“If you live in a city, if you're planning on living in a city, if you ever lived in a city—this is a great book to read to give yourself a nice feeling of what you're accomplishing. It's a tremendous book.”
—Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show
“[A] terrific new book.”
—David Brooks, The New York Times
“Although liberally sprinkled with statistics, Triumph of the City is no dry work. Mr. Glaeser writes lucidly and spares his readers the equations of his trade. This is popular economics of the best sort.”
— The Economist
“Glaeser loves an argument, and he's a wonderful guide into one. Triumph of the City is bursting with insights and policy proposals to debate. ... You'll ... walk away dazzled by the greatness of cities and fascinated by this writer's nimble mind.”
— The New York Times Book Review
“Deeply researched ... his book convincingly argues that concentrated populations can have ‘magical consequences.’”
— Bloomberg BusinessWeek
“Glaeser's new book, Triumph of the City, is a probing look at what makes and breaks cities—which, Glaeser argues, represent the pinnacle of human achievement and the best hope for the future of the species. It is a vindicating read for urbanites.”
— New York Magazine
“Whatever the city under discussion, Mumbai or Woodlands, Texas, Glaeser is discerning and independent. ... Thought-provoking material.”
— Booklist
“An authority on the subject within the academic world and without ... Glaeser's latest book ... is a tour of his greatest insights about urban economics, written for a general audience.”
— National Review Online
“A popular treatment of Glaeser's main findings in urban economics ... engaging and entertaining.”
— Washington Monthly
“[ Triumph of the City ] succeeds at challenging our assumptions about the relation between individual cities and the larger world in which we live.”
— San Francisco Chronicle
“Provocative.”
— The New York Observer
“One book you can judge by its cover. The title and cover art—a gleaming nighttime cityscape—convey the author's enthusiasm for his topic. And Glaeser ... delivers one idea after another that debunks the conventional urban wisdom of cities’ ‘antiurbanite’ critics.”
— Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“Provocative and lively.”
— The Berkshire Eagle
“Ed Glaeser is one of the nation's most influential thinkers on urban affairs—and rightly so. ... His writing is vigorous; his perspective, fresh.”
— Governing
“Edward Glaeser's recent book Triumph of the City is both a manifesto on behalf of the best cities and a self-affirmation book for confirmed urbanites who may just once have considered cheating with a suburb.”
— Next American City
“Glaeser is a clear-eyed observer, and he offers plenty of enlightening history along with some useful policy recommendations. ... If you want to learn more about cities, Triumph of the City is a useful book.”
— Dissent magazine
“Glaeser's book arrives at just the right moment. ... [It] is a lively recitation of economic insights and counterintuitive observations that should provoke thought and discussion among citizens and policy makers.”
—MinnPost.com
“A broad, intelligent survey of an important, misunderstood subject.”
— A.V. Club
“Terrific ... a brisk and accessible tour through a series of real-life experiments deeply grounded in data.”
—FutureOfCapitalism.com
“A thrilling ride around the world's great cities.”
— The Independent (London)
“A thrilling and very readable hymn of praise to an invention so vast and so effective that it is generally taken for granted ... this is a tremendous book.”
— The Literary Review
“Fascinating ... [Glaeser] is established as one of the leading economic thinkers about the city.”
— The Telegraph (London)
“Glaeser's enthusiasm for cities is catching ... and for a book bursting with statistics, Triumph of the City is never dull. ... Glaeser has provided a timely reminder of the benefits of urbanization.”
— London Evening Standard
“Smart.”
— The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
“Excellent.”
— Hindustan Times
“Edward Glaeser is one of the world's most brilliant economists, and Triumph of the City is a masterpiece. Seamlessly combining economics and history, he explains why cities are ‘our species’ greatest invention.’ This beautifully written book makes clear how cities have not only survived but thrived, even as modern technology has seemingly made one's physical location less important.”
—Steven D. Levitt, coauthor of Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics and professor of economics at the University of Chicago
“If you would like to improve slums, turn poverty into prosperity, or get a grip on urban sprawl, read this thoughtful and thought-provoking book.”
—Simon Johnson, author of 13 Bankers and professor of entrepreneurship at MIT Sloan School of Management
“A magisterial book from the world's leading authority on why and how cities work. Comprehensive, compelling and strongly recommended.”
—Tim Harford, author of The Undercover Economist and Adapt and columnist for Financial Times
“Ed Glaeser is an economist's economist—as smart as they come, driven by empiricism, with something interesting to say about nearly anything.”
—Stephen Dubner, Freakonomics blog
“The overarching theme of Glaeser's book is that cities make us smarter, more productive, and more innovative. To put it plainly, they make us richer. And the evidence in favor of this point is very, very strong.”
—Ezra Klein, TheWashingtonPost.com