A highly-illustrated, pocket-sized guide to understanding the forces that have shaped the world's cities from the dawn of civilisation to the present day. The fortunes of towns and cities rise and fall along with the fate of the civilisations to which they belong. Some are lost entirely, now no more than ruins; others have thrived as urban centres for millennia; and all contain vital clues embedded in their streets and skylines which reveal why their inhabitants grouped together, and tell of their unique social, political and cultural histories. Packed with plans, maps, and drawings, this book takes you on an international journey of discovery to explore the history of cities from our earliest urban origins to the contemporary world city - from Babylon to Beijing, London to Paris, and from the skyscrapers of New York to the streets of their own home town. A must-read for anyone interested in history, cities, and travel, this fascinating book turns you into an urban detective to see how our towns and cities grew the way they are.

Landlocked, almost inaccessible to foreigners, Nagaland has been fighting a secret, often brutal war for independence for more than half a century. Portrayed either as a land of ruthless guerrillas or exotic natives, Nagaland is in fact a complex and divided region, with an incredible history. The breathtaking Naga hills take us to the offices of Adolf Hitler and Emperor Hirohito, via well-meaning colonialists and anthropologists, and one of the most important battles of the Second World War. The third generation of his family to be seduced by Nagaland, Jonathan Glancey tries to reconcile his childhood idealism with the reality he finds there, and explores his family ties to the region. Through his ancestral history, extensive travels beyond the tourist zone, and through the voices of the Nagas he meets, he tells the true story of this forgotten land.

Explore over 500 masterpieces of modern architecture in this celebration of the most iconic buildings in the world. Written by acclaimed architecture expert Jonathan Glancey, Modern Architecture is a beautifully illustrated guide to the key styles, architects and movements that have defined our skylines since the dawn of the twentieth century. From the dizzying heights of the Shard to the exquisite curves of the Sydney Opera House, and from Frank Lloyd Wright to Sir David Adjaye, this is the essential handbook to the creative discipline that shapes our world. 'His comments are always informative, unashamedly partisan and often enjoyably tart' - Sunday Telegraph 'One of the finest architectural writers in contemporary Britain' - Scotland on Sunday

See more than 350 of the world's greatest buildings come to life in the most spectacular way! A world of beauty and genius is unveiled in this comprehensive architecture book. Discover the world's most incredible buildings, from the ancient world to the present day. From the Louvre and the Colosseum to the Sydney Opera House and the Gherkin, this book offers a truly visual worldwide survey of global architecture. Bursting with breathtaking photography and informative entries on more than 350 of the world's most famous buildings, Architecture: A Visual History gives you an unspoilt view of their fascinating features. This accessible reference book will transport you to the most impressive and iconic buildings on earth: - 500 photographs and 13 CGI artworks that dissect magnificent buildings around the world - Clear explanations and cross-sections of each building, along with exquisite photography of specific details - Close-up, detailed photographic reference to the architectural "vocabulary" of the period Explore the Architectural Wonders of the World Page after page is dedicated to significant architectural movements, biographies of famous architects and in-depth examinations of their masterpieces. See how and why certain features were common during specific time periods and how these amazing buildings have stood the test of time. Unique specially-commissioned CGI artworks throughout the book showcase more than 10 specific buildings, including The Pantheon and the White House. This stunning guide gives you a closer look at contemporary global architecture as well as sustainable green buildings. It's the perfect gift for architecture students, practising architects, or anyone with an interest in architecture, design, engineering, or art.

This accessible and comprehensive book shines a light on the design history of the famous Anglepoise lamp. Starting with the beginnings of the company with George Carwardine, the designer behind the lamp, the book takes you through an illuminating journey of the development and influence of this British icon. In 1932, vehicle suspension engineer George Carwardine designed the spring, crank and lever mechanism that became the blueprint for the first Anglepoise lamp. Enchanting the world with its light-to-the-touch and anthropomorphic design, the unique and characterful form has adorned the worktables of everyone, from writers to engineers, from the Second World War through to the 21st century. Cozy as it is utilitarian, the intimately focused pool of light the Anglepoise creates around an individual's work is as poetic as it is practical. Today, the lamp is a sure sign of quality and has been hailed as a hallmark of British design. Spring Light details a fascinating history of this household item that the armchair architect, designer and engineer will enjoy. Chapters include: Foreword by Sir John Hegarty A Question of Balance: An introduction to the design Light Engineering: Designer George Carwardine's beginnings Darkness Visible: the Anglepoise in the Second World War and industry Lamps for Sale: the launch of the Anglepoise Model 1227 through advertising Lighting by Design: the development of the Anglepoise lamp from the 1970s through to the 2000s - with collaborations with Paul Smith and Margaret Howell Lights for Sore Eyes: the success of the design and imitations Anglepoise goes to the Movies: the Anglepoise in films Undimmed Light: the future of Anglepoise and new designs In the Beginning: a ruminative essay on the lamp - the pools of light it creates and its unique lightweight engineering - by Jonathan Glancey.

From hand-made brick to high-tech product: building with blocks of fired clay today draws from a heritage of nine millennia and remains innovative, sustainable, and highly appreciated for its manifold applications. Since 2004, Wienerberger, the world's largest manufacturer of bricks and other clay building materials, biannually presents the international Brick Award as a scene for outstanding achievements in brick architecture. The 2020 edition of this master class saw 644 submissions from fifty-five countries that were reviewed by an international jury of experts. This book features the fifty nominees and the six winning designs, which are located in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Central America. All projects are presented in texts and richly illustrated with atmospheric images, site and floor plans, views, elevations and sections. Five topical essays by international authors, discussing the winning buildings in a wider context, round out this celebration of contemporary brick architecture.

Updated edition to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. It is difficult to overestimate the excitement that accompanied the birth of the Spitfire. An aircraft imbued with balletic grace and extraordinary versatility, it was powered by a piston engine and a propeller, yet came tantalisingly close to breaking the sound barrier. First flown in 1936, the Spitfire soon came to symbolize Britain's defiance of Nazi Germany in the summer of 1940. Spitfire: The Biography is a celebration of a great British invention, of the men and women who flew it and supported its development, and of the industry that manufactured both the aircraft and the Rolls-Royce engines that powered it. It is also about the ways in which the sight, sound and fury of this lithe and legendary fighter continue to stir the public imagination worldwide more than eighty years on.

Announced in 1912, the Schneider Trophy was a series of glamorous air contests, popularly known as races, that captivated both sides of the Atlantic. While there were many other aviation competitions, the Schneider proved to be, after a rocky start, by far the most memorable attracting a hugely popular and glamorous following whether Trophy races were held in Monaco, the Venice Lido, the Solent or Chesapeake Bay. The Schneider Trophy was a focus not just of remarkable aircraft, derring-do pilots and swooning public attention, but also of fierce rivalries between the competitors: Britain, France, Italy and the United States.

It gripped the imaginations of pioneering manufacturers and two of the world's finest aircraft designers - Reginald Mitchell and Mario Castoldi - who worked feverishly hard to outdo one another. Perhaps inevitably, the dynamism of rival engineering and politics led to the most potent military fighters of World War Two with Reginald Mitchell's record-breaking Supermarine seaplanes morphing, one way or another, into the Spitfire.

Wings Over Water not only tells the story of the Schneider Trophy afresh but also examines the backdrop and legacy of these legendary air races, which became a driver and celebration of speed and engineering prowess for both sea and ground-based aircraft. It is an exhilarating tale of raw adventure, public excitement, engineering genius and the fortunes of flying boats and seaplanes.

What was it really like to take the LNER's Art Deco Coronation streamliner from King's Cross to Edinburgh, to cross the Atlantic by the SS Normandie, to fly with Imperial Airways from Southampton to Singapore, to steam from Manhattan to Chicago on board the New York Central's 20th Century Limited or to dine and sleep aboard the Graf Zeppelin? In the course of The Journey Matters, Jonathan Glancey travels from the early 1930s to the turn of the century on some of what he considers to be the most truly glamorous and romantic trips he has ever dreamed of or made in real life. Each of the twenty journeys allows him to explore the history of routes taken, and the events - social and political - enveloping them. Each is the story of the machines that made these journeys possible, of those who shaped them and those, too, who travelled on them.

In Concorde, Jonathan Glancey tells the story of this magnificent and hugely popular aircraft anew, taking the reader from the moment Captain Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in 1947 through to the last commercial flight of the supersonic airliner in 2003. It is a tale of national rivalries, technological leaps, daring prototypes, tightrope politics, and a dream of a Dan Dare future never quite realized. Jonathan Glancey traces the development of Concorde not just through existing material and archives, but through interviews with those who lived with the supersonic project from its inception. The result is a compelling mix of overt technological optimism, a belief that Britain and France were major players in the world of civil as well as military aviation, and faith in an ever faster, ever more sophisticated future. This is a celebration, as well as a thoroughly researched history, of a truly brilliant machine that became a sky god of its era.

The British designed and built the Harrier, the most successful vertical take-off-and-landing aircraft ever made. Combining state-of-the-art fighter plane technology with a helicopter's ability to land vertically the Harrier has played an indispensable role for the RAF and Royal Navy in a number of conflicts, most famously the Falklands War. Jonathan Glancey's biography is a vividly enjoyable account of the invention of this remarkable aeroplane and a fitting tribute to the inspiration and determination of the men and women who created it, and the bravery of the men who flew it, often in the most dangerous conditions.

The thrilling story of the last, and greatest, generation of steam railway locomotives in regular main line service: a story of invention, skill and passion, Giants of Steam reveals how the true advocates of steam's glory days pushed its design and performance to remarkable limits, taking these powerful and beautifully designed machines to new heights against a backdrop of the political upheavals and military conflicts of the mid twentieth century. Glancey tells the stories of the greatest of the 'steam men', the charismatic engineers who designed these machines and put them to use. Giants of Steam also reveals how steam design has continued to progress against the odds in recent decades, while enthusiasm for the steam locomotive itself is far from burning out.

Bread and circuses-free food and mass entertainment-was the name contemporary social observers gave to the ancient Roman practice of keeping the common people happy and rebellion-free. Jonathan Glancey, in this personal and passionate essay about the city he loves, suggests that the same unformulated policy is the means by which modern London's citizens are kept as apolitical and passively pleasure-loving as possible. But shops, restaurants and a few gorgeous buildings are, he maintains, a poor substitute for a creaking infrastructure, and London's cachet as a boisterously creative but well-run city will plummet if private vice is allowed to triumph over public virtue.

What was it really like to take the LNER's Art Deco Coronation streamliner from King's Cross to Edinburgh, to cross the Atlantic by the SS Normandie, to fly with Imperial Airways from Southampton to Singapore, to steam from Manhattan to Chicago on board the New York Central's 20th Century Limited or to dine and sleep aboard the Graf Zeppelin? In the course of The Journey Matters, Jonathan Glancey travels from the early 1930s to the turn of the century on some of what he considers to be the most truly glamorous and romantic trips he has ever dreamed of or made in real life. Each of the twenty journeys allows him to explore the history of routes taken, and the events - social and political - enveloping them. Each is the story of the machines that made these journeys possible, of those who shaped them and those, too, who travelled on them.