The last time I'd looked at the Victory Column, I was under a netting of green-brown-grey camouflage put up to foil R.A.F. bombers using Berlin's towering memorial as a direction finder.
This time, we were looking down on where I'd ridden a bus un [...]
The people who built The Great Wall are now building The Great Dam—the world's greatest. The reservoir will flood an area 370 miles long. Disappearing under water will be 890 square miles of farmland. Totally or partially, 13 cities, 140 towns, 1,352 villages, and 657 factories will be submerged. China's scientists are already at work with pick, brush, and camera on archaeological sites that will simply be lost forever. The Yangtze River's Three Gorges will cease to be the world famous scenic fairyland it is today. If you want to see the real life version of the misty, craggy scenes on Chinese scrolls, do more than make plans to go. Go. Now.
Berlin. By David Clay Large. Basic Books. $40.00.
When you see a 706-page history book written by a history professor, you have every right to think: oof! Put it up with the reference books, I'll get to it. . . .
Don't put David Clay Large [...]
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