Centers of Progress

“In this superb book, Chelsea Follett takes the reader on a time-travel cruise through the great flash points of human activity to catch innovations that have transformed human lives.”—from the foreword by MATT RIDLEY, author of The Rational Optimist, The Evolution of Everything, and How Innovation Works Where does progress happen? The story of civilization is the story of the city. It is cities that have created and defined the modern world by acting as the sites of pivotal advances in culture, politics, science, technology, and more. There is no question that certain places, at certain times in history, have contributed disproportionately toward making the world a better place. This book tells the story of forty of those places. In Centers of Progress: 40 Cities That Changed the World, Chelsea Follett examines a diverse group of cities, ranging from ancient Athens to Song-era Hangzhou. But some common themes stand out: most cities reach their creative peak during periods of peace; mo