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How long does it take to read Cities in Civilization?

Peter Hall

Cities in Civilization by Peter Hall takes about 21 hours 26 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.

About 21 hours 26 minutes

A long haul

First published 1998. 1,169 pages, about 321,475 words.

43 days (about 7 weeks) at 30 minutes a day

Estimate based on 275 words per page.

At other speeds

Slow, 150 words a minute 35 hours 43 minutes
Average, 250 words a minute 21 hours 26 minutes
Fast, 400 words a minute 13 hours 24 minutes

The page count is the median across 6 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.

About the book

Drawing on the contributions of economists and geographers, of cultural, technological, and social historians, Sir Peter Hall examines twenty-one cities at their greatest moments. Hall describes the achievements of these golden ages and outlines the precise combinations of forces - both universal and local - that led to each city's belle epoque. Hall identifies four distinct expressions of civic innovation: artistic growth, technological progress, the marriage of culture and technology, and solutions to evolving problems. Descriptions of Periclean Athens, Renaissance Florence, Elizabethan London, and nineteenth-century Vienna bring to life those seedbeds of artistic and intellectual creativity. Explorations of Manchester during the Industrial Revolution, of Henry Ford's Detroit, and of Palo Alto at the dawn of the computer age highlight centers of technological advances. Tales of the creation of Los Angeles' movie industry and the birth of the blues and rock 'n' roll in Memphis depict the marriage of culture and technology. Finally, Hall celebrates cities that have been forced to solve problems created by their very size.

Subjects: Cities and towns, Civilization, Growth, City and town life, History, Urban Planning

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