METROPOLIS

A full-color time-traveling tour through ten cities. Lorenz recreates all the bustle and detail of 16th-century Florence, 17th- century Osaka, 18th-century Vienna, and 20th-century New York with an architect's eye for accuracy and elegance. His lavish spreads capture the main subject, e.g., the magnificence of a cathedral's interior, while close-up drawings on following pages focus on such details as gargoyles, a rose window, and stone sculpture, aptly showing how the parts form the whole. Most importantly, Lorenz conveys an architect's sense of how his subject ties into its surrounding environment on a human scale: The major drawings are framed by smaller illustrations commemorating battles fought and lost, the effects of disease, and facts on everyday economics. Those who relish the whimsy of Stephen Biesty's books may have to go elsewhere, for Lorenz relays a sober and accurate feeling of history and place. Others will find such sights as the aerial perspective of modern Manhattan—a dramatic view stretching from the edge of Central Park to the tops of the World Trade Center- -simply unforgettable. (Book-of-the-Month Club, Quality Paperback Book Club, History Book Club, Children's Book-of-the-Month Club) (Nonfiction. 8+)