The Great Great Wall: Along the Borders of History from China to Mexico

The Great Great Wall: Along the Borders of History from China to Mexico

by Ian Volner
The Great Great Wall: Along the Borders of History from China to Mexico

The Great Great Wall: Along the Borders of History from China to Mexico

by Ian Volner

Hardcover

$27.00 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
    Choose Expedited Shipping at checkout for delivery by Wednesday, April 3
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Related collections and offers


Overview

During his campaign for the presidency, one of Donald Trump’s signature promises was that he would build a “great great wall” on the border between the US and Mexico, and Mexico was going to pay for it. A year and a half into his term, with only a few prototype segments erected, the wall is the 2,000-mile, multibillion-dollar elephant in the room of contemporary American life.

In The Great Great Wall, architectural historian and critic Ian Volner takes a fascinating look at the barriers that we have built over millennia. Traveling far afield, to China, the Middle East, Europe, and along the U.S. Mexico border, Volner examines famous, contentious, and illuminating structures, and explores key questions: Why do we build walls? What do they reveal about human history? What happens after they go up? With special attention to Trump’s wall and the walls that exist along the US border already, this is an absorbing, smart, and timely book on an incredibly contentious and newsworthy topic.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781419732829
Publisher: Abrams Press
Publication date: 06/11/2019
Pages: 288
Product dimensions: 6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Ian David Volner is an architectural historian and design critic. His previous books include Michael Graves: Design for Life and This Is Frank Lloyd Wright. He has traveled to far-flung places like the Caucasus Mountains, the townships of South Africa, and the slums of Panama City to write for the Wall Street Journal, the New Republic, Artforum, and more.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

I The Invention of Difference

Jericho 13

Conquest 27

II Border as Forge

Hadrian 43

Empire 60

III Unstable Walls

China 79

Crisis 92

IV The Art of the Wall-Able

Thiers 111

Reaction 127

V Constructing the Normal

Berlin 145

Takeover 159

VI The Return of Them

West Bank 175

Control 186

VII The Way of All Walls 201

Acknowledgments 231

Selected Bibliography 233

Notes 243

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews