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The Seven Hills of Rome: A Geological Tour of the Eternal CityBUY FROM AMAZON.COM
Price: $42.00
Usually ships in 24 hours Buy New: $42.00 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours EDITORIAL REVIEWFrom humble beginnings, Rome became perhaps the greatest intercontinental power in the world. Why did this historic city become so much more influential than its neighbor, nearby Latium, which was peopled by more or less the same stock? Over the years, historians, political analysts, and sociologists have discussed this question ad infinitum, without considering one underlying factor that led to the rise of Rome--the geology now hidden by the modern city. This book demonstrates the important link between the history of Rome and its geologic setting in a lively, fact-filled narrative sure to interest geology and history buffs and travelers alike. The authors point out that Rome possessed many geographic advantages over surrounding areas: proximity to a major river with access to the sea, plateaus for protection, nearby sources of building materials, and most significantly, clean drinking water from springs in the Apennines. Even the resiliency of Rome's architecture and the stability of life on its hills are underscored by the city's geologic framework. If carried along with a good city map, this book will expand the understanding of travelers who explore the eternal city's streets. Chapters are arranged geographically, based on each of the seven hills, the Tiber floodplain, ancient creeks that dissected the plateau, and ridges that rise above the right bank. As an added bonus, the last chapter consists of three field trips around the center of Rome, which can be enjoyed on foot or by using public transportation. PRODUCT DETAILSPublisher: Princeton University PressPub. Date: 5th July 2005 Catalog: Book Media: Hardcover Number Of Pages: 264 Ean: 9780691069951 Isbn: 0691069956 ABOUT THIS BOOKUSER REVIEWS
This book is not a travelogue for the scientifically uninitiated. If you have studied geology and enjoy the interplay with Roman history, it is terrific. Well done for a work that marries social studies with science. For example, you gain a different view of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva when you take the Tiber floods into account as explained in this book. This is not a beach read with flowing prose, it is a compelling piece for those who treasure deeper knowledge. The romance of this book is not found in grandiloquent vocabulary, but in the profundity of understanding.
Original in many ways, it offers the accomplished tourist with an enrichment from a perspective that other guidebooks do not offer. Much has to be said about the materials of construction used for the Servian Walls, the bases of temples and columns, the marble columns of churches, the flooring of streets, roads, and churches. It exposes the source location of such building materials, its use, and the effect of its use through out the ages. Sure, the photographs are not of first quality, but for a paperback of $15, they are good enough (pushing for color would have doubled the book price). Yet, some of the photographs are original, like the ones at the quarries. Also, the sinkhole diagrams are original, not even the local newspaper graphics department thought of that. The author could have mentioned some other interesting facts (but didn't), like the Justice Department building ("Palazzaccio"), built with heavy travertine stone on a clay foundation, and the 1980 earthquake in Southern Italy which had a muffled effect in Rome due to the clay foundation.
This should have been a wonderful book. Instead it deeply flawed by very bad writing. The narrative is about as exciting as a glass of cold spit and the sentence construction reads as if it came from the pen of a sixth grader who slept through English class. On top of an impenetrable writing style the many photographs are all black and white, even when colour photographs or art work would have been better (the line draws are wonderful for the most part, clearly showing essential material). The photographs further suffer from poor quality/composition. For example the photo’s on page 6, 8 and 9 showing the Trevi Fountain at different scales are useless without a magnifying glass, and a photo interpreter’s loop would be even better. Page 57 shows a sink hole that could be from any part of the world and simply takes up space to no real effect. Again and again the photographs either add nothing to the readers ability to understand the narrative or indeed take away from the book. 1) page 91, the “church of San Vitate” according to the legend it’s surrounded by “debris. . .accumulated since medieval times” But from the picture it looks like a fast food restaurant under construction. 2) page 93, a picture of “Monte Testaccio” which shows a grassy mound with bits of crumbling masonry and a fence that could be Monte Testaccio or could be a grassy mound in NJ. 3) p112, caption “you can see evidence of the gradual slumping movement in the curved trunks of trees.” No, you can’t, or at least I can’t. It’s a picture of trees and brush that could be almost anywhere in the world. IF the reader looks very carefully they may see a tiny road sign in the background that, with a bit of imagination, might seem to show the curve of the trees. Or might not. 4) Page 115, a big hole in the ground with an earth mover. The picture quality is almost good enough to make out the strata. Almost. 5) Page 128, a riveting picture of what is supposed to be the “modern travertine quarry, Bagni di Tivoli . . .” Looks like a broken wall, with rubble and another earth mover that could have been taken at a construction site in Idaho. Fortunately I got this from the library. A book worth adding to your personal library, but not at retail price. I’m going to wait and buy my copy from the bargain bin at $5.00 or better yet, $0.99. SIMILAR ITEMS: |

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