Beginning with a fresh interpretation of the origin and nature of the city, Mumford follows the city's development from Egypt and Mesopotamia through Greece, Rome and the Middle Ages to the modern world. Instead of accepting the present tendencies to megalopolitan congestion, planless suburban sprawl and violent social disintegration asa final destiny of the city, Mumford outlines an order in urban development based on the integration of technical favilities with biological needs and social norms in the form of the urban Regional Grid. In the course of his exploration he touches on innumerable aspects of humanity's development as a species and a civilization, offering a treasure of unique insighrs into our nature, our past and our future...