Buildings are more like us than we realise. They can be born into wealth or poverty; enjoying every privilege or struggling to make ends meet. They have parents -- gods; kings and emperors; governments; visionaries and madmen -- as well as friends and enemies. They have duties and responsibilities. They can endure crises of faith and purpose. They can succeed or fail. They can live. And; sooner or later; they die. In Fallen Glory; James Crawford uncovers the biographies of some of the worlds most fascinating lost and ruined buildings; from the dawn of civilisation to the cyber era. The lives of these iconic structures are packed with drama and intrigue. Soap operas on the grandest scale; they feature war and religion; politi and art; love and betrayal; catastrophe and hope. Frequently their afterlives have been no less dramatic -- their memories used and abused down the millennia for purposes both sacred and profane. They provide the stage for a startling array of characters; including Gilgamesh; the Cretan Minotaur; Agamemnon; Nefertiti; Genghis Khan; Henry VIII; Catherine the Great; Adolf Hitler; and even Bruce Springsteen. Ranging from the deserts of Iraq; the banks of the Nile and the cloud forests of Peru; to the great cities of Jerusalem; Istanbul; Paris; Rome; London and New York; Fallen Glory is a unique guide to a world of vanished architecture. And; by picking through the fragments of our past; it asks what history s scattered ruins can tell us about our own future.
#3036281 in eBooks 2015-09-28 2015-09-28File Name: B015X2V8FK
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