City Squares: Eighteen Writers on the Spirit and Significance of Squares Around the World

This book is a collection of essays by eighteen authors much more familiar with the world than I. This book seems to scream, “look how much I travel and how intimately I know cities.” The authors seem to all come from a highly privileged position. There are brief bios at the end of the book. I would have like to have a local take on growing up with the squares. The photographs are beautiful and interesting, however, while they have photographer credits, they are not labeled. I had a most difficult time trying to link the photographs with the stories.

The book is divided into three sections which deal with the place, the uprisings, and historic importance. The squares range from Harvard Square to Tahir and Tiananmen. The blurb on the book promises to “change the way you look at a city.” For me, the promise was not kept. All in all, it is fun to look at the beautiful photographs. If the reader has a history with one of the places, this book may interest them.