FALLEN GLORY: THE LIVES AND DEATHS OF TWENTY LOST BUILDINGS FROM THE TOWER OF BABEL TO THE TWIN TOWERS

Book ID/图书代码： 00200015B84399

English Summary/英文概要： THE LIVES AND DEATHS OF TWENTY LOST BUILDINGS FROM THE TOWER OF BABEL TO THE TWIN TOWERS

Buildings are more like us than we realise. They can be born into wealth or poverty, enjoying every privilege or struggling to make ends meet. They have parents -- gods, kings and emperors, governments, visionaries and madmen -- as well as friends and enemies. They have duties and responsibilities. They can endure crises of faith and purpose. They can succeed or fail. They can live. And, sooner or later, they die.

In Fallen Glory, James Crawford uncovers the biographies of some of the world’s most fascinating lost and ruined buildings, from the dawn of civilisation to the cyber era. The lives of these iconic structures are packed with drama and intrigue. Soap operas on the grandest scale, they feature war and religion, politics and art, love and betrayal, catastrophe and hope. Frequently their afterlives have been no less dramatic -- their memories used and abused down the millennia for purposes both sacred and profane. They provide the stage for a startling array of characters, including Gilgamesh, the Cretan Minotaur, Agamemnon, Nefertiti, Genghis Khan, Henry VIII, Catherine the Great, Adolf Hitler, and even Bruce Springsteen.

Ranging from the deserts of Iraq, the banks of the Nile and the cloud forests of Peru, to the great cities of Jerusalem, Istanbul, Paris, Rome, London and New York, Fallen Glory is a unique guide to a world of vanished architecture. And, by picking through the fragments of our past, it asks what history’s scattered ruins can tell us about our own future.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 建筑比我们人类更具有自我的意识。他们可以源自於富有或贫穷，享受每个特权，或尽量地去量入为出。他们有父母 — — 神灵、国王和皇帝，各国政府、空想主义者和疯子 — — 以及朋友和敌人。他们有义务和责任。他们可以忍受信念和意志的危机。他们可以成功或失败。他们可以生存。或迟早会死亡。

《坠落的荣耀》一书中，笔者James Crawford揭示了一些世界上最为迷人的遗失的和被毁建筑，从人类文明的启蒙到网络时代。这些标志性建筑的生活都充满着戏剧性与阴谋;他们是最为宏大规模的，掺杂着战争和宗教，政治和艺术、爱和背叛，灾难和希望的肥皂剧。他们死后的样子时而已经不那么激动人心 — — 他们为千年来的神圣和世俗，残存下来。

他们提供的一系列惊人的历史人物，包括吉尔伽美什（传说中的苏美尔国王），克利特岛的弥诺陶洛斯，阿伽门农(特洛伊战争中希腊军队的统帅)，朱利叶斯•凯撒，成吉思汗，亨利八世，凯瑟琳大帝，阿道夫•希特勒，甚至是歌手布鲁斯•斯普林斯汀。

从伊拉克的沙漠，尼罗河畔和秘鲁的云雾缭绕的森林，到耶路撒冷、伊斯坦布尔、巴黎、罗马、伦敦和纽约的大都市，《坠落的荣耀》是一部有关世界消逝著名建筑的独一无二指南手册。透过人类我们历史残存的片段，从这些分散在世界各地的废墟中，窥见自己的未来。（Sandy）

Awards/获奖情况：’Compelling ... Civilisations and their buildings, writes Crawford, inevitably succumb to the ’eternal cycle of rise, decline and fall’. He conveys superbly these absorbing tales of hubris, power, violence and decay.’ SUNDAY TIMES

本书十分引人注目。在书中，Crawford写道：文明和建筑不可避免地屈从于“上升，下降，毁灭的永恒轮回。”他完美地写出了这些有关权力、暴力和毁灭的故事。（《星期日泰晤士报》）

这是我今年读过的最有趣的书。本书对于已消失的建筑进行了大量研究。Crawford精美地讲述了一些迷人的故事，其中包括Alexandria图书馆、柏林墙、虚拟世界中的Geocities等等的故事。这是一本迷人的、充满真知灼见的书。（Alexander McCall Smith，NEW STATESMAN）

’The most interesting book I have come across this year. This is a magnificent study of buildings and other structures that have disappeared. Crawford writes beautifully and tells a fascinating tale that embraces the Library of Alexandria, the Berlin Wall and, in the virtual world, the now defunct Geocities. A lovely, wise book.’ Alexander McCall Smith, NEW STATESMAN

’Magnificent ... Many of these buildings can be seen as microcosms of the decline and fall of whole civilisations’ DAILY TELEGRAPH(***** 5-star review)

’Crawford has a striking ability to summon the reality of these long-vanished places, trotting nimbly through eras of history and archaeology to trace the extent to which they protrude into fact … [he] writes exquisitely, combining economy and clarity with beautiful flights of phrase, and his scholarship is meticulous. Fallen Glory is a marvellous book. A second helping would be more than welcome.’ LITERARY REVIEW

’Crawford tells the intricate biography of each of his buildings with the unspoken assumption that in some way a building (like the city in which it exists) is alive . . . The result is a cabinet of curiosities, a book of wonders with unexpected excursions and jubilant and haunting marginalia . . . Ideas spin off ideas and facts off facts like a marvellous clattering snooker-table’ THE SPECTATOR

’Delightful and intriguing ... each building and city with which it is associated is a keyhole into a panorama of the times ... a succinct and smart overview of crucial points in human history ... The chapter on the Twin Towers is one of the best such pieces I have read’ SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY

’Crawford is a striking storyteller ... [his] description of a postman’s round in Kowloon’s walled city and of oddball Yale alumni discovering the Peruvian Inca capital of Vilcabamba typify his resoundingly fine writing ... a clever and endearing book’ THE TIMES

’Utterly compelling ... a fascinating read’ THE LADY

’A terrific piece of historical detective work, full of twists and surprises. Each building represents a fascinating moment in history, and the people and events that created and destroyed them are brought thrillingly to life.’ JOHN GRINDROD, author of CONCRETOPIA

’An enthralling piece of detective work’ THE BOOKSELLER (picked as a ’Non-Fiction Autumn Highlight’)

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