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CITIES OF THE WORLD:           NATIONS OF THE WORLD        GREAT DYNASTIES

CITIES OF THE WORLD:

CHICAGO:
A city of the industrial ages, Chicago was the child of the railroads. Anchored at the tip of the Great Lakes and in the heartland of the Midwest, this mighty metropolis was the terminal of dozens of iron roads that came from all over America. People, animals and raw materials arrived by train and produced one of the most dynamic cities the world had ever known. Not even a disastrous fire could destroy its progressive spirit. The architectural symbol of American urban culture, the skyscraper, was born there.
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NEW YORK:
This American metropolis is newer than its European sister, but through the United Nations, it has become the capital of the world. It’s story reflects its international character. Inundated by millions of immigrants it became a cosmopolitan melting pot. Transformed by wealth and industrial dynamism into the skyscraper symbol of the new age, it turned into the richest and most powerful city of the world. Today ethnic change, racial strife and economic recession have exacted their toll. What can the story of New York teach us? Back to list of categories | Go to order form

PARIS:
Regarded by some as the most beautiful city in the world, it had also by the nineteenth century become the cultural capital of Europe and the mecca of artists, writers and intellectuals. But Paris is over two thousand years old and throughout it’s long history it has never lost its allure. How can we best appreciate it? Back to list of categories | Go to order form

FLORENCE:
Few cities are more beautiful than Florence. Set in the Tuscan countryside on the banks of the Arno, it was built on the trading skills and ingenuity of its middle class. It reflects the taste for beauty of a new aristocracy and the wonders of the Renaissance. The humanist celebration of human beauty and human pleasure are manifest in some of the most extraordinary works of art ever conceived by man. Back to list of categories | Go to order form
  

CAIRO:
Egypt is old, but Cairo is young. It was founded only one thousand years ago by fanatic Shiites who swept in from the West. Around it are the chief ruins of ancient Egypt. But Cairo is not Egyptian. It is an Arab city, created by and for Arabs. In modern times it was transformed by both the British and Nasser. On both sides of the Nile, its winding streets feature the stark contrast of rich and poor, of religious and secular. Close to fifteen million people are squeezed into its expanding chaos. Much of the culture of the Arab world emanates from its creative artists. 
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SHANGHAI:
Today Shanghai, a new city by Chinese standards, is the premier city of Chinese development, the capitalist heart of a communist country. It was basically developed by British and foreign colonialists in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It’s streets and buildings are being radically transformed by new construction. But they still suggest the old Shanghai of mystery, intrigue and sin. The powerful memories of British bankers and Japanese occupiers still linger in the atmosphere of dynamic change. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

WILLIAMSBURG VIRGINIA, TOBACCO and REVOLUTION :
Virginia lies in the heart of Southern culture. The first English colony in North America, it turned into a world of tobacco plantations and frontier farms. Its aristocracy was the first American upper class. Colonial Williamsburg was the second capital of colonial Virginia. The politics and culture of Williamsburg helped to mould the environment that led to rebels and Tories. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

CHARLESTON CAVALIERS, PEDIGREE AND ROOTS:
At the heart of the South lay its greatest port. Founded by cavaliers and adventurers from the English establishment, it grew prosperous from trade, indigo and rice. Its stately homes and streets defined the setting of a proud culture. It was in this city that the Civil War began when Confederate guns fired on Fort Sumter. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

NEW ORLEANS FRENCH, COSMOPOLITAN and SOUTHERN:
Foundered by the French, New Orleans rapidly became an important city because it lay at the mouth of the mighty Mississippi. After Thomas Jefferson bought it, it became one of the great ports of the United States, its bustling energy, its incredible wealth and its unique combination of Anglo and French 
culture made it the premiere city of the rising cotton culture of the South. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

MIAMI JEWS, CUBANS AND PLEASURE:
There was a time when Florida was northern Florida, an extension of the Southern milieu. Today, Florida is primarily southern Florida, a brash combination of immigrants from all over the world. Its language and rhythms have nothing to do with the old South. Its sunny and semi-tropical weather has seduced an army of retirees. At the heart of its expanding world lies troubled Miami. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

TOKYO THE RISE OF MODERN JAPAN:
Japan remains one of the most powerful countries of the world. At it's heart is a sprawling capital which is not beautiful; but which is very dynamic. Before 1808, Kyoto was the capital. After the Meiji restoration Tokyo represented the commitment of Japan to enter the modern world. It is the place 
where money and politics come together. Its history mirrors the history of modern Japan. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

JOHANNESBURG THE CITY OF GOLD: 
The discovery of gold on the Rand in South Africa triggered a gold rush. Thousands of people from all over the world came to the Transvaal to make their fortune. Along the way they established a new city which was to boom to success in only a decade. In the middle of a Dutch republic an English city 
emerged, pushed forward by the dynamic of fresh money. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

BAGHDAD CITY OF ARABIAN NIGHTS:
The capital of Saddam Hussein is one of the most famous cities in the world. Gracing the banks of the Tigris it rests on five thousand years of human achievement and culture. Born in the Arab empire, Baghdad became the capital of a far-flung Muslim domain. The perfume of the Arabian Nights wafts through the centuries of its history and makes it special. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

MADRID CAPITAL OF KINGS AND REBELLION:
The capital city of the Hapsburgs, Madrid replaced Toledo as the court city of new Spain. Its debut was accompanied by the splendor made possible through the gold and silver of the Spanish conquest of the Americas. But the disappearance of that wealth led to a steady decline. In time Madrid would 
redeem itself as the radical center of Republican Spain in its battle with the Franco fascists. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

BOSTON FROM PURITANS TO UNIVERSITIES:
The intellectual center of America, Boston boasts over sixty colleges and universities. Founded by the dissenting Puritans, the invasion of the Irish triggered a massive change. Protestants fled. Jews arrived. A more ethic and cosmopolitan environment replaced the stiffness of former years.  Back to list of categories | Go to order form

VIENNA:
Once a capital of a great empire, Vienna still retains the image of an imperial city. For seven centuries its fortune was tied to the ambitions of the Hapsburgs. The Hapsburgs became the archdukes of Austria and ultimately made Vienna the center of their conquests. Subduing many diverse nations, the Hapsburgs turned a German city into the headquarters of a multicultural state. Along the way Vienna developed a style that reflected its diverse origins. This culture was softer than Germany and more intellectual than the Slavic and Balkan nations it governed. Both the waltz and Freud are its children. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

BUDAPEST:
Straddling the Danube, Budapest is the capital of one of the proudest and most ambitious nations in the world. Humiliated by both the Turks and the Austrians, the Hungarians emerged in the nineteenth century as a powerful political force in Central Europe. Budapest reflects the newfound glory. On the side of the river is the beauty of the hills of Buda. On the other side is the urban congestion of Pest. Together they became a center for intellectual and artistic creativity that gave the Hungarians their day in the sun. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

MARRAKECH:
Established a thousand years ago as the capital of the Sanhaja Berbers, Marrakech became the door to the Sahara and the riches of West Africa that lay beyond. Berbers and Moors are one and the same people. They are the original people of North Africa. Conquered by Arabs and Islam they developed their own unique culture. Morocco is their creation. And, so are the wonders of Marrakech, which combine the religion of the Arabs, the intensity of the Berbers, the charm and tumult of Oriental commerce and the stark beauty of the desert. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

BARCELONA:
Although Barcelona is in Spain, it is not Spanish. The citizens of this vital city are Catalans, a Latin nation that speaks a language which often sounds more French than Spanish. Always more liberal than Madrid or Seville, Barcelona managed to be the center for new ideas and new art that the rest of Spain was reluctant to adopt. Today the capital of autonomous Catalonia, this busy city if a symbol of the new emerging Europe which finds old national boundaries irrelevant and which also thrives on the passions of local patriotism. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

PRAGUE:
Now one of the most popular tourist destinations of Europe, Prague remains as a reminder of the Europe that was. Untouched by the devastations of the Second World War, it still suggests the Czech and German city that struggled to find its identity. Founded by Czechs and conquered by Germans, its history and culture hovered between the Teutonic and Slavic. Coveted by both Catholics and Protestants, it became reluctantly Catholic. As a major city of commerce, it attracted many Jews who enriched the culture of this place. Neither Nazism nor Communism could ultimately dim its luster. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

MONTREAL:
Once the premier city of Canada, Montreal is now experiencing the painful consequences of French-Canadian nationalism. Thousands of English speaking people have left for Toronto and other Canadian cities. Unemployment is rising. The uncertainty of the future of both Quebec and Montreal defines the mood. And yet this city, astride the St. Lawrence, still reflects the power it once enjoyed. Montreal was not only the largest city of French Canada. It was also the capital of British money and power in North America. At its heart were the financial and educational institutions that ruled Canada. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

RIO DE JANEIRO:
Regarded by some as the most beautiful urban setting in the world. Rio is the capital of the 'second' Brazil. The first Brazil was Bahia and Recife, the land of the north, the land of sugar. But the discovery of gold in the south turned Rio into a capitol city of wealth and prestige. Founded by the Portugese, it became the center of an independent empire, the largest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Resting on the work of African slaves, its population was always a mixture of white and black, its culture a merger of European and African, its religion a combination of Catholicism and macumba. Today it struggles with its past in a present of incredible opulence and stark poverty. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

BEIJING:
We used to say Peking. But now we know better. Regardless of pronunciation, this city is one of the great urban centers of the world. It is the capital of China, the most populous nation on this planet. It is too far north to be an effective capital. But it was established by northern invaders. The Mongols made it their power center. And so did the Manchus. The city is, strangely enough a symbol of both Chinese power and foreign domination. At its heart lies the palace of old imperial power and the institutions of Communist control. The greatest 'emperor' of them all, Mao Zedong lived there, and his mausoleum remains the greatest shrine. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

ATHENS:
The civilization of beauty in the ancient world was Greece. Its center was the city of the Parthenon whose monuments testified to the genius of the Hellenic people. Over the centuries Athens was conquered by the Romans, the Byzantines and the Slavs and the Turks. The religion of Zeus and Athena was replaced by Greek Orthodox Christianity. The city sank into ruins and was then revived, But the suffering could not destroy its beauty. It has re-emerged as the capital of an independent Greece, graced by its heritage and troubled by all the problems of a modern city. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

DETROIT:
In five years Detroit will be 300 years old. Despite its troubles it remains of the great cities of the world. From its genesis came the mass manufacture of the automobile which has transformed the character of all the urban centers on this planet. At a time when the inner city is beginning to revive it is important for us to understand our past so that we can better plan our future. In the past three decades our urban self esteem has been dealt many blows. We need to rise above our cynicism and see Detroit from the perspective of history. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

AMSTERDAM:
At one time the wealthiest city of the world, Amsterdam is the city of the bourgeoisie, a metropolis made for merchants and bankers. There are no ostentatious buildings of a self-indulged aristocracy. Only canals and the practical buildings of business entrepreneurs fill its spaces. How did this one time small Dutch town turn into the financial powerhouse of the capitalist revolution. Do those dour faces in the portraits on the walls of the Rijks museum tell us the story of how wealth is produced by saving not spending, by hard discipline not pleasure? Back to list of categories | Go to order form

BUENOS AIRES:
The widest boulevard in the world is in Buenos Aires, a symbol of the optimism and ambition of the Argentine capital at the turn of the century. Containing almost one third of the people of it nation, it takes center place in the economic and political landscape of Argentina. At one time a small Spanish town with Black slaves, it was transformed into a city of money and manufacturing by thousands of Italian immigrants. Under Juan and Evita Person its luster began to fade, a victim of bad planning and bad economics. But its magnificence is hard to undermine. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

SAN FRANCISCO:
For many Americans San Francisco remains the most beautiful and the most interesting city on this continent. Not even earthquakes can tarnish its image. Few vistas compare to the vista from the Golden Gate Bridge. Few hills arouse the wonder of Nob Hill and Telegraph Hill. Born of the Gold Rush of the last century, San Francisco boomed quickly. Almost destroyed in the great catastrophe of 1906 it arose from its ashes to become the financial and cultural center of the American West. It time tourists and gays found it and change it. And the threat of Los Angeles made it defensive. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

JERUSALEM:
Few cities have captured the imagination and reverence of the world like Jerusalem. Starting out as the capital of the Jews it became the dramatic setting from which two great religions emerged. Conquests by Chaldeans, Persians, Greeks, Romans, and Arabs transformed its size and life style. But it never lost the beauty of is mountain site not the attachment of its pilgrims, In the end it surrendered to the Crusaders, Turks and British. The coming of the Zionists made it a capital again and the center of an irresolvable conflict. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

VENICE:
One of the glories of the Western world is an canal city of Venice. In its heyday it governed the most successful commercial empire of the Italian cities. Its ships and soldiers reached and conquered many lands. But they returned to the exquisite splendor of the San Marco Cathedral and the Doge's Palace. Venice is a city that was built for wealthy, aristocratic republic. Its wonders are the wonders of the Renaissance. The story of its rise and fall is filled with surprise and passion. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

HONG KONG:
A great Chinese city which was manufactured by Englishmen in no ordinary feat. Graced by one of the most beautiful harbors in the world, Hong Kong married the power of the West with the enterprise of the East. Even the Japanese occupation could not break its spirit. Today it confronts it most dramatic crisis. In 1997 it will become part of China. Will it become a Communist city? Or will it retain its energetic capitalist spirit and serve as a role model for the rest of China? Back to list of categories | Go to order form

BERLIN:
Destroyed fifty years ago by Allied bombing and divided by an ugly wall for four decades, Berlin has been rebuilt and reunified. Once the proud capital of the Second and Third Reich, it was the setting for both imperial glory, Nazi perversion and the Cabaret culture of the Weimar Republic. Never beautiful, it exuded strength and power. Both Bismarck and Hegel graced its halls. Both Junker magnates and capitalist entrepreneurs made it great. But the memory of Hitler still lingers in its streets. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

THE STORY OF LONDON:
London is one of the greatest cities in all the world. It is filled with cultural, architectural and entertainment wonders that have been accumulated over many centuries. London is English and British and Imperial and cosmopolitan all at once. Starting as a Roman City, it was transformed by each new opportunity. Ultimately, English power guaranteed its status as the premier place for trade and finance in the world. Today it is suffering many painful changes that come from British decline and racial mobility. But its glory remains. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

THE STORY OF MOSCOW:
The Russians have been at the heart of world affairs for the last two centuries - and so has its principal city. The Russian Empire began in Moscow, this military and trade center in the cold northern forests of Europe. The magnificent Kremlin fortress is the symbol of the power that Moscow has wielded from the Tsars to Stalin, and a sign of its extraordinary rise to preeminence. So many decisions have made in Moscow that have affected the lives of people all over the world. Moscow is very Russian, yet very sophisticated. And, right now, it is undergoing one of its major transformations. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

NATIONS OF THE WORLD:

ARMENIANS:
The Armenians are now fighting their historic enemy, the Turkish Azeris in Azerbaijan. The Armenians believe that they are recovering their historic homeland which was taken from them by the Turks. The Azeris believe that they are defending their country from a cruel aggressor. Thousands of Azeri refugees have fled their homes. The Azeri army is crippled by incompetence and loss of nerve. Both Turkey and Iran are chomping at the bit, eager to punish the Armenians. Can poor and landlocked Armenia persevere under these circumstances? Back to list of categories | Go to order form

THE PERSIANS:
The Persians were an extraordinary people who conquered an empire that stretched from Egypt to India. Starting out as an Aryan people from Central Asia, they molded a unique culture out of the legacy of the Assyrians and the Chaldeans. Their god Mazda and their prophet Zoroaster were to have a profound influence on the ideology of both Judaism and Christianity. From their capital of Persepolis the great King of Kings governed over fifty nations and created the framework for a universal shared allegiance. Although defeated by the Greeks, they were to rise again to a second glory.
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THE VIKINGS:
At one time the people of Scandinavia terrorized and dominated Europe. Their Viking ships and marauders penetrated the heart of the Christian world and transformed it. Some of their hardy adventurers even found their way to North America. What is the origin of the Viking people? What was the secret of their extraordinary power despite the smallness of their numbers? What is their legacy?
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AUSTRIANS                   FROM THE HAPSBURGS TO HAIDER 
Little Austria is all that remains from the old Austrian Empire. Vienna is now the oversized capital of a small nation. German in language and culture the Austrians were, for centuries, part of the German Reich. In 1938 Hitler made them part of Germany again. After the war Austria sought to sever its connection with its German and Nazi past. But the success of Herr Haider in the recent election has made Europe and the world apprehensive. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

 CHECHENS                            FIGHTERS OF THE CAUCASUS  
This Muslim mountain people of the Caucasus have become the children of misfortunate. Conquered by the Russians at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Chechens were deported by Stalin to Central Asia during the Second World War. When  Communism failed, they claimed their independence and defeated the Russians in a bloody war. But in recent months the Russians have returned to wreak their vengeance. What is the future of this troubled nation. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

 IRANIANS                                PERSIANS, SHITES AND KHOMEINI 
The country of Ayatollah Khomeini is undergoing a major change. Government by the clergy is beginning to crack. Thousands of young people  are demonstrating publicly and clamoring for more freedom. The conservatives are apprehensive. The liberals are angry and aggressive. A recent election may be the trigger for change. Many people are nostalgic for the freedom they enjoyed under the Shah. But the dominant clergy will not surrender their power easily. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

 PALESTINIANS                            A NATION IN SEARCH OF ITS DESTINY
Stalemate has returned to the talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Palestine is now only a collection of disconnected fragments of land. Arafat seems determined to declare it an independent state in September. How will Israel choose to respond if it takes this action unilaterally? What prospects are there for East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine? Back to list of categories | Go to order form

GREAT DYNASTIES:

THE JULIANS:
The first dynasties of Roman emperors, the Julians featured both the administrative genius of Augustus and Claudius and the deadly madness of Caligula and Nero. The contrast was to produce the century of Rome’s greatest power. With all their glaring defects, how did the family of Caesar manage to do so well? Back to list of categories | Go to order form

THE KENNEDY’S:
If we knew what we know now about Jack Kennedy would we have elected him to be the president of the United States? Regardless of our answer, the Kennedy clan is an extraordinary and charismatic dynasty, plagued by disaster but also blessed with political power . With its roots in the Irish slums of Boston, this family rose from poverty and obscurity to power and fame. Their love of power is only matched by their reckless pursuit of danger. Whether doing sex or skiing they tempt the fates. Handsome and arrogant, they match their political skills against the hatred of their
enemies. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

THE MEDICIS:
For the leading family of Florence money was power. Their roots were not in some feudal landed aristocracy. They began as tradesmen and bankers. They were the forerunners of a new ruling class, the men of business and commerce. In time the old aristocracy clamored for their favors. Their sons and daughters graced the prestigious courts of Europe. Their money and influence bought even the Papal throne in Rome. From Cosimo to Catherine they produced a drama of power and intrigue.
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OTTOMANS:
For many years the Turks controlled Western Asia and North Africa. The Eastern Mediterranean was their lake and their power intimidated Christian Europe. Although Muslim by religion, they embellished their Islam with the Sufi dancing of the whirling dervishes. Although Asiatic by origin they create a European empire which stretched to the very gates of Vienna. Their legacy is to be found in the mosques of Istanbul and in the many nations like Bosnians, who were proud to serve the Ottoman sultan. Back to list of categories | Go to order form

THE ROMANOVS:
There was a time when the Romanovs were the absolute rulers of the largest land empire the world has ever known. From their old capital Moscow and their new capital St. Petersburg they controlled the lives and fortunes of millions of Russians, Ukrainians and conquered people. Peter the Great, Catherine the Great and two of the Alexander’s were extraordinary monarchs. Why were they successful? Why did they Fall? Back to list of categories | Go to order form

THE WINDSORS:
One of the most famous of royal dynasties, the Windsors, are in deep trouble. Known as the Hanoverians when they first arrived from Germany, they faltered under the first four George’s. But Victoria raised them to the status of moral role models and sacred national symbols. Today many critics predict their demise. The "Charlie and Diana show" seriously compromised the credibility of a royal family that no longer understands its purpose in a democratic world. Will England indeed become a republic?
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