_Cities of Empire_, by Tristram Hunt

[oflittlefaith]

Unexpectedly architecture heavy. Found myself googling quite a bit of terminology to have some idea what he was talking about. Also carried an undertone of 'up the Empire!' somehow. Nothing specific I could point to; maybe the selection of quotes

Comments

[__marcelo]

I did like this book quite a bit. His politics show, of course, but it does paint an interesting systemic view of the Empire --- an evolving (not always functioning) mechanism built out of heterogeneous pieces, rather than an accumulation of territories, which is how they often look in maps.

[oflittlefaith]

A very good point. The Empire (and the individuals running it) generally had a plan when they acquired new territories.

Not usually a -good- plan, in retrospect, but still.

[__marcelo]

It Seemed a Good Idea at the Time: A History of the World in Twenty-seven Volumes.