Humanity Cities: The World's Top 100 Meaningful Cities

by Kim Murray

CITIES is a trip around the world to see how and where we congregate and what brings us together. Our ranking of the most meaningful cities on Earth paints a striking picture of Global centers like New York, London, Tokyo, and Paris are sparkling altars to cosmopolitanism. Metropolises like Shanghai and Mexico City draw rural workers into urban industry. And historical beauties like Rome and Vienna are elegant reminders of the architectural glory and high culture of another time. HUMANITY?s top 100 cities have changed the social landscape of our planet. They are where humanity converges for survival, community, and power.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Animals, Travel

251 pages, Paperback

First published May 25, 2010

Reviews

[Sandy]

How important is this book?! We all know some of the species that are endangered; elephants, big cats, pandas, orangutans, polar bears, gorillas, and whales. But there are so many more animals who are about to be wiped from the face of the earth. So many of these are exotic and beautiful, like the Gouldian finch, and the Hyacinth Macaw. Some are just too fun to not have anymore, like the Wild Ass with its milk chocolate stripes on its legs, and the Visayan Warty Pig, who has a face only its mother can love. Oh, who am I kidding, I love it because it has a beauty all its own. A Red Panda because they are so adorable, and the Flying Foxes, which are fruit bats. Bats get a bad rap but they eat insects that would go after us if it weren't for the bats.

The book explains why the animals are on the endangered list and most of the time its us. We humans have a tendency to think only of us and not how what we do will affect others. This book lists the top 100 species that are in trouble. Hopefully, books like this one will help keep these animals safe and on the earth for a long, long time.

[Matthew Barlow]

Enjoy this type of book. Quick tidbits are fun, but quickly become outdated. Written in 2009, it is unable to factor in recent events, which would certainly rank on the Wall of Shame. Additionally the short tidbits leave out critical information and over look aspects of the events that bear examination. While it certainly is an enjoyable read, it is not one that has much academic standing and should be only used as an introduction to the involved topics.

[Intplibrarian]

Many tragedies I already knew about, but this book made me remember them, which is a good thing. They shouldn't be forgotten. Also made me want to read more about some of them. I would have liked a "for more information, read..." at the end of each entry, but Wikipedia's helping me with that anyway.

[Katie]

Good but depressing. It really makes you think about the state of the world we live in. I think everyone should read it, just so they know about things like this.