Investigating across the centuries and around the world, Newitz explores the rise and fall of four ancient cities, each the center of a sophisticated civilization: the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük in Central Turkey, the Roman vacation town of Pompeii on Italy’s southern coast, the medieval megacity of Angkor in Cambodia, and the indigenous metropolis Cahokia, which stood beside the Mississippi River where East St. Previously, they were the founder of io9, and served as the editor-in-chief of Gizmodo.Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR and Science FridayA quest to explore some of the most spectacular ancient cities in human history—and figure out why people abandoned them.In Four Lost Cities, acclaimed science journalist Annalee Newitz takes readers on an entertaining and mind-bending adventure into the deep history of urban life. They are also the co-host of the Hugo Award-winning podcast Our Opinions Are Correct. They have published in The Washington Post, Slate, Popular Science, Ars Technica, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic, among others. As a science journalist, they are a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, and have a monthly column in New Scientist.

They are the author of the book Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age, and the novels The Future of Another Timeline, and Autonomous, which won the Lambda Literary Award. Four Lost Cities was named one of Apple's Most Anticipated Books of Winter 2021.Īnnalee Newitz writes science fiction and nonfiction. Newitz travels to all four sites and investigates the cutting-edge research in archaeology, revealing the mix of environmental changes and political turmoil that doomed these ancient settlements. Investigating across the centuries and around the world, Newitz explores the rise and fall of four ancient cities, each the center of a sophisticated civilization. Sign up below.įour Lost Cities takes readers on an entertaining and mind-bending adventure into the deep history of urban life. They will discuss their new history book, Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age.

Join us for a book discussion and reading with award-winning novelist, journalist, and podcaster Annalee Newitz.

Four lost cities book