British Museum: A History of the World in 25 Cities

This is such a beautiful and thoughtful book. As a parent, it's wonderful to be able to sit down with a younger child and look at illustrations that are clear enough to keep her engaged but interesting enough that I'm absorbing bits of knowledge. Probably any parent can appreciate what a gift that is. Even without kids tho, this book is a delight.

This is a stunningly illustrated book that has a proud spot in the middle of my coffee table. Libby VanderPloeg has a beautiful gift in map illustration and I own several of her prints, as well. This is a perfect birthday or holiday gift…or even merely a gift to yourself :)

The amount of detail in this book is incredible! Lots to see and lots to learn. The illustrations are absolutely stunning! It’s the most beautiful history book I’ve ever owned. I think this would make a great gift for history buffs, map enthusiasts, and travelers.

Do you live in a big city? Or maybe have visited one at some time? I have to admit it’s hard to deny the energy that buzzes when you’re in the city, how everyone just keeps moving and so many things are going on at once!A History Of The World In 25 Cities takes the reader through some of the most important cities throughout time. Starting off in Jericho around 8500 BCE, you are able to get a glimpse into what housing looked like, what materials were used for building, and even how they buried their loved ones. The next few cities touch on the time of Pharaohs, stepping into Greece and Ancient China.The reader gets to fly through the world timeline, traveling to Venice around 1450, the West African Rainforest in the 1500s, then even to more modern times: hello San Francisco! The illustrations are intricate and eye-catching, first showing the reader a rough map image of the city during that time before diving into more detailed facts. This is definitely a book that can be read over and over again. You’ll pick up a new piece of information every time!

This book is a gorgeous adventure through time and place, with incredibly detailed and lush illustrations that guide the eye through a huge amount of interesting information. I learn so much every time I open it, letting the images lead me to curiosities, stories, folklore and facts. A fantastic addition to our home library and one that I enjoy browsing as much as my children do. Highly recommend!

Purchased the product for my Granddaughter in Sydney. Did not go through in detail : the history of Sydney is satisfactorily covered. At the same time, the ancient history of Delhi dating from Mahabharata times and back finds no mention. Albeit, an amazing product - sure to make my granddaughter happy and delighted!

When I was a child, I loved this kind of book, colourful encyclopaedias that fuelled the imagination. I had a book press full of them thanks to a grandmother who believed in childhood reading being food for the mind. She was right about that because I grew up to become a writer and teacher. And it was books like this that set me on that journey. Speaking of journeys, this book is one that travels far in just over a century of pages that takes the reader through many more centuries of knowledge, discovery and visual imagery. Personally, it brought me back to a time of discovery, imagination and curiosity, the joy of learning information about places old and new, sensing what it was like to be there, almost walking amongst those who peopled that period in time. A good book not only fuels the imagination but embeds memories too that resurface when exposed to the stimulus of other good books. Even the very idea of a book like this brought me back to those childhood encyclopaedias. And I imagine that 20, 30, 40 years from now this book will do the same for others. That's why I've bought a few copies of this book for some of my closest friends' children. I want them to feel that same passion for reading as I once felt and remember me as the person who guided them towards a life of reading, or even just the joy of getting a book at Christmas and spending hours looking through the pages, fascinated by words and images. I made a good choice with this book and hope others do the same. Maybe as a teacher and writer myself I'm biased but the greatest gift you can give to a child is the gift of reading. Though ... myself included (hint, hint to any interested parties) there are a few big kids out there, grown up boys and girls, who might em like a copy of this book in their stockings too because it's great for kids of all ages - even those of us who might soon be old enough (in smaller kids' eyes) to occupy a space in The British Museum itself. A great Xmas gift but one that isn't just for the time of year when I'm writing this review. It's a great gift for any time to remember and any time to get kids reading more.

I was looking for the perfect birthday gift for my son. Yes - he got the latest Playstation game he wanted - but we wanted to give him a book that he could get lost in and deliver a sense of wonder. "A History of the World in 25 Cities" achieves just that. There's a tendency for all of us to only look at the life of a city as it is today. As if it all came together at once. What they really are are layers and layers of storytelling. As the book says this a story of human history. Authors Tracey Turner and Andrew Donkin capture all of that in this entertaining and enjoyably informative book. It's a compelling compendium of names, dates, places and events just as important to the building of a city as every brick that's been used. There's a sense of time travel as a specific period in the life of a city is explored giving the reader a sense of what life would have been like in the defining moments in the city's development. Beautifully illustrated by Libby VanderPloeg, my son and I have both devoured it and it's a book we'll go back to. Well done to the British Museum and Nosy Crow for publishing this book

Bought for a 7yr old who loves history and he loved it. Full of pictures and fun facts, good quality book

Inspiring & enjoyable view of history. So popular with children I have given it to that I have bought several & their parents are fascinated too. 9, 10 & 11 year olds have loved it