Walls: a history of civilization in blood and brick

Introduction : A wall against the wasteland

Part one. Builders and barbarians. Midwife to civilization : wall builders at the dawn of history : the ancient Near East, 2500-500 BC

To wall or not to wall? : Greece, 600-338 BC

"Cries of pain and sadness" : China, 214 BC

Wallers and warriors : life outside the walls : Eurasia, 2000 BC-AD 1800

Part two. The great age of walls. Prologue to the great age of walls : Alexander's gates : timeless folklore

Walls connect Eurasia : China and central Asia, c. 100 BC

Hadrian's walls : the Roman Empire, AD 117-38

Paradise lost : The Roman Empire, c. AD 300

Defenseless behind walls : The Roman and Byzantine Empires, AD 400-600

Cycles of walls and despots : China, AD 280-1600

Walls and the Apocalypse : Western and Central Asia, AD 500-1300

Part three. The world in transition. The horrible bombard : Constantinople, AD 1453

Beyond the pale : Ireland, Scotland, and the Russian Empire, AD 1494-c. 1800

Fort Brokenheart : South, Central, and North America, prehistory-AD 1800

Part four. A clash of symbols. The last battles : China and France, 1933-40

"A hell of a lot better than a war" : Berlin, 1961-89

Epilogue : "Love your neighbor, but don't pull down your hedge" : Earth, 1990-present.