During the two hundred millennia of humanity's existence, nothing has shaped us more profoundly than the city. From their very beginnings, cities created a flourishing of human endeavor—new professions, new forms of art, worship and trade—that kick-started civilization. In this sweeping overview, Ben Wilson traces this idea through civics in ancient Athens, global trade in ninth-century Baghdad, finance in the coffeehouses of London, peacocking in Belle ?poque Paris, and contemporary Shanghai's reforestation project.