History of Future Cities - Daniel Brook, WW Norton & Co

Every month, five million people move from the past to the future. Pouring into developing-world 'instant cities' like Dubai and Shenzhen, these urban newcomers confront a modern world cobbled together from fragments of a West they have never seen. Do these fantastical boomtowns, where blueprints spring to life overnight on virgin land, represent the dawning of a brave new world? Or is their vaunted newness a mirage?

In a captivating blend of history and reportage, Daniel Brook travels to a series of major metropolitan hubs that were once themselves instant cities-- St. Petersburg, Shanghai, and Mumbai--to watch their 'dress rehearsals for the twenty-first century.' Understanding today's emerging global order, he argues, requires comprehending the West's profound and conflicted influence on developing-world cities over the centuries.

In 1703, Tsar Peter the Great personally

",[An] inspired tour of the post modern city...Invigorating.", -Mark Kingwell, Harper's