks this out of the park. The combination of photos and illustrations bring the chapters to life. They are vibrant and eye-catching and they make you want to keep flipping the pages.

For More Info

I want to thank DK books for sending me a copy of Great Cities- The Stories Behind the World’s Most Fascinating Places. As always, all opinions are my own. I only share books here that I truly love!

For More information about the book you can click this link to DK’s website and they have full page spreads of the book to flip through. They also offer similar books so if you are like me and have a slight book addiction you can start a list of WANTS! (Spoiler alert…my list…she is long).