Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age

Written by:
Annalee Newitz
Narrated by:
Chloe Cannon

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
52
Narrator
12
Release Date
February 2021
Duration
8 hours 14 minutes
Summary
In Four Lost Cities, acclaimed science journalist Annalee Newitz takes listeners on an entertaining and mind-bending adventure into the deep history of urban life. Investigating across the centuries and around the world, Newitz explores the rise and fall of four ancient cities, each the center of a sophisticated civilization: the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük in Central Turkey, the Roman vacation town of Pompeii on Italy's southern coast, the medieval megacity of Angkor in Cambodia, and the indigenous metropolis Cahokia, which stood beside the Mississippi River where East St. Louis is today.

Newitz travels to all four sites and investigates the cutting-edge research in archaeology, revealing the mix of environmental changes and political turmoil that doomed these ancient settlements. Tracing the early development of urban planning, Newitz also introduces us to the often anonymous workers-slaves, women, immigrants, and manual laborers-who built these cities and created monuments that lasted millennia.

Four Lost Cities is a journey into the forgotten past, but, foreseeing a future in which the majority of people on Earth will be living in cities, it may also reveal something of our own fate.
Reviews
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Anonymous

Really interesting book. Ha ha, and goodness NO ONE likes Jared Diamond! Got a little dry in spots, but overall I learned a ton. Had to go online later to look up images (an obvious limitation of the audiobook format). The 3-D renditions on Angkor Wat available online were my favorite. Narrator did a fine job.

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Chris Kraisser

Great intro to Annalee Newitz! I've already wishlisted all of what I found here! Really fun study of cities especially with our recent world evnts!

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Sbruner27

It was a very interesting read. History can always be a bit drab but the way the writer mixed in story telling of how she came to find this information made it more readable.

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Toph Beifong

This book has great perspective on different cultures & their cities; their beginnings, evolution, how people have changed landscapes & themselves.

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Alex M.

The book covers a fascinating subject with a lot of information, but the author only periodically finds a way to bring these eras in history to life. She is not aided by the Chloe Cannon’s flat, and at times seemingly disdainful narration.

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Shelley Driver

Great listen. love how it was brought to present situations and where we are at today. history meets contemporary.

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JoeBoy Swaggy

A really great listen and a fantastic look into the history of humanity. Too often we get caught up in our current state of affairs and believe that because things are this way, they always have been and therefore always will be. The writing was engaging, human, and informative. I wanted to learn more by the time this was over and truly made me feel like I was there. The pacing was solid and well done. The narrator did a great job using this to help the work come to life.

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