Cities in Civilization.

Peter Hall. Weidenfeld & Nicholson. 1169 pages. [pounds]30.00 ISBN 0-297-84219-6.

Cities have become vast sprawling and over-populated places and thus it is fitting that a book about them is itself vast and sprawling at well over eleven hundred pages. Sir Peter Hall is Professor of Planning at University College, London and he has produced a magnum opus.

He sets out to examine certain aspects of a particular city at a golden moment in its history and then speculates why it made this contribution to world civilisation at that time. The book is not organised in any chronological way, but looks at certain broad themes such as culture, innovation, and the achievement of urban order. So a chapter on Imperial Rome is followed immediately by a particularly helpful one on Victorian London from 1825 to 1900 which shows how the Victorians dealt with problems such as police and sewers.

The cities selected are either in Europe or the United States with the sole exception of Tokyo. The author has not just picked the great capitals, political or cultural, but has also included lesser known places such as Henry Ford's Detroit, examined as a centre of mass production from 1890 to 1915, or the role of information technology in the Californian cities of San Francisco, Palo Alto and Berkeley. Some cities appear more than once: Los Angeles is examined both as a 'dream factory' and then later as 'a freeway city', that is in the effect of mass transport upon the development of a twentieth century city. London gets more attention than any other city: ranging from an enjoyable account of theatre and entertainment in Shakespeare's time, to Victorian social conditions it concludes with an account of the way London was transformed by the revival of free market economics by Mrs Thatcher.

It is difficult to imagine many readers settling down to read this vast tome as a book. The best way to cope with it is to hop about, visiting those cities and themes that interest one. lt would provide a marvellous way to prepare for a visit to one of these cities. For example, if you looked at the chapter on Vienna 'as Pleasure Principle' between 1780 and 1910, you would get an idea of why that delightful city had two flourishing periods of musical genius at the beginning and end of this period. Sit Peter shows how the musical world was organised in the city of Mozart and Haydn and the role of the aristocracy and the emerging middle classes in the development of music. These fifty pages offer one of the best introductions available to this world that has so enriched our own.

Similarly anyone visiting - or better revisiting - Paris will learn much about the way the city changed due to the work of Baron Haussmann in replanning its streets. (Happily Sir Peter is one of the few authorities to show how important Napoleon III was himself in this process). Parris provides the supreme example of what good city planning can do to beautify a city.

This will long remain an important book for anyone interested in urban history and urban planning. However, like the modern city, it requires a patient and skilful reader to get through it.

RICHARD MULLEN