Walls: A History Of Civilization In Blood And Brick

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Synopsis

“A lively popular history of an oft-overlooked element in the development of human society” (Library Journal)—walls—and a haunting and eye-opening saga that reveals a startling link between what we build and how we live.

With esteemed historian David Frye as our raconteur-guide in Walls, which Publishers Weekly praises as “informative, relevant, and thought-provoking,” we journey back to a time before barriers of brick and stone even existed—to an era in which nomadic tribes vied for scarce resources, and each man was bred to a life of struggle. Ultimately, those same men would create edifices of mud, brick, and stone, and with them effectively divide humanity: on one side were those the walls protected; on the other, those the walls kept out.

The stars of this narrative are the walls themselves—rising up in places as ancient and exotic as Mesopotamia, Babylon, Greece, China, Rome, Mongolia, Afghanistan, the lower Mississippi, and even Central America. As we journey across time and place, we discover a hidden, thousand-mile-long wall in Asia's steppes; learn of bizarre Spartan rituals; watch Mongol chieftains lead their miles-long hordes; witness the epic siege of Constantinople; chill at the fate of French explorers; marvel at the folly of the Maginot Line; tense at the gathering crisis in Cold War Berlin; gape at Hollywood’s gated royalty; and contemplate the wall mania of our own era.

Hailed by Kirkus Reviews as “provocative, well-written, and—with walls rising everywhere on the planet—timely,” Walls gradually reveals the startling ways that barriers have affected our psyches. The questions this book summons are both intriguing and profound: Did walls make civilization possible? And can we live without them? Find out in this masterpiece of historical recovery and preeminent storytelling.

Chapters

  • 001 Walls Open

    Duration: 17s
  • 002 Walls Introduction

    Duration: 23min
  • 003 Walls Part1 Chapter1

    Duration: 40min
  • 004 Walls Chapter2

    Duration: 33min
  • 005 Walls Chapter3

    Duration: 32min
  • 006 Walls Chapter4

    Duration: 24min
  • 007 Walls Part2 Chapter5

    Duration: 09min
  • 008 Walls Chapter6

    Duration: 26min
  • 009 Walls Chapter7

    Duration: 20min
  • 010 Walls Chapter8

    Duration: 28min
  • 011 Walls Chapter9

    Duration: 38min
  • 012 Walls Chapter10

    Duration: 33min
  • 013 Walls Chapter11

    Duration: 36min
  • 014 Walls Part3 Chapter12

    Duration: 32min
  • 015 Walls Chapter13

    Duration: 23min
  • 016 Walls Chapter14

    Duration: 25min
  • 017 Walls Part4 Chapter15

    Duration: 29min
  • 018 Walls Chapter16

    Duration: 40min
  • 019 Walls Epilogue

    Duration: 44min
  • 020 Walls Close

    Duration: 30s